'72 Cutlass Supreme Resto
#1
'72 Cutlass Supreme Resto
So I posted a while back the history of my car, but basically I bought my best friend's mom's 1972 CS hardtop. It is a one owner car in sunfire yellow with black buckets and a dual gate which basically makes the car for me. It's my second CS I drove a '71 convertible in high school 20+ years ago.
So I have had the car for about 3 months and using this site as my main recourse I have made some major progress, but some stuff is yet to be decided. I will break it down by component as follows with what I have done and what needs to be decided. The goal is not to have a 100% show car but a really nice car that is a "cruiser with *****" (I am looking for around 350 HP at the crank) that looks basically stock under the hood.
Interior
Not much to do here. Its in great shape. Was covered in mold when I got the car but it looks fabulous now. Going to keep everything as is, but will eventually do a clock tach and one of those cool radios that are modern inside and look original.
Body
I have a client who has 30 cars, mostly GM muscle. He has a full time body guy and mechanic who does great work that I have personally inspected. I made a deal with my client to get 80 hours of his time and excess at his pay rate of $40/hr. The car has minimal rust, so he will be stripping it, fixing surface rust in a couple of spots and repainting the car and undercoating it. Front and rear glass and all trim will be removed.
Questions here:
1. I am totally nuts to even consider lacquer? (Pretty sure the answer is yes but want some opinions).
2. Is there any special type of undercoat I should ask for? I have no idea. I have experience with POR 15 but I am sure there is something else I should be using.
Drivetrain
The motor is apart and at Mardinly in Broomall, PA. I am very comfortable with their ability to build the motor I want. So far, they have bored it .030 over, cut the crank .1 and ordered ARP rod bolts and a set of Sealed Power L2321F30 pistons. I am keeping the rods. I sent the heads to Smitty and he is installing large valves and doing a major port and polish to them. I AM NOT doing a hydraulic/roller set up based on cost. Plan to keep original 4bbl quadrajet carb and intake.
The TH 350 is being built with a mild shift kit and a 2500 stall and mildly beefed up components. I can post full specs if you are interested. I am having the driveshaft sent out for refinishing. The car has posi but I don't know the ratio. I am figuring that if it is anything less than 3:23 I will switch the gears to 3:43. I just haven't gotten there yet.
Questions:
1. I am thinking Hedman headers just because they reportedly fit well and flow well and the price is right.
2. I have no idea on exhaust. I don't want the car super loud but I would like a low rumble and when I step on it I would like it to be loud. Suggestions please.
3. I intend to speak to Smitty about grinding me a cam as we get further along, but am open to suggestions here too.
4. Going for just under 10:1 compression, so do they just do a surfacing of the bottom end so everything fits or do we take metal off? And if so, what head gasket will I need?
Suspension
The springs are about 15-20 years old and have minimal mileage on them. Thinking of leaving them alone. Open to objections. I intend to get repo SSI's in 15" to accommodate the front disks that the car has and to give me more tire choices. Anything I need to know here? It currently has unpainted SSII's but I am not wild about the look.
I intend to do Bilstein HD shocks and a PST urethane complete suspension kit. Intend to replace all body bushings with urethane. Open to suggestions here as well. Also thinking of a rear sway as well depending on how badly I have broken the bank at the end.
So that's it in a nutshell. Sure I am missing a bunch of stuff. Hoping to be done by around Memorial Day. Please tell me what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong.
I know everyone loves pics but I don't have any that are that interesting at this point. When I have more time I will post what I have got. Thanks for your help.
So I have had the car for about 3 months and using this site as my main recourse I have made some major progress, but some stuff is yet to be decided. I will break it down by component as follows with what I have done and what needs to be decided. The goal is not to have a 100% show car but a really nice car that is a "cruiser with *****" (I am looking for around 350 HP at the crank) that looks basically stock under the hood.
Interior
Not much to do here. Its in great shape. Was covered in mold when I got the car but it looks fabulous now. Going to keep everything as is, but will eventually do a clock tach and one of those cool radios that are modern inside and look original.
Body
I have a client who has 30 cars, mostly GM muscle. He has a full time body guy and mechanic who does great work that I have personally inspected. I made a deal with my client to get 80 hours of his time and excess at his pay rate of $40/hr. The car has minimal rust, so he will be stripping it, fixing surface rust in a couple of spots and repainting the car and undercoating it. Front and rear glass and all trim will be removed.
Questions here:
1. I am totally nuts to even consider lacquer? (Pretty sure the answer is yes but want some opinions).
2. Is there any special type of undercoat I should ask for? I have no idea. I have experience with POR 15 but I am sure there is something else I should be using.
Drivetrain
The motor is apart and at Mardinly in Broomall, PA. I am very comfortable with their ability to build the motor I want. So far, they have bored it .030 over, cut the crank .1 and ordered ARP rod bolts and a set of Sealed Power L2321F30 pistons. I am keeping the rods. I sent the heads to Smitty and he is installing large valves and doing a major port and polish to them. I AM NOT doing a hydraulic/roller set up based on cost. Plan to keep original 4bbl quadrajet carb and intake.
The TH 350 is being built with a mild shift kit and a 2500 stall and mildly beefed up components. I can post full specs if you are interested. I am having the driveshaft sent out for refinishing. The car has posi but I don't know the ratio. I am figuring that if it is anything less than 3:23 I will switch the gears to 3:43. I just haven't gotten there yet.
Questions:
1. I am thinking Hedman headers just because they reportedly fit well and flow well and the price is right.
2. I have no idea on exhaust. I don't want the car super loud but I would like a low rumble and when I step on it I would like it to be loud. Suggestions please.
3. I intend to speak to Smitty about grinding me a cam as we get further along, but am open to suggestions here too.
4. Going for just under 10:1 compression, so do they just do a surfacing of the bottom end so everything fits or do we take metal off? And if so, what head gasket will I need?
Suspension
The springs are about 15-20 years old and have minimal mileage on them. Thinking of leaving them alone. Open to objections. I intend to get repo SSI's in 15" to accommodate the front disks that the car has and to give me more tire choices. Anything I need to know here? It currently has unpainted SSII's but I am not wild about the look.
I intend to do Bilstein HD shocks and a PST urethane complete suspension kit. Intend to replace all body bushings with urethane. Open to suggestions here as well. Also thinking of a rear sway as well depending on how badly I have broken the bank at the end.
So that's it in a nutshell. Sure I am missing a bunch of stuff. Hoping to be done by around Memorial Day. Please tell me what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong.
I know everyone loves pics but I don't have any that are that interesting at this point. When I have more time I will post what I have got. Thanks for your help.
#3
Things I forgot:
Water Pump
Oil Pump
Radiator
I would like to over do it on the cooling system. I have been looking around at parts and posts and nothing jumps out at me. What are some good parts recommendations there?
Same for oil pump?
Thanks
Water Pump
Oil Pump
Radiator
I would like to over do it on the cooling system. I have been looking around at parts and posts and nothing jumps out at me. What are some good parts recommendations there?
Same for oil pump?
Thanks
#4
I connected with the body guy today and he said I need two front fenders, a hood a trunk lid and two rear patch panels. I am looking around the classifieds and reached out to a couple of people, but I am looking at reproduction parts too. Who do I need to know to stay away from? Any advice is appreciated.
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