Truly new to the game & seeking advice 88 cutlass

[pencero]

Hi I am approaching 20 years of age and just purchased a white 88 cutlass which I am already rubbing my hands together in apprehension of restoring. I should mention I haven't taken delivery of the car yet, but will have it soon and cant wait to get started.

Keeping in mind that my budget for doing up this car is generous, but not by any means unlimited, I wanted to hear opinions from you experienced rodders about what to do first. The engine in the car is a junkyard 5.0litre (i believe) rebuilt chevy 350 which I may decide not to keep. The car was sold "as is" with a described engine knock, which is supposedly being caused by the flywheel. I really like billet styling cues - so I was drawn to edelbrock's beautiful shiny 350 crate engine and I ordered their catalog - but I'm not sure if I could actually afford such a lavish option with all the labor intensive work that would be required in installing such a beautiful engine - and also since my girlfriend will probably be driving this car and she is not a skilled motorist I was curious what crate engines with EFI might be a better option.

While I'm certainly addicted to power myself and would like to make the car trackable, I would be satisfied enough just to run low 14's and have a vehicle that my g/f can still operate normally. But if I'm going to get the wheel/tires that I want and invest $$$ in painting the car I'm definitely going to short the accelerator cable everytime I hand over the keys to my better half

I may be able to work w/ the 350 that's already in the car, but advice would definitely be appreciated. I should mention the body is straight, 88k miles on the original trans (whatever the stock trans that came w/ that year cutlass is).

I guess the main thing I want advice on is whether I should be satisfied toying w/ the 350 already in the car since this is my first rod and I'm not extremely track-savvy or serious - or if the ammount of money and effort to install something else would prolong and improve the quality of the car so much that it is worth considering or not..
any help would be appreciated!!

thx

 

[SBCregal]

if its a 5 liter motor, im afraid it isnt a 350 it'd be a 305
in which case your best bet would be to find a 350 for it
the edelbrock motor would be decent, as would any crate motor

 

[dougfather]

Since it's and Olds, it could be an Olds 307 V8. The tell tale sign of an Olds 307 engine (or other Olds engines) is the oil fill tube in the front middle of the engine and the driver side starter.

 

[megaladon6]

if it's a 350, no matter what company, keep it. have it checked over to see if it needs a rebuild and if it does, make it a 383 if the trans is a 3 speed it's a th200--pos. if it's a 4spd overdrive then it's a 200-r4, a very very good trans when built right.

 

[andrewmp6]

Yeah a 350 is always a good starting point transmission is up to you id use one thats a overdrive.What do you want to do with the car daily driver,week end car,drag racer or road racer and do you have a budget.

 

[pencero]

I'd say I have less than $10k to paint it get some wheels and do the engine up nice, but I dont want it to be too agressive for daily driving during the summer. It's a 350 but im not sure about anything more than that I havent actually seen it yet in person. It supposedly came out of a delta 88 or pontiac parisienne? . The trans is the 4spd i believe, but it's left over from the original engine which failed at 88k

 

[Vern]

As Dougfather mentioned check for the oil fill tube in the front middle of the engine. My 88 Olds had an Olds 307 with a 5.0 liter sticker. Its easiest and often cheapest to replace an Olds with another Olds such as a 350 or 403 as it drops right in and you just bolt up all your existing altenator, power steering, AC etc. If you replace it with another make you will need to get some of that stuff plus belts etc or brackets to mount it posibly relocating the battery starter & fuel line plus motor mounts & transmission adapter depending on what you have and what you put in it. $10k is enough to do a whole car if you can do some of the labor and are relatively thrifty and plan the thing out first. Unfortunately you can also quickly spend it not finish and have a mis-matched car that disapoints. Experience and knowing what the final product is to look like and do before you start is key. If you don't have the experience get help from someone that does, not just various board member who all have different ideas for and about everything. (The board is a great resource though.) Look for someone who has done what you want with a g-body.

Chevy small blocks are the cheapest and most common crate motors such as the Edelbrock engines you are looking at but IMO the Edelbrock motors are somewhat expensive for what you get compared to other chevy crate motors. There are also vendors / engine builders that will also sell you a crate engine for a marquie. (sp?) You will normally pay a little more for the same power but may make it up in labor time and miscelaneous expenses if you can stay with the same make such as Olds to Olds. Some will say get a sbc no matter what don't even consider anything else. Please don't be brand blind. Most important in my opinion is to get what YOU want so that YOU are happy with it. If you have to spend a little more to get it but you are happy with it then it will be worth it.

My 88 also came with the 200-4R overdrive transmission. Its often the best choice for a real street car that you plan to put lots of miles on but will likley need a build up to hold more serious power. www.2004r.com has good info on them and shows their middle build up for like $1,100 which will likley be suitable for your so far stated goals. Good luck have fun plan it out price and budget first.

 

[79LT1Monte]

If it is a broken flywheel that is causing your knocking noise I would start by pulling the trans and having it gone through. With the trans out of the way you can check that flywheel and go from there. The saying with GM flywheel is there are the ones that are broken and the ones that will. It's a very common problem and this first step can help you make up your mind about the rest of the build. Good Luck

 

[KrisW]

It's a 350 but im not sure about anything more than that I havent actually seen it yet in person. It supposedly came out of a delta 88 or pontiac parisienne? . The trans is the 4spd i believe, but it's left over from the original engine which failed at 88k

Ok, here's where we start. 5.0 would either be Olds 307 or Chevy 305. If the engine came from the delta 88, it would be an Olds 307, if it came from a parisienne then it would be the chevy 305. No 350 came in those cars after 1980 at all. If it's original from that car, then it's a 5.0 liter. A 350 is a 5.7 liter.

With that out of the way, the direction you go with fixing your engine depends on what you have now. If you have not seen it to know which engine you have, you can't start.

If you find that you have a 307 Olds, it is VERY common to have that knocking sound after an engine swap. The bolts loosen up where the torque converter bolts to the flexplate and then bang horribly when running. The chevy flexplates are very thin and just break apart, causing a similar noise. Again, you are more likely to hear this after a swap due to tightening/loosening of the mounting bolts.

Basically, your likelihood of having a 350 is slim. Everybody sells their V8 GM car with a 350 in it, if they think that you won't know the difference. Sometimes they honestly don't know the difference either. But, depending on whether or not you have an Olds or Chevy engine, you should stick with the same engine family when you rebuild to cut down on all of the little costs that go with a fixing a car. Definietly rebuild your 2004R trans or order a nice rebuilt unit from a reputable company, like Bowtie Overdrives or equivalent.

By the way, I voted to scrap the 350, if it's a chevy small block. heheheh