Johnathan Bjerk

1968 cutlass supreme 350 with a 2bb carb, single exhaust, and 2 speed automatic. Just an inexperienced 16 year old with a need for speed. Getting a job this summer so I'll have a few thousand to drop into my first car, so I'm looking for some affordable ways to make it QUICK. I really appreciate any suggestions you guys have.

J-(Chicago)

It might be quick if you swap the whole drivetrain

My best advice at the moment would be to enjoy the car as it is, until you save up enough money to do a drivetrain swap. Yours is setup to be a cruiser only at the moment.

If you want to hot rod it, 2k-3 isn't going to cut it if you are 16 and don't have the knowledge yet.

There are a few tricks we can help you with in the mean time though.

DENT

Welcome to the forum, post some pics of the car. What part of the world you live in?

captjim

Back in the mid 70s I had a 70 Cutlass 350 2 bbl. I was a mechanic and would let friends or good customers use it while I worked on their car. Most commented on how peppy it was.

Your best bet is fine tuning. After that a 4 bbl swap with dual exhaust. Your gas mileage should actually increase (in the unlikely event you can keep your foot out of it ) with these upgrades. Next would be cam (I would do that if I had the intake off, you are halfway there ).

A rear gear swap will really improve the "feel". Sometimes complete rear ends can be found at a reasonable cost. 3.23-3.42 would be good.

M-14

I'd also do a tranny swap, the TH2004r is an easy one. You can reuse your driveshaft, get a kit to control the converter lock up.Get a tranny crossmember for a A body th400 & ste up your carb linkage for a tv cable. Nothing like going from 2 speeds to 4 speeds.

OldSchoolMuscle71

so even if he drives on the highway a lot can he still cruise at 60-65 without getting into the secondaries of the 4bbl?

M-14

Sure, the 4spd autos are great for more performance & mpg.

z11375ss

If I were you I would put on dual exhaust, a turbo 350 3 speed w/ a shift kit, a four barrel, and enjoy the car. It wasn't meant to be fast and will cost you a small fortune if you try. I had a Chevelle like your Cutlass as my first car. I did these things and had a ball with it.

oldcutlass

$2-3k would net you a new intake and 4v carb, a set of headers and exhaust, wheels and tires, and the necessary maintenance requirements to get the car to stay reliable. Worry about getting it to go faster later, just drive and enjoy it.

rocketraider

CaptJim has the right idea for starters.

A 4-barrel intake and carb (factory or aftermarket, either will work) and true dual exhaust (either stock manifolds, or headers if you want the aggravation that comes with them). You already have decent heads, should be #5. You will be amazed at the difference with just these changes and they are well within your budget.

The 1968 Jetaway transmission is "adequate" for normal use but not really performance oriented. It had lost the switch-pitch torque converter by then and was aimed at people who wanted an automatic with a small-displacement engine- it was available only with 2-barrel 350.

A Turbo 350 is a good upgrade; a 200-4R is even better because it gives you a fairly deep 1st gear for good off the line, and overdrive for highway cruising. The 200 will require some mechanical skills to power the lockup torque converter and set up the throttle valve cable, which people here can help you with.

Past that, your wallet is what will hold you back. 403, 400-425-455 will all drop in easy enough and will unleash the beast.

Normally I'd tell a high-school aged kid wanting to learn car to take an automotive technician course in vo-tech high school or in community college, but they don't teach old car technology anymore. Hang out at some local cruise nights and shows and make friends with some of the old guys. Most are happy and willing to teach a young guy how to do things old-school.

Just beware of the guys who tell you the only option is to drop a Chevy or GM LS engine in there. For one, it shows they don't know what they're talking about and 2) doing that is well beyond the abilities of a teenager with little to no experience.

Tell us where you are and someone here might live close by, or know someone where you are.

In the meantime, enjoy that car. A Supreme was a pretty damn stylish car in 1968 and still looks good today.

olds 307 and 403

Get a Qjet, rebuild it, Performer intake and Hooker headers with 1 5/8" primary tubes and 2.5" collectors. Add a 2.25"-2.50" dual exhaust system. Many companies make header back exhaust kits for your car. A th2004r trans with 2000-2200 stall convertor with 3.90 posi rear gears would be the biggest improvements, by far. It will also cost a few thousand, done right. I gained .6 in the 1/8 mile switching from 2.56 to 3.42. I also noticed a big difference going from 2.74 to 1 first gear to a 2.52 to 1 first, th2004r to th250c. When I lost first completely, had 1.5 to 1 first gear, was AWFUL. You have a 1.8 to 1 first, you will nearly double your launch, just by switching transmissions. A mild cam in the 210 duration range will also be a big improvement. I would also look at a Petronix electronic or similar upgrade to your points distributor. Have fun.

M-14

Its also pretty easy & cheap to add front disc brakes too. Get the spindles & calipers off any 70s GM A, F, or(75 & later) X body.
If you add a hei ignition, remember to bypass the resistor wire that powers the coil, hei runs off of 12v all the time.

captjim

I disagree on the headers in a stock 350. IMO, not worth the hassle and expense.

krooser

Most of this info will be lost on a 16 year old... he needs instant gratification. I just hope he doesn't do what so many newbies do... start tearing things apart without any idea of what they are doing and turning the car into a 'parts car' from a good runner.

When I got my first real driver, a '53 olds 88 two door sedan, my job barely paid for 25 cent gasoline and re-refined oil... and I used a lot of both.

Sadly, I would bet that we never hear from this youngster again... he's probably found a tuner site that has convinced him to dump the Olds in favor of a CRX...

tru-blue 442

If he really likes his Olds, He'll be back.

rocketraider

I think he'll be back and I think he'll stick with this car. He knows what he has and understands he's limited with it. You can tell he's sharp by the way he writes, so he's obviously intelligent enough to soak up and filter the stuff he reads here and elsewhere. My guess is the boy probably likes to tinker with things too. I learned a long time ago not to underestimate a teenage gearhead. You'd be surprised how well a lot of them understand mechanical things.

CaptJim and I think alike here. Not sure if headers are worth the aggravation on a basically stock engine. Sure, he'll "feel" some difference, but I think headers and a big exhaust system might hurt more than help here until he learns how to figure in cam, carb jetting, stall, gears and all the other variables.

Plus there's that business of always having to "massage" headers to get them in there. I can remember more than a few sets that guys had to almost flatten tubes to get it in the car. What good does that do? a flat tube is as restrictive as a cast iron chunk.

Stick with us, Johnathan. The guys here are good, if we are sometimes guilty of going too deep into details right off the bat.

Johnathan Bjerk

My dad worked as a diesel mechanic for years, and has been working on classics ever since, my grandfather too. So I have plenty of mechanical information to help me. The problem is they aren't as interested in making it fast as I am. So I'm here to get some valuable opinions before I make serious decisions on the car. I have a few ideas of putting a 4bb carb, and new intake manifold. I would like some info however, about how to make it a true duel exhaust? And maybe some help with a good value transmission. Sorry I couldn't reply for a while, I was very busy today! Thank you for all of your help!

M-14

They make a cap for the pass. side exh. manifold, but really any good muffler shop could fab one up.

rocketraider

The cap pictured above is all the factory did to create dual exhaust on the 330-350 engines. Blank off the port for the crossover pipe on the passenger side manifold and run a pipe out the back off the LH manifold. The factory never made a true dual exhaust passenger manifold for those engines. Running true duals, probably 2-1/4" with some good low restriction mufflers, will wake the car up considerably. I wouldn't go 2-1/2" unless you radically change cams and carb/intake. Then again I have always tended to be conservative in my builds- I don't subscribe to "bigger is better" on cam, carburetion, stall speed or exhaust.

Use a pre-smog QuadraJet on either a non-EGR factory (cheap/easy) or Edelbrock Performer family intake, somewhere in 2000-6000 rpm range.

Edelbrock and Holley both used to have spread-bore Q-Jet clones. Anyone know if they still produce those?

olds 307 and 403

Holley makes a spreadbore, Edelbrock no longer does. Demon also makes a Thermoquad clone, known as the Street Demon.

XTREMEGSXR

Since were on this subject. I am in the process of redoing a 70 cutlass. 350/350. I don't have the money to rebuild the engine I want. Not sure of milage, car shows 142000. Guys around here say to rebuild it while it out. You can buy a rebuild kit for around 500.00. I was planning on a 400 turbo also. Opinions please.

XTREMEGSXR

more pics

hookem horns

Sounds like you have lots of experience in your family so take their advice. First, let them tell you if the car is a solid and safe foundation - don't want to put lipstick on a pig. That car can become nice and lively without being too much of handful for an young driver. I would take it in 3 stages:

1. Intake/4bbl/duals - all fairly easy and fairly inexpensive if you get your hands dirty and lean on your family to help you along. Helping you learn the ropes will make their day, trust me.
2. TH350 transmission with shift kit - Pretty cheap and easy swap. 200-4R would be better for gas mileage but takes more work to get it right as others mentioned. Would not mess with a TH400 unless there is a 455 in your future.
3. Rear end - 3:23 or 3:42 will liven it up but not be terrible at legal highway speeds
4. Just say no to 20" wheels. Make it yours but don't get all goofy.

pogo69

16 huh?...think he's going to spend all that time working on the car...forget it just put a chrome tip on the single tail pipe and go out and GET SOME CHICKS

Johnathan Bjerk

My father owns a quadrajet carburetor and i think i'll spend some money on a new intake manifold and duel exhaust, but ive heard different stories about headers. I've heard that the manifold works just fine on the cutlass, but i think the headers would actually help. as far as a transmission, ive been pointed towards a 700r4 with an adapter plate. i should have added that this is all down the line a little bit. as of now, new interior is in the mail, and we are currently taking off parts for paint. the dents were fixed a month ago, and it's coming along nicely.

z11375ss

Noice!

M-14

Everytime someone mentions a 2004r trans swap, theres always the 700r4 debate. I'd skip the chevy trans & the adaptor, both those trans are from the 80s, stock, they can handle modest power. Both can be upgraded, both were installed in hipo machines, but the th2004r was used behind an olds motor, has a cable driven speedo (700s can be cable or electric) & the tv cable was hooked to a q-jet carb. If you go junkyard hunting look for 82 up GM cars w/ the olds 307, get the tv/throttle bracket & the tv cable along w/ the trans.
Hot Rod mag did a low buck swap back in august 2000,it showed alot of details, I used to have that article somewhere.

rocketraider

The 2004R is a better choice due to its gear ratio spacing. 700s have a deep first gear and then an almost atrocious spread between 1st and 2nd- 3.06 to 1.62 vs the 200's 2.74 to 1.57. Yeah, the 3.06 gear will get you going off the line but will be a rough shifting transmission in a car as refined as an Oldsmobile. Plus you HAVE to use an adapter plate, whereas the 2004R will bolt right up to your engine.

I had one of those damn things in a 97 Bravada (4L60E) and the 1-2 shift was worse than the Slim Jim in my 64 Starfires, especially after the fluid got thoroughly warmed up.

krooser

Fix it when it breaks.... or be sure the guys who tell you to rebuild it help pay the freight and also do most of the work.

OldSchoolMuscle71

I have a stock 350 w/ 2 bbl getting a 2.5 exhaust installed on Monday. I also had headers installed. My plans are to go performer and 600 w/pertronics. If I add a decent cam will it still have street manners? as this is my daily driver with mostly highway miles I want to eventually go w/ 3.08 posi rear. Is 2.5 going to be an overkill?

OldSchoolMuscle71

Let me add that I plan on keeping the car and plan to do more performance wise. Shift kit w/ stall converter, upgrade to RPM intake and big cam, full MSD and 100 shot of Nitrous with a nice drag radial in the rear, and a 3.42 or 3.73 rear. This will come once I get myself a daily driver and just have fun with this one

stressed1

4:10's out back.
OK maybe not w a 2 speed lol

Olds442redberet

I am up grading my car as well and on a budget. I am buying used parts in order to keep the cost down, plus, I am looking for a classic hot rod look. Since I also want to drive the car while I restore/fix it up, it I am doing a little here and a little there.
I always like to add duel exhaust first when working on my cars. Its an easy upgrade and usually is needed. A nice after market intake and carb is next. Keep in mind I am usually repairing other things as well, such as brakes, or a broken switch so it may take a couple of weekends before I have a chance to replace the intake. A good stereo is also a must within the first few months, as is ensuring the heater works. The car must always remain fun to drive lest you loose interest in it.
Setting a budget and spending a set amount per month is advisable for a young teen and for a few of us adults (me in particular) who still work for a living. You can gather several parts together over a two or three month time period and put them all on during a single weekend. Until then they'll look nice all cleaned up and on a shelf or hanging on a peg board. Plus I enjoy the hunt.
Keep in mind, once you make the car too nice, it becomes stressful. I have one car that my wife never drives for fear of her putting a scratch in it. So I am refraining from painting my new project for as long as I can.
At eighteen I enjoyed working on my old muscle car. Long hours on the weekend were common. So I have confidence that our new friend will stick it out with his Oldsmobile.

Good Luck

M-14

Heres that Hot Rod article.

M-14

& the last pages, hope you've got good eyes

68conv455

Develop a plan, then, upgrade only those parts that you won't have to upgrade twice.
For example, if your dream is to have a 455, don't invest one dime into the 350. Instead, find a nice posi unit with gears in the 3.23-3.55 range for increased acceleration. When you go to dual exhaust, go with a 2.5" pipe so you don't have to upgrade the mufflers and back later. When you get the 455, you'll have to upgrade the transmission too.

PS. If you go with the TH2004R, your cross member will work fine. Just move it a position further back.

z11375ss

I did the exact opposite of what 68 reccommended. It cost me a bundle and I was not satisfied with the power. I built a 455 that just added to my cost like he said. Do the right thing and go with the 455!