Allan R

After looking at the sway bar closely, I decided it was too shiny even with the satin clear I put over top. So I scuffed it down and re-sprayed it with satin black. Hmmm, for some reason the satin finishes are turning out a little more shiny than I want. Oh well, enough time spent on painting this thing. Thanks to some quick drying enamel ( I cheated and used engine black - fast cure) the sway bar was dry in about 15 minutes. I put it out in the sun for an hour to 'bake' a little. By the time I was ready to work with it, the paint was nice and hard.

First thing was to get the car up on jacks again and take off the wheels. I don't like leaving them hanging on the suspension for a long time and I'm going to be busy under the car for a bit.

One thing I found is that the differential being back in DOES tend to limit the space I had last fall working under there. SAD face - I found a drip of gear oil from the front pinion seal. Those lousy buggers at AD are going to fix this (again) soon as the car is operational.

Good news! The sway bar popped into place nicely with very little effort. I used all new sway bar bolts and shims to install it. The bolts are Gr 6 by the look of them and they are the after market thread lock nuts. One washer on each side of the control arm.

Once the bar was loosely in place I put my 3 ton under the pumpkin and lifted the suspension to ride height. Then I tightened the nuts to 50 ft lbs as the CSM says to. There was about a 1/4" gap between the sway bar and the bottom of the carrier while the bar was being torqued. I noticed that when I lowered the jack, the bar looks like it touches the bottom of the diff

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The sway bar installation kit came with 4 shims. I used all 4 of them - 2 per side and the bar fits - well - it fits perfectly. Just like OEM parts are supposed to. You can see the shims behind the bar in these pics. What I also found interesting is the kit included 4 spacers to install between the channels of a non boxed control arm. Don't know how well that works since I had my OEM CA's boxed. If you're looking for decent inserts? Check with Eric Jensen (jensenracing77). He sold me the ones I installed and they fit with minimal tweaking. Price was really decent too.

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Hmmm, CO isn't letting me upload any pics. So I'll do it another way

So now this stage of my FE2 suspension (and more) is complete. Looks good from behind now too. The parts that you can't see are the body braces. I put them in even though they weren't specifically part of a 350 equipped Cutlass. I'm betting they will really smarten up that rear end for handling. Not that I'm going to abuse this car (much).

IMG_3210_zpsa8cf48de.jpg

Now it's on to getting those pesky brake lines and center hose done! Once they are in place it won't take long to install the tank, fuel/vent lines and
rear bumper.
.

sammy

Looks great Allan......!
A friend of mine got tired of the shiny paints and used flat stove paint in the engine compartment and rearend components.....it actully looks pretty good....do not know how long it will last, and it is certainly dull....

Ted

DENT

Very nice work.

Sampson

X2 Allan it is looking really nice. I have been having the same issues with the semi`s and satins being a little too glossy. I think I have purchased every brand in every degree of Gloss. I recently tried the Krylon on the left on my Radiator Support and found it is a little less glossy than Satin on the right. The Krylon on the left is very close to Eastwood`s Under Hood Black and the Rustoleum on the right is very very close to Eastwood`s Extreame Chassis Black. Keep up the good work

Allan R

Thanks Steve. I've been looking for that Krylon Rust Tough up here for a long time but can't find it. It was also recommended by a very good friend who used it on his car. I've asked whether I can get it shipped up, but the suppliers just laugh when I ask.

Sampson

I got this at Advance Auto. Not sure if you guys have any of those up your way or not.

Allan R

In Canada there may be some Advance stores in the East, but out west they go by PartSource, an affiliate of Canadian Tire. I also source out some parts to NAPA because I can get a really good corporate discount there.

car_designer

Allan, no Advance Auto in Ontario that I know of. There are just the other side of the border though

Sampson

Just say the word and I will throw a couple cans in a box and send um to ya

oldcutlass

You'd think they could order it for you by the case of 6 or 12.

Allan R

You know what's going to happen now don't you? I'm supposedly finished monkeying around with the rear suspension because I've got it all installed, right? Yeah right....

One of the last things I installed as the snow was starting to fly was the rear brakes. All new parts and MOST of them fit not badly. Really, how hard is it to screw up brake shoes, springs, star adjuster etc? Well it turns out that the rear e brake cables aren't the same length or design as the OEM ones I took out. I suppose I could just tweak the equalizer on the intermediate cable to take up the slack, but the more I looked at the reproduced rear e brake cables, the less I liked them.

Sure there are some pluses:
* They are new
* The cables are coated with rubber compound so they won't rust
* The rubber isolators on the cable are oversized to prevent wear on the cable or control arm surface

But there are some down sides too:
* They are not the same design as OEM
* They are slightly different lengths
* The backing plate locking assembly is incredibly weak and is not buffered like the OEM ones
* The cable is smaller diameter and material than OEM

What's a guy to do?? I'll tell you - RESTORE the OEM ones!!

So I dug out my old cables (guess you could call me a bit of a hoarder) and had a look at them. I can sum them up in one word: UGLY. Those of you who have been following this thread know about my new big boy sand blaster and workhorse compressor. The blaster is easily large enough with room to spare to put those cables in and blast away. So here's the process.

This is what the cables looked like before blasting


Well, I know that's not the easiest to see, but I can't go back in time and retake the picture. Here's a couple more of the ends (sorry one is blurry but you get the idea) and you can easily see there is a lot of crud build up on the cable - it's that ugly black undercoating that was all over the bottom of the car


And rusty looking...



The 2 rubber isolators protecting the cables were both badly worn and brittle. Both had allowed water to penetrate to the casing and it was nasty looking under there. One of the isolators was rubbed completely through

Allan R

This undercoating stuff is unbelievable. It's baked onto those cables like no tomorrow. First thing to do was change grit in the blaster. I upped it to 30=60 glass beads. I like the glass better than oxide because it leaves the surfaces in more of a natural finish. Glass (30-60) is just as effective as an oxide FYI. After about 10 minutes on each cable they came out looking a lot cleaner.



This is only step one. Next I took 100 sandpaper and went over the entire cable sheathing to smooth down some of the scaly looking parts. Then repeat the process with 220 grit sandpaper and blow it clean with compressed air.

Dump the media from the blaster and put in 120-150 glass beads. The reblast the cable assembly. I also spent more time on the springs and cable itself. The result was a very nice looking finish that might have been 'ok'. But I had a vision for these parts.

Next I taped off the rubber parts and both ends of the cable and cable stops. Spend some time with the prep work - it pays off in the end. The end of the cable that fits into the backing plate took a good 5 minutes to get everything just right there. Shoot with a coat of high heat aluminum paint to simulate the casing on the cable and you end up with this:



After the paint has dried, shoot it with a coat of clear. I did it this way to give some extra protection to the brighter finish. The cable still has incredible flex (as new).

Now it's time to replace the missing rubber isolator on the cable. Turns out that the cable is 3/8" OD. That means a 3/8" rubber fuel hose is the perfect piece to install. I cut some pieces just a bit bigger than the original isolators. The fuel hose will be curved from being coiled in a spool, so it's going to fit really nice.



Install the fuel hoses onto the cables and position them accordingly. Now strip off the tape from the ends of the cable. This was covering the rubber parts and the cable/springs. Shoot that area with clear. It will turn the cable, cable stop and springs a slightly darker color, but it will be original metal coloring. This is what you should have now:



The last step in the process is 'optional' for you, but it will leave the cables looking very original. Cut some 3/4" shrink tube to the same length as the fuel hoses. Slip the shrink tube over the end that will connect to the c clip connector and intermediate cable. Then use a hair dryer or heat gun and shrink it to fit. If you find the result is not dark enough, tape off the cable and spray the shrink wrap with some black vinyl dye. When it's dry it will look like brand new fresh rubber.

The shrink wrap will provide the fuel hose with clamping pressure so it can't come off the cable.

EDIT: My bad. I want to give credit where it's due. The idea of the shrink wrap is not mine - it came from a great friend of mine who lurks on this site as 69442C. Thank you Brian! Your encouragement and dedication to excellence are very inspiring.

Allan R

Here are the little details of WHY I did this.

First - here are the OEM connections that go to the control arm. Note the design of the rubber bushing, metal fittings and the length of the cable.


This is what the aftermarket reproduction looks like. It will work, but if you've got OEM and it's restored to new condition? No brainer - use it!



The cable isolators on the new cable are loose fitting pieces of rubber. They WILL move quite easily and they are smaller, large diameter overall. Easy to spot as aftermarket. Oh, one more thing. The metal connectors on the new cable are also very flimsy material and will not likely stand the test of time. One thing I DO LIKE about the reproductions is the complete rubber encapsulation of the cable casing. That should be standard with all undercarriage parts like this that are subject to corrosion.


The backing plate retainer fingers are MUCH stronger and beefier than the aftermarket unit, and there is a rubber isolator between the backing plate and retainer. This is NOT on the aftermarket cables. The result of the OEM will be a tight seal against moisture, and better protection against wear from metal on metal. The cable / springs on the OEM cables are heavier and I'm guessing stronger than aftermarket.



Well this picture just sucks doesn't it? I tried to get a clear picture showing how badly and loose fitting the repro retainer is in the backing plate. Sorry bout dat! Trust me, the fit sucks as bad as this picture

JCMC64

I like the ****-ness!!! A very recognizable affliction...

What brand repops are these? Auto stores?

One of the several Im looking at is the inline tube OEM stainless version. This (e-brakes) is the last thing mechanical/ underbody I got left to do.

Allan R

Jim, they are actually the ones from ILT. Like I said, they will work and have some nice features, but I like the OEM ones better especially when it comes to fitting, holding into the backing plate and looks. I'm also re-using the OEM intermediate cable, connectors, hangers and equalizer - just cleaned up. IDK that stainless is going to give any better service than a regular cable. Just shoot it with clear and it should last longer than you will . There was almost NO deterioration on my OEM cable - it was just dirty.

kitfoxdave

When I replaced mine with stainless, there were some broken strands on the original cables.

Allan R

Some minor stuff today.
1. Straighten the new brake line from ILT (runs from proportioning valve to rear center brake hose. This was surprisingly easier than I thought. Pretty close to straight now.
2. Check fitment of brake lines against OEM's. Looks like the rear of the main line might need some tweaking.
3. Blast the fuel tank strap clips and screws.
4. Blast and clear the fuel door.

I'm going to need some plugs for the MC when I disconnect the brake lines. Need to source out where to get those. Don't want to take the MC off the car if I don't have to. And when I take off the lines, I don't want brake fluid dripping everywhere on my newly painted frame. I'll get some pics later.

Need to address that leak on the differential cover - the gear oil is really stinking up the garage. Man, Pepe le pew would be proud!

oldcutlass

I just can't express an opinion better than this...x2.

jensenracing77

for plugs for the master cylinder, I just use the ends of old lines I cut off. I will kink them over real good and smash them tight. I will leave them long enough to kink them two times just to be sure. Then just use them as a plug.

looks great.

Sampson

Alan the cables look great. Just an FYI those backing plate grommets are p/n ec009 from ILT and will make your cables fit great. I ended up restoring my originals as well. The rubber grommets were badly deteriorated and I found electrical grommets like what is on the firewall and they fit perfect too. One issue I had with clear coating on mine started to peel off after a couple of weeks. Parts were very clean. Restriped and painted with regular paint with no problems? I have had this issue with clear on other parts like the backing plates for the front discs and master cyl power booster.

TripDeuces

Just found this thread, go for it Allan!

Allan R

Now ya tell me! I think those should come standard with these cables instead of finding out after the fact. I wasn't happy with the very loose fitment of the cable into the backing plate at all. For the price of the cables, I really expected them to be heavier duty. Sooo, ya wanna buy another set of ILT cables????

Steve, I only cleared this to give it some extra protection against any elements the car may encounter when it's back up and running. I don't clear things like discs or backing plates, MC or Brake Booster. The discs and backing plates on my car got high heat paint only. The MC was already factory powder coated, and the BB is a new Delco Moraine (stamped) that is cad plated. No clearing required on any of this.

You know I'm gonna! I know everyone else is going to laugh at this next comment... It should be back together and running well before the snow flies....buwhahahahahahahahah....

Thanks Eric. I've had a chance to share info with Jim and he's also got the bug. Only thing is he lives in FL so he can work pretty much all year on his beast!

I only wish. I don't have spares, and I don't want to have fluid dripping. I'm sure I can get those plugs at one of the automotive stores close by. That will also save some space...and sharp edges? You know what I mean. The hood is staying on the car during the brake line transplant. Only advantage is I still have the inner fender liners out on the front and that makes a huge difference for accessibility.

Allan R

Okey dokey.
First off here's the pics of the new brake lines. I already have the 2 new ones in on top of the differential. So what's left is the main line to the back, both feeds from the MC to the prop valve, and the 2 lines from the prop valve to the front discs. The front discs will be a breeze because I already took them apart to do the front end rebuild. The car is high enough off the ground (well it might have to go just a tad higher to clear the radial tire bulge on my centerline.. but the clips that hold these lines are all easy enough to get to.

The one clip that I really don't like is the one at the back of the car that holds the main brake line out about 1" from the frame rail. I might have to rethink how that gets fastened back in because that clip is fastened from the top and I'm not going to try undoing the body puck bolts and wedge the body up off the frame like Jim did.

On a dry fit, the back end where that reversal on the line is? Doesn't look like it will fit properly. So I need the old one out first to use as a template to match the bends



Well for some really stupid reason, last year I ordered the wrong fuel sender. The one I got has a return line. It would cost more to send back than it's worth, so I blocked the return line (crushed and soldered the inside solid). The rest of the sender looks identical - EXCEPT the ground wire take off and the float.

Noted that the OEM sender has the float on the right side and has a 17 1/2" ground wire that feeds directly toward the front of the car. The new sender ground takes off from the back of the sender and has to make a corner to go forward. I didn't like that for 2 reasons.
1. The wire will end up being too short
2. The curve puts the wire close to sharp raw metal on the locking ring.





I decided to remove the OEM ground wire from the OEM sender and solder it to the new sender. That meant removing the new sender wire, which I thought was pretty weak and the fastening ring was thin too. The new sender now has the OEM ground wire and it's facing the right direction.



I popped this assembly into the new GM34R tank and fastened it down. The soldered wire popped right off. SOB!! I will re attach it tomorrow. I think the plating on the sender didn't give it good adhesion even with flux. So the plan is to make it fool proof. I'll drill the tab with a 1/8" drill, loop the wire through, flux and solder. It should hold tight that way!

Lessee if this will work on an edit..The old rusty and cruddy ground cleaned up and ready to attach to the new sender. Much heavier construction that the aftermarket stuff.

Allan R

Last year the strap got done and refinished but the bolts didn't. They cleaned up really nicely in the blaster. This is unfinished - straight out of 120 grit glass. I'll probably shoot them with some cast colored paint for corrosion protection. Notice the long collar on the fuel tank bolts for the rear of the car! They are special bolts. Yes you can replace them with anything that works, but I want to keep it as correct as possible.

Before:




After:




The long tank bolts got a coating of anti seize (like I'm ever going to take this tank out again...) The clips with the nut are actually broken. I need to tack weld the nuts back to the clip. The tack broke when I was removing the long strap bolt last year so I had to use a wrench on the top to hold it while removing it. That was all before I had that brute of a compressor that will power the air tools without stopping for a breather.

Allan R

I do.
Mine was 41 years old and showing it's age.




Right after these pictures, I popped the old plastic screw retainers out with a hammer. They'll get replaced with new ones that aren't so brittle. Hmmm, Jim? You want ****? I also did the screws that hold the license plate....

Into the magic morphing sand blaster and it cleaned up very nicely.

I carefully taped off the springs and painted both sides. The color looks really close to what I wanted. When the paint had cured, I removed the tape from the springs and then shot the whole thing with clear. The springs look like new and the clear will add a bit of protection to any fuel that drips while refuelling.




I know all these items are little piddly things, but when it goes back together it's going to look awfully good. And if I didn't do this now, I just know that I would end up taking it apart and fixing it right anyway.

Hmmm, I really am curious to see how the jack is going to turn out. I'll save that for another day.

JCMC64

Thats my boy!!

If you wanna know the truth, I either refurbished every bolt, screw , or nut I touched or replace them with near identical era correct ones. This is one of my biggest pet peeves... just can't help myself! I would search the web until I found the right ones, even if they were used, if I couldn't find new ones. Id clean them up and restore them with the black metal oxide kit I use.

( I also lucked out and found two Cutlass's in the junk yard
And got tons of stuff off both of them, Including a lot of knick knack bolts I was still missing.)

But on things like you're License plate/ stuff exposed to weather, I just powder coated
it all. I use a company that has a $85 minimum where you can get a bucket load done up to that minimum. Though I started out painting most of the stuff myself, I quickly found out that it was no where near as durable as powder coating. You take all that time to do it right, and then one little nick or mistake with the wrench or screwdriver... and there goes your nice paintjob. So I quickly switched to powder coating on good chunk of it all which is like concrete. But there was still a learning curve with powder coating.... when was it economically feasible, when to use Heat p/c vs cost, etc. When it really comes down to it, I will be so much better prepared next time as this car was a total learning experience in how to take everything up a notch in quality while still on a stiff budget.

JCMC64

Btw -- how hard was it getting that 3/8s fuel line on the e-brake cable? You didn't have any issues getting it up over the ends of the housing at the wider metal portions?... cause I really like that idea when it comes time to do mine.

The ILT ones I'm looking at look just like the OEM ones, and do not have the rubber cable housing, But are rather Stainless housings. This did irritate me to hear the ILT versions were inferior. Mine origs are way to shot to restore-but I got my cutlass in the junk yard if need be...

kitfoxdave

I had to heat up a 1/2 inch wrench and bend it in 2 directions to get the bolt off the clip just forward of the axle on the fuel lines... The body mounts needed to be replaced anyway... MAW! made it easier to feed the fuel line and brake line back in... just sayin' (does this make it a "frame off"?) Good luck Allen! Looks amazing!

Allan R

Jim, I split the fuel line right down the middle of the inner curve and it went over the cable. There's no way on this green earth you'll stretch a 3/8" ID fuel hose over those fittings. Once it's in place the gap literally disappears, and as I said, a 3/4" shrink tube will fit over the fittings easily, then shrink it down over the fuel line.

Dave, my fuel lines are ok. No plan to replace them. Just the one brake line clip that's giving me some issues. I don't want to even touch the body puck bolts because if I do, you know darn well I'll want to lift the whole body off the chassis and I have to draw the line somewhere.

JCMC64

Lift the body off...lift the body off!! Those old rotting body bushings...what are you thinking? Then there is the rust hiding on the frame....hehehe :-)

Allan R

putting my hands over my ears and (like Eddie Murphy on BH Cop) LA LA LA LA LA LA - Jim's talking LA LA LA..... Man, you sound like the old Dark Lord - Master Robb Young!!

The body pucks are just fine - they told me so Frame rust?? Nope, God I hope not. But you know one of these years I might just do it because I'm not doing it now? Then I'll go crazy with the detail stickers and new lines, pucks and bolts I can't reach now. I also need a bigger garage to make this happen.

Allan R

Nope, not gonna. The plan is to have it running before late summer. The other part of doing the little things now is it will make my job of assembly smoother and faster.

Yesterday was a bit of set back. The unloader line on my compressor blew out so I spent the morning today getting replacement parts from PA. No charge - that was good. Honest to God I think this compressor is cursed. Well at least it's up and running again now with metal lines instead of that nylon 1/4" flex line. Ran it through a test cycle and it appears to be doing well.

I finally found a source for the Krylon Rust Tough black paint - Gregg's distributors sells it in the "industrial strength" size. What ever industrial strength means I have no idea. I also found a nice product for restoring plastic parts to original condition. I'm going to test it on the front inner liners.

Picked up the 3/4" shrink wrap at Dash Distributors on the way to PA. That stuff is pricey - 10 bucks for a 3 foot section. LOL if I had bought the stuff with glue on the inside it was 17 bucks for the same length. I'll do the e brake cables and post a pic later so you can see how it looks.

TripDeuces

"I know all these items are little piddly things....................."

Piddly things add up, looks great. Love your attention to detail.

scooter123

Nice work Al

DENT

Very nice work Allan, as always.

JCMC64

Wimp!! Scaredy cat...

Btw...the rust I was mentioning on the frame is under the hockey pucks as you call them. The rubber traps the water, then eats away. I would definitely address the situation before your frame cracks in half...! (hehe...so evil!)

x2 on piddly things and nice work. Separates the men from the boys!!

Allan R

Ok, today was a little lean on time to work on the Olds, but here's what got done. Still have to upload pics and my camera is giving me some hassles with the flash drive.

1. Had to go to 3 different auto repair shops to find some Master Cylinder plugs so I don't have to drain it and re-bleed it. Got the plugs installed and made sure to catch all the drippings so nothing's on the new frame paint. What a shocker, I went to 4 major parts suppliers and NO ONE has these plugs. So if you ever replace your MC? DON'T throw out those plugs, you never know when you'll need them. If you're lucky you'll be able to pick them up from a mechanics junk drawer like I did.

2. Disconnect all the frame mount brackets for the brake line (there are 4 that are really easy to get - 1 that isn't) 1/2" self tapping bolts. They and the mounting brackets will be reconditioned and installed with the new brake line.

3. Curse and swear at the rear center brake hose fitting attached to the brake line for a good bit of time. After a while I found that the brake line had kinked with all the torque being applied so I just said 'nuts!' and decided to cut the brake line at the fitting. Seemed like the logical thing to do since I'm putting a new one in anyway. I took that old brake hose and brake line and put them into my vise. Then I cranked on that fitting to see if it would come loose. Probably around 80 ft/lbs and it snapped loose. I couldn't get anywhere near that kind of torque on it from where I was lying under the car. And yes, last year I used heat on it to no avail.

4. The connections to the proportioning valve are easy to get to and the fittings popped loose with a quick snap of the box end wrench. I left everything intact for now. The plan is to remove the Proportioning valve, plug all the holes, protect the sender and blast it back to original brass color. While the connections are still protected, I'll shoot it with some clear.

5. I still have to figure out how to cut that one bracket by the control arm, and then the brake lines will be a clear sailing install. I might have to do a little cleaning on the bottom of the engine cradle when I do the brake lines to the disc hoses. Like that's a surprise.

While I'm there I was thinking it might be a good idea to drop the starter, clean it up and check its bushings and brushes....can you see it coming???

kitfoxdave

It is just so much easier to clean the frame and firewall with the engine compartment gutted! MAW!

Been there, done that! The good news is that the firewall did not need to be painted, there was enough crud on it to protect it all those years!

Allan R

Dave, the engine compartment will get detailed when the engine and tranny get pulled. Not this year though. I really want to get it up and running. Glad your project is working out well too. It's amazing how much work looks really intimidating until you put your mind to it and git'r done. Mindset is everything.

kitfoxdave

Funny you should mention mindset! My mind has been blown trying to figure out the wiring harness installation!!!! I have spent 4 hours just today going thru the wiring diagrams and assembly manual.... I think I may have the engine compartment and trunk FINALLY figured out... Oh and there is a harness I forgot to order as well!
I love watching your progress! you are so meticulous with everything. I am a little less picky on the frame painting and such... the bolts, well if the originals are not in good condition, or grade 8, then I tend to use Stainless instead of the originals... I don't want to do this for another 30 years! (my new grandson can worry about it!)