looking for a project car, need some info.

[intrigued]

Hey all. As some of you know I had an 06 malibu SS that I was planning on trading in on a G8 GT when they came to market. Well due to the fact that I was a complete dumb ass those plans had to be flushed down the drain as I got a DUI last december.

long story short with that is that I was at an office party and had been drinking pretty steadily for a few hours. Normally If I have more than two beers I don't even consider driving as I've seen first hand how a DUI/DWI can affect a persons life. Unfortunatley I was a bit under the weather and I was also homesick as I hadn;t visited my family in a few months. I was supposed to go up there that night and I felt a very slight buz so I figured if I waited a bit I could still drive home since it was late at night and it was almost all highway. I waited about two hours driniking water and drove the 60 miles home. I got off I95 and was 3/4 of a mile away from my folks' place when I came around a bend to find a checkpoint in front of me. Cops smelled booze on me and I admitted to drinking so they pulled me out of the car. I passed the walk the line test and the folow the finger test and and the officer was about to let me go since I had been honest and didn't appear at all impared since I was gunned doing exactly the speed limit coming into the checkpoint and was driving totally normal. The sargent on the scene decided he wanted to be extra sure though and i got breathalized and about 15 seconds after that I was in cuffs. It's a first offense, actualy its my first driving related offense ever, so I'll have to take an defensive driving test and be on probation for two years and thats it. It's even expunged from my record in a year so I won't even have been arrested in the official sence.

Okay, maybe not so short but I'm ashamed of what I did and I wanted to at least make it clear that i by no means make a habit of driving around under the influence.

The real way this has affected my life besides the couple month license suspension is that I can not afford insurance on a newer car like my malibu much less the G8, at least not while I'm in school and don't have a job that I make the same every month.

I've already sold my malibu and have been using mass trans to get to school and work. To an extent i've come to enjoy being able to read on the train and stuff but I would like to be on the road again come may when my suspension lifts.

I can't afford a new car so I've been thinking of doing something that I always thought about but never really had the motivation.

I want to get an 87 Cutlass supreme coupe thats got a solid rust free body and put in a mild to moderatley built 350 rocket. I don't car what color it is or if the paints all messed up because I want to get a fresh glossy coat of black paint, some suspension and brake upgrades and basically have a nice sleek looking blake RWD Olds coupe that will have low insurance and real v8 power.

I'm sure I can find the car I need pretty cheap but what I need is a place, preferably a profeshional place, that will sell a built 350 rocket that won't cost me an arm and a leg. I'd plan on doing the actual swap myself with a friend so I'd also need to find a good cutlass forum I could ask questions to. I can't seem to find one though.

Hopefully by this July I'll be riding in a sleek looking 87 Cutty dropped an inch or two, with new wheels (classic mag look just bigger wheels) some fat disk breaks behind them and a 300-350 hp rocket. I want to keep this project at about 5k. I figure I can get the car for about a grand especially if it has a beat to hell drivetrain since I'll be gutting that. what I really need is pointers on where to get a not overly expensive engine and tech forums for help and questions.

[XP715]

Why an '87? Is it the look, or is there something else about it? Do you like the older ones? Might I suggest going, say, ten years older or so? That way you can start with the engine you want (a real Oldsmobile 350) and its age means you would be able to register it as an antique/classic and get a bigger break on insurance, since that's one of your concerns as well.

[intrigued]

While I worship the 60's era cutlass I don't want to have to find one that is rust free and stuff. They are also to valuable and frankly i don't feel i'm in a position to take care of them as well as they deserve since this car will be parked on a city street.

I always liked the 80's g bodies and the 60 era cars in decent shape would honestly probably be a good bit more price wise.

I've read that the 350 bolts in place of the 307 in 90s G-bodies without any fabrication. That's good news but there is still a lot of work to be done for me...

[SuperSport623]

pretty much any smallblock, will bolt into a G-Body easily... the A/G Platform, imo is one of the most versatile platforms of all time.. i want a G!

[Cory Wolfe]

Well... I'm not sure what the significance about that year is... but... *points down*

[2005 EquinoxLS]

I know somebody on here who has a 1984 he might be begging to get rid of. :AH-HA_wink:

[Sixty8panther]

An '80s G-body is a GREAT choice... but I agree with XP, if you can try to find a nice '70s A-body.