87Brougham

Putting this here because still kind of Oldsmobile, but G Body Forum is not as active as y'all.

Problem:Guys, I need some advice. 1987 El Camino, bought it this summer. It has a 4.3L which I enjoy the economy aspect of. However, it has an oil leak and the farther I dig into it, the more work I realize needs to be done. Took off the harmonic balancer and it needs to be replaced, water pump too, timing gear is incredibly loose. And all of this repair won’t fix all of the oil leak because it also has a leak on the rear main seal which will be a pain to get to and I really don’t want to do. On top of that it has 144,000 miles, so it should be on its last stretch.

Solution:I leave for school in 3 weeks. I already have a fully built Oldsmobile 350 in my garage save for a distributor and a carb. I had planned on switching it next summer, but now I am thinking about starting on a swap now. 50 dollars here 50 dollars there on repairs adds up fast you know? And the V6 should be starting the end of its life pretty soon, right?
The 350 is pretty gnarly too so I have been excited to swap it.

So guys, I know it is easy to make a decision when it is not your money, but I want your honest opinion.

Note:My mother is letting me take her Subaru back to college so it isn’t like I will be without a car.

redoldsman

Without a lot of help there is no way you will get that done in 3 weeks. Take you mom's car, concentrate on your studies and do the swap next year. It would be neat to see and Olds go in a Chevy. Usually it is the other way around.

joe_padavano

One of my back burner projects is a 78 Camino with a 403 Olds, but that's another story.

In your case, here's what you need to know to make an informed decision about this:

If the 4.3 is bolted to a 700R4, you'll need a new trans (and driveshaft), or at least an adapter plate. If it's bolted to a 200-4R, then no issue.
You'll need Oldsmobile frame pads for the motor
You'll need correct exhaust manifolds and mods to the exhaust system to mate up to them
You'll need correct Olds accessory brackets
You'll need to rewire and replumb the accessories for the new locations on the Olds motor
You'll need to reroute the wires to the starter
You'll need (ok, want) to move the battery to the other side of the core support

All of these involve time and money. Personally, I've got those parts and could get this done in three weeks or less. I don't know what your situation is, or how long it takes you to work out the bugs once you do swap the motor.

redoldsman

With all the parts at hand and all the years of experience you have I have no doubt you could get it done in 3 weeks. The OP is a college student so we know his years of experience are limited and it is doubtful he has all the parts he needs. He is in Virginia so maybe you could help him with it.

joe_padavano

That was my point - we don't know his skill level or how well equipped he is or how quickly he can get the parts together. I simply wanted him to be sure he had all the information to make an informed decision. Unfortunately, Norfolk is only about 250 miles from me.

87Brougham

Thanks for all of this information Mr. Padavano. Fortunately it is attached to the 200-4r. And yeah this will be my first engine swap and I have car guys on my block that will help me through the physical swap. For now I will be doing research and prep work, but I might be leaning towards the swap. I probably will also make a thread when the project is underway. Not sure if the Olds community would accept it here since it is a Chevy. But hey another Olds powered Elco, great minds think alike!

joe_padavano

So if I were in your situation and had the time, I'd do the swap in the three weeks. I'd also likely hit some dramatic wall in the process, delaying completion of the project for a month or so.

Full disclosure, I did do something similar. During the month that I graduated college and got married (the first time...), I also got my 72 442 4spd on the road after about two years of sitting. With less than a week of shakedown time, I then drove it from Massachusetts to my new job in L.A. I had filled the trunk with every tool and spare part that I had. Ironically, the only trouble I had on the trip was loose lug nuts in New Mexico. Of course, that was 1980 and that 72 442 was barely eight years old.

The reality is that you are going to do this swap, you'll have a problem, and you'll be driving the Subie for a little while. I don't know how far college is or how frequently you can get back to finish the ElCo. Worst case, it's a Christmas break project.

joe_padavano

Actually, in the vein of "informed decision making", one more thing you need to be aware of. Despite the fact that your ElCo is exempt from VA emissions testing, the state safety inspection law was changed in 2012 and now requires the safety inspector to verify that all factory emissions equipment is in place as part of the safety inspection. They are not required to test function, but it visually has to be there. That means A.I.R. pump, EGR, catalyst, etc, as well as vacuum lines that look like they are connected to something. I got a rude awakening to this a couple of years ago when one of my 85s got failed for having the A.I.R. pump missing (it had seized so I pitched it). Of course this all depends on how stringent your favorite safety inspection shop is, but this can be an issue for your swap if you plan to get a regular use registration. Antique plates are obviously a way around this, since inspection isn't required, but then you're stuck with the use restrictions of antique plates (or trying not to get caught if you ignore them).

I've been looking into this for my 78. I picked the 403 because that was an emissions-certified motor for the 78 model year and bolting on the (non-functioning) emissions equipment is pretty easy since there wasn't much of it on a 403 that year. For your 87, you'd have to tell them the motor is an Olds 307, but then you'd also need to have the A.I.R pump, EGR, and cat in place (at least during the inspection).

87Brougham

Oh I never really thought of that. Haven't checked up on any of my laws but I have an antique Florida tag. Sounds like a pain though.

Koda

It's cool to keep the brand of the engine the same as the car, no matter which brand it is. I suppose, if you already have an engine, it's better. At least you're not putting an LS engine in it like every poser hot rodder who is too much of a little bitch to handle a carburetor.

87Brougham

Yeah I bought the engine for my 87 Cutlass Supreme but ending up selling the vehicle before I could swap it. Plan on using a Quadrajet. There are also aspects of Oldsmobile engine that I like. Low end torque, having spark plugs above headers, external oil filter etc.

69HO43

??? Not for nothing, but if you haven't even attempted to put up your request for information on the G Body Forum, then that statement above is full of crap.

That not withstanding, activity level doesn't have anything to do with your problem. You're lucky there are people here that know G-bodies and swapping engines. Otherwise you'd still be wandering around out in the woods. You could say that your issue is common with any swap, to be honest.

Listen to Joe Pad's advice. He's been there and done that lots of times.

Here's a quick lesson about seeking answers/knowledge. Don't pass up the opportunity to look under every rock to find the information you need. Sometimes you'll find gold where you least expected. This goes for car stuff as well as college.

Good luck!

olds 307 and 403

The G body forum is a good one and usually pretty active. Does it have Clamshell style mounts on the 4.3? You need either 403 late 70's Firebird mounts, Year One has them. They still needed modifications to work putting my Olds 350 in my 94 Z71. Either that or G body Olds V8 frame mounts and standard 73 to 90 engine mounts. You also need the power steering and alt brackets along with A/C for an Olds V8. Other than lengthening wires and fuel lines, a simple swap.

87Brougham

Thanks. Yeah I have all the brackets and when it comes to the actual swap I will be posting on G Body Forum. I don't actually know why I said y'all are more active, I know both forums are active; I have just been on this forum much longer and always like you guys advice.
I wanted to do the swap I guess I just needed other people to tell me to do it as well.

oldcutlass

Chuck Cole

Doing a similar but simpler swap on my '80 El CaminOlds, it still took me months of digging in this site, and the Gbodyforum for Olds and El Caminos to get all the right stuff. Though it may have seemed simple, it certainly was not. Without Joe P and Eric and several others, I would have been sunk several times. I had a lot of Olds Engine experience and swapping Olds engines that were made for Olds cars was much simpler, especially 68-77. I had to rent a hoist because I don't ever expect to do this again at age 67. I had all the tools and space, which is certainly a big factor. I've always felt if it can be built, it can be rebuilt, but I have to say when it comes to G Body that isn't necessarily so. I can burn my 6+ months down to about 7 hard days, and the rest was waiting for parts or waiting for money so I could afford parts. Having the engine already done speeds up the process by months! Pay attention to these guys even when their advice is the harder way. They definitely have the school of hard knocks experience! SWAP meets are a great way to meet others with like tastes in cars and blondes and ...........................uhhhhhhh..............W hat? Anyway, I went retro with mine for so many reasons, except HEI...also for so many reasons! I did not want a car that requires circuits for carbs, and chokes, and transmission lockups, and their talking to each other. I didn't want a computer or internals that did anything but their most basic function. What I had to do from the start was decide what I wanted and what I did not, and stay on that course while assembling parts. I am literally using the least amount of 1980 and newer technology as possible, going backward to simplicity rather than technology. I cannot put a 700R4 on my 68 engine without significant mods...so BOP TH350 or TH400 or 350C it is! The attachments for the GBODY rear axle is not too similar to a 68-72 Cutlass so they don't interchange without a resident welder. 7.5" it is and if I need to I can get different gears and limited slip in that. Springs, shocks and steering have heavy duty applications so you can find GBody parts to suit those needs. Keep in mind the El Camino has limited space for dual exhausts. I think it is why we see so many exiting before the rear wheels. Most of all, pay attention to the experts because they are here to help, and even then sometimes you go the way you want.