Olds/Chevy swap

[84cutspreme]

I love it when the arguments start with olds vs. chevy... I've done both types of swaps. I don't take sides, because it's all General Motors to me. 1st car was an 85' cutlass w/ buick 231 & 200c swapped to olds 307 & 200-4r. 2nd swap was an 84' cutlass w/ buick 231 & 200c to a chevy 350 & 700r-4. Hands down the olds swap is easier...I chose a chevy 350 & 700r-4 both for the same reason though, there are more parts available both in selection & inventory. Only thing I don't hate is the a/c on the driver side lol, but soon I'll have a serp belt setup to solve that issue. As long as you don't go dropping in a ford or mopar motor in your g-bodies, then you're okay in my book.

One more small comment not meant to piss anyone off, but cutlass's did also come with 305's at one point...which pissed a lot of people off back then too lol.

 

[80_cutlass]

To tell the truth, I could care less what engine goes into the car.

I just can't stand by and listen to how practically every make of car should have a chevy engine stuck in it. Yikes.

I was given a chevy 350 when my sister broke hers in a suburban. To wit, I put it into the truck. If I had not been GIVEN that engine I had already procurred the correct mounts to put an (obviously inferior) OLDS motor into it. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it. When (I said when) this 350 chevy croaks, an OLDS motor will probably end up living in it.

I guess all those Fords and Mopars and Jeeps I've built should have been chevy powered. Gosh, what a fool I have been.'

sb

 

[beeterolds]

Just toss in a 455 Olds.. thats the BEST swap i ever made.. direct bolt in from a 307... it sits a bit higher tho.. i think my used running motor cost me $700 total

 

[DrRansom442]

One more small comment not meant to piss anyone off, but cutlass's did also come with 305's at one point...which pissed a lot of people off back then too lol.

It wasn't that they came with them "at one point" they came with them in one country for whatever reasons the combination of gbody/307 was never emission certified in Canada but the 305 was. I've never heard a canadian thankful that his olds had a 305 in it ... Rather I've often heard of the opposite given that every 305 car I've driven performed equivalent to the 260 in my 81 - I can see why. They actually make the 307 feel like a torque-monster!

 

[78Calais]

I was happy to find my 305 Cutlass since I had a SBC that came out of my 71 Chevelle just sitting around on an engine stand waiting to be freshened up a bit. I like all the "G"-bodies and they are reasonably priced and readily available compared to the older Chevelles/Camaros/Novas that would have been my preference. I would have been happy to find a Regal, Monte, G P or Malibu as well but I found the Olds first. I went with what worked best for me and what I'm familiar and comfortable with. Build the car to your own preferences and enjoy it.

 

[86sleeper]

check out my gallery, when i first got my 86 cutlass it had a 69 pontiac 400, last year the oil pump died so i went with sbc 355 ,, it wasn't hard at all,

 

[dogsht]

I am obviously not a purist because as you can see from my pics & signature I put a Cadillac 500 in my Olds. I picked my engine based on my objectives which included cost or power to cost and practicality of use and install. I am not blind to other makes and considering the whole project & goals not just the cost of a engine built kit etc. Small narrow minded people who are so blind to engine makes other than their own favorite seem moronic to me. Wouldn't you feel really stupid after making statements like there are no good Olds engines and its pretty stupid to use anything else (but sbc) in virtually anything. Man you know he is an objective thinker. I bet GM's engine designers many who have helped design engines (by objectives) for different GM makes ie Chevy and Olds and.. would think what a stupid moron.

The SBC swap definitely has its appeals and values as does putting in another SBO. The SBO if you can find one for a good price generally makes the most sense for most peoples objectives but there is that big two letter word.. if. Yea you would probably have to look a little harder and with Olds fans in particular to find one. But if you don't want to be as said generic you might be glad you did. Other people want to say because it matches my tatoo and thats fine as long as they don't force it on others. At the end of the day when it comes to "project cars" especially it should be . . because I wanted to have x in my car.

Just don't stress have fun with it.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Olds motors are much better low rpm torque motors. I had a stock 307 that killed the sbc 350's power wise in a 78 1/2 ton. Why you may ask? The truck had 2.76 gearing with a fairly tall tire. The original sbc 350 ran very good till 280,000 km when it blew up but was horrible gutlass in this truck. The 5A 307 out performed the 350 even with the restrictive exhaust cross over and a single glass pack. The replacement sbc 350 before the 307 was even worse. The 307 had over 400,000 km when I put it in the truck. Edelbrock redoing the Olds RPM head, with a fast burn chamber and better flow makes our engine more competitive head wise too.

 

[86Cutlass383SR]

I thought about keeping my mouth shut ... but...

First of all, let me state that I love my G-Body Cutlass. In the past I've had numerous cars including 69 Camaro(s), a 69 Chevelle, 73 Pontiac Gran Prix, an 84 Cutlass with the 3.8 V6, Ford F-250 pickup, and my current daily driver is a 91 Buick LeSabre.

My current build is an 86 Cutlass which is getting a 385 SBC that will be fuel injected with Accel SuperRam, AFR heads, hydraulic roller cam and a Tremec Aftermarket T56 trans.

I myself don't see why guys are looked down upon just because they put the (yes) overused SBC in one. But then, there are numerous reasons why some guys use this motor. They are excellant motors. Some are better than others. I've built SBC's all my life so that's what I know best. My first Cutlass started out as a V6 3.8 and I had to get a differant engine in it to use as a daily driver. I had a 350 Chevy I did a stock rebuild on so I dropped that in it. It turned it into a really fun driver that took me on many road trips over several years. Replacement parts (the few that were needed) were plentiful anywhere.

Olds motors are good motors, too. I've seen several that I wouldn't mind owning. But, I didn't have any. When I swapped out my V6 I couldn't really see going out and buying an Olds engine core and rebuilding it and then searching the yards for all the correct mounts and bracketery that I would need to plant said Olds motor in my car. I didn't have the time as I needed a running car ASAP. I didn't really have the cash to procure all the necessary parts to put in the Olds engine. I had a stash of Chevy parts that would meet my objective at the time. I used what I had.

The old Cutlass served me well for a few years. Had a lot of fun in that car. It wasn't everyone's cup of tea but it was mine and I liked it! So much so, when I had to choose one car to keep and one to get rid of, I got rid of my 69 Camaro I'd had for over 15 years. That shocked MANY people! Well, mother nature caught up to my old friend and cancer ended her life. Just way too much for me to have cured. I bought a replacement at that time. I could have bought a Monte or a Camaro or a Nissan for that matter. I found another Cutlass, an 86, and I had to have it. It was a fairly rust-free (for Southern Illinois) body that needed a motor. Hmmm... I have everything to put a motor in that car... Yes, it had an Olds enginge in it. The famous 307. I could've rebuilt the 307. And I'd still have a 307. But seeing I wouldn't waste my time on a 305 SBC either, that 307 wasn't an option in my mind. I don't see as many Regal guys catching sh*t for not running Buick V8. What about the Gran Prix guys using their Pontiac motors. They all had good V8's, too

As far as Olds motors being better or worse than Chevy engines, well, I can say this. It really depends on how they're built. We need to compare like-wise engines. Compare a built 455 to a stock SBC and yeah, the Olds will be faster. Chevy guys could compare a built 406 to a stone stock 307, too. I'm not here to say one is better than the other. I've seen good and bad in both brands. I've seen both last to well over 250,000 miles. It depends on how they're built, for what purpose, with what parts, and how they're maintained.

It would've been silly of me to sell all my Chevy parts and buy Olds parts just to keep an Olds engine in an Olds car. My car has progressed to what it is. If I do sell all my SBC stuff I'll be buying LSx parts anyway.

Did anybody look down on the moonshiners when they started putting Caddy engines in '40 Fords? I guess the revenuers did when they couldn't catch them. I thought hot rodding was all about swapping parts to make your ride faster or better. I didn't know there were *rules* that rodders couldn't break. I always thought rodders were *rule-breakers* or rebels to begin with. At least it was a Supreme and not a 442 or H/O.

Jeez... build your car. With what you got, or can get. Be damned with what others think of it and respect others for what they built. I don't like ricers but I respect the power they can get from them. I don't like donks but they put a lot of time and money in them.

Spend a little more time enjoying *our* cars and less time nit-picking others.

Okay, I'm done ranting now. Someone else's turn on this soap box...

 

[bill]

My take on this discussion is simple. I like olds motors (350,455) more than chevy motors. A Chevy 350 is a great engine because its easily built to various degrees, it is cheaper to find parts for and it is dependable and makes good power. But these reasons are exactly why I didnt put a SBC in my car. I want people to be a bit surprised when I open the hood and they see a fresh, but old, rebuilt, reborn olds engine. Plus, oldsmobile motors are becoming more scarce as many people use them for boat engines and trucks, etc. I may someday sell my car, but the engine will probably stay with me...lol. To me, the sound of an OLDS is unique and easy to recognize as compared to a chevy. That sound, and the torque that it represents, gives the car more character and, in my opinion, more class. Just my 2 rusty pennies worth....lol