Well I am just finishing up swapping the 307 in my '86 Cutlass for a SBC.
I did a little research first and found out alot of misinformation. I am going to lay out my swap and how it turned out. Currently I am just waiting for a friend of mine to finish up some welds on my transmission crossmember for the dual exhaust.
Motor mounts: First thing I did was pulled the 307. I had to remove the Olds mounts on the frame and install the Chevy clamshells. This can be done without removing suspension parts. The Chevy mounts will only use 3 of the 4 holes. The trick is to use the slots where the fuel lines come out of the frame. You can stick a wrench in there and get the 2 top bolts/nuts in the Chevy mounts. The bottom bolt/nut is easy to do.
Fuel lines: Next thing is the fact that the Olds 307 and the SBC have the fuel pumps on the same side. So, hooking up the the fuel lines is a no brainer.
Steering box: I have heard people say that you have to swap out the steering box for this swap. That is total BS. I had no problems there.
The starters/ batteries: On both engines, the starters are on opposite sides. Not a hard problem to fix. I lengthened the wires on the stock harness. I used solder and shrink wrap for good weather-proof connections. Also, changing the battery location is a good idea. That is not hard b/c both inner fender wells have locations for the battery.
Other wiring: I cut all the wires to the sensors that are not going to be used. I kept the power wire for the dist. Also kept the wire for the tach. I was able to reuse the temp sending unit and it's wire so the factory temp gauge in the dash still works. I did the same for the oil sending unit and wiring. I kept all the a/c wiring (I will get into this below), cruise wiring, and the transmission wiring. It takes a little effort to cut the right wires and keep the correct ones. I am by no means a genious when it comes to this stuff, so I think anyone attempting this swap can do it. In the end, I kept the stock ECM in place to control the a/c, transmission lock-up and cruise.
Engine brackets:I used a complete set off an '88 TPI engine from a Camaro. It worked great! I used the alt, p/s pump, and a/c. The beauty of these brackets is that it puts the a/c comp. in the same location that the 307 did! I was able to use all the 307 hoses. For the p/s pump, I even used the hoses that were from the Camaro I got the stuff from. Also, this setup uses one serp belt. I used an electric radiator fan instaed of a clutch or flex fan.
Headers and exhaust: For this I used the Hooker headers from Summit. I think they were about $150. I also used the Summit 2 1/2" header back kit ($189 w/mufflers). The headers were easy, the exhaust needed alot of trimming to make it fit. I am using the stock transmission xmember with a notch to clear the exhaust on the driver's side.
I will post some pics tomarrow if I can. If you have any questions or comments....post'em up. Please no comments about putting the SBC in an OLDS. It's my car and I have wanted this combo for sometime.
I did a little research first and found out alot of misinformation. I am going to lay out my swap and how it turned out. Currently I am just waiting for a friend of mine to finish up some welds on my transmission crossmember for the dual exhaust.
Motor mounts: First thing I did was pulled the 307. I had to remove the Olds mounts on the frame and install the Chevy clamshells. This can be done without removing suspension parts. The Chevy mounts will only use 3 of the 4 holes. The trick is to use the slots where the fuel lines come out of the frame. You can stick a wrench in there and get the 2 top bolts/nuts in the Chevy mounts. The bottom bolt/nut is easy to do.
Fuel lines: Next thing is the fact that the Olds 307 and the SBC have the fuel pumps on the same side. So, hooking up the the fuel lines is a no brainer.
Steering box: I have heard people say that you have to swap out the steering box for this swap. That is total BS. I had no problems there.
The starters/ batteries: On both engines, the starters are on opposite sides. Not a hard problem to fix. I lengthened the wires on the stock harness. I used solder and shrink wrap for good weather-proof connections. Also, changing the battery location is a good idea. That is not hard b/c both inner fender wells have locations for the battery.
Other wiring: I cut all the wires to the sensors that are not going to be used. I kept the power wire for the dist. Also kept the wire for the tach. I was able to reuse the temp sending unit and it's wire so the factory temp gauge in the dash still works. I did the same for the oil sending unit and wiring. I kept all the a/c wiring (I will get into this below), cruise wiring, and the transmission wiring. It takes a little effort to cut the right wires and keep the correct ones. I am by no means a genious when it comes to this stuff, so I think anyone attempting this swap can do it. In the end, I kept the stock ECM in place to control the a/c, transmission lock-up and cruise.
Engine brackets:I used a complete set off an '88 TPI engine from a Camaro. It worked great! I used the alt, p/s pump, and a/c. The beauty of these brackets is that it puts the a/c comp. in the same location that the 307 did! I was able to use all the 307 hoses. For the p/s pump, I even used the hoses that were from the Camaro I got the stuff from. Also, this setup uses one serp belt. I used an electric radiator fan instaed of a clutch or flex fan.
Headers and exhaust: For this I used the Hooker headers from Summit. I think they were about $150. I also used the Summit 2 1/2" header back kit ($189 w/mufflers). The headers were easy, the exhaust needed alot of trimming to make it fit. I am using the stock transmission xmember with a notch to clear the exhaust on the driver's side.
I will post some pics tomarrow if I can. If you have any questions or comments....post'em up. Please no comments about putting the SBC in an OLDS. It's my car and I have wanted this combo for sometime.
From the seat of my paints feel, I bet it would run low 15's. Better than the 18's the 307 would do.
