cut123

Im tryin to decide what to do with my newest toy. It a very clean 84 estate wagon woody. I know it is a c platform but im having trouble finding swap parts. I assume a rear out of a caprice cop car would solve my posi issue. I like to do somethin modern underneath but original on the outside. A mild olds 350 i think would be a good bet. Is there any aftermarket for these cars?

cadillac kevin

the car shares underpinnings with the caprice/ impala ss. the wagons were B bodies, even the electras. they simply put electra pieces on a lesabre wagon.

you will needs a rear end from a 1991-1996 "bubble" caprice, roadmaster, or cadillac brougham. they had 5x5 bolt pattern. IIRC, the rear ends for the 1991-96 wagons are different (I think the control arms are mounted differently as the sedan sway bar will not interchange to a wagon rear end)

suspension from an 94-96 impala ss/ 1991-96 9c1 is a direct bolt in. steering box, shocks, springs, sway bars. it all swaps. use 9c3 rear springs or wagon cargo springs. impala ss springs will make the back end sit a bit lower than the front.

If you want to add additional electronics (stereo system), get a CS144 140 amp HO alternator. found on 1994-96 impala ss and 93-96 caddy broughams as standard equipment. make sure the mounting ears are directly across from each other and not at "5 and 7". it will require a larger gauge wire ( 4GA) from alternator to battery.

cut123

Thanks thats just what i was looking for. What about header uptions if i stick with olds engine?

cut123

My air leveling suspension is still working can i keep it with the rear swap

The Stickman

Truth be told there isn't really a big difference in the the chassis used from 77-96. If a wagon from 77-96 has a posi it will work. But it has to be from a wagon. Also no swaybar was ever offered on a wagon. If you so chose there are a few options. Metco makes an aluminum rear lower control that allows you to mount a stock sedan bar on the rear of a wagon. But if you want something bigger you can get a wagon dedicated rear bar. While it will bolt up in the stock location it is best to use an Aftermarket lower control arm, as a big bar will likely twist the heck out of a stock arm even if boxed. Also the rear wagon bars tend to be big so it is pretty much a must to upgrade the front bar. There is a good aftermarket for these cars but most all of it is listed for the 91-96 cars but will fit earlier cars. An Olds 350 works well in these cars. I swapped one into my friends 88 Buick Hearse. If you want dual exhaust though you will need to modify the transmission crossmember. Check out my build thread, and you will see most of what I talked about plus more.


https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ld-thread.html

cut123

wondering if i can keep the cc carb if i swap to 350 without spending much $$

The Stickman

That I don't know. I am using a standard Q-Jet and Mallory distributor. Maybe contact Joe Padavano. If anyone knows it should be him. Now I will say this if you are looking to keep the CC carb I am guessing it would be for emissions purposes. If that is the case then a 350 won't work anyways as you will need to retain the air pump for emissions and the 350 doesn't have the ports on the heads. I suppose you could drill and tap them but what a hassle that would be.

cadillac kevin

ditch the CC carb and distributor. get a rebuild non CC quadrajet or aftermarket and a stock late 70s SBO distributor. I know a guy who tried running a CC carb on a 350 olds in an 80s caddy....didnt work so well. tried rejetting it, still didnt work right. just get a new carb and distributor.

as for the rear end, I thought the 77-90 wagons used the sedan rear end with regards to how the control arms were attached, and 91-96 wagons had different mounting points than sedans.

The Stickman

Nope Kevin all wagon rears are the same. GM dictated that the wagons needed to hold a 4X8 sheet of plywood/drywall laying flat with the gate up which meant they had to widen the rear end. That pushed the control arms out which means sedan sway bars don't fit.

J-(Chicago)

I have a posi wagon rearend here 20 miles west of Chicago. 2.73 posi I believe.
I bought it hoping to use it under my electra, but it was too wide to fit under my wheel skirts.

cut123

What about the computer and lockup? No i dont need to pass emissions. I assumed the ccc would handle a mild late 60s 350? am i wrong? I wanted to kind of keep it looking stock i would get rid or the manifolds.

The Stickman

You won't have to worry about the computer and there are ways to get the lockup to work. Personally mine is unhooked. As long as you get a non CC carb and distributor it will work fine. It should look stock if all you do is switch the carb and distributor. No one will notice the difference under a stock air cleaner.

cut123

looks like im gonna swap the motor for another sbo. so still dont have answers on header fitment.

The Stickman

Here are 3 videos of my exhaust. Once on my car the Olds Custom cruiser exhaust out the back with a 350 with a cam. The next 2 are on My room mates Buick Hearse and stock 350 out the side. No headers on either.

cut123

im gonna assume the 81 custom cruiser headers from headman will work