need advice on a swap in my 84 cutlass supreme

[tron_]

Hello:

Well Im going to keep this as short as possible. This is my first post on g-body, seems like a really cool site 🙂. Well anyways growing up my dad was always into cars so I naturally followed in those footsteps. He had a bunch of old Oldsmobiles, Delt 88s, Cutlasses, etc. Well, he always held onto this 1984 Cutlass Supreme. Its seen better days and a few years ago he told me that if I wanted to work on it, to feel free to do so and it would be mine. So I put a new alternator in, new brake line, battery, and it fired right up.

Well that was a few years ago and now Im ready to make it into a cheap, fun drag car. I really got into imports growing up, im almost done with a 400whp build for my Civic but I have always adored American muscle. I know my way around Hondas really well, but not so much around the Cutlass.

Like I said, I want to make the Cutlass into a cheap/fun drag car. I was wondering what kind of motor I can swap in (it currently has the 3.8L V6) that would be cheap, and could preferably handle a bit of nitrous? Also, could you guys point me to some good sources? I have been googling like no other. Other than that the car will be painted olive drab with a wwII fighter plane motif 🙂

Thank you! 🙂

EDIT: I was thinking a 4.8 or 5.3L vortec swap maybe, is that a decent idea? I read that they can be found cheap and can be installed relatively easy.

cliffs:
-i come from Honda land
-inherited a cutlass
-want to make a cheap street/strip car
-what motor should i look at?

 

[G_Body_Enthusiast]

the fighter plane motif intrigues me.

i'm gonna venture a guess and say most will recommend a SBC. they're cheap and plentiful. i'd say an olds engine but they can get pricey and you want cheap so that isnt gonna work necessarily.

i'm not a SBC person so i dont know which one would work best for your application but you definitely want one with a strong bottom end if you're gonna run nitrous. i'm not sure of any stock SBCs that can run a healthy shot of nitrous, depending how big a shot you want to go. they can take small ones though if you dont beat the engine like it owes you money. but like i said, i'm not a SBC person so i really dont know.

but i think you'll get plenty of SBC answers since it would be the cheapest route.

 

[dogsht]

An LS series motor would not be the cheapest or the easiest. It might however be one of the best routes to go. There is a good sticky for an LS conversion over on http://www.montecarloss.com. SBC are the most common so their is always plenty of used parts everywhere at anytime which in itself is a virtue. There is no cut and dried right or wrong this is the only best way route here. Its always depends.. on whats available to you for what and later what you more specifically define your goals as. For a street car many would say big cubes and a good snort of spray but for a light drag car you can converter & gear it without other worries. Same with spinning it hard and reliability because a drag car won't see that many run hours and can usually be trailer home after you have played to hard. Plus you don't need to drive it to work the next day.

 

[tron_]

thanks for the reply, i will definitely look into small block chevy motors. i mean im pretty good with engines, the sohc block im building has all forged components in the bottom end so i really wouldnt mind doing a cam/head swap.

id honestly like to keep this project under $3k-$4k since i am still in college and still need to finish up my civic.

as far as the fighter pilot motif, what do you think? yay or nay? i was thinking it might be cool to have the usaf star on the side, maybe a pinup girl sticker on the fender like they used to do on the planes. only reason for this is im kind of a history buff haha.

 

[tron_]

An LS series motor would not be the cheapest or the easiest. It might however be one of the best routes to go. There is a good sticky for an LS conversion over on http://www.montecarloss.com. SBC are the most common so their is always plenty of used parts everywhere at anytime which in itself is a virtue. There is no cut and dried right or wrong this is the only best way route here. Its always depends.. on whats available to you for what and later what you more specifically define your goals as. For a street car many would say big cubes and a good snort of spray but for a light drag car you can converter & gear it without other worries. Same with spinning it hard and reliability because a drag car won't see that many run hours and can usually be trailer home after you have played to hard. Plus you don't need to drive it to work the next day.

im really looking for the cheapest way to go. the small blocks seem like decent motors from what i have just read online. as far as aftermarket support, im assuming there is a lot? also, what kind of gains can i expect with a head/cam swap? i know its a very vauge question, bear with my noobness haha.

also, what do you mean by converter it? the car would just be a once in a while driver on the street that hopefully can put a bit of power down 🙂

it seems like a sbc would be a good solution since you guys say theyre cheap. which variant would you guys suggest?

 

[jrm81bu]

As far as you're paint scheme goes, have you seen Freiburger's F-Bomb Camaro?

 

[bigdan]

cheapest route :
get any used 4 bolt SBC 350 from a van or pick up ....bore it .030 with forged pistons , get some vortec heads (062,906)
the equivalent air gap intake from edelbrock ...a good cam .
<watch the fuel mixture: nitrous is touchy with carbs! try it n/a first ,you might be satisfied as is "
your 7.5" diff might hold if driven with brain.....otherwise go bigger!
transmission is your choice : th 350 with a t/c if street driven ...700R4 0r 200r4 if highway ...

around $4000.00 if you do the work yourself .

my choice !