Cutlass

Bad Dude!

Raw Power!

Sleeper!

Here are a couple of pics of the Cutlass at the NMCA race at Bowling Green, KY Bad Cutlass. Wheelie Time.

This is my daily driver. It was equipped with a 3.8 liter Buick V-6 from the factory backed up by a TH200 Metric tranny (3 speed, not the TH2004R- 4 speed). The 7.5" 10 bolt rearend had 2.41 gears in it. It also met her most important prerequisite of having a console shifter. The average gas mileage was around 13.5 mpg…obviously something was wrong. The check engine light had been removed from the dash. It's easy to check for this when you're buying a computer controlled car, the Check Engine light should turn on momentarily as you start the car. If it does not, be very suspicious. After installing the check engine light, it was determined that the TPS was malfunctioning. The carburetor was rebuilt, the TPS was replaced, and the car was given a basic tune-up. These changes resulted in a consistant 22 mpg. It even measured as high as 24 mpg on the highway.

The Cutlass has been a very dependable car. Over the last 7 years the mileage has grown to 216,000 miles, still with the original engine, transmission, and rearend. That all changed in December '98. My Dad and I swapped in a TPI 305 engine out of an '85 Trans Am (with 79,000 miles on it) along with a TCI 4L60E transmission. The stock TPI engine is controlled by a Speed Pro Electronics ECU. We also had to change the injectors, since the factory ones were locked up. Some new Speed Pro 24 lb/hr guys did just fine. The ECU is a very powerful system that allows easy tuning with a laptop computer. While we were installing the new engine, some ceramic coated Dynomax 1 5/8" headers and a custom 2 1/2" aluminized exhaust system were added, as well as some Dynomax mufflers. The factory 2.41 gear was swapped for a 7 5/8" 3.23 gear (and an Auburn posi differential) for use with the overdrive transmission. A TCI 10" Street Fighter (part number 243105) torque converter was also installed. The TCI Transmission Control Unit was installed to allow full programmability of the 4L60E. Changing shift firmness and shift points only requires a laptop computer and the touch of a few buttons. We presently have around 31,000 miles on this engine since it was installed (as of 12/19/99). It took a lot of $ to convert the car to fuel injection, but is worth every bit of it. It also took a lot of $ to get the A/C system converted and charged (the compressor had to be replaced as well), but the car is now a very well mannered street machine. The gas mileage has been checked on several occasions between 22 and 23 mpg and performance is a bit better than stock (big grin).

Performance

The car clocked an awesome 19.71 @ 70+ mph on the G-tech with stock V6 engine/200 trans/2.41 rear gear combo. The initial outing at Memphis Motorsports Park with the new TPI 305/4L60E/3.23 combination was pretty exciting. On the street, the car seemed to take off pretty hard. I thought that a high 14 second pass might be in the cards, but it was not to be. The very first pass was a 15.88 @ 88 mph. Traction was almost nonexistant (the 60' time was 2.58 seconds). With a little more finesse, and several more tries, it eventually turned a 15.13@ 88 mph, the first night out.

October 1999, With the addition of underdrive pulleys and a little tuning, the Cutlass ran a 9.34 @ 71.13 1/8 mile and a 14.88 @ 89.03 mph through the quarter. This will probably be the last time at Memphis for the little 305. Next up, a TPI 406.

January 7, 2000. Well, the junkyard 305 is outta there. I pulled the engine a few days ago and nearly have the 406 ready. I hope to have the engine installed and running within the next 3 days. See the new engine specs below.

February 19, 2000. It's been busy the last few days. I installed the aluminum radiator support, relocated the battery to the trunk, and installed a MSD 6AL. The 6AL really helped smooth the idle and improved the gas mileage. I measured it at 23 mpg over the weekend. Took the car to the track for the first time with the 406. On my first attempt at a pass I shattered the front U-joint and hurt the 4L60E. Bummer. I plan on repairing the transmission this week.

March 4, 2000. I repaired the transmission last week. It turned out to be a broken sprag:-( I also installed the rear aluminum bumper brace. It was 23 lbs lighter than the steel version. A Weldon 255 lph fuel pump was also installed. Finally got to the dragstrip this weekend again. I bolted on the MT ET Streets and ran a best of 7.92 @ 86 mph through the 1/8 mile and a 12.55 @ 106 through the 1/4. It actually pulled the left front tire about 3"-4" on the best pass.

May 21, 2000. I've put over 10000 miles on the new 406 already. It's running better than ever. I've done a little tweaking on the Speed Pro ECM. Took the car to a little 1/8 mile dragstrip a couple weeks ago. Bolted on some 28x9" MT slicks and clicked off a 1.64 60' along with a 7.200 et! Actually the dragstrip is around 585' or somewhere thereabouts. The et through the true 660 would be around a 7.78. Took the car to Memphis Motorsports park Thursday night, May 18 and ran a best of 12.44 @ 107.8 w/ a paltry 1.73 60'. Traction was not very good to say the least. Looking for some 12.20s!

June 15, 2000. Installed a factory rear sway bar last night. Hopefully this will help my 60'. Finally found a factory aluminum hood. Started sanding it last night, I hope to get it painted and installed before the NMCA Bowling Green race.

August 2, 2000. Bowling Green went pretty well. I was number one qualifier with a 12.011 @ 112 mph. (Had a 50 hp shot of N2O on it.) Took third place after redlighting. Finally got my aluminum hood painted. I'll install it this weekend. Took the car to Memphis Motorsports Park for Test-n-Tune. Ran 11.56 @ 116.5 with a 150 shot of Nitrous. The car spun and had a 1.72 60'. The next pass the car broke the driver's side axle. Oh well, It's now time to install the Grand National 8.5" rearend!

Feb. 20, 2001. It's been awhile since the last update. Hopefully they'll be more regular now. I installed the GN rearend with a new Auburn Pro series diff. and the factory 3.42 gear. The car still required a 50 hp shot of nitrous to make the 12.00 index at the Memphis NMCA race. Took second place there. Installed a TPIS miniram intake/BBK 58mm throttle body and a TCI Super StreetFighter converter to replace the older StreetFighter converter. The first pass with this new combo resulted in a 11.99 @ 110+ mph on the ET Streets on motor alone. That's 4.5 tenths quicker than my previous best all motor run. The miniram definitely lets the big motor breath better. I'm very impressed with it. I had intentions of going for a 10 sec N2O slip, but due to a faulty Throttle Position Sensor, that will have to wait.

June 20, 2001. In the last few weeks I've made several changes to the car. The TrickFlow 23 deg heads were replaced with the R series (big port) 23 deg TrickFlow heads. The mild cam was replaced with a slightly larger Comp Cams 236/245 @ .050 w/ .624/.612 lift 114 LS hyd. roller. These changes resulted in a couple of 12.08 @ 110 runs at Memphis Motorsports Park. Yep, this is slower than the last time out! To be fair in the comparison, I must note that the track conditions were not as favorable as last time out (the temperature was approximately 25 degs warmer, the humidity was up substantially as well.) Since the runs were made, I've installed some new Hedman 1 3/4" headers as well as a Dr. Gas 3" X pipe to replace the 2 1/2" H pipe that I had before. I should find out if these changes are going to be beneficial this weekend. I'm gonna drive up to Bowling Green for the NMCA race up there.

August 18, 2001. Raced in a heads-up 1/8 mile EFI Modified race at Jackson, TN. Best time on true street radials with a 200 shot was 7.33 @ 101. Had a best of 1.85 sixty-foot. I won.

September 15, 2001. Ran at Jackson again. Best pass on true radials was 7.30 @ 101. Had a 1.74 sixty foot one time, but had to abort that pass.

September 22, 2001. We drove the car to Commerce, GA this weekend for the NMCA finals. After fighting some transmission problems, the car responded with a 11.93 @ 112 mph on motor. Next we tried a 200 shot of N2O. The car responded with a 7.09 through the 1/8 mile, but wouldn't shift into 3rd. I had burned up the transmission.

November 18, 2001. We drove up to Jackson on 275/60/15 BFG drag radials. Ran a new personal best of 6.72 @ 103. This is the current track record in EFI Modified. Had a 1.50 sixty foot. This would be around a 10.57 @ 128 through the quarter. I may have hurt something in the motor on this pass. The car ran rough the rest of the night. Took second place.

March 16-17, 2002. After replacing 4 pistons and sleeving two cylinders, the Cutlass is good to go again. My wife and I took it to the NMCA event in Commerce, GA. After dealing with some problems with our trailer, we finally made it to the track around 1:00pm Sat. (I appreciate her patience and understanding more than she knows.) The car ran pretty good. The best all motor pass was a 11.83 @ 112.8 mph. We took third place out of 19 cars.

April 28, 2002. Drove the Cutlass to St. Louis for the NMCA race. It rained all day Saturday. My wife and I had a blast. We went to Union Station, walked around the mall for awhile. Watched a movie. Had a good time. Sunday, we went to the track and managed to miss the one and only qualifying round. For 1st round I just cut a decent bulb and put a fender on the guy. I ran a 12.14 at 90 something mph. For second round the guy cut a .529 to my .574 light and I had to run it pretty hard. I went 11.74 @ 104 on the brakes. It would have gone in the 11.6s on that pass.

Sept. 2002. Went to test-n-tune at Memphis and sprayed the car. I took out one piston. Consequently, I have some new engine specs below. The new engine pulls extremely hard in the upper rpm range. I'm excited about putting it on the track.

Jan. 2003. Finally installed a Euro Nose on the Cutlass along with some new Telstars.

Mar. 2003. Went to test-n-tune at Memphis and ran a 11.72 @ 116.4 on motor with a very conservative 1.81 60'. It was too crowded to get another run.

Mar. 23, 2003. Went to Jackson, TN for some 1/8 mile drag radial heads up racing. I smoked the high gear clutches on the first pass. It ran a 7.40 @ 92.8 crossing the line at nearly 7000 in second gear.

April 26-27, 2003. Went to the NMCA race in Montgomery, AL. Ran an 11.66 on the brakes at only 111 during a time trial. Pull timing out and added some fuel to slow it down to 12.0s. Ran a 12.04 during qualifying. Made it to the final four...then the race was postponed because of water seeping through the track. Drove the car there and back home...average 21 mpg on the way down.

May 17-18, 2003. Went to Bell Rose, LA to the NMCA race. Thanks to my friend Patrick, we had cold A/C back on the car. He pulled a vaccuum on the system and charged it up for me. Me, my wife Janice, Patrick and his wife Kim all road down to LA in the Cutlass. It was definitely sitting low in the back. We had alot of luggage. My first pass on the drag radials was an 11.82. After that, I detuned the engine and ran an 12.05 for qualifying. I broke out in the second round with an 11.85.

May 25, 2003. Just installed a new ZEX wet N2O system. It's good for a 200 shot. I still have my old dry kit on it as well, and it's good for a 75 shot. Drove the car to Holly Springs, MS. It's a local track, only 45 miles from me. Raced in the headsup drag radial class. I ran a 6.41 on a 175 shot, which was good enough for second place qualifying spot. I had a N2O failure which prevented me from making past second round of eliminations.

TPI 400 Specs.

Small block Chevy 400 block bored .030" and honed w/ Torque Plates.

Scat cast steel crank

Eagle 6.0" H beam rods.

Lunati Taylor forged flattop pistons. 11.5:1 compression.

Rotating assembly was balanced.

Speed Pro file fit rings and Federal Mogul bearings.

Comp Cams custom ground solid roller cam 255/264 deg @ .050" .688 int. .671 exh. lift w/ 112 LS.

Comp Cams solid roller lifters.

Comp Cams pushrods 7.900" long.

Trick Flow 23 deg big port bowl ported aluminum heads.

1.6:1 Full Roller Rockers.