CUTLASS Ready or not here I come...

[CopperNick]

Ah, lemme see here; Gen I SBC with three deuces, a Vertex or Hunt Mag, headers, vintage Edelbrock aluminum rocker covers, and the early, front oil fill tube intake? All that remains here is for there to be a video of it running!!! Dinosaur? Sure it's a dinosaur, but so is an alligator. And you don't have to think metric or torque to yield or bolt stretch to have fun with one.

And you missed a level, or possibly even two, namely, an 1/8 x 1/8 flathead with a set of Arduns and a SCot blower. There is actually a new age SCot blower out by H&H that addresses and fixes all the weaknesses that the old ones came with.

And/or a built Six. From GM the 261/292 truck motors that have the potential to grow as big as 327; Can you say TORQUE? Or the 300 Ford series, which, with very little work can be tweaked and teased to give up some TORQUE!!! Even the lowly Mopar 225 slant six can be "encouraged" to yield some surprising performance results.

Big deal, you say? Ah-yup, particularly if your goal is a combination of torque and economy that is both affordable and which will boggle the minds of the looky-loos at the periodic show and shine exercises that come along during the summer. The icing on the cake of all this is the smile that pops up on someone's puss when you go easing on by in the parking lot and they hear that pipe note that says "something special, this way comes".


Nick

 

[86LK]

Ah, lemme see here; Gen I SBC with three deuces, a Vertex or Hunt Mag, headers, vintage Edelbrock aluminum rocker covers, and the early, front oil fill tube intake? All that remains here is for there to be a video of it running!!! Dinosaur? Sure it's a dinosaur, but so is an alligator. And you don't have to think metric or torque to yield or bolt stretch to have fun with one.

And you missed a level, or possibly even two, namely, an 1/8 x 1/8 flathead with a set of Arduns and a SCot blower. There is actually a new age SCot blower out by H&H that addresses and fixes all the weaknesses that the old ones came with.

And/or a built Six. From GM the 261/292 truck motors that have the potential to grow as big as 327; Can you say TORQUE? Or the 300 Ford series, which, with very little work can be tweaked and teased to give up some TORQUE!!! Even the lowly Mopar 225 slant six can be "encouraged" to yield some surprising performance results.

Big deal, you say? Ah-yup, particularly if your goal is a combination of torque and economy that both affordable and which will boggle the minds of the looky-loos at the periodic show and shine exercises that come along during the summer. The icing on the cake of all this is the smile that pops up on someone's puss when you go easing on by in the parking lot and they hear that pipe note that says "something special, this way comes".


Nick

and when the EMP goes off and all those 'puterized vehicles shutdown, and Red Dawn kicks off, guess which one will be up and running the fastest? 😁

 

[CopperNick]

We-ell it likely won't be the Vertex fired SBC. Mostly because any EMP worth its charge would kill the perma-magnets in the unit flatter than warm artisan beer. And it probably wouldn't be the LS, because even though the coils would survive the CPU's wouldn't so there would be no way for the sensors to function because there would be no processor to receive and interpret the incoming data.

All of which tends to lead me towards that ole' Flathead. Why? Points, condensor, and coil. No memory or magnets in any of them. Generator? Field and Armature windings. Have to polarize it but you can do that with a 6V lantern battery if it comes down to it. Global EMP Strike?? it will be the fossils and dinosaurs that survive, including those of the mechanical world. If you can kick start it or hand crank it, or know how to recharge a battery using a stationary bicycle and friction driven generator, then you are in like Flynn. Add the formula for black powder and blacksmith's tools and we are well on the road back to being in business. Add a stash of sparkplug files for when those plugs need regapping and better still. Heavy power? Big old D2 Cat with the hand started pup motor. Hang a layer of heavy plate on it and call it a tank. Moving on.


Nick

 

[Houston78]

Been taking baby steps on finishing up the motor. I added steam tubes to the block and the throttle body to the intake. I haven't bolted it down yet, I'm going to wait to mate the transmission to the block before I torque the intake to the block. There are a few bolts that I can access easier from there when installing the transmission. Next step is either transmission or fuel system. Gonna make the decision this weekend. Also gonna contemplate the drive system...

 

[Houston78]

I totally goofed up, I forgot to install a plug on the oil pan for the return line connections. I thought I would be able to unbolt the pan and slide it out but it gets hung up, I'm assuming it's on the shield. I hope I have enough wiggle room to thread the plug by hand and then tighten by allen wrench.

 

[scoti]

I totally goofed up, I forgot to install a plug on the oil pan for the return line connections. I thought I would be able to unbolt the pan and slide it out but it gets hung up, I'm assuming it's on the shield. I hope I have enough wiggle room to thread the plug by hand and then tighten by allen wrench.

Well, @ least there's minimal parts on the motor which will make the task of yanking it back out easy enough.

 

[Houston78]

Well, @ least there's minimal parts on the motor which will make the task of yanking it back out easy enough.

That's for sure, hopefully I will knock it out this weekend. My deadline goal is 4th of July.

 

[Houston78]

Knocked the plugs on the oil pan out. I forgot it had the pick up tube between the "splash shield" and that's why it wouldn't slide out. I sure hope I don't have to drop the pan again for some reason.

Anyway I bolted the transmission to the block but didn't have the bolts for flywheel to torque converter so I had to buy them. I will take care of that later today.

Also ordered the wrong AN fittings for the transmission, they should be here soon. What size trans cooler would you guys recommend I use. It's a 4l60e.

As I wait for the trans fittings to come in I will take care of the fuel pump and fuel lines.

I will install the intake, injectors, fuel rails and headers once I drop the engine and trans. I can start doing the wiring after that. I know I will have a few questions once I get started on this part of the install.

Would I be able to use the original differential for the mean time or should I go ahead and upgrade it before I drive it? I still need a few more components to buy starter, radiator, drive accessories, driveshaft.

I'm having fun doing this a lot of things to learn...

 

[scoti]

Knocked the plugs on the oil pan out. I forgot it had the pick up tube between the "splash shield" and that's why it wouldn't slide out. I sure hope I don't have to drop the pan again for some reason.

Anyway I bolted the transmission to the block but didn't have the bolts for flywheel to torque converter so I had to buy them. I will take care of that later today.

Also ordered the wrong AN fittings for the transmission, they should be here soon. What size trans cooler would you guys recommend I use. It's a 4l60e.

As I wait for the trans fittings to come in I will take care of the fuel pump and fuel lines.

I will install the intake, injectors, fuel rails and headers once I drop the engine and trans. I can start doing the wiring after that. I know I will have a few questions once I get started on this part of the install.

Would I be able to use the original differential for the mean time or should I go ahead and upgrade it before I drive it? I still need a few more components to buy starter, radiator, drive accessories, driveshaft.

I'm having fun doing this a lot of things to learn...

The original differential will survive as long as it's not abused. That buys you time to sort installation start-up related issues w/o spending all resources.

That being said, the effectiveness of everything as a combo will likely not be optimized. The right motor, cam, induction, trans, & convertor get's you 3/4's of the way. The rear gear/tire OD will be icing on the cake when matched to the rest of the combo. If anything, get a proper driveshaft. I've seen more than one LS swapped g-body/s10 set-up destroy an OE shaft. When that happens, it can mess up other parts you just spent $$ on.

 

[Houston78]

The original differential will survive as long as it's not abused. That buys you time to sort installation start-up related issues w/o spending all resources.

That being said, the effectiveness of everything as a combo will likely not be optimized. The right motor, cam, induction, trans, & convertor get's you 3/4's of the way. The rear gear/tire OD will be icing on the cake when matched to the rest of the combo. If anything, get a proper driveshaft. I've seen more than one LS swapped g-body/s10 set-up destroy an OE shaft. When that happens, it can mess up other parts you just spent $$ on.

I will upgrade the gears and driveshaft for sure, I'd like to have fun after I'm done swapping the engine and trans...as far as wheel size I'm still debating that...