ok some body help me out here please. About a month ago I bought and 89 rs. Nobody can tell me much about the motor that's in it though. Other than it's a mid 70's Olds or Pontiac V8 and it has a Turbo 400 tranny.
It has a carb on it. Any way I can tell, because they say the numbers have been worn down too much to tell.

 

First off...

I really doubt its an olds or Poncho Motor. As far as the numbers being worn down to much to tell, thats prolly BS as well.


One of these clowns can post a pic of a SBC, 99% thats what you have




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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver

Just another Hot Rod kid, or thats what they all tell me.
Livin' the Stereotype

 

ok cool
only reason i thought that it was an olds or pontiac is because i had two people tell me that, but i don't put much faith in the two that told me. one f****d up my tranny really well and i don't have reverse now for some reason......
but mainly, i was tryin to figure out what size it is? any idea on how to tell?

 

without any picture or numbers from it, what are we supposed to wave a magical wand and guess? if you can't figure it out by looking at it, hard to explain what to look for. maybe some casting numbers or a picture.

 

well wave your magic wand and kiss my a$$
I didn't ask for a smart a$$ comment..If you don't know anything about the question, don't hit the magical reply button. People who know about the subject, know certain features of engines.DUMB A$$

 

lol, Calm down boys and girls.


okay, first off Does it have an Air Gap style intake ?


What Side is the Fuel pump on ?


duh... Is it big ? hahaha

trying to think of defining charactoristics of these motors, haha


Poncho and olds motors really look Nothing like a SBC. Does it have the stock intake ? What Firing order is cast into the intake ?


Do the heads have a little "shelf" that the Spark plugs sit ontop of, sorta.

I dunno, I cant explain this **** ahhaa


Does the Valve Cover cover pretty much the entire head, Or do the exhuast ports protrude a ways before the manifolds ?




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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver

Just another Hot Rod kid, or thats what they all tell me.
Livin' the Stereotype

 

sorry for gettin so wild, but that's why i left the last board was smart A$$es hehe...Anyways, it's a pretty big motor, it's sits lower than other motors i've seen and the carb still almost touches the hood. the crank pulley is about a quarter an inch from the middle of the fan and the fan is set tilted to clear the crank pulley. umm the vavle covers cover pretty much everything they're supposed to i think. there isn't much room left in the engine bay...
this is my first carbeurated vehicle so i'm not totally sure on everything, i just have decent car knowledge. I have a 1995 6 camaro moderately modded. i'm just lookin to make this one pretty fast.
btw sorry to whoever i got pissy with, i didn't even look at the name.

 

i do know about the engines, problem is you didn't describe a damn thing such as valve cover bolt numbers, no casting numbers, description of water pump, distributor location, bolt pattern on the trans, etc. without description, the magic wand will stay brown in your own *** .

 

well the distributor is behind the motor
pretty sure it's an HEI... has four bolts along the bottom of the vavle covers. water pump i don't know much about but it looks like a long one to me.
just lookin for some help

 

Man he's just trying to get info on his engine not your girl! Ask questions without being a jerk not everyone is as smart as you.

Uno is there anything more you can tell us.

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'87 Trans Am:
(Engine)
305 TPI
180 Degree Thermostat
JET Fan Switch
TB Bypass
Accel 300+ 8.8 Racing Wires
Accel Super Coil
Bosch Platinium Plugs
Custom Ram Air with K&N
Removed Emissions Equipment & Cat.
(Stereo)
Full Kenwood Excelon System

 

not too much else...it has a slanted thermostat housing like the ones for pontiac's..it's not straight up and it's not straight out....the alternator is on the driver's side, but looks like it used to be on the passengers side. and now it's a serpentine driven instead of v-belt..umm the motor just looks a little big
...the dipstick is on the driver's side..and it has power steering looks like not added on but like it came that way....the engine must be really heavy cause my car is almost touchin the ground, and the guy i bought it from said the first thing he'd do is change the suspension because the motor had it weighed down....sorry guys i know it's not much help..just trying to think of everything i can about the motor.

 

First off to zippy, if you're going to be such a **** then find another board. If you can't say something nice then shut your hole. Now to uno olds motors will have 5 bolts holding down each valve cover, Pontiacs have four like a chevy but the covers themselves are shorter and and wider. Also on pontiac heads the exhaust ports almost point straight down towards the ground. The pontiac hes a pan that seals the lifter valley and the intake has a gap between thermostat housing and the rest of the intake. olds motors have a regular intake manifold like a chevy. As for engine sizes? Well you'll probably have to check the casting numbers to find that info.

 

i'll answer as i feel i'd like to. you weren't even able to answer his question so i don't see how you have room to talk. my point was made in that with almost no info he wanted it identified. big block chevy has 4 bolts along the bottom of the valve cover and 3 at the top. also has a similar water pump to a small block chevy. also on a big block chevy seeming to match is the distributor being in the back of the engine along with the very heavy part. if it has a stock intake on it, can you get a number off it? the exhaust manifolds/header, whichever it has, are they all seperated ports or are the two center ports siamesed?

 

ok cool
kinda gettin some answers now.....where would i look for the numbers zippy??
and if it matters i looked today and the fuel pump is on the drivers side.
btw no hard feelings zippy

 

my numbers are on the drivers side rear where the tranny connects to the motor. but thats on my sbc 400 dont know if all chevys are the same? (they proably are everthing else is. the joys of chevy)

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1988 Camaro RS T-Tops white. Was 2.8 now a mean 406 sbc
(mods)
750 Edelbrock carb
Performer RPM intake
Comp cams Magnum @.50 230-230 lift 480-480
Flowtech 1 3/4 headders with glasspacks for true duals and thats it for now
E.T. 1/4=?
will post when race season starts
2 10' Kicker comps
Kicker 500w amp
Pioneer head unit
2 Jensen 3-way 6x9

along the road
perfomer RPM heads?
NOS
pistons, rods
roller rockers
4.10 rear with posi
91-92 ground effects

 

This might be hard but could you take a picture? One hour photo develop and scan it or use a digital camera. That would be fastest way of getting the answer.
Are the exhaust ports evenly spaced out or are the center ones together?
What is the valve cover bolt pattern?
By anychance is the brand on the valve covers , sorry, I had to ask, kind of like "did you check to make sure it's plugged in?"
The intake bolt patterns were all the same so don't even bother looking at them.
The Olds Big Block was their small block design with a 1" taller deck for the 455 crank.
If you could get the head casting numbers that would be a BIG help. If you can't read some of the letters just give us a _ (ex. 6581_9_23). Any numbers and the description of where you found them would help.


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, Jon (350 TBI! it's trenuous and efficacious while getting 23mpg highway with off the shelf eprom)
91 Red RS w/grey int, sq stereo (Alpine v12, kicker solo, MB quart premium etc)AIM: JPrevost

• Holley 670 TB unit w/ 1/2" spacer/adapter
• Edelbrock RPM vortec intake
• 350ho 330hp vortec crate motor
• 8" harm. balancer
• Stewart stage 2 water pump w/160 thermo
• SLP tri-y headers to full 3"
• Rebuilt trans w/ SLP shift kit
• Centerline 16x8's all around
• 36/24 mm sway bars
• Full poly bushings, even motor mounts
• SLP LCA and panhard
• Alston SFCs
• Edelbrock 3 point STB
• Global west steering brace aka wonderbar
• Eibach pro kit springs
• Bilstien high perf. struts and shocks
• All this and I still have AC

My websiteAny questions?

 

the manifolds are siamesed...actually the engine isn't as big as i thought....and i was replacing my thermostat today and was gonna replace the housing, but it has a weird housing...it house and inlet and and outlet goin to the water pump..and the vavle covers have four bolts on the bottom and two on the top
any ideas???

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1989 RS with some kinda V8 Motor
400 tranny
Just underway..

1995 Red T-Top Camaro
3.73 Gear
Flomaster Cat Back
Accel 8.8 Wires
Bosch Platinum Plugs
K&N F.I.P.K.
Killer Cerwin Vega Sound System
Sony Xplode Head Unit

[This message has been edited by uno (edited April 20, 2001).]

 

First question we need to answer here: is this a V8? Is the trans in fact a 400?

OK... distributor is in the back, so it isn't a Buick motor... 4 bolts along the bottom of the VCs, so it isn't a Pontiac or Chevy motor, unless it's a big block.... only thing left is an Olds. I'd bet it's an Olds 307 or 350. Alot of both Olds and Buick motors have a heater hose going to the water outlet.

If it's a big block Chevy it will have a water pump that looks like a small block, kind of stood off on legs as it were, except bigger. If it's any other brand of GM motor, the water pump will be flat and will cover the front of the timing cover.

A Turbo 400 pan looks kind of like an oven mitt or Illinois. A 350 pan is square, as are the 700 and 200. The 200-4R has a pan that's in 2 parts with a squeezed place in the middle, like a peanut or New Jersey.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

[This message has been edited by RB83L69 (edited April 20, 2001).]

 

yep defiantely a V8 and definately a 400 i just replaced the torque convertor.....

 

wait
After just now runnin outside and looking
There are 3 bolts on the bottom of the vavle covers and 2 on top......i thought there was another one back behind something but it wasn't

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1989 RS with some kinda V8 Motor
400 tranny
Just underway..

1995 Red T-Top Camaro
3.73 Gear
Flomaster Cat Back
Accel 8.8 Wires
Bosch Platinum Plugs
K&N F.I.P.K.
Killer Cerwin Vega Sound System
Sony Xplode Head Unit

 

What shape are the VCs... low and flat, maybe 7-8" wide; or tall and pointed, 4½-5" wide? What does the water pump look like?

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

well they go up into kind of a point and i'd say maybe 5-6 inches wide. And the water pump looks kinda odd, it covers all sorts of stuff...i don't think it's a chevy....

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1989 RS with some kinda V8 Motor
400 tranny
Just underway..

1995 Red T-Top Camaro
3.73 Gear
Flomaster Cat Back
Accel 8.8 Wires
Bosch Platinum Plugs
K&N F.I.P.K.
Killer Cerwin Vega Sound System
Sony Xplode Head Unit

 

It's an Olds.

I'm not sure how to tell if it's the short deck version (307/350/403) or the tall deck 400/455. They are essentially the same except for the deck height.

Powerglide, 350, & 400 converters all interchange... how do you know it's a 400? What shape is the pan?

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

[This message has been edited by RB83L69 (edited April 21, 2001).]

 

because it's a 14 inch torque convertor and the tranny shop said so... it has a weird pan bolted to it, tranny guy says looks like a dodge tranny pan...LOL guess the didn't have an Illinois shaped one...
Thanx everybody for the help...at least i can start with the make of the motor....Later guys

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1989 RS with some kinda V8 Motor
400 tranny
Just underway..

1995 Red T-Top Camaro
3.73 Gear
Flomaster Cat Back
Accel 8.8 Wires
Bosch Platinum Plugs
K&N F.I.P.K.
Killer Cerwin Vega Sound System
Sony Xplode Head Unit