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I have been a huge fan of the site for a long time now and have finally began the frame off resto. The car was originally purchased by my father in 1972 from his future father-in-law. My parents dated in the car (Joe P has already made a few jokes on that one) and had it until my brother was born.
My father passed away when my brother and I were very young and we started to repurchase the car at that time under mom's supervision . About 12 years later we finally got the PO to sell the car back in exceptionally rough shape.
With little resources at the time we fixed some major rust issues in the quarters and rockers, repainted the car, and added a terrible interior kit. The 350 had never been opened up and has about 140k miles so the car basically sat due to not being able to have it built. It then went into storage during my college years as I bought out my brother and mother's interest in the car.
Fast forward...it's time to do it. I had a body shop apprenticeship for a few years in highschool so I have our main body man and painter supervising the build in an old car dealership by the old shop (got it cheaper than a storage unit).
The frame had been repaired twice and since the teardown began we found two more cracks so I found a vert frame from a '69 Cutlass and had a small amount of straightening done to it before blasting and painting it.
1972 Cutlass S in Radiant Green with White vynl top with 350 2brl and TH350. The only thing that has been changed on the car mechanically is a mild shift kit added sometimes in the 80's. It has a white and black interior (had and is not residing in the trash with 8 dead mice...seriously don't store your car in a barn) with the split bench seat.
Planned upgrades for the car...
Chassis/Suspension:
There are huge issues with the frame so this is why I am moving to a vert frame in near perfect condition.
The goal of the car is to have a semi-pro touring car that would be comfortable/reliable on long trips but still down plays the 'gutless cutlass' chants some of us got when we were younger.
-Tall GM Spindles (Looking for recommendations here)
-Tubular A-Arms
-Updated Ball Joints
-etc etc
Engine:
-All Olds
-Potentially Edelbrock Heads
-Alum Intake
-4brl Carb
-Light Cam
-Pistons, Rings, Balanced etc.
-Any header recommendations would be great as I have heard horror stories
Trans:
-Its an auto car now and it will be swapped over and I already have some of the parts. I do know about the crank mods that need to occur.
-WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD 5spd TO GO WITH THIS? I have seen a lot of the forums and I want something that is as 'bolt on and hole cut only' as possible
Gears:
-I believe it has high 2.70s in it now but would like to go to the low 3.0-3.40 with posi...I know nothing about 10 bolts so any guidance would be good.
Interior:
-Looking to update to R134 for the AC and am trying to decide whether to go with replacement parts (this is a factory AC car) or the vintage air route.
-I put a full interior kit in the car and it literally started to fall apart after 6 months of light use so I will either be going with Legendary or a leather interior based on the stock covers and door panels.
Paint:
-I love the radiant green so we are going stock.
-The only thing I cant figure out is some old pics of the car which had a two or three line pinstripe that looked like it ran along the top side portion of the fender into the door but at the front of the fender turned down (they did a terrible job of replicating it after it was painted about 10 years ago). Any info hear would be great put I am guessing the striping was just done at the dealership.
Cool story, will be following along, I just want to add it costs the same to rebuild a 455 as it does a 350 there are not many issues for the swap if you aren't stuck on originality, there is no replacement for displacement and with possible aluminum heads etc might even be the same weight as a stock 350
It's all good Ben, just more issues with putting aluminum heads on a small block ( OK not really a small block but a little shorter block) mine came with a 350 and I have it wrapped up in case I ever sell and someone wants the original motor so I hear you
Here are a few updates for you guys following the build. We now have the car completely torn down and will be taking to get blasted next week. Found some rust issues in the trunk and passenger floor pans but no surprises there. It also looks like when the vinyl was replaced they scratched through the paint with one of the clips which turned into a hole big enough for a screwdriver along the windshield...and an exploding battery which caused a fixable core support hole.
Also found the intact build sheet above the tank which was very cool...I will post some pictures when I have them.
Cool build , I do have a couple of suggestions though if you don't mind.
If you're just going with a mild build , then E-Brock heads are just a waste of money.
A wide ratio (3.40 low) trans with the stock 2.70 rear will give you 4 good dragging gears with 5th as an "overdrive" of sorts.
The factory air is better if it's complete , just new hoses , 134 expansion valve , and a new dryer . Again , Why waste money on vintage air ?
The cost of a genuine leather interior will shock you. And the thing about it is , leather is LESS durable than good vinyl. Just look at a fourty or fifty year old car with leather if you don't believe me . Legendary is the best choice.
Best of luck with saving your "heritage".
Thanks guys - I should have some more pics soon...we did some new things with the interior...real walnut instead of the vinyl and a few other things. Stay tuned.
Thanks guys - I should have some more pics soon...we did some new things with the interior...real walnut instead of the vinyl and a few other things. Stay tuned.
So we were finally able to unveil the car to my mom this weekend which was awesome...the surprise worked well. Still have a lot of loose ends that will take a few weeks to sort but here are a few more pictures.
April 16th, 2014, 11:21 AM
. About 12 years later we finally got the PO to sell the car back in exceptionally rough shape.
and with possible aluminum heads etc might even be the same weight as a stock 350
