Some Questions

[1986montecarlols]

Now that I have a job in the next couple of weeks/months I may have some more spending cash as long as everything at the old job goes well. I just got a Cd player put in so I am content at the moment. But I was wondering first of all what do bucket seat brackets/buckets seats run for are cars, ive got the crappy bench seat we all love or hate.

Also whats the going rate on Vortec heads these days because I am not really into getting a 350 with rising gas prices? id like to stick with the stock engine seeing as though I have not hit 80,000 even yet on the base 4.3 What kinda horse power gains will I see? I know the gas mileage will obviously will go up a little bit too.

If you guys can help me in this dept. id love it. Thanks 😀

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The Vortec heads that are discussed frequently will only fit a V8. There may be a V6 variant, but it is not widely discussed. As such, an intake manifold to fit your TBI probably does not exist if similar V6 heads are out there because the V8 heads have a unique bolt mounting pattern.

 

[1986montecarlols]

Well

I know that there were blazers with the 4.3 vortec heads in the 90s. I was just wondering what i get for horsepower gains for my engine. I personally think going to a V8 now would be completely stupid considering gas prices. Id rather do things to help gas mileage rather then kill it. My buddy just put a V8 in his 76 camaro and I think he is giong to be feeling stupid anytime now when gas goes over 4 a gallon.

Any price tags on bucket seats, I am not even able to find any on ebay right now. 😀

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, my car is better on gas with a 350 than it was with a 3.8 V6. It is about 2-3 mpg better in the city than stock, with twice the torque and 3 times the hp. It probably is not as good on the highway as it was stock, but I have not checked that yet. Fuel economy is dependent on more than just engine size. It depends on the torque curve, gearing, and weight of the vehicle as well as it's application.

 

[megaladon6]

GM put vortecs on everything! one problem may be what year 4.3 you pull the heads off of. a newer one may have a different bolt pattern. i'd look for a mid 90's astrovan. they're still the older engine style, and came with 4.3l vortecs. i'd also get the serpentine belt drive system. if your 4.3l has efi there is a problem. the vortecs used a different bolt pattern for the intake and i highly doubt that you could use the astrovan intake without completely retro-fitting the efi system. i'd look around for an aftermarket intake that fits your EFI system and vortec heads, but it'll be a tough find. vortecs are usually worth about 20hp.
quite often the v8 will get better mileage due to the greater low end torque, thus the less effort and throttle need to move the car. look at modern GM mpg numbers. the v6 and the v8 get the same numbers.
actually i'd look into a higher gear ratio in the rear. do you know what it has now?
and do you have a 4spd trans?

 

[megaladon6]

actually it looks like i was wrong. i found vortec 4.3l intakes on summit that should accept a TBI efi system or a carb.

 

[dan2286]

They sell bucket seat brackets on gbodyparts.com, but they run over 200 bucks for both sides. You might be better off making your own brackets.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I believe the seat brackets are the same between the split bench and bucket seat cars.

 

[1986montecarlols]

yeah

I have the stupid one peice seat so ill have to get new brackets. Im sure a junky yard will have some if i look harder and sell them cheaper then 200 bucks, thats outragious. Yeah I am pretty undecided about my engine right now. With only 76,000 and a good running engine im not exactly into just ripping it out of there with it runnin so good. My car is the 3 speed so gas mileage on the highway is sh*t. I dont know the gear ratio but im sure it sucks.


On another note, I have decided that I will save for my floor boards. I am not wastign the time in welding metal into place when in a years time or less I will only have to take the metal out to replace with real floor boards, the other option would be to rivet new metal over the old metal just hiding the problem basically, I am just going to have to save for these in the next few months. Anyone got a price one what a shop may charge on floor boards, Obviously there must be pretty good care in putting them in, my buddy might do it but I dont know yet? So if anyones ever had them done let me know


Lastly I painted my entire trunk black, its cool but there was some rust under the trunk seal by the wheel, there is rust forming in the inner fender well of the back wheel on the drivers side, there is a rust whole about the width of a pencil and about half as long as a pencil there, the surface rust extend basically the whole length of the wheel well, its not as bad on the other side, I am guessing that this is how 1/4 panels begin to go huh, If anyones got ideas on how to fix this before I have to crack down in a few years time to fix it would be awesome. If anyone can give some help id love it until then im out. thanks 😀

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Floors will only keep rusting if the reason they rusted in the first place is not taken care of. Old caulk and sealants in the firewall can cause rust in the floors as can leaky windows, and bad grommets. Find out how the water got in to begin with before you do anything. Also, by the time you buy the pans and have them installed, you will probably have $1,000-1500 invested in the repairs. That's why mine are patched and acid cleaned then fiberglassed. It may not be the best way, but it cost me under $100 and will probably last 5 years if they don't get wet.

As for the quarters, the problems in non-salt states usually come from excessive dirt buildup and plugged body drains, which trap moisture for extended periods of time. Fix those first, then I would attack the rust with a wire brush, followed by an acidic rust remover. Painting them with Por 15 is also a good idea as it is a very good cure-all for minor rust issues. It is not cheap though, and it is almost impossible to remove from the metal once it is applied.You could even use Por 15 with fiberglass mat as a fix for the wheelwell issue, depending on where it is located. I don't know which seam you referred to.