New 1976 Cutlass Supreme!!!

[Abob89]

Alright, So today I drove my new project car home today from Seattle.

In 1976 my Great Grandpa Bob bought it brand new. in '83 Bob sold it to my Great Grandpa Johnny and Grandma Maryan. Alas Johnny passed away a few years ago and Maryan can no longer drive. So instead of letting this beautiful ride sit in the garage and rot she is giving it to me as long as I promise to take care of it.



So I drove up to Seattle yesterday and spent the night at my Grandparents. And today me and my grandparents took Maryan out for her 92nd b-day, after that she gave me the car to drive home

She told me it hasn't been driven since November, but it was winterized just before that, and it has since been in the garage. I got into the car, and immediately noticed that it said 69,000 mi. Grandma said it had never rolled over, so the car has had less than 2000mi a year driven on it

In any case I drove it home, and it did quite well.

The VIN is 3J29R6M2----- (I can't see the last 5 VIN numbers)

Sooo... according to the handy-dandy 1976 Service Manual I found in the trunk this means that...



3 = It's an Olds
M = Cutlass Supreme
29 = 4-door Sedan
R = 350 C.I.D. 4 BBL. V8
6 = 1976
M = Made in Lansing Michigan
2----- = The number off the line at Lansing

So Im pretty stoked!!! I was rooting through the glove compartment and found a booklet with a full catalog of repairs and MPG between fill ups from 76 to 83. It's ridiculous! hahaha Bob took amazing care of the Cutty. He even put a compression gauge into the car, it's done right into the engine block

So yeah



Tomorrow Ima take a whole bunch 'o' pics just because Im sooooooo excited!
__________________________________________________ ______________

-Side note. On the way home I noticed some black smoke, outta the exhaust and a really long delay from a standstill. The black smoke Im assuming is from some carbon deposits. You know since it hasn't been driven since November lol. Do you think the delay is the same thing as Oldsguy's 77?

Here's the linky:
Delay After Idle

Thanks,

-Aaron

[Oldsguy]

First, congratulations! I simply love the '76 and '77 models. Second, you might be onto something there. Both of our cars have low mileage, were driven infrequently yet are old. About the black smoke, it may be the engine is running too rich, or it could be due to oil burning. Could you be more specific about when the smoke occurs and is it really black or is it bluish in color? Again, congrats!

[Lady72nRob71]

Congrats Aaron!

Nice looking car with an awesome history. It was nice for you to keep it in the family. Does not look like she needs much work at all!

If the carb has never been rebuilt, then the black smoke and hesitation could stem from there. 22 years on the rubber parts in the carb is a LONG time and they do rot from age and constant contact with gasoline...
Nice thing is that you have no computer controls and you do have the service manual. A carb kit is maybe 60 bucks and if you can take a clock apart and put it back together (and it works afterward) then you should do fine rebuilding the carb.

Again, welcome! You just caught the Olds disease!

[Olds64]

Welcome to the website. 76 and 77 Cutlasses are really cool! There is a blue 76 Cutlass in town with Cragar SS wheels and BF Goodrich Radial TAs (white letter out). I also know this OLD guy that owns a 77 Cutlass.

[Abob89]

Hah alright thanks guys. Yeah it was black, it started about an hour into the drive and lasted for about 10 seconds, then at about Centralia (2 hrs into the drive) it did the same thing. My dad said it was carbon deposits... but iono.

So I get to take it to work to show it off today. However after I get my ego stroked its going into the garage to be worked on until it stops burning and leaking oil. It doesn't burn much, I only smelled it when I started up the car, and after I turned it off the first time. But there are a few drops of oil under the car this morning, so there is deffinately some engine work needed.

Im sure that since it hasnt been driven much a lot of the hoses and gaskets have become brittle so that will have to be fixed too. I'll do some pics today so you guys can see what I really have to work with

[Olds64]

I've hear people say you can pour ATF down the carburetor with the engine running to eleminate carbon in the engine. I don't know if this works or not. It seems like it would just stall the car to me. But some people I know swear by it.

[citcapp]

Congrats on your ride and welcome to Oldsmobile. I have used Mystery oil for years in the gas tank of cars that I have bought that had these symptons in many cases the black smoke went away after a tank full. My Dad and his Dad swore by it. Work as a great lub on small parts also

[Abob89]

Well I drove the Cutty to work today, the guys liked it but said it was a boat haha. Too true. Well let's get to what I bet you guys are waiting for, pics.














^^^Bench seats rock!!!^^^


^^^Apparently Great Grandpa Bob drilled into the block and put in that Compression gauge himself^^^

















So I hope you all enjoy the pics!

[marinus_]

Very Nice.
It sounds like you are going to have plenty of fun with the car. Enjoy it!!

[southcarolina803]

nice very nice!!! welcome to the site!!! what are your plans for your new adopted baby

[Abob89]

Well my plans so far are to make it super clean, and in full working order. Then hopefully do some of the fun stuff.

Once I get the 350 running at 100% if I could wave a magic wand I'd:

1. New paint job after I take out dings.
2. Exhaust (just something past stock)
3. New Cam (A teensy bit lumpy for that extra power if I feel so inclined)
4. Air-ride suspension (not that it isn't comfy right now)
5. A B****in' sound system (I work at an audio shop so I might as well take advantage of it)

thats all I can really think of right now. Im not looking for a 11 second car or anything but something that can scare a ricer might be in order.

I think the most realistic thing for me right now is just some general maintenance. I still need to save up for a car that gets better than 15 MPG.

[Lady72nRob71]

Way cool - great shape, too!
That permanent compression gauge is something... I wonder where on the block he tapped into?
Personally I would go with one of those "hidden" audio systems run by remote control; that stock radio looks too much at home (and I bet it still works!)
BTW, is that an 8-track case in the back seat?
Most of all HAVE FUN in your project!

[Abob89]

Yeah I like the stock radio it looks really cool. I couldn't beleive it, it has preset stations! I thought that was a totally digital thing.

Hahaha no no 8-track case. Thats my Grandpa Johnny's Bushnell Binoculars.

I was cleaning out the trunk last night, and I found a bunch of cool stuff. There were a pair of windshield wipers in the trunk with the receipt still attached. $2.15 back in 1978. I also found a Sears centennial coin from 1986. The coin isn't that old I guess but it's still cool.

[Olds64]

Not that old!

In 1986 Ronald Regan was still President, the Berlin Wall hadn't fallen, the Cold War was still going on, and Oldsmobile was still selling cars.

[Jamesbo]

[quote=Abob89;38665]Yeah I like the stock radio it looks really cool. I couldn't beleive it, it has preset stations! I thought that was a totally digital thing.
quote]

Just in case you and Grand pa don't share the same interest in music.

The way some of them worked [right after the Civil War] is you dialed in your favorite statation then "Pulled" the push button out and that set the memory for that button.

Sounds like you're having fun. If ya find Jimmy Hoffa in the trunk don't post it.

[Abob89]

Uh-oh looks like Im gonna be isolating myself here lol. I was was born in 1989 so, things like that just seem old to me, I also know that Im prolly stepping on some toes saying this lol so Im just gonna go for broke . It's an archaic technology compared to what Im used to. i was half expecting a cassette player to be in there. The tuner is pretty cool though.

Ive never driven a car where the E-brake is by the brakes (I've always been a Japanese car guy and my Jeep is that way too). Never had the High beams in the firewall either. I also didn't know they did Bench seats in the front, I always assumed that to be a truck thing.

Welcome to the Ignorance of todays youth

I hope to learn a lot from this car though.

[citcapp]

Well at least you don't have to crank it by hand to start it. Don't forget to set the spark first or it will backfire and break your thimb. The center peddle in the Model T is reverse

[BILL DEMMER]

it looks like the "compression gauge" is actually a vacuum gauge. it is likely connected to an intake manifold vacuum port. it was all the rage in the mid-to-late '70's to help "save gas". the basic idea was to keep better control of the loud pedal by keeping the needle "in the green", aka "feather-footing".

looks like a nice car-enjoy!


bill

[Abob89]

Intake Manifold? Doesn't it just go straight from the intake tube, to the filter, to the carb? wheres the intake mani? In japanese cars they're pretty straight forward... Hmm vacuum eh? cool ^^

[Jamesbo]

I'm so old I can remember when "party" was a noun.

Idono but you may enjoy the thread "Growing up in the Sixties."

But HAVE fun, dats what it's all about.

[Lady72nRob71]

Abob,

You are not too young, as you did not ask what an "8-track" was...

And 1986 was very special to me - sent that coin this way!
That was the year that my mom got her brand new 86 Olds CSB 4dr and I got my go-kart that I about turned into a car...
That marked the official start to my Oldsmobile and general mechanical passion! 1986 and 1987 were the best years of my life at sweet sixteen!!...

[BILL DEMMER]

Originally Posted by Abob89

Intake Manifold? Doesn't it just go straight from the intake tube, to the filter, to the carb? wheres the intake mani? In japanese cars they're pretty straight forward... Hmm vacuum eh? cool ^^

the intake manifold is the piece that the carb. is mounted to, top, center of the engine, between the heads. it looks a little different than an in-line motor, as you have a v-8.

[Olds64]

archaic technology

Don't worry, this is what they had when Oldsguy was young.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cart

[Abob89]

Originally Posted by Olds64

Don't worry, this is what they had when Oldsguy was young.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cart

Lolz!

Hahaha nah my parents did a pretty good job bringing me up. I was brought up watching the Marx Brothers and Buster Keaton. My dad sometimes busts out his Marantz turn-table and plays his vynal records. Maynard Ferguson, Count Bassie, Glen Miller, to name a few.

Good times