Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by theholycow »

vedran wrote:nice car but...slushbox?
I brightened his interior pic.
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That sure looks like the slush shifter from my Grand Am.
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by vedran »

poop. still nice car though. i've always liked them
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by RITmusic2k »

Wow. I didn't scroll down right away, and I sat there thinking to myself, "hmm, I've never seen a Grand Prix in that color..." :oops:

Edited for correctness. I called it a Grand Am.
Last edited by RITmusic2k on Sat Feb 28, 2009 3:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by padauk_dust »

Slush? That's what I thought! What were you thinking Graham?!?!
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by ihartmacz »

I honestly don't care anymore. There are only a few cars with automatics that I'd buy anyway.

The reasons that I don't care that this car is automatic is as follows:

- It's a GM 4T65-E! The 4T6* automatics are known for longevity and reliability.

- If for any reason it does fail, a 4T65-E HD (transmission from supercharged 3800s) swaps in DIRECTLY

- Transmission does what you want it to anytime you want it. No matter how cold it is, no matter how hot, no matter how crazy you are; this transmission will anyways shift smoothly, downshift, upshift, and be in OD (not all at the same time lol)

- It's a cruiser. I can eat and sleep while driving! What better?
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by padauk_dust »

What ever makes you happy I suppose... :?

How many miles are on it BTW?
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by ihartmacz »

It's got 165,000 miles.
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by Tinton »

You should stick a Getrag 5-speed in it. Then you'd have a pretty interesting car :), GM never made the Grand Prix with a manual. The Getrag 5-speed in my Fiero was also used in Grand Am's and Cavaliers and stuff, and its a direct bolt-in as far as I know. It'd be much better than the 4T65, ewww slushes suck :(. People in the Fiero community typically swap to that transmission when they swap in V8's and other high-torque motors, I hate it, I'd rather drive a slower car with a manual than a faster car with an auto.

You also should've gotten a GTP, not a GT. Boost ftw :twisted:.
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by RITmusic2k »

Tinton wrote:You also should've gotten a GTP, not a GT. Boost ftw :twisted:.
Hear hear! 280 ft-lbs. is FUN. 8)
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by theholycow »

That's probably the same tranmsmission that was in my '97 Grand Am. There were a lot of things I hated on that car, but the transmission was great, for the reasons ihartmacz describes. I beat the hell out of that thing (so hard that I destroyed the engine way early) and didn't pay much attention to transmission maintenance; last I heard the car had 220,000 miles without a transmission problem.
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by permabanned »

ill sell you my getrag with a new clutch and a pressure plate :lol:

of all the things GM sucks at (like staying in business), they sure know how to build a transmission. getrag is obviously not GM, its german, but GM automatics are damn good. i do however, like how they way underrate everything. F40 from a g6 gxp is rated for like 220 foot pounds, people bolt them to LS7s and put them in fieros all day and they hold just fine.

grand ams and prixes would be good cars if it wasnt for that exhaust sound tho. GM never got the memo that you dont make a v6 by cutting 2 cylinders off a V8. those cars with their 90* v6s sound just plain terrible. v6 mustangs sound like shit, but 3100,3400 and 3800 are terrible sounding.
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by ihartmacz »

Roman...

the 4.3L was based off the V8. The 3*00 series V6s were diff designs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V6_engine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Vortec_engine

the essex series engines from ford are also designed to be a v6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Essex ... (Canadian)
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by permabanned »

the point is, 90* is the proper angle for a v8. V6 needs a 60* angle to balance itself properly. all the good V6s are 60*, all the shitty GM and ford v6s are 90* and they need balance shafts and other garbage so they dont blow apart. thats why they dont rev anywhere and dont make any power. they are designed wrong.
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by Tinton »

permabanned wrote:ill sell you my getrag with a new clutch and a pressure plate :lol:

of all the things GM sucks at (like staying in business), they sure know how to build a transmission. getrag is obviously not GM, its german, but GM automatics are damn good. i do however, like how they way underrate everything. F40 from a g6 gxp is rated for like 220 foot pounds, people bolt them to LS7s and put them in fieros all day and they hold just fine.

grand ams and prixes would be good cars if it wasnt for that exhaust sound tho. GM never got the memo that you dont make a v6 by cutting 2 cylinders off a V8. those cars with their 90* v6s sound just plain terrible. v6 mustangs sound like shit, but 3100,3400 and 3800 are terrible sounding.
Eh, you're a noob when it comes to Fieros, GM, and GM parts. People don't bolt F40's to LS7's and drop them in Fieros very often, one guy (V8Archie) did it and AFAIK he babies the car like none other. Just 1 hard shift into 2nd gear in that car would sheer ALL the teeth off 2nd, or make the case shatter, or blow an axle. When it comes to making BIG power in Fieros (350+) the best solutions have always been to switch to a 4T65HD or to swap the drivetrain layout to longitudinal with a Porsche or Toronado transaxle. The fastest transverse-drivetrain Fiero runs mid 10's, and it has a turbo 3800 in it with 550 hp and a 4T65HD.

Yea, its true that GM makes good automatic transmissions. I don't even think they build manual transmissions anymore, I'm pretty sure that the Muncie 4-speed in my '86 Fiero is one of the last manual transmissions GM made all on its own. The modern FWD 5-speeds/6-speed are all Getrag-derived, and the RWD 6-speeds are Tremec made I'm pretty sure.

All 3800's sound nasty, I don't like them at all. I think the 60* V6's in my Fieros sound much better. You said 3100 and 3400 though, along with 3800, those are different engines altogether, they're 60* like my 2.8L V6's. In fact, the GM 3.1L and 3.4L 60* V6's are almost the exact same engine, except for different crank and oiling channels. I could put a 3.4 in my '88 Fiero and all the stock parts would fit. I could go to Autox with like 40 more hp and 50 more tq than stock and no one would know unless they read a serial number or w/e on the block.

I think 3800's are nice though, even if they don't sound very cool. Besides the SBC, the Buick 90* V6 is another legend from GM's past that continues to perform well today. I mean, there's plenty of fast Grand Prix's and Grand Nationals running around to prove it :P.
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Re: Graham's 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Post by permabanned »

Tinton wrote:
permabanned wrote:ill sell you my getrag with a new clutch and a pressure plate :lol:

of all the things GM sucks at (like staying in business), they sure know how to build a transmission. getrag is obviously not GM, its german, but GM automatics are damn good. i do however, like how they way underrate everything. F40 from a g6 gxp is rated for like 220 foot pounds, people bolt them to LS7s and put them in fieros all day and they hold just fine.

grand ams and prixes would be good cars if it wasnt for that exhaust sound tho. GM never got the memo that you dont make a v6 by cutting 2 cylinders off a V8. those cars with their 90* v6s sound just plain terrible. v6 mustangs sound like shit, but 3100,3400 and 3800 are terrible sounding.
Eh, you're a noob when it comes to Fieros, GM, and GM parts. People don't bolt F40's to LS7's and drop them in Fieros very often, one guy (V8Archie) did it and AFAIK he babies the car like none other. Just 1 hard shift into 2nd gear in that car would sheer ALL the teeth off 2nd, or make the case shatter, or blow an axle. When it comes to making BIG power in Fieros (350+) the best solutions have always been to switch to a 4T65HD or to swap the drivetrain layout to longitudinal with a Porsche or Toronado transaxle. The fastest transverse-drivetrain Fiero runs mid 10's, and it has a turbo 3800 in it with 550 hp and a 4T65HD.

Yea, its true that GM makes good automatic transmissions. I don't even think they build manual transmissions anymore, I'm pretty sure that the Muncie 4-speed in my '86 Fiero is one of the last manual transmissions GM made all on its own. The modern FWD 5-speeds/6-speed are all Getrag-derived, and the RWD 6-speeds are Tremec made I'm pretty sure.

All 3800's sound nasty, I don't like them at all. I think the 60* V6's in my Fieros sound much better. You said 3100 and 3400 though, along with 3800, those are different engines altogether, they're 60* like my 2.8L V6's. In fact, the GM 3.1L and 3.4L 60* V6's are almost the exact same engine, except for different crank and oiling channels. I could put a 3.4 in my '88 Fiero and all the stock parts would fit. I could go to Autox with like 40 more hp and 50 more tq than stock and no one would know unless they read a serial number or w/e on the block.

I think 3800's are nice though, even if they don't sound very cool. Besides the SBC, the Buick 90* V6 is another legend from GM's past that continues to perform well today. I mean, there's plenty of fast Grand Prix's and Grand Nationals running around to prove it :P.
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