We love a good G-body machine around here. And we love anything that has proven performance and potential. A trip around RacingJunk, eBay or the right Facebook pages will find you plenty of decent race cars that are ready to go. But you and your five thousand dollar budget need to move now. You don’t want to build from scratch, but you are going to struggle to get into a good, competitive machine that is turn-key ready. So what do you do? Learn a new word: “roller”. A full car sans powertrain is just the ticket for getting started with your new machine. 
Being fair, the $5,000 budget isn’t going to get you a complete ride without a lot of luck. But can it get you the perfect roller? Just maybe, and that’s why we’re looking directly at this 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass. There’s no engine and trans, but there is a Strange 9-inch with an aluminum center, 4.86 gears, and QA1 shocks. Adjustable ladder bars and some tubular A-arms in the front end will put you well ahead of where you need to be. Now all you have to do is pick your poison where the powerplant is concerned. Big block Olds, turbo LS, a Hemi of any kind…whatever goes. At least the bones are good!
Facebook Marketplace link: 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass
