To Olds or not to Olds, that is the question

[tireburner163]

let me run it down for ya....

1974 Olds Omega(Nova body), 350 rocket, auto, factory air, 8 track, yellow, PERFECT interior, a few small rust spots on the bottom of the door and behind the rear wheels(dime sized, you can see the paint bubbleing), all orginal, BONE stock, 97K miles,factory 4bbl, orginal owner....she was my sunday school teacher, small oil leak somewhere in the front of the motor. It hasn't been driven regularly in about 10-15 years, just started every few months. I could pick it up for $2500 bucks.

Should I get it? I would mean forsaking getting a 5.0 for a while.

[Hethj7]

Sounds like a decent enough deal. Just know that whether you get it or your 5.0 soon, you will probably spend a good amount of time wrenching on either of them. Make sure you pick the one you want to spend time with.....don't want to lose you to an Oldsmobile site !

[srv1]

i had a 350 Rocket in my 75 Cutlass. man what a motor!!! i love my Olds blocks! basically bulletproof. its not a high reving machine as the 5.0's, but they had some mean low end torque! i rebuilt ang reworked my quadrajet, dual exhaust and a posi with some crappy gears. rebuilt the TH350 with a kit and performance clutches and a trick accumilator. i miss it BOP blocks are the best in my opinion. i am not much of a SB Chevy lover. the newer ones(LT1,LT4, LS1) yes, but not the older ones. i say get it or get the 5.0 u always wanted.

[The Deuce]

Josh,
Everytime I went shopping for a different car, I looked at v8 mustangs. I always found something that was a "good deal" on a "neat"(subject to dispute) car.

It took me seven and a half years, five cars, and three motorcycles, but now I am getting my Mustang. I think of all the times I passed on getting a mustang (actually passed up a '65 with a k-code for 4k because I missed what it really was) and wish I had bought one every time.

If you really want a 5.0, the Olds will never really do the trick. Yeah it is a cool car, but I guarantee you will spend time wishing you waited on that all elusive 302. Unless I have you totally misread.

Think long and hard about this. Do you really want your baby to be an Omega?

[PKRWUD]

Get the Olds. I got 521 hp out of a 403 without that much work. The cool thing about Olds engines is that most of the parts are interchangable (455 heads on your 350 if you wanted to). You can bolt on a set of heads with 2.07 intake valves, and 1.68 exhaust valves, with no mods. 2.10 & 1.71 are possible with minor mods.

Massive torque, too. If you like break-neck off the line power, and the ability to completely melt a brand new tire in one burn out, go Olds.

JMO.



Take care,
~Chris

[Mustangbelle306]

Originally posted by The Deuce
If you really want a 5.0, the Olds will never really do the trick. Yeah it is a cool car, but I guarantee you will spend time wishing you waited on that all elusive 302. Unless I have you totally misread.

Absolutely right. Buy whichever car you'd like, but I think if you go Olds, you might regret it in the future. Not to knock your taste either, but that year doesn't exactly have the same charm as a late 60s- ~72 Olds/Buick/Chevy whatever. I think the breed kinda died out in 73-74

THANKS TO STUPID EMISSIONS AND OIL PRICES!!!!

I think the Stang is a great, low cost, quick street car that will fulfill your need for speed on a reasonable budget.

[Mr 5 0]

Tough call.

The Olds 350 is a nice engine and very adaptable to performance enhancements but you're looking at a boxy, rust-prone '74 Olds with antique suspension.

Lot of work to make it do more than go fast in a straight line but it would be unique and most parts are readily available.

I restored a '71 Camaro and it was a long hard job. The mechanics are easy, it's the bodywork that gets difficult and expensive.

The temptation of having an old car that's quick, minted out and/or restored is strong and you may need to do this once just to get it out of your system.

I would still opt for a 5.0 Mustang. Not as rare but a lot less potential problems and easy to modify..

[Dark_5.0]

I would get the olds, There engines are awesome and as pkrwud mentioned they are very easy to mod. I have a 455 rocket sitting in the garage, just waiting for the right car to drop it in.
I also love the Nova's. You can fit huge tires on the back of a nova. Best of all they are pretty light.

although 5.0's are cool too,

Later,

[tireburner163]

Originally posted by Dark_5.0
I have a 455 rocket sitting in the garage, just waiting for the right car to drop it in.

Wanna sell it?

[Dark_5.0]

Originally posted by tireburner163


Wanna sell it?

My dad wants to drop it in a 51' ford truck ....Go figure

[tireburner163]

I'm still undecided on Olds......

Now to look into that 84 GT that Marty found me Black, orignal owner, t-tops, 5-speed, 50K miles.....hummmmmmmmmm

[6T9PONY]

When you first told me about the Omega I was all for you grabbing that and building that car. Now that I have thought about it a little more and found out about that '84 GT, in my humble opinion, I think you should stick with the Mustang.

Since the Omega hasn't been hardly driven for the past decade and a half much of the suspension will be shot. The bushings will be hardened and in very bad shape, and these are a PITA to replace, trust me. I've done it on two different 33 year old Mustangs, one of which sat for most of it's life.

You will spend too much time on the Omega turning it into a safe, driveable car on the street, and not enough time on customizing and modding it and making it track worthy in my opinion.

I also agree that sooner or later you will regret on jumping on that deal and not having your beloved 5.0!

Either way I hope it all works out great for you, man.

[Crazy Horse GT]

Originally posted by tireburner163
I'm still undecided on Olds......

Now to look into that 84 GT that Marty found me Black, orignal owner, t-tops, 5-speed, 50K miles.....hummmmmmmmmm

you better let me know fri, is coming. , oh yeah checked on the 90 gt, it's lowered, flows ,cowl hood , which got ripped off by wind resistance, lot's of extra gauges -5 speed, he may take less than 6 now that ths scoop got ripped off,sound's like a monster, i could take him though, heheh

[joe4speed]

Yeah go for the Stang,,, I had fun with my '79 Cutlass though, I miss it!!!

[srv1]

ROCK ON!! SWEET!

Joe, i had a 79. after my 75 rotted out, i put it into the 79. long story, but i miss that car too

BTW, NICE HUBCAPS!

[PKRWUD]

Back when the Olds powered Buick was pretty much stock:





Take care,
~Chris