Hello and thanks for allowing me on the site,

I own a 4 door 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass. I bought this car many years ago and it sat. About 6/7 years ago I finally started my build. I possess very little skill but willing to read, watch, then try it. By God's grace, I was able to bring the old bird back to life. Lots of rookie mistakes, but it runs good! Recently I was planning on going to an overdrive transmission but kept getting the runaround from a local shop and other shops were way too expensive. I'm an educator in Oklahoma(one of the lowest paying states), so I must squeeze every dollar. Long story short, I decided to swap the olds 350 engine and tranny to an LS and 4l60e.

I was able to purchase complete engine and transmission along with all the wiring from an '04 suburban. The engine runs nice and doesn't smoke. It has about 240k miles on it.

I must admit, there's a lot of information out there and trying to put a budget friendly list together is challenging but fun.

My Cutlass is a 4 door and I look at it as my cool family car. No racing just highway cruising with the ac on, and with the ability to smoke the tires if I so choose. My plans include changing gaskets, mild cam, new oil pump. The transmission needs a rebuild, but I got a great deal on everything, so that's fine. As far as oil pan, motor mounts, accessory drive, stock intake vs ls1/6, headers, tranny crossmember (use factory?), fuel(I like the Holley module with the sending unit, don't need to change much and no return) and more I'm not settled on. My ebay cart is loaded with stuff, lol.

I have not purchased anything except for the engine, tranny, etc. so any advice or direction is cool with me. I'm working on limited funds, so I must be smart with my purchases. I've pretty much settled on using the truck intake, assuming it fits, because the car intakes are expensive even when used. I can save by using what I have for now. I'd like to not have to modify the drive shaft, I'm not sure that's possible though. Also, does having a 4 door change anything like oil pan fitment or engine location etc.? The following are my ideas based on my reading/youtubing thus far. Feel free to chime in.

Thanks and God bless!!

-umi motor mounts-seem easy

-generic fbody oil pan/pickup- cost effective

-Chapper performance ac relocation bracket-like ac up higher found on eBay- not to expensive

-Chapper performance alt and power steering bracket-if needed-same as before

-Holley fuel module direct fit module

-clean up engine. Leave bottom end alone. New gaskets, oil pump, cam and springs, clean heads some how, lifters?

​​​​​-f body long tube headers or s10 shorty- ebay, cost effective

-add 2000 windstar electric fans and Grand Cherokee steering box. Both fit well in a bodies.

 

Welcome aboard! Your on the right track. You’ll find plenty of info over in our Conversions And Hybrids section. Lots of A-Body swaps here, so you will have no problem finding what you need.

 

Thank you!