Anyone just keeping it stock to cruise around anymore?

[69hurstolds]

I just picked up a all original 83 Cutlass that I'm trying to convince myself to keep stock, but man this 3.8 sucks after driving a car with a little power lol. I'm fine with 80 MPH being my top speed just hate how long it takes to get there.

Because you're doing it wrong. 🙂 It takes a lot to NOT want to modify a slow-azz stock G-body. Believe me. I've gotten used to it over the years. But my solution is to go and get another car that DOES go fast. Best of both worlds. You still get the Classic Feels from the Jurassic Wheels. Then if you're in the mood for something quicker and more dangerous, for me it's just grab the keys to the ZL1 Camaro. It's slightly modded, but it doesn't need it. I do find myself hesitating to fry tires on it because they're not cheap. But then I do it anyway.

 

[tkruger]

The 87 and 88 were identical for specs. Both had the same drivetrains and options.

 

[Burd]

I figure, how fast do I need to go to go get a I rcream. Lol

 

[ck80]

Because you're doing it wrong. 🙂 It takes a lot to NOT want to modify a slow-azz stock G-body. Believe me. I've gotten used to it over the years. But my solution is to go and get another car that DOES go fast. Best of both worlds. You still get the Classic Feels from the Jurassic Wheels. Then if you're in the mood for something quicker and more dangerous, for me it's just grab the keys to the ZL1 Camaro. It's slightly modded, but it doesn't need it. I do find myself hesitating to fry tires on it because they're not cheap. But then I do it anyway.

Same philosophy here, except swap your camaro for some mustangs in our case. (Need to look good while going fast too, which means, stepdad's 'old' zl1 sits in the corner 😉 )

 

[78chevolds]

I know every complains about the Olds 260, but I have no problems with my 78 Cutlass. Of course it is not as fast as my Camaro, but for a daily it is perfect. The car is lightweight, aluminum hood, no A/C, modified suspension, quick ratio steering, SSIII wheels. I removed the cat and have a straight 2.5 pipe to a transverse muffler. IMHO, it reminds me more of the mid 60's Oldsmobiles before the muscle car craze. The 200 transmission has been rebuilt with a shift improvement kit. Mechanically it is in great shape. I don't have the money to replace the entire drive train to make it faster and gain 2 to 3 seconds in 0 to 60 time.

 

[69hurstolds]

I actually LOVE the stock 307. It keeps me out of a lot more trouble. Even that TT 3.0 V6 in the wife's Caddy puts down some rubber, (when she's not with me) and does great with "spirited" driving with the magnetic ride control. It's weird, she drives fast everywhere she goes, yet if ~I~ do it with her in the vehicle, somehow I'm trying to kill us. 🤔

Did you know when they were new, 83-85 OZ transmissions popped VERY HARD into 2nd gear? You old-timers that bought new ones know what I'm talking about. With new, rubbery, Eagle GT's and the right road conditions, you could chirp the tires when it shifted into 2nd by itself in Drive. It was pretty easy to get a 2nd gear chirp on asphalt roads, but just a jarring hit on concrete. Once the clutches started wearing, the bump was still noticeable, but obviously not as strong. This was one of the main reasons they "re-calibrated" the KZF's in 1986 to be firm, and not shift with a hammer.

This did pose a huge safety risk, though. As rare as it was in Charleston, SC, there was a hard freeze/sleet the night before one cold winter morning in 1986 and you know what that does to morning rush hour traffic...jams...the sun was just coming up and here I was on a sloped curve on an overpass on I-26 going to work and decided to drive the 85 that morning. Stuck in traffic, we inched along. The shadows hadn't quite cleared below the concrete walls so along that slightly sloping curve there was still ice on the road. Let off the throttle, started rolling slow, it got up to around 15-20 mph and "bump" it shifted hard into 2nd and the wheels spun and I started to fish tail into the other lane. And I freaked because it didn't want to respond to correction at slow speeds. So here I was straddling two lanes. Luckily, there was a big truck in the lane I swung into which hadn't got up to speed yet allowing my car to swing into an empty space. Otherwise the transmission shifting would have caused an accident. Whew! I think I'm still picking Claret seat fuzz out of my bunghole to this day. 🙂

 

[Hurst so good]

15K I just cant bring myself to mod it. My C4 conv. is also stock but my 69 cutlass convertible, formally stock will have some mods when the restoration is complete but the engine will be stock with some unseen mods. How fast do you really want to go in a convertible.

 

[Kamloops cutlass]

Any car I can afford to buy these days is gonna need work , and I can’t help but buy the cool parts over the stock parts
I read too many car craft magazines in my formative years to leave things stock
A few years ago I took a 67 camaro in museum condition and yanked the original 327 for a roller 383
Swapped out suspension diff housing battery in trunk
Wheels etc etc
I might not do that again ...

 

[69hurstolds]

15K I just cant bring myself to mod it. My C4 conv. is also stock but my 69 cutlass convertible, formally stock will have some mods when the restoration is complete but the engine will be stock with some unseen mods. How fast do you really want to go in a convertible.View attachment 178001

And don't mod it until you reach 100K miles. Or the Oldsmobile Gods will open up the heavens and rain down fury upon thee the likes of which the good Earth has not yet seen. Your car is way too nice to mod. So don't. Or I will call them. I swear. 🙂

 

[fleming442]

That H/O needs an LSA...