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just bought a 69 cutlass s and it has a 455 in it ,the tag under the hood says its a holiday coupe , it also has a slide shift , try to find out if this is original before i put a 6.2 in
The engine and trans each have a VIN derivative stamp. The first character of the VIN derivative will match the first character of the VIN, and the last eight of the VIN derivative will match the last eight of the VIN. The VIN derivative stamped into the block is often obscured by the alternator bracket. Look for it just forward of and below the #1 cylinder spark plug and just under & behind the alternator bracket.
Where to find (locations):
GM had an edict in place until 1970 that midsize cars couldn’t have an engine larger than 400 so a 1969 Cutlass with a 455 is certainly an engine swap. A 1969 442 wouldn’t even have a 455, it would have a 400.
Last edited by Fun71; April 11th, 2023 at 07:48 PM.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that particular 455 is probably not the original engine, and if it were, it would be a lower compression, 2 bbl version, if that's your root question.....
I don't see anything special. It's a 69 Cutlass S that could have come with a 350 most likely or a straight 6 possibly.
The G indicates a 72 455, but that's not a given. Hell, a guy in Buchanan Dam had a 69 H/O with a BB head on one side a SB head on the other.
A lot of changes in 54 years to that one. Good luck bringing it back though, kudos.
I have seen alot of Cutlass but never one with this type of pin striping and the Oldsmoble sticker on the back fender, also thought the slide shift only came in 442 and hurst in 69 , but i found other Holiday coupes with 455,I have a few antiques but Oldsmobile pre 70s are confusing
Now if it has the console with a 3 speed, a little more rare to have the 3 speed indicator that doesn't have 2 holes drilled in it for the 4 speed placard.
Of course rare doesn't always mean that is was more desirable than the 4 speed.
The only '69 Olds A-body that came w/ a 455 was the H/O. It wasn't until '70 that you could get a 455 in a Cutlass. So, assuming your engine is actually a 455, obviously this is not the original engine in the car. Engine choices for a '69 Cutlass was 250-L6 or 350-V8.
A floor-shifted TH-350 in a '69 Cutlass is pretty common.
The only '69 Olds A-body that came w/ a 455 was the H/O. It wasn't until '70 that you could get a 455 in a Cutlass. So, assuming your engine is actually a 455, obviously this is not the original engine in the car. Engine choices for a '69 Cutlass was 250-L6 or 350-V8.
The VIN will tell you if the car was originally an I6 or V8 car. If the third digit of the VIN is an odd number, it was a six cylinder car. If it's an even number, it was a V8 car. The VIN derivative on the block will tell you what year the motor is from. The second character is the model year. In this example, the "2" means 1972 model year.
April 11th, 2023, 07:01 PM
