HWYSTR455

It was suggested I post my build in the newbie section, so here' goes!

Here's a shot of the project car as I purchased it, very straight, very little rust, 1972 Cutlass S, 350 2bbl car, th350, A/C, Blue split bench interior, odometer showing 46k and some change, I'm guessing it's 246k. This car had been maintained fairly well, some work done to it, and in my opinion, I got a deal for $3800. I drove it back from PA over 200 miles, no issues, so was road worthy when I got it. I purchased this car as a father-daughter project, and was supposed to be for my daughter's high school graduation, though due to whatever, the project stalled, and now I'm shooting for her college graduation! She's got a love for classic muscle, and pretty savvy, especially watching me for all these years!

Also attached is a pic of a car I found on the internet, which is where I'm going with this build. Black, W-30 car, though I will make the strips platinum or a dark silver/grey, have to figure that out once I go through the chip book. I plan on doing a resto-mod, and want the overall look to be a 'tribute', as to not offend purists! And I guess out of respect, figured not to try to pass it off as an original.

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HWYSTR455

One of the first things I did was buy wheels and tires, for a few reasons, mainly for performance and selection. I picked up a set of American Racing Hopsters, 17x9.5, and put Kumhos on them. I did 255/40s on the front, and 275/40 on the rear. Also put a black top on it, though it will be removed once it's painted.

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HWYSTR455

Next, I gutted the interior, documenting pretty much everything as I took it apart with pics, mainly for reference when it goes back together.

Here's a shot of the interior before I gutted it:

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HWYSTR455

I picked up a pair of buckets out of a 69 Buick GS off egay, bought covers and all the plastic from Fusick, PUI stuff, and recovered. Turned out ok, as many know, the PUI stuff is a good choice for a driver, which is what this car is going to be, so I have no big complaints about them.

Here's a pic of one of the buckets completed:

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HWYSTR455

I stripped the dash, used SEM promoter, and SEM vinyle dye and shot it with the Landau Black.

For the gauges, went around with my self about doing rallys, but ended up doing something using some Classic gauges. I made a harness that plugs into the original harness, and uses all the factory wires for oil, gas, water, and volts. They fit right into the factory openings, and required very little fab. One thing that was missing was turn indicators, high beam, and brake, so I got some colored LED bulbs with chrome bezels, and mounted them in replacement.

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HWYSTR455

All my cars have pretty decent stereos, and this was going to be no exception. I got a pair of Alpine amps, an Alpine head unit, Alpine 6x9s, and an Alpine sub.

In the rear deck, for support and better sound, I cut the rear deck, and bolted a piece of 1" hardwood to mount the speakers to. I used the opening as a template and cut the package tray, and mounted the speakers.

One thing that I ran into was the fact that the Alpine 6x9s had open speaker covers, and since that would expose the piece of wood some, I used some blaupunkt covers instead.

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HWYSTR455

For the amps, I used another piece of hardwood, covered it with some material that is from a furniture restore place, faux leather, and mounted the amps to it. I mounted the board up against the rear seats with 2 bolts that went through a brace, and routed the wires.

The trunk was in great original shape when I got the car, but I stripped it stripped it anyway, POR-15'd it, shot it with trunk splatter, and used the correct clear. I got an earlier trunk mat, because I didn't like the felt one that was correct for that year.

here's a couple pics:

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HWYSTR455

I did some homework on doing headliners, did the one in my LeMans, and figured I could do a good enough job for a driver. I bought 2 off egay, and both didn't fit worth a crap, and ended up gutting them. I finally went to Fusick, and tried again. Although it's not perfect, I'm happy with it. This pic is before even hitting it with a heat gun, so know I'll get all the wrinkles out of it.

One thing, the braces the dome light mount to are uneven from the factory, and dang if I can get the dome base to sit right! Any tips there would be appreciated!

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HWYSTR455

Of course, this being my daughter's car, I wanted it comfy, since, well, she's kind of spoiled from driving newer cars. So I got a deal on some Dynamat and some of the heat barrier, and covered the interior.

Test fitted the interior panels too.

I know many make all the labels line up, have it fit perfectly, etc, but, to tell all the truth, it doesn't make a diff. So I didn't bother with making it all look pretty, especially since it will be covered up! And yes, it's OK to do this! Heh-heh!


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HWYSTR455

I picked up a complete console from someone Fusick suggested, including a dual gate shifter setup. After sweating over placement of the mounting brackets, which I got tons of help from here, it boiled down to mocking it up and just going for it. Which I did, and it turned out fine, with the bracket placement and shifter cable.

I tossed the carpet in and trimmed it, then mounted the console. I cut around the rear console bracket, which, after the fact, realized that was not the thing to do! Not a big problem though, since the seats cover the area that would otherwise be exposed. Eh, next time I do a carpet in it I'll correct that!

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HWYSTR455

My daughter recovered the rear seat, did a great job, and required very little instruction. Here's a shot of her marking where the buttons were to be installed. Also, a shot of the rear seats test fitted.

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HWYSTR455

After I was satisfied with all the fit of the seats and all, I tossed in the remaining seats. I still have a few things to do in the interior, seat belts, heat the headliner, visors, and a couple small things, fyi. But, for the most part, it's done.

Here's a few pics of the interior to give you an idea:

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HWYSTR455

I got a floor shift steering column, a steering wheel, and a steering wheel mount kit from the guy I got the console from. I prepped and painted the column and mounted it all. After a little time in the sun, the wheel started peeling, and turns out it's a dyed blue wheel. So 2 weeks ago I got a new wheel that's black originally and replaced it.

HWYSTR455

Just as an FYI, my daughter prepped and POR-15'd almost the entire underside of the floor pans, everything she could reach, as well as a portion of the interior floor pans. (I finished the interior floor pans due to time). I'd say to date, she has over 100 hours in this build, pretty respectable.

As areas are exposed, I knock off any scale, wipe it down with acetone or marine prep, and POR-15 it. Certain areas I also coat with undercoating, for protection and for even appearance. Yeah, I know, but this is a driver, and in my past experience, it helps!

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HWYSTR455

I pulled the engine and trans and tore it down for the rebuild. I'm working in a limited space enviro, 20x20 garage, and with an HOA that rivals the KGB. So, I have to be descret, to say the least! In order to pull the engine, I have the roll half the car out so I can move the picker around. Not to mention, I have my pride and joy parked in the garage next to all this going on, just to add stress!

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HWYSTR455

I disassembled the engine and found the typical high-mileage build up in the valley. Yuck! Obviously years of Quaker State here!

I measured how deep in the hole the pistons were (.026 on this engine), cleaned it with over cleaner, and doctored the drain backs. After talking to Andy Miller at Olds Performance Products, I also added a drain back hole in the rear of the valley, as well as a 'oil shot' hole that will dribble on the dizzy gear. (his excellent idea!). Makes total sense to me, and there's tons of material in that area as to not compromise strength.This all was done obvioously before sending off to be tanked.

Also included a pic as a 'before' shot, and for those who were interested.


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HWYSTR455

For all who are interested in how I'm doing the engine, here are the parts I'm using:

1969 350 block
Probe SRS .030 full floating pistons
Total Seal Classic Race file fit rings
Factory rods, prepped, ARP bolts
stock crank, balanced
OPP oil pump and drive
Moroso pan
SFI balancer

#5 heads
stainless oversized valves
mild cleanup
Comp 995 springs
Comp XE262H cam (218/224, 475/480 lift, 110 LSA)
Adjustable valve train (obviously)
Magnum Roller tips (yeah, I know)

Holley 670 Street Avenger VS
Edelbrock Performer

I searched around my area for a machine shop, but could find anyone with Olds torque plates, so, I decided to just drive it all up to Andy and have him do the work. All I can say is Andy is very knowledgable, and a stand-up guy. I strongly recommend him to anyone! I did have a member of one of the forums (Joe P) offer to lend me a set of torque plates that he had just bought, super nice of him, but I had already made arrangments to use Andy.

One thing to note, the heads that came on the car (#7s) were obviously worked on before, and the valve seats were cut waaay into the heads.
Andy wasn't comfortable with doing them, and had a set of #5s he sold me. Sweet. As for the block, he had a '69 block that already had all the machine work done on it, and suggested I use it to cut down on time. Again, can't thank him enough for all his help!


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HWYSTR455

With the engine out of the way, I gutted the engine compartment. I removed everything from the firewall, stripped it, and POR-15'd it. Same with the cowl, frame rails, core support, and a portion of the front floor pan. On the lower part of the firewall, the frame rails, inside of the fenders, areas of the core, and other out of the way areas, I shot undercoating. (I'm probably going to get flamed on this one!) I painted everything after the POR-15 with Dupli-Color Semi-Glossy Engine paint, and before spraying the undercoating.


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HWYSTR455

While I had all the pulleys and brackets off the engine, I cleaned them up, wiped them down, and shot them with Dupli-color Semi-Gloss Engine paint. I got a deal on the engine paint, so that's what I'm using! It's slightly more glossy than original, but looks great anyway.


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HWYSTR455

Next is the suspension, and here's the plan:

Front:
Hotchkis upper control arms
F/B-Body spindle swap
1.25 sway bar
Baer Trackers
poly bushings
AGR close ratio box
Flaming River steering shaft and u-joints

Rear:
Hotchkis lower control arms
UMI upper control arms
UMI cross braces
1 inch sway bar
poly bushings

Brakes:
VBP 2 piece front F-Body rotors
GM Single piston calipers
all new hard and soft lines
87-88 T-Bird rear disc setup
9" Dual Diaphram booster
vette master cyl

Rear End:
Rebuild original 8.5
Detroit TruTrac
3.42 gears
1350 pinion yoke
Moser alloy axles

A lot of these parts are hand-me-downs from my LeMans, keep in mind. I'll post pics as this gets done, next couple weeks should be plenty of time. I need to gut the rear suspension, drop the rear and tank, and POR-15/undercoat back there too. That should happen soon too, fyi.

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HWYSTR455

Spent a few hours in garage today, dropped the rear and tank, and gutted the rear suspension. Surprisingly, all the bolts came out easy, and many of the bushings looked good.

In the pics, you can see what the underside of a PA car looks like, a bunch of surface rust. It's not as bad as it looks, really, and with the minor scale knocked off, will clean up well. In the one pic you can see my daughter's handy work with the POR-15, waiting to be undercoated. Once I get the rear area prepped, POR-15'd, and painted, I'll undercoat the whole area.

Can also see a pic of the original 8.5 rear. I'll hit it with a wire wheel on a drill, wipe it down with acetone, POR-15 it, and shoot it with the semi-gloss engine paint. When I rebuild it, I'll pressure wash the inside of the housing.

Dropped the tank, surprise, the build sheet was there. It was stuck pretty good to the tank, and was a little wet from condensation, and no way was I going to be able to peel it. I'll let it dry some and see if I can get it off with a razor blade.

It's been pretty cold lately here, and the undercoating wasn't cured in the last shots, so, I took another, which shows the frame undercoating and how the finish turned out. you can see the line where I started undercoating the forward floor pan area. I wasn't worried about making it a very straight line since it's below the line of view from the top with the engine in anyway.

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Allan R

Suggest you take a lot of really good high resolution shots of the build sheet before you do anything to the tank. The sheet will likely not come off in one piece when its dried out either. I'd cover it in clear laquer to prevent any further decay and just leave it there!

gearheads78

Nice project. Thanks for sharing.

HWYSTR455

Thank you, appreciate the kind words! Just you see so many high-dollar resto-builds, the average guy is easily intimidated, and the true nature of hot rodding can so easily be lost. I think showing a project that is your average parking lot shower, a car that gets used, driven, on a reasonable budget, can inspire others to show their' projects, regardless of the level of detail, and not worry about what 'the other guy thinks'. Ok, maybe I'm I'm getting philosophical! Or maybe it's the bourbon!

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HWYSTR455

yeah, I took as many shots of the build sheet as possible, and hope I can get it off. If not, oh well, more of a novilty thing to me, honestly, it's really just kind of a plain jane model anyway, right? Would have been nice to frame, give it to my daughter as a momento, may still do that...


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garys 68

Great minds think alike. I decided to get rid of the woodgrain though.
DSCN0140.jpg

HWYSTR455

Here's a close up shot of the build sheet. You can read the whole thing, except for the area in the top right corner. That corner was foldered, I tried to unfold it, and that just turned to mush.

garys 68 - Nice job! I like the gauges too! I just couldn't see spending the money on a factory rally set, and have to suppliment them anyway for accuracy!

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HWYSTR455

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Anyone have any tips on aligning the glove box door?

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Rickman48

Nice info - thanks!
Glove box doors can be a PIA - no shortcuts there - just keep trying!

HWYSTR455

Today I got the majority of the underside coated with POR-15, but ran out! Could have swore I had more, just have to order some tomorrow. Once I get it I'll finish the cracks and crevices, at least got the majority covered. There was a few muffler hangers that had been welded to the frame, had to cut those off and dress the areas, took a little longer than expected.

I also undercoated the entire compartment floor pans' undersides, will provide a good amount of protection for a number of years. (The pic doesn't do it justice, and was before I finished for the day).

Like I've mentioned, sure, this isn't a rotisserie job, but I've done a number of cars this way and it helps them last. For example, the Trans Am I have I've owned since 1982, the LeMans since 1993, both I did this way, and I drive them in all kinds of weather, no rust.

There's a couple products out now that you spray into the frame rails or rockers (or any blind area), it foams/expands, and rust protects the area. I think I'll look into some of those, may even try one, will post if I do.

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HWYSTR455

Here's a link to the internal frame rust proof coating from Eastwood I was talking about:

http://www.eastwood.com/internal-fra...ay-nozzle.html

Think I'll give this stuff a try, see how well it does....


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Willidog

That stuff looks like a good deal. Wish I had known about it while I was doing my frame off!

HWYSTR455

I've seen a couple others, think one was a 3M product that 'foams' to get in the cracks. And don't think that sprays all over the place. Read some of the reviews for the Eastwood stuff, and some users said that it gets everywhere, and to try to do it outside. Doubt the foam stuff would do that.

3M also has the rocker and seam rust protectant that is this like milky solution that runs into all the cracks, and is great for quarter panel/wheel housing and other like areas. That stuff leaves a thin, yellowish coating, and can be visible from the trunk area. (So can the Eastwood stuff I'm sure).

My objective is to preserve it, and not too concerned with if you can see it. Usually at the local saturday night cruise, you're not going to have people with flashlights crawling around on the ground! So, as long as it lasts! And if by chance if someone wants to do a full-tilt frame-off on it, it will be less repair work.

One thing that helps is to spray the screws for the wheel opening trim (3M, thin stuff). That helps prevent the wheel openings from rusting out. (dissimilar metal corrosion) AFTER you put the wheel opening trim on you spray the quarter/outter wheel house joint from the trunk side, and it will never rust. Same on the trunk floor extensions seems.

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HWYSTR455

Here's the 3M stuff I was talking about:

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...glTS58RM3F58bl

And they have a 36" 'wand' you can get as an attachment to the spray can that has a 180 or 360 degree spray pattern:

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...glCMHZP9GPV1bl

I've used this stuff before, and it supposedly has 'self healing properties', like it kind of keeps 'oozing' to cover areas and fight rust. All I know is that it works. My T/A had quarters and outter wheel housings put on it, and it sat outside for 4 years, no rust. Drove that thing in the snow many times too!

People must think I'm crazy, I swear!

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t bell

looks awesome.

HWYSTR455

Thank you! Hopefully some will be inspired and see that you can get good results even in your garage with hand tools and minimal resources! You can go a section at a time, weekend project stuff, and live the hot rod dream! Heh-heh!

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HWYSTR455

Haven't posted in a while, been dealing with the holidays, but have got some stuff done.

Cleaned up the rear housing, drained it, and gutted it. I spoke with a friend and he suggested a local shop to rebuild the rear, and after calling them found they were fairly inexpensive, so I dropped that off Friday. That I'll have back next weekend, and will be able to just toss it in once I get it home.

Finished POR-15 and undercoating the bottom and rear of the car, one small section left, that I dropped the bumper for. (Have a new one with cut outs anyway). I'll get it tomorrow.

Hung the rear suspension, need to still get a coat on the lower control arms since they're slightly used. I'll get that tomorrow.

Ran all the new brake lines, front to rear, hung the rear flex line, the crossover from the right caliper, and the left caliper line.

Since it was warm today, (almost 60), I figured I could turn on the water, so I degreased the crossmember and a few other parts. I was concentrating on stuff I could paint, take advantage of the weather. I'll POR-15 and paint the crossmember and a few other things tomorrow.

Also test hung the Hotchkis upper control arms, will put the new ball joints in tomorrow.

Painted the drag link, inner and outter tie rods, and the idler arm with cast iron engine paint, turned out nice. Bummer the outter tie rods are the wrong ones that I got from Hotchkis, will have to call them monday.

Tomorrow I'll also get the majority of the front suspension done, hang the new steering box, etc. Need to do a quick clean up of the backing plates I have, but should be cake. I'll also get the above mentioned odds and ends.

Not sure if the machine work will be ready next weekend like it was supposed to be, but will find out this week. I drop the trans off next Thursday, so that will be done in a week. Figure I'll get the engine assembled that following weekend, and the week leading up to will have everything blueprinted and documented. That puts me on schedule for the end of Feb/beginning of March for drop off at the body shop. Woo-hoo!

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HWYSTR455

Got all the odds and ends done that I wanted to done today, but realized I don't have the lower control arm bushings. They will be here tuesday, though did get the ball joints done. I'll get the springs, spindles, and lowers on maybe one night this week, or next sunday at the latest.

The cast grey engine paint turned out good for the drag link and stuff, and even matches the coating the gearbox came in.

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Mochi

Amazing! Just the fact you're doing it all for your little girl. Touching, you make me want to drop my tank now to see the build sheet. ;-) You've also convinced me to do a rebuild on the engine, but I was told by the previous owner that one had be done about 10 years ago. Any thoughts?

HWYSTR455

Any idea how many miles are on the engine? Think first you may want to do all the basic checks, get an idea of where the engine is at, like compression test, etc. You might be surprised that it might not need a rebuild. If you suspect there may be some miles on it, you can remove the heads and take a look, could just do a valve job and be done.

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