I was in the market for a new car back then and I did settle on the Monte Carlo SS. The olds 307 and wacky shifters was sevral steps behind the SS in perfomance and 5 miles behind the Grand National.
I was in the market for a new car back then and I did settle on the Monte Carlo SS. The olds 307 and wacky shifters was sevral steps behind the SS in perfomance and 5 miles behind the Grand National.
Ya gotta wonder what they were thinking when they went with the 307? Why not the covette 350 of the era in this and the Monte Carlo. Would have made for alot more fun!
Regarding what LeeRoy asked about engines. There was a lot of internal politics in GM even then on branding and even though we were into Corporate engines the Olds team wanted an Olds engine. The 307 was never up to the L69 HO 305 which was basically a Corvette engine with 45 less cubes and the Turbo Buick V6. There was still a pecking order too in terms of the perfomance cars Corvette at top, F Bodies then G bodies.
The Monte SS got the L69 before the F bodies but it was never rated at the level in the F body. The same holds true for the Buick Turbo V6, it was never rated above the Corvette V8 even though we all know that with the GNX doing 0-60 in under 5 seconds it had to be putting out over 300 HP.
Regarding what LeeRoy asked about engines. There was a lot of internal politics in GM even then on branding and even though we were into Corporate engines the Olds team wanted an Olds engine. The 307 was never up to the L69 HO 305 which was basically a Corvette engine with 45 less cubes and the Turbo Buick V6. There was still a pecking order too in terms of the perfomance cars Corvette at top, F Bodies then G bodies.
The Monte SS got the L69 before the F bodies but it was never rated at the level in the F body. The same holds true for the Buick Turbo V6, it was never rated above the Corvette V8 even though we all know that with the GNX doing 0-60 in under 5 seconds it had to be putting out over 300 HP.
Actually the GN is rated 245 I believe in '87 but that being said is closer to 300 hp....the GNX was even more than that....
The great thing about these cars is the GNX suspension bits fit the Buick and the Olds and the Chev. The Buick is, IMHO the best of the 3 and the lethargic 305 in the Monte being the worst..if I could afford it and it was closer to me I'd be all over it....
This is a review from 1985. The L69 5.0 litre engine in the SS was named by Hot Rod magazine as one of the top ten Chevrolet performance engines of all time along with the L79, LT1, Z/28 302 to name a few. Describing this engine as lethargic is uneducated. The 442 was two second slower than the SS and GN. The SS was merely fractions slower than the GN.
This is a review from 1985. The L69 5.0 litre engine in the SS was named by Hot Rod magazine as one of the top ten Chevrolet performance engines of all time along with the L79, LT1, Z/28 302 to name a few. Describing this engine as lethargic is uneducated. The 442 was two second slower than the SS and GN. The SS was merely fractions slower than the GN.
-- Edited by 73SC on Saturday 24th of December 2011 11:12:34 PM
Ray, the 442 in that issue ran 16.6. the SS ran 15.9 and the GN ran 15.7. They were all within .9 of each other.
And with that said, a 15.7 out of a Grand National is a joke. I have no idea how they ran such an awful time on that test.
I owned what I felt was likely one of the slowest GN's I ever heard of. I had a 1/4 mile timer permanently installed in it. Stone stock it would run 14.7 to 14.9 all day long, any time.
I dug out some old road tests for SS and GN.This is all I could find in my magazines but I know there was lots more.
SS---
15.90 @ 86 mph Car and Driver July 85
15.39 @ 88 mph Super Chevy Mar 86
16.44 @ 87 mph Musclecar Review June 88
GN---
15.70 @ 87 mph Car and Driver July 85
14.20 Musclecar Review April 87
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)
One interesting point about the 442 and the SS. The SS tests show it to be slightly faster and yet it came with a lighter differential. SS's only ever had the 7.5" ring gear from 83-88 while the 442 and Hurst Olds had an 8.5" ring gear. I'm not sure what GM was thinking.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)
These cars were among the performance leaders of the time - and the GN was a standout - but honestly I never owned or drove a decently performing 305 powered car - including an 87 IROC Z convt which disappointed. Maybe I did not drive the right one ( I did not sample a Monte Carlo SS) but the ones I did definitely turned me off from that engine.
That said, the only 80s GM performance cars I looked at in that era were the MC SS and the GN - they had their appeal.
I had only one 307 4bbl Olds powered car - a Caprice wagon - that was sluggish but maybe that was owing to the weight of the car.
-- Edited by gparis7 on Sunday 25th of December 2011 01:46:00 AM
My son just pointed out that it's an 85 road test. NO WONDER the GN only ran 15.7. The hot air cars were a good second slower than the intercooled 86 and 87 GN's.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)
Ya My 12 year old Suburban is a sub 16 second machine so my point is the Olds is not in the same league as the other two. 0-60 it was over 9 second. I suppose the real testament to these perfomance cars is that my new Cadillac DTS is under 15 seconds and under 7 second 0-60.
Goota go and serve dinner to the elderly shut-ins now, Merry Christmas all.
-- Edited by 73SC on Sunday 25th of December 2011 11:12:06 AM
Ya My 12 year old Suburban is a sub 16 second machine so my point is the Olds is not in the same league as the other two. 0-60 it was over 9 second. I suppose the real testament to these perfomance cars is that my new Cadillac DTS is under 15 seconds and under 7 second 0-60.
Goota go and serve dinner to the elderly shut-ins now, Merry Christmas all.
-- Edited by 73SC on Sunday 25th of December 2011 11:12:06 AM
The GN at least is an 85 with the turbo mounted at the back of the engine. The intercooled cars have it at the front.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)
Ok, an 85 GN was non-inter cooled, so that explains the time. Don't get me wrong, I love the SS, but everyone I've ever known has swapped the 305 for something much bigger and more powerful..
Very hot lookin car. Love those early 80's body stiles. Friend of mine has an 83 Cutlass hes been askin me to work on for a while. Unfortunatly i've got 3 other car to finish first.
