u need raised whites, and a turbo in a 442 clone would be stupid imo, geth youself a nice 403,true dual exhaust, and ad TH350 with posi rear end then ull be set 🙂
Im looking for milage as well as power and i hear the turbo 3.8 can get 23 mpg when your not in the turbo
DRIVEN said:
The turbo 3.8 doesn't bother me as much as trying to clone a 442. I understand if you like the paint scheme and want to copy that -- just skip the 442 decals/badges. As soon as you add those you are fair game to a ton of negative feedback. Example: Any '69 Camaro or '70 Chevelle can get away with rally stripes and/or rally wheels. That's just a styling choice. But adding Z/28 or SS badges while having a 307 under the hood and a bench seat is instant poser status. Personally, I have no problem with a well done "tribute car" as long as all the details are correct and the owner doesn't try to misrepresent it as something it's not. Just my .02.
And I still think you should check into some community college programs to get some training before tackling the paint job. It doesn't cost much and you'll learn a lot -- plus have access to good tools, guns, and a paint booth. At your age it's a skill that will pay you back. I'm sure you have plenty of friends that need bumper and fender scrapes fixed.
I hear what you are saying but my whole plan was to add bucket seats the floor shifter rallye pac and anything else the 442 has but im going with either a 84 Hurst olds paint job or a 442 without the decals as you stated. I Might make my own decals or somthing.
u need raised whites, and a turbo in a 442 clone would be stupid imo, geth youself a nice 403,true dual exhaust, and ad TH350 with posi rear end then ull be set 🙂
Im looking for milage as well as power and i hear the turbo 3.8 can get 23 mpg when your not in the turbo
makin it a daily driver then, get some nice under coating, and do the frame, and inside the door frames , wheel wells then, cutty's to nice to destroy 🙂 a 3.8 can be modded to give u power without a turbo and still be good on gas, and made to sound like a nice little sleeper v8
Leave the body! It looks beautiful as it sits! Only thing i would change is get some 15" chrome rallies, 15x8 for the back... And hell yeah, throw a 3.8 in there. Thats exactly what i want to do with mine eventually. although i am torn between the turbo 6 and the raw power and torque of a na v8...
Leave the body! It looks beautiful as it sits! Only thing i would change is get some 15" chrome rallies, 15x8 for the back... And hell yeah, throw a 3.8 in there. Thats exactly what i want to do with mine eventually. although i am torn between the turbo 6 and the raw power and torque of a na v8...
Thats basicly what ill end up doing. i found some 15 inch rims 8 chrome 15 inch rallyes for 50 dollars... lolol so im gunna scoup those up as soon as i can then start saving for all the parts or a doner GN.
Your car is particularly nice! Unless you come up w the deal of the century just get a v8 instead and leave any paint stuff to pro's or you could find yourself banging your head @ a wall wishing you didnt take it down
If you use a 500cfm or less carb and run stock heads/cams you should be able to get 20mpg with a 350 no problem and have the same hp / 30-40 More torque and only 3 mpg under your goal. It's your car and your life but I would personally take into deep consideration having that extra torque available instead of 3 measly mpg but thats just me
My experience fwiw. Most stock but turned up GNs have more torque than a fairly well built pump gas small block and come in sooner. Turbo motors make torque. Now a fairly well built 450+ci pump gas big block is another story. Big block & turbo 3.8s a lot of time make similar torque numbers but the if not overcammed the big blocks tend to come in a little sooner and hit harder as they don't have the quick but smooth torque ramp up that a turbo motor has.
My experience fwiw. Most stock but turned up GNs have more torque than a fairly well built pump gas small block and come in sooner. Turbo motors make torque. Now a fairly well built 450+ci pump gas big block is another story. Big block & turbo 3.8s a lot of time make similar torque numbers but the if not overcammed the big blocks tend to come in a little sooner and hit harder as they don't have the quick but smooth torque ramp up that a turbo motor has.
I dont know why but I'd always rather have a GN motor I love the noise it makes I love the power it makes and the millage you can get with it.
On the other side I've grown up with v8's and my dad is a 350 type of person he dosent like the GN idea at all. but everyone and there brother has a 350 you know. but as for the big block thats another story lol who wouldnt want a built 455
I can see your dads point. Although the GN 3.8 does make great power it comes at a high cost per HP, and you are dealing with 25 year old OBD1 technology. For my money I could spend the same or less on an LSx setup that makes the same or better power with better electronics, street manners, and comparable mileage.
Lol A quick spool & sidestep to hear the blow off valve always turns every head in the parking lot. My wife always liked the quiet shhh when she flew around somebody in it. But I got to say I love the sound of a well cammed exhausted big block with some compression. 8) (Not flowmaster two chambers & dumps that make you deaf and resonate you to death on a trip) You can see in my pics I have had both plus a couple small blocks. Its still hard to say which i liked best both the GN & 442 were fun and somewhat unique cool cars imo.
no offense spider, but your dad clearly is in the background w/ knowledge to help you and you're trying really hard to choose a setup that he can't help you with. That's not something any guy in his 20s wants to hear and we're all trying to establish our independence dude, but if you get the 3.8 together it is not ever going to be 'finished' it will require consistent monitoring / maintenance and extra gauges/ wiring too. I think you should seriously consider the gigantic benefit of having somebody on standby that can give advice/ help repair things that come up and choose a set up more to your level of skill! I would rather have a turbo 3800 myself & love the sound you speak of too, but I know my limitations so I would NEVER 'paint myself into a corner' by choosing the setup you speak of bc I know one day I would find myself unable to work on something and frustrated - I just dont have the exp to justify and know my limitations.
Also, I see why you want it bc your 'entry-level' car w/ a v8 has always looked a little 'off' to me knowing its the lowest optioned code so it really isnt supposed to have that v8 blurble when it goes by - it just doesnt match up to the time period. If you choose the 3800 turbo, I can almost guarantee you will be in over your head and wish you just went w/ a low end 350. If you're not a fan of the loud mouth 350 cars w/ the two trumpet sized exhaust horns angled out I can totally ID w/ that - it's played out it's been one it's old news ! Don't forget that you can easily just run single exhaust and a quieter muffler if that's not your style. I think you should also look @ some 327's they get very good mileage and have a unique exhaust note as well, but your dad could still help you bc the mechanics are similar to his exp just some friendly advice
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My wife always liked the quiet shhh when she flew around somebody in it. But I got to say I love the sound of a well cammed exhausted big block with some compression. 8) (Not flowmaster two chambers & dumps that make you deaf and resonate you to death on a trip) You can see in my pics I have had both plus a couple small blocks. Its still hard to say which i liked best both the GN & 442 were fun and somewhat unique cool cars imo.
