Hello All - I figured I would post the progress of my 1968 Cutlass Supreme Overhaul. Right now I will be only focusing on Engine/Transmission/Drivetrain/Brakes.

In the beginning...pull the hood and clean the engine compartment...



Next...get car on jack stands and start pulling parts to get ready for engine pull...







Pulling engine...



Engine and transmission are out...



Empty engine compartment...



Engine separated from Jetaway...soon to be paired with a built th350 with shift kit...but first - time to clean up all the spillage



When we pulled the heads off, here is what we found (let the rebuild begin)...







When we got to the timing set, we noticed a very loose timing chain...


Complete with the plastic teeth in the oil pump pickup screen (can't see it too well, but they are there...)



The engine is completely torn apart...waiting in line for the machine shop.



More pictures to come as I get them...

 

Nice progress
Interesting to see '68 small block differences from my 442.

So, does your N crank have the "L" shaped notch in the flexplate mtg surface OD?

If you drain the block by means of the block drain plugs before removing the engine, you get a bit less spillage. Newspaper makes a great coolant absorbent.

 

I am not sure about the "L" notch, I think it does, but I'll have to check. Regarding the spillage, hindsight is always 20/20, that's for sure...

 

Ready for paint...


Primed...





Engine parts primed too...

 

Painted...

 

Engine parts painted...

 

New brake booster for disc brake coversion...




Cowl completed...

 

Disassembling front end for disc brake conversion (and new front coil springs)...



Reassembly...

 

Rear suspension and axle swap...


UMI control arms (sway bar coming)


Rear end (Olds open for GM (chevelle) 12 Bolt posi with 3:90's [for now])...



New brakes, lines, bushings and pinion yoke...ready to install...



Installed...




More to come and progress continues...

 

Either you work extrodinarily fast, or you've been holding out on us w/ the pictures/progress.

Other than your's being a CS and mine being an S, our cars could be twins.

Staying tuned.......

 

Did replace your front control arm bushings? Lookin good!

 

Actually I have been working on it for a few months. I was able to do some wheeling and dealing and turned an engine overhaul into a complete drivetrain overhaul. The next step is getting into the engine, but I have to wait for the builder to have all the parts.

Stay tuned brothers (and sisters)!

 

Oldcutlass,

All of the front bushings and joints were replaced not too long before I got the car. Thanks to him/her, I am ahead of the game, for sure!

 

What are your plans for the engine?
Mild or wild?

 

Steve,

I suppose that would depend on context; I am looking for about 375 hp or so in front of a built (better components) th350 w/shift kit and a chevy 12 bolt rear with 3.90 gears. It should be pretty hot but that's by street car standards, I am sure.

 

That should be a fun street car

 

Sounds like great plan, it looks to be a pretty solid car.

 

The wheels are back on!



Some of the goodies...

Valves



Oops, bad picture



Cam...


Double roller timing set...



Scorpion roller rockers...



ARP main and head studs...



Cam bearings...

 

The heads...

 

Hello All,

My project is on hold indefinitely as of now (I don't have the shop access I had), and I need to know how to roll up my electric windows with a car that has no engine/transmission. The car is covered with a car cover made for the car, that is supposed to keep out the weather, but the critters are another issue.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Assuming the engine bay harnesses are still intact and connected, I'd think that if you make sure any cables going to the starter or engine parts are insulated so that they can't short to ground, it should be a matter of connecting a battery, turning the key to "ON" and hitting the switches.

If you've disconnected anything under the dash or firewall, you may have to remove the door panels to access the window motors, find the nearest connector and "hot wire" the motor directly from a 12V battery.

 

Oh, BTW, question on when you pulled the engine: Your pic shows you had the car jacked up on a floor jack w/ the engine lifted up w/ the hoist (I'm assuming this was to allow crawl-access to juggle the trans from underneath?). Did you have to lower the car for the engine to clear the core support, or did the hoist have enough lift height for the engine to come out w/o lowering the car?

Reason I'm asking, is in looking ahead to when I might be pulling my engine out in the future, I'd like to have my car parked on my lift (which puts the wheels ~6-8" off the ground), and I'm hoping the hoist I use will have enough lift height for the engine to clear the core support (I'll be leaving the trans in the car). Thanks.

 

that sucks you have a great looking car and looks like you were making some nice progress on it.

if wiring isnt intact i would guess you could access the harness under the dash or at the moter and power it that way just to get the windows up

 

Johnny,

I don't recall where I put the negative ground cable, so I may have to do the door panel thing - or just use an old fashioned heavy plastic sheet with some duct tape to the chrome until I can get the windows up.

The car was jacked up in order to get everything disconnected from the underside of the car. The engine hoist we used did have enough clearance to pull the engine and trans out, and having the car jacked up some helped the angle a bit, allowing the transmission some room to drop to create a better pull angle.

Thanks RetroRanger.

It does suck but if I can work it out, she'll be good as new soon. What one does to inflict pain / suffering / disadvantage will ultimately come back to them. I just have to figure out how to work on the car in a gravel driveway environment with more primative (i.e. manual) tools, and renting the particular tools I don't have instead of having the luxury of a shop in which to work. At least this way I'll have 24/7 access to my car; the other way I could only work on the car when the owner was there and had the doors open, usually leaving only a 4 hour window of which I could take advantage.

 

You could also use a jumper cable to temporarily connect the BAT (-) terminal to the body of the car (the ground strap from the engine to the body - or the bolt where it attaches to the body - would be a good place to clip the jumper cable). Should be good enough to get the window motors going (and save the work of taking the door panels off). I'd be hesitant to trust plastic sheet, not very weather proof, and not at all vandal proof.

Thanks for the info on the hoist. I'm gaining confidence I'll be able to pull my engine out w/ the car on my lift w/o taking the front clip off.

 

Just temporarily tie a ground to the frame and run pos+ power to the door switches.

 

Johnny,

I am going to look into this a little further. You'll be able to get the engine out without it being on a lift, for sure. Believe me, if I can do it, you can do it brother!

Eric,

When you say run positive power to the door switches, what exactly does that mean? Are you thinking about something behind the door panel or something somewhere in the wiring harness?


Thanks guys!

 

Behind the door panel. It's an electric motor, all it needs is power to go up. You don't have to power the whole car if there are still wiring issues.

Or if you make sure all the disconnected wiring has no chance of shorting. Then just connect a ground and your positive cable, turn on the key, and power the windows up normally.

 

The last thing I was able to do before losing shop access...UMI Performance molded rear anti-sway bar...

 

Hello All!

I am wondering if someone could help me figure out how to adjust the backside of the hood down. The hinges seem to be keeping the hood sticking up in the back about two and a half inches. Do the hinges need to be compressed or something?





Also, I got my windows up! A little electrical tape on each exposed piece of metal on the wiring harness (including the starter end of the positive battery cable), a battery connected to the positive terminal by the positive terminal cable and a jumper cable connected to the negative terminal, grounded to the frame and viola! Turn the key, roll up windows...