Not sure on the mileage, but it has plenty. 4 speed manual tranny, 6.6L 400ci motor. Runs very well. I know they want to add A/C, but what are some good 1st mods to do to the car? Exhaust, intake, etc? They (as well as myself) aren't too familiar with carb motors, so I told em I'd post here and see what I could come up with. Thanks guys!
BTW, I told em to do a tuneup, and dyno it as a good 1st step to see where they are at and make sure nothing is off.
Brian

 

Is tht the PONTIAC 400ci 6.6L or the Oldsmobile 403ci 6.6L motor? They used both in that era and called them all "6.6L" on the hood scoop.

 

How would I tell?
Brian

 

If its a 4-speed, its the Pontiac 400. It's also pretty rare. In 1979 only the 4-gear cars got the Pontiac 400. I recall back then the deal was GM had stopped production of the Pontiac 400 in early '79, so it was a get 'em while you can situation that year if you wanted a genuine Poncho 400; otherwise most everyone else got the Olds 403.

In the late 1970's, a tune-up on those cars as well as the Z/28 was to ditch the cat, install a faster timing curve with a curve kit from Moroso, and richen up the stock Q Jet. That and the usual new cap, rotor and quality plug wires should make it work pretty strong, as well as eek out an extra mile per gallon to boot.

The 4-speed cars back then got the 3.23 gears and a posi in the Trans Am.

Dave

 

See, we think it used to be an auto.........I don't know to anything about em, neither do they. What are the +/- of either? How can you tell which is which? (aside from the tranny)
Brian

 

i ve heard both sides of the coin and more people say the 400 is better

 

A 403 will have the oil fill tube on the front of the motor, on the passenger side.

A 400 will be filled through the valve cover.

Also, post the VIN and we can tell you what it came with originally.

First mod? Mine would be a complete new exhaust with headers.

EDIT: I found some info for you

For pics of a the differences between a 403 and a 400 go here: http://www.transamtech.com/motor_index.shtml

For the VIN the 5th digit is the engine code:

K = 403 c.i.d, 4-bbl V8 (1977 - 79)
Z = 400 c.i.d, 4-bbl V8 (1977 - 79)

 

Sweet Zig, thanks for the info! When they get back from vacation I will check it out. I definitely want them to redo the exhaust and so a tuneup, just to be safe.
Brian

 

Chances are that it's a real 400 4spd. Who would waste the time to put a L80 Old's in front of a 4spd ?

Ive done 3 of these cars and the recipe is pretty simple.
Ditch the factory intake ( but Don't throw it away) in favor of an Edelbrock Performer.
You can use the Quad, but I used a Holley 750 VS.
Have the heads treated to a good clean up and 3+ angle valve job (optional).
I used a Comp 268 High Energy cam w/ springs, chromoly pushrods, and a double roller timing chain. stock rockers. You can go with a little more cam but then it won't sound stock.
Hooker headers (4 tube) and a good 2.5" dual exhaust w/ X or at least an H pipe.
And Recurve the Dist. and up richen up the Quad.
Like I said before I used a Holley 750 VS with the brown secondary spring and box stock jeting. Using the Performer intake (Just paint it blue) keeps the shaker functional.

This Combo was in a `78 Gold SE T/A with a 2500 stall and 3.73 gears. It would walk any factory LT1 car (vette or f-body) and would probably run toe to toe with an Auto LS1. And run on 89 octane gas.
I know this car is a 4spd so the gears should go to 3.42.

 

Right - on the 4-speed cars, the gearing changed in 1978 to a 3.42 from the 3.23 in '77.

The '78 gold SE cars are pretty rare birds. Sounds like a nice daily driver combo; no doubt it would haul butt. Still wish I had my old '77 T/A 6.6 litre auto Trans Am. The 400's are great performing engines; one of the most fun cars I ever owned.

The Olds 403 isn't too bad, but the 400 Pontiac is the better engine imo.

 

Now if you do find out it's a 403 and you are going to switch to a Pontiac motor, don't throw away the 403. I could take it off of your hands

 

I'll check and see what motor it is when they get back from vacation. Thanks for all the help and suggestions. I hope they are looking forward to working on it as much as I am, lol!
Brian

 

The 403 makes a good swap into a late model 442 or Hurst Olds. It has the same dimensions as the stock 307's. All `79 W72 T/A's had 3.23 gears. I recomended the 3.42 because of overall drive ability. But if you want that car to scream go 3.73's