Blasze

Hello all,

This is my first post on this forum but I have been a member since 2012. I joined after buying a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass S off of ebay with less than 52,000 original miles on it. I have always wanted to restore a classic car since my days in high school some 25 years ago. Back then I owned a 1978 Trans Am and of course regret selling it. I joined the military after high school and since then I am always moving from base to base. I have never had much time or a place to do a full car restoration. When I saw this Cutlass on ebay i decided it was time for me to finally do something. At this time I have completely restored the car so these first pics are of when i purchased it back in 2010. I will post more pictures of the rebuild process in the coming days.

oldstata

Hello that's a nice car to start with !!

Thanks for your service

Allan R

Welcome 'back' to CO.

First, thank you for your service. Too often the sacrifices of military get taken for granted because of the safe haven people like you provide.

Your 72 looks like it was in great shape for starters. Not an AC car, but that's no big deal. Looking at the interior I get the impression the front seats have cloth?? Not often I see a car with the bumperettes front and rear.

How much of the car's history do you know? Looking forward to the upcoming build pics.

Can you post pics of the VIN and cowl tag? Easy to decode.

oldcutlass

Welcome and x2 on the thank you from 1 vet to another. Looks like you got a pretty solid car for a start on your resto.

j442

Nice car to start your resto from!! Motor size? and carb size? Enjoy the cruising in your Olds!!!!

I salute you for having served and for continuing to serve to uphold freedom and democracy...

don71

Welcome Blasze, I'd like to say thanks also.

Look forward to seeing the pics of your updates. I'm sure you've worked hard to get to this point.

61reoldsman

Hey your car looks like mine or mine looks like yours ?! or are they twins ?

car_designer

Welcome to the forum. Very nice car to start with.

Blasze

VIN# 3G87H2M131684

The car had only one previous owner. It was bought new by an Oldsmobile employee in Michigan. It came with all the original sales paper work and registration history. I believe it was garage kept due the the lack of rubber seal deterioration and body rust.The underbody was well protected by a coating that was made up of a heavy grease. The frame and suspension was not as well preserved. The frame was completely rotted out and the suspension was badly rusted. Both front springs were broken and it had the original shocks still installed. Below are pictures of the rusted frame.

Allan R

Hard to tell there's rot in the frame looking at those pics.
The VIN is easy:
3 - Oldsmobile division
G - Cutlass S
87 - 2 door holiday coupe
H - 2bbl 350 engine
2 - 1972 model production
M - Lansing production
131684 - production sequence at Lansing.

If you check the engine stamping pad on the block it should have 32M131684 stamped into it. Do you know where the stamping pad is? Where is the frame rotted because there's also the same VIN derivative stamping on it too.

The cowl tag will tell you the body number assigned by Fisher, Trim, Original Paint, and Fisher body assembly time date.

Blasze

Its hard to tell from the pics how much rust there truly was. I had to beat the springs out with a sledge hammer after cutting off the upper a arm bolts. The springs were rusted so bad that they broken and I could reach my hand into the frame rails and pull out hand fulls of rusted metal pieces. The frame metal under the body bushings was so thin that they all needed to be cut out and new metal welded in.I wound up cutting the frame up with a torch and buying a 1971 cutlass frame out of a junk yard.It was in much better shape so I sand blasted it and then had it painted with 2 part ceramic epoxy paint. Altogether it cost me an extra 1,500.00 but i feel like i came out way ahead. Below are some pictures of the new frame. Everything except for the rearend, stearing gearbox, transmission cross member, bumber brackets and exhaust are new.

Allan R

So by the looks of it, you're on your way! IMO you did the right thing. Hope it all turns out the way you want.

Blasze

After rebuilding the frame and suspension in May and June of 2012 I was able to get the body work and paint done in September. After the car was sanded down I found out that it had been damaged at some point on the passengers side. Also I had noticed it had been rearended as well and the bumper was pushed into the body some. Below are some pictures of the car as it was being repaired and just after being painted.

Sampson

Welcome back to CO. Great looking project. I look forward to seeing the resto. Looks like you had your work cut out for you on the frame.. Thanks for your service and glad you are now finding some time to knock one off your bucket list

Blasze

I decided that I liked the blue interior and I didnt want to have to replace the door panels, dash and everything else. The blue cloth seats were well worn and they started ripping if you sat on them. The vinyl sides and trim was all still in great condition so i had only the cloth replaced. It was hard to find a fabric that matched the vinly but eventually it all worked out. Check out the pics of the seats below. I just installed them last month after getting them re-upholstered.

oldstata

Looks really nice ! Great job

Blasze

The car is mostly complete now. The only thing that needs replacing is the dash speaker, throttle cable and drivers side arm rest. I do want to update the stereo system from the AM radio and add a few more speakers. Also, its a two barrel 350. I was able to get a factory 4 barrel aluminum intake. I'm not sure what year or engine size it came from but I know it will fit. Now all i need is a quadrajet and I will be installing it on the Cutlass. The rally wheels on it now are 14", my brother in law has a set of 15" rally but they are gonna need some sand blasting and powder coating. I want the car to look as original as possible. Here are my most current pics of the car.

Fun71

Personally, I would not bother with the dash speaker as you will never get stereo sound out of it, even with the aftermarket dual 4" speaker setup. On my '71 convertible I installed a set of kick panel speakers and am very pleased with them. Add some good 6x9s in back and it will sound great.

car_designer

Blasze, the car looks great.

1971cutlas

Very nice job .I am currently woking on my 71 cutlass s ,
What color blue is yours,and paint code. Also , base /clear ,or urethane.
and brand of paint .

My was originally code 24 nordic blue!!

Blasze

Mine is code 24 Nordic blue as well. I used DuPont base and clear.

I am not a body work person. I want to eventually learn , especially welding in body parts. I have a 69 Fury III 2 door that needs a new trunk pan.

I had body shop do the body work and paint the car.

impala273

Hey Blazie: Thanks for your sacrifice and commitment to our country. Your 72 looks very nice. I own the same year,model,color ect. Nice to see what mine could look like. Thanks again, Greg

Blasze

Thanks everyone for the comments and support.

I am almost finished with the restoration, for now. It wasnt cheap or easy, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I was able to get a set of 15" factory wheels from my brother-in-law. They are at the powder coaters now. The 14" wheels that are on it now are grey. I liked the look so I had the 15" done in the same color.

Here are a picture of the wheels before the coating. They are supposed to be done next week, then I will get some tires, have them put on and post some pics.

Blasze

Well I got the wheels back today and had them installed this afternoon. The 15" wheels and 60 series tires really help to fill up the fender wheels. Almost have the whole thing completed.

jj1965

Good looking car, I second the kick panels they sound and look good.