1986 Cutlass Supreme / 455 Build / TH400

[Schober Motorsports]

Hello all!

Well after I sold my 65' Cutlass because it was just too much to fix, I decided to get a car that was less prone to have rust on it... Oh how I love the cheap 80's! Anyway, I stayed Olds since I already rebuilt a 455 that was already .040 over and had those C heads on it, so anyway! I was doing some research and found out that the 200-4R trans thats in it now and the TH400 trans that came with the 455 when I bought it are exactly the same length from bellhousing to transmount (Right?), so does that mean that I can just drop this Th400 in and mount it and all I would have to do is just get that driveshaft cut? Also I have the 8.2 rear end out of the 65, could I use that in this car and would it hold up to the 455?

Also I have a Edelbrock Carb 1405, 600 CFM, Manual Choke for sale off the car, it worked just fine just don't want to run Edelbrock... Selling it for 200 bucks obo.

Thanks, also any advice about doing this swap I would love to hear, seeing that I really would like to learn anything I can about these cars I would appreciate any feedback!

Thanks

 

[marcar1993]

The 8.2 WILL NOT bolt in. The 8.5 is a better option from another g-body. Without stick tires a 7.5 will probably work too. Or you can get a rear from a 68-72 or 73-77 (don't remember which) and bolt it in with adjustable upper control arms from umi. However you will need different wheels because the flanges are 1" further out on each side.

 

[Schober Motorsports]

I should of added this... I'm planning on going bracket racing with the car, not looking to running 10's or anything (Even though that would be awesome lol) But I was thinking 12's would be ideal... Is there anything to beef up that 7.5 so it'll take 12's or is that too much for that rear end?

 

[FE3X CLONE]

You could beef the 7.5" up to handle 12's but by the time you spent the money to do that, you could have just bought an 8.5" G-body rear and been miles ahead.

 

[3XBrownCutty]

might have to check the rules at your track. I remember somebody saying you have to have outer door handles to run at a track. That might be for real quick cars though. Just giving you a heads up!

 

[STL84Calais]

I'm about half way through my build/swap with about the same set up. I'm learning as I go too, so feel free to not make any of my mistakes! (So far, so good lol).

 

[FE3X CLONE]

might have to check the rules at your track. I remember somebody saying you have to have outer door handles to run at a track. That might be for real quick cars though. Just giving you a heads up!

Your correct. Most tracks won't let you run with no door handles because its a safety issue. However depending on the track, you might be able to get away with it.

I'll be in the same boat since I'm shaving my door handles as well. I'll just put a decal on my window that says "In case of emergency, break glass!"

Seriously, if there was an issue at the track that was so serious they needed to get you out of the car then break the glass.

 

[Blake442]

Should be a fun project! I have a blast with my 455 powered 442!

Was the car originally a V6 or V8 car?

You are correct about the trans swap. The TH400 will drop right in on the stock 200-4R crossmember, but you might want to look into one of the various aftermarket pieces available so you can clear true-dual exhaust, or modify the existing one.
If you're running a short-tail TH400, you'll have to take 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch out of the drive shaft. Put it all together and measure to be sure.

I've never been a fan of shaved handles, and it looks like whoever did it botched it...
Bummer, but fixing other peoples mistakes is half the fun of a project, right? 😀

The money you could spend on making a different rear or your existing rear work would be better put towards an 8.5 out of a GN or 442 that will bolt right in without any modifications, except that the 8.5 will require an additional 1" out of the driveshaft.

 

[Schober Motorsports]

Should be a fun project! I have a blast with my 455 powered 442!

Was the car originally a V6 or V8 car?

You are correct about the trans swap. The TH400 will drop right in on the stock 200-4R crossmember, but you might want to look into one of the various aftermarket pieces available so you can clear true-dual exhaust, or modify the existing one.
If you're running a short-tail TH400, you'll have to take 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch out of the drive shaft. Put it all together and measure to be sure.

I've never been a fan of shaved handles, and it looks like whoever did it botched it...
Bummer, but fixing other peoples mistakes is half the fun of a project, right? 😀

The money you could spend on making a different rear or your existing rear work would be better put towards an 8.5 out of a GN or 442 that will bolt right in without any modifications, except that the 8.5 will require an additional 1" out of the driveshaft.

It was a V8 car, here's actually a good story... I was already aware that the car had engine issues and stuff, so we go to start it and get it on the trailer, you can hear the loud knocking from the engine... I already knew I wanted to put my 455 in there so it really wasn't an issue to me, but anyway so we get it on the trailer, drive home, and unload it off. I get it started and everything and drive it into my garage, as soon as the back end clears where my garage, a huge cloud of smoke comes out of the carb and just fills the garage with the smoke and the engine dies on me! When I was on the phone with the guy I told him directly, "All I need is it to get in my garage" and heh it did just that!

Also about the True Dual Exhaust, the cross member has already been done. When I took a look under there I saw that the cross member was already cutout to make room for that duel flowmaster system, I got kinda lucky there...

Also I was thinking that the NHRA would give me trouble about those door handles, so I am most likely going to put that door handles back on.

The car originally came with headers also... What kinda fabrication am I going to have to (Attempt 🙂 ) to get these things to work? They are small block headers.

 

[Schober Motorsports]

March 6th 2010 Update

Well the first beautiful 40 degree day in Chicago... Sure makes it feel like Summer, why couldn't we just skip Spring all together and just get right to Summer! Anyway, I decided it was a good day to unwrap the 455 and I am sure glad I did, gave me that extra push to get stuff done! Decided to get the Th400 trans painted, and yes I know its Chevy Orange! Took about 2 hours with a dremel to get all the crap that was stuck in all the tight corners of this thing. Tomorrow I'm going to clean up the frame and give it a nice quick coat of black, I'll be sure to post pictures of that tomorrow.

ps the magic bus sticker was that factory option little to no one ever took, my car seems to have it.