Beretta.net

1992 Oldsmobile Achieva SCX.

Enjoy the pics first.

Things needed "at a glance and a few miles driven":

1. Clutch within 5-10k miles from now I bet.

2. Window motors (both sides) work but DAMMMMMNN slow...

3. Column covers reinstalled. (There ,were off for some column repairs evidently)

4. Door panel heater vents reinstalled.

5. Lock trims reinstalled.

6. Dash curl repaired.

7. Intake and TB gasket set. (There but TB is believed to have a slight leak by previous owner and I'm inclined to agree)

8. Struts and shocks (I scored a full set of electronic shocks and struts from the previous owner , in the trunk. They need to be rebuilt)

9. Front rotors may be slightly warped. A little feedback from the brake pedal is tattling.

10. Passenger door lock cylinder cut by dealer. Previous owner gonna get that done for $10 at the dealer for me.

11. Obviously , a paint job.

12. I smelled just a hint of coolant the first drive and the second. Haven't smelled it since. So, it could've burned off the engine from a spill somewhere. Could be a very slight drip somewhere. It's not leaking steady anywhere. Thing is I only smelled it IN the cabin, so I'm betting a heater core on it's way out. Haven't smelled it since and I put about 20 miles on it today. So, MAYBE, it was a fluke? A guy can hope right? It's not the headgasket. No oil/coolant mix, no gnarly smell outta the tail pipes.

13. Head liner board is sagging a bit in front of the overhead console.

14. Inner door lock and handle rods fell off or something on the driver's side. Have to check it out. Previous owner thinks the window regulator is bent and causing havoc with the door mechanisms.

I believe that's it so far.

Overall, the engine bay is quite clean, the car runs GREAT, has very good power, and pull. Gears shift pretty smoothly. And it has a modified shorter shifter in it which , so far , I'm LOVING.

I forgot how easy these SCX's will break those 14's loose. I've done it a few times without meaning two already just getting on it. And I forgot just how LOVELY the VAPS is! God I love that setup. VAPS = Variable Assist Power Steering. Provides less and less power to the steering as speed increases. Gives the car a very "tight" feel to the steering.

Btw, if you're curious or think maybe you recognize this car, you do. Geoff (90GTZHO) and I traded cars today. My '91 GA LE with an HO/Getrag for his '92 SCX. I'm pleased. I think he is too. And HE modified the shifter. Terrific feel and shift.

Have a safe trip home boys!

I met Ronaconda too. Very nice guy, although a tad reserved at first. I think I had him warming up to me eventually!

Love , hate, despise ,drool. All comments and opinions welcome.

Add intake tube and upper mount to the list.
Damn you I had you pegged as a V6 guy when we first started talking way back when. I now see that you are Quad freak.
Does Pacesetter make a header for that thing?
And do you read PM's?

Yeah man we made it home safe and sound. Got the car in the driveway and all good. Even got a battery from a friend so i can drive the GTZ around till monday when i can buy a new battery.

Glad your happy with the car, i know it needs alot of cosmetic work, but i know you will make it look great

I cant wait to get he car cleaned up, engine and trans back in and running again. I got a set of fender flares on the way, and possibly a new spoiler for it. We will see how it turns out. Keep me posted on how things look up dude

Today's progress. Baby steps.

1. Fixed window track problem on driver's window by loosening and adjusting front and rear guides in the door. Then I reinstalled and repaired ,as needed, all door panel lock/handle trim.

2. Reinstalled column cowl lower and upper covers.

3. Reinstalled lower dash panels and OBDI tester connector.

First Mod:

1. Lumina steering wheel , newly acquired today. I had one in great shape as well, but Geoff had his wired for CC in the Berreta's and that WAS why I'd picked it up. But.... I decided to see how it would look in the SCX and it gave me wood.

Pics below are:

Electronic shocks and struts I plan to send out for rebuilding.

Original steering wheel.

"New" steering wheel installed.

Door panel trim all back in place.

Drivers cowl panels back in place.

Also , the two newest ladies in my life in a "group" photo with a few angles. I couldn't resist.

I will also say , that compared to the GTZ, even though I truly think they're FAIRLY evenly matched in power.... These little 14's want to RIP loose so easy on the pavement. Dry or wet. I also noticed the 14's change the gear ratio of the car enough, I tach like 3800 RPM or a bit more at 85 mph in 5th gear , whereas the GTZ with the SAME powerplant and trans , tachs about 3100 RPM at 85mph in 5th gear with it's 16" wheels.

Money pit Beretta wrote:Add intake tube and upper mount to the list.
Damn you I had you pegged as a V6 guy when we first started talking way back when. I now see that you are Quad freak.
Does Pacesetter make a header for that thing?
And do you read PM's?

I like 60*'s well enough and know them pretty well. But yes, I'm a Quad Fanatic. Always have been brutha!

"Upper mount"? Expand on that please.

Intake tube has been removed for a "make do" CAI. The air is sucked in there, passed through the filter and goes through a lower tube to the TB with the factory setup. So the air IS being filtered. But yes, a WAI or CAI is in the plans.

Sorry about the PM Money. I'll check it out bro. My bad.

Hey Mike, you have to remember that the SCX has a final of 3.94 with a .81 5th gear, the GTZ also has a 3.94 but with a .72 5th gear All the W41 cars had a .81 5th with the 3.94. All other 3.94 cars have the .72 5th.

So, Geoff. I figured out what the clunk was during shifts that we heard a few times.....

The transmission mount in the back on top (main transmission mount) only had the bolt slid through it. NO NUT. As in nada, nothing. The only reason the mount was even held on was the bolt was being pressed on by the weight of the tranny! I was like WTF??!?! Bolt had slid out of the mount about an inch too. Scary!

Put a nut on it tightened it down and NOW the mount is good and clamped in like it should be.

Note: This is not Geoff's fault. He didn't do the engine/trans swap.

I know about the gearing differences, but I'm also sure the much smaller tire diameter has a lot to do with it.

It does pull a bit harder in fifth than my GTZ though. I missed that.

Obviously, the better the final drive ratio, the better the mileage I would think, right?

SuzukiGhostRider wrote:
I know about the gearing differences, but I'm also sure the much smaller tire diameter has a lot to do with it.

What is the actual tire size... Not just the RIM diameter... since that is a irrelvilant point. My 17's are the same overall diameter as a 14" on a beretta. Or at least within .2"

The gearing note that Geoff made IS the reason for the RPM difference. Not sure why you would ignore that and attribute it to the tires.

Yes, Professor, I know the rim diameter has nothing to do with it if the tire makes up the lost ground.

I just did the math in a calculator and apparently, there's less of a difference than I thought. Only about 50 RPM's. So, I guess it's more the gearing than the tire , but I was figuring an equal amount of both.

And I wasn't "ignoring" him.

Figures the previous owner (the one before me) would make a nice mistake like that. It seems like so far from what you and i have both found, that he rushed thru it just to get rid of it and overlooked the simple things like that stupid trans mount bolt.

Just make sure mike that you get yourself a first gen Neon bushing set for those shift cables so you can have your full firm-feeling shifts back. It also would not hurt to have the Rodney Dickson bushing kit on the trans, and shifter side, they make the shifting experience better than a brand new car!

DTMAce wrote:Obviously, the better the final drive ratio, the better the mileage I would think, right?

Actually, Ace, just the opposite. The 3.61 FDR gets probably the best fuel mileage out of the Getrags. It's more of a "true" O/D 5th gear.

Then you have the 3.94 put into Beretta GTZ's, Achieva SC's, etc with the .72 5th gear. They get worse fuel mileage than the 3.61 but have much better 5th gear pulling power and ,imho, better power all around. 5th is kind of that "happy medium" between pulling gear and O/D gear on this trans.

Finally the 3.94 with the .81 5th gear. Worst fuel mileage getter of them all, but most potent trans of them all, and 5th pulls VERY nicely. Fuel mileage is still good, don't get me wrong, but thinking of 5th gear as an O/D gear on THIS trans at any speed above , say 70mph, is just laughable.

I have to say, and I mentioned this to Geoff today, this is absoulutely one of the CLEANEST interior Achieva's I've ever seen period, let alone an SCX.

The carpet is like BRAND NEW, everywhere, even on the driver's side under the floor mats. The headliner is in great shape, although the board is sagging a bit and needs to be re-adhered in the front of the car above the overhead console. And the door panels.... my god, they're ACTUALLY tight to the doors. First Achieva I've ever seen that in!

Basically all the things that are usually amiss in an SCX (door panels pulling back, pass. side dash vent busted or gone, carpet jacked up, seats jacked up,etc) are NOT amiss in this one. The dash is pulling back, but that is a fairly easy fix in these cars. Some adhesive , a few heavy phone books, and a couple hours cure time. Same with the headliner. Should be easy to glue the board back up. It's only pulling a bit down.

No work to report on the ol' girl today. Just drove her to town. Seems to be running great. Clunk is gone, thanks to a now tight trans mount.