Purchased a 69 98 for the drivetrain for my cutlas but it such a nice body I'd hate to take out the engine !! Do I fix it ? Or take out the motor and trans and find a buyer for the body ?

 

Welcome, tough choice. Got any pictures?

 

I would take the drive train and stick a run of the mill 307 in there maybe to sell it atleast as a driver. Although it might take a few years to get that boat to 60 mph with a 307 lol.

 

We need more details, but if its really nice sell it and buy another motor.

P.S. it will have a long tail shaft transmission. You'll need a short tail shaft for your Cutlass, so the engine may be the only thing you can easily swap over.

John

 

Pictures please, you never know, one of us addicts may have to buy it. I have a 455 & so do many others.

 

Welcome to CO Chester, sure... pick the easy questions to start out with....

Hmmm. 69 Ninety Eights are really nice boats, but there's not much market for them and parts (most parts anyway) are not easy to come by. I happen to love big cars so for me the choice would be to keep it because I love that body style anyway. HOWEVER as John pointed out, the trans may be an issue unless you have a custom driveshaft made. You'll also have to install the TH400 kickdown linkage, change the trans mount to the back holes, and replace the e-brake cable with one for the TH400. E brake cable for TH400 is 82.5" whereas the one you likely have is 95 9/16" IIRC.

What year is your Cutlass?

 

Welcome to CO from NC. Interesting dilemma to have! The nice thing about buying a running driving car vs finding an engine is you do not have to take the guys word for it that it runs, and you can get a better idea of the engines health. I would vote for buying it for the engine and finding a nice running 350 to put back in and resell it.

 

I'd recommend driving the car around a bit - you might like it.

If not, you may be able to arrange a trade with someone on here - If I had a good 455, I'd be happy to trade it. plus a few bucks, for a complete running 98 I could use as a daily driver. Considering what you probably paid for the car, you might end up getting the engine for free.

- Eric

 

I meant to take one today but I forgot to I will get one tomorrow and see can i post it

 

That was a thought Lol on the 60mph

 

The car needs a repaint but the interior needs a little work also but it is a very straight body all the glasses it for pans and trunk all that is in good shape. I will have to get a driveshaft made for the car anyway so I didn't know if the long tail would make a difference

 

Will do tomorrow

 

Thanks for the info. 67. I can use my 350 trans. Sounds easier.

 

Chester, you saying your car has a TH350 in it, or you have a TH350 you can use? The 67 Cutlass V8 lineup (non 442) was typically a 330 CID with a Jetaway 2 speed trans.

EDIT: re TH350 - you know the BOP TH350 is different than the Chev TH350?

 

That was the deal when I bought the car also the 69 model Engins are hard to come by around here the scrappers have just about cleared them all out

 

. I'm sure I'd like it. Have considered putting it on the road Really want my 67 together tho

 

No reason not to use the same engine in both cars (well, it's a giant PIA, but other than that...).
Why not drive the 98, put it on the side, drop the motor into the Cutlass, and see what you think? You could always swap back and forth between the two cars.

- Eric

 

LOL Eric. I don't think that once the 455 goes into the Cutlass it'll ever come back out.

 

I would go with your original intentions. You stated midway through this thread that the car needs a repaint and some interior work, spend the money on the 455 Cutlass and don't look back. Just my opinion. - Steven

 

Hence the .



- Eric

 

X2. A decent paint job may cost more than the car s worth. Do you need the car and the 442 also. Why not put a SBC in it. Now that would be different. Just kidding guys. If you found an Olds 350 or even a smog 455 cheap and put it in the 98 it might be worthwhile. As Allan pointed out, there is a limited market for these cars.