My 67 C/S ragtop has a 330 with the 2 speed Jet trans. Do i hate that it reminds me of my many old powerglides that I have blown in my early years ? YES ! LOL. That being said, the Cutlass is not a racer to say the least & Im a bone stock factory guy in my older years now anyway. It runs down the road just fine as is, what would I gain by going to a TH350 if anything ? Is it a direct bolt up if I found the correct TH350 ? Drive shaft length etc ? Also how do I know if its a switch pitch ? On the end of my throttle linkage near the firewall there is a type of connection block that is black with wires plugged into the brass tabs. Does this have anything to do with it. I also notice no matter what the speed im going it has no kick down. I can do it manually but im not sure how fast i can take 1st gear up too. If im easy on the peday she will shuft into 2nd at a very low speed.... Thanks in advance for your help....

 

you would gain a real first gear, not starting out in second gear, as the jetaway does(ratio-wise). the s.p. does help some, but not like a real first gear. seeing as how the th350 didn't come out until '69, there are going to be a few issues, but imo, the addition of a third gear is worth the effort. i believe the driveshaft will need to be altered, the tranny mount moved(holes might be there in the frame-otherwise drill), e-brake cables may be different(i just mounted the hanger to a different spot when i put in the th400 s.p.), and the shift indicator will not show when you are in manual first gear. everything lined-up for me, except first gear is off the "scale". you'll need to rig up the downshift cable for the th350 too. considering you have a rod throttle linkage, you're gonna have an issue there. nothing that can't be overcome though. th350's never had a switch pitch. it is a direct bolt-up to the motor. the piece you're referring to at the end of the throttle near the firewall is the bellcrank assembly and s.p. /kickdown switch assembly. there should be 3 wires connected to the s.p./kickdown switch(orange on it's own connector and a 2 wire connector that runs down to the trans.) check your trans. fuse in the fuse block. on a jetaway, you can hold low until 80 mph(i assume the the switch pitch isn't working and is in low torque multiplication mode(default)).


bill

 

Wow Bill & thank you. Thats a whole bunch I didnt know for sure. I think for now I'll leave the 2 speed till the end of summer. I do agree with wanting a real first gear though. You are right about taking off with no kick in the seat at all. This is a far cry power wise from my 67 G.S 400 (Sold). I will check today if my back is up too it about the fuse & the connections on the trans for the s/p. I appreciate the info big time as ive never had an Olds c/s, 330 or a jetaway trans. I know very little about them. Up until my Buick G.S all this was foreign as i was a SB Chevy freak with TH350's & 400's being the power delivery. 68 327 Camaro, 72 Stingray 350 etc. Thank you again..Have a great day.

 

If you are going to drive the car alot and keep it a long time, why don't you change to an overdrive trans like a 200r4. From what I have read not much different than putting in a t350. Just a thought.

Larry

 

ISH, I will look into that. I read something on another therad about that trans too...And yes ive never been a Sunday only driver type guy. I drive what i own....Thank you.

 

Not to hijack, but BILL DEMMER, do you know of solutions to overcome the throttle rod linkage issue when converting to a TH350 or 200R4?

Thomas

 

after finally getting a friend to do a crawl under i now see that the plug on the trans in this car has 2 insert areas & the trans only has one brass prong coming off of it..different trans im thinking..

 

that would require some creative thinking, or you could try to install the throttle cable set up from a '68-'72 cutlass. then, change the throttle end on the carb; or go with the stud that can be mounted to the throttle end(gotta get it right on for proper downshift/tvs cable operation). in any event, it's not impossible, it'll just take a fair bit of research and elbow grease.


bill

 

Here is how you setup the "kickdown switch" in your 67 -65 cutlass.

1. First, disconnect throttle linkage at firewall mounted switch (or carb)
2. Rotate throttle bellcrank thingy by hand all the way forward. (toward front of car). you should / might hear or feel a very faint ratcheting.
3. Now, carefully reconnect linkage being careful not to rotate much toward WOT (wide open throttle)
4. get in car and depress gas pedal to the floor.
kickdown switch is now set. (if it is working)
you can use a meter to see if there is continuity, otherwise the 45 year old lube is gunking things up and it needs to be rebuilt or cleaned inside...

ON bench, carefully pry tabs back from bakelite face. Careful of springs inside! degrease entire unit. (I like to immerse case in muriatic acid solution real quick to make super clean after de-greasing. a small zinc plating kit will make it look almost new!) Use pencil eraser to clean / polish copper terminals. No touching contacts with fingers after clean! Use quality electrical lube and relube springs slides etc. There are 2 plastic pieces inside... ratcheting teeth, that must not be dry rotted or your unit is shot and cannot be preset. Re-assemble and use the side of a 3/8 socket extention to bend tabs back into place (correct radius). rotate assembly. At the very end of each sweep, you should feel / hear a few clicks (5-8) maybe only 3 loud ones.
install and refer to setup procedure above.
Good luck!

 

Sounds like u may have done this once or twice...LOL...Thank you for all the info..