86 Cutlass Tailpipe????

[Todd360]

Hi All,
Newbie here...great forum. First off ( I hate to admit this here ) I'm a Mopar guy and G bodies are new to me. I purchased my Dad's one owner 86 Cutlass Supreme Brougham 2 door, 307, TH200, 128,000 miles. Dad bought it new and it is still really nice. My son and I are replacing the exhaust and wanted to know if the tailpipes from an mid 80's Monte Carlo Super Sport would fit the Cutlass properly and look decent. All of the old exhaust is rotten and has to be replaced from the catalytic convertor back. Any suggestions, experience and knowledge greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Todd

 

[85_SS]

Yes, they will fit fine as the chassis is identical. There are special factory bracket/hangers that mount to the rear bumper/frame area, but something can be fabbed here as well if they aren't available. I've seen several Cutlass' done this way, and I like the look. My parent's 87 has stainless exhaust and we had the tails done that way:

 

[Todd360]

Thanks for your reply. I'll use the Monte Exhaust system. Your parents Cutlass and your Monte are sharp cars!
Todd

 

[85_SS]

Thanks! Just make sure that your car already has a flanged mid-Ypipe like the Monte SS did. I can't recall what the 307 Cutlass' had for a cat, but I know some cars only had a flange on one side of the cat and the other side was clamped.

 

[Vern]

Its a personal preference thing, you can also find them that exit behind the rear tires just like the Olds 442. Lots of people like them exiting under the bumper though you also see them a lot on old pick ups and Ford did it with the Mustang for a several years.

Your parents car looks very nice. But it does make you want to ask if its a Chevy Cutlass Supreme or an Olds Monte Carlo. No insults intended as it IS a very sharp car.

 

[85_SS]

Your parents car looks very nice. But it does make you want to ask if its a Chevy Cutlass Supreme or an Olds Monte Carlo. No insults intended as it IS a very sharp car.

I know what you mean with the exhaust and especially the wheels - a lot of Olds purists wouldn't/don't approve. The wheels are cheap though and look good on just about anything - they suit the cars colours as well which is nice. You can call it a Oldsmobile Trans Carlo if you like as it has a T/A spoiler on it as well It's got a 305 too since it's a CDN car :wink:

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

My 1985 Olds Cutlass has a cat back for a Monte Carlo SS, and it fits the car just fine. I did not have the original MCSS style hangers for the tailpipes, and ended up using a set of cut to fit universal ones from the parts store. They are OK, but my car lacks the hanger for the catalytic converter, which screws up how the whole system hangs. The tailpipes do not sit evenly, So, be sure to use a hanger at the cat if you do it. I am going to re-do the hangers after I finish painting the car, and have also sourced the correct MCSS tailpipe hangers to replace the universal ones. I will be modifying the GM hangers as they use a clamp as part of their mount, and I wish to eliminate the clamp and weld the mount to the top of the pipe to make it look cleaner on my stainless tailpipes.

BTW, my car is also not Olds powered, but has a Chevy 350 instead. Screw the purists, it had a Buick in it to begin with. Besides, the 80's were the era of "Corporate" engines in GM anyhow, so it kinda fits the times it was made in. I ran a set of Edelbrock headers and downpipe for the front half of the exhaust, and had them connected with a single 3 inch cat by a local exhaust shop. I will also add that you should avoid the Walker Dynomax cat back system as I have it, and it is not a good design. When I got it in 1997, I could not see a picture of it beforehand, and would not have done so if I had. Hooker makes a good one with the best Y pipe of all the G body cat backs I have seen, so look at theirs instead.

 

[85_SS]

I don't have the cat hanger, and I'm sure my fathers Cutlass doesn't have it anymore either - it shouldn't really affect anything. Do you have the hangers at the mufflers in place? Definitely get the tailpipe hangers welded to the top of the pipe - I did the same with my 3" stainless tails. The originals were thin band clamps rather than regular clamps, so they looked ok, but they are impossible to find now.

And ya, I'm sure some people curse at the Pontiac shaker on my Monte too, and some Monte purists may not even like the 350 or T5, but hey - I like it and that's what counts

 

[Vern]

I think you should get cudos points for the 5 speed. The 350 upgrade to for that matter. I would like to see somebody put that shaker on a Grand Prix but I have no problem with it on your Monte. Its makeing it yours because you liked it on your car which is a different attitude than the guy who is chevy blind to the point as an extreme example that he would rip a Buick turbo 3.8 of a GN to put in another sbc without ever considering any other options.

While I am not excited by seeing another sbc 350 put in an Olds and or everything else for that matter as long as the guy isnt blind to anything else I am good with it. Hell I didn't put an Olds in my Olds so I can't say that I'm the opposite end of the spectrum either ie being the blind purist. Yea if they build up a nice BOP to put in their BOP that is worth cool points to my way of thinking but that is about the extent of it.

 

[85_SS]

I agree completely Vern - sounds like you an I have similar ideas when it comes to modifications and originality. I prefer to see an Olds stay and Olds etc, but when done tastefully, a different swap isn't all that bad. I can understand how some people hate seeing a sbc in everything under the sun, but on the other hand true purists can be kind of annoying too with their elitist attitude. Guys that blindly think sbc's are the be all end all are just as annoying though - variety is a good thing. It was nice when every division had their own style and driveline. I like all kinds of builds, and can appreciate them in various forms/combinations. I agree though - certain rarer cars like a H/O or GNX should keep to their heritage/originality to a certain degree.

With my car, I like to do factory appearing modifications where if you didn't know any better, you might think it came that way. I like to keep things reversible as well, though I doubt I will ever go back to completely stock.

I have seen a 78-80 GP with a shaker hood online before (IIRC someone on maliburacing posted it) - it looked great!