1986 Cutlass Salon

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crucial118

Royal Smart Person
Nov 15, 2008
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MARYLAND, DMV
Wasup community? Recently bought an 86 Salon off craigslist for $1000. Seems to be a good investment, cause I always wanted a Cutlass Supreme G-body, but a Salon G-body seems just as good, if not better. Has a 307 in it with a rebuilt 200r4 trans. Auto floor shift, power windows + door locks, and rally gauges. Does anyone have any info on this vehicle? Is supposed to be better or worse than the Supreme? Checked all thru the web, but only found "for sale" websites, no info. What type of horsepower is in the stock 307? What kind of add-ons can be done to the car to increae hp? Nothing wild, but a noticeable increase? Thanx for any help. :D
 
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Sep 1, 2006
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It's a bit better than the Supreme. Basically, there were several different trim variations available on the Cutlass. The Supreme is the base, Supreme Brougham has the cushy pillow top seats and extra chrome trim, Salon models had the bucket seats, sport suspension, rally wheels, instrument package, etc. It was essentially the sport version of the Cutlass. Now depending on the year, the Salon was also the basis for the 442 (1987 is the exception). As for Horsepower, the 307 is a real dog. I think it has 140hp, which is less than the 4 banger in my Nissan pickup that has half the displacement.

Now it was possible to get MOST of the Salon package components on a base Supreme, the main thing that was unique was the upper door panels that it shared with the Brougham.
 

dan2286

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Mar 25, 2008
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My Supreme was one of the ones that got a bunch of those options. It has a V8, bucket seats, floor shifter, rally gauges, rally wheels, power door locks and windows. It does not have the handling package though. The main reason I got it was because of the floor shifter and gauges.
 
Sep 1, 2006
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The handling package is pretty easy to add. You just need the front and rear sway bars and the steering box.
 

dudeface

Master Mechanic
Aug 18, 2008
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calgary alberta canada
from info I have been able to gather from GM canada, the salon model was basically a order only car. If you came to a dealer and wanted a supreme, but wanted all the options, they would suggest a salon.
accordind to the info package I recieved from GM, only 1437 cutlass salons made in canada in 1985, that makes them more rare than a 442. not sure how many salons made in 1986, but it was'nt even close to the 100,000 or so supremes made each production year


Call 800-222-1020 (GM) and ask for a "restoration packet" for your car. Have your VIN number and mailing address ready and then wait anxiously by the mailbox. Unfortunately, for most of Canada, this service is NOT free... it is free in the US. EST hours are: 8am - 5:30pm M-F
 
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Silent viewer

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May 9, 2007
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did we forget about the calais? its pretty much a salon but i have not figured out for sure the difference?? seem to both be pretty much the same to me...
 

crucial118

Royal Smart Person
Nov 15, 2008
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MARYLAND, DMV
Thanx for all the info, guess I got lucky on the deal. You guys are allright. I feel at home. I think the next thing I'm goin to do to the cutlass is dual exhaust. Then when the weather gets better up here (Spring or Summer) I'll tackle a 350 or 403 conversion, cause the hp here just ain't cuttin it. :lol:
 
Sep 1, 2006
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The name was switched from Calais to Salon in 1985 because GM wanted to use Calais on the Oldsmobile Grand Am clone. Other than that, there is no real difference between the two trim levels. I think they called the FWD POS a Cutlass Calais for a few years, just like there was also the awful Cutlass Ciera at around the same time. GM tried to capitalize on the Cutlass name by sticking it on 3 unrelated separate car lines in the 80's and 90's. The only real Cutlass though is the G body (or A body pre 1982) RWD model. As far as I am concerned all the others were cheap pretenders badged with the name of what had been a great car.
 

jae

Master Mechanic
Oct 11, 2006
460
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85 Cutlass Brougham said:
The name was switched from Calais to Salon in 1985 because GM wanted to use Calais on the Oldsmobile Grand Am clone. Other than that, there is no real difference between the two trim levels. I think they called the FWD POS a Cutlass Calais for a few years, just like there was also the awful Cutlass Ciera at around the same time. GM tried to capitalize on the Cutlass name by sticking it on 3 unrelated separate car lines in the 80's and 90's. The only real Cutlass though is the G body (or A body pre 1982) RWD model. As far as I am concerned all the others were cheap pretenders badged with the name of what had been a great car.

Amen!!

I had an '81 Calais with the lame-duck 260 V8 but the TH350 transmission, all the power options (except seat), sports interior, F41 suspension and the requisite drooping headliner. Also had the rare N78 (N76?) wheels on it (the aluminum ones like on the W30, except these were gray, not gold).
 
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