My 86 Cutlass V8 auto, was running great then overheated and died out, let sit for 5 min fired right up but had only half the poweer no water in the oil, could it be the head gasket, or is it broken rings?

Could be a fuel problem , check for a blocked fuel filter .

Clogged catalytic converter. Clogged fuel filter. Filters will give the pressure, just not the volume needed.

Sounds like a bad coil. But a sensor like a module or an aging distributor cap and rotor are the most suspect. Take off the distributor cap and see if a white powdery substance is building up scrape it clean with a sharp knife... it may run for a few months best to replace the rotor and distributor cap

better check your oil and make sure yu arent getting water in it first. is it running rough at all? 2 things come to mind-an air lock which should cause it to overheat or a bad head gasket causing the air bubbles

vapo locking! check vuel pump.

It sounds like your ignition coil is overheating. Once it cools down it will fire properly until it gets hot again. Replace the ignition coil and you should be all set.

Try having the ignition module checked. The ignition module is located underneath of the coil packs. Usually Auto Zone or Advance Auto Parts can test them. Another possibility is low fuel pressure. There is a schrader valve on the fuel inlet line that you can hook up a fuel pressure tester to. The pressure should be around 38 PSI.

check timing belt

replace the crankshaft position sensor.

it could be your timing chain and gears going out.