88 Cutty Classic

well i finally pulled out the 350 that i'm building for my monte carlo SS. when i bought the cutlass this motor was in i was told it was just rebuilt with forged pistons. I tore the engine all down saturday and sure enough it had the speed-pro L2320F .030 pistons. I can't tell if the #8 heads that were on there were cut so i'm gonna look out for some 5,6 or 7s.

now my goal is 300-350 rwhp. how can i get there with what i have so far? i dont know the cam specs but my engine guy is gonna take a look see. i wouldnt mind a real lumpy cam cause its mostly a cruiser. i was also planning on going performer rpm (7111) and performer 750 on the carb. I want to stick with the edelbrock carb because i already have a brand new kit to use with the edelbrock carb that works with my TV system on the 200r4. I already have the hedman headers and pypes x-pipe 2 1/2 exhaust w/ violator mufflers.

to get to my stated goal what would you recommend different than the route i am going? would you recommend any porting/polishing of the intake/heads/etc? cost is a factor so roller cam, lifters, rockers, etc you can probably rule out. the timing chain is brand new so i'm not changing that either.

and yes i am purposely putting this engine in my car to **** chevy people. off. I'm sick and tired of small block chevy and LS motors in G-body Cutlasses. I want to pop my hood and have that big ole gold nugget sitting there. i really only ended up with this SS because my 88 CSC got stolen and i couldnt find another decent cutlass at the time. I did end up with my 83 Hurst a year later but there will be no engine swap there because the car is very original. I'm an olds/buick/mopar guy so im all about wanting to be different than the boring chevy crowd.

don71

Belated welcome. Good on you. Would love to see the faces of folks when you open the hood. Sounds like fun to me.

If you get expert advice on the right cam for your combo, I'd then concentrate on the heads. Give them the right treatment and you'll meet your goals, assuming all is good on your short block.

If its still together, compression test maybe leak down test too. Make sure its solid.

88 Cutty Classic

thanks for the welcome.

yeah my engine guy is gonna check it all out for me. hes built a decent of oldsmobiles in his day along with tons of performance engines for racers and cruisers. he told me its not the first olds in chevy hes done either. about 6 or 7 years ago i think he did an olds 400 for Paul Sr from OCC. he may even have some cam suggestions for me but i wanted to get a mix of opinions to make an informed decision. i dont think my goal is too unreasonable. i think the low end at 300rwhp is pretty fair.

captjim

Just CC the chambers, takes 10 minutes, you might be pleasantly surprised.

cutlassefi

Do you want 300 or 350 rwhp?

olds 307 and 403

All depends on what you want for final compression. #8 heads with a clean up will put you right around 9 to 1. They need the lip removed under the exhaust valve and if the bowl is opened under the intake valve for a 2" or 2.07", they will out flow untouched early heads. Early heads might put you well past 10 to 1 compression if any milling has been done. Everyone thinks it is OK to chebby everything, they were a junk engine compared to Olds 350 from 70's till the 80's.

88 Cutty Classic

i'm starting to think 350 rwhp might put me at more than i really wanna spend. I will say i want this car to be faster than my daily driver which did 14.69 @97.53mph. considering the weight difference between a marauder and a G-body i would hope to be in the 13's. what kinda HP do you need to do mid to low 13's in a g-body? i know there are plenty of other factors that go into an ET but just a rough estimate.

thats a good question.. What should I want for compression? What is too much and will cause me driveability issues? I run 93 in all my cars, i dont want to have to run race fuel so where is that line at?


One thing I didnt mention before is that I will most likely be running A/C in this car. I dont use it a lot because its a T-top car but its sure nice to have when you want it.

Octania

I have some #6 core heads... oily used extracts.
Would have to get them cleaned and crack checked before shipping, so that costs a bit more, but has to be done anyhow, so preferably before shipping.

captjim

300 RWHP will put a well tuned chassis into the high 12s. You have the Speed Pro flat tops, correct? If so, CC the heads, and then mill them down until you get a 72 cc chamber. With a deck height of .015 and a .040 gasket, you are around 9.7 to 1, perfect for an iron-headed pump gas street car. Spend some $ on the heads, get a nice street port job and a good valve job, maybe some 2.02 intakes. Cam in the 215 @ .050 and .500 neighborhood, 3.42 gears, a little converter, some Mickie Stickies and you ought to run a mid-high 13 and have a quick car that is fun to drive and reliable.

olds 307 and 403

Mid 9's for compression should be fine on 93. I had pinging on 91 with 9.5 to 1 but that is with the tiny 204/214 cam. I had use very cold 5670-8 plugs to eliminate it. I am planning on a Cutlassefi custom cam, PTC 10" lock up 2800 stall Dr Dan special and proper shifter to put me in 13's, hopefully. I would get a converter like I mentioned to go with your 350. My current cheapo stalls at 2300, probably similar to your stock one. Dan says it is tight on the street, deadly consistent at the track and around only $400! Check and see where your pistons are in the the hole. If they sit .030" in the hole, then early heads might work fine. Pull an exhaust valve on your #8 heads, that will tell if any amount of work was done.

coppercutlass

Im currently running 12.6's with my current combo. The car is all steel street driven. sweet and simple nothing fancy.

355 Olds in my 72 cutlass

10 to 1 compression speed pro flat tops
lunati voodoo cam 522/539 lift 233/241 duration @ .050 lift
Prw roller tip rocker (7) and one comp cams roller tip rocker
Pro gear timing chain
#6 heads done by rocket racing just bowl work 2.07 in. 1.63 ex.
full length headers ,x pipe
34 degrees of timing on 93 octane
edelbrock performer rpm intake
holley 3310 750 cfm carb box stock
proform hei dist

Engine built by me


backed by a th350 Built by me and 3.73 gears out back

Octania

"maybe some 2.02 intakes"

WTH is that, Chevy talk?

Olds big valves are 2.072"

1BOSS83

I feel like I am always this guy, what kind of budget do you have in mind?

captjim

Too big for a SBO, IMO, the valve will out flow the port.

88 Cutty Classic

well considering a lot of the work is already done i really dont have to touch the short block. the motor had zero drivng mines on the rebuild when i bought it. I ran it a few times and parked it in 04 and it sat. i gave it to my engine guy to to give it look over. he actually works for the shop that did the work back when the original owner had it built. i would say my budget is in the $2000-3000 range. I would say it will mostly be in parts. my father has his own shop and the engine guy is a friend of his so labor costs really wont be a large chunk at all. what is figured into that budget right now? carb, intake, exhaust, getting headers coated, mini starter, fuel pump, waterpump, lots of odds and ends,

right now the car has got a 3:73 posi. 7.5. i'll probably be nearing its stock limits using sticky tires. I have a 8.5 373 posi but i was saving that rear for another project. have the BMR upper and lower rear control arms, rear seat bracing, Grand prix fender braces, 36mm from sway bar, stock f41 rear sway bar. the down side is that its a t-top car. Its currently riding on 17X8 cragar SSs wrapped with 275/45/17 Good Year Eagles. no change to the brakes so i could go back and run 15's with ET streets whenever.

Magna86

Pick up a used performer rpm intakeHave your heads checked/refreshed/milled(for compression)/reworked with a good valve job atleast. Or have have your heads upgraded with bigger ss valves, milled, bowl port/polish or full street port/polish, and setup to use roller rockers.Talk to mark about a custom flat tappet or roller cam upgrade with lifters and valves springs.Add a set of headersHave carb rebuild so that its tuned correctly for the upgradesThis will get you where you want to be. For your heads you maybe able to find a set already done you can bolt on and go or upgrade to aluminum one and have them milled for compression.