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Old 02-04-2013, 11:58 PM   #21 (permalink)
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mad mike personally id go for the 350 olds heads 68-72 they would bump the measly 8:1 compression of the 403 to 9-9.5:1 depending on head work and gasket combo. thats what i am going with as soon as i can find a set of heads. also tire rolling distance is a huge factor with older cars checkout 1010tire.com their tire size calculator lets u compare 3 different tire sizes at once


olds motors are known for their low end power and are perfect for cruising down the highway at 1500 RPM in a 3700 lb car

also regal doors are the exact same door as a cutlass and if you really wanted to mess with people take the bumper fenders hood frontclip from the regal and put it in front of the cutlass body

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Old 02-05-2013, 01:22 AM   #22 (permalink)
It's all about Diesel
 
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Don't be so afraid of a Diesel swap

But instead of the problematic Olds 350 Diesel I'd tell you to get a Cummins 4BT or an Isuzu 4BD1-T.

I'm also not so favorable for such a high rear-end, maybe getting a lower one and either bolting an aftermarket overdrive unit (such as a Gear Vendors) or getting another transmission with a higher ratio for the final drive would help you to improve the inner-city mileage without harming the highway cruising
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Old 02-05-2013, 04:28 AM   #23 (permalink)
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Factory aluminum intake manifold? I did not know that, that's pretty neat. As for the wheels, there was a time when I remembered the backspacing that worked best with a 15x7 wheel on the back of a G-body, but it isn't ringing a bell anymore. I try to tell myself that I am not that old and that everyone still runs 15 inch wheels so I tend to repress memories of pro-touring nightmare sized wheels lol. My buddy just sold a set of 15x7 & 15x3.5 Convo Pro Centerlines from one of his Grand Nationals for $400. Maybe that stuff is more common up here, but it is still out there, don't lose hope. And yes Ford did have aluminum spare wheels. The two common ones I can think of are from later model Town Cars or Thunderbird Supercoupes. But they are 16 inch, so good luck finding a 16 inch tire that will fit onto a 3.5 inch wide rim. The other aluminum spare was from fox body 5.0 Mustangs, but only the convertibles had the aluminum ones. 15 inch, so you can at least find tires skinny enough to fit them, but they are a 4 bolt pattern so unless you have a 5 bolt pattern redrilled in them, they won't work for you. That's if you can find one. I used to have a pair that I had scrounged, but I lost one. I to this day have no idea what happened to it lol, how do you lose a big chunk of solid aluminum with a tire on it?? But as far as I know, GM never offered an aluminum spare wheel in 5x4.75. I would think that if they ever did it would have been in a Corvette back before they went to run flats and got rid of spare tires altogether, but my plastic pig has a steel, run of the mill space saver.
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Old 02-05-2013, 09:27 AM   #24 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr View Post

I'm also not so favorable for such a high rear-end, maybe getting a lower one and either bolting an aftermarket overdrive unit (such as a Gear Vendors) or getting another transmission with a higher ratio for the final drive would help you to improve the inner-city mileage without harming the highway cruising
I have heard that there is a great deal of energy lost in the overdrive units.
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Old 02-06-2013, 07:46 PM   #25 (permalink)
It's all about Diesel
 
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Those energy losses are everywhere. So, how many gears does it have? If it's just a 3-speed automatic it might worth consider to replace it with a 4-speed, or even a 6-speed if you can get the engine and transmission out of a wrecked truck with the harness.
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Old 02-06-2013, 08:18 PM   #26 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by _MADMIKE_ View Post
Going to try to improve on the improbable.
1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass one of the last of RWD body on frame midsize V8 coupes.
140 odd horsepower of smogged to death goodness pushing ~3500lbs
It may be a hopeless challenge but someones got to try

The good.
Fairly sleek body design, can easily reach triple digit speeds.
The bad.
Whoever thought an electronic carbuerator was a good idea needs their head examined.
The ugly.
Can you believe GM stuck 2.14:1 final drives in these cars. 0-60 with a sun dial, but cruising with traffic and the tach staying well below 2Krpm always gives me a fuzzy feeling.

Original EPA was 17/23, revised is 15/21. Is 18/25 too far off, maybe 20/27.
Lets trim some weight off this piggy and see what she can do.
Should be easy to do. Start with all the easy, free stuff first. Document changes and FE reading per change. Slightly narrower, taller tires with high pressures work wonders. Good tune up and timing the engine for economy, if possible. A carb rebuild (and re-jet if possible), or a smaller carb, or a Holley aftermarket TBI setup that's programmable. better flowing intake, and exhaust.
Even with the clutch fan, there still is a parasitic drag from it.

Lower rolling resistance, less frontal area, and less RPM will be the ticket... always. Good luck! I'm anxious to see the results. I am highly considering buying a 77 GranPrix again.. (after all these years)...Just to see what we can milk out of it FE speaking.
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Old 02-08-2013, 04:20 AM   #27 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dmodified1 View Post
id go for the 350 olds heads 68-72 they would bump the measly 8:1 compression of the 403 to 9-9.5:1 depending on head work and gasket combo.
The 64cc heads would help, but if I go wiht the swirl ports I still only have 67cc heads, along with the smaller intake ports to promote velocity at a low rpm. This car came with the stainless tubular 'headers' that only fit the weeny port 307 7A heads. Don't want to bother changing those two parts out just yet if I switch to the 403 shortblock.
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Originally Posted by dmodified1 View Post
if you really wanted to mess with people take the bumper fenders hood frontclip from the regal and put it in front of the cutlass body
Ewww, Regals. I'm cool. The 87/88 front end messes with people enough. Only the cholos and lowrider crowd seems to know what it is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr View Post
instead of the problematic Olds 350 Diesel I'd tell you to get a Cummins 4BT or an Isuzu 4BD1-T.
I think the Olds diesel just was misunderstood by the engineers and owners. Replace a few things add a proper water separator/filter system would take care of a few basic issues. It would also keep ancillary components attachment simple.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr View Post
I'm also not so favorable for such a high rear-end, maybe getting a lower one and either bolting an aftermarket overdrive unit (such as a Gear Vendors) or getting another transmission with a higher ratio for the final drive would help you to improve the inner-city mileage without harming the highway cruising
The TH2004R I mentioned is an OD unit. Only change would be to use a different trans crossmember, everything else stays the same.
GV units are neat and splitting gears is neat, however the unit is big, expensive and requires some fab work. Plus the current transmission(TH200C) uses a one piece case. No where to bolt the GV unit on, and a TH350C unit would net me a loss in first gear from 2.74 to 2.5*.
Just easier to use the TH2004R unit.
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Originally Posted by War_Wagon View Post
Maybe that stuff is more common up here, but it is still out there, don't lose hope. ... But as far as I know, GM never offered an aluminum spare wheel in 5x4.75. I would think that if they ever did it would have been in a Corvette back before they went to run flats and got rid of spare tires altogether, but my plastic pig has a steel, run of the mill space saver.
I was hoping to find a 17" AL space saver. The 98-02 F bods did have them in steel, but the offset is all wrong. Thoughts of the various lightweight drag wheels have come to mind, but again the backspacing/offset is all wrong. 7" width with 40mm/6" back spacing. A bolt on spacer could be used, but then it would just start adding unsprung parts/weight to the car. This car came with one of those 16" steel rims too, not much of a space saver and weighs nearly as much as the factory 205/70 R14 and Super Stock, typical GM goofiness.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr View Post
even a 6-speed if you can get the engine and transmission out of a wrecked truck with the harness.
Meh, adding a harness, and one of those jantastic 6L80E would be a project in itself. A T56 would be far easier to bolt in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fltrplntman View Post
I am highly considering buying a 77 GranPrix again.. (after all these years)...Just to see what we can milk out of it FE speaking.
Heh, with that front end I dunno. Now a later model with the 2+2 nose would be the ticket.

For now I'll focus on cutting through the air, maybe filling up the panel gaps and adjusting the panels for a snugger/sleeker fit. Tuft testing is probably what needs to be done after getting a base line down.
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Old 02-08-2013, 12:20 PM   #28 (permalink)
It's all about Diesel
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by _MADMIKE_ View Post
I think the Olds diesel just was misunderstood by the engineers and owners. Replace a few things add a proper water separator/filter system would take care of a few basic issues. It would also keep ancillary components attachment simple.
Indeed. But I still like direct-injection engines more than the IDI Oldsmobile Diesels, that's why I suggested the Cummins and the Isuzu
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Old 02-08-2013, 06:18 PM   #29 (permalink)
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the 350 diesel is a junk diesel motor thats why every converts them to gas
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Old 02-15-2013, 05:38 PM   #30 (permalink)
It's all about Diesel
 
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Quote:
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the 350 diesel is a junk diesel motor thats why every converts them to gas
It's actually not the worst engine ever, it suffered mainly from unskilled mechanics and the absence of a water separator filter.

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