i bet those 394's were torque monsters too.
I think I remembered wrong about the 58 olds, I think it was a 371 CI motor. The J2 option touted 312 HP (and around 10 MPG). Us Olds Guys would hang out with one another. I had friends with a 55, 56, 57, 61, and my Boss would let me take his new Black 64 Olds out on errands. The 61 and 64 were definitely 394 engines and quite stout. All were automatics.
But yes, both the 371 and the 394 were torque monsters. And the 4 speed Hydramatic could make the big iron scoot. Stopping was another matter.
Cornering was... Pretty awful. Body roll from weak sway bars, narrow balloon tires (and likely worn out shocks), meant you were better off in a fish tail slide, than trying to track around a corner in any sort of "line".
I learned to do high speed reverse spins in that 58 Olds, starting in an empty field. And, then really screwing up the tires on dry pavement. That car could take some serious punishment and still keep going.
About midway into my ownership, the car started to make a crunching sound while driving. Turns out the drive shaft was two piece and it had a bearing near the center of it. That bearing was going bad. I had a pro mechanic friend check it out and said the bearing was going to cost way more than I had. So, I asked him what the future held if it wasn't fixed. He said that with the big motor, there wasn't much chance of it freezing up. It will make noise until eventually it would wear into the bearing support bracket and fall out of the car. Being the irresponsible, indestructible lad that I was, I still pushed it up over 100 MPH on a regular basis. This only changed the timbre of the noise that the failing bearing made. The following winter, the water in the block froze and pushed out the freeze plugs. Didn't care. I found a repo'd 55 Chevy 210 with a 327 in it, completely reupholstered inside and new paint outside, for $225. The wailing engine and far less weight (then the Olds) made it a much faster street racer. Though it wasn't nearly as reliable as the Olds. In the long run, it cost me much more than the Olds (3 transmissions, 4 rear ends). But, the Chevy forced me to become a much better mechanic, because of all the repair work it needed. Then again, I was racing it a LOT. And, that tends to break things. The old Chevys were fairly durable if you treated them normally. Not so, if you punish them. And, I sure punished cars in those days. The Olds was the most durable of all the cars I owned before going into the Navy.
