1971 Olds 350 tuneup story - idle/timing specs needed

Plugs R-46S gapped at 0.040 dwell 28-32 degrees (0.016 inch gap) Timing 10 Degrees BTDC Idle speed 600 rpm in drive

There is a note that timing should be set with idle rpm at 1100 rpm with out AC 850 rpm with AC.

Timing Procedure

Disconnect vacuum advance hose from dist. and plug it. Remove Air cleaner and tape over vacuum hose fitting on manifold if so equipped. Connect tachometer and adjust speed as noted above. The pulley has 4 V shaped slots each representing 4 degrees.

There you go.

The points and timing are related. If you don't have them gapped right, the timing will be off. I am thinking too large a gap will make them open too soon which can give your 20 degrees off.....

Your distributor cap 'clean' can be an issue too. The older caps that had brass contacts could be cleaned if you are careful, but the newer caps have that white metal crap for contacts and if you try cleaning them, they will arc out really fast.

Then there is the carb. A carb kit does them wonders.....

Mike

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote:

As a former 350 4bbl Cutlass owner (1977 2dr. Supreme), I read your post with great interest.

1. Has the performance deteriorated from 4-5 years ago, or does it seem sluggish compared to more modern vehicles? The 350 could be hopped-up quite nicely, but "out-of-the-box", didn't always live up to it's "Rocket" name (W-31s excepted). Your average, modern 4 cyl. Accord/Camry/Altima will hand a stock 350 Cutlass its head in a stoplight war.

2, Given the fact that the upper RPM range isn't all that entertaining, I'd look at - A) Centrifugal Advance - With the vacuum advance plugged and disconnected, slowly rev the engine from idle to 2500 RPM. The timing mark should advance slowly and evenly. If not, check the centrifugal advance mechanism - with the distributor cap off, twist the rotor and make sure it snaps smartly back upon release.

B) Have dual exhaust installed. This wakes them up quite nicely. The 4cyl. family sedan gang won't like this much ;)

C) Are the secondaries opening properly? With the engine off, have someone floor the accelerator pedal and make sure the secondary throttles are opening fully.

Hope this helps,

Jim

To reply via e-mail, remove the "1" form the above address.

Oof. Had one of those. Started and ran poorly even when properly tuned. The strangulation-type emission controls just murdered any semblance of driveability, let alone performance and mileage.

That depends a LOT on the year of said Cutlass. A '77 Cutlass is one thing, strangled as it is by primitive first-generation emission controls, but no Alticcordry 4-flusher could touch a healthy '71 Cutlass unless it was a race to the bottom of a cliff. And then the best it could do would be a tie :-)

Otherwise, I agree with your advice.

Steve,

Not to be difficult, but I base this statement on a Motor Trend Road test from November of 1971 -

0-60 ---> 11.3 Seconds

The vast majority of modern family cars - Japanese, American - whatever - can best this

Jim

P.S. The 1972 Charger with a 400 2BBL ran a 17.6/76 1/4 and 11.5 0-60 !!!

Daniel,

If I could have located a decent rebuilt Quadrajet, I might still have it today. It had the original, and at 22 years and 170,000 + miles, it was tired. Part-throttle surging was my constant companion. One shop jacked up the float level, and it drove fine - for a while. I suspect the throttle shaft bores were worn. I would have done an aftermarket carb, but was afraid it would run too rich for the converter.

It did (however) average 15 MPG (50/50 City/Highway). Then again, I can't say I miss 18.4 second/75.4 MPH 1/4 miles. Nor the 11.9 second

Jim

The current and recent VW TDIs sold in the US can beat those numbers, and get 40mpg in mixed driving at the same time. Heck, the 2002 Prius can almost match those numbers - it's solid second slower on each but comes very close in trap speed - and it was pretty universally regarded as a slow car. It's a good reminder of what technology has done to engines.

-Keith

Good call, Keith - I forgot about the current generation of "Oil Rockets" - Audi has a diesel A8 that they're claiming 6 second 0-60 times -

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Goodness, if you want to go there, look at the V10 TDI. In the Touareg application it's running a 6.9s 0-60 and a 15.23s 92.8mph 1/4 mile, while getting around 20mpg mixed.

Also, if you want to talk thrust, it makes 553ft/lbs at 2000 rpm. I drive a TDI myself, and there is a bit of turbo lag, but it's still very driveable.

-Keith