Transmission Swap in a 1967 Cutlass Questions

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Old Oct 17, 2010 | 03:57 PM
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Transmission Swap in a 1967 Cutlass Questions

So I just pulled a turbo 350 from a 71 Skylark 4-door and I want to install it in my 67 Cutlass Holiday with a 330 and a jetaway 2 speed, So I have a lot of questions for everyone, and maybe this will help everyone in the future? Some of my questions are.....
1. Does the crossmember have to be moved back?
2. Can I use the same Driveshaft?
3. Do the transmission lines mount the same and are they the right length?
4. Do I use my jetaway tailshaft? or the one off of the parts car?
5. What wire do you use, or where do i get the wire for the t-350?
6. There is the vacuum line,is there one on the jetaway that is the same?
7. Does the Torque Coverter bolt up the same?
8. Do I need a different flex plate?
9. How do I mount the kickdown cable to my gas pedal? My pedal rests on two ***** that are mounted to the floor, on the parts car the pedal is mounted to the firewall, So help there, what to do etc, etc...
10. Anything else that would make this swap go more smoothly!

I think that if the questions were answered I think it would help me alot and a lot of other people in the future to, I know it's a lot of questions but if everyone could help it would be awesome! Thanks!
Todd
Old Oct 17, 2010 | 04:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Big Todd
So I just pulled a turbo 350 from a 71 Skylark 4-door and I want to install it in my 67 Cutlass Holiday with a 330 and a jetaway 2 speed, So I have a lot of questions for everyone, and maybe this will help everyone in the future? Some of my questions are.....
1. Does the crossmember have to be moved back?
No

2. Can I use the same Driveshaft?
Yes

3. Do the transmission lines mount the same and are they the right length?
They will be close enough that only minor bending will be required, if at all.

4. Do I use my jetaway tailshaft? or the one off of the parts car?
Leave the donor trans intact (ie, leave the tailhousing on the TH350)

5. What wire do you use, or where do i get the wire for the t-350?
None. The TH350 uses a kickdown cable. You must fabricate a bracket for this cable to attach to your carb since there was no trans with a cable kickdown in 1967. If there is a wire on the TH350, it is for the Transmission Controlled Spark, an early emissions device. You can ignore it.

6. There is the vacuum line,is there one on the jetaway that is the same?
Yes, though some rerouting may be required.

7. Does the Torque Coverter bolt up the same?
Yes

8. Do I need a different flex plate?
No

9. How do I mount the kickdown cable to my gas pedal? My pedal rests on two ***** that are mounted to the floor, on the parts car the pedal is mounted to the firewall, So help there, what to do etc, etc...
See answer to #5. You will either need the cable and bracket off of a late 1970s Olds or an aftermarket cable.

10. Anything else that would make this swap go more smoothly!

I think that if the questions were answered I think it would help me alot and a lot of other people in the future to, I know it's a lot of questions but if everyone could help it would be awesome! Thanks!
Todd
This is about the easiest trans swap there is. The kickdown cable will be the hardest part. Of course, don't expect your speedo to read correctly after the swap, since it is highly unlikely that the donor trans has the right speedo drive gears for your car. You can get new gears here:

http://www.transmissioncenter.net/sp...n_______va.htm
Old Oct 17, 2010 | 07:01 PM
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Ok so it looks like my only problem is going to be the kickdown, The way I saw was the cable attached to the foot pedal, is there another cable for the carb?, I can't use what is there now and just somehow hook up the cable to the foot pedal? Can I just take the setup off the donor car? And is there someone who makes a bracket?
Old Oct 17, 2010 | 08:17 PM
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TH350 kickdown cables in early '70s Olds hooked to the gas pedal not the carb. If its the same in Buicks you may just have to put a hole in the firewall. Page 7-228 of 1970 Chassis service manual.
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 12:13 PM
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Originally Posted by InfoJunkie
TH350 kickdown cables in early '70s Olds hooked to the gas pedal not the carb. If its the same in Buicks you may just have to put a hole in the firewall. Page 7-228 of 1970 Chassis service manual.
Unfortunately, the accelerator pedal design for the 1968-72 cars is completely different from the one used on the 64-67 cars that use a throttle rod. The kickdown cable that attaches to the accelerator pedal on the 69-72 A-body cars cannot be easily adapted to the early cars, which is why I wrote this in my first post:

Originally Posted by joe_padavano
The TH350 uses a kickdown cable. You must fabricate a bracket for this cable to attach to your carb since there was no trans with a cable kickdown in 1967... ...You will either need the cable and bracket off of a late 1970s Olds or an aftermarket cable.
The late-70s cars ran the cable to the throttle arm on the carb, not to the accelerator pedal.
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 01:04 PM
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Never owned anything older than 1968. Sorry about the toes.
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 01:14 PM
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Originally Posted by InfoJunkie
Never owned anything older than 1968. Sorry about the toes.
I wear steel-toed boots. I'm only worried about mis-information, or as Kurt likes to call it, truth decay.
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 01:38 PM
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you can As I did swap out your speedo geers from your two spd to the th 350.
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 02:06 PM
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If there was truth decay (I like that term), it must have been in the wording.Brain most times knows what it wants to say but fingers won't cooperate.
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 03:24 PM
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Quick question-coming from a Buick,does the trans have the Buick bolt pattern,or is it the universal bolt pattern? I seem to remember I had a problem with this in one of my Olds's years ago. But maybe it was with a 400. ---bil
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 03:56 PM
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Originally Posted by bil
Quick question-coming from a Buick,does the trans have the Buick bolt pattern,or is it the universal bolt pattern? I seem to remember I had a problem with this in one of my Olds's years ago. But maybe it was with a 400. ---bil
Any 1967-1980 Buick V8 transmission, as well as 75-88 Buick V6, 64-81 Pontiac V8, and 68-84 Cadillac V8 bellhousing designs are the same (with the recess at the top. They will all fit the modern 64-90 Olds V8. Only Chevy is different,with the point at the top. (The older Buick "nailhead" V8s)(364/401/425) had a curved pattern.
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 04:06 PM
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Originally Posted by InfoJunkie
TH350 kickdown cables in early '70s Olds hooked to the gas pedal not the carb. If its the same in Buicks you may just have to put a hole in the firewall. Page 7-228 of 1970 Chassis service manual.
The kickdowns all the way up to 1977 were mounted on the gas pedal. After that, they were mounted to the carb,with a pin on the side of the throttle bracket. You may be able to go to the junkyard and adapt a newer 260/307 style bracket to mount the detent cable, than drill a hole in line with it on your throttle bellcrank so it pulls it all the way on full throttle. (Lokar makes some cables and adapters as well) you can look those up on Summit or Jegs website. (Just a suggestion, may be easier than adapting the gas pedal detent cable.)
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 04:47 PM
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If Buick,Caddy,Olds & Pontiac all have the same bellhousing, why is it that when I talk transmissions with Chevy guys they say "you've got that odd bellhousing"? I'd say 4 out of 6 is the norm.
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 04:58 PM
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So I'm sure I'm not the only one on here that has done this, I wonder what everyone else did?
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 05:06 PM
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Originally Posted by InfoJunkie
If Buick,Caddy,Olds & Pontiac all have the same bellhousing, why is it that when I talk transmissions with Chevy guys they say "you've got that odd bellhousing"? I'd say 4 out of 6 is the norm.
Having owned nothing but Olds and Pontiac for the last 27 years, I tend to ignor a lot of what "Chevy" guys say, since they are pretty much unfamiliar with the other divisions of GM. As a matter of fact, over the years, GM themselves seemed to forget what made an Olds what it was, and a Pontiac what it was, hence the discontinuation of my 2 favorite divisions. And for the "Chevy" guys information, the TH 400 was a Buick development, Known originally as the Super Turbine 400, and most 400s built were made in the BOP bellhousing design. The TH 350 was a collaboration between Chevy and Buick, with a lot of features from the Olds Jetaway (ST300) incorporated into it. That is why this 300 to 350 swap is such the easy bolt in that it is.
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 05:07 PM
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In the years 1964 til not sure when GM have 3 different bellhousing. Chev with 5 mounting holes, BOP with 6 mounting holes and a universal with 7 mounting holes. Any universals I've had. have come from early '70s Olds.
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 05:19 PM
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Smile

Big Todd, when you do complete the swap, what you will notice the most is that you will have better acceleration in first gear. You are going from a 1.82 first gear to a 2.52. The 300s first gear is closer to starting out in second gear with a TH 350 (1.52). The highway rpms will be about the same with a stock convertor. And your 2 speed selector should be able to access 1st gear, but if not, you can get an adjustable arm from shiftworks. (www.shiftworks.com) (I used one of these on my 2004r in my 66 Tempest SW and it works great) (I had originally gone from a ST300 to a TH400 in this same car and was able to pull it all the way to low with the 2 speed column shifter). Good luck, and let us know how it performs.
Old Oct 18, 2010 | 06:09 PM
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I'm seriously looking forward to it, I just don't know what to do about the kickdown yet, I'm hoping someone has done it before and will be like, hey it's easy just buy this ........... lol
Old Oct 19, 2010 | 08:15 AM
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Originally Posted by InfoJunkie
If Buick,Caddy,Olds & Pontiac all have the same bellhousing, why is it that when I talk transmissions with Chevy guys they say "you've got that odd bellhousing"? I'd say 4 out of 6 is the norm.
Like it or not, there were far more Chevys built than Buick, Olds, Pontiac, and Caddy, combined.
Old Oct 19, 2010 | 05:32 PM
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The truth sometimes hurts.
Old Nov 2, 2010 | 07:22 AM
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Does anyone for sure know if I have to switch the transmission cooler lines? like top for bottom switch?
Old Nov 2, 2010 | 09:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Big Todd
Does anyone for sure know if I have to switch the transmission cooler lines? like top for bottom switch?
Just bolt them up. You'll be fine.
Old Nov 2, 2010 | 12:24 PM
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Well I know on my kids 71 Skylark Chassis Manual which is what I got the tranny from and it has a drawing of the tranny lines coming out with a in and out flow pattern, would it matter if they were backwards then?
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