Nice Cutlass...been an Olds guy my whole life so I would definitely drop in another Olds motor but any G body I was building would get a factory engine no matter what GM brand it was. You would save a lot of time and money going with a 350 it would be pretty straight forward. Thinking if you painted your front and rear bumpers to match the body it would look even better and more modern. Hard to beat the look of an Olds engine in a Cutlass.
I run a ZZ4 Crate Motor. Neighbor down the street just put in an LS2 in an 82 Olds Delta 88 2dr along with the complete wiring harness from the donor 2006 GTO. He is pretty good at doing car stuff but he's had nothing but problems trying to figure out all the electronics of the OEM harness even with a schematic. Seems that if all the sensors aren't connected so the ECM can read all the parameters it just doesn't run right. He's just bought an expensive aftermarket harness with all the modules to make it run right. He still has his original engine and at times just gets fed up and wants to throw in the towel!
Nice Cutlass...been an Olds guy my whole life so I would definitely drop in another Olds motor but any G body I was building would get a factory engine no matter what GM brand it was. You would save a lot of time and money going with a 350 it would be pretty straight forward. Thinking if you painted your front and rear bumpers to match the body it would look even better and more modern. Hard to beat the look of an Olds engine in a Cutlass.View attachment 218143View attachment 218144
That's a tough one. I am old school (read: OLD, 58) and have Olds power in my two. However, the allure of some modern GM hardware is not lost on me. I have considered doing the LS thing in the 70 Cutlass S in my sig since it is not a 442 or specialty Olds.
It really is up to you and how hard (or easy) it might be whichever way you may go. Ignore any haters, it's your car. Hell, put a Coyote Ford crate setup in there and just piss everyone off. 😆
The big thing to consider is lead time at your local machine shop for considering between the two. A 45 to 50 year old motor will need machine work. There are multiple modern pistons and rods available for the Olds 350. There is even a 4" Billet stroker crank with a cheaper forged version coming available. Uses LS rods and pistons as part of the kit, I believe. Edelbrock is coming out with a 68cc head this Summer. Roller lifters are stupid expensive with an Olds V8. I personally am not a fan of LS, terrible as stock in trucks for their ratings IMHO. Good luck.
The big thing to consider is lead time at your local machine shop for considering between the two. A 45 to 50 year old motor will need machine work. There are multiple modern pistons and rods available for the Olds 350. There is even a 4" Billet stroker crank with a cheaper forged version coming available. Uses LS rods and pistons as part of the kit, I believe. Edelbrock is coming out with a 68cc head this Summer. Roller lifters are stupid expensive with an Olds V8. I personally am not a fan of LS, terrible as stock in trucks for their ratings IMHO. Good luck.
Oh, Oh and now the rest of the story. You gotta work with what you have a bunch of $$$$$$ or just few $
Have you seen the price of parts at any store, web or brick and mortar!
Ask the price of a machine shop by the hour or job? It worse than seeing a Dentist.
IMHO: Clean up what you have (make it look pretty). do some basic internal cleaning to get the junk out and a tune up. Use it while saving pennies in a coffee can. Good Luck.
Thanks Olds Calais. I need to get new hoses made for the AC. I'm looking at getting new oem condenser, evaporator, with new hoses for the 5.3 compressor. I need to conform, but I will need to tap into a wire at the ecm to activate the fans. The ac controller needs to be cleaned and make sure its holding vacuum. Not is a rush, but in texas we need ac.
The swap was done by a friend of mine. We bought oem frame clamshell mounts but used some adjustable ebay engine mounts to bring the engine as forward as possible. I took us about a year off and on, he fabricated the trans support, and ecm and fan brackets. If you have specific questions, let me know, I will ask my buddy for details.
I will post interior pics in a bit.
Thanks for your interest
GBodyForum is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
