1980 Cutlass build

This is my 1980 Olds Cutlass Supreme. I picked it up in the summer of 2013. I'm the 3rd owner and it's low mileage around 46,000. It's got the stock 3.8 Buick engine and is a factory non ac, split back bench seat, am radio, base model. The only non factory item on it when I bought it were the rally wheels, but it came with the original wheels and color keyed hub caps.
It's a clean survivor car, not perfect but nothing shot to hell either. I take that back the rear bumper has tape on it which I haven't peeled off but I'm not expecting it to be covering minor rust...



The factory 3.8 leaves much to be desired so it's coming out and a boring SBC in going to replace it. I wish budget and time allowed for an Olds engine but it is what it is and it's a non Olds engine replacing a factory non Olds engine so I don't feel like too much of a degenerate...
The engine is a new GM long block assembly with a healthy cam and intake added. In the future it's going to get some head work. As it is now I'm looking at roughly 300 hp. That's like 3.5x what the little 3.8 FEELS like its putting out.
Exhaust will be full length Flowtech headers with Flowtech header mufflers then the pipes exiting in front of the rear wheels. I'll cut and weld the transmission cross member as needed for the exhaust to clear.
I lucked out and the car has a TH350 with multifit bellhousing so the Chevy will bolt right up.
Due to budget constraints I'll stick with the stock torque converter for now and upgrade it when I do the rear end swap which will likely be a 9".

I went with the serpentine drive setup from a junk 89 GMC k2500 I have. It's a non ac setup with steel bracket. I figured it would look cleaner than the aluminum setup I have from a 92 Chevy k1500 that has the ac bracket built in.
The only issue is the upper radiator hose routing but I think I can solve that with a truck thermostat housing and an upper hose for a small block Olds car.

Also on the agenda is a new aluminum radiator and electric fan setup since the V6 parts won't do.
The radiator is a Champion and the fan is 16" 2500 cfm with a full coverage aluminum shroud. Some work will need done to the shroud to get it to fit the radiator and get a good seal. But I think it should cool very well.

The only place I have to work is outside in my gravel driveway so I'm waiting on the weather to break and the ground to dry before I start the engine swap.

No pictures of that yet. I'm going to wait until the engine is in to figure out the fan shroud mounting. The shroud fits the width of the new radiator but not the height, it's taller than the core by about an inch so I really need the radiator at least sitting in the bottom rubbers to know exactly how low the shroud can go in order to figure out how the top will fit and if fillers are needed. I wish I would have gotten a universal fit radiator instead of a factory fit. The top and bottom supports of the core on this factory fit aren't as wide as the core or tanks, if they were my new shroud would be a simple bolt on.

Sometime down the road I want to try the aluminum 1.76 ratio Powerglide I have laying around. It's a rebuilt stock replacement I have left from street stock racing. Maybe after I get better rear end gearing. All I'll need is a torque converter and dipstick. I'm not sure what to expect from it on the street since the street stock cars are set up much different with 5.67 to 6.20 gears, nearly double the HP this engine has and a lot more stall than this car needs.
The temptation is the old school cool factor of it. Besides if I don't like it I can always but the TH350 back in.
Some drivability issues are ok for me with this car, it's not going to be a racer or a daily driver, Just a fun reliable cruiser.

On a side note, for anyone looking at the Goodwrench Mexico built crate engines, be aware that the blocks aren't made the same as they used to be. GM lightened the block casting quite a bit and I have since found out they aren't the best candidate for a stroker application. I did a lot of research on what to buy before hand but didn't read about this issue until after.
My plans were to have it turned into a 383 in the future but now I'm not sure...

The first engine I was all prepared to buy was a Blueprint 383 from Summit but I started noticing in a lot of online videos that at relatively low miles they are smoking from the tailpipes. The first example is the roadkill episodes on the MoterTrend youtube channel with Finnigans wife's Elcamino. Granted it doesn't seem like they did much to break it in but I still think the rings should have sealed. Also I've read that many are already bored .040" over. And Blueprint is kind of sketchy on their info when they describe what comes in and on an engine. GM is upfront and you know the parts are at least stock quality and new.
The other drawback was that I read of many people having issues with their Blueprint engine and the builder not stepping up until the buy trashes them on the net. Whereas I have never heard of issues with GM crate engines, I've had a few friends use them and I put one in my GMC truck years ago. Plus every piece is brand new to start with. I'm not knocking Blueprint because I've also read postings of more people who are satisfied with them than people who aren't.

So that's why I bought the GM engine over others and the one drawback I see with it.
If I had a 350 engine that was an acceptable candidate to build I would have just gone to an engine builder but the only options I had were late 80's early 90's 2 bolt main blocks that have the crappy heads, no mechanical fuel pump provision and TBI intakes.

06 dodge cr said:

No offense but i like the 92 serpentine belt set up alot better just looks cleaner. Good luck with your engine swap should be a nice cruiser!

Click to expand...

Thanks!
I agree,now that I've had a chance to look at this one a while I think the 92 setup would look better. I have one but the alternator mount is broke. Maybe later on down the road I'll pick up a better set and swap it out.
I don't mind this one, but to me it looks offset all to the driver side and the steel bracket is heavy, it did lighten up when I cut the AIR pump bracket off. It does look and function much better than v belts though! I am still thinking of repainting the pulleys black, the silver seemed like a good idea until I bolted it together. I also have to pick up a 6 rib pulley for the tensioner. The 89 GMC used 4 rib.

I have only ever know this type alternator to be refered to as a spool mount. It's the same basic mount system GM used on the G body cars. A 2" wide pivot boss and a threaded adjuster boss. Just the bosses are in different positions. The threaded adjuster boss is offset to the left. It uses a CS-130 alternator.

Went to the junk yard yesterday to get a radiator top plate. I found the only one there. It had been removed from a 4 door Cutlass and was laying 3 cars down the row on top of the air cleaned of an early 70's Cadillac. Only cost me $5... I also had plans of looking for other goodies for G bodies while there and found nothing useful. There were only roughly 15 g bodies there, mostly 4 door Buicks and Olds. Most are either stripped of good stuff or all the good stuff is useless. Probably the most interesting was a 1980 Cutlass Supreme that had been a bucket seat car and had the rallye pac gauges, R vin, half vinyl top. All the good stuff was stripped and gone. Even the front suspension was gone, removed with a torch... None of the cars are new since I was there in September but there are a few missing...

Anyway the radiator top plate was one of the last things I needed to get the swap started. I've been trying to get as many items that I need as possible so they are on hand when the swap starts. All that's really left to buy is motor oil, ATF, serpentine belt, 6 groove tensioner pulley, upper radiator hose and exhaust pipes to connect to the header mufflers and exit in front of the rear wheels. Although I'm not opposed to driving it without the pipes.
I think the top plate should make mounting my electric fan shroud really simple.
Hopefully I'll be able to get started this Friday. The front frame rails need cleaned and painted badly, they are bare metal that has been kept oiled for years. The rest of the engine bay needs cleaned as well and a fresh coat of paint on the fire wall and core support. Every surface of this car besides the interior and the body is coated in oil of some type...