cutlass xombie

Well I have had the car for awhile now and with life and work and a new house I haven't had any time to get started but now things have settled a bit and I finally got some time in the garage to get started.

I have amassed most of the parts needed to get it on the road...big thanks to Ron Roth for the fuse box...and today I had a few hours and managed to get the interior out.

I still have to sand it down to get a good idea of what I'm gonna be looking at for the floor but I did find some pin holes in the rear section. Now I would rather not put new pans in if I don't have to so I would really like to know what others have done in these situations. I was thinking if it's not to bad after I sand it down to patch it with fibreglass.

I am also re-wiring the whole car and have all of it from American Autowire. It is going to be a daunting task but I look forward to learning a lot and I am sure will be asking a lot of dumb questions.

That being said...here is the first one...I am trying to get the light switch out of the dash...does the **** just pull off or should I just leave it as is and unplug it from the back?

Thanks in advance and hopefully I will be posting more often now.

Cheers,
Rob

RandyS

To remove the ****, pull it out as far as it will come (lights on position), reach under the dash to the switch body and you will find a small spring loaded button on the bottom of the switch. Push up (in) on the button and the **** should slide the rest of the way out. You can then unscrew the nut on the front and remove the switch. (Be sure to unhook your positive battery cable or your lights will kill the battery..........)

TripDeuces

I'll be watching with interest

oldcutlass

The problem with pinholes is they grow bigger over time. It's hard to prevent this short of cutting out and replacing the offending areas. That's why it's referred to as cancer eventually it will require surgery.

cutlass xombie

Thanks Randy, I saw that button ans was wondering what it was for, and yes battery is already out of the car.

cutlass xombie

Now this is not going to be a show car by any means so I was thinking if I laid a coat of Por15 down it would help stop the cancer and then fill whatever spots needed. But if it is to bad I will bite the bullet and get the rear floor pans.

69ishHoliday

My 1969 Cutlass is at exactly the same interior stage and exhibits some of the same light rust shown in your pictures. I noticed a thread about a week ago where someone removed the rust as much as possible and then treated the area with POR15. The text said that POR15 sets up like porcelen and bonds well to rusted areas. I think you could certainly make the area strong enough with fiberglass matt & cloth, but the POR15 pics and description are leaning me in that direction for my own. - Steven

RG70442

For the best results you want to remove as much of the rust as you possibly can and you want to cover/protect any remaining trim during the repair process. For a DYI most auto parts and hardware stores sell the wheels that fit on to a die grinder that strip paint - the aggressive one's are hard, the not so aggressive ones have a scotch brite material on them. Afterwards you can treat it with a product from Eastwood called Fast Etch - I have used it and it works great - you want to wear hand and eye protection, have good ventilation and be careful with it as it is a acid. Once dry, you need to neutralize, they sell that too - then lightly sand for added adhesion insurance, clean and spray with whatever you choose. In the area that has pits - a small handheld sand blaster would be ideal, with a shop vac nozzle next to it to minimize the mess as the sand does go everywhere .Fiberglass is an option that works best when you can coat both sides with at least some resin.


http://s1069.photobucket.com/user/rggoleno/library/?sort=6&page=1

cutlass xombie

Thanks for the input Steven and RG70442...I have been looking into the Por15 and I am leaning that way now barring what happens when I get it all scraped away lol.

Well had a little time today and got the steering wheel off...not in the best of shape so will probably be getting a new one. I know there is a thread about repairing them but I'm not sure I want to go that route.

Dash is almost ready to be pulled. I got destructions from Ron Roth and am a bit stumped at what he means by this....
"Disconnect the main harness and the front harness from inside the engine compartment bulkhead"....I have already removed the Engine harness and front light harness from the firewall but am stumped as to what this refers to...any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ignition was a pain in the butt to remove but I found that if you rotate counter clockwise instead of clockwise as the manual states it is much easier. Big kudos to Ron for that advice.

Not much done but every little bit helps

Cheers

cutlass xombie

Ok two qucik questions referring to the pics below.

I noticed a sizable gap in the steering column...is that normal? and in the last pic there is a big patch of tar on the passenger side floor at the front. Is this from the factory or did someone patch this...it looks good underneath.

Cheers

RAMBOW

the gap is normal- and the tar paper on the floor was done by the factory- its original.

cutlass xombie

Thanks Ben...I figured the tar paper was but wasn't to sure about the gap.

lemoldsnut

Very nice car to start with. If you need parts as you go get ahold of me. I usually have 4-8 66-67 cars I am parting out and years of extra pieces as well.

Thanks
Larry
Redmond, OR
lemoldsnut@aol.com

cutlass xombie

Thanks Larry, will do.

oldcutlass

I'm not 100% sure, there may be an adjustment at the bottom of the steering column to adjust that gap. There are 2 screws that once you loosen the collar it can be turned to adjust up or down. It's about 1/2 inch of adjustment.

tecar442

A little advice, do each small step right, don't get in a hurry and take shortcuts, and don't be surprised if the MAW's take over.

cutlass xombie

Well the wheel won't be going back on for some time now but I will definately check that out...thanks oldcutlass

cutlass xombie

Oh I am definately taking it slow. Been bagging everything up so I know what goes where when it all goes back together and yes the MAW's have already started popping up in my head

cutlass xombie

Well had some time yesterday and finally managed to get the dash out. It was a bit of a pain as the center top screw didn't have a nut on it. It had this clamp thing on it (pics below) and it was a pain in the a$$ to get off. Is that original for the car?

Found a bunch of wires that were just hanging so should be a fun trying to figure out what goes where.

cutlass xombie

Now all this old insulation is just falling apart and I am going to rip it all out...is there somewhere to get this or something like it? And other than sound and heat is there a reason for this?

cutlass xombie

Dash has seen better days and one of the mounts broke as well. Not sure if it was already broke or if I did it when I took it out. Nothing a little JBWeld won't fix.

cutlass xombie

Glove box wasn't to bad...I never realized it was only cardboard.

cutlass xombie

Found the dealer plate and this clip? Not sure where it came from and what its for so any help on what it is would be great.

Ranzan

its a old clip from the front or rear glass to hold the trim on
that is a sweet old dealer plate are you putting it back on the car?

cutlass xombie

Thanks Wes and ya I will probably be putting it back on the car....a few years down the road for sure

Sea five

Nice project take your time and enjoy.. Im thinking of useing American Auto Wire where you able to buy the harnesses as a complete kit for that car or did you order them seperatly.

cutlass xombie

You can buy the dash harness complete but you have to supply the fuse box as they don't repro them yet. All the other harnesses are sepreate orders.

Sea five

Thanks good luck with the project ill be following along

cutlass xombie

Well I got the heater core casing out today. That was a fun job and like everything else with this car it was missing some fasteners. Hoses to the core were basically welded on and I ended up cuting the bottom one.

The bottom spout on the core also came a little loose and wiggles slightly back and forth. It doesn't seem to be leaking but I'm not sure I want to put it back in like that. Could I just solder around the base of it? The core itself looks great. Also are these the nuts that came from the factory...a little flimsy it seems.

RandyS

I would probably take it to a radiator shop and have it soldered and leak tested. They have the expertise and equipment to do the job (and help insure you won't discover a leak after you get it back in the car and full of antifreeze.......)

cutlass xombie

Thanks Randy, good idea.

oldcutlass

I would just replace it. They are not expensive and readily available. It would be a shame to get everything back together and a year from now have a core leak damage all the work your did.

Those are not the right nuts for the heater core housing studs. Those are for trim.

cutlass xombie

I had a feeling they were the wrong ones. The PO just made a mess of this car. Wires all over the place and missing screws...especially in the hard to reach places. But it has been an adventure taking it apart so far

And good idea about replacing it. I was thinking that at first but wasn't sure how much a new one would set me back.

oldcutlass

I got mine at my local auto parts store.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...rd=heater+core

The nuts for the housing studs I believe have the washers that are attached to them and spin.

Captive washer nut.

cutlass xombie

Awesome, Thanks Oldcutlass.

RAMBOW

my car had speed nuts holding the heater core to the firewall too. pretty sure they were original. I did replace them with regular nuts & washers though.

my car came from the freemont plant. where was yours made?

cutlass xombie

Ya it sure looked like it had never been taken off so thats why I was wondering if they were original or not...in any case I will be replacing them.

Mine is a Lansing car.

Professur

Going back to your pinholes ... you have to understand that the pinholes aren't the problem ... when you get pinholes, the entire area around it is paper thin. Fibreglass it, POR15 ... doesn't change that you're structurally compromised. Glass and paint are a lace curtain on a broken window at this point.

The way I was taught to look at this is to attack it with a 1/4" flat blade screwdriver ... and hit it hard. No matter how good it might look ... if you can punch that screwdriver through .. it's not safe. Lately I've taken to using a hi powered computer hard drive magnet. The thicker the metal, the harder it is to pull off. On anything pre '85 .. if you can pull it off with one hand, the metal's significantly thinned.

Welding in new pans is really a lot scarier than hard. I know that I usually make the first cut ... then put the tools away and go have a beer. Come back to it an hour or so later when I've calmed down some. It's that first cut into virgin territory that's stressful ... after that, it's just a question of where not to cut. Take your pieces out without damaging them and use them (with a fat sharpie) as your template to trim your replacements to fit. You don't have to use the entire replacement .. cut what you need from it and use that ... keep as much original as is still good. Work a little at a time, if there's any question that it might flex .. weld in some braces, don't be shy. You don't even really need to be a good welder for this ... although I would stay away from the cheap flux core welders for this ... although I know people who've used them with satisfactory results. I personally use .23 wire with CO2 .. cheap and gets the job done.