An Interesting Story From My Childhood...COPO 87 Cutlass?

[Munkey B]

The story is almost certainly false. The EPA and other federal laws prohibit this swapping. The combination would require complete EPA certification testing and the correct engine code would have had to have been used in the VIN. Why are these stories always like UFO sightings, with a friend-of-my-sister's-husband and no actual car as proof.

i agree.
which is why 2+2's came w/standard 305 instead of the 305HO or a TPI in any G-body.
EPA regs were outrageous trying to get a car/motor combo approved.

i checked into this (wife works at a pontiac dealer) and there was no such thing as COPO or special orders of this kind. dealer she works for has been around for almost 70yrs and is #1 pontiac dealer in US. so if they couldn't do it, can't imagine it happening at other makes of GM.

i can imagine a special order color (not quite as easy as 60's-70's cars) but even that is gonna be a toughy.

there is supposedly 2 maroon 2+2's out there built for GM/Pontiac execs.

 

[supercrackerbox]

There's also 4 known notchback 2+2s, but no proof that they were factory built, not conversions.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

There is a section in my FSM about calling out special order paint colors on the SPID, so that is known to be possible. As for the 350 Cutlass, I wish I had a way of seeing the actual car to verify or dismiss it. Unfortunately, as I said, I was probably 13 or 14 at the time and am now 35. There is no way I could easily go about verifying this now. I called bullshit on it as a kid, but it still sticks out to me as an adult. Plus, even if it did exist, it is not likely to have survived the ravages of New York State road salt.

 

[85_SS]

The story is almost certainly false. The EPA and other federal laws prohibit this swapping. The combination would require complete EPA certification testing and the correct engine code would have had to have been used in the VIN. Why are these stories always like UFO sightings, with a friend-of-my-sister's-husband and no actual car as proof.

i agree.
which is why 2+2's came w/standard 305 instead of the 305HO or a TPI in any G-body.
EPA regs were outrageous trying to get a car/motor combo approved.
...

X3... Even if the motor was used in a B-body, it wasn't approved for a G-body. If it was that easy, they would have slapped a 350 TPI in the G-bodies as an option.

They probably brought in a CDN Cutlass with a factory 305 and told her it had a "V8 SBC" like she wanted 😉

 

[CutlassJ]

The would be interesting to find out anyway if it was possible. Back in 1996 when I was in my junior year of high school, one of my friends told me that he had a V8 in his chevy beretta at that time I didn't know as much as i do now I knew it was bull. Come on front wheel drive at that time.
O ya and i used to work with a guy that really thought his 1996ish cavalier Z24 had a V6, nevermind the fact that when you open the hood that there were 4 spark plugs looking at you maybe the other 2 cylinders were in the trunk with his subs and amp.

 

[gs dewd]

The would be interesting to find out anyway if it was possible. Back in 1996 when I was in my junior year of high school, one of my friends told me that he had a V8 in his chevy beretta at that time I didn't know as much as i do now I knew it was bull. Come on front wheel drive at that time.
O ya and i used to work with a guy that really thought his 1996ish cavalier Z24 had a V6, nevermind the fact that when you open the hood that there were 4 spark plugs looking at you maybe the other 2 cylinders were in the trunk with his subs and amp.

V8 beretta nah but gm did make a few front wheel drive v8 cars. Most where caddys. Also I looked into one of my old service manuals today and low a behold there is a 350 listed for 81' to 85' Cutlasses. Not a tpi motor but a tbi motor. When I get a chance i'll scan it in and post it up here. Now that is not saying it was actually an option and some where produced it just list the motor under the list of availble engines.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Are you sure it wasn't a diesel?

 

[gs dewd]

Are you sure it wasn't a diesel?

positive was listed under the gas motor setion and also was listed as Throttle body fuel injection. Now wheter or not any came with the motor I can't tell you but atleast I gather that they may have atleast been thinking of it. And it was a olds motor. The specs listed a 4.05 bore which chev motors are 4.00 bore. I'll try to scan it in tommorrow.

 

[joe_padavano]

Are you sure it wasn't a diesel?

positive was listed under the gas motor setion and also was listed as Throttle body fuel injection. Now wheter or not any came with the motor I can't tell you but atleast I gather that they may have atleast been thinking of it. And it was a olds motor. The specs listed a 4.05 bore which chev motors are 4.00 bore. I'll try to scan it in tommorrow.

The ONLY fuel injected Oldsmobile motor that was ever available in a production automobile was the PORT injected 350 used in the 1976-1976 Cadillac Seville. That motor was never offered in an Oldsmobile, only in the Caddy. It used a prehistoric analog computer and no O2 sensor (open loop only).

Let's be very, very clear on this. There was NEVER a TBI or TPI V8, neither Olds nor Chevy, offered in an Oldsmobile automobile before the LT1s in the 1991 Custom Cruiser. I've got $100 right now for anyone who can prove otherwise with GM factory documentation. I will not accept Chiltons, Haynes, or someone's school bus driver as "proof".

Olds DID cast some experimental TBI intakes for the 307. They looked like this:

Again, this intake was NEVER used on a production car.

 

[Blake442]

Let's be very, very clear on this. There was NEVER a TBI or TPI V8, neither Olds nor Chevy, offered in an Oldsmobile automobile before the LT1s in the 1991 Custom Cruiser.

Olds Custom Cruisers were built in '91 and '92 only, and had a TBI 350.
The LT1 wasn't put in the B-body line up until '94, and Olds didn't get one...