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Rescued this 72 Cutlass hardtop coupe a month or so ago that was sitting for 7 years. It was someones abandoned project. It has a 455 and a auto trans. Vin says it was a 350 car from the Texas plant. This is the third Cutlass I own and the most challenging project I've taken on so far but I am into learning through the process.
Working on getting the drivetrain connected again so I can move it out of the garage. I spent the last couple weeks cleaning the best I could. I figure now would be the best time to start a log before I end up too deep.
I have a dash and steering column on the way from some members on here. I also got some headers from another member that arrived today. Bunch of spare parts from my 68 and 69 Cutlass that will help me get it moving on its own. Will keep this updated as I continue to work on it.
New motor mount
Shot some oil down each spark hole and turned it over by hand. Everything good.
Last edited by yeahbuddy; February 12th, 2022 at 11:46 PM.
Hedman Hedders arrives today from a member on here. Soaked them in some brake fluid to get the factory coating off and then sprayed it with a can of VHT Flameproof Header Paint. These are drying tonight and I will install them tomorrow morning.
Last edited by yeahbuddy; February 12th, 2022 at 11:16 PM.
Cool! Will be following along. Good shell to start with, it looks like. Those headers are the BIG tubes - plenty ' breathing room for that big 455 mill!
Looks like a good project. Any idea if it runs? Any rust?
did someone store drywall init ?
No rust and the bodywork is done. It came from a body/paint shop before it sat. Paint was actually perfect when it was first parked but over the years the clear on the roof and hood started to peel. I want to put an OAI hood on it so I will see if the paint can be restored.
I think that fine dust is a combination of fiberglass and dust. Car had a lot of custom fiberglass pieces.
I was told it ran. Everything was disconnect for body and paint and then thrown back in. Right now putting it back together. Driveshaft in trunk, finding the missing brackets I need, etc.
Originally Posted by oldcutlass
I see a lot of potential there.
Same here. I have some ideas in mind. Thank you.
Originally Posted by Phoenix8990
Looks like a great project, solid car to start with.
I agree. I'd be overwhelmed if I didn't own the 68 for the last 13 years. Because of that car I know this one inside out.
Originally Posted by BackInTheGame
Cool! Will be following along. Good shell to start with, it looks like. Those headers are the BIG tubes - plenty ' breathing room for that big 455 mill!
Thank you. I'm just trying to get it running right now as cheap as possible by finding what I'm missing. Once I am able to clean it with a pressure washer and move it I will start putting it together correctly.
Photo dump. Spent the last few weekends getting parts and connecting everything. Pretty close to starting it soon. Probably by next weekend. Trying to rush it as I have to move in 30 days and it would make my life easier being able to drive it. Main goal is to have it drive and stop on it owns and then I will focus on getting things cleaned up.
Headers installed. Went on pretty easily. Had to remove the starter and the oil filter housing but nothing major.
Lucky finds at my local junkyard. Nice steering column from a 75 Skylark, 3 core radiator (temporary), and a ACDelco clutch fan.
Oil pump and bracket assembly from eBay came in
Everything almost connected. Just waiting on the water pump puley to come in and I will be able to connect the belts and hoses.
Steering wheel connected. Got a bunch of parts for the future. Found a couple Gardner Turbo mufflers which I will put on before starting the car.
Built this ignition box over the weekend. This is how I plan on running the car while the harness is disconnected. It powers with battery clamps. 3 wires (starter, alt and coil).
Do you know what that color is? Reminds me of my 66 Riviera. Plum metallic.
I am not sure. If you told me it was called plum metallic I would believe it because that is exactly what it looks like. I am eager to wash the dirt off and look at it in the sun.
I am not sure. If you told me it was called plum metallic I would believe it because that is exactly what it looks like. I am eager to wash the dirt off and look at it in the sun.
I think the official name was Riviera Plum. Had it on a 66 Riviera GS.
Been a bit busy lately but was able to fire up the engine. Started right up, no smoke but I immediately heard loud knocking! I didn't run it very long but after listening closer I could hear and feel it coming from the oil pan. Pulled out the engine earlier this week and saw a scrape inside the pan where the crank was tapping against a small dent. When I got the car it only had one motor mount so I know where the dent came from. I think I can hammer it out and everything should be good to go!
This gives me an opportunity to degrease, clean and paint the engine and bay. Will probably pull the front suspension off and clean those as well. All the bushings look new. Engine internals looked new as well. Either way....this has been a fun budget project to learn on. The worst part about it is all the fine mud/dirt/sand throughout the whole thing.
Last edited by yeahbuddy; June 2nd, 2022 at 09:07 PM.
Hell of a knock! Hopefully you are right that a dent in the oil pan was it. It's looking good.
Steve
I said the same thing and I thought it was done but looking at it quickly I didn't feel any of the rods being loose, no metal in the pan. Just a ground down section in the front of the pan. I'll have a closer look this weekend. Thanks.
Keep a good eye on the links of that load balancer chain. I had a cheap one from Princess Auto (Canadian equivalent to HF). Used it once to lift a 350 with auto trans out of my '72 Cutlass. Once I had the engine on the stand I noticed one of the links was spreading open and was probably minutes from complete failure.
Keep a good eye on the links of that load balancer chain. I had a cheap one from Princess Auto (Canadian equivalent to HF). Used it once to lift a 350 with auto trans out of my '72 Cutlass. Once I had the engine on the stand I noticed one of the links was spreading open and was probably minutes from complete failure.
I hate all the Chinese tools. It's either Chinese or top of the line which is out my budget. I got the leveler from Amazon (made by Big Red) for only $25. The idea that the engine hangs off a $25 device is a scary thought.
Last edited by yeahbuddy; June 4th, 2022 at 01:08 AM.
Got some time to turn the engine 180 degrees and remove the pan. Some good news is it looks like the #1 rod cap bolt was hitting/grinding the dent in the pan so thats where the noise was coming from. Everything else looks good and in great condition. Ever better news...engine was definitely rebuilt because the pistons have the code 1631-04 which comes up as Silvolite 4.165 cast +.040 pistons.
I am going to order the metallic blue engine paint, new pan and gaskets this week. I may upgrade to a new high volume Mellings oil pump.
Last edited by yeahbuddy; December 4th, 2022 at 12:01 AM.
Got my new pan, gaskets and firewall plate. Waiting on my engine paint and a few other gaskets to clean up the engine.
Started stripping the engine bay down and removing the front suspension over this weekend. Was so caked in dirt I could barely find the balljoint nuts. Once I get all the accessories off I will remove the fenders and start sanding the firewall and frame to bare metal so I can prime and paint. Considering following this guide I found to fill in the dimples and holes while I can. https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/qu...-body-firewall
This car is going to get a set of Wilwood 6 piston front/4 piston rear big brake kit with 12" rotors. I have had the kit in my storage for a while and decided to use it on this car. In the meantime I am working on a plan with the suspension replacements. Would like to go tubular if I can afford it. Most of the original suspension parts I pulled will be replaced with upgraded parts.
Last edited by yeahbuddy; June 13th, 2022 at 01:35 AM.
Snowballing into something much more than I originally planned. I decided to sand and wire wheel the firewall, cowl and frame. That is what lead me to discover a crack around the passenger side upper control arm area. Got some advice on another post I made on how to address it.
Another thing about this car is all the original rust area were patches with fiberglass. As I started standing down the cowl I sanded through all the fiberglass patches.
Last edited by yeahbuddy; September 25th, 2022 at 09:25 PM.
Is that a common place for the frame to break? I remember in the 70's I had a 67 Cutlass and the frame broke in a similar place. Back them you just junked them and got another for a few hundred.
Steve
Is that a common place for the frame to break? I remember in the 70's I had a 67 Cutlass and the frame broke in a similar place. Back them you just junked them and got another for a few hundred.
Steve
From what I was told yes it is common. At this point it's easier and cheaper for me to get repair then trying to get another frame.
Back in the 70's they didn't even mention a repair, just junk it. Dime a dozen back then. I would think it could be welded easily, as long as it's solid and not rusted away.
Steve
Had a hold off for a little bit as it was 110+ for a few weeks only giving me a couple hours a day to work on things. It cooled down these last couple weeks and I took the opportunity to paint the front end, pulleys, brackets and engine. Not looking for a show quality finish but want to stop a few rust spots and freshen up the engine.
Trying to keep things on a tight budget I built a engine run stand out of some 4x4 and 2x4 I had laying around. It worked well and the engine didn't even budge when starting it. Copied a design I saw someone use on a video.
I was able to start it up again this time with the new oil pan and the knock from the previous start was gone. It ended up being the rod bolt that was tapping against the dent in the old pan. The carb and timing need adjustment but good news is it runs and looks good. I have a Quadrajet from Vintage Chief I will be switching the Edelbrock with when once it goes back in the car. Unfortunately the right side of the pan and the oil filter housing is seeping a little bit of oil. Not sure if it was from resting it on the wooden stand directly or just not installed correctly. I will have to get it back on the stand and reinstall the oil pan gasket and will use the steel core ones instead next time.
Moving a bit slow but using my weekends and free time to get more done. I removed the front windshield and discovered that the dash/lower window channel was repaired with fiberglass. I want to do this correct so I ended up getting a good set of spot weld bits and removed the entire cowl panel. I ordered a new replacement cowl vent panel from OPGI with the lower windshield channel from AMD. I am figuring it out as I go so my next step will be investing in a MIG welder. I think I am going to get the Eastwood 140 so I can weld the panels back. I am waiting for the panels to arrive this coming week to know if I have enough of the top dash or if I will need to add a filler. I will coat the inside of the cowl tray with POR15 and also need to repair a rotten patch on the top railing where the cowl spot welds on to. Will post more as I get through it.
Last edited by yeahbuddy; December 3rd, 2022 at 11:45 PM.
Nice work so far! Nice replacement piece , I had to replace my channel but all was good otherwise. Take your time welding move around and cool after each weld
Nice progress. I always love seeing a car get love that it deserves. Good for you. Thanks for keeping us updated.
Thanks. I figure if I went this far I might as well.
Originally Posted by Eddie Hansen
Nice work so far! Nice replacement piece , I had to replace my channel but all was good otherwise. Take your time welding move around and cool after each weld
Thanks Eddie. For the new cowl panel, do you know if it is recommended to drill out the holes following the original spot weld locations/holes?
Panels arrived and did a quick test fit. The cowl is an exact copy and fell right into place. I will need to trim some of the lower window channel including the tabs on the top in order to make it work.
I cleaned all the dirt out of the trunk and discovered a large fiberglass patch. I chiseled it out and found holes. Good news is the brackets under the trunk pan are in solid shape and rust free. I will end up ordering a full panel to replace the trunk once I get the cowl done.
Started cleaning up the suspension parts and am trying to get them prepped so I can POR15 them the same time I coat the cowl tray.
Last edited by yeahbuddy; December 9th, 2022 at 04:58 PM.
I was able to get everything lined up. I had to modify the lower windshield channel a bit in order to make it fit properly. The piece is for a Chevelle so I had to remove the tabs and the lip that is on the back. I also trimmed off the ears on top and a little off the passenger side end. The cowl vent is almost exact to the old but but is a little short both height and width. I laid the old cowl on top of the new and traced the old bottom spot welds with a paint marker to help get everything back in place on the car.
I was able to get a half top dash piece from a local member on here. I may be able to get away with using the existing panel. I need to do one more final trim on the dash piece once everything gets welded in. I will get getting a mig welder in the next month or so to get everything in place.
Everything has been going easier than I thought. There are a couple of videos on YouTube that go over the install which helped a ton.
Trimmed top tabs, back lip, left side lip and top ears
Top dash piece that was donated to me from a local member
Last edited by yeahbuddy; January 2nd, 2023 at 05:09 PM.
Spent the last few weeks removing the last of the parts including the rear end and rear control arms. I sprayed out the undercarriage with Ospho to convert some of the surface rust. It worked well, I just need to scrub it down before I paint it.
While the rear end is out, I decided to install a Powertrax locker that I purchased from a member on here recently. I was going to change out the gear and pinion to 3.23 but I decided to just wait until I can get a correct posi unit for it before changing the gears. The gearing right now is 2.73. Took about 10 minutes or less to install.
Spent the last few weeks scraping and scrubbing all the parts. Hours of cleaning and pounds of dirt. Trying to do as much as I can myself to keep the cost down so I skipped on paying a sandblaster. Everything is close to being ready to be repainted. I am going to make the suspension parts satin black and the springs, sway bar, shocks grey. I was able to start chipping away the rear wheel fender well coating.
Last edited by yeahbuddy; January 28th, 2023 at 03:55 PM.
February 12th, 2022, 11:02 PM
I hate all the Chinese tools. It's either Chinese or top of the line which is out my budget. I got the leveler from Amazon (made by Big Red) for only $25. The idea that the engine hangs off a $25 device is a scary thought.
