Some progress on the mighty 394 Olds

Not long after Phil bought the 1964 Olds 98 (with a bad motor) we found a suitable replacement on the Detoit craigslist. It was an S code 394 with slim jim (roto-hydramatic), the same motor/tranny combo as original, but the high compression version that was an option in his car but more commonly found in the hi-po "Starfire" application. Fetching it is probably a story in and of itself, but suffice it to say it was an adventure and we got it home for a song.


Over Thanksgiving weekend we pulled it out of the corner and proceeded to remove the slim jim.


After a successful separation it's on the dolly ready to go to the quarter car wash for a bath.


Three bucks in change and a can of Wal Mart degreaser later it is starting to look a little more like something worth going through.


I have no more knowledge of these things than the man in the moon (same seems to be true at a lot of tranny shops), but I'm confident we'll find someone to freshen it up a bit. Supposedly it was a functioning tranny when pulled so hopefully with a cleaning, band adjustment and some seals it will be ready to go back in.

When you are trying to motivate 19.5 feet of real Detroit Iron down the road the equipment needs to be up to the task...