Atdog

OK, where to start. I just bought a 1968 Olds Cutlass Convertible. I'll be searching for more info about what kind. It has S decals and trim, but I didn't see anything that said Supreme. I bought it from the ORIGINAL OWNER who bought it off the Nashville Hippodrome Olds showroom floor in 1968. Unfortunately, it was titled to one of his relatives in Washington for a while till he got the car back. Sooo...original owner, but it's been titled three times and I'll be the fourth. I don't know yet if it has the original 350 4 barrel, but it looks original.
The car had been sitting underneath a cedar tree for the last 12 years!
I'm not a professional mechanic, amateur only, but lucky for me a friend of mine with experience came down from Missouri yesterday and has helped get it cranking. Today, we are putting in the plugs etc. and might actually drive it ( granny style only, no racing haha ).
I found this forum because I was looking for a diagram for the vacuum hoses. From the other threads, I gather that I better buy a manual. We'll just wing it today.
I'll try to get some before and after pictures up soon.
Basically, I took a 2,500.00 gamble and it looks like I have a VERY straight car--no rust or bondo, perfect dash and glass. It has one dent on the back panel and the rats have done major damage inside the car. But at least the rats left the visual interior ( seats ) alone.
I guess the old man I bought it from at least picked the best type of tree to park it under..haha!
Any advice on this car would be MUCH appreciated, and if anyone can recommend a Cutlass car club in Middle Tennessee I'll probably be joining them soon.
Peace, Atdog

txtom

you lucky dog! check out Original Parts Group Inc web site. also 442.com and Oldsmobility.com for lots of info.

Atdog

These pics aren't the greatest and they don't show how I found the car (I took a lot of the junk out of it before the pictures), but this will give ya'll an idea of what I'm working with.
I'll try to get some after pictures this evening. We put in a LOT of work yesterday.
Peace, Atdog

Oldsguy

The mold makes the exterior look so grungy, I know it will look so much better after cleaning. I bet most of your effort will be in cleaning/repairing the interior after the car has spent so much time under a tree, it's obvious there was a LOT of moisture to deal with. Good luck.

Dapapadon

Looks like a great project! I'll second the "Lucky Dog" comment. The 68's are one of my favorite years, especially the convertibles! Incase no ones said it: "Welcome to the site!"

Don

FlatOut442

Welcome aboard from a new member himself. This will be my first post. I'm from Mid TN as well. I have to say that '68 Cutlasses are one of my favorites. Just an hour ago I bought a 1978 Cutlass Salon. I wish I could have found that '68 you got. What a find. At least if one of us finds a good Olds club, the other can join as well. Two new Mid Tenn Olds projects at the same time. WOW! I'm sure we can help each other along.

FlatOut442

Thanks for those links. Maybe I can find something for my project.

Redog

Really nice find. I don't see any rust in those pics either. Welcome to the site.

I have a 68 Olds 350 in my car, so I'm a bit bias when I say, it's a really good motor

BTW eBay can be you're best friend.

78cutlass

nice ride. don't lose sight of your vision. make her pretty again...

Atdog

My garage is a disaster, but we finally got it running this evening. Even took it for a short spin! I have soooo many questions to ask but it will have to wait for later.
Right now, I'm tired, hungry, smelly, dirty, and damn near braindead.
But I feel great anyway.
To flatout442: I just live down the road in Shelbyville. We'll hook up soon.
Peace, Atdog

Dapapadon

Looks a whole lot better!! And running!! Sounds like you had a GOOD day! Congrats!!

Don

Frankenpez

Wow-nice find! Sure is cool that these cars are still out there to be found. I am glad you 'rescued' it, it could've sat another 20 years and then wouldn't be much to restore! Good luck!

Also-nice garage!

Jokers69

nice.... do up all the brakes, the parts are all available at carquest, drums , cylinders, rubber hoses, steel lines, shoes and hardware. If you have an extra 600 or so do a disc changeover on the front, I didn't have the $$ so I kept the drums all around, I think I spent about 600 on beer though.....

have the radiator tanked out before the hot weather hits, change the rubber hoses and the thermostat. Overheating in a nice car like that sucks.

But most important, enjoy!!

Tom

Olds64

AWSOME! I always wondered who the luckiest man alive was.

Oldsguy

That car doesn't even look the same in that second set of pictures. It cleaned up real well! I would do almost anything for a free standing garage like the one you have, nice. You have to get rid of those white wall tires though, yuck.

Lady72nRob71

WOW! What a find, ATDOG!
That 68 has lots of potential, esp. for the price!
A good washing made a world of difference.
The top looks to be in surprisingly good shape also.
I am sure the cowl, lower fenders, doors, and quarters are full of leaves and dirt so it would be good to get them cleaned out to prevent retaining moisture that will cause rust.
The Parts Place and Fusick also are good parts houses in addition to OPG.
Sure glad you saved her and got her running so soon!
The uncurable disease of restoration has began...
Best of luck in your new project!!!
Rob

FlatOut442

Sounds good. I spoke to the owner (or former owner) of the 442 I bought. He says it runs well, but recommended towing it just in case. I'm going to pick it up Wednesday morning. I'm sure it won't look as good as yours, but I'll post some pics anyway.

marcar1993

Nice car man. That cleaned up real well.
I too love the 68's, and I love your garage.

Just make sure you do a lot of "catchup" on all the maintnence.

Atdog

At first I thought I was taking a gamble with it, but I think I did all right.
Just picked up a new alternator and belts tonight...a little bit at a time.
I was wrong about the bondo. There are two dents on the back. One has bondo and the other dent could probably be popped out and looking pretty good if a can find a good bodyshop. At least no bondo from rust holes.
Speaking of rust, haha, I did find some small holes in the drivers side floor panel when I ripped the carpet out. Probably rusted from all the moisture from the holes in the top, combined with all the rat ****.
Speaking of rats, it turns out they did like the taste of vinyl seats, so I'll be looking for suggestions on interior restoration- door panels, seats, carpet. At least the dash is cherry. I couldn't believe it.
Now some questions---why is the distributor coil bracket on the front right of the engine, yet there isn't a distributor wire long enough to reach it. I had to custom make one.
And , dang it, why did they have to put the #2 spark plug right behind the A/C compressor? That one caused a bloody knuckle or two.
Anyway, I want to drive it NOW! Ahhhhhhh!
Thanks for all the advice, and I'm going to keep giving updates.

Peace, Atdog

Oldsguy

A picture would help about the distributor bracket, I can't imagine that. And, they didn't put the spark plug behind the A/C compressor, they put the A/C comopressor in FRONT of the spark plug. I hate when they do that .

Olds64

The fun begins.

If you post a picture of that bracket I am sure someone could identify it. I know Oldsmobiles sometimes had a bracket on top of the intake manifold near the front of the engine. I am not sure whay they were used for. They might have been the lift point for the engine when they put it into the car at the factory. At least, I assume that is what they were used for.

rocketraider

Music City Rockets based out of Nashville. Y'all must be under a rock not to know about them, they just hosted the OCA Nationals.

http://www.oldsclub.com/chapters.htm...UTHEAST%20ZONE

FlatOut442

Maybe not hiding under a rock, but not looking for clubs is one way to miss them.

Atdog

Haha Oldsguy! You're right, compressor in front of the #2 !
I just got the car 16 days ago, so I didn't have much time to look for a club. Hell, I just found you guys this weekend! But I appreciate the link Rocketraider...that helps a lot.
I'm going to include a couple more before pics. One of which shows that 'mystery bracket'.
The other pic shows the before trunk; and that pic is AFTER I emptied out a trash can full of rats nest. Geez.
Olds64: It looks like the bracket would be a good fit for that coil (?)

Dapapadon

If it's the horseshoe shaped bracket I'm pretty sure it's just what the factory used for lifting the engine. But hopefully an expert will chime in. Now I'm curious. I've always assumed that's what it was for. Would be nice to know for sure.

Wow!! You did have a mess in that trunk! I once leaned in close to have at look at the odd wire cable in the trunk of a Cutlass in a field. I was about 2 feet from it when I realized it had eyes! Turned out the 'cable' was a 4' black SNAKE!!! He probably jumped as high as I did when I slammed the trunk lid.

Don

Oldsguy

Eowwww! scary!

That bracket is in fact used for engine lifting. Many people remove it when doing maintenance on the engine, it looks ugly in my opinion and if I am lifting an engine I use manifold bolts on the back and front with an engine leveler. Sometimes I use a bolt on the front of the engine like one used for the accessory brackets. I guess the only time I have used one of those brackets is when I yanked a complete non-molested engine from a junk yard, cables, hoses, accessories and all.

Olds64

Wow! I thought my car was bad when I bought it. It definitely looks like that car had some field time when you bought it. It looks 10 million times better now though. Definitely a COOL find.

Atdog

Thanks for the information...I guess I would have looked pretty stupid having the distributor coil sitting up there. I am sure there is some type of mounting bracket/hardware for the coil to go. Right now, it just sits next to the distributor cap, like I found it.
After reading about modifications in some of the threads here; how important is it to keep everything original?
I was planning on trying to restore this car originally, but now I'm not sure.
Especially after seeing the thread about the stereo system-I like mine with a little punch and the stock radio is definitely not going to work.
I'll be doing some more work on it Sunday-cosmetic mostly because it's gonna take a loooong time to get that car clean!
Peace, Atdog

Omicron

Awesome find. We all dream of finding something just like what you did.

Nice looking outbuilding/shop too. I need something like that.

68Tom

Well, personally I like the stock/original look. I'm sure others think otherwise, but that's my opinion. As far as interior goes, I think the vinyl is different for a '68 Cutlass vs. a 442, so it might not be as big a deal, but I know that PUI interior for the '68 442 was a very poor match to the original. Hence, I went with Legendary Auto Interiors for my door panels (and will do so as well for the seat covers).

Regarding your stereo, again, I like keeping the stock look. So, I'm just about to send my radio out to John at Classic Car AM Radio Upgrades. http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6kave/ He's very reasonable and allows you to retain your stock look, with modern power.

#1CutlassSupreme

Wow, what a great find! 1968 is one of my favorite years...and it's a convertible to boot!

You mentioned that you already took the car out for spin, but be careful about being around the interior and trunk without a good dust mask, like the ones used for drywall sanding. Hanta Virus is found and transmitted in mouse and rat feces. It can make you very very sick and can even kill you.

Also, if your planning on vacuuming it out, with a can vac, I would recommend paying the extra $$ for the HEPA filter. you really don't want to blow that stuff around.

A buddy of mine is a paramedic and caught it from transporting a patient that had it to the hospital. He was sick as a dog for about 3 weeks and lost almost 20lbs from not being able to keep food down.

Don't mean to put a damper on the fun, but I just want to see your progress and pics keep coming in!!

UCF72Cutlass

that hanta virus sounds scary....the cutlass is awesome though. what a difference after being cleaned up

Atdog

Oh great! Hell , I would have it by now. Quick story: When I picked up the Cutlass, I also had my mechanic tow back the old mans 88 Blazer, because he had nothing to drive, and I had lent him my truck and wanted the truck back. So I was going to pay to have the Blazer up and running again. My mechanic lifted the hood to the blazer before we towed it, and there was a big ole rat right at the top. Needless to say, my mechanic slammed the hood shut! I probably spent at least two hours cleaning out the engine compartment-it was nothing but a huge packed rat nest. Even in the frame. Nasty!!

To give everyone an update...I haven't done anything to the car for about three weeks. It's springtime, so I have a buttload of things to do around the house, and I just got back from spending a week in Missouri visiting the folks. BUT this Saturday I am going to be picking up a 350 rocket and 350 tranny that came out of a '72 Cutlass for 500.00 bucks!!!
The guy was restoring the Cutlass at his shop and the car got beatup. He sent it to the crusher 4 months ago. But as long as the engine turns, I'm buying it. He said it ran great when he took it out. I will also be picking up some new tires that I had put on some free chrome rims from a mid-70's Buick. I just need to find some Oldsmobile centercaps that are compatible for the rims...then I can have the original rims redone.
I plan on getting a cherry picker and taking out the 350 in the convertible and having it sandblasted and rebuilt, and putting the '72 350 in it to keep it running so I can restore it.
I'm also trying to buy an assembly manual to help me out. I made a mistake and bought an options manual three weeks ago...geez I'm green.
I would still like some feedback on the whole original/modified thing. I appreciate the radio link. Of course, the radio will be about the last thing I'll be doing on the car haha!! But the interior will come soon enough.Hopefully.
Hey Flatout442--you got a cherry picker I can borrow?

Dapapadon

Very good plan on putting in a running engine while you have the original rebuilt!

Don

Big Henry

hey man lets see an update!!

Atdog

Well, I've got the engine and have been messing with it. Going to replace most of the gaskets and clean it up. Since it is on the engine stand, I might as well.
I didn't take any before pictures of the engine because I'm more focused on the original rocket. I'll definitely take pictures of that progress!
Tomorrow, I'm going to start getting the original engine ready to take out.
Quick question: Any tricks to getting the hood off? Can one person do it?
I thought I might get some good advice from the 'veteran' restorers.
Thanks

rrielley

I couldn't help but notice your Cutlass matches your garage: White with a Black top and Big! Color me green with envy for such a shop! I will return home to Memphis soon and I don't think there in an Olds Club in West Tennessee so I will give Music City Rockets a look. I spent my teenage years in Murfreesboro anyway ("Go Warriors!") I know we will all be watching your progress. I bought mine turn-key so I missed out on all the "excitement" and skinned knuckles.

Atdog

Thanks about the garage. Yeah, that's another moneypit, but it will get done sooner or later.
I picked up another 350 Rocket and tranny last night. Complete except for carb. Supposed to be from a '76.
I know, I know...what do you need ANOTHER engine and tranny for?
Well, for 75.00...why not?
I've got a bad feeling I'm hooked! I'm turning into the local Oldsguy!