Classic Prix's

[goliath1988]

I have seen all of these threads on the newer grand prixs, which are decent in their own right, but what about the classics? I would like to hear some opinions on the classic prixs. I would also like some advise on how to upgrade mine. I have a 1986 Grand Prix Brougham with the 4.3 Liter V6.

['97ventureowner]

How classic do you want to go? I had a nice '77 with a 301 and T-tops .
Actually IMO the '78 to '87 GPs are a good car to upgrade. They share a lot of parts with other G bodies of the era,(Monte Carlo,Regal,Malibu,Cutlass,) and there are companies that sell performance upgrades for the powerplants in these vehicles.It is also fairly easy to swap out a V8 if the time comes and you need to replace the engine. These vehicles should still be plentiful in the South and West, ( I haven't really seen one in my neck of the woods recently)ensuring many years of continued interest to come. There's quite a bit you can do to these RWD cars as evidenced by the car hobbyist magazines.

[richtazz]

I had an 81 Cutlass (a sister car to your GP) and I yanked out the 3.8 v-6 it came with and swapped in a nicely built SB Chevy. On yours with the 4.3, it's a drop in swap, as the 4.3 is basically a SB Chevy minus 2 cylinders so all the mounts and accessory brackets will swap right over onto a similar vintage SB.

[tblake]

Originally Posted by richtazz

I had an 81 Cutlass (a sister car to your GP) and I yanked out the 3.8 v-6 it came with and swapped in a nicely built SB Chevy. On yours with the 4.3, it's a drop in swap, as the 4.3 is basically a SB Chevy minus 2 cylinders so all the mounts and accessory brackets will swap right over onto a similar vintage SB.

Interesting Rich...

Interesting you mention to swap a 4.3 vs SB. Co-worker of mine had a 1998 Blazer with a 4.3 that he managed to swap in a small block 350. (believe it)

[grandprixgtx00]

Originally Posted by tblake

Interesting Rich...

Interesting you mention to swap a 4.3 vs SB. Co-worker of mine had a 1998 Blazer with a 4.3 that he managed to swap in a small block 350. (believe it)

I've seen it done before. my buddy back in highschool actually dropped a small block 350 in his Chevy S10 and put a 5 speed in it. CRAAZZY ride