i recently purched a 83camaro with a 455ci oldsmobile motor in it and the cluster doesnt work. it is a dual needle cluster so i think it must be a v6 car is that correct? how do i make the cluster work again. the cable is hooked up to the tranny but i havent checked behind the cluster yet.
thanks in advance

 

Both V6 and V8 cars, 82-84, had the dual-needle speedo. Is the entire cluster non-functioning or just the speedo? If the latter and your car is/was equipped with cruise, you'll have a transducer between the trans and the cluster, IIRC. The problem could be with any of those three parts.

JamesC

 

what is IIRC? what digit in the vin code would tell me if this was a v6 or v8 car & what would a v8 digit be? also i beleve when i turn the key on the dummy lights came on but dont know if they work. the tach & seedo dont work on my car. i remember when i was driving every once in awhile i seen the seedo needle bounce just a bit but it wasnt very offen. hope this info helps

 

IIRC = If I remember correctly.

Eighth digit is the engine code:

1 = V6
7 = V8
H = V8
2 = 4 cyl
F = 4 cyl
S = V8

JamesC

 

OHHH LOL=laughing out loud haha i thought it was an abrevation for a sensor or something. thanks for the vin codes. ill have to check it out tomarrow.

 

From all the 455 olds motor's I'v seen, that looks to small to be a 455.

 

really?? how can u tell? the oil fill is in the front like it should be on a 455 olds. when i bought it i though it looked a little small to be a 455 also because of the valve covers but they are alot smaller than a 454

 

The valve covers are the same between an Olds 350 and a 455. The difference in the covers is that some are 5 bolt and some are 10 I believe but both are interchangeable. To tell the difference the easy way is to measure accross the intake from one side to the other. The 455 is wider. I am not sure as I haven't checked in a while on my boat but I believe the intake on an Olds 350 is about 13 inches wide. I will try to pull the cover and measure for you this evening.

 

did they pput he oil fill in the same location on both motors? my luck i have the 350 not the 455. i thought the damn thing looked alittle on the small side. good thing i only payed $1800 for the car lol

 

As for the speedometer it seems that the cable may be hooked up but be bad at the tranny or even a broken cable. Trace the cable into the car. If no transducer for cruise then take the cable off the transmission and look at gears closely. If good then check if the cable is broken. I have put a cordless drill on the end of one in the past but I am not sure if that one will stick out enough from the housing. If it does using the drill turn it on and the speedo should work. if not then probably a broken cable.

 

Yes the oil fill could be in the same location between them both. The 455 is just an overgrown 350.Except for the intake everything external looks the same. Even the distributor is the same between the two. I will try to get a couple of measurements for you from the known Olds 350 in my boat. It was supposed to be a 455 and I determined it to be a 350 by the intake width and exhaust manifold gaskets. The numbers on the block were of no use to me as no one here would check them for me at the time. Later I came in touch with the second owner and he told me about it being a 350. He also told me about the second set of motor mounting holes the boat has (for a 426 hemi).

 

i think i read something about the motors being stamped on the drivers side with 455 stamped on the block but havent looked yet. i will check it out when it warms up outside

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/inte...eedo-woes.html

JamesC

 

It might be stamped I never heard of that but never bothered about checking into it much. If it is indeed supposed to be cast or stamped into the block there please let me know. I did measure across my intake and it is 12 inches. About 12.5-13 between the inside edges of the valve covers. I also checked and some 350 heads were drilled for 5 bolt valve covers with the bosses there for the others and some like mine are drilled for all 10 bolts.

 

i just measured across my intake & it looks to be 14" across. does this confirm its a 455? if it is a 455 how do you determine its a "rocket"?

 

At 14 inches across it would sure seem to be a 455. I was told years ago that the 455 intake was about 2 inches wider than the 350 so that would sound right. Now I am having to guess but I believe that the Rocket designation is for the higher performance 350's and 455's. I do not know how to tell the differences there. Sorry.
If I am wrong and somebody knows about the R designation please chime in.
The only problem with the Olds 350 in my boat is that every couple of years I break a rocker arm bridge. Of course it gets run at wide open throttle a fair amount also, maybe that is why.

 

Have you managed to get the speedometer working yet? Or at least closer to determining the problem with it.

 

no i havent looked in 2it yet. thanks for your help now i need to figure out if this is a "rocket"