Olds 350 in 85 Cutlass?

[bigdan]

Ill second Joe on this ...
do not attempt to drop a cadillac ,buick or pontiac engine , expecting to be a "drop in "...motor mounts are totally different ....
as joe says the only easy part is the trans bolt patern similarities
Dan

 

[KrisW]

Ill second Joe on this ...
do not attempt to drop a cadillac ,buick or pontiac engine , expecting to be a "drop in "...motor mounts are totally different ....
as joe says the only easy part is the trans bolt patern similarities
Dan

Hey!!

Wait a minute!!

The Olds; Any olds V8 (even the big blocks) will set down on 307 mounts.

The Pontiac; Any Pontiac V8 will set down on the Pontiac 265/301 mounts. There are many parts that do not interchange but you can use the motor mounts and the HEI distributor.

The Buick; The 300/340/350 Buick small blocks will DROP RIGHT IN on the 3.8 V6 motor mounts. You can also use all of the V6 accessory drive on the front of the engine.

Only the Cadillac is a question mark for me, as I have not done that swap yet. The others I can personally vouch for.

Olds: I have an 80 Cutlass that has had diesel, gas Olds 350/307, and now diesel again! Same mounts

Buick: I have helped with a 350 swap into an 85 Regal. I am getting ready to do that swap again right now myself...

Pontiac: I helped a friend put a 400 Pontiac in a 1980 Buick Regal that originally had a 301. DROP IN SWAP!!

 

[bigdan]

Kris, did you read my post...
I said not to expect a cadillac or pontiac or buick to be a drop ( fits in motor mounts directly without any mods)

I dint mention olds engine .....someone else had already answered that an olds engine was a drop in ( no mottor mounts mods to fit)

Dan

 

[KrisW]

I guess it's just a difference of opinion.

I consider "drop in" and "bolt in" the same thing. If it's just a matter of swapping the frame brackets to make the engine fit, that's a drop in for me. Particularly if those frame brackets are in the wrecking yard often.

I will try to explain myself more in the future.

I didn't mean to step on anybody's post.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

OMG!!! There's a GM diesel from the 80's that actually still runs? That has to be some sort of a record!!! :lol:

 

[KrisW]

It doesn't just run; it RUNS!!!

Anyway, I have 3 of them right now and maybe a few more on the way.

They don't need much to run well, they just need someone other than a small block chevy mechanic to keep them going. It takes more than a crescent wrench and a screwdriver to keep them going.

It also helps if you are a diesel tech of some sort...

There's no secret to running them. Like any other engine you just find the weak points and fix those...

I'd be more than happy to explain it but I think I am the last guy who actually likes these engines a lot.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

My thing is, most of the good diesels just seem to run forever with little servicing and the GM diesels tended to die off pretty rapidly when they were new. This was the era when you could get the most reliable car in history new-and it was a diesel. I am of course referring to the Mercedes Benz W123 Chassis 240D, 300D and 300Dt. Slow, but more of them have hit the million mile mark than any other car ever produced. The GM cars were lucky to hit 150k. None of the diesels we are talking about were quick-none could even hit 60 in under 13 seconds, but it seems that GM did it half assed and built it's engine more to have something to offer the Mercedes buyer than to actually build a good reliable engine. I was a kid when they were new, but they were the butt of many a joke back then. Low mileage diesels were in the parts for sale section of the paper for very little money with dead engines. Some of it was ignorance of the owners, but much was probably due to design flaws inherent in converting a gas engine to diesel. They are responsible for the undeserved black eye diesel has in this country now, but hopefully that will change soon. Please don't think I am poking fun at you because I am not. If you have found a way to make this engine do what you need it to I applaud your efforts and would love to learn more from you. I love to learn and always enjoy exploring different technologies. I have started a few diesel threads in the General Discussion forum lately because I want to share and explore ideas/opinions on the subject. It has been a subject I have been researching over the last month or so as I will probably buy a diesel in the not too distant future. I have no actual experience with diesels, so I can't wait to play with an inexpensive "guinea pig" vehicle when I have time for it. It will likely be a 82-85 300D turbo as they are easy to find good information and parts for. Plus, they are cheap and can be found for under $1,000. I may try to brew biodiesel or find it through a local co-op or even run WVO in it. There are so many things I want to try and I can't wait to get started.

 

[ryanwitski]

the 80's GM diesels stunk b/c they were gas blocks and built cheap. Now the new GM diesels are a beast! and yes the Germans build a good one too.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, yes and no. The diesel 350 blocks were different from the gas versions and are actually much better than the gas versions. They had thicker cylinder walls and large webs in the valley, plus they were made to take the injection pump. The diesel block is actually used by some people to build a big inch Olds small block ( short deck) because they can be bored out more than gas models. Mercedes on the other hand, built it's diesels with removable cylinders like a big rig engine. The Benz was designed to be a much more industrial car as it's main market in Europe was as a taxi cab, like a Checker Marathon would be here.