Stock cars vs modified

[Turbolq4]

Sleepers are some of the most fun cars, too. But there comes a point where you can't hide it any longer when you're kicking up dust from the turndown exhausts and rumbling so much you are shaking windows of the car next to you at a stoplight.

Mine is still really stealth. Turbos make it easier to hide the true nature of the power plant. Tame cam and full exhaust help out. It barks a bit when it's cold but smoothes out with some heat. 4" exhaust with a straight through 3" magnaflow doesn't attract too much attention in traffic. By itself it just sounds like the exhaust is the extent of the modifications.

 

[olds307 and 403]

My 4


Since I didn't butcher anything and it looks stockish I haven't had any purist state their disdain as of yet but I'm sure they're out there!



No doubt but I'm not asking anybody anything. I'm most certainly not going to car cruises and asking people what I should do to make my car faster but they insist on telling me anyway!

There will be very few, even Olds guys who say keep the stock 307. Almost everyone hides 350's and 403's to look stock. Plus to look completely stock means leaving the pathetic factory "dual" exhaust which is beyond terrible. Dual exhaust and gears are the only thing that will make the 260 feel better, again if you are completely happy as is, enjoy the fuel economy it gets stock. Unless a modern EFI drivetrain is installed, which completely ruins it, nothing will touch the mileage of the current combo. Even better exhaust is questionable on improving mileage and it won't sound stock anymore, good or bad.

 

[69hurstolds]

I'm going to keep the 307 in my 85 442. As much as I am tempted to NOT do it, I am bound by the rules of factory equipment. I've got a perfect 455 that would do nicely. But that's not the path I chose.

One thing a totally stock G-body will have over a modified one is that if you do sell it, your potential buyer pool is virtually unlimited. If you buy a rock-stock vehicle that's never been butchered, and you want to butcher it the way you want, then it's a good thing. Flip side- If you want to buy something that's rock stock because that's the way you want it, you can get that too. After you yank the engine and put in an LS or something, your potential sales pool will decrease. You may find that one fish that will pay good money for your mods, and those are great stories to tell, but usually you're not going to get back the value of your time and $$ of modifying it.

But potential sales data isn't why I'm doing it stock. It's not even because it will be an oddity in the sea of non-original G-bodies. I'm going to the way-back machine to maintain the car to its original appearance as close as possible. It's going to cost me much more than it's worth, but I simply do not care. It's an investment for my pleasure, no one else's. There's very few of us doing it. Very few. I know I don't have the economy of scale to do everything exactly the way the factory did it, but I'm going to try to come close.

I still would not hack up a manual transmission car unless it was already hacked. But that's just me. Your mileage may vary.

 

[DoubleV]

500/600, no track times yet. Used to go fairly often but not since new engine. Wanna beef up transmission and richen up carb before racing. I've got very little time for racing anyway but some day....

 

[Ribbedroof]

keep it stock. that's the way they were built, preserve them. you want to buy some rust bucket ( half the guys here) and modify it, ok. But keep the low mileage stuff the way it came from the factory. You'll get a lot more satisifaction out of the car

You DO realize that as-produced, the cars were a compromise on every facet, designed to appeal to the broadest audience at the lowest production cost, right?