The air cleaner was removed so that we could see what was going on.
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Even the gunk caked on the engine couldn't disguise the antifreeze sitting on the intake manifold.
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The family dogs decided to see what was going on.
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The engine was unhooked from everything and prepared for removal.
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We pulled the engine and transmission together as a unit, as this was easier than trying to separate them in the car.
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The exhaust was rusted solid and had to be cut loose.
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One grimy engine and transmission.
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The transmission and engine were separated and the engine mounted on an engine stand. Now we can start to assess the overall condition.
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The inside of the valve covers were caked with 30+ years of engine buildup.
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The valve train was just as covered with sludge.
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The most troublesome point of the rebuild, the aluminium shaft of the distributor had seized to the cast iron block. After several weeks of soaking it still had not loosened up. We tried everything and nothing worked. Finally Kurt threw in the towel and hooked two 6' lengths of square stock steel to the wrenchs on the distributor for leverage. Either the seizing gave or we were breaking the distributor, but either way this was coming apart. Miraculously, the seizing gave and were able to finally remove the distributor and finish the teardown.
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The cleaned up parts were painted Oldsmobile blue, just as the originals had been.
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While we waited on the local machine shop for the rebuilt engine to return, we cleaned up the frame.
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The short block engine rebuild, back from the shop.
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The original rust covered exhaust manifolds were cleaned up and sprayed high heat cast iron.
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Kurt even took time to remove the dent from the front fender while the car was in the shop.
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The cleaned up frame and radiator support.
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The parts were lined up to put the engine back together.
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Engine lube was used generousely on the bearings during the reassembly. The owner choose the short block route to both save money and have the fun of the reassembly process.
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Extra lube was pushed out with the crank shaft.
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The reassembly took very little time actually. Then the ports were taped off and the engine sprayed Oldsmobile blue.
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One partially reassembled engine.
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Kurt spun the oil up to ensure good flow throughout the block prior to initial firing.
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Fully reassembled and ready to drop in.
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Yes, the blades of the far are offset. We assume Olds knew what they were doing with this design. Now to remove the carb and drop the engine into the car.
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The engine was first reattached to the 4 speed manual transmission.
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The owner choose to receive and realign the engine on the mounting blocks.
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Kurt and his helper guide the engine into the body, taking care not to scrap up the fresh paint.
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The engine was settled onto the mounting blocks, then bolted into place.
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Everything is tightened up to hold the engine and transmission in place.
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One freshly rebuilt and reinstalled engine. Now to rehook everything and start this new powerplant for the first time.
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After a long day of reassembly, the car roared to life again about 8pm. The owner is a bit camera shy so only Kurt took time to pose with the successfully rebuilt Olds.
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Everything rehooked and running.
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The following day the car was rolled out of the shop under its own power.
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The two mechanics took the car for a test drive around the block to check the newly running engine out.
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The engine had been rebuilt to stock specs, a 260 cu bore with 20 over bearings. With the rebuilt engine, this Olds resumed it's daily driver status.
Unfortunately, it still needed some tender loving car and developed other problems.
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