Is a 350 a 350 no matter who made it when? I'm looking to yank the 305 out of my camaro and drop in something bigger, but it seems like all the good deals are on non-"Chevy" motors. I've found caddy and buick engines really cheap, but I'm not sure what will fit right. Does the year matter? I don't want to find out the wrong way. Any suggestions?

Z-Monkey

 

back in the 60s and for awhile in the 70s, each branch of GM made its own engines. sometime in the late 70s GM started a policy of "coperate engines", meaning they used engines from one division in another divisions car. 3rd gens are example...the pontiacs use chevy engines. 2nd gen pontiacs f-bodies were available with olds 403 engines. those are some examples. anyway old buick, pontiac, olds, and chevy 350s are all different. parts dont interchange. buick, olds, pontiacs, use one bolt pattern for their transmissions, chevys use another.

putting anything but a small block chevy in these cars requires alot of work and fabrication (big block chevys arent near as bad, but they still dont just drop right in), plus a new tranny (big block chevys can use the same tranny)

 

so... if sometime in the late 70's all GM motors became "Corporate", does that mean the 350 in a 87 cutlass will fit in my 83 camaro? It seems to me that if GM consolidated in the late 70's, anything from 80 onward would be interchangable?

 

assuming that 350 is stock, its an olds 350, plus it diesel...but it can be torn down and converted to gas. dont bother...a 350 olds is nothing special.

each division still made its own engines, but they werent restricted to that divisions cars...ie just cause you had a pontiac didnt mean its was a pontiac engine.

let me restate this...ignoreign the v6s and 4cyls...the engines designed to fit in these cars are small block chevy V8s. the only other motors that even bolt up to the trannies are big block chevys. thats not to say you cant put something else in, but it alot of work and you need some custom parts

 

Actually at one the 350 Diesel to gas conversion was a very good way to make a lot of power but still is not worth the effort for a thirdgen.

 

very true.... seeing as those 350 olds diesels were terrible, a gas conversion is a definetly way to make alot power, compared to the stock diesel setup, but stuff for olds motors is way more than sbc stuff and it would not be worth effort to do this and then try to stuff in in a car it was not designed for...especially when you will make more power in with a sbc and do it much cheaper and much easier

 

Odds are extremely high that no 87 Cutlass has a 350, of any brand. More likely, if it's a RWD Cutlass, it has a LG4 305. Although, it's possible that it's an Olds 307, I'm not sure when that last of the non-Chevy GM V8s was discontinued. I know my wife's 84 Buick had the Olds 307 in it. What a pig. It ran good and got good mileage, and gave me very little trouble except for one of those stupid Olds cast chinesium "bridge" things in between the rockers breaking every once in a while; but it was slower than slow.

If it's not a Chevy motor, it's not worth trying to swap it in. Way too much maze for too little cheese. For the extra expense and hassle of transplanting a "free" foreign motor in there, you can buy an entire Chevy motor, and probably still save money.

 

could be a chevy 307. NOW there is a waste of time. 305 is a modder marvle of super performance compared to that bastard of a 302.

 

Since the Chevy 307 was discontinued in about 1971, it's highly unlikely it's one of those.

 

i kinda thought those terrible diesels had been discontinued by then, but that is the only 350 that i know of that came stock in a g-body. as you say it is more than likely the chevy LG4 305.

but if it isnt stock, well then it could be anything....

 

It'd have to be a wagon, those might have still been available with that POS diesel. The 2 doors could only get the 305 or maybe the 307 olds.

Anyway, as for the original post... if you dont have the time and funds, stick to a SBC engine. It'll serve your needs and cost you less.

 

I had an 87 Regal w/the 307 Oldsmobubble engine. I highly, strenuously DO NOT recommend that motor. My dead 2.8 motor int eh bird had more pep.

In the 60's~70's, you basically had teh following bolt patterns/engines:

B-O-P
Caddy (might be the same as some others, not sure)
Chevy

 

well, to bring this all full circle, I had found a 84 cutlass with a 350 (so the ad said) for $150. I was going to buy it and pull the engine out for transplant, but wanted to make sure it'd slip in. it seems it won't. Thanks for the heads up.

 

The big Cadillac family(368, 472 and 500) use the same BOP bolt pattern. Also alot of times people with try to pass off a 305 as a 350 to try and make a quick $.

 

Shrug. Go to moretec.com and memorize some 350 casting #s. Then look at the motor and see if it has the right #. If it does buy it. If it doesn't don't.

 

so to continue in my vien of "other engines" and including Caddibird's family of Big Cad engines, they didn't make a 454, did they? Is it strickly a Chevy engine? 'cause I found a 454 in a Caddy for peanuts, and I do believe I'd like to pretzle up my frame. Am I right to think this is a chevy BB someone else transplanted into a Caddy?

 

The only 454 produced was a chevy engine.

 

As Cronic3rd said only Chevy made 454's. Also I left out the 425 it looks exactly the same as the rest of the big Caddy's.

 

So if I understand this correctly if I had the choice between an '8x Suburban 350 and an '85 Olds 350 the Suburban 350 is the one to grab, right?

 

yup

 

to bad theres not a big aftermarket in 500ci caddy land, thats a big friggin motor.

 

Here's a start

 

maybe ill just by an eldo with a 500. Nothing like a drop top you can fit 5 adults in, have a bb in the front, and room in the trunk for a slew of dead bodies. Now thats a pimp car

 

Pimped there, Styled that

Yeah, it's a Bonnie, but a 19ft long Bonnie. I was gonna put this motor & tranny in the bird, but it was my daily/only driver at the time.

 

Thing is, unless you're wanting to make over 500hp and 600 torque, you don't really NEED a big aftermarket for these motors. Maximum Torque Specialties and CMD make more than you'll ever need to accomplish that, and you can do it cheaper than a big block Chevy. Swap pistons for a little more compression, put in a mild cam, headers, intake, and you'll have more torque than you know what to do with.

They're light (in small block territory once you swap the intake), very compact for a big inch motor, cheap, available, and relatively easy to swap into anything. BTW they have a BOP bolt pattern, just like all Caddy motors. If you're thinking about an alternative engine, this one makes the most sense.

 

The last 500 I snagged at the salvage yard was in a '71 Eldo convertible (factory rated at 365hp, 535lb/ft torque) that had rusted out and BROKE in two at the firewall! A guy saw me pulling it, and said he knew the guy who owned the car. He said the motor was strong, the heads had just been redone, and oh yeah...the former owner was a PIMP!

(Different car though, this one was purple metalflake!)