Thread: 455 olds in an 84 cutlass?

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Hello, I have been trying to find info on people dropping a 455 in an 80's model cutlass. I have hit a few dead ends with nothing more than pictures. The cutlass right now is a 231 V6. Does anyone know of any big issues I am going to face dropping the 455 in? I have heard that I cannot do headers because of a clearance issue on the passenger side. I am a major olds fan and any info you have for me would be greatly appreciated!

I can't answer all your questions, but here's what I know. The only difference in the "small" Olds and the "big" Olds motors is that the "big" motors have a taller deck height to accomodate the longer stroke. Motor mount locations and bellhousing pattern are common to both type blocks, so a 400, 425, or 455 (all tall decks) should bolt into your Cutlass if you use a set of motor mount stands made for any of the Olds motors that was OEM in the 1978 and later G-body. As for clearance, the 455 will be taller and wider due to the taller deck, and I can't comment on what will fit the Cutlass in that regard.

Bob

with ac i'd say it will be a little tight.

Heck, anything will fit if you want it in there bad enough and are willing to do a bit of extra work beyond the bolt ons!!!! I do know the 455 Olds engine will fit in a '58 chebbie pickup!!! As Mike said, the A/C is going to give you some problems, without looking at the car, maybe a low mount compressor vs. the stock mounting location??? Headers, might as well plan on building some doubt seriously if anybody makes anything for it. But hey, if you want it in there, you can make it work with a bit of engineering and some good old fashioned physical labor!!!

As far as the A/C, I don't plan on having one....I never did have an A/C in it even back in High School. I just plan on driving it on the weekends. This dream has been 10 years in the mind, and I am just getting to where I can throw some time and money into it. It should be some fun, I wanted to be a bit different, it seems like too many people were running 403's in the cutlass. Plus getting a 455 for free didn't hurt.

i made headers for a olds in a s10 the guy kept telling me they said it could not be done and i said no it should not be done but it was so your car should not be to bad but the ac pump may take some work but you can find a smaller pump?

My son and I put a 455 Olds/Turbo 400 into a '72 Chevy Luv pickup, so yeah, I'd say the Cutlass would be a slam-dunk.

someone saying it can't be done is just that much more incentive to do it!!!!!!

If it won't fit the Cutlass, it will fit nicely in my 57 Olds.

A 455 in a Chevy LUV and an S-10??? That is a bit of over-kill there....my kind of people! I knew I would like this forum! As far as the headers, the info I saw said that it would be best to use the stock manifolds off of a w-30 car due to running the true duels. It said that it would be 10-15 hp less, but even without those ponies, I am still gonna have traction issues....though it's the kind of "issues" I think I can live with. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not looking for a track car. I just want a nice cruiser that I can have some fun with. Stock it is 350 hp and 500 lbs.

I have a 83 Cutlass with a 455 in it, it is tight and sometimes changing plugs is a pain, but go with it, its not that bad.

Originally Posted by jays442olds

Hello, I have been trying to find info on people dropping a 455 in an 80's model cutlass. I have hit a few dead ends with nothing more than pictures. The cutlass right now is a 231 V6. Does anyone know of any big issues I am going to face dropping the 455 in? I have heard that I cannot do headers because of a clearance issue on the passenger side. I am a major olds fan and any info you have for me would be greatly appreciated!

virtually anything you want to know about olds heads, blocks(bb,sb) what will interchange with what, any issues, actually anything you can think of is addressed simply by going to ask.com (ask jeeves) the site is called "the olds faq compiler" a more complete site for oldsmobiles i've never seen. give it a shot. I,too am a major fan of olds' ,partly because it's what i'm putting in my hot rod (see "old spirit"), but mostly the respect i've gained from my research. There is a hard core group of us that hang out in the smoke shack at work every day and we have the typical debates about the merits of this car or that, but there's something that slips by the tone deaf chevy diehards, and that's the unmistakable rumble of an olds, as distinctive as the difference between a harley and a honda.

My car has stock manifolds, I think headers would be super tight. I had to go to another oil filter, the one called for is nice big filter, but transmission coolent lines in the way, so had to do the like STP 3675. Its a 350 Turbo with shift kit. love the shift kit. The motor mounts were inverted it bolted right in. The a/c deal on the firewall makes #8 a pain to change, but its one of those things. I don't have a/c. It is a pleasure to drive, kinda expensive pleasure for my wallet, so this car sit 2 yrs not even started, car I was driving laid down. Put a battery on it started right up. I hope I have such good luck with my 58 Metropolitan convertible, definitely easier on the wallet.