Ok I just picked up a 1987 olds cutlass that needs some LOVE. I have noticed that it lacks power I thought a v8 should have. I tried to do a burn out and it won't even chirp the tires. Any opinions on what I can do next to get more power?

 

Man you have a serious emissions (read stuffed up) engine. Also, your open differential may not have a desirable effect when burning out. Only one wheel will spin making for a single trail behind. Sad, very sad.

The fix requires two things. Time and money. First you need to identify whether the car is still under emission inspections. To keep it stuffed up is the question.

The engine salvage attempt vs. replacement will be understanding what is worth retaining and current health i.e. compression. You may be able to bolt on a few goodies to gain a few ponies for under a thousand bucks but it's pointless on a tired mill.

Tough question to answer from limited info. but a quick fix is drop in a used LT-1 twin spool super-charged block and a 12-bolt Posi-Trac differential. You and your tire vendor will soon be pals.

 

Welcome, post some pictures when you get a chance. To answer your question, I have to ask a few. Is the car in good tune, and is it still stock? What are your expectations of your car and your budget?

 

From my understanding the car is all stock seems to run great. Where I'm at in Ohio we don't have to test for emissions and the smog pump is still there but it's locked up and by passed. My goal is to eventually do a motor and transmission swap with either a 350 or 355 and still debating on what transmission I want. I have been looking at possibly a 700R4. I thought about in the mean time a set of headers and true duals and not sure of what else to bolt on till I'm ready for a full on swap.

 

Headers and duals would let it breath a bit and sound better. Unfortunately you won't realize much seat of the pants power gains. If your going to stay with an SBO then no harm no foul with that upgrade. The rest of your plan has a lot to do with what is going in there in the future. Good luck.

 

The previous owner told me if I did a motor swap that I need to move the motor mounts. Is this true?

 

Not if you install another Olds motor (Chevy swaps DO require different frame mount pads). Any Olds motor from a 260 to a 455 bolts right in with the 307 mounts you have. By the way, that 307 is not "a serious emissions (read stuffed up) engine". It IS an engine designed for low speed economy. The 7A heads do not flow. More importantly, the CCC system MUST be properly adjusted for it to run correctly. Few people have the patience or skill to do this, and as a result they just crap on it.