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The beginning of a long journey, after 30 years of being left to rot away I made my dream come true by starting the frame off restoration process today and dropping it off at the bodyshop, wish me luck!
1974 442 and Hurst/Olds use the base AF Cutlass header panel, headlights and front lower bumper. S and Supreme are different.
1974 442 and Hurst/Olds share grilles and hoods.
The rest of the sheetmetal and drivetrain is the same as any other 1974 A37 Cutlass.
Weatherstripping, body glass and door window sweeps are common to all 73-77 GM A-body cars of same bodystyle. Same for carpets and lower hard plastic inside door panels.
Did you get the 1974 factory Chassis Service and Fisher Body manuals yet? You need them. An assembly manual would be good to have too. Easy to find online. ORIGINAL PAPER COPIES ONLY, NO PDF, CD-ROM OR REPRINTS.
Last edited by rocketraider; Nov 3, 2023 at 11:45 AM.
But you don't need to go too far, especially if it's a 455. With that displacement a few simple tweaks can wake it up nicely.
Best of luck. I love that generation of colonnade cars and you sure don't see them around too much anymore.
This car is actually a 455 with some nice options to it. This car was owned by my grandfather who was a GM mechanic and has a huge sentimental value in our family. What do you recommend to do for the engine to get some more power?
Since it is a 455, I would start with W/Z manifolds or a good set of headers and dual exhaust. You will probably need a 74 or earlier crossmember for the duals. Then a good tune-up and see how it runs. That is about all I have done to my 75. After that if you want more performance, change the rear gears. It probably has 2:73 gears which are highway gears. You will sacrifice some mileage though. This is going to make a nice car. Keep us posted as you progress. It is good to see another Colonnade car on here.
Since it is a 455, I would start with W/Z manifolds or a good set of headers and dual exhaust. You will probably need a 74 or earlier crossmember for the duals. Then a good tune-up and see how it runs. That is about all I have done to my 75. After that if you want more performance, change the rear gears. It probably has 2:73 gears which are highway gears. You will sacrifice some mileage though. This is going to make a nice car. Keep us posted as you progress. It is good to see another Colonnade car on here.
Nice H/O you have here, I thought about thornton manifolds or hooker headers but I don’t want to it to sound too loud. I’m gonna have to check the gears and dual exhaust once we raise the car. It is has a reef turquoise color code 36a, console with swivel buckets, white vinyl interior with nero knit, white vinyl top. Is there a need to change the J heads? Its gonna cost me a good sum to get them shipped to where I am.
I still have the J Heads on my 75. The manifolds or headers won't change the sound very much. Mufflers are what control most of the sound. I have Dynomax Super Turbos on my car and they are probably the favorite muffler of folks on here. I also used and H pipe. Gears are something you can do at a later date. You might be please with a good set of duals and a good tune-up. I really like the color of this car.
Dual exhaust was standard on 1974 Cutlass with 455 and this car should have the dual exhaust manifolds.
Your call on whether you want the aggravation of headers. I'm more inclined to keep the factory manifolds with 2.25" pipes and nice low-restriction mufflers. Headers are a PITA to install and to live with.
The Js are not as horrible as they're made out to be. No they do not flow as well as a C, which is realistically your only affordable option (and you have to watch out for small-valve versions of those), but a little port and polish work can make them flow pretty well. Any 1971-later head will need the EGR bumps ground down anyway.
Aftermarket heads often create accessory bracket mounting problems.
Dual exhaust was standard on 1974 Cutlass with 455 and this car should have the dual exhaust manifolds.
Your call on whether you want the aggravation of headers. I'm more inclined to keep the factory manifolds with 2.25" pipes and nice low-restriction mufflers. Headers are a PITA to install and to live with.
The Js are not as horrible as they're made out to be. No they do not flow as well as a C, which is realistically your only affordable option (and you have to watch out for small-valve versions of those), but a little port and polish work can make them flow pretty well. Any 1971-later head will need the EGR bumps ground down anyway.
Aftermarket heads often create accessory bracket mounting problems.
It does have dual exhaust, I might wait until the car is done and see how it drives before changing anything. Someone also recommended the Dynomax Super Turbo mufflers.
Last edited by Andrew Anatian; Nov 4, 2023 at 10:15 AM.
