Olds Rallye 350 Rocket Rebuild - Part 2 - Maximum Power

Nick & Vasilis are in the final stages of assembly with this classic Oldsmobile power plant. Come on into the engine room and watch the guys button down the top of the golden 350.
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"Funky Chunk", "Rocket Power", "The Lift"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons...

[@Hot80s]

love the olds v-8s 350-455 they have a unique sound

[@stevenallen6245]

Even the baby 307 olds have that sound 💪🏾💪🏾🤣

[@patrickcurram9763]

My second fav sound is 350-455 olds but my fav will always be the 340 from mopar

[@dragcarbuilder2075]

Nick you remind me of,myself and my father who I learned how to build engines and cars and now we build nothing but drag cars of course I stared by wiping off tools and handing them to him when I was 6 yrs old and at age 8 he had me out branding valves and tearing them down ill never forget my very first engine I built was a 426 wedge of course with my father standing over my shoulder and watching every thing I done and the second was a 455 stage 1 out of our 70 Buick GSX and a bunch of pontiacs but we were always Mopar men all of our lives and if you need any parts we have a bunch of Mopar drag race parts and original experimental Mopar wedge and Hemi parts!! Plus all 15-20 acres of mopars a fee 50' S. But mainly 60' S. And 70' S mopars I don't mind at all making a trip to Canada with a truck load or box truck depends on what you need I have a beautiful Canadian lady that I need to see anyways!! Lol anyways my dad is 75 and I am 50 now and we still love it like we did when we were young men!! You and your brothers remind me of myself and my father I just always catch your videos I hardly ever comment because I am usually busy building chassis ans engines and since my father only has 24% heart function he still loves to make horsepower and its a shame I was never blessed with any kids to pass on my knowledge like my father did for me I took what knowledge he gave me and self taught myself how to rig weld and to build chassis and we leaned certain secrets together and things we all know we find and only have each other I wish I had some young guys to pass it on to my dad worked for Petty enterprises and several engine builders back in the late 50' and early 60' S probably some guys you would know!! Hit me up if I can help you with any parts for wedge or old school Hemi and from Pontiac to Chevy big and small block a lot of it all but mostly mopars!! Take care and God bless you for putting out your videos for young kids to watch but nothing like hands on for young people to learn.but seeing videos are better than nothing at all!!

[@JoeHynes284]

love this guy, love Oldsmobile

[@livewire2759]

The Olds V8s are pretty damn good engines, especially when you consider that they were designed in the late '40s!

[@LionsTigersBears]

One of a kind sound and tons of torque

[@HotShotHaven]

I think 1.65 roller rockers would have gotten him there. This guy really knows his stuff tho👍🏽

[@christopherpoucher483]

Oldsmobile are by far my favorite

[@MitzvosGolem1]

unique sounding motors. Strong engine which gm converted to diesels in the 1970s In the early 1950s Olds was the fast car I think they used valve rotators for the first time.

[@RaymondHaley-bi8lx]

400:HP from a 350 V8 olds engine, that same engine came from the factory producing 385 HP with a 4bblcarburetorand dual exhaust, so would suggest achieving the goal of 400 lbs of torque, which it can achieve at under 2000RPM.

[@munchkinmodelingman72GAM2]

doing a binge watch of all of your shows......love the era of music you had playing.

[@chrisnizer1885]

Nice looking classic Olds engine. Hope it cranks out somewhere near 400 HP and gets it done with a Q-jet. Thanks for another great video Nick. Semper Fi!

[@chrisnizer8425]

phdfxwg Fischercat That's what originally came on that engine from the factory. Calibrated for that particular engine. For anything up to 800 cfm the Q-jet rules. That's why it's on there.

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Chris Nizer Q jet so good I build countless carbs. They were my favorite

[@f.mbarnabythelatest6068]

200cfm at .500 thats gonna be a torque monster

[@t.farris1755]

Man this guy is a beast when it comes to his knowledge and experience building classic cars with power. II thumbs up brother. Fantastic!!!

[@steveanderson5888]

I love you show Nick it's awesome!! Your KZbin show brings me back to a kid I love your show man! Just remember a body in motion stays in motion and you're doing a great job of it!! Go Mopar

[@livewire2759]

You mentioned that after decking the block, the intake didn't line up quite right, but no mention of what that does to a non-adjustable valve train. I know what it takes to get all that geometry corrected, it would have been really neat to see Nick explain it all.

[@sandyshoremann7524]

Needs different length pushrods and the intake requires machining on port facing and horizontal gasket surfaces. I haven't looked, but I'm sure there is a calculator for 90deg V engines on how much to mill off with any decking number so you don't have to do the Trig. Also a builder has to account for that Felpro vs. factory style stamped gasket compressed thickness--Sandy - Aging Hot Rodder from the East Coast.

[@livewire2759]

@@sandyshoremann7524 Like I said, I'm aware of what needs to be done to correct everything, I just thought it'd be interesting to see Nick actually demonstrate all of it in the video.

[@sandyshoremann7524]

@@livewire2759 I just saw him pull the intake off in a later video. The port matching was terrible. That intake was sitting about .050" aboverthe short turn radius. There is the 25 - 30 missing HP easy right there.- I dont know howthey missed that . Very basic stuff. Sandy

[@livewire2759]

@@sandyshoremann7524 I see... Yeah I watched this vid 3 years ago, so I don't remember any of it!

[@rodneyhopper22]

When you deck the block you have to also take in account for everything else your doing yo

[@albertconklin9173]

I love the old 350s and 455 had a few of them that were rebuilt.

[@rayplaag5665]

Your young apprentice Vasilis...Is a good man I see you tough him well..

[@thehoboman]

Awesome vid thanks for sharing.

[@916fanatic1]

Wow, your knowledge is incredible keep up the good work.

[@72troy455]

Should have converted to an adjustable valvetrain. Probably alot of preload on them lifters. Nice build.

[@mincraftdad12]

Creating Soft Cam Detecting Lifters. LOL I would give it a try first. But Adjustable Coming up :-)

[@72troy455]

+Sallie Gardiner About .500 lift seems to be the point where ya need adjustable valvetrain on these Olds engines. I've got away with just adjustable pushrods and a 540 lift cam in a 455. But them 5/16 bolts are pretty thin.

[@johnnyzonta5173]

Nice work, looking forward for dyno results............I love what you do, never see this type of shows on velocity, you should be on .

[@sosco22]

Vasile is so calm.

[@cutlassinwhite]

will b nice to see the dyno results, & then at the track !!!

[@davidpowell3347]

Looks like they were already lightening the bottom ends in 1970 (thin main saddle webs)

[@toddprifogle7381]

One day Vasili grandchildren will be watching these videos and ask in amazement , "Grandpa , you had hair growing from the TOP of your head not just out your ears and nose" ? Yes I know.

[@erikkroll2154]

If you milled or decked the heads and block, you fucked up bad. The valve train is not right unless you changed the pushrod length. Best thing to do is change to adjustable rockers anyway. Still need the right pushrod length. So many builders get this wrong, along with a bunch of other things with Olds engines.

[@Kelemen1]

Should have shaved that intake and went to a roller cam. Plus that eddy intake was made for tq not hp . personally I would have offset ground that crankshaft to stroke it just a bit. That block would have came to zero deck then with the offset crank negating the need to adjust and machine certain parts to make them fit and perform

[@jimmy_olds]

It’s not what you or Nick wanted, it’s what his customer wanted

[@bulldog1908]

Shave the bosses in the heads for srcew in studs add 1.6 rocker from comp not the full rollers they cost more, guide plates and you are there.

[@chrismc.4437]

Nick what was the cam specs you chose for this motor? Great build I wonder if a good set of roller rockers and a Performer RPM would've accomplished to get 400 h.p.?

[@craigbadder321]

If olds car,performance is perfect.would be the best.

[@GideonWallace]

Why not block off the exhaust crossovers?

[@roryvonbrutt7302]

GENIUS.....

[@oldsrktracer]

Probably could have made more power had he shimmed the rocker arm Assemblies and adjusted preload vs installing and going.

[@rodneyhopper22]

I'm a Olds motor builder and I'm still wondering why you haven't tried to put the four fifty five w30 Cam and head's on that three fifty Olds motor your testing I did it in my seventy one Oldsmobile four fourty two and I was really impressed with that trick I used a performer rpm intake and a seven fifty performer eldbrock carb and a wthirty Cam shaft

[@Fljeff7]

I like the RPM

[@jackdanielspittman3456]

Mr nick love your show CA you tell me how hard it would be to put a 1970 olds in a 1973 dodge dart sport please just trying to use what I have to drive my car ty

[@thehemiolds455]

I notice that the head gasket bore is over size that might lose some compression.those #8 heads not that great, #5 are great if can get them from ram rod 350 #6,#7 better👍

[@ronniereece8752]

hi nick would love to see you do a 455 with C heads that my dream engine

[@chrischiampo8106]

Nick what is that Assembly Lube you are using on the Valve Train it looked like Molybdenum Disulfide Wheel Bearing Grease 😎 What a Great Build love the 350 Rocket

[@nickpanaritis4122]

Chris Chiampo. No it is not wheel bearing grease. It is a Cam lube made by Crane Cams. It is used to break in the new camshaft during break in.

[@chrischiampo8106]

Nick Panaritis thanks Nick Love the Channel You guys do awesome Work 👨🏼‍🔧😎

[@rodneyhopper22]

Hey Nick I thought you said maximum power numbers and I'm pretty sure you ain't going to get there with factory three fifty head's on that one Nick your going anywhere with the factory small block heads

[@garymathews9534]

dose elderbrock make a airgap for this engine ? do you have a quad-jet carb for spread bore testing ? do you have the holley version of a spread bore for testing ? the holes at the bottom of the intake plenum are from an exhaust passage ,tap them ,plug them .

[@shehzad1967]

Nick you are awesome, I live in Pakistan and own 68 Camaro convertible and a 89 Camaro irocz 5.7 tpi, need some help and guidance on getting my iroc running smoothly.

[@lilythomson881]

Hi Nick, Lily's husband Eric here. With all of that shaving you did on the block, are you sure you didn't end up with too much lifter preload?

[@glennmanchester1568]

That is an excellent question that I hadn't thought of 25 thou is significant and would do just that so I'm curiois myself now lol

[@jimcatanzaro7808]

It would be awesome if someone can make a plastic intake that one is a boat anchor

[@7439norma]

Hey Nick I really enjoy your dyno videos. I am thinking about building a small block chevy 383 stroker could you tell me a good set up to get 450 HP out of it?Thanks for any help you can give.

[@lyndonbushnell8080]

non adjustable rockers the same as the holden 308 motors & also the holden 202 6cylinders

[@mr.r59]

would like to see old hemi vs new hemi

[@maidenlord6663]

I don't knew like hydro lifters they got to much float after the RPMs get so high. Flat is the way to go.

[@vhp454]

Maidenlord 666 first of all the olds 350 dont run over 6000 rpm so a solid lifter cam is useless, solid lifter cams are good over 6000 rpm to a limit but any roller cams are far superior!

[@johnbecay6887]

i would like to see the port work on the heads...

[@w41duvernay]

if Nick is worried about vacuum on a long duration cam, he could always use Rhoads or Crane variable lifters so he could go up to a hotter cam.

[@rodneyhopper22]

You can go up to a two eighty four duration Cam shaft not much more than that because you will have to deal with a vacuum booster on a power brake car

[@rodneyhopper22]

If you want to go higher than that your better off to have manual brakes trust me on that one I've been there once

[@rodneyhopper22]

Anything higher than that your going to have to plan for a different way to stop your vehicle people

[@paulbedford7260]

Guys, great work. Love your facilities. You lube most parts being assembled with what looks like engine oil? What did you use to lube the valve lifters before fitting to the block? Finally, did you use the original Olds' head bolts?

[@chrismc.4437]

They just use a little K-Y on the nuts before screwing them on.

[@mr.thebandit.2370]

I need a 1978 Buick 350 vin x rebuilt. Any ideas?

[@rodneyhopper22]

Hey if you're gonna build a rocket three fifty Olds motor first thing you do is get rid of the factory small block heads and put big block four fifty five head's on the three fifty Olds motor and add a performer rpm intake on it with the four fifty five w30 Cam installed

[@klaaspaas5823]

Does anyone know what pitons he used?

[@jeffrey4547]

i have a 68 442 350 rocket that is in a diesel 79 pu but i'm pulling it because it is tired never been broke in to from factory putting a 454 stroker so willing to trade for something don't need much hate small cubic inch motors have a few good one's but never cared for them the 389 and 455 are the good motors same block but built right

[@glennmanchester1568]

389 and 455 are the same block as all the Pontiac motors same same same all across the board

[@jeffrey4547]

@@glennmanchester1568 same block but different journals u can't make a 350 into a 455 same block but built different i guess u could but the cost is way to much and i have had a lot of pont.i got a 389 sitting in my 66 i go threw more cars in a year then most people will ever own and i have tried to build a 455 out of a different block it is not a good idea cost is way too much the 389 is ur best bet too build a 455 out of just because it is the same block doesn't mean there the same inside

[@ole-mariusbergesen7818]

How much does a rebuild like this cost?

[@chrismc.4437]

$14

[@timothythomas8024]

Hi nick, wanted to ask a question about the intake. Performer and the preformer rpm other then the higher rise in the rpm they have a cut out in the middle divider, do you think cutting that notch in the performer would've helped at all?

[@nickpanaritis4122]

Timothy Thomas. Sorry for the late reply. Good question. I guess if Edelbrock did not put that cut out in the divider had a reason. One way to find out is put a 5/16 carb gasket and try it and see any difference before any cutting. I should have tried that on my Dyno when testing this Olds Engine.

[@timothythomas8024]

@@nickpanaritis4122 appreciate you taking the time to reply. Keep up the good work.

[@richgonzalez7353]

Somewhat newbie here. I have the same engine. I am now at the valve train installation stage. My question... is there a specific cylinder order to bolting rocker arms down?Do the lifter need to be in a certain position? Any info helps. Thanks

[@glennmanchester1568]

No just bottom it out that's it it's non adjustable and not my favorite design for sure but unless the cross bar is broken or some other mechanical failure. They don't make any noise at all once they start to tho that's it it's over either bad cam or something disastrous is going on trust me ive. Pulled a lot of them apart and can't even count how many had to have a coat hanger shoved down the return holes but when they are in top form they are right there with all the others and far exceed a stock small block chevy in performance all day 68 thru about 73 cutlass supremes were a dime a dozen back in the day and sent tires to hell and back for fun lol w out even breaking a sweat

[@glennmanchester1568]

Walked all over a Pontiac 350 and Buick 350 motors that's why they were rockets

[@jimmywilkinson9190]

70 is the only year that used 30 degree intake angle watch out

[@johnmills837]

BS all 330-350-403 Olds use the same intake. Go back to school nub

[@DeliciousDeBlair]

I saw 2 holes in the bottom of the intake plenums [1 on each side] inside the intake passageways...where do those go and what purpose do they serve? Or are those just black dots and my eyes not good enough to know this any more?

[@nickpanaritis4122]

Delicious Deblair. Sorry for the late respond. I do not know exactly what it is for. I remember looking down in the plenum and seeing that. I believe it had to do something to do when casting the intake manifold.

[@johnmills837]

They are EGR ports. They let exhaust in to intake threw EGR valve mounted to side of carb.

[@nickpanaritis4122]

John Mills. Thanks , do not remember what it looked like down there inside, but you are correct.

[@luisortega1539]

How much so you can rebuild my motor like that one???

[@ratman396]

Nick, how do you feel about head studs instead of bolts?

[@nickpanaritis4122]

ratman396. I prefer head studs when the engine is turbo charged or super charged.

[@Hillside-Hotrods]

Why stock rockers, is there no aftermarket support?

[@DMR67442]

COMP CAMS AMONGST OTHERE MAKES A NICE ROLLER TIP THAT ARE ADJUSTIBLE

[@Hillside-Hotrods]

Why not use them, tips gave to be worth 5-10hp

[@Hillside-Hotrods]

Idiot there has been comments that's there is, the question is why not use them on this build. Think mcfly think

[@BuzzLOLOL]

Stock type rockers with roller tips are a mistake... they just add roller weight on the worst spot to add weight to a rocker... go with stock type non roller tip rockers in 1.6 or 1.7 ratio instead... port the heads... backcut the valves... radius the valves and seats...

[@nickpanaritis4122]

BuzzLOLOL. You are correct. We stayed with the original rockers which are 1.6 ratio and ported the heads, backcut the valves and kept it simple. Thanks for your input.

[@acemaster1001]

Is this a 9.5:1 motor or so? What cam? Has some lump too it

[@ruzterruzter]

Ace Speedy my 1970 olds 350 was 10 or 10.5 to 1 stock

[@nickpanaritis4122]

Ace Speedy. It has just over 10.0 compression ratio. Lumpy cam yes, specs, I do not have the file on hand to mention the cam specs, Sorry.

[@glennmanchester1568]

Gonna need 93 fuel at that ratio for sure or back the timing down to nothing even then it might still detonate

[@craigbadder321]

How much it cost for Nick's garage to rebuild 350 olds rocket for 400 horsepowers???????.

[@NicksGarage]

Give us a call at the shop for prices. Thanks. [phone]

[@rodneyhopper22]

About nine hundred dollars

[@rodneyhopper22]

It helps if you have some vintage parts also to work with I have a pair of the c casting head's and the four speed Cam installed in a rocket three fifty Olds motor now and it makes over four fifty horse power now and it makes Big block torque as well in the five hundred foot pounds of torque range easily

[@KevinJohnson-jm8if]

What kind of paint is on the block?

[@nickpanaritis4122]

K Johnson. Engine enamel, Oldsmobile Gold Color.

[@jordanwiley4582]

Generally it's called "oldsmobile gold" or something similar. Olds painted their rocket motors that color from the mid 60s to the early 70s before everything went GM blue or black.

[@johnmills837]

Deck the block. You fucked up using the factory push rods they are to long now.

[@nickpanaritis4122]

John Mills. Decked block, we did. Then we went with new stronger shorter pushrods.

[@marktownsend2009]

hey Nick I'm 54 been a rebuilder since 1973 I have never seen you port anything when I was building Motors I always ported out to my gaskets this is a norm in my day's are you just not telling people this for a reason or is still a trade secret?

[@glennmanchester1568]

He mentioned porting a bit but glossed over it fast my opinion is he's got that in his pocket for only few to see it's his own brew of porting that is more than likely a gem and wakes up the old monsters sleeping within

[@rodneyhopper22]

Hey Nick if you want to make real horse power try my suggestions for a change because to me what your pitching to your viewers is junk if you want to make real horse power put big block four fifty five head's on a small block Oldsmobile three fifty Olds motor and watch the difference and also add the performer rpm intake and the w30 Heads and then run the numbers buddy ha ha ha your such a joke Big man I know because I've already done it Nick

[@rodneyhopper22]

And I forget to tell you also to put the four fifty five water pump on it also it pays to be 🤓 enough to build a rocket 🚀 don't claim to know something about motors if you really don't know what you're talking about in the first place Nick I've gotten four hundred and fifty horse power out of my three fifty Olds motor hmmm 🤔 my my who's the genius now Nick your a joke 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@rodneyhopper22]

And if that's not enough horse power for you I've gotten a three fifty Olds diesel block I have been waiting to see what I can do with that trick by putting a big block four twenty five crankshaft in it and four fifty five w30 Cam and head's on that one Nick you want to try to top that one Nick

[@JohnDoe-ml8ru]

Block has been shaved way too much. Look at the angle of the pushrods. You also can't shave an olds block without using custom pushrods/rockers. Not good.

[@brianbirtcher431]

Those aluminum trunnions that hold the Rockers down are garbage. Competition cam makes much better ones

[@scotts439]

a 1970 with #8 heads???? theres your problem, those heads are 1973 and up, big chambers. Not best choice.

[@TDR-j8r]

It’s hard to tell but the heads are #6 which were ported and polished with bigger valves

[@davideast7627]

I bought a 69 Cutlass how do i tell if its 350 rocket motor

[@KJBPSkipper]

Those cheap olds rocker bridges won't last long under the extra power,cheap pot metal junk,customer should have had that upgraded.

[@wrotenwasp]

I've used those cheap aluminum fulcrums for about 14 years, spinning the engine up to 5800 rpms with a crane hydraulic flat tappet 222/230 @.050" in a 68 Olds 350. Performer RPM intake 650 DP., flat top .030" speed pro forged aluminum slugs #5 heads with the 1.875 intake/ 1.56 valves, mild head porting. I took each cylinder to TDC, tightened the rocker bolt until the pushrod was snug and measured the amount of distance with a feeler gauge between the bottom of the fulcrum and the head. I put the fulcrum in a vice and shaved off enough alumminum, measured with a caliper until I got the preload on each cylinder to .025-.045. 86 cutlass. WITh a 3000 stall and a 3.73, slicks, open headers it will run 12.70s on a good day. Over 500 passes on those stamped steel rockers and aluminum bridge straps, fulcrums, pivot arms or whatever you want to call them. NEver saw the need to run an adjustable valve train. Just measure the preload on each cylinder then file off enough aluminum on each fulcrum,measure, file some more until you get @.025-.060" of preload. At least that's what's worked for me. Could synthetic oil have helped ? who knows. 5800 rpms isnt that brutal either.

[@judahlion2067]

Great motor bad cooling I had two of them

[@davideast7627]

Can i put a 350 olds in a 1990 dodge truck

[@davideast7627]

Anybody no

[@glennmanchester1568]

That was not as much of an issue as returning the oil to the pan was for me just a little sludge and they would fill the valve covers and smoke like trains etc bad design on the return system a coat hanger and a few hours often cured it for. A good while anyway oil changes very critical but they never that I remember ran hot they ran like scalded cats I know that much the old cutlass w 14 inch tires were no match for the torque they had the fun days when it was the thing to do send tires to hell

[@glennmanchester1568]

If you are creative enough you can do anything. So if you want to do it I had a 400 Pontiac in a Chevy truck and that was a lot of fun to drive lol there was not a truck anywhere around that could keep up with it bet not even the big block chevy 454 camper specials they were too heavy and shifting was cumbersome. When they finally got it in gear I was gone already

[@scottpence5750]

Bull shit olds engines are known for poor coolin they all get hot when run hard had many

[@drakec.9327]

I had a 324ci, 394ci, 425ci, & 350ci, in a 40 yr, period, and there were many more in my family. None ever had cooling problems. If you didn't do proper maintenance that could lead to problems.