Lars

Well, I'm a glutton for punishment, I decided to save my 85. I found a 4 door parts car and procedded to pull the body off for the frame. There are 12 body bolts that hold it all togeather.


next step is to pull the motor pressure wash the frame and drop in a mild 350 and headers.

Lady72nRob71

Sure looks like you got your work cut out for you, but that 85 is a classy cruiser - worth fixing. Also good to put a real engine in it, cause now is the time!
Did you have any issue with the body bolts?

Lars

body bolts zipped right off with the impact, no issues. this weekend ill wash the frame and set the new motor

coppercutlass

I have to take the cutlass off the frame . I hope they zipp right off but I'm not holding my breath lol. Was a wisconsin car most of its life . Very cool that you are saving the delta. The big 2 dr. B body cars I have a soft spot for. They also aren't as heavy as most would think.

Lars

it was a good weekend, got the 307 out, washed the frame and set the 350. started to fit the headers.... they took a lot of beating to fit the frame, headman 58060. On the left side I had to dent the collector for the shift linkage to work and a few tubes for the starter. On the right side number 4 tube took a beating. clearance was needed for the brake line and controle arm mount, I also ground on the mount for clearance. Now I get to mock up the exhaust from scrap pipe laying around

Lady72nRob71

Frame sure looks cherry for its age. looks like good progress!

Professur

I see you opted for the wood transmission crossmember. Good choice .. I've never seen one of them rust out yet.

oldcutlass

Looks like a fun project.

Lars

Well instead of using scrap exhaust I opted for a kit from summit. for 73-77 cutlass. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/su...ake/oldsmobile
another option for you guys is a dual walker kit for the 95 caprice,
http://www.walkerexhaust.com/catalog...catalog-lookup


I fiddled around with the left side last night and as soon is I gave up trying to use the factory muffler mount, it fit nicely. AT this time I wont be runnen cats. pics to come

Lars

I got the exhaust welded up, its not perfict but its damn close to a factory fit. the only issue is the brake cable, it travels too close to the tail pipe. Next I'm going to start it up and see how it sounds. Then pull the 2door body off.

Professur

Groovy. From the sound of things, I'm gonna need to order on myself soon. Since I drive through Ontario frequently, cats are a must. The OPP are real vultures when it comes to classics.

Lars

for the crossmember, I lined up the exhaust pipes where I needed it, marked the crossmember, and cut in a 1/4 inch box chanel. welded in the channel and re-installed it. when I welded the exhaust up I held the pipes up-tight to the crossmember. now you can take out the shims and the old cat support that the tranny sits on and raise the crossmember 1/2-5/8 inch on each side. this will give clearance for the exhaust pipes. there is room for all this to happen. the shims and cat support bracket removal will make your tranny sit near the original location. MY crossmember is a little spongy, next time i'll use 3/8 box channel.

Professur

Most times I see that done, they use a section of round tube cut in half instead of square channel. It requires more precision on centering your pipe though. If you don't mind my asking .. are you running gas, or flux core?

Lars

its a flux core 110 Hobart. I'm suprized on how well it welds. I didn't burn through the new pipe once, and had good penetration on the crossmember.

Professur

Thought I recognized it's signature smoke. Nothing wrong with good flux core. Most people's complaints are because they're running crap wire in on a crappy machine. Not all wire is created equal. Even solid wire, I've run into poor quality. Just be sure to clear off the smoke when you're done ... some types can be somewhat corrosive. Are you going to hit the exhaust welds with cold galvanizing spray?

The cross member welds look plenty solid.

Lady72nRob71

Great looking exhaust system - good progress so far!

Lars

thanks guys... i'll hit the welds with a wire brush but pass on the spray, not much salt or weather here in the desert. The 2door body is ready to come off, all wires are marked and everything is disconnected...

Lars

some pics

Lars

more

Lars

I did beat up the floorboard under the rear seat for added clearance for the duals, I ran the mufflers level with the top of the frame. So now with the body mounts installed there will be 1+ inches of clearance in between. I also slammed the rear suspension to ensure no axle contact with the tail pipes... lots of clearance But spring change down the road will be a challenge! I cut the O2 bung out of the old 307 manifold, it must be stainless steel, it didn't want to be cut out with torches and I tried to braise it to the collector with no luck. I also used silicone on the lower hvac box, and I will set the top with plumbers putty..

Lars

a few questions.....


1. where can I get a new e-brake cable clip? it joins the cables under the drivers seat
2. at what amperage does the fuseable link burn out?
3. the antenna wire conector got wrecked, the cable looks thinner than reagular co-ax. how do I fix?
4. theres some type of relay mounted on the engine side of the heater box, I lost both of mine anybody have one, and if not installed would it make the fan not work?
5. the upper rear controle arm bushings are shot. the ones that mount in the arms not the rear end. is there a "term" for the correct bushing?

Professur

#4: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-GM-BLOWE...-/400254731507 ... but it's a generic enough part that any parts store 'should' have one.

barnfind

#3 I would imagine a co/ax crimper, Know anyone who installs cable?, or R&R

Lars

its the relay on the other side of the box professor, ill get a pick this weekend. got the front clip on, it lined up pretty good

Lars

a few more pics. and to edit my first post, there are 12 body bolts and 2 for the front clip, so a total of 14. they are all 15 mm. door hinge bolts are 11 mm. fender bolts are 15 and 13mm. 5 bolts each side that bolt the fender to the body, 2 each side wheel well. on the frame over the axle there are 1 each side body bushings that don't have bolts.

ThePackRat

Glad to see you decided to save it.

A lot more sedans left out there vs coupes.

Then there's the whole moonroof thing ...

Very rare in those cars - more common for a Ninety Eight.

Lady72nRob71

If the antenna cable had some slack after it got to the radio then you could possibly cut out the bad section and splice it. An inch of impedance mismatch will not matter - I have repaired these before like this. Just be sure to solder and use heat shrink tubing, or 'liquid electrical tape".

If the cable was originally just barely long enough to reach to the radio (like in my '86, then you would have to cut off the lead from another antenna and splice it on.

The bushings you need are 'rear upper control arm bushings, frame side'.
Rockauto has them in various brands.

Great progress you have made. Those big cars are great and worth fixing.

Lars

Well I'm having trouble lineing up the front bumper with the body, so I decided to check the wheel offsets with the fenders, I took a level and plumed down from the fender and measured to the wheel, The front is within a 1/4 inch and the rear if off an inch and a quarter. if I move the body to line up the wheel offset the body wont be sitting square on the frame.


I don't want this thing to dog track, what's the proper procedure for setting the body on the frame? should I worry about wheel offset? Were these things square from the factory?

ent72olds

Very cool thread so far! Making great progress. Pics would help to see the issue. Probably a stupid question, but is the car on somewhat level ground? If its at all uneven, and you bolted the body on, could be some twist. Try loosening all body bolts, put it on level ground, and re-torque. Just a suggestion.

Lars

well its home now, been working on a corvette basket case, pulled the tranny and droped the rear suspention to replace the gas lines. corvettes suk!


I had to replace the inner dash and now my speedo bounces quite a bit???? whats up with that????? body BOB is coming over to do the body work and paint it so it'll look normal, its all comen togeather. I still have to replace the axle seal and brake cable, fix the door handle. the moon roof quit working, I hope its a fuse, the wipers quit working and that was a fuse I'm gonna try to put it back on the computer, got the O2 bung to weld on the collector. it never ends

ThePackRat

Pat yourself on the back.

The hardest part is behind you.

The rest is a cake walk compared to where you were just a short time ago.

Be sure to go grab a bicycle someone chucked to the curb or a $10 yard sale special ...

In case a roommate ever asks to borrow your wheels again.

Lady72nRob71

The bouncy speedo is either a bad speedo cable or maybe the inner cables just needs removal from the casings, cleaning and relubing.
Glad the worst is over!

Lars

well did some work on the drivers quarter, it came out pretty nice.

twinjracing

I like it.

Lars

Well its one color now pretty happy with the color match. Body Bob came over yesterday and put a base/clear on it. Lots of runs in the clear but they will sand/buff out. My garage was poorly light. Next week I'll bring it over to his house and we'll wet sand and buff. After that I'll put all the trim back on

oldcutlass

Looks great, nice save.

Lars

these picts are paint match, the fender was painted the door was not and the rear quarter was blended on the upper lip... body bob

Oldsguy

Very nice progress. The paint job looks good too.

eric66

Nice job on the car.Another Delta save to be enjoyed.

Redog

Glad you saved it .

Going to be doing my swap soon, where are the bolts at for the front clip? I'm thinking about just taking that off to do the swap