vandeeracing

Hey, everyone. My name is Jackson, and I am currently in the process of rebuilding a 69' Cutlass S as a project car. I am 18, and this will be my first attempt at a full build/restoration. My dad and I built a rotted 1984 Pontiac Grand Prix into a race-inspired street car while I was in high school. This Cutlass is proving to be a vastly different undertaking. It’s a numbers matching car, but everything that really made it special was removed or changed. It’s a deep red with a red interior and black vinyl top (which I cut to check for water damage. First regret of this build.) Bench seat was removed for buckets by a previous owner, leaving an ugly gap between the seats. Radio was replaced with a Sparkomatic C-500 tape player. The body is totally toast from the driver's door back; floors were previously replaced but quarters and trunk are all rust and body filler. From the doors forward, however, the car is surprisingly solid. I will include photos of the car as I bought it and as it currently sits.

The story is, I came across this car while visiting my cousin. One of his family members had owned it since 2003 and had parked it there in the early 2010's after some kids stole parts from it in his garage in town. So there it sat, deep in the weeds and the sticks, rotting to the weather but free of those wishing to rob it of it's glory. As soon as I saw the car, I knew I had to own it. I became obsessed with anything and everything Oldsmobile and GM related that I hadn't already learned working on the Grand Prix. After months of haggling with it's owner, I purchased the car for one-thousand dollars and trailered it back to my dad's shop.

The name "Whiplash" was inspired by a song off of Metallica's first album, Kill Em' All, which I had also become quite attatched to at that time. Ironically, the first time I drove the car, that's exactly what it gave me. I never knew an Olds 350 had so much torque until I decided to get a little throttle-happy. And to fit with that early-80's name, I decided I wanted to build it to be a tribute to the olden days of car building - big tires, slotted rims, air shocks and side pipes. Something you might see in an old polaroid and wouldn't doubt for a second it was from that era.

As said before, I’m doing the work from my father's shop. The only caveat's to this are that there's only one lift, and it's an hour from my apartment one-way. In the nine months since I made the purchase, I was able to get it running and driving, bought rims and tires for it, and hoarded as many RockAuto parts for it as I could find. In the last few days, I have replaced nearly every exterior bulb except the headlights, given it new radiator hoses, and new belts. I like to assemble as I restore so I get to see some progress along the way on a project that will take probably longer than it should.

I'm in the process of trying to install new belts and valve cover gaskets, however that effort is proving to be more headache-inducing than I anticipated. In tightening the alternator with the new belt on it, I ended up snapping the rusty bolt on the adjustment slide right off. Cue a lot of screaming and cursing. Not fun when righty-tighty becomes righty off the part. I never did figure out how to loosen the pulley for the other belt - any help would be appreciated.

That’s about all I have to say about it at this time. I plan to give as many updates here as I can and I know I’ll be asking obvious questions in the various other sections as I go, but hey. I'm just a kid who wants to build a cool car. Thanks for all the help.

- Jackson

You can see the paint coming through the top of the passenger's fender from where I wet-sanded. Current theory is it's old car wax that the owner never buffed off.

Suspension looks collapsed, used that in my bargaining. Turns out it was a deflated air shock.

This one's just... ouch.

Bondo Boogaloo: Part 2. Also featured in the background is previously mentioned 1984 Grand Prix.

New wheels and tires - slots off a 1976 Corvette. They look sweet.

oldcutlass

Cool story, following along.

alain

Do not rush patience is golden
Alain red W-31

Supernice88

Welcome. I had one back in the day, it was a beater too but not as bad as this lol. It's nice you'll have your Dad helping you with it. Take your time and enjoy the journey.

Greg Rogers

Glad to see a young guy who likes to wrench on a car older than you are- love it!!!

OLDSter Ralph

Welcome to ClassicOldsmobile. You have found a site with reliable and accurate information and some knowledgeable people.

vandeeracing

That's actually not the case - since my Dad doesn't own the car, he virtually refuses to help me unless he's already in the shop. Wish that wasn't the case - but someday I'll be proud that I did it all on my own.

Supernice88

That's too bad. Well you don't have to do it all on your own, plenty of good people here willing to help.

Rallye469

Adrenaline starts to flow….acting like a maniac…
Whiplash!

Cool car. reminds me of when I first bought my 70. All I wanted to do is go fast, so all the money went into the engine. Didn’t care how it looked. I got into the 11’s with it looking just like this. I surprised a lot of prettier cars at the stoplight drags. And I loved my old Ansen Slots.
Keep at it! And keep banging!
And now I’ll be humming Motorbreath all day to myself. Thanks.

fleming442

First off, kudos for being in your own place at 18.
Secondly, cool car. 😎
Third, good luck on your restoration adventure. You can get a console to fill the "ugly gap between the seats". One of the first projects I would do is the body mounts. That way, you'll have a solid foundation for when you start the bodywork.

vandeeracing

Given that every post I've made to this thread has mentioned Metallica in one way or another, let's just say the current mood is more Frayed Ends of Sanity than anything else. I've spent the last two-ish weeks throwing everything I can at this car with little to no results. I know I'm way over my head for an amateur, that's for sure. First things first, headlight bezel screws are going to need to be drilled through and replaced. I've thrown every kind of screwdriver and every kind of lubricant application I have them and all I've done is stripped them out. I've practically given up on trying to remove the power steering pulley for now, since my shop is maybe 30 minutes from the nearest parts store and we don't own a pulley puller.

So, basically, no progress made since last report. Attached below are some more photos - closer shots of the rust and body filler, and the interior. Please god help me.



A few notable aftermarket editions from a previous owner - an under-dash Equus E6076 Tachometer and a Sparkomatic SR35 cassette stereo.

This photo really shows how dusty and nasty the interior is - but also how much worse it could be. Peep the Vice Grip Garage "Bring The Thunder" lanyard for the keys.

Headliner: toast. Dome light: gone.

Passenger side quarter. What do these wires go to? No idea. They don't go there anymore.

Never seen anyone try to use a huge piece of sheet metal and a gallon of body filler to make a quarter panel before. Probably won't be the last time.

VI Cutty

Sometimes progress isn't tangible. You've learned a few things about what does or doesn't work, and through that will figure out techniques for removing (or recovering from non-removable) hardware. One step at a time and you'll have yourself a fun car...focus on small tasks, and don't let the big picture overwhelm you.

And do keep updating, I'm looking forward to following your journey!

BackInTheGame

Cool backstory! Welcome aboard! Don't worry about having taken so big of a bite. One step at a time and you'll get there. As others have said, "take your time," and do it right. And don't fret if it takes you literally years; my current '68 4-4-2 was on jackstands for nearly seven years while I gathered parts and worked on it one weekend a month, taking some months off. You'll get there!

maxi426

If there's anything at all left of those bezel screws , try tightening them first before trying to loosen them. Sounds like it might be too late for that, though. Next time. Also, don't use anything less than a screwdriver with a perfect tip.