Hi,

First of all, I'm new here so please be gentle.

I bought myself a nice 67 Cutlass Holiday Sedan almost a year ago.
https://plus.google.com/photos/11226...Ny0s9Tx0JyG_wE

It looks well enough, a small patch of rust on the right front fender that I will have fixed really soon. The car was originally built in Antwerp so it has a km/h speedometer and 250 ci straight 6 engine and a 2 speed automatic transmission.

Now, in the future I would like to convert it to a V8. Now my questions are:

If I wanted to get an engine that it might have had out of the factory, which one should I look for?

Do I have to replace the gearbox as well, and if so, which one should I look for?

Do I need a different radiator, front suspension and driveshaft/rear axle?

I would like to make sure I got all the parts I need before I start doing the actual work, since the car is my daily driver

Thanks in advance for the help.
Niels

 

Once you get some V-8 frame mounts, almost any Olds motor is almost a bolt-in.
Getting the engine and trans as a unit, from the same car should save some money.
455 is a little heavier than a 350 - order front springs accordingly.
Driveshaft may need to be shortened, depending what you get, rear will be fine for cruising, but ratios can be changed for acceleration.
Get the exhaust manifolds on the motor, and a good exhaust shop should be able to fab something up.
Radiator depends on what motor you get!

 

For motor mounts, would http://bit.ly/wHzsxI work?

Thanks,
Niels

 

Nope. You need Anchor P/N 2261 with the matching frame mount brackets. See this thread for more info:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tion-list.html

 

Welcome to the site! I don't know if the frame mount brackets can be purchased new, but several of us on the site should have extra used ones. Here's pictures of a set I pulled for another member from a 1966 Cutlass. They're the same from 1964-67 and I should have another set if you need them. Where are you located? I know we have members from all around the world here. When it comes to purchasing an engine/transmission it helps to find them close by to save on shipping. If you would post your location there may be a member here who can help you out! John

P1010153-1.jpg

P1010156-2.jpg

 

Thanks a lot for the info so far! It always makes it so easy when you can get info from people who actually work on their own cars

I live in the Netherlands, so I would guess that's quite a long way from most of you here.

Currently I am still in the process of replacing the engine of a 65 Imperial (or is it not polite to mention that here?) so it would be a while before I have the time and space to actually start working on my Olds.

Maybe I can start collecting bits though, if you would pm me with the price you want for a set I'm sure we can work something out.

Niels

 

After searching the internet for a while I now found an Olds 455 engine complete with carb, exhaust manifolds and alternator. The guy says it was built in 73, and it has a TH 400 trans still attached. What do you guys think? Should I go for it or wait until I find a slightly older one. The car will be my daily driver and I'm not looking for racing performance, though a little faster than the 250 straight 6 wouldn't hurt. ;-)

Thanks for the help.
Niels

 

the 330 4-bbl. is a nice little motor, easier on gas, and pretty peppy. a 350 4-bbl. would be about the same thing. of course, this is coming from a guy that pulled the 330 2-bbl. and put in a 425 4-bbl.


bill

 

I bought it! :-D

Here are some numbers:

Engine casting number: 396021 F (Sans Serif)
VIN Derivative: 34M155818 (Below the head, driver side)
Oil filler tube number: 4148842

Heads: J - 411783

Trans Turbo-Hydramatic: 74-OR-32790


The J heads probably mean low compression, don't they?

And if I understand it correctly, it's a '74 block and 3-speed trans, also from '74?

Thanks,
Niels

By the way, the '65 Imperial is running again...

 

Some pictures before I begin tearing it down tonight.

http://sdrv.ms/JexD8E

Niels

 

LOL love the hammer
special factory option? or dealer installed...

 

The trans looks like a long shaft turboo 400. You will need a custom driveshaft to use it in the Cutlass. The long shaft was used in the full sized Oldsmobiles. It is a good trans. The Cutlass TP cruiser (all) and 442 in 67 could have come with a Turbo 400. J heads were for the final years 455 and the pistons were low compression.

 

Thanks for the info. I think I'll have my driveshaft shortened and balanced professionally rather than fiddling with it myself, or would I have to get one specially made? Right now my Cutlass has a 2 speed Jetaway trans.

When I tool the sparkplugs out, there was coolant coming out of one of the bores. Hope it's not a sign of really bad things I'm going to find when I take the heads off.

There is no way I can turn the crank right now. I hope it's just the rings that have rusted up or something.

I'll post more pictures as I go along.

Niels

 

The best you can hope for is a leaky head gasket to have coolant in the cylinder, or perhaps if the intake was removed some coolant spilled into an intake port and got into the cylinder. It could be something very serious and hopefully not related to the stuck crank. Keep us posted.

 

I've added a photo of the left bores, with the head removed to the same album linked above. http://sdrv.ms/JexD8E Gasket didn't look broken, nor could I see obvious damage to the water jackets. Hoping it just sat outside for a really long time.

Niels

 

There is a word we use over here for that engine....UGLY. Hope the bores will clean up or you may need sleeves if there is too much and deep pitting.

 

Hoping you didn't pay much, and that's a rebuildable core!!
Tear it down and have it magnafluxed - hope all is good!

 

Hi everyone!

Long time since I've posted here, but I've not been sitting idle. The engine I bought was completely stripped down and I had the heads resurfaced, new valve seats,sprinhs and valves installed. I had the crankshaft checked and polished. The cylinders were bored to 060 over, which was juuuust enough to take care of any rust inside the bores, and I had the transmission converted to a shorttail and while they had it apart, I had it overhauled.

After that I've put the engine back together with all new pistons and I've painted it. While sandblasting the exhaust manifolds it turned out one had a crack in it so I have waited 2.5 months for a pair of headers to arrive from the USA.

I've decided to paint the engine gold, with black trim because I don't really mind if it's not an original color and I think it will look good under the hood.

Here's a pic which I took right after painting: http://1drv.ms/1ztgo0f

Next job: pull perfectly running engine from car

 

Welcome back, engine looks great. Since your going to have to modify the drive shaft, I would just have a new one made and get rid of the stock rubber sleeved one.