dartphil

Will a 455 swap into the place of a 330 and also bolt up to my 350 turbo?

2blu442

Yes it will bolt up, but unless you build up your TH350 you'll not want a heavy foot! The 1964 Cutlass Convertible project I purchased last summer has a 455 in it, although its not completely hooked up and running. The Previous owner installed the W/Z exhaust manifolds and it looks like they'll work well. John

oldcutlass

Yes!

66luvr

Yes.
The motor mounts on the 330 bolt right to the 455 so no need to do anything there except buy new rubber mounts exactly like the ones on the 330. I went to my local Car Quest and looked at the big, old, paper parts catalog which had pictures in the back, took my old mount and matched it up so I knew I was getting the correct ones. The one the computer called for looked different.
All the accessories from the front of the 330 will work on the 455, all of them. Use the crank pulley from the 330 on the 455 balancer, use the alternator stuff from the 330 on the 455, use the 330 water pump on the 455 (or a new replacement of the 330 unit), use the power steering stuff from the 330. I used the repro exhaust manifolds for the 1970 455 442 from Thorntons, worked perfectly, (early 442 manifolds had a heat riser on the passenger side, 70 doesn't have that).
I used a 400 turbo with switch pitch, I know the 350 will bolt up and thats as far as my knowledge of the 350 goes.
Any questions, just ask, I'm sure many have done this swap, what I don't know someone else will.
Good luck,

rennoc442

The only problem I see is that the brackets from the 330 wont bolt on the big block. The 455 has a taller deck height, so bolting the power steering bracket from the 330 to the 455 wont line up on the head..

66luvr

Sir, you are wrong. I hate to be blunt but you did contradict what I posted. I know what I posted is correct because I just did it. I used all the 330 stuff on the 455. My car is non air so the alternator is on the passenger side. The only 330 part I didn't use was the top alternator bracket, it didn't want to fit with the Edelbrock intake. So I just used a slotted arm from a Buick (Chevys would work also). The block is taller which meant I needed new, longer fan belts. It all worked great, just as the group over at ROP said it would. You are the first person to say it wouldn't work, but that is not correct.

rennoc442

Ok so Im wrong. I thought I remembered growing up that the PS bracket from a 350 would not bolt up to a 455.

joe_padavano

You should have quit while you were ahead. You were correct until you made this statement.

To recap:

The 1964 330 brackets are one year only and will NOT bolt to a big block Olds. The BBO did not exist in 1964 thus the brackets were designed only to fit an SBO. If the O.P. is talking about the car in his avatar photo, the original 64 brackets will not work.

The 1965-67 A-body accessory brackets WILL bolt to ANY Olds block, big or small. The 400 was an option in those years and the 455 is externally identical to the 400.

The 1968-76 accessory brackets will also bolt to ANY Olds block, but they are different from the 65-67 brackets, as the accessories are in different locations.

The PS pump brackets from 1968 to 1990 are ALL interchangeable and fit both BBO and SBO. There are minor differences in the shape of the brackets over the years but they all interchange. The difference is in the bracket that runs from the main PS pump bracket to the first exhaust manifold bolt. The earlier ones have two holes to accommodate the different deck heights. The later ones don't. The 307s use the alternator bracket to replace this link.

Finally, the Toro accessory brackets are different. The F-body accessory brackets are unique to the F-body cars (the are designed to mount the accessories in the same locations as on the Pontiac motors, apparently to make the installation easier).

cutlassefi

The power steering bracket doesn't bolt to the head anyway, it bolts to the block/front cover.

dartphil

wow a few different views here. So I don't know if I want to switch over or not. I will tell you I am originally a mopar guy.this is only my second Olds since I was 16. Im now 57 LOL

66luvr

Well poo. Right and still wrong. Thanks Joe, glad you set me straight.

2blu442

Don't hold back because of the power steering pump and such. You can use the 455 power steering pump, alternator brackets, and I think AC compressor & brackets too. If you've been driving it with a 330 I believe you'd enjoy the extra power/torque from even a stock 455. John

joe_padavano

Sorry, but you might want to review the design of the 1964-67 PS pump brackets, which mount the pump up high on the driver's side. Even the 68-up brackets have the link from the main bracket to the front bolt on the exhaust manifold.

Not clear. As noted, the 64-67 cars used the high-mounted PS pump. I've always assumed this was done to clear the PS box in the narrower 64-67 frames. Folks claim to have successfully used the 68-up PS pump brackets in the early frames, but I have no firsthand experience with this.

Yeah, and some of them are even correct...

To review, the 1964-67 cars used the same frame. The BBO 400 was used in these cars for the 1965-67 442s. The 400 and 455 are externally identical. Get the brackets from a 65-67 car, bolt everything in, spend lots of money replacing rear tires frequently.

Oh, and do NOT use "big block" motor mounts. Simply use your existing frame mounts with Anchor P/N 2261 rubber motor mounts on the 455. Use W/Z manifolds from a 69-72 442.

2blu442

"Not clear. As noted, the 64-67 cars used the high-mounted PS pump. I've always assumed this was done to clear the PS box in the narrower 64-67 frames. Folks claim to have successfully used the 68-up PS pump brackets in the early frames, but I have no firsthand experience with this."


Well, I have to confess I've never driven one with the newer pump either. I've got a 1967 parts car that previous owner had gone through a couple 455's in. There was no motor in it when I got it but the 1968-70ish power steering pump is still attahed to the steering box. I guess you'd need to try and bolt one to the motor to see if it will fit or not. I don't want to discourage you with this. I know the 1965 had a big block engine and believe the engine compartment on the 1964 is similar if not the same. So you should be able to install a 455 without having to fabricate a bunch of stuff. You might have to go with the early power steering pump and mount the alternator on the passenger side, or use the power steering and alternator with 1964-67 AC or California Emissions brackets. John

squirell

Subscribing...Dartphil keep us posted on your progress as I am planning the same on my 67 C/S

ACID64

I can only speak about my specific experience but I have a 64 Cutlass with A/C. I read some place that the brackets and all the accessories from the 330 will bolt up to the 455. Not quite. The route I ended up taking was to keep everything 455 (except A/C) and replace my radiator so my outlet is on the passenger side. I also had to get an electric fan because the 455 water pump shaft is longer than the 330 and the fan rubs the radiator. I wanted electric fans anyway so it works out.

joe_padavano

There's a reason why I said "get brackets from a 65-67 car" in my post above. There was no BBO in 1964, so the 64 brackets are one-year-only and only fit the small block.

Threejdsolds

I have posted pictures in a similar thread (425 for 330 in 1964 Cutlass) re: the brackets and pulleys used for a 1967 Toro 425 put into a 1964 Cutlass. I found numbers on the pulleys but cannot find numbers on the brackets. I was told by the fellow that I got the brackets from that they were from a 1964 Cutlass.The power steering brackets fit ;the vertical alternator bracket required modification. I have extra sets of these and would appreciate any info you can provide to be able to distinguish the 1964 brackets from later brackets. Thanks, John

matt69olds

Long story made short, use the 68-72 power steering and alternator brackets, and new engine mounts that exactly match the 330 mounts. I have been involved with countless Olds engine swaps, if you use the correct factory parts this is the easiest engine swap there is. If your use to Mopar stuff and are comfortable with it then GM should be a walk in the park.

If the TH350 trans is in good condition install a shift kit (B&M Transpac or a TransGo would be my choice)either of these kits include a spring that raises line pressure and parts to allow manual control of downshifts.

Good luck!

ACID64

Thanks, you didn't specifically call out whether the 65-67 olds 330 brackets would work. Would they be the same as the BBO brackets?

joe_padavano

From Post #8 above:

ACID64

Ok thanks, missed the ANY part. I was hoping to keep the 72 455 accessories but because the A/C tensioner is gone I need to switch it all out.

hotrodpc

On the same lines of some info I'd like to confirm. Hope you don't mind dartphil.

Obviously then a 70 BBO 455 will sit and bolt in where a 77 SBO 350 once did using the same motor pads in the same position.

So 65-67 SBO Bracketry works on BBO too. I wouldn't know if those brackets differ from a 77 SBO 350 or not, so would 77 SBO 350 bracketry work on a 70 BBO 455? I will also be running AC and PS, so I'd need a complete set of brackets. I've asked this somewhere else, and seemed to have gotten different answers. If anyone knows for a fact or has tried it, that would be great. Thanks

joe_padavano

Good question, unfortunately the answer is, "it depends". BBO production ended after the 1976 model year. Sometime after that (unfortunately I don't know the exact date) the bracketry was redesigned to fit only small blocks. Depending on the changeover, the 77 brackets may or may not have the second set of holes to fit a BBO. The PS pump bracket will certainly fit. A/C and alternator brackets are questionable.