1970 Olds Cutlass S Rat Rod Style

[olds307 and 403]

Got the drive shaft in, yoke about half way in the output shaft with the rear control on stands. Fully extended would pull it in another inch at least. I had to modify the the little driveshaft loop near the front U joint. Added carriage bolts and added spacers, should just be clear of the larger 1350 yoke. The battery was dead. Have the charger on, will need to hook up the laptop to enable the 4L80E. I put in about 10 liters to start of some THF and synthetic Dexron 3.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Well I have foward and reverse gears but my TCI shifter isn't setup right. No park, may have to move the cable foward, the sweep is a bit different for gears. Also the dust cover off the TH350 won't work unless I grind it, front hits the flexplate. For the price of a 4L80E replacement, $200 and up, I will give it a try. I will do the programming next weekend on the Terminator X Max.

 

[olds307 and 403]

So I got the linkage properly adjusted, now have park. I had to move the bolts foward on the bracket and adjust the cable stops. I also picked up a 3 foot by 3/4" ID reflective heat covering for the shifter cable. It is velcro closure and came with metal zip ties and gloves. Another pair for work, same material and rubber coated I use to deliver fuel. Almost the perfect length to completely protect the shift cable from the way too close exhaust. I took it for a drive after I thought I added the 4L80E. Apparently not, only second and reverse, limp mode. Good part, the converter flashes over 2000 rpm, around 2100 which is about perfect. Pretty sure the TH350 trans cover won't work, still contacts the flexplate despite much grinding, will order one off Ebay for a 4L80E. I think I may have the trans added in on the software, will see next test drive.

 

[DRIVEN]

Almost there. Burnout pics in a few days.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Well, it was an interesting test drive. The good, pretty sure the lifter tick was the stupid flexplate cover hitting, even with the TH350. First on the bad list, driveshaft hitting the loop. I added about 1" of clearance should be good now. Second, I thought the torque converter snout was hitting the crank, nope. I found the flexplate bolts not very tight, one was obviously loose. After stripping one tightening it, many hours later after dropping the starter and getting the M10x1.5 bolts out, I realized 3 things. The holes were too small and didn't line up with the larger metric bolts. Also the large 17mm heads barely cleared the edge of the neutral balance Speedmaster flexplate, even a socket was very tight. Also needed longer bolts to add washers above and below. I reamed out the holes with a step drill bit. I bought 30mm long bolts to replace the 20mm long bolts and tapped the torque converter mounting lugs. I added two washers to help the bolt head clear and added the two very thick washers inxluded with the adapter plus one thicker than normal washer between the torque converter and flexplate. I also drained out a liter plus of ATF, overfilled it. Also still in limp mode, tried adding it through the laptop, a PIA. Added it through the handheld, still in limp mode. There have been cases of bad wires from new. Also my key would not shut off the car last night, really worn out and had to unhook the battery to kill it.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Changed the ignition switch and realized it is the tumbler that will no longer return to the lock position, tumbler ery worn. I stripped the last screw on the horn bezel, so said screw it and ordered an 250 amp Amazon battery disconnect. Canadian Tire used offer these and they worked quite well. A key fob connects and disconnects the battery. I will eventually get a replacement but will mean a 3rd key, makes it driveable for now and get the trans tuned in.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Ordered a new lock cylinder, it was cheap, under $20. I unhooked the negative, it didn't turn off till I bumped the key foward, weird. Looks like I need to do both to drive it.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Well took it out for a drive, had a bad vibration. I am actually going to swap driveshafts, this one is actually about half way, which might be too much. Plus both joints ended up tighter than I like. The other driveshaft actually should be perfect and just needs a 1330 to 1350 conversion joint, for the front I have two. Also just going to use the two washers on the flexplate included with the adapter, in case that is the issue.

 

[olds307 and 403]

I added a starter heat reflective cover, very close to the header. I ran the new slightly shorter torque bolts through the die after trying them, didn't go in smoothly. I also tapped all 3 holes for the torque converter. I used only the two washers supplied behind the flexplate. I actually had to grind the 17mm socket for one flexplate bolt, right up against the edge. I also found out not all U joints are the same. I installed a 1330 to 1350 Spicer U joint. It was very stiff in the driveshaft. I also bought an Allstar Performance 1330 to 1350 U joint. It was slightly narrower on the 1330 portion and moved as it should, so I used it instead. I decided to use the other driveshaft which is actually just the right length, a good inch to spare with the suspension fully extended. Still in limp mode, power at the trans fuse and I flipped the main connector, others have had it upside down, can be installed either way. Need to test for voltage at the 4L80E and see if power is where it is supposed to be.

 

[olds307 and 403]

I checked for power at the big trans connector, only reference voltage at the L terminal. I checked the key on wire, 12 volts at it. Then I rechecked the main trans harness fuse. It had nothing, checked the wrong one before, side by side. I traced it to the battery, to the ground side! Put it on the positive side, I had power at the E terminal, found some other stuff, including a better Holley wiring diagram. I now have all gears, some tire spin off the line, stalls around 2100 rpm. It now cruises about 1850 rpm at 60 mph. My $30 plug in speedometer is about the same as my speedometer app. A Holley digital dash may be my next big purchase. Next will be my push button start.