cuttyred

im trying to put a 80s model chevy 350 in my 1980 culass and the mounts to the motor arent bolting up any suggestions and i have already bought different mounts to the frame

rocketraider

What engine did the car come with? If it was originally a 305 car it should drop right in on existing mounts. If it was V6 or Olds engine, then you have to get the frame side mounts from a car originally equipped with a Chevy lump.

So, grasshopper, you are learning that no matter what the Chevy crowd says, it is NOT "all GM".

cuttyred

u right i thought since it was all gm it would work but it had a v8 260 4.3L in it and the chevy motor is a 80s model

Redog

The 260 V8 is an Olds Engine.

Get rid of the Chevy and drop an Olds in there. It will drop right in with no issues

A Chevy motor is NOT an Olds, Buick, Pontaic, or Caddy motor

cuttyred

man its just hard to find a cutlass motor that is any good

rocketraider

Redog is right. Any Olds 307 (ugh, don't waste your time), 330, 350, 403 will drop in like it was made to fit there in place of the 260. All the brackets and everything will attach with no issues or heartburn.

A 400/425/455 will also fit but being wider may hit the A/C box and I'm told little room for headers.

Since decent Olds V8s haven't been made in nearly 30 years, you may have to build one if you go that route.

Those cars were available with Chevy 305's so finding frame side mounts shouldn't be that difficult if you're intent on this Chevy swap. Best advice is to find a car with the 305 intact and grab EVERYTHING on the engine, since if you don't you're in for a lot of parts searching and fabrication. Keep in mind the Chevy and Pontiac versions of these cars commonly had 305s too. Buicks rarely did- they had that V6 thing going.

So, all things considered, with all the extraneous crap you get into with this swap, you might come out ahead and cheaper to find an Olds engine. Builder engines are not that hard to find, and unless a 68-80 Olds 350 has been poorly maintained or totally abused, not unusual to find good ones with 150k on them that need nothing but a timing chain.

Redog

When I put the 350 in my Delta back in 2007 all I swapped was the timing chain, intake manifold (had a 2 barrel, I wanted a 4) and the distburtor from a points style to an HEI.

The 330 I now have, I swapped the timing chain, bought a manifold (didn't come with one) and got a bigger oil pan since the stock one was all beat up.

Also if you get an Olds motor, like Rocketradier said, all the brackets and stuff will swap over, since Olds motors are all the same externally from 1964 to 1990. Chevy guys can't say that

svnt442

Just make sure to use ALL of the pulleys from one engine. Do NOT mix and match them or you could be in for a headache wondering why the belts won't line up.

1980gutlass

Chebby 350: find a chevy caprice or monte carlo and use as a donor car, you wil have all the brackets and pulleys. pull out of donor car, rebuild everything, then put in your olds. gm performance parts has a kit that will convert it to a serpantine (single belt) system, for $1,000, it includs A/C compressor, Alternator and even new bolts everything needed).

Olds 330, 350, 403: 330 and 350 should be fairly easy to find, do some research and you will find what you need. The 403 is another matter, I have found that these blocks where only made from 77-79 model years, that is 3 years only, but remember... big cars should get big motors. I aggree with redog and rocketraider, olds 330, 350 and 403 should bolt right up in the 260's place. This is a bop (Buick, Olds, Pontic) issue, look for large 77-79 buicks, Olds and Pontiac cars that are for sale in yards, that is what I am doing.
my 260 sat for over 13 yrs, I put in a battery and it started right up (after pumping the pedal several times), that being said, as long as the hood is closed, it should be a rebuildable block.

This link should be helpfull.
http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofe403.htm

link to get a 403 reman, $1,300 block, $200 core charge.
http://www.gmplace.com/engine/oldsmo...gmc_403lb.html

Note: keep it olds, but chebby is cheeper.
Good luck friend, Mike.

rocketraider

A popular misconception among Chevy people!

Time you go thru all the mounts, brackets, accessory stuff yadayada, the Olds engine in this case WILL be cheaper even for a builder.

You just can't claim MANIGOTTACHEBBYTREEFITTYFOBOLTMAIN!

Gutlass, what on earth possessed you to resurrect this thread, when the OP hasn't been here in months?

1980gutlass

Hey rocket raider, Just trying to share what little info I can to feel helpful, ya know. I found that it is cheaper to rebuild a chebby (internally that is) in my area and a person should clean and paint all parts, weather chebby or Olds (I do perfer Olds), and I don't care if it is a four bolt main, i just dont rum'em hard, just love to cruise'em

I didnt look at dates, just the header title, if the OP is gone, that doesnt mean no one else will see it and maybe get some helpfull info right? That is why I am here, for the info for my gutlass. I dont mean to offend thee, or seem like a posting vergin, well, this is the first site I post, let alone like, so I guess I am.

ATrain1

In my experience it is cheaper to build a Chevy if you get everything you need from the junk yard. I have built an Olds 350 Rocket in my 88 Cutlass and I was not happy with the performance. I had a pretty basic 383 stroker in my 79 Cutlass and it would run circles around my 88 with less money, again this has been my experience. I am into my 79 a lot more than I ever wanted to now. I have built a 388 stroker and I am going through the suspension and everything else that needs attention. Here is a picture of my engine.my388stroker.jpg

1980gutlass

That is a sweeet looking power plant and I agree with you about the cost of it all, geez... all the choices.

ATrain1

Yeah there is a lot to choose from that is for sure. I found the original build sheet on mine when we were doing the interior and it came with a 305 Chevy, so I should not catch to much crap for having a Small block Chevy. I have owned a 1988 Cutlass and I now own a 79. My wife owned a 65 and I grew up with my Father owning them when I was a kid, so I have been around them my whole life and one thing I have found out is Olds guys dont like Che vy small blocks for some reason. I personally like anything that is GM but as far as building power I will go with a Chevy power plant every time.

1980gutlass

That is awesome about the build sheet, I found mine in the driver door, behind the door trim panel. I like the fact that your wife has one, that would be super cool, My wife wanted one like mine when I first brought my gutlass home after 14 years in storage and I know where a 79 with an OEM (chebby) 305cid is for about 2,500 but i gotta get some change to get it. I got the Olds fever from my grandpa. Yep, some dont like the chebbies for some reason, to each of his own.

What do you think about this? A 305 or 350 from an Iroc and using the 4AOD tranny from it, say around the mid to late 80's.

ATrain1

Exactly you know what they say about opinions? The cool thing about the build sheet is I started dying the seats inside the car and I did not notice the build sheet until it was to late, I ruined it. Once I started taking the rest of the interior pieces out to do them I found another build sheet. My wife wants me to build her a Monte Carlo SS when I am done with my Cutlass so she can show it along side of mine. She wants it black with pink accents. I have always liked he Monte Carlo myself but it is her dream car.

oldcutlass

I believe the car should be what ever you want it to be, that's why we call it hot rodding. A plain old Cutlass will always be, ummmmm, oh yeah, just a nice old car. It's a great platform to massage into whatever vision, you, the owner wants, and still be unique enough to draw some attn!

Nice car!