First car was a 76 Chevy malibu with a 350sbc. It ran well and served me well. At 16 I ran it flat on the floor at 110/115mph for miles & miles many times and smoked up a couple sets of recaps with her. Learned how to do lots with her.
First gbody was my 87 Grand National that I bought new. It ran great stock. First time I had ever been to a drag strip she ran a 13.9 at 98mph box stock. Chip, K&N, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, threaded waste gate rod, a boost gauge, a lil race fuel and some cheap soft compound recaps and she ran 12.7s at 107mph. Not bad for about $500. Last time out she ran 12.4 at 109mph on pump gas & methanol injection.
My next gbody was an 88 Cutlass that I bought with the plan to put a big block in because I always wanted one, at the same speed it would be more reliable and streetable than a small block, and because I didn't want to tear up the GN doing donuts and playing on the street. I though I would find an Olds 455 since they are cheap & attainable and its an Olds. Ended up with a Cadillac 500 engine for free and had lots of fun with that car until someone pulled out in front of me and I totaled her. Still like the Olds 455 but knowing what I now know of the two I would take the Cad if I could only have one.
As luck would have it I found the 442 you see in my pics for cheap and transfered the engine & built 200-4R from the 88 into it. Both the GN & 442 had the combo to run as quick as 11.5 at 115 mph on pump gas with the right tune, traction & a good drag racer behind the wheel. That said I think the 442 was more fun around town. Partly because it was so torquey and partly because lots of people would line up to the 442 & or the 88. In fact Mustangs and Camaros would taunt you. The only ones that would pull up to the GN were serious cars packing for bear and were almost always spraying. I only ran a 12.5 at 110 with the Cutlass but never got around to getting the carberator or timeing etc dialed. It definately had a lot more in it. Never the less the responsiveness and drag radial wasting torque no brakes required made it crazy fun to drive. Gbodys are a great platform to build a great high performance street car out of.
I learned its harder to build a reliable mid/high 11 second pump gas street car that you could drive across country than it is to build a 10.5 second drag car. Its also a lot more fun and useable. I enjoyed them way more than I could have ever gotten to the drag strip or used a drag only type ride.
I would love to get my 509ci Cady powered 442 back partly because it was unique and I built and upgraded about everything on that car and partly because it was so much fun. If not the idea of turboed LS motored g appeals to me as well. Time will tell. Thanks for reading and happy hot rodding. Hey just build something cool. 8)
First gbody was my 87 Grand National that I bought new. It ran great stock. First time I had ever been to a drag strip she ran a 13.9 at 98mph box stock. Chip, K&N, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, threaded waste gate rod, a boost gauge, a lil race fuel and some cheap soft compound recaps and she ran 12.7s at 107mph. Not bad for about $500. Last time out she ran 12.4 at 109mph on pump gas & methanol injection.
My next gbody was an 88 Cutlass that I bought with the plan to put a big block in because I always wanted one, at the same speed it would be more reliable and streetable than a small block, and because I didn't want to tear up the GN doing donuts and playing on the street. I though I would find an Olds 455 since they are cheap & attainable and its an Olds. Ended up with a Cadillac 500 engine for free and had lots of fun with that car until someone pulled out in front of me and I totaled her. Still like the Olds 455 but knowing what I now know of the two I would take the Cad if I could only have one.
As luck would have it I found the 442 you see in my pics for cheap and transfered the engine & built 200-4R from the 88 into it. Both the GN & 442 had the combo to run as quick as 11.5 at 115 mph on pump gas with the right tune, traction & a good drag racer behind the wheel. That said I think the 442 was more fun around town. Partly because it was so torquey and partly because lots of people would line up to the 442 & or the 88. In fact Mustangs and Camaros would taunt you. The only ones that would pull up to the GN were serious cars packing for bear and were almost always spraying. I only ran a 12.5 at 110 with the Cutlass but never got around to getting the carberator or timeing etc dialed. It definately had a lot more in it. Never the less the responsiveness and drag radial wasting torque no brakes required made it crazy fun to drive. Gbodys are a great platform to build a great high performance street car out of.
I learned its harder to build a reliable mid/high 11 second pump gas street car that you could drive across country than it is to build a 10.5 second drag car. Its also a lot more fun and useable. I enjoyed them way more than I could have ever gotten to the drag strip or used a drag only type ride.
I would love to get my 509ci Cady powered 442 back partly because it was unique and I built and upgraded about everything on that car and partly because it was so much fun. If not the idea of turboed LS motored g appeals to me as well. Time will tell. Thanks for reading and happy hot rodding. Hey just build something cool. 8)