85T/A

Hey im am seriously thinkin about buying a road rocket 350 came out of a 72 olds.. whats the differnece between a road rocket and an sbc 350 ???i was wonderin if this is an easy swap i was told by the guy who has the block that it looks like a big motor compared to a smallblock 350 ... whats the deal??? i thought a gm 350 was a gm 350 .... does it have different heads intake .... i dont seem to know anything about this motor and its seriously bothering me... bottom line whats different about a roadrocket 350 compared to a small block chevy 350.... the guy wants 400 and its a fresh rebuild...

thirdgen88

Everything is different... Period.

85T/A

no offense...... but that doesnt help me much lol

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

It's a completely different engine. It's an oldsmobile 350, nothing at all like a Chevy 350. It's like comparing a Ford 351 Windsor to a chevy 350 - nothing - NOTHING is interchangeable. (ok, a few things, distributor, maybe, and carb. That's all). Only the actual displacement (350 cubic inches) is the same, nothing else.

And for the record, it's not a "road rocket". It's an oldsmobile Rocket 350. Not road. Road was never in there.

I wouldn't take it. It'd be a major pain in the rear to shoehorn in, all performance parts are rare, (harder to find and not many choices), expensive, etc. Pass.

Thestriped1

this is really a topic for the engine swap forum. They'd probably help more because someone on here might have done it. Try going to an olds forum too to see if you can get all of the parts for the engine if you really wanna put it in but parts are going to be harder to come by and much more expensive then sbc parts.

Merlin

For a LONG time, there was no such thing as a GM engine. Until about 1977, the different divisions each had their own engines. There was a Buick 350, a Chevy 350, an Olds 350, and a Pontiac 350, and they were completely different. Cadillac had their own engines, but didn't bother making a 350. Even GMC had their own engines in some vehicles. Back then, Saturn was either a planet, or a really tall rocket, and the only Hummer you could get wasn't a truck.

joecautela

iTrader: (1)

What Merlin says is pretty much right on. The sbc, pontiac and olds all differed in their own way. Pontiacs normally were low revving, had power but low revving, stretch'em just a little and something was gonna break. At the end of the '60s going into the '70s everyone was after the 389 tri-powers. Some had the 326OHC straight six that was pretty wicked too. Chevy was real Hot with the 327,350 motors. There was always the war between BB and SB guys. And believe it or not a 350sbc Chevelle would shame the BB in 90% of driving evnts. Only a well prepared 365hp 396 would take a 350. The Olds motors we're the sleepers, tucked into everything from a cutlass "S" to a w36 special order. The Pontiac and the Olds heads and manifolds we're different from everything else(chev). Back then there was the wide wedge design with HUGE intake manifolds and all kinds of funky exhaust manifolds. Water pumps and such differed widely. Don't get me wrong now, the Rocket 350 is just that, but you'll have to have a good Turbo 350 behind it to lay it down right. I may have some old mags around If you need, Joe

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

The last year of the Pontiac 389 was either 64 or 65. I never had a 65, but I did have 59, 63, and 64 Pontiacs with that motor.

The 326 was a V8. It was a pitiful slug. It went away in about 67 or 68. I had a 66 LeMans with that; I hated it.

The OHC 6-cyl was available only in the Firbeird for a couple of years in the late 60s. It was pretty hot, for a 6-cyl; which is about like saying that one of these cars is fast, considering it has a carbed 2.8.

The part about all the GM divisions having their own motors is correct. They were all COMPLETELY different (why is this concept so hard to wrap your brain around? It's real simple: what's different, is EVERYTHING) with NO PART WHATSOEVER interchangeable. The Chevy engines had one bell housing bolt pattern, BOP had a different one. The only things that interchange are the distributor innards, some of the spark plugs, some of the starters, and the thermostat. Maybe some bolts; intake bolts and such. Apart from that, EVERY PIECE is different.

This whole "rocket" crap about the Olds is hilarious. Olds' logo starting in the late 50s, I think it was about 58 they went to that, was this rocket looking thing. Their whole marketing campaign was based on their modern styling and all that, how aerodynamic and so forth their cars looked (check out a 59 Olds). They even put the word on the valve covers. But that's ALL IT EVER WAS, was marketing and ad campaigns. Nobody in the real world used the word; that is, racers didn't say "yeah this here Delta 88 is fast, has a 'Rocket 400' in it". Olds dropped the whole "rocket" marketing thrust when the moon program got going really good and rockets became commonplace and no longer exotic. The last "rocket" commercial I can recall seeing for an Olds was in about 64. The entire term would have been forgotten and relegated to the dustbin of marketing history if GM had not released blocks for Pro Stock and NASCAR in the 80s that had the Olds head bolt pattern but used Chevy internals, to satisfy those sanctioning bodies' requirement that the engine block casting "match" the body on the chassis, and called them "rocket blocks". Now all of a sudden, every old POS Olds motor is a "rocket" whatever. Kids these days....

The Olds 350 was the gas-mileage member of their lineup. The 400 and 455 were the high-power motors. Most, or maybe even ALL, Olds 350s were 2-barrels, from the time it was introduced in about 69 up until the point in the emissions era around 78 or so when the 2-barrels could no longer meet the specs, and they started putting Q-Jets on all the V8s (and the "Dual Jet", which is the front half of a Q-Jet, on the smaller motors). But by then, the Olds 350 was largely history anyway; it was replaced by the mighty "Rocket 307".

The "Rocket 350" is a joke. It's not any kind of a "rocket", except to the extent that an ad campaign said so. It's slow and heavy. But since it's the same block as a 455 except in a short-deck version, it's got alot of metal to it, and tends to last a long time. But it has other stupid features that keep it from being "reliable", notably those crappy "bridge" things that align the rockers. Those break alot, and ALOT of Olds cars have been junked for that, because when one of those breaks, it makes one cyl a dead miss and produces an EXTREMELY loud banging noise.

If you're going to put an Olds motor in some car that didn't come wrapped around it originally, use a 455. And NOT a "Rocket 455" out of Grandpa's 74 Delta 88, either; that's just another 70s smogger turd. A BIG one, but a smogger turd just the same.

Hopefully someday the "rocket" ad campaign will fade back into history again, and every single Olds motor won't somehow be considered a "rocket".

$˘'s 5th Gen

Hello everybody, new here on 3rd gen.
I know this thread is very old now but what the heck.
Sounds like you know your stuff on the history of the Rocket. I drove a 72 olds gutlass that had a rocket 350 and for it being as heavy as it was of a car, it moved down the road pretty quickly. I had had a 12 sec 68 camaro so i'm not saying this because I haven't driving anything faster. It would keep up with a late 80's rustang GT and it was 15 years older with 130k + miles.
I was under the impression that it got the name "Rocket" because the way it was alligned under the hood. It was leaning back slightly so the trans to driveshaft were in a straight line to the differential. Has enybody else heard this?

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

Before the late 90's, and the Oldsmobile logo change, their previous (and normal) logo was that sorta peace symbol thing. I believe that was the "rocket". I've certainly never heard of it being related to driveline angle, thats new to me.

chesterfield

While we're on the subject....The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has recognized and awarded the following song as the first rock and roll song ever recorded.

1951

My Rocket 88
by Ike Turner and recorded by Jackie Brenston

You may have heard of jalopies,
You heard the noise they make,
Let me introduce you to my Rocket '88.
Yes it's great, just won't wait,
Everybody likes my Rocket '88.
Gals will ride in style,
Movin' all along.

V-8 motor and this modern design,
My convertible top and the gals don't mind
Sportin' with me, ridin' all around town for joy.
Blow your horn, Rocket, blow your horn

Step in my Rocket and-don't be late,
We're pullin' out about a half-past-eight.
Goin' on the corner and havin' some fun,
Takin' my Rocket on a long, hot run.
Ooh, goin' out,
Oozin' and cruisin' and havin' fun

Now that you've ridden in my Rocket '88,
I'll be around every night about eight.
You know it's great, don't be late,
Everybody likes my Rocket '88.
Gals will ride in style,
Movin' all along.

KeithNY77

The biggest difference between the two is finding the parts & the price for parts for the olds 350. Most aftermarket companies cater to chevy & ford guys. The one good thing about the olds 350 is the nickel content it the blocks, its probably one of the hardest blocks out there. Thats why they only have a 2 bolt main unlike the chevy which has a 4 bolt main, but thats still 4 bolts in a softer metal (MUSH). If you want any real H.P. out of the olds 350 get the best porting job you can afford & a non restrictive exhaust.

73olds442

i have a 73 olds 442 and it has a 72 rocket 350 in it
the diffrences between a chevy and a olds is that olds blocks are wider and produce more torque than chevy
a part market does exist for 350 olds motors and the price is no more than chevy parts you just have to know where to look
edelbrock has edelbrock performer and peformer rpm intake manifolds
flowtech hooker and a few more companies have headers msd accel etc has ignition products yearone has forged aluminum pistons and rods
edelbrock has cams and cranks
everypart on the heads is available through edelbrock comp cams etc
pretty much the only hard to find parts for olds is the actual cylinder heads but all gaskets pushrods rocker arms etc are available
like i said before the part prices are the same and an olds build will produce more torque and horsepower than a chevy
if your going to spray olds is a good idea becuase of the block strength
need any more info let me know i have plenty because i have a 72 block
of course mine isn't a 350 anymore i bored and stroked to 10:1 with forged aluminum internals

ljnowell

I would agree with most of the above. I used to be an olds guy before I saw the light. A well built 455 would really go. I disagree with one point though, the 350 olds really wasnt replaced by the 307. There was the 260 in there for a little while. My 78 cutlass had one, and boy was it a dog. It sounded good though, and looked 2x the size of a sbc. But it was a dog. The 307 really was an improvement.

73olds442: There is so much wrong in your post. The parts are no where near the price, if you think they are, then I challenge you to find me a price on a set of aluminum olds racing heads at 795 dollars, fully assembled. YOu wont. They wont make tons of torque, anymore than a chevy engine built for tons of torque will. And it wont be done for the same amount of money. One of the things that used to make me laugh were the guys with the 403s, that would brag about how bad thier cars were, till they ran 15 sec quarters. Really, the only engine that would make it worth it to do all the work for a swap would be a 455, and then, you would spend a fortune on go fast parts for it.

73olds442

as far as cylinder heads goes i said it in my post those are hard to find the best option is to get the stocks worked and rebuild them with all peformance parts

Ward

iTrader: (1)

The olds motors are physically larger than a SBC, almost the size of a BBC. It would probably be hard to make it fit, the distributor is already pretty close to the firewall.

BadAz_Iroc

Let me say this, i had two 350 rockets, and they run like a bat out'a hell I had one in a 79 cutlass and one in a 82 regal, and they fit right in, in matter of fact before the regal had a 350 rocket in it i had a 455 bigblock in it, and even though the cutlass never bet the regal it kept up pretty good, so if you want a strong 350 i say get it but only if you going to run carburator i dont think TPI woild fit. and thats my , i love the rocket 350.

Rok_Stars_Bars

My 1987 Camaro with a SBO 307 run strong. I have a 403 that might to going into in the next year. See what happen with my cutlass first.

ur7x

iTrader: (2)

Oh where to begin... Most of this post is made up bunk:

Ok lets set things straight here. The Olds Rocket was the first mass produced OHV High compression V8 at GM. Production started in 1949. Olds first called it "Kettering Power" after the engineer who designed it... GM didn't like that and Olds changed its name to the "Rocket". Recognized as one of the best names ever for a motor... Olds took this great engine and designed cars with "rocket" bits all over them... NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND... And The marketing of the Olds Rocket continued well into the late 70's (they landed on the moon first in 1969... it was in all the papers).. All 455's were "rockets" and they used in passenger cars until 1976... Everyone Called them Rockets. You might not have seen any ads, but every Olds V8 Aircleaner until 1974 had a big decal on it that said "Oldsmobile XXX Rocket". Some were called Super Rockets, or Toronado Rockets...

This is all wrong too. Lots of Olds 350's came with Quadrajets... While I know they exist, I have never seen a 2bbl Olds 350 You forget these came in GM's upscale brand... most of these cars came with lots of heavy options PB, A/C etc... dealers would encourage the 4bbls on these cars. The Olds 350 was used until 1980 and it was first used in 1968.. you got that wrong too.

Google "Ram Rod" or "Olds W31" ya, these were "milage" motors.

You also miss the point that this "joke" of a motor was so popular that GM found it in short supply in the mid 70's and they were unable to make enough of them. They made the mistake of installing Chevy SB's in to Oldsmobile cars... They got sued.. BIG TIME.... and they lost BIG TIME... under estimating the image of this motor cost GM millions. And while I'm correcting your numerous errors... a iron headed Small block chevy 350 weighs 575lbs, and Olds 350 weighs 560lbs, had better rods, and a larger bore...

Sorry every Olds motor from 1949-1990 is considered a rocket... even the POS 260... And all 455's block are basically the same. Cheap forged pistons + Aluminum heads and you will make ~600 ft lbs... The 455's make TORQUE..

The Olds 350s... Forged flat tops, port, polish the heads and you can easily make horsepower on par with a stock iron headed Chevy 350...(ok not the vortec)

The only real problem with Olds motors is a lack of performance parts... But this challenge yields some of the fun... You can't just buy a set of AFR heads; you have to make the stock stuff work since there are no other options...

Would I put one in my third Gen? No...
Would I swap out an Olds 350 for a Chevy motor? No...
BTW GM did put Olds motors in 2nd Gens

firebirdland

rok_stars_bars, what did you use for motor mounts?