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Re-vamped my thread. Gonna try to keep up with it this time. Last August purchased a 71 Cutlass S with Sienna exterior and Brown interior. Looking to restore this beauty to a nice driver. Im always open to ideas as this is a learning process for me!
I absolutely love reading and looking at all the insight and progress made on cars on this site. Here is the exterior!
Its a party! I know I'm railroading the posts here but Im playing a little catch-up. I know the fenders are banged up, so I've taken those off with the core support and replaced them with my buddy rktolds. But also removed most of the interior and vacuumed the heck out of it. Some rust, but nothing a little welding cant fix. Heres the progress.
Cleaned up the inner fenders in the garage with simple green. Lots of dirt and dust caked on there but look much better now. They were still drying but look much better.
Keep posting pics of progress. Tell Matt he needs to help lol
I wil! He keeps telling me he has those..what are they called..oh yea kids. He's the only reason I'm getting anything done! But he is a great help. I'm always in need. Haha
Progress will be made. Lining up work to be tackled in chunks. What we have in front of us with parts already purchased:
1. Regasket a 65 330 from a good friend
2. Reseal a good working turbo 350 (thanks Joe aka costpenn)
3. Clean and repaint frame and firewall
4. Rebuild suspension and finish PO disc conversion
5. Install drivetrain
6. Repair rust on heals of new fenders (much nicer that originals)
7. Repair rust in floor
8. Reinstall interior
Now all we need is time. The goal is to get it running and driving ASAP. Then it can stay at its house
More updates to come as we getting working to make this a good driver.
So from rktolds, it sounds like we are going more towards this direction to maximize efficiency:
1:Clean and repaint frame and firewall when suspension is removed
2:Rebuild suspension and finish PO disc conversion with engine/trans in for weight
3:Remove old engine and trans
4:Regasket 65 330
5:Reseal Turbo 350 (Thanks again Joe!)
6:Reinstall drivetrain
7:Rust repair in fenders and passenger floor rust
8:Reinstall interior
9:Tear *** out of worley creek hot rods to the casa
Spring break in full effect here in OK. The weather was perfect to get out for two days and get a ton of work done on the Cutlass. rktolds had some extra time at his disposal so he got on disassembling the suspension.
And with that we dedicated the next 2 days to regasketing the oil pan, the valve covers, water pump and intake. We started with plenty of degreaser followed by putting on and taking off the oil pan about 4 times.
1. Reseal a good working turbo 350 (thanks Joe aka costpenn)
2. Clean and repaint frame and firewall
3. Rebuild suspension and finish PO disc conversion
4. Reinstall drivetrain
5. Repair rust on heals of new fenders (much nicer that originals)
6. Repair rust in floor
7. Reinstall interior
Hey everyone! Sorry its been awhile since my last update/post. Work happens ya know? So this last weekend rktolds and I loaded up Brown Betty and hauled it over to my house. It is now in the garage with hopes of having something done to it every day, no matter how small. Here was our to do list from last go around a year ago:
1. Reseal a good working turbo 350 (thanks Joe aka costpenn) DONE!
2. Clean and repaint frame and firewall DONE!
3. Rebuild suspension and finish PO disc conversion DONE!
4. Reinstall drivetrain DONE!
5. Repair rust on heals of new fenders
6. Repair rust in floor
7. Reinstall interior
While I am between steps 4 and 5, Im going to work on getting the engine running while everything is out of the way. So now the list will look like this:
1. Get engine running
2. Repair rust
3. Reinstall interior
4. Restore rear brakes and suspension
I will upload pictures as soon as photobucket is willing to cooperate. But the interior is stripped down to metal, the engine is mounted and the transmission is hooked up. Im waiting on the core support bushings to install and then I can mount the radiator. Feel free to drop any suggestions of what I should also complete while Im in there.
Well I'm back on my Cutlass kick. Being a young buck with not a ton of extra income makes this hobby tough! Work is in full swing but I plan on taking the old girl out in the sun to clean and reassess the situation. rktolds is gonna swing by when he's got a spare second and help me get the carb hooked up. The primary objective is to get this old girl driving.
Where I need your opinion, yes you, is what all can wait? I need to rebuild the rear suspension, convert from drum brakes, recover the back seat, and I'm sure electrical with a couple of other things I'm forgetting. With the front end rebuilt (steering, brakes, suspension), Am I good to make a trip up to 7-11 once the engine purrs? I want to get it driving and enjoy it while I save for the rest. Or should I shelf it until its all done? Any input is appreciated.
Also, I'm thinking of doing some resto-mod type of things to the car since its not a 442 or a fancy supreme. Has anyone done anything to their car they really enjoyed?
Got the rebuilt Q-Jet Carburator installed today with rktolds. Also having a problem with the driver side door handle. Pressing the button wont open the door. Does anyone have suggestions on what the inside of the handle looks like? From the door side? If anyone has a pic of the door handle they can throw on here it would be greatly appreciated.
Got the door handle off after unscrewing the two nuts from the inside of the door. Seems like the rod on the inside of the door **** wouldn't displace the actual door release. Looking to pick up a new door **** from rktolds and throwing it back on there. Shouldn't be too difficult.
Picked up some NICE quality rear panels and a new glove compartment hatch off of the Oldsmobile Club facebook group. Cannot recommend joining that group enough. Can't wait to put those new panels on.
Next is taking off the console and making it sit more firmly in the car. Anyone done this before? Once its out of the way (for a second) I can replace the shifter with a rebuilt one from costpenn.
Also, anyone selling any sienna front, driver and passenger door panels? Mine were trashed from the mice and weather.
It's coming together. Tons of little things can be done this winter.
Post a want ad in the Parts section. May find someone who has changed interior color or parted a sienna car. Do the same on the Facebook Olds pages. Tons of traffic.
[QUOTE=orangepower1987;1056090...
Also, anyone selling any sienna front, driver and passenger door panels? Mine were trashed from the mice and weather.[/QUOTE]
friggen mice my buddys son has 2 cars and the one sat for about a week, he starts it the other day and turns on the heater....nothing but stink and fluff...you got mice moved in....ive got three sheds and i am constantly setting traps to keep them outta my junk...
progress looks good, what a difference a cleaning and some rims and tires make !!!! keep at it !
friggen mice my buddys son has 2 cars and the one sat for about a week, he starts it the other day and turns on the heater....nothing but stink and fluff...you got mice moved in....ive got three sheds and i am constantly setting traps to keep them outta my junk...
progress looks good, what a difference a cleaning and some rims and tires make !!!! keep at it !
You're telling me. You should have seen how much fluff and scat I vacuumed out of the interior. Incredible. However now that it's stored in the garage, I can be a neat-freak and clean as much as I like. Trying to avoid that problem again! It's odd how just an upgrade wheel and tire can help get the blood pumping again. The front end is rebuilt, the wheels and tires are ready, and the engine/trans is set. Just need to get it running! Not too far away!
Very cool color combo. The interior looks close to exterior and not a **** brown.
Exactly. It truly is Sienna on Sienna. Under the trunk lid is a clean version of it and its amazing. The brown looks classy enough and I plan on painting the exterior white.
Big weekend of little knick-knacks on the Sienna sidepiece.
-Pulled the old glovebox door and replaced with a new one. Fits much more snug.
-Then got to work on the center console. It was a bench front seat/column shift that I'm turning into a buckets/console shift. The console was already installed so I pulled it out to clean the floor some more. It wasn't too difficult but it was pretty rusty. Got the shifter out by separating it from the linkage. Then I cleaned up the console. Called it a day with the interior for now because its a ways away from being ready for anything.
-Got back in the front end. Mounted the pulleys and the fan (kind of) on the water pump. I didn't have the nuts that close the fan to the engine so I waited. I figure as soon as I get them tightened Id need to take them back off for some reason.
-Installed the fuel pump. Kept bumping into the timing chain, but finally got it in there flush.
Excited to get things rolling. Definitely still have usable parts that I'll be selling. Definitely not perfect, but will work in a jiffy.
A couple more things checked off the list yesterday. Attached the fan to the engine and screwed it on. That's not an easy task IMO. Once I got the nuts tightened, I pulled the rear panels. Helpful tip, honestly I just used a looped paper clip and pliers to pull the clip off the window handles. Pretty easy that way. Of course plenty of mouse crap, but no build sheet . Need to figure out how to pull out the rear upper panels. They feel super snug on there like there is a screw that I'm missing. Pictures would be added but photobucket seems to be screwing up. Does anyone else use a different photo app with an iPhone?
Reminde
and I’ll show you how to upload pics from your phone. Click on the icon by the smiley face when you are typing a reply. Click on upload from
device.
Removed the rusty shifter. Installed fuel pump. Quite a bit of rust built up. Just used a flathead screwdriver and popped the tab to release the shifter.
Not ideal lighting, but got the wiring harness back plugged and spread out. Side shot of the engine. Obviously it’s awkward with gold paint and indoor lighting.
This might be one of the more random pictures but it makes me happy. This back window was FILTHY. And after I installed the lap cooler, I went through and cleaned all the glass since it’s been just sitting in a field for so long. It makes SUCH a huge difference. Obviously the car is still a bucket and not running, but I felt so much better looking at it with at least looking a bit cleaner. Highly recommend to those of you doing a project like this.
Hey everyone! Just another quick update. Currently working on the getting the engine going and realized I did not put the positive battery cable on when I had the alternator and power steering brackets off. So this was my project this morning before work. Thankfully I loosened the power steering bracket and it moved enough for me to squeeze a 5/8 wrench in there.
Success! Once I tightened everything back up. I took some evapo-rust I got at auto zone yesterday and cracked it open. Pulled the three bolts and two screws from the trunk lock and removed it. It was so rusted that I couldn’t even insert a key inside (make your own joke here). I sealed the lock and mechanism in a Tupperware full of evapo-rust and hopefully by the time I get home it will good as new. Fingers crossed! Progress one day at a time.
Well I ran into a problem and looking for help. Anyone have any experience with trunk locks? The key hole came apart in the evaporust and I’m not sure how to get it back together.
Well I ran into a problem and looking for help. Anyone have any experience with trunk locks? The key hole came apart in the evaporust and I’m not sure how to get it back together.
Ordered a new lock with keys from eBay. Worth $20 and free shipping.
Good morning everyone! Installed my starter this morning. Got it wired and after several curse words, it bolted right up. Can’t wait to get this thing started.
I turn 31 on Saturday and my awesome girlfriend and my best bud went in on some new fenders for the 71! They look amazing and are even primed almost the same color.
Several things checked off the to-do list on my birthday Saturday:
1: Removed the old rear interior panels and installed the new ones along with the cleaned up lower rear interior panels.
2: Once my brother came over to help, we painted my sport steering wheel hub and horn button sienna. Also installed the shifter.
3: Then rktolds arrived and we installed the new steering wheel. Looks amazing!
4: Then we got after the engine (‘64 330 Small block). We primed the engine with oil a couple of days before and installed new spark plugs and spark plug wires. Then installed the voltage regulator, radiator cover plate, ignition coil, battery, and got the horn relay hooked up. After several attempts to get the car at least to connect, we had to call it a day. The keys went into the ignition but we got no response electrically when we turned the car over.
All in all it was a successful couple of days! I have things to work on all while getting the engines electrical systems sorted out. I’ll keep updates coming!
January 24th, 2016, 04:36 PM
. Need to figure out how to pull out the rear upper panels. They feel super snug on there like there is a screw that I'm missing. Pictures would be added but photobucket seems to be screwing up. Does anyone else use a different photo app with an iPhone?
