I own a 1986 Olds Cutlass with a 2 bbl carburetor that I bought about a year ago, It now has 47,000 miles. When I bought the car it lacked power, but I attributed that to the spark plugs and air filter never being changed, which was partially true. I have replaced the spark plug wires the spark plugs and the air filter which have given me more power. I also checked the timing and took the car to a transmission guy who made some adjustments to the linkage ( it was shifting to 3rd gear too early).
I replaced the catalytic converter with an aftermarket converter (30% better flow), and put an open element air filter on the carb air filter base. I got rid of the air cleaner assembly/ heat riser.
My problem is that I'm not quite satisfied with the power. it seems that on cold days the car has more power than on warm days, also the tranny jerks somwhat sometimes (the transmission shop says there arent any problems).
It was suggested to put a v-8 in the car but I dont have the money or the time to do that. I asked my mechanic if it would be worth it to put headers dual exahust and headers on the car & he a said it would just make the car loud. I,m not looking for super v-8 power, just more power than what I have. It was also suggested by a friend that putting headers on may adversely affect the air/fuel mixture going through the carberator and hence engine performance.
Does anyone have any comments on this ? Would headers on this engine be worth it ? I already have the converters, I would need the headers, tailpipes and 2 mufflers plus possible some welding & misc parts (probably $500-$700). Has anyone put headers on a gm 3.8 l v-6 engine ? What were the results ? Any comments would be appreciated.
thanks in advance,
Vince