hello..I need some help deciding.

This is my cutlass (260 V8):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhXNuT5PgHQ

And this is the engine I'm thinking of putting in it (5.7/L31/Vortec):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDkpcwwSmes

 

Do what you wish to the car seems to have a lot of rust issues. Snow belt car ? The thing is to have fun while doing it. Many folks have done conversions and you can find a lot of info in the non olds powered section.

 

Would have been nice if whoever took that video had stepped back at some point so we could see the whole car.

But as cutlass455 said, you've got a lot of rust issues there. You'll be fighting those the rest of your life with this car.

 

Actually you can see a lot of the rust and equpment issues in the videos. I have to agree with Jaunty though. Based on experience dealing with rust, you will NEVER be able to contain it. Rust is one of the most insidious 4 letter words you never want to associate with your car. By the looks of the rockers, they're shot, so is the trunk deck, and right belt line. The fenders and doors are too deep with rust. Check the pinchweld areas too. Chances are they are not looking good. The frame, gas tank, straps etc look like they're on their way out. Inside the headliner's gone, theres rust on the inner windshield header molding, hood release broken, missing headlight switch..the rear bumper fillers are missing, bumper's rusting.... How much do you want to spend to keep this car?

I happen to like 78 Cutlass models. If you want to drop in a different engine (which I would do BTW, I really didn't like the 260) go for it. If it was me, I would just drive the car till it drops. I see it has a 'For Sale' sign on it. Chances are no one will offer what you want for it based on the general appearance of all the rust. I wouldn't spend any time on that body unless it has real sentimental value to you. This is just a plain CS, unfortunately nothing special about it.

I would ditch the car and start with something more solid...

 

The car actually isn't that bad as far as rust goes. It spent most of its life in north Carolina. The bottom quarters have the most rust. The frame, floors and trunk are rock solid. The number shocks are fine. The bumper needs to be replaced.

I think I'm going to get some body & paint work done nothing major. I replaced the headline but the glue keeps coming undone.

Thanks for everyone input.

 

Overall, the car looks pretty rough but it is your time & money. G-bodies aren't that expensive so if you look around you can get a car with better bones to start with. A trouble spot with these cars is teh rear frame rails so take a good look at those before you get started with anything.
Also keep in mind that they don't really have any resale value. You see plenty of nice ones running around still in the four figure range so if you do it you have to do it for yourself because when/if you get rifd of it you'll most likely be in the red.