71oldsmobilecutlass

Hi all,

I am from Austria and new here and the reason why i joined this forum is the 1971 Olds Cutlass S of my brother (I am a Mopar guy ).
He helped me a lot in building my 408cui stroker engine for my car, so I am looking for a xmas present for him and his Olds.

The 1971 Cutlass has a 350cui wich he wanted to do a mild build, he already has headers, some edelbrock intake and i think a holley 600cfm 4bbl carb.
I dont know whats his exact plan for the engine so i dont want to buy a part for example a cam who is not matching his plans in the end.

Thats why i thought about the gears, he only drives around town never longer roadtrips, so i think a bit shorter rearend will wake this 350 up a little.

I think i remember he said the car has a 10bolt rearend but I am not sure but it should be stock. Is a 10 bolt the stock rearend of a 1971 Cutlass S? Whats the stock gear ratio and which shorter one can you guys recommend?

thanks a lot,
Laurin

oldsmobiledave

The car will have 2.56 or 2.7s gears in it from the facotry. You do not mention anything about tire size, cam specs, converter or how the car is used so choosing a gear will be a guess without that info.


That said your 3 series options are 3.08 3.23 3.42 & 3.73 from factory. Aftermarket has 3.90 & the recently released 3.55 gears.


To me the best compromise will be a set of 3.23 gears but your combination might dictate 3.42s or 3.08s. Evaluate the components I mentioned & make your best choice.


Good Luck with your choice.

71oldsmobilecutlass

Thanks for your answer,
tire size 225/70 r14, cam is still stock but i think it will get a new one soon, converter is stock and will stay i think.

Im driving 3.23 in my Plymouth Scamp and i think it could be a little shorter than mine because the car is only driven around town on the street, never longer than 1 or 2 hours and just for fun.

so i think 3.42 or 3.55 would be good, any recommendations which i can buy?