'78 Olds Omega SX...lets see how this ends up..

[Darkrider]

I picked this car up in January after trading the Ranger i was driving for it. Pretty much all original and rough as hell lol. 305 under the hood with a 3 speed auto transmission. It remains to be seen what i end up doing engine wise since i do have a 400 with a rebuilt TH400 sitting in a donor vehicle at a friends place. But at the same time i am kind of tempted to keep the 305 in it and do some mild mods to wake it up. Keep the car as original as possible but rebuild the engine to L69 HO spec like they used in the Monte Carlo SS...

Anyways on to the pics!

These are from when i first got it in the middle of freeze the damn nuts off winter...

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Got some more pics yesterday when i was at the storage yard.

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[CSFJ]

Lol, a buddy of mine had a '77 or '78 when we were in high school. His had a chevy 350, with buckets and a center console. That thing took a beating, lol, it was known amongst our friends as the off road olds. I don't recall it getting stuck too often. Speed and inertia being the key.

 

[Old77]

Pretty cool lol

 

[HotRodPC]

My daughters mothers had a 73 with an Olds 350. Bucket seat and console shifter model with hatchback. I wish I had kept it. We scrapped it just before moving to OK from So Cali.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I like it. I think it'd be nice to wake up the 305. You could port the 416 heads, put a Comp 12-300-4 cam in it, put an Edelbrock 2101 intake on it, and call it a day on that one. It'd be pretty hot with something bigger, but I think it'd be respectable just with showing that 305 a little love.

 

[bucket]

I like this one

It's also nice to see the '75-'79 cars getting some love. For such a long time they were very unloved, but I keep seeing more and more nice ones on the road. Although they are usually a Nova. The other variants might have far fewer examples left.

 

[Darkrider]

Lol, a buddy of mine had a '77 or '78 when we were in high school. His had a chevy 350, with buckets and a center console. That thing took a beating, lol, it was known amongst our friends as the off road olds. I don't recall it getting stuck too often. Speed and inertia being the key.

Funny how old GM cars get used like dune buggies at times

Pretty cool lol

Heh...thanks for checking in on this one lol

My daughters mothers had a 73 with an Olds 350. Bucket seat and console shifter model with hatchback. I wish I had kept it. We scrapped it just before moving to OK from So Cali.

This is my second Omega. First one was a '73 S with a 350 Rocket...fun car

I like it. I think it'd be nice to wake up the 305. You could port the 416 heads, put a Comp 12-300-4 cam in it, put an Edelbrock 2101 intake on it, and call it a day on that one. It'd be pretty hot with something bigger, but I think it'd be respectable just with showing that 305 a little love.

Def some good ideas! I even know where i can grab a set of heads from the truck version of the L69...As far as i can tell the only major difference between the actual car one and the truck one is the cam being more oriented for torque in the trucks.

I like this one

It's also nice to see the '75-'79 cars getting some love. For such a long time they were very unloved, but I keep seeing more and more nice ones on the road. Although they are usually a Nova. The other variants might have far fewer examples left.

This is the first of the 4th gen Omegas i have ever seen.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Yeah, the 601's and the 416's are practically identical. I think I've seen people move from the 1.84/1.50 valves to 1.94/1.6. I haven't checked the market for aftermarket aluminum or cast iron heads that offer the same specs for potential cheaper than a port and polish. That cam I mentioned earlier is fairly mild but a worthy improvement over the factory HO cam and a massive improvement over the peanut cam. You could do something bigger, but that doesn't sound like what you're looking for. I forgot to mention exhaust and carburetor! You'd do well with a simple long tube setup with the mufflers of your choice. Catless if you can swing it but a high flow cat if you can't. If you have a DualJet 210 on there, I'd switch to a Quadrajet. If you already have one on there or an acceptable four barrel, that should work nicely.

 

[74 Shortbed]

It's also nice to see the '75-'79 cars getting some love.

Yes it is.

Here's mine.

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And the wife's car.

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[bucket]

Yes it is.

Here's mine.

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And the wife's car.

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Those are both very nice!

 

[74 Shortbed]

Those are both very nice!

Thank you sir..

 

[Darkrider]

Yeah, the 601's and the 416's are practically identical. I think I've seen people move from the 1.84/1.50 valves to 1.94/1.6. I haven't checked the market for aftermarket aluminum or cast iron heads that offer the same specs for potential cheaper than a port and polish. That cam I mentioned earlier is fairly mild but a worthy improvement over the factory HO cam and a massive improvement over the peanut cam. You could do something bigger, but that doesn't sound like what you're looking for. I forgot to mention exhaust and carburetor! You'd do well with a simple long tube setup with the mufflers of your choice. Catless if you can swing it but a high flow cat if you can't. If you have a DualJet 210 on there, I'd switch to a Quadrajet. If you already have one on there or an acceptable four barrel, that should work nicely.

I am assuming the 416s are what are on the engine now and the Truck HO heads would be the 601s? I would like a nice little street cruiser so you are on the right track in terms of Cam selection. It does have the 2JC or whatever the 2 bbl before the Dualjets were used is called. I do not have a carb for the 4 barrel upgrade yet so i can def look at the idea of running whatever really. I know i can get rebuilt 4 barrel Qjets for just under $400 as i looked into them for my '84 Chevy to replace the one on its 350 Olds. What i may end up doing is buying a reman for the truck and rebuilding its original to do the 4 barrel upgrade on the car. Unless of course i stumble upon a good rebuildable core for cheap somewhere and just buy another rebuild kit to build it for the car. I also plan on doing the rest of the drivetrain they used in the SS which would be adding a TH200R4 trans and regearing the diff to match what the SS would have had. A bit of irony in itself considering the SX model is the olds version of the Nova Rally from the same year. Plus the Rally itself is the Nova SS with a new name that they changed to in '76 if i remember right.

Yes it is.

Here's mine.

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And the wife's car.

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Nice Novas!

 

[74 Shortbed]

Nice Novas!

Thank you..

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I'm not sure unless that's a newer engine. The 601 head didn't come until 1979, and the 416 didn't until 1980. You'd have to double check the casting number and Google it to see if people do anything with it, and if not, you may be better off using your 601 heads you have access to. The 200-4R is a good transmission that'll be a nice addition to the car, and I'd suggest going the Quadrajet route. Once you have your specs figured out, you should contact Quadrajet Power on here and see if he thinks you need any internal upgrades on the carb to match the new engines specs. I don't think you'd need much if any but better check with a pro.

 

[CSFJ]

I gotta vote for the 400/400 combo from the donor car you mentioned. That thing would scream with that setup.