4th Mar 2005, 20:42
That 403 (6.6L) was one heck of a V-8 Olds made! In fact it was so good Pontiac offered it as the top engine option on the "77-"79 Firebird (remember the Trans Am in the first "Smokey And The Bandit" movie!?) It's a little known fact that it was Olds (and not Pontiac) that made that motor
A real shame.
17th Jun 2008, 02:37
4th Mar 2005, 20:42: That's not the complete truth. Pontiac used their own 6.6 Liter (400 CID) in most of these cars, with the Olds 6.6 Liter (403 CID) used to meet emission standards where the Pontiac motor couldn't, or where the Pontiac 400 was in short supply. Thus with either engine the Trans Am could still wear its "T/A 6.6" sticker on the shaker scoop.
Both were good motors, powerful for that era considering CAFE was trying to choke cars to death back then with ridiculous emission standards. Most V8's of this vintage had tiny intake ports and low compression. It isn't hard to rip off the emission equipment (on pre computer controlled cars), add a better intake and performance heads and a decent exhaust to make these motors do what they were meant to.
I see your original point, there would be quite a few disappointed, shocked, and ashamed Trans Am owners if any of them knew they had an Oldsmobile motor under the hood.
4th Jan 2009, 07:35
I have a 1977 Olds Delta 88 Royale. It was my first car and I'm never letting it go. It's a very strong car and I was very fortunate to get it. I'm wanting to kinda muscle it up, so if anybody has ideas, send them my way. And if anybody knows, it has the factory 350 in it, but I don't know if it's 4 bolt main or 2 bolt main. If anyone knows, please let me know.
5th Mar 2009, 21:36
I've had 403 Oldsmobiles since buying a '79 98 in 1989. That engine and TH400 out lasted the car at 275K miles. I put the drive train into a '83 Delta Brougham in '94. Car was stolen in '97. Picked up a '78 Custom Cruiser with a 403/TH350. Car had a rusted and broken frame. Put that drive train in a '84 Delta 88 coupe converted to a Holiday 88 using a '80 donor. Had that car from '98-'06. In '99 I picked up a '77 Delta 88 coupe with a 403/TH350. Badly rusted, but great mechanical. A couple months later I got a '81 Delta 88 coupe with V6 from the original owner for free. Drove both cars off and on until '02. My '81 is now 403/TH350/3.08 8.5 posi, bigger brakes, sway bars, and a few other upgrades. Been on the road since '03. The '77-'84 Oldsmobiles are the best IMO. The 403 is indestructible.
23rd Oct 2004, 20:39
Hi. I am the proud owner of a 1977 Oldsmobile Delta-88. It has the 403 V-8 4bbl. It is a red 4door. I purchased this car in early summer of 2000. It was sitting on a cement slab in front of the owners garage where it had been sitting with a flat tire for about a year. I paid $50. for it. It needed a new starter, battery, radiator and fuel lines. I spent a couple hundred bucks and got it running. It has been 4 years now and no major problems yet. I just recently replaced the exhaust system. It has been an awesome car. It is dependable and a lot of fun to drive, but it`s starting to rust out. I am afraid the car is going to rust away before it stops running. It has been the best car I have ever owned. When this car becomes too rusty to be safe, I am definitely going to buy another 77-79 full size Oldsmobile. There are quite a lot of these cars on the road today. And for a good reason. They are well built dependable, comfortable, attractive automobiles.
I think next time I want a green one. Or maybe blue?
They are all wonderful cars. It is nice to see that there are still some people that feel the same way I do about these big old lovable cars. I sure am going to be sad to see my car go, but somewhere there is another unwanted olds just waiting to belong to me. Hopefully I can get a couple more years of dependable driving out of this one. It sure does run good even with 118000 miles on it.
Great website!
Happy Driving
Oldsmobile fans!