Newbie Olds 260 question?

[DoubleV]

Never understood all the 260 bashing...

My '79 Cutlass had a 260 and while it was no power house, it ran smooth as silk and was just fine for tooling around town.
It got 19 mpg driving 75 mph from Minneapolis to Boulder, CO. and back. Not bad for a car that was only built to go 55.

Now the 3.8 V6 is a dangerously underpowered turd that deserves ridicule.
Both of my Buicks had them, and I would watch my rear-view mirror with outright horror when pulling into traffic... :lol:

As far as the stock G-bodies I've owned, every V8 car got better mileage than the V6 cars...
My '79 Malibu with the 267 got 20-22 mpg. My V6 cars never got better than 17.

Sure, bigger V8s are more fun, but I say kudos for keeping what you've got on the road.

Hmmm. The HP and torque ratings for the 260 and the 3.8 are pratically the same, so it seems a bit odd to say the 260 is 'fine' and the 3.8 is 'severly underpowered'.

Yes the 260 is durable and runs smooth, but ALL Olds motors are like that so that's not a special quality reserved for the 260. If you just want an engine that's durable, runs smooth, and is 'fine' for slowly getting you from point A to point B and provides 'fair' at best milage when doing so, then the 260 is OK assuming that's what you already have. Most want more though, and the 260 simply pales in comparrison to almost any other car on the road today. Because of this, they get bashed.

P.S. I had a 79 Regal with a 3.8 back in the day. It was slow of course but was peppier than my 78 Cutlass with the 260 I previously owned.

 

[DoubleV]

And as much as I'm sure the die-hard Olds guys will hate this I will say that if the 260ci in this car ever does hit the concrete no way would another Olds motor go in it.

That seems a bit silly to 'no way' even consider another Olds engine.

Parts for them are not as easy to come by, are way more money, and when your all done the oiling system in these engines won't support big power numbers or high rpms without major work.

None of those things are really accurate. Any Olds engine you want you can get. There's still plenty around. Olds engines are not some super expensive engine to build either. I don't know where people get this from. Does it cost more than a Chevy? Of course it does. EVERY other motor cost more than a Chevy! And there's nothing wrong with the SBO oiling system. What kind of RPM's do you think you 'need' to go fast in an Olds that you don't think it can handle?

A Dart Little M blocked, Brodix headed, 434 inch chevy configuration motor is more motor than you could ever need in one of these cars, and it will last forever. I know of a fox body with that exact motor in it, that car would probably smoke most the cars on here that people think are fast, while pulling my car with a chain, lol

You're talking high dollar racing motors now ( that apparently last 'forever' )? I'm confused. You're putting around in a daily driver with an Olds 260 and you're perfectly content, but if it ever takes a crap on you then suddenly only a big Chevy race engine will be acceptable? There's no in between?

 

[Fox80]

According to the papers the original owner gave me with the car "442" in 1980 was only an optional "appearance package" the way I understand it ordering this "package" didn't designate anything in the drivetrain. Looking at the dealer order sheet for 1980 this car would have the base drivetrain with options like a/c, gauge package,etc,etc. But since I was born the year this car was delivered (it was ordered 11/19/79) I am by no means an expert so I can't say for sure. And to Double V I started this post just looking for a set of heads and a intake, I notice anytime someone post anything to do with a motor you chime in with your two cents, being new to this forum I really don't want to start crap, but I'm sure I speak for a lot of people on here your "vast" knowledge of the internal combustion engine is not required or desired. Judging by the signature you use about your "botched motor" you should be the first person to tell people to leave what they have alone instead of writing checks to make an underpowered noise machine out of the car that they have. Every forum has a know-it-all I'm glad it only took me a day to find the one on "G-Body". Since someone found me a top end, and I am plenty capable of doing what I want to the car without any hand holding I consider this thread done. When I'm ready to put a pile of money into a Olds 350 that makes just a little more power than the 260 in my car now I will be sure to ask for your opinion at that time Double V. Thanks to everyone that did help with finding what I was looking for.

 

[DoubleV]

Fox80, you're being an a$$hole. Just because I'm trying to get the facts out and ask you some legit questions you're getting all but hurt over it for some reason. Whatever dude. Kiss off.

 

[olds307 and 403]

DoubleV's underpowered car would be about 10 seconds faster in the 1/4 mile. Keeping the 260 will do nothing for the value of that car. I am sure the 79 came with 350 only and thought that carried over into 1980. You just have to be careful who you deal with in the Olds high performance world. BTR performance or Cutlassefi on Classic Olds are two of the best to deal with when building an Olds. The oiling system is fine for reasonable rpms. You could put a 350 in and most wouldn't know the difference. You could just put plugs in your existing heads.

 

[jetsetw31]

I agree, just plug the heads. Its less of a hassle. Now as far as all this bashing by both you and Double V, Your 260 is a decent running engine, Under powered, YES! but it does get good mileage. Do not put a 200R4 behind it! The 260 will protest. believe it or not the 260 likes to rev. Cruising at 3500 rpms or so is where its happy. It doesn't have the torque to pull a overdrive. Keep your timing straight, and your carb clean and you will continue to get good mileage. Mess with that combo, and you'll join the 260 bashing quickly. Don't listen to the nay sayers.(even your racing buddies don't know everything, or they would be world famous!) Enjoy your car.
Just my 2 cents.
T

 

[carmangary]

I am thinking most of the people bashing the 260s never actually even had one or expected too much out of them to begin with. My Cutlass has a 260 and although it doesn't burn any tires from a stand still it will move on down the road with no problem at all. It has a surprising amount of pep at highway speeds. Mine has at least 200,000 miles on it, maybe 300,000 (can't tell) and runs really well. It isn't a 350 and doesn't perform like a 350 but in my opinion it is a really solid engine.

 

[L92 OLDS]

I had a 79 Regal with a 3.8 back in the day. It was slow of course but was peppier than my 78 Cutlass with the 260 I previously owned.

A high school buddy of mine had a 79' Monte Carlo with the Chevy 267 V8. At the time, I had a Cutlass Supreme with the Buick 3.8 V6 and it would regularly beat his V8. The carburated version of the 3.8 V6 was a slug but it was definitely better than the GM's small cube V8's

If Fox80's 442 came with the 260 I can appreciate that he wants to keep it in the car and is OK with the way the car drives. No doubt there are better performance and mileage combos but that isn't the point of his thread.

 

[classic gbody]

Fox80 what is the fifth digit of your VIN? If its a REAL 442 it will be an "R." In my over 20 years of dealing with 78-80 A/G-Bodies I have never seen or heard of an 80 442 with a 260 from the factory. Did you decode the block? What does the block say just under the heads?

If its a 260 then someone put it in there.

...or its a 442 clone.

Post up some pics of the car.

 

[Fox80]

Thanks to the last few post, good informative post. To jetset thanks I was kind of curious if this thing would now be a dog at highway speed with a four speed. To the post about it being a "real 442" I have no idea, the fifth digit is a "F". The only number I have found on the block is directly in front of the intake above the water pump and it is 5577512B. The pictures of the two motors the guy took for me look exactly like my motor. It would be odd if someone "cloned" this car lol, they did a very nice job laying out all the stripes if they did. I put some pics of the car in the new user section, you guys see what you think