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'87 Olds Cutlass Supreme. You vote

What to do with an unexciting g-body

  • Total voters
    20
  • Poll closed .
The 430 Buick engine is a torque monster that makes its best torque at low RPMs...it would bolt right up to the Olds transmission bellhousing,you would have to make some plates to mount on the block for engine mounts,but that shouldn't be too hard..provided you have the brackets as mentioned for the P/S and alternator,etc,that swap would be pretty cool,and I bet the car would fly with that Buick engine in it..

I helped a guy put a 430 in a '64 GMC 2wd pickup truck..he had the engine & a TH400 from a '69 Electra 225 and we managed to get it bolted in in less than 2 days of puttering around,we made flat steel plates to the engine block to reach back where the original motor mounts bolted to the frame,and the TH400 actually bolted up to the crossmember ,we did need a different tranny mount (truck was a 3 on the tree straight 6 originally)..

--and we had to move the crossmember back and drill holes to mount it to the frame--also used a one piece drive shaft out of a Chevelle that happened to be the right length and already had the TH400 internal clip u-joints he had lying around..

That truck was a terror after that,it was a 3/4 ton with a full floating eaton rear end that had 4:56 gears--it would lay rubber endlessly as long as you held it floored,and once the bed was put back on it and some weight added,it launched very hard and there wasn't too many fast cars that could beat it in a 1/8 or 1/4 mile race..
 
Yeah, the Buick 430 has all the brackets and a matching turbo 400 on the back of it. I acquired it for the BOP t400.
I got the whole thing for free. I was told it was a Buick 400, until I ran the numbers myself.
I was Thinking the t400 would be useful for this car.
But I don't think I am going to go down that road.

Pretty sure this set up will end up in the first rat rod I build.... someday....



A twin turbo ls is probably where this car is headed
 
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Probably going to see how cheaply I can make 600hp, junk yard ls, some t3/t4 churbos and some eBay turbo headers and intercooler. Who knows what else. Probably some 18 inch 5 spoke wheels, and air suspension, some sort of hood scoop, idk. Just thinking out loud.
 
I have had a boner for this car for years.

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Maybe I'll get into molding some custom fender flares for this car. This is a regal. But it's the same.
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I think I would like to use some Olds inspired paint. Some w30 style.
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Mind you I said I don't want to do an Hurst olds or 442.
So think w30 inspired maybe a Chip foose kind of take of this, a dark gun metal gray instead of black, and a darkened up gold,

Or maybe swap the colors gunmetal grey on top, with dark gold for the rest of the car.... that might be tough though.
Maybe a gunmetal with a flat gold. And some sort of black on the hood...
 
Since you changed the options I changed my vote from LS3 to twin turbo LS.
 
Ok since I have digested TT LS swap for a week now I think i am 100 % in on this. Now does ck5 have a thought on which engine I should look for? I would say straight up that and LS1,2,3 would all be top of the list followed by an aluminum 6.0 and the 5.3 and lastly an iron 6.0 and 5.3.
I won't probably get 4.8 unless I either
a) get one for free
or
b) get a low mileage running for less the 300$ or so.

So anyone which LS based engine comes from the factory with the least compression?
 
I still say LS3 is your best bang for your buck. It has largest displacement, best heads, aluminum block. The only drawback to it is the initial price and it has a higher compression ratio. How much boost are you going to run?
 
Boost would just depend on what I end up with for an engine.
I see I can get a ls3 from ebay for about 4 grand.
I was thinking 4 grand might be my all in budget.
I might stop by the pull and pay to see what they have laying around.

My thoughts right now are throw in a yard engine and get it running driving down the road and then build it up later on.
Right now this car is a complete survivor, as in a rust survivor. For some reason this car never got it really bad. So I would like to put some good money into it eventually. Pull the body off and do the frame up nd so forth. Even thought this was never a 442 or Hurst car.
Plus this car has alot of sentimental value to me. One of my best friends bought this car for me ( I paid him back) and shortly afterword he died in a farming accident.
So I always wanted to make it sort of a tribute car.
 
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Haha you know I had to suggest LS3...

Your cheapest options are always going to be truck motors. You can find LM7 5.3s and LQ4 6.0s complete for under $1k. That will leave plenty of room for a turbo cam, and ebay turbo parts. Any other designation engine will carry a higher price tag.
 
Chevy305 said:
Haha you know I had to suggest LS3...

Your cheapest options are always going to be truck motors. You can find LM7 5.3s and LQ4 6.0s complete for under $1k. That will leave plenty of room for a turbo cam, and ebay turbo parts. Any other designation engine will carry a higher price tag.
Click to expand...

You do make a valid point about the Ls3. That's not lost on me.

I am thinking that I use a yard engine to get the turbo set up, plumbed, exhaust, wiring, intercooler, water/meth injection etc. Etc. Then go back and get better heads, stroker crank, etc etc,
 
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