[kporter]

Sorry for the non-Chevelle question. My sister has a '76 Firebird with a 350 CID engine. She bought the car new and has never swapped engines. From time to time she will be told by mechanics etc. that this car has an oldsmobile engine in it. Is this possible. Any suggestions where I can go to get additional information on this.

 

[Cam]

Entirely possible! 1977 Firebirds and 1975 Venturas came with the Olds 350, RPO L34! Look for an oil filler tube on the front of the intake manifold. Are you sure it isn't a '77 with 4 rectangular headlights?

 

[67 GTO]

Remember that there's a lot of mechanics out there who associate different divisions with certain colors (had a neighbor tell me that the blue SBC I had was actually a Pontiac 350 - cause it wasn't orange

). To make it even more confusing, Pontiac used many different blues, including one that was very similar to the Olds shade. I was under the impression the Olds motors didn't start show up in Firebirds until 78-ish...

As Cam said, look for a filler tube.

 

[LeoP]

Not sure, but I think the only Olds motor used in the Firebirds was the 403 and only in the Trans Am's. You might want to check over at www.performanceyears.com it is a Pontiac site something like this one.

 

[Xtreme70SS396]

Not sure if it was the only one, but as LeoP said the olds 403 was in the T/A. I got one out of a '79 T/A myself. GM swapped around many engines in different cars over the years.

 

[kporter]

Yes, it is a '77 the '76 is a typo

. Does this change everyone's answers???

 

[shooter]

Here's a 77 Firebird link that says the vin digit specifies the engine manufacturer
http://www.pontiacpower.net/1977fbvin.html

 

[TheDMan]

again, look for the oil filler tube. you don't know if it is the original engine or not. pontiac motors you just dump the oil in the hole in the valve cover, olds motors had a filler tube in front on the intake. if it is an olds, its likely a 403. in any case, pull it and put a poncho 400-455 in there.

 

[Schurkey]

The Olds has a fill tube at the front, but it goes into the block, in front of the intake manifold. Right beside the fill tube, there will be a casting number and a "large font" single digit number or letter. The "big" number or letter will let you identify the block. A large "F" or "Fa" is a 455, for instance.