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'87 Olds Cutlass Supreme. You vote

What to do with an unexciting g-body

  • Total voters
    20
  • Poll closed .
beags86

beags86

Eastbound and Down
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So, for those who have read my 79 thread, there is a mention of a 87 cutlass that I was playing with in around 07- 09, then in 09 I moved to Colorado and had to leave the car in storage. Well now that I am back to living in the same state I have been thinking about it. Currently it sits with one or both head gaskets blown.

It currently has a 325hp factory rated '68 olds rocket 350, with accel ignition an eddy performer rpm intake and carb, headers dumping into full 3in duals with super 40s.
Buick t-type (turbine) wheels powercoated black.
And not much else.
I currently have factory buckets and a factory floor shifter for it.

It met it's final day with a 125 shot of nos. I pushed it in storage and it hasn't moved an inch since.
The nos has since been removed as I thought it might go on the 76 for some fun.

So currently I don't really know which direction I want to go with the car.
I am pretty sure a drag style car isn't in this cars future.
Not sure I care to keep it stock looking.
Don't think I want a Hurst olds or 442 clone either.
So what does ck5 think I should do?
Keep it olds powered? LS swap?
Low cubic inch big block swap just for something different?
I have never seen a 396 BBC in a 87 cutlass.... not saying there isn't one out there.....

17 inch wheels? 18s? 18/19 combo?

Lowered or stock height?

Body's mods?

@campfire style mismatched wheels?

Boring old Chevy cowl hood?

Lastly just because I said it in the thread title doesn't mean I really am going to build it. lol
 
Last edited:
Well, here is my non-voting input.

First, I agree with @JoshHefnerX, we need to know what direction you're leaning before our input can be really useful. DD? Go-fast car? Sunday evening cruising around town? Mid-week trips to the drive-in?

You already said that you're not going to be dragging it, so a BBC is probably overkill.
LS swaps are overdone.

Different is good, but my idea of different is probably different than yours. I'd probably wind up with a small tractor engine or something weird like that, just for the fun of it (some of them make fun sounds :wink1:). Yes, a 6.2 would count as weird, though most folks would probably just think you had the 350 Olds diesel. And that's not a particularly fun association. If you were to actually go diesel, a turbine would be mandatory (the n/a 6.2 would not feel right in a 325HP car).


Body-wise...I'm not sure. There is something neat about a stockish sleeper hiding a bunch of performance underneath. Maybe a BBC is a fine idea. You can also do a bunch with a supercharged 3800. The 3.6TT would be fun. I haven't seen that swap done yet. :thinking:

:popcorn:
 
Look up sloppymechanics on you tube.. he has a mean ls turbo powered 80s fairmont..
it's stupid, and really really stupid.
I vote the cheapest ls motor you can find that's decent and complete and then slap set of eBay turbo headers and a pair of hx35s from a cummins. That should set you up for enough power to move the yatch fast..
tall gears and a th400 and just go out on the highway at night to piss people off..
why.. because why not.. be sure to keep it nice and quiet to not give anything away.
Should make for a nice cruiser too because any ls will return stupid mileage with 3.07 or so gears...
 
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I misspoke before I started with a 310 Hp engine. With the manifold and headers i would guess 325-335.
I also capped the exhaust cross over in the heads and milled the head a bit to bump compression.
 
So, I don't have a build theme. Anyone has a thought, let me know. Currently the car hasn't moved in 7 years so I dont need the car. So it doesn't Have to do anything except what I want. I don't need it to be multi use anything.
I will lay down some ground rules for this build. 400hp. It will have to have at least 400 Hp.

So no campy a John Deere 317 lawn mower kohler engine with a turbo won't cut it. I dont care if that setup is getting 400mpg.
 
beags86 said:
Yep. Mostly because I like messing with you.
Click to expand...

I figured as much.

beags86 said:
So, I don't have a build theme. Anyone has a thought, let me know. Currently the car hasn't moved in 7 years so I dont need the car. So it doesn't Have to do anything except what I want. I don't need it to be multi use anything.
I will lay down some ground rules for this build. 400hp. It will have to have at least 400 Hp.

So no campy a John Deere 317 lawn mower kohler engine with a turbo won't cut it. I dont care if that setup is getting 400mpg.
Click to expand...

No, I wasn't thinking of anything that Kohler makes. When you talked about "different," I thought it would be neat to run an old Farmall engine just for the sound (it would turn a bunch of heads without being obnoxious). But if you want 400HP, low speed workhorse engines are not for you. 400HP at 1500RPM will do a good job of shredding your drivetrain. :doah: And a 400HP inline engine will be a bit of a squeeze for that engine bay.

Neither did I make any 400MPG recommendations. I didn't figure this car would see enough miles for anyone to care what the fuel consumption is. My recommendation was either BBC or a newer super/turbocharged V6. I still think that's the way to go unless you stumble across some quirky thing to stuff under the hood for novelty's sake.
 
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