New Project Car

[sschutze]

I had ordered a Deluxe Frame kit and standard disc brake kit from Speedway Motors, then found out not all the parts in the picture came with frame. I was a disappointed (to say the least) and cancelled the order. There are plenty of T-Buckets available in this area, but most were out of my price range. Luckily I found one about an hour North of here that was not in bad shape. It needs work, but it is drivable.

Here's what I have:
1923 T-Bucket with a 20" pickup box, it's registered as a 1968 "Assembled" car.
'57 or '58 Oldsmobile J2 (350) "Rocket" engine with a factory tri-carb (Rochester 6 pak) setup, and manual 3 sp transmission.
Ford 9" rear axle, front disc and rear drum brakes.
10 gal fuel tank and battery mounted in the pickup box. Electric fuel pump and (hidden) battery shut off.
Traditional front and rear single leaf spring setup (very rough ride).

My Plans:
Remount the steering column thru the firewall and replace the existing steering box.
Maybe remove a few leafs from the front end to soften the ride, replace the rear leaf with a coil-over setup.
Try to lower the stance a bit, but I'll have to change the steering first. The steering arm is the lowest point on the car right now, not much clearance as it is set up currently.
Black paint on the body.
It currently has no interior.

The steering wheel was the FIRST thing to go, my hands were numb after driving an hour when I picked the car up.

There is more (obviously), but that will get me started.
I'll post pics on the website (see the link in my signature) when I get some time, but here is what I have so far.

 

[VegasBruce]

Cool project car :hoist: I've always been under the impression that vehicles have to earn there names :face:

 

[Northstar T]

Cool project car :hoist: I've always been under the impression that vehicles have to earn there names :hoist:

I agree. cool car (I love "different"). has the correct number of pedals also!! the name has to come on it's own. they tell you what it is in their own time. :face:

Russ

 

[deckofficer]

Don't lose that J2 engine, they are rare and desirable. The Golden Rocket J2 was only produced for 2 years and finding one with 3 working 2 barrels was quite a find on your part. You run on the middle 2 barrel and vacuum will operate the other 2 barrels. With as light as your car is, you may not be able to get the other carbs to get in. Your engine has some very tasty numbers with 312 hp (233 kW) @ 4600 rpm and 415 lb·ft (563 N·m) @ 2800 rpm. That amount of torque at such a low rpm was cutting edge for the late 50's and in your light car has to be a real hoot to drive. Tell us about your first driving impressions.

Good luck, Great find,

Bob

 

[deckofficer]

I think (not sure on this one) your bore is 4.0 in (100 mm) (same as the 327 and 350 Chevys) and stroke was increased to 3.6875 in (93.66 mm) for 371 cubic inches. Stroking gives more torque at a lower rpm. But like I said, I'm not sure on this for your engine and you could be right that it is 350 cid, but it might be 371 cid.

Bob

 

[Northstar T]

I think (not sure on this one) your bore is 4.0 in (100 mm) (same as the 327 and 350 Chevys) and stroke was increased to 3.6875 in (93.66 mm) for 371 cubic inches. Stroking gives more torque at a lower rpm. But like I said, I'm not sure on this for your engine and you could be right that it is 350 cid, but it might be 371 cid.

Bob

Bob is correct. the j2 was 371ci. also of interest was that the outer two carb are not progressive linkage, but were rather open or closed, and controled by a vacume can.

Russ

 

[Youngster]

Bob and Russ are correct on their info. The only thing I can add is that the compression ratio was 10:1. I don't believe the tri-power from a J2 will bolt on a 350 block. Finding one with a 3-speed is very rare. Is it an Olds 3-speed or a Chevy? Which side is the starter on? The Olds was on the drivers side. To use a Chevy trans you had to buy an adapter to move the starter over to the passenger side, same as the Caddy to Chevy swap. Trans adapt must have made a fortune on those adapters. In the mid '50's the Olds and Caddy engines where the most affordable ohv's. The best of the 2 being a Caddy with 2-4's. In '57 when Olds brought out the tri-power, lots of Rochester 4 barrels went on the shelf in favor of the tri-power set-up. This set-up would bolt right on the 303 and 324's too! You could get a new one from Olds for around $300 with carbs ready to runout of the box. Most guys didn't like the vacumn operated front and rear carbs and switched to progressive linkage. In stock form they would bog at full throttle on the line as the other 2 carbs kicked in. AWESOME motor!!!!!!!

Ron

 

[sschutze]

Don't lose that J2 engine, they are rare and desirable. The Golden Rocket J2 was only produced for 2 years and finding one with 3 working 2 barrels was quite a find on your part. You run on the middle 2 barrel and vacuum will operate the other 2 barrels. With as light as your car is, you may not be able to get the other carbs to get in. Your engine has some very tasty numbers with 312 hp (233 kW) @ 4600 rpm and 415 lb·ft (563 N·m) @ 2800 rpm. That amount of torque at such a low rpm was cutting edge for the late 50's and in your light car has to be a real hoot to drive. Tell us about your first driving impressions.

Good luck, Great find,

Bob

I have no intentions of giving up that motor. I did some research on it before I bought it and know that it is very rare. The 2 outer carbs ran on vaccume from the windshield wiper pump originally, but it was converted to mechanical link system on this car. It has 3 Rochester carbs, I don't know if they are original or not (the center carb has an electric choke) but I'm fairly certain the rest of the engine is original. The previous owner claims it is a 350ci, but today I confirmed this is a 371 ci J2 by the casting number (568929) on the rear of the block where the trans bell housing bolts on.

I drove it home from Portland to Salem (about 45 miles). Being an unfirmiliar car I took it easy for the first few miles. It tracked nice, no front end wobble, and drove fairly straight considering. The farther I drove it the more comfortable I was, and before I knew it I was doing 65 mph on the freeway with no problems. I have gotten on the throttle a few times now (because...why not) and am very happy with the performance. There is some tuning to do to get it running better, but I'm not firmiliar with this and it will take some time.

Can't post any more pics, have used up my quota. I'll be posting pics on the website this weekend.

You'd hate me if you knew what I paid for this car. It was quite a deal.

 

[sschutze]

Bob and Russ are correct on their info. The only thing I can add is that the compression ratio was 10:1. I don't believe the tri-power from a J2 will bolt on a 350 block. Finding one with a 3-speed is very rare. Is it an Olds 3-speed or a Chevy? Which side is the starter on? The Olds was on the drivers side. To use a Chevy trans you had to buy an adapter to move the starter over to the passenger side, same as the Caddy to Chevy swap. Trans adapt must have made a fortune on those adapters. In the mid '50's the Olds and Caddy engines where the most affordable ohv's. The best of the 2 being a Caddy with 2-4's. In '57 when Olds brought out the tri-power, lots of Rochester 4 barrels went on the shelf in favor of the tri-power set-up. This set-up would bolt right on the 303 and 324's too! You could get a new one from Olds for around $300 with carbs ready to runout of the box. Most guys didn't like the vacumn operated front and rear carbs and switched to progressive linkage. In stock form they would bog at full throttle on the line as the other 2 carbs kicked in. AWESOME motor!!!!!!!

Ron

Thanks Ron, It's the original Olds 3 speed tranny, and the starter is on the drivers side. :face:
And this was also converted to a mechanical link for the outer carbs. I don't know if the carbs are original tho, the center one has an electric choke (not working).

 

[one finger john]

I have no intentions of giving up that motor. I did some research on it before I bought it and know that it is very rare. The 2 outer carbs ran on vaccume from the windshield wiper pump originally, but it was converted to mechanical link system on this car. It has 3 Rochester carbs, I don't know if they are original or not (the center carb has an electric choke) but I'm fairly certain the rest of the engine is original. The previous owner claims it is a 350ci, but today I confirmed this is a 371 ci J2 by the casting number (568929) on the rear of the block where the trans bell housing bolts on.

I drove it home from Portland to Salem (about 45 miles). Being an unfirmiliar car I took it easy for the first few miles. It tracked nice, no front end wobble, and drove fairly straight considering. The farther I drove it the more comfortable I was, and before I knew it I was doing 65 mph on the freeway with no problems. I have gotten on the throttle a few times now (because...why not) and am very happy with the performance. There is some tuning to do to get it running better, but I'm not firmiliar with this and it will take some time.

Can't post any more pics, have used up my quota. I'll be posting pics on the website this weekend.

You'd hate me if you knew what I paid for this car. It was quite a deal.

O.K., you have already teased us about the screamin' deal. Am I correct that it is an older build? Would love to see more pictures. I just have to think that a clutch changes the character of the car.

:face: So listen ... just between you and me ... we're old friends, right? ... tonight @ midnite ... you can post how much ya paid for it ... nobody will be up to see ...
:hoist: just between "friends".

John

 

[deckofficer]

You indirectly did tell us what you paid for it when you mentioned "was only a little more" than the basic kit price. What rear end ratio are you running? If not sure, tell me your tire diameter and what ever speed you can remember at any given rpm, i.e. mine is 80 mph @ 3140 rpms. Also, if memory serves me, the head gaskets are special thin ones that the OEM used to raise compression.

 

[Northstar T]

you mentioned that it rode really hard. well I see that your front shocks are mounted straight up and down!! I'll bet if you corrected that it would help a bunch. are the rears vertical as well??

Russ

 

[Youngster]

You are correct Bob. The head gaskets gave an extra .5 on the compression.

Ron

psssssstt ....they work on the 324 too!

 

[Ted Brown]

Welcome to the site, That is a great starter car... Have fun.

 

[sschutze]

O.K., you have already teased us about the screamin' deal. Am I correct that it is an older build? Would love to see more pictures. I just have to think that a clutch changes the character of the car.

So listen ... just between you and me ... we're old friends, right? ... tonight @ midnite ... you can post how much ya paid for it ... nobody will be up to see ...
:winkn: just between "friends".

John

The car is registered as a '68 "Assembled"

 

[sschutze]

you mentioned that it rode really hard. well I see that your front shocks are mounted straight up and down!! I'll bet if you corrected that it would help a bunch. are the rears vertical as well??

Russ

Yes, the rears are verticle too. I guess I have more items to add to me "To Do" list. Too bad too, the front axel was powder coated already (by the previous owner).
It also has the rea leaf spring suspention. I was thinking of either removing 3 leafs (every other one in the pak) or converting to coil overs. I want to get the car to ride a bit lower so the adjustable coil over setup would be a better idea (unless someone has another idea).

 

[Youngster]

You'll like the ride much better with the coil overs.

Ron

 

[Stephen]

I don't care how old this thread is, brings back a lot of memories. My first car was a 57 Oldsmobile and not only did it have three deuces but Hollywood glass packs as well . It was my first car and my dad bought it for me from the gas station one block away. It didn't run and he paid $20.00 for the car. He spent about 30 minutes to and hour getting it running. At the time I still had my learners permit. My oldest brother and friends borrowed it one time and ran the quarter mile in like 15 seconds (so he said). Later on my second oldest brother who just happened to own a 57 Olds also was on his way up to us to set off some fireworks. But on the way up he threw a ciggy butt out the car window which just happened to go in the back window, where the fire works were. They pulled over and dived for the ditch while the fireworks went off and burned up his car. I nearly cried when dad gave him my car.