Differences between diesel 350 and gas 350

[pro_am]

My friend has a diesel 350 and i was wondering if it would be possible to convert this engine save the block, rods, and crank over to regular gas. I know i would have to use different pistons cause of compression and heads and intake because of fuel. But could i use the block and keep the same crank and rods and just put in different pistons and put on like a set of camel hump or vortec heads or something. Any help is really appreciated. Thanks a lot.

Jake

[timberdoodle]

are you sure its a 350? I dont remember chevy making a 350 diesel. What litreage is it, and what year is it?

[pro_am]

I'm pretty sure. There was a sticker on the valve cover that said GM Goodwrench 350. But everything that i saw on there suggested that it was a diesel engine
It's at a friends house, i can go over there tonight and get more details from the actual engine itself and post them. Thanks! Jake

[timberdoodle]

i would double check, im pretty sure the only diesels chevy made were the 6.2, and 6.5. The former being a 387 or something of those ci's. Have him start it up, you will be able to tell from smell and sound that its a diesel.

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by timberdoodle

are you sure its a 350? I dont remember chevy making a 350 diesel. What litreage is it, and what year is it?

Remember that Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Buick also made 350's.

This engine is an Oldsmobile 350 diesel which was introduced in 1979 in full size Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles as well as the big FWD cars (Eldorado/Toronado) It was discontinued in 1984, but eventually found its way into all GM's full size cars, as an option. It was rated at 125 hp, but had bags of torque.

It made a poor, unreliable diesel, but you are correct, it make an excellent gasoline engine. The design was based on the gasoline Olds 350. The engine block is very strong, and excellent for really high performance use. You must use a gasoline Olds 350 heads, entire valve train, including camshaft, intake and exhaust manifolds and pistons. I am not sure if the diesel crank or rods will work.
Car Craft magazine did an article on this conversion, but its years since I read it.
Try looking up Mondello Oldsmobile performance parts. They may have a kit.

[timberdoodle]

would the stick saying gm goodwrench 350 not indicate it is a crate motor? im not dispersing the idea just wondering.

[pro_am]

It may not be diesel, (I sure would feel foolish then) I can't get a hold of him for some reason tonight. As soon as i do, i'll go over there and take a closer look at it. Maybe i can get some numbers off of it and so on so i can find out what years it is. Thanks a lot for your help.
Jake

[quaddriver]

gm used to produce engines from the 'targetmaster' line for all the cars in the 70's and from chevy in the 80's. if it is an olds engine, it could be it has different valve covers on it - they interchange.

there realyl is no need to convert a 350D into a 350G, you can still find olds 350s everywhere, heck I know someone that took a mid 80;s caddy with a 307 and dropped in a 403 and kept all the emissions working.

[public]

I had a friend who converted one of these back in the late 80's. Mainly just swapped the top end.