The Wagon in the back is my dads 81 Buick century estate with 85k original miles, my dad yanked out the tired v6 and we’re in the process of LQ9 swapping itVery cool, looks like a very nice deal at 2k. Interior and body look decent enough at that price. Looks like you have good taste too with the Century wagon behind it.
And for generations, he’s a few years(?) too young to even be a millennial. Think it’s on to gen Z, for those who like to get up in arms about that type of thing.
Just bought a 5 speed cutlass
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You scored bigtime IMO! Yes I'd probably ruin the collectobility by ditching the anemic 260 & the rear gears that usually accompany the 260 but that's me. Enjoy this rarity, it's yours now.View attachment 124947 View attachment 124948 View attachment 124946 View attachment 124945
i just graduated high school and figured I’d buy myself a little project while I’m going to college, all feedback is appreciated
When considering the costs of building up any older vehicle , $2,000 is a good deal for anything if it's as solid as it looks in pics.
For interior, a little more cleanup, with some floor mats, a dash cap, sand & repaint a few parts with preferably SEM paint would be a good start if wanting to keep it stock. Stereo is a personal choice for any vehicle & a whole other budget story.
Any old drivetrain is a high budget area if you want to upgrade to modern or can be reasonable to keep if in good shape, regardless of vehicle choice.
Brakes are cheap to keep stock & can be from affordably upgraded to expensively bad *ss.
Suspension parts can badly need work if none was done yet, can be moderately cheap to expensively upgraded.
You got a good platform to work on & can find pretty much any info you need & free online help here & a few other sites, so enjoy. Many of us older guys ae glad to advise anytime.
For interior, a little more cleanup, with some floor mats, a dash cap, sand & repaint a few parts with preferably SEM paint would be a good start if wanting to keep it stock. Stereo is a personal choice for any vehicle & a whole other budget story.
Any old drivetrain is a high budget area if you want to upgrade to modern or can be reasonable to keep if in good shape, regardless of vehicle choice.
Brakes are cheap to keep stock & can be from affordably upgraded to expensively bad *ss.
Suspension parts can badly need work if none was done yet, can be moderately cheap to expensively upgraded.
You got a good platform to work on & can find pretty much any info you need & free online help here & a few other sites, so enjoy. Many of us older guys ae glad to advise anytime.
The T50 5-speed doesn't have a lot of torque capacity so plan on changing to a beefier transmission if you put more power in the car. If it were me, I'd keep it like it is, make small improvements and put a lot of miles on it before making any big changes.
Which is why exhaust and a 3.08 gear should not kill the T-50 and not be the slowest car on the road.
Dope.
Put a 3.xx series gear and a posi unit in there give the 260 a good tune up, good dual exhaust (2.25" is good, 2.5" for future upgrades or swaps), and it will feel a lot peppier.
Put a 3.xx series gear and a posi unit in there give the 260 a good tune up, good dual exhaust (2.25" is good, 2.5" for future upgrades or swaps), and it will feel a lot peppier.
Welcome from NE GA , You did good ! any time you can purchase a manual shift G body that,s drive-able and in decent shape its a good buy . Hang on to it if you can , the day will come when the factory manual shift,s G body,s will bring your investment dollars back home .
I kind of wish I had kept one of the 3 manual transmission Cutlasses I've owned. (4 if you count the parts car I dragged out of a barn in Maine after a 15 year slumber.) My best chance to get one back would be my 1978 Olds 442 project with the factory 5-speed. I sold it 2 years ago to an older gentleman who lives 2 towns over from me. Said he was going to do the cosmetics and get it back on the road but he hasn't. I accidentally found it last year when a construction and paving project forced me to take a couple of detours around it onto some side streets I've never been down before. Come to find out, he gave it to his son who owns it now. I go out of my way to drive by it twice a month to check up on it. It's still sitting uncovered under the pine trees where it has been since I first saw it last year. It hasn't moved and is now covered in about 2 inches of pine needles. There are 3 other cars scattered around the yard just rotting away so I'm sure this will join them. Too bad. I wrote to Oldsmobile in 2003 when I first got it and they said it was one of about 10 442's so equipped. I might need to knock on his door soon... before it's too far gone. I'm sure if I wave some cash in front of the son's face, he'll sell it. I'd hate to see another car lost, especially one as unusual as this one. Should have kept it!
I second this. If you do a motor swap, any motor worth going through the hassle is going to be too much for that transmission. At that point you could have bought any G-body and done a motor and transmission swap with roughly the same amount of effort and cost. You have a good running motor and transmission ready to do work. Use them. Slap a flowmaster muffler on and call it a day for now. If anything maybe do the rear gears.
Edit: And congrats on the score. That car is worth 2 grand all day. Enjoy it.
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