finally got a 88 cutlass.... problems have risen

[Bossman317]

So i just bought my first cutlass and so far i have to say, it love it just as much as I thought I would.

My only problem is the motor and transmission combo are a little confusing to me. and I believe it is the root of my small problem.
first off, its an 88 cutlass supreme, the body and suspension are bone stock I'm pretty sure. the exhaust system is true duals with a cherry bomb on each pipe and they are connected to stock manifolds.
that's all I know so far and here's the problems I have come across.

1. the motor is out of an 86 monte carlo super sport, 305 h.o. I haven't checked block casting because I haven't been able to find one yet, but it is painted orange from the factory it looks like, so I will take that as evidence the gentleman wasn't lying to me about it. also it does have center bolt valve covers like a chevy 305 would
is there any way to visually see a difference between n olds 307 and a chevy 305?

2. the transmission looks to be a 2004r from an olds, it's got those universal bell housing bolts( the three holes at the top of the bell housing are not even bolted to anything, and I think this transmission is the root of the 3rd problem.

3. the car runs great and sounds exellent but it wants to shift at like 1500 rpms into second and it's like a long drawn out shift with no power to it at all. and it seems to want to shift into 3rd at just under 2000 rpms. it's like something in the motor or the transmission wont allow the car to build up any power before it shifts....really annoying
It WILL, however, shift manually just fine it seems.

Also, when I hit a bump, big or small, the back of the car sounds as though the frame is not attatched to the rear shocks, which look to be in o.k. condition. its pretty obnoxious to drive with friends in a freshly painted car and then hit a tiny bump and sound as though you just lost a major rear end part lol

can anyone give me some things to troubleshoot? I am brand new to these forums, so let me know if you need more info or anything of the sort.
sorry for the long post and thanks in advance! 🙂

 

[Bossman317]

A little update...
I have a buddy who has a parts camaro. its an 87 iroc z28 with a 305 h.o and a 700r4 im pretty sure. I was wondering if I might be able to do a direct swap if I really do have a 305?

at most I might have to bolt up a new crossmember i believe, but I cant see any major problems past that... thoughts?

 

[bigjoenvegas]

Olds motors have the oil fill on the front of the motor. Chevy would have it on the valve cover. Check behind your drivers side head back by the dist., that is where your casting numbers are. Sounds like your detent (kick-down) cable needs to be adjusted. Just do a search on how to adjust it. Look under and see if you have any marks on your exhaust from your rear end hitting. The exhaust bends over your rear and sometimes when you go over a bump it'll hit. If you have worn out shocks or air shocks too low it'll will cause it to hit.

 

[G-Body_Vet]

1. That engine wouldn't have been factory orange from an '86 SS.
2. Center-bolt valve covers tells me the heads and/or the engine is '87 and later.
3. It's a Chevy engine since you have center-bolt valve covers.

Your erratic shifting could possibly be that the TV (throttle valve) cable isn't adjusted correctly or it could be the wrong one. I believe the Olds had a slightly different cable than the Chevy.....I could be wrong though because I haven't messed with one in years. It's possible that you have the olds cable on a chevy engine or vice versa.

As for the banging around, you might want to look underneath the car and see if you have a frame left underneath the trunk. Wouldn't hurt to pull up the trunk's carpet and look there too. I've seen deteriorated bushings and mounts hammer the undercarriage of a car. If it has duals, it's possible that the driver's side is hitting the crossmember 9depending on how they were ran).

Floorboards and frames are the first thing I check on a g-body. I learned that after owning my first two Malibu's back in the day.

 

[G-Body_Vet]

Olds motors have the oil fill on the front of the motor. Chevy would have it on the valve cover. Check behind your drivers side head back by the dist., that is where your casting numbers are. Sounds like your detent (kick-down) cable needs to be adjusted. Just do a search on how to adjust it. Look under and see if you have any marks on your exhaust from your rear end hitting. The exhaust bends over your rear and sometimes when you go over a bump it'll hit. If you have worn out shocks or air shocks too low it'll will cause it to hit.

Looks like you beat me to it while I was typing!

 

[Black Sheep]

2. Center-bolt valve covers tells me the heads and/or the engine is '87 and later.

My 85 T/A has center-bolt valve covers. Did Montes get them not get them till 87?

 

[megaladon6]

also check the rear suspension control arms, they have to be loaded for the check.
JIC did you check the trans fluid for level and color.

 

[clean8485]

Small block Chev cylinder heads from 1987 & newer have center bolt rocker covers. 1986 & older small block heads have perimeter bolt rocker covers. If your '85 TA has center bolt rocker covers, then I'd say that at least the heads have been changed.

 

[Bossman317]

oh man, the replys give me so much hope! lol

In answer to a few questions,
yes, I did check the transmission fluid, it was not CHERRY red, but it didn't look bad by any means, it had a little more brownish tint, but I was planning on changing it anyway, just havent got around to it yet, Im 21 with a 2 year old and I work about 96 hours a week.
But at least I can infer that I DO infact have a chevy motor.
My only thing with the tv cable is that the transmission rode fine when i first got it last week, it was slow shifting into 2nd but it definately wasn't as dramatic as it is as of yesterday. I stepped on it once, spun a little tire for maybe 2 seconds and the SOB just started shifting terribly and never stopped.

I have adjusted the cable before with the little button on the bracket and all that, but it didn't do anything to help the shifting problem. so I'm hoping I don't need to swap trannies already.

 

[Bossman317]

Also, tomorrow morning I will be checking the exhaust banging on the crossmember, It had 2 notches for the exhaust to run just underneath it. then it turns out right behind the back tires... if someone can tell me how, Ill post a few pictures so you guys can get a better bearing on what I'm dealing with.