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Working on resto/modding a 1970 cutlass. I mainly say resto/modding as I don't really care about the car being completely original, my main concern at the moment is getting it running using the parts I have at hand at the moment and then replacing what is missing/upgrading things that come up as convenient, not necessarily with original parts but what would make sense to do so with. With the help of a gentleman whose name I can't recall at the moment we figured the car was originally green with green interior and has had a good amount of work done to get it to the point it was at. Only the green seatbelts are left. Rust has caught up with it and the trunk lid needs to be replaced along with the area where the rear window meets the body:
I bought it with the engine apart and with a bunch of random parts with it. I proceeded to buy another used engine for cheap that allegedly ran when it was pulled, but as I started to take it apart it wan't happy to how it was looking so decides to have the engine that came with the car rebuilt. I dropped both engines off for assessment with the builder and they agreed the old engine was better both block and headers. The engine just came back to me from the builder with forged pistons with a .30 overbore, new valve seats, lifters, cam and timing set. The block is #2 and heads are #6. It has an aftermarket oil pan. It's supposed to be at a 9.83:1 compression and the cam has a 214/224. The original engine came with an Edelbrock performer RPM intake and 750cfm Edelbrock carburetor. I took the card to be rebuilt and was discouraged from using that carburetor by the rebuilder once I mentioned the cam and other changes being done to the engine. I was told it would run too rough and would likely need better than pump gas to run it. He suggested I rebuilt the carb from the second engine and we moved forward with that. At this point the engine is sitting in my garage and I am getting things ready for the accessories to be mounted to the engine before putting it back into the car. I plan on using the Oldsmobile valve covers and painting everything olds blue but couldn't get it from Eastwood shipped to CA. The accessories/pulleys will be black:
I laid out all of the pulleys and accessories I have at the moment for the car, some of these are from both engines:
Bag with misc hardware:
Before the carb got rebuilt:
I wanted to see if you guys could advise me on what I may be missing in regard of accessories and pulleys to be put on while it still on the engine stand. Here is a couple of things I know I will need:
-AC Compressor
-Electric Fan setup
-Trunk Lid
-Distributor
-Spark Plugs
-Liquids(Oil, Power Steering, Coolant, Brake fluid)
You can see a full gallery of photos I have taken along the way for the car:
That compression is high for the cam being used, only use premium gas. What was done to the carb? Being a 74 model, if it came off the motor with the Oldsmobile stamped valve covers and being a reman, it was probably way off tune wise. It will probably run lean. I would also upgrade the torque converter to this. It will work much better than stock. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...KVBd1QM2yqcPNi
I would go with something like NGK XR5 plugs or maybe even colder. For fans either something like factory caprice fans or good high amp fans like some of the Derale fans. Also is the rad in good shape? You could recurve the HEI distributor or thepoints distributor you have. Even the cheap Chinese HEI's are well made, I just upgraded the module and coil. Also the vacuum advance will need probably adjusted to around 10 degrees advance.
The pulleys depend on the length of water pump used. The both look like A/C 3 groove pulleys. Use the ones that came off the 70 motor since you are going factory A/C.
Last edited by olds 307 and 403; January 15th, 2019 at 06:05 AM.
Rodolfo, you appear to be pretty organized. I would suggest cleaning/washing the engine bay while the engine is out. Perhaps you'll want to repaint some things in the engine bay now. Water pump, pulleys and belt alignment should be all checked installed together. Cut big globs of silicone off before you paint the engine. The points type distributor should be just fine as long as the bushings are worn to a point of sloppy shaft fit. I forgot what carb you were going to use. What carb type fits the intake manifold ? What type cam....flat tappet or roller ? Good luck.
Are you painting the engine blue to match the car, or because that's what colour it was before? The "period correct" colour for a 350 in your car is gold.
What was done to the carb?
It was completely rebuilt by a reputable guy with the specs from the cam and compression. They advised me to go with rebuilding and tuning the remanufactured one instead of the rebuilding and tuning the Edelbrock.
I would also upgrade the torque converter to this...
Is there a way to know what the specs of the torque converter are? I have 2: the one with the car attached to the tranny(black in color) and one that came with the other engine (blue in color).
Also is the rad in good shape?
Radiator seems to be in good shape, I'll post some pictures soon.
You could recurve the HEI distributor or thepoints distributor you have.
Not sure if you can tell from the photos, the distributor is a bit scuffed on that top exposed part. Makes me thing it's no longer good and will need to be replaced.
Here I'd to decipher what water pump you need with what pulleys.
Thank you I will take a look.
What carb type fits the intake manifold ? What type cam....flat tappet or roller ?
Both the stock and Edelbrock carbs fit the intake manifold its the Edelbrock 7111 performer rpm intake manifold. The cam is a roller 214/224
Are you painting the engine blue to match the car
Yea, I'm not a big fan of chrome in the engine bay to be honest, so I will be painting everything else black.
Sorry for the weird format, just didn't know how to use the multi-quote. I'm not the most organized, but having things together makes it easier when asking for help and figuring stuff out
You could recurve the HEI distributor or thepoints distributor you have.
Not sure if you can tell from the photos, the distributor is a bit scuffed on that top exposed part. Makes me thing it's no longer good and will need to be replaced.
I did not see an actual distributor in the photos, just the distributor caps and wires for points and HEI. Do you have the distributors, or just the caps and wires? If you have the distributors, simply replace the scuffed cap with a shiny new one.
I did not see an actual distributor in the photos, just the distributor caps and wires for points and HEI. Do you have the distributors, or just the caps and wires? If you have the distributors, simply replace the scuffed cap with a shiny new one.
This one you can see the top of it mounted on the engine:
Any numbers on the torque converter's? I know 2004R converters have a number and letter stamped all around the outside edge which denotes stall. For $100, if no numbers can be found, upgrade. I would have built a Qjet before an Edelbrock any day but would have went with a later 800 cfm custom tuned, actually I did for my 350. I get you had this one already.
Last edited by olds 307 and 403; January 19th, 2019 at 05:58 AM.
January 14th, 2019, 09:21 PM
