| The '85 Cutlass used to be my pride and joy. Some of my friends' vehicles are shown here too.
These cars may not be the nicest on the road, or even the block, but have some technical merit that makes them worthy of these pages.
The pictures will enlarge in a new window when you click on them. |
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My '85 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
It really does not look quite this nice in person anymore... the body/chassis have 250,000 miles on them, and I have had to weld in an entire new floor pan. The engine is a '78 Olds 350 with '72 #7a heads, and an RV cam (204/214 duration @.050", .448/.472" lift). I rebuilt this engine years ago - it now has 150,000 miles on it. All of those miles were with the Olds 307's CCC computerized carburetor and distributor. It has a nice TH-700R4 (B&M bell housing adapter, 2004R crossmember, '82-'84 Caprice tail shaft housing w/ second mount, 3" shortened drive shaft), 2300 stall 12" lockup SLP converter, and a 7-1/2" 3.73:1 ratio axle. The small block Olds has destroyed two 7-1/2" rear ends. Best ET is 14.54 @ 93MPH with a 2.01 60' time.
Click on the photo to enlarge. |
Timbo's '87 Oldsmobile 442
This car was sold a couple years ago, but MAN was it a fun one. People always expected it to be slow being a "307" powered late model 442. Little did they know this car had a big block Olds in it. 461 cubic inches with the over bore... stock replacement low compression cast pistons, stock rods with ARP bolts, ARP main bearing bolts, a 6 qt. Toronado oil pan, mildly ported "C" code heads with stainless 2.07 intake and 1.68" exhaust valves, hardened seats, a brazed center divider & heat crossover passages filled with aluminum. It was topped with a Performer intake, 800CFM Q-jet, and the infamous Holley mechanical fuel pump. W&Z performance iron exhaust manifolds, 2-1/4" true dual exhaust, and Borla stainless mufflers took care of the exhaust. The rear axle was the stock 8.5" 3.73 posi the car came with. The tranny was the original KZ code 2004R prepared for the massive big block torque. The transmission buildup cost about a grand with a factory GM "2025" converter (about 2400 stall behind the 455). This transmission held up for more than 20,000 miles behind the 455 before we put the car back to stock to sell it.
This car was a great Mustang eater that Tim regularly got 15MPG driving from Ohio to Alabama. It ran 13.4 in the 1/4 on a 100 degree day on street tires. He sold the car, but kept the 455! All he needs is a new project now!
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| | Tom's '72 Dodge Demon - 383 big block
This is the highest quality car of any of my friends. The craftsmanship is excellent. The Demon is raced regularly, and features a proven Mopar combo - a 383 with big headers and single plane intake, 727 tranny, 8-3/4" rear end. The mini tub installation and rear spring relocator kit (moves the leaf springs farther inboard) gives room for 12.5" wide slicks. This car has completed the quarter mile in 11.68 seconds at 116MPH with this combination. The body on this car was a MESS before he started on it. I keep telling Tom his car is so nice, he should get a pair of street legal tires and mufflers and drive the car to a cruise in... it's beautiful!
Click to see a full size view of the Demon. |
Ken's '72 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Convertible
UPDATE Up to this point, this car is all original with the exception of paint and an HEI distributor. With 155,000 miles on the original drive train (455/TH400/3.08 posi) we decided to pull the engine out, refresh it, rebuild the heads, etc. Click HERE to see the HUGE crack in the engine block we found! The engine did not leak coolant! The engine has been down on power for the last few years, and I think we now know why. In addition to the cracked block, we found broken piston rings on 2 pistons.
Smitty at M & J ProFormance is currently doing the block machine work, and Ken and I will be installing a new engine. We are starting with a good core 455 block, and Keith Black KB132 hypereutectic pistons, factory rods with ARP bolts, and ARP main bolts. Oiling will be taken via a Tornado oil pan, Melling high volume oil pump, a 5/8" press in Toro pickup, M & J Oil restrictors, and M & J modified main bearings. The heads will be GA heads (which were original for this car) stuffed with stainless valves and a mild port job, and a Performer intake, painted to look more stock. A Quadrajet and HEI will top the engine off. The objective is to make the car scream, while still maintaining an idle that is tough sounding, but not rough, beacause Ken's father still would like to take the car out for turn-key cruising. Ken's father was the original owner, special ordering it new in Sept '71. His parents used it as their get-away car at their wedding in '72, and Ken and his wife used it as theirs in '01. This car was ordered with every 442 option available except the 442 badges. This has got to be one of the best cruisin' cars of the bunch, as the color always draws compliments, and everyone loves riding with the top down.
This car has gone high 14's in the quarter mile. Not bad for bone stock and the mileage, but we will expect to chop about 1-1/2 seconds off that with the new engine.
Click on the photo to enlarge.
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| | Matt's '86 Oldsmobile 442 - FOR SALE!!
This is Matt's '86 442. The gorgeous black job looks as nice in person as it does here in the picture. Unlike 90% of most '85 through '87 442's, this one has the correct chip guard on the lower body, the correct color shceme, and the correct GM striping kit with gold stripes on a black back ground (not just generic gold pin striping). There are also some engine modifications you don't see. It has the original 307 in it, but he removed the stock 7A heads and added early 307 non-swirl port 5A heads with larger 1.875 intake/ 1.562 exhaust valves and roller tipped rockers. It also has 1-3/4" headers, and true dual exhaust. ET's are in the low 15 second range, but I think there is more in the combination. The transmission is the original 2004R, and the rear end is the original 8.5" 3.73:1 positraction, with new bearings installed.CLICK HERE to e-mail Matt for more details if you are interested in the car. CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE THE FINAL RESULT!
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My future drag car! '80 Pontiac Sunbird
I just acquired this car from Jeff - it's what I think is a perfect car to build a drag racing platform because it is one of the lightest rear wheel drive cars GM made that easily fits a V8. The Sunbird is the same H-body chassis as the Chevy Monza, Olds Starfire, and the Buick Skyhawk. Too bad it's not a Starfire! The car is really not quite as nice as the pictures lead you to believe, but it is pretty solid except for a few spots in the usual areas. The unibody structure is solid, but we I be doing a little welding on this one.
The car actually runs right now, and is now equipped with the original Pontiac 2.5L "Iron Duke" 4 cylinder engine, TH-200 tranny, and a 2.73:1 ratio 7.5" 10 bolt axle. The rear suspension is similar to the F-body (Camaro/Firebird) as is has 2 lower trailing arms, a Track bar, and a Panahard bar.
I will probably not touch this car for a couple years, but future plans call for the body restoration, a small block Olds with around 550-600HP, a TH-400 transmission I already have, a 9" rear end, and back half tube chassis. Starting with a lighter vehicle with a less frontal area will allow me to achieve a given ET more economically than a larger car because I will not need as much power for a given ET as a larger car, and I also should break fewer parts.
Click on the picture for a larger left side view.
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| | Karl's '70 Oldsmobile 442
Here's another example of a work in progress - that means a car that is driven, but will undergo some major change. The most important part of any nice street machine is already done here though - the paint job. The paint and body work are very high quality, and the Corvette yellow color just makes this car jump out at you. The 245/60/R15 tires are mounted on Cragar SS rims. This year, the rears will be replaced with a 275/60/15 Drag Radials. Karl just removed a healthy .030" over 350 Olds that powered the car for the past few years. The heads were #7's with 2.00" intake and 1.68" exhaust valves. The 1-3/4" headers feed into 3" stainless dual exhaust, with 3" in and out mufflers, and stainless 2-1/2" tail pipes. You should see this exhaust! It's to die for! The engine is topped with an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, 800CFM Quadrajet carburetor, and mechanical fuel pump. The car was probably a very low 14 second car with this engine.
This past year, Karl went for a ride in my big block powered '86 Cutlass, and it was all over for the 350. He just NEEDED that big block TORQUE! Karl purchased a '74 455 that was rebuilt, but has about 20,000 miles on it. The engine has TRW forged low compression (big dish) pistons, factory rods with ARP bolts, a Nodular iron crank, J heads, and a Bullet cam from Smitty at M & J ProFormance - 230/230° duration @ .050", .512/.512" lift, 110 LSA. The intake will be a Performer, and the carb will be the same Quadrajet. The same 3" exhaust will be hooked up to big block 1-3/4" headers of some sort. The transmission is a TH-400 which barks every shift, and the rear end has 3.91:1 gear ratio with positraction. The torque converter will be somewhere around 3000 RPM stall speed. Click on the picture for a larger view.
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Brent's '89 Chevrolet Caprice Station Wagon
Brent is close to being an electrical genius, and has installed a TBI 350 Chevy small block out of a Roadmaster. This is not just a swap using all the parts from a donor car; he has selectively re-engineered the car. The engine breathes through Trick Flow twisted wedge heads, and has a larger high flow throttle body and custom machined intake manifold. He is still working out the bugs in the fuel mapping.
The car also has a TH-700R4 and 3.42 posi. He sold me the wheels and tires you see on my wagon, and switched to 16" aluminum Torque Thrust II's. The tires are 235/60/16's. As promised, here is a picture of "Da Bus" with the new rims. I still think he should have gone with some 18's.
Click on the picture to enlarge.
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| Mark's '78 Chevrolet Malibu
This car was originally equipped with a Chevy 267 V8, which we replaced with a 305 and Holley 2D Throttle Body Injection. Thankfully, that engine died, forcing mark to build a real engine for the car. Mark is in the process of putting together a nice 300HP 350 with Jet Hot coated headers as a replacement. The open loop TBI system really did not work very well, so this motor will be carbureted. It is equipped with a TH-350 and a 7-1/2" axle with 3.73:1 gears & positraction. Although the paint is far from perfect, the sheet metal is in very nice shape, as the entire car was cosmolined inside and out years ago. You don't see a whole lot of these cars around any more, and the blocky shape with single large headlights is starting to become a more desirable look as more and more rounded new cars appear.
Click for a larger view.
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| Scott's '78 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme- 455 Olds powered
Scott's car is one of the coolest, not just because it is one of the fastest shown here, but because of the work that has gone into this car. It has a 4.10 ratio positraction 8.5" axle from a G-body 442, and a TH350 with a 3000 stall converter backing a .030" over 455. It's topped with a Torker intake and a Holley 850 double pumper carb, fed by a Holley mechanical pump. The heads are mildly ported "C" castings with 2.07/1.71" stainless valves, and the bottom end features all the usual racing goodies including TRW forged pistons, factory rods with ARP bolts, a Nodular iron crank, large oil pan, Melling H/V pump, etc.
This car had over 200,000 miles on it before the big block installation. The new paint job is a little sweeter knowing how much labor went into it. As the picture shows, the years of hard work has finally paid off. Except for the 2" cowl induction hood and blacked out grilles/bezels, the body appears as it did when the car was new. It has run in the very low 8 second range in the 1/8 mile with slicks.
Click on the picture for a nice large view.
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Jeff's newest car. '93 Oldsmobile Achieva SC
Jeff just purchased this car. It has a 3.3L V6, a short deck height derivative of the 3.8L Buick derived V6. The car is equipped with a 3T40 transmission (previously known as the 125C) with 2.84:1 final and 37T/33T overdriven sprockets for an effective final drive ratio of 2.53:1. The rims are factory 16". Future plans are for a 440-T4 (4T60) 4 speed overdrive transmission with 3.33:1 with 33T/37T under driven sprockets, to give a 3.73:1 effective final drive ratio. This is a nice FWD platform to build because of the relatively light vehicle weight, larger engine displacement, and reliable engine platform. Jeff also plans on lowering the car 1".
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