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I'd love to own one of those turbo T/A's but most of them are seen as collector cars with like only 1555 ever made, so that makes them quite expensive. Maybe I'll just have to build my own by dropping a Grand National 3.8 turbo engine into a plain jane V6 or 4 cylinder Firebird.
I've heard of a T type Skyhawk, didn't know too much about them. I know Pontiac was dropping turbos in Sunbirds back in like 87 I think.
Those 1980-81 turbo T/A's though were dismissed as failures I think. They used that same car in the 2nd Smokey And The Bandit movie and had to use nitrous oxide to get the car up to the speeds they wanted. Of course a carbureted 301 Pontiac at only 9 PSI with a lot of lag really wasn't much to shake a stick at either. Yes those rims were 1980-81 rims as the previous year was using the snowflake rims.
The turbp GP was also a cool post, wonder how well those things did on the road in terms of acceleration?
I'd love to own one of those turbo T/A's but most of them are seen as collector cars with like only 1555 ever made, so that makes them quite expensive. Maybe I'll just have to build my own by dropping a Grand National 3.8 turbo engine into a plain jane V6 or 4 cylinder Firebird.
I've heard of a T type Skyhawk, didn't know too much about them. I know Pontiac was dropping turbos in Sunbirds back in like 87 I think.
Those 1980-81 turbo T/A's though were dismissed as failures I think. They used that same car in the 2nd Smokey And The Bandit movie and had to use nitrous oxide to get the car up to the speeds they wanted. Of course a carbureted 301 Pontiac at only 9 PSI with a lot of lag really wasn't much to shake a stick at either. Yes those rims were 1980-81 rims as the previous year was using the snowflake rims.
The turbp GP was also a cool post, wonder how well those things did on the road in terms of acceleration?
Here's a video of a MotorWeek test of an '89 Turbo Grand Prix....
They got 7.9 0-60 and 15.7@86MPH 1/4 mile, which isn't bad - but from what I've read elsewhere this is actually fairly slow for a stock TGP. I noticed they're launching from idle, which I'm sure adds a few ticks...especially on a turbo motor.
Here's an almost stock TGP doing a 14.88 pass. The description in the video says all it has done are a performance chip and larger injectors....not bad at all for a 20 year old FWD car!
Sean, great post, I had forgotten about the turbo Skyhawk. Unfortunately GM has cultivated a techno-luddite customer base, ever ready to remove any sort of gizmo they don't understand - which includes about anything they don't recognize from a '57 Chevy - under the hood.
GM also has always had the bad habit of only offering a slushbox with many of the king of the hill motors they have offered over the years. As seen on all of the above cars, sadly.
OK, so this car does not have anything truly "odd" under the hood at all....just a 260ci V8 (like the first Cutlass in this thread) and a Turbo-Hydramatic 200 3-speed automatic, but I thought it fit in really well with the other cars I've posted on here so far, so here it is...
...plus, this just looks soooo cool
1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon Coupe
I never, ever, ever see these. In fact, I don't know if I've ever seen one in real life. Maybe when I was really young, but I don't remember. The only two cars that utilized this body style were the Cutlass Salon and Buick Century from '78-'80.
This car is listed on eBay right now with a Buy-it-Now of $5,000 (bidding is up to $1,525 currently). It is listed as having only 17k original miles on it, though I'm gonna lean towards saying it's just a really well maintained (and garaged) 117k mile car....though it's not entirely out of the question that the mileage is original.
To make this post a little more in line with the original intention of the thread, here's a picture of a 1979 Buick Century Turbo Coupe which I'll make a full post about at some point:
Sorry for the low-res pic, it was all I could find!
A lot of people think that the "T-Type" trim level was only available on the Buick Regal, however there were actually Skyhawk, Somerset, Century, LeSabre, Electra & Riviera "T's"....though it only meant an upgraded motor on the Skyhawk & Riviera.
Yep, I've always liked the LeSabre T-Type, specifically the '88-'89 models with the 3800. For the three year run from '87-'89, only about 16,000 were built.
The '86 LeSabre Grand National is even more rare, with only 117 produced. I'd still go with a T-Type before a GN, though.
How about this...the 1985 Oldsmobile FE3X Concept, known affectionately as 'Darth Vader.' The Cutlass was always my favorite of the G-bodies, and the FE3X is the most rare Cutlass of them all. Only two exist, and GM has one of them that rotates between the Olds Museum and the Heritage Center. The other is in the hands of a private owner who had GM connections and managed to get an FE3X kit installed on his Cutlass.
Museum FE3X Concept is on the left, and the kit one is on the right
Yep, I've always liked the LeSabre T-Type, specifically the '88-'89 models with the 3800. For the three year run from '87-'89, only about 16,000 were built.
The '86 LeSabre Grand National is even more rare, with only 117 produced. I'd still go with a T-Type before a GN, though.
The LeSabre T-Type was a really sharp looking car, especially all black! I agree with you, definitely a better look than the crazy rare '86 Grand National. Those were basically just trim packages (I think the T-Type may have gotten a "performance" axle ratio, not sure...GN definitely didn't) but the 3.8l SFI V6 was pretty capable in those cars to begin with, at least compared with midsize FWD cars of the time. The T-Type interior with the full instrumentation and center console was a huge improvement over the lesser trim levels.
There was also a 1986 Buick Century Gran Sport which was very similar to the T-Type/Grand National package on the LeSabre. They were also all black, came with every (or close to every) available option, 3.8l V6, custom buckets & 16" wheels unique to that model, front & rear spoilers and badging that featured the GN "Power-6" logo.
Supposedly 1,029 built, all 2-door coupes. You could get a 3.8 in any Century back then but it wasn't very common. Plus, the A-Body was a lot lighter so these cars could really move.
Not really the best pictures, but you get the idea....
The front end bears a striking resemblance to the '82-'83 Honda Accord.....it's too bad Honda never sold an Accord set up like this back then.
I've never seen that "Darth Vader" Cutlass, very cool
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tennesseestorm
How is this for rare....
66 Oldsmobile Cutlass wagon... FACTORY 3-speed manual shift.... but it has factory A/C and power windows... NO radio!
....and a V8! That's such a wacky setup.....kinda makes you wonder what was going through the guy's mind who ordered it.
"OK, I need a big ass station wagon.....but not too big, and it needs to be fast....but it's gotta have a column shift.....and I need the comfort of A/C and power windows, but no radio!! Don't need that rock-and-roll devil music the kids are gyrating to!!" LOL
Great car, don't ever recall seeing a Cutlass wagon from back then. I'd love to cruise around in that beast.
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