Rocket Man

Up front, the big-block Oldsmobile...        read full caption Up front, the big-block Oldsmobile carries a Miller-modified front cover that is split to allow access to the timing set without disturbing the lower half of the case. The timing set is also a special Dick Miller Racing setup, which allows rapid cam phasing changes to make dialing-in the cam timing a quick and simple operation. The water pump is a Meziere electric.

Under those gleaming fabricated...        read full caption Under those gleaming fabricated sheetmetal valve covers resides a set of Harland Sharp 1.6:1 roller rockers.

Miller employed a DUI HEI-style...        read full caption Miller employed a DUI HEI-style distributor-a unit more than up to the task of providing the engine's spark requirements. Note the thumbwheel arrangement in the position normally occupied by the vacuum advance. This allows rapid changes of the overall timing with a quick turn of the dial. One turn makes a change of two degrees.

Oldsmobile Lifter Bank Angles

While most engine families carried the same lifter arrangement throughout the series' production run, Olds engines were produced with some unusual variations in lifter bank angle, and even variations in the lifter size itself. Blocks were cast with two distinct lifter bank angles: 45-degree and 39-degree. This is important to note, since a camshaft must be ground specifically for the geometry of the block's lifter bank angle, meaning camshafts cannot be swapped from one type of block to the other. Another quirk is that the blocks were manufactured with two different lifter diameters-some were machined for .842-inch lifters, while others were made to accept unusually large .927-inch lifters.

So which engines got which setup? Initially, the Olds engine began with the 45-degree bank angle and .842-inch lifters found on the first year's production 330-cid engine in 1964-a setup retained in the 330 through 1967. The 400 began in 1965 with the same 45-degree/.842 combination, but changed to the 39-degree angle and .927-inch lifters for 1966 to 1967. Likewise, the 425 began in 1965 with the 45-degree/.842 combination, but for 1966 to 1967 it was produced with either the 45-degree/.842-inch or the 39-degree/.927-inch arrangement. The latter is said to have been used primarily on the 425 engine in the premium Toronado model. For 1968, the 39-degree lifter bank angle was standardized across the board in all Olds engines. Where the 39-degree lifter bank angle had previously been used only with the large lifters, the '68-and-later engines all used the 39-degree lifter bank angle with the smaller .842 lifters.

Miller selected Davis Unified...        read full caption Miller selected Davis Unified Ignition's (DUI) fabric-covered plug wires. Note the Kooks headers' provisions for EGT probes near the exhaust port exits, providing a valuable tuning aid.

Viewing the exhaust ports,...        read full caption Viewing the exhaust ports, one can examine the classic "D-port" form, which helps flow with the Olds' relatively low exhaust exit angle.

Oldsmobile engines utilize...        read full caption Oldsmobile engines utilize an inline parallel valve arrangement, and had one of the flattest valve angles of any production engine at 6 degrees. The intake ports of these Bulldog heads feature offset pushrod provisions, to allow clearance for wider ports through the critical pushrod restriction. Note the fully ported form.