Revell 1984 Olds 442

[JohnD]

I stand corrected! That picture makes it much easier to see. Thanks for posting!

[charlie8575]

 

Also claret red should be the perfect color for the interior, the shade does not change between the plastic, vinyl and cloth just the sheen.  Olds called the color dark maple from 81 to 88 but prior it was dark claret red, which is an actual color although rather hard to find in paint these days. The Dupli Color Chrysler claret red isn't right.

Oh?

I remember my mother's first '86 was Dark Claret, code 81. Nice color; that dark maroon that never had a real high gloss, but looked good. Not to be confused with Medium Red code 71. 

The Claret interior was on her second '86. Testors Dark Red with varying treatments of semi-gloss and flat would get you in the ballpark. You might want to add a drop of black to add a little depth to the color. 

I've always seen the interior called dark claret, at least on the Supreme. I seem to remember Dark Maple Red being the Ciera interior.

Charlie Larkin

[TimKustom]

I know MCG's detail set will include grilles for 83-86 as well as a TON of interior pieces...

[Rob Hall]

Saw in a really clean '86 (I think it was an 86, grille had tightly spaced chrome vertical bars) Cutlass in traffic today, typical goldish beige color w/ 1/4 vinyl top, whitewalls and wire wheel hubcaps..

Edited May 11, 2016 by Rob Hall

[charlie8575]

Saw in a really clean '86 (I think it was an 86, grille had tightly spaced chrome vertical bars) Cutlass in traffic today, typical goldish beige color w/ 1/4 vinyl top, whitewalls and wire wheel hubcaps..

Light Chestnut. 

Sounds like a car I'd drive very happily.

Charlie Larkin

[Rob Hall]

I remember when I was a teenager the Cutlass and it's G-body siblings were everywhere...30 years later, they are a rare sight.

Edited May 11, 2016 by Rob Hall

[charlie8575]

I remember when I was a teenager the Cutlass and it's F-body siblings were everywhere...30 years later, they are a rare sight.

G-Body.

F-Body= Camaro/Firebird.

Charlie Larkin

[Rob Hall]

G-Body.

F-Body= Camaro/Firebird.

Charlie Larkin

I was tired..I knew it was G-body...typo.

[gearhedjon]

I have had my 1981 Cutlass for 26 years. The original paint was Deep Maple Poly. The interior although I don't know the name, is a lighter more red color than the Dark Clariat interior offered later in the car's production run. My car was built as a lightly modified hot rod. Cutlass's were everywere and police never cared. Now when I drive it I'm scrutinized a little closer.

[Bob Ellis]

I remember when I was a teenager the Cutlass and it's G-body siblings were everywhere...30 years later, they are a rare sight.

The light metric auto-transmissions and bad radiators made 200, 000 miles impossible

Edited May 12, 2016 by Bob Ellis
incorrect

[1972coronet]

The light metric auto-transmissions and bad radiators made 200, 000 miles impossible

That TH-200 was one of the biggest razzies from GM during that time . Aluminum drums ? Really ? In a street-operated vehicle ?

I wasn't aware of the radiator issues . Were they sub-sized or some-thing ?

[Rob Hall]

I wonder if they had plastic radiators..the '80s is when car makers started using them..plastic tanks w/ aluminum cores. my '00 Jeep has one, on my 3rd radiator now (at 165k miles and driving the last 8 years in one of the harshest climates in North America). 

[Fat Brian]

The light metric auto-transmissions and bad radiators made 200, 000 miles impossible

We had a beautiful 78 Cutlass that was metallic cinnamon with a tan leather interior that had a metric 200 in it. When it finally started to die we couldn't find anyone who wanted to rebuild it so we had to get rid of it.

[dshue76]

I wonder if they had plastic radiators..the '80s is when car makers started using them..plastic tanks w/ aluminum cores. my '00 Jeep has one, on my 3rd radiator now (at 165k miles and driving the last 8 years in one of the harshest climates in North America). 

They all had copper/brass radiators from 78 to 88. When in good condition they were ok. The overdrive transmissions used could be made to work very well and are still used for performance builds. The performance models with the 200 R4 had better pressure and shift points than the non performance models.

 The Metric transmissions were garbage, after a while GM started replacing them under warranty with TH 350 transmissions, that is where the multi fit dual bolt pattern TH 350 came from. My Cutlass was originally a 231 V6 car that came with a metric trans and had a multi fit TH350 installed under warranty. The sad part is that GM kept installing metric transmissions on the assembly line long after the rampant failures became obvious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[charlie8575]

Interesting, I was told by a very knowlegable guy at the junkyard that TH350s wouldn't work with the V6 because the V6 didn't generate enough vacuum to shift them, so they came up with the 200. 

The 2004R does seem to be a better transmission, although they seem to have had their share of troubles, especially in the full-size cars- probably too much weight for a lightish-duty transmission.

Charlie Larkin

[dshue76]

V6's make plenty of vacuum, vacuum is only used to downshift under acceleration like passing or going up hill and in fact the vacuum modulator will still work even with low vacuum due to cam profiles a little more than mild. Really all it does is sense a change in vacuum and relay that to the transmission. 

In applications other than performance cars GM set the 200 R4 up for gentle shifts, that lead to the reliability issues. Also of note there are guys who build these that can make them reliable, there always have been but they are easier to find these days.

I got my kits and have to say the body proportions look right, I did measure the front end and it is right. The upper body line seems a little heavy but I don't think it will aggravate me too much.

The engine is ok. Valve covers molded to the heads?(they do look really nice though)I've never seen that on a detailed kit before. No oil filler tube. Very nice HEI distributor. The wheels are wrong in my opinion, they look to have a beauty ring profile. The actual wheels were a bare chrome rim and bare chrome center with the only trim being the center cap. The centers are the same as used on 14" wheels, the rims have a deeper drop to mate with that center. And those tires. They look worse in person. So many things they got right and so many they just phoned in. The windshield mounting is pretty cheesy. It would work fine if the car had a modern flush windshield but it doesn't and those mounting pads will show thru if used. If they went all the way down to the bottom of the opening and were thinner then they could represent the A pillar trim. I didn't try the quarter windows but they are wrong on the box art, these are flush mount not inset like 78-80. And then you have the rear view mirror mounting to the head liner, good grief Revell.  No top to the engine cross member and you can see the top of the frame rails from the engine bay and they aren't finished. Such nice detail on the bottom of the frame then they muff the top. The side mirrors would have been better without the locating pins, they are to close to the lower edge and cause a short shot. 

I think it will still build up nice. There is plenty to improve on. I have Plenty of AMT Olds engines to steal oil fill tubes from. That is a pretty important visual cue on an Olds engine.

 The kit I opened has a sag in the roof right behind the passenger side B pillar, has anyone else had one like this? It also has a short shot on the inside of the passenger door that doesn't go all the way through. If the roof sag isn't a feature of all kits then I'll contact Revell for a replacement. 

Edited May 13, 2016 by dshue76

[niteowl7710]

V6's make plenty of vacuum, vacuum is only used to downshift under acceleration like passing or going up hill and in fact the vacuum modulator will still work even with low vacuum due to cam profiles a little more than mild. Really all it does is sense a change in vacuum and relay that to the transmission. 

In applications other than performance cars GM set the 200 R4 up for gentle shifts, that lead to the reliability issues. Also of note there are guys who build these that can make them reliable, there always have been but they are easier to find these days.

I got my kits and have to say the body proportions look right, I did measure the front end and it is right. The upper body line seems a little heavy but I don't think it will aggravate me too much.

The engine is ok. Valve covers molded to the heads?(they do look really nice though)I've never seen that on a detailed kit before. No oil filler tube. Very nice HEI distributor. The wheels are wrong in my opinion, they look to have a beauty ring profile. The actual wheels were a bare chrome rim and bare chrome center with the only trim being the center cap. The centers are the same as used on 14" wheels, the rims have a deeper drop to mate with that center. And those tires. They look worse in person. So many things they got right and so many they just phoned in. The windshield mounting is pretty cheesy. It would work fine if the car had a modern flush windshield but it doesn't and those mounting pads will show thru if used. If they went all the way down to the bottom of the opening and were thinner then they could represent the A pillar trim. I didn't try the quarter windows but they are wrong on the box art, these are flush mount not inset like 78-80. And then you have the rear view mirror mounting to the head liner, good grief Revell.  No top to the engine cross member and you can see the top of the frame rails from the engine bay and they aren't finished. Such nice detail on the bottom of the frame then they muff the top. The side mirrors would have been better without the locating pins, they are to close to the lower edge and cause a short shot. 

I think it will still build up nice. There is plenty to improve on. I have Plenty of AMT Olds engines to steal oil fill tubes from. That is a pretty important visual cue on an Olds engine.

 The kit I opened has a sag in the roof right behind the passenger side B pillar, has anyone else had one like this? It also has a short shot on the inside of the passenger door that doesn't go all the way through. If the roof sag isn't a feature of all kits then I'll contact Revell for a replacement. 

Mine has a noticeable rise behind the passenger door,  so I guess the roof is depressed rather than their being a hump in the roof. The window trim on the passenger side roof is also all wavy.

At least you didn't get one of the ones short shot on the passenger's side inner fenders where the entire area from the bottle (not sure if that W.W. Fluid or Coolant) down to the radiator brace is AWOL. 

As far as the heads and valve covers being molded together that's how the Monogram G-Bodys were cast,  just part of that 1986 in 2016 flavor that makes me shake my head.

[dshue76]

Mine has a noticeable rise behind the passenger door,  so I guess the roof is depressed rather than their being a hump in the roof. The window trim on the passenger side roof is also all wavy.

At least you didn't get one of the ones short shot on the passenger's side inner fenders where the entire area from the bottle (not sure if that W.W. Fluid or Coolant) down to the radiator brace is AWOL. 

As far as the heads and valve covers being molded together that's how the Monogram G-Bodys were cast,  just part of that 1986 in 2016 flavor that makes me shake my head.

So the Monte Carlo SS and GN had the valve covers molded to the heads? I built both in the 90's and don't remember that. Not a big deal on this because they look good. The bottle on the passenger side inner fender is the coolant reservoir.  I hope the kits I haven't opened don't have short shots, I don't know how long it'll be before they get built if at all. I bought extras of this kit and the 91 ford duallie kit. I figure I can buy 3 for $60 now were as in a couple years the 91 duallie will be gone from store shelves and again be $60 each on the auction site. This kit may end up like the Street Burner Monte SS and stay reasonable but just in case I want some on hand just so if the mood strikes me I can grab one and start building.

[Bob Ellis]

The metric transmission failure for me was like this. You come to a stop.  Then step on the gas and you feel like somebody hit you from the rear when it starts to work 1st transmission 30,000 2nd 30,000.

who makes a 1/25 231 V6 Buick enginethat I can use for this model?

[mikemodeler]

 

who makes a 1/25 231 V6 Buick enginethat I can use for this model?

The Buick Grand National kit has a V-6; there is also the V-6 from the Revell El Camino kits ('78?).

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Hmm. Good question.

Optional V6 in the MPC Fiero (tooled before the actual Chevy V6 Fiero hit the market)?  Don't know if the 6 in the recently reissued Opel GT is in that family, or if it's commensurate in detail.

If the AMT 20th Anniversary Firebird Turbo has the engine it's supposed to, that minus all the induction is the closest I can conjure.

[mikemodeler]

Hmm. Good question.

Optional V6 in the MPC Fiero (tooled before the actual Chevy V6 Fiero hit the market)?  Don't know if the 6 in the recently reissued Opel GT is in that family, or if it's commensurate in detail.

If the AMT 20th Anniversary Firebird Turbo has the engine it's supposed to, that minus all the induction is the closest I can conjure.

The Fiero had the 2.8 V6 which IIRC was a 60 degree engine design while the 3.8 V6 is a 90 degree engine design (think small block V8 minus 2 cylinders) and would differ in appearance slightly in scale. A closer match might be the 4.3 V6 from the Revell S10 kit, but that kit would be fuel injected.

Might be time for someone to cast a 3.8 V6 !

[dshue76]

Only the 3.8 Buick V6 would be correct for a Cutlass. It is the only V6 option available in them from 78 to 88. In the real world any Rear drive Gm engine could be made to fit pretty easily. The 4.3 was used in some Chevy and GMC G body cars. Canada had different options and I believe the Chevy 305 was available in the Olds there.

[1972coronet]

I'm tempted to put one of these bad boys into my Cutlass :

[charlie8575]

The metric transmission failure for me was like this. You come to a stop.  Then step on the gas and you feel like somebody hit you from the rear when it starts to work 1st transmission 30,000 2nd 30,000.

who makes a 1/25 231 V6 Buick enginethat I can use for this model?

The '78 El Cam is 1/24, but it might work.

The Turbo T/A V6 would require a new intake and such. 

While I suppose it is conceivable a 229 Chevy might have ended up in a few Cutlasses (production scheduling or something similar,) the Chevy V6 would be completely wrong, at least for U.S.-spec cars. I don't know if the Canadian cars had 229s or 231s. 

Charlie Larkin