And so we begin the rebuild.

[Derision]

Aaah... it's nice to be back after several months of being... er... missing.

So here's the fun news: I just got a 1990 Mercury Cougar... wimpy Essex V6, nothing particularly exciting. However... it means that I can take my '85 Grand Prix off the road and start turning it back into something that is actually cool!

My plans are the following:

* Replace the doors... because they're awful. Grandamman is awesome and found me a pair back around Christmas but, due to an embarassing lack of planning and a subsequent broken Ford Focus window, I was only able to come back with the passenger-side door. So my search continues for a good driver's side door, as well.

* Gotta replace the radiator, which is leaking like a sieve, and track down a particularly cranky vacuum leak that has been plaguing me for months now.

I don't want to put a larger engine in... I like the 305, it's enough to get it moving. What I would like to do, though, is put in a nicer rear end and maybe the four-speed transmission (the TH350 is tough, but overdrive would be nice).

Then, once all that's done, I can get the thing painted. The original color was silver; I'm thinking about either going with silver or with black. I've thrown around the idea of building it up to resemble, at least superficially, the GT version that Myrtle Motors made back in the day, but I'm still toying with the idea.

Any thoughts, opinions or ideas? I'll post progress as I get there.

AJ

 

[dan2286]

No offense, but I think you are the first person I have heard of that likes the 305. :?

What do you mean by nicer rear end, better gas mileage or more torque?

I would stay with silver. Black looks good, until it gets dirt on it. Silver hides it more.

I am goin to a huge junkyard soon, I will keep an eye out for a door for your car. They have a bunch of gbodys.

 

[kyhunter89]

gear change or rear swap?

 

[Derision]

No offense, but I think you are the first person I have heard of that likes the 305. :?

I've grown attached to it. I've had this car now for almost a decade, and I've become intimately familiar with the 305 and all it's little quirks. The thing is bullet proof. Plus I like the mixture of power vs. economy (despite what some might say, you actually can get a fair bit of power out of a 305).

What do you mean by nicer rear end, better gas mileage or more torque?

I was looking more torque. The rear she has now is the ridiculously low-ratio rear. I don't even remember what it was, except that I was disappointed and tried my best to forget the numbers. 2.29, I think. I was thinking of trying to track down a 3.23. That seems to be fairly popular.

I am goin to a huge junkyard soon, I will keep an eye out for a door for your car. They have a bunch of gbodys.

Cool! Much appreciated!

gear change or rear swap?

Not sure yet. The rear is one of the last things I plan to do, so ultimately it'll probably come down to whichever is easier.

AJ

 

[78mali350]

great to hear it's coming off the road to get redone! that should be exciting. as for the 305. good for you some like em some hate em. nothing wrong with that. i would like to see some pics, got any?

 

[Derision]

great to hear it's coming off the road to get redone! that should be exciting. as for the 305. good for you some like em some hate em. nothing wrong with that. i would like to see some pics, got any?

I've got an album on this site, this-a-way. She's not much of a looker at the moment... she's missing the vinyl roof, is half primer what paint is still there is faded to the point that it actually looks like primer. The doors are rotted. The tires are good but the wheels are crappy. Y'know... the usual pre-buildup bomb. Ugly but unstoppable.

I'll post more pics as work progresses.

AJ

 

[Coveted]

^ its perfect.
thats exactly how i like them, mine was worse off on the body, but i got lucky with a solid rot free frame with good body mounts.
Im going to follow this build, im already excited.

Edit: i just seen the 305 thing.
Good for you man, I rebuilt a 305, stock rebuild with a 400+ 400+ cam
with a 4brl intake and a carter thermal quad. headers and true duals.
with 3.08 posi rear in a 86 monte ss on narrow 14's i was in the low 9's on the 1/8th mile, trapping at 74-75 mph.

305s arent that bad.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, the best gearing and trans combo would be what came stock in the Monte SS: 3.73's with a TH 200 4R. For a 305, it's what you need to make up for a lack of low end torque. I would also consider a mild cam with a wide LSA (look at the smallest cam in Comp's Xtreme energy line), an Edelbrock Performer intake, a more free flowing exhaust, and a dual snorkel air cleaner. My dual snorkel is off a HO 305 1984 Camaro, and I like it very much. The performer intake is easy enough to find used ( or you could use Summit's generic one or even one from Professional Products), and you can make a dual snorkel air cleaner housing out of 2 stock single snorkel units (the one I have is quite rare). The cam needs to be a dual pattern grind to make up for the bad exhaust ports, and the wide LSA (Lobe Separation Angle) will trap more cylinder pressure at low RPM's, and increase torque. It's a compensation strategy for the low compression ratio. The single 2 1/4 in exhaust used on LG4 305's is a cork that needs to be popped. Even going to a system that Y's to a 3 in cat will be a great improvement.

 

[Derision]

Did I mention that she's got an L69 from a Monte SS? It's a long story, but she was originally a 231.

The thing that keeps me attached to this car, aside from the fact that I just plain like it, is the fact that the frame and all underneath is pristine. Very little rust anywhere, which is unheard of in the northeast. I've looked at a lot of other G-bodies around here and, even if they look a lot nicer than mine, once you look underneath them you start seeing the age.

I replaced a hole in the rear passenger side floor a couple of years ago, and checking that out recently shows me that it's holding up nicely. I used a... different approach to it which involved sandwiching two pieces of aluminum with some sealant and... well, it's another long story. But it's working nicely. And that was the only rusting that showed up on the underbody. Whilst I had the carpet pulled up, I checked the rest and the inside floor, too, is rust-free. Amazingly.

Anyway, the car is officially getting a new radiator next week. I'm going with the extra-heavy-duty one, because my currently leaking radiator -- which is an OEM replacement -- was replaced only two years ago. D'oh.

Meanwhile, I've done some research and discovered that the 3.8L V6 that's in the Cougar I'm using as a beater while the GP is being worked is one of the dreaded failures of an engine that Ford put out. She eats head gaskets and, though they haven't gone yet, I'm incredibly paranoid (thanks to several horrific incidents involving a bevy of Chevy 2.8L V6s). So, while the GP gets a new radiator and passenger side door in the next few weeks, the Cougar will also be getting new head gaskets in a pre-emptive strike against imminent failure.

My summer seems pretty booked up already!

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The L69 is quite a bit better than a LG4! Higher compression, better exhaust, bigger cam, etc. I would still do the intake and some other minor mods, but the gearing and trans would be tops on my list. They offer the biggest bang for the buck if you still have the horrible 2.41 axle. Also, the sole difference between F body and G body L69's was the air cleaner. It brings it up from 180 hp to 190hp. It's even a good mod for a LG4 or LO3 305 too. I remember reading an article in Hot Rod around 1990 where they took a LO3 Camaro RS and added that base for 10 hp more. Depending on how many miles it has, a new timing chain set would also be a good investment. I pulled my double roller chain after 40k miles and it had quite a bit of stretch.