young olds

Do you know if the weight advantage of aluminum over steel is worth the price and all the riveting? Been looking at the Chris Alstons stuff cause they make pre bent pieces that fit the frame I bought.

67 Cutlass Freak

I look at it this way- if it is riveted in, I can easily remove it if I need to change something. It was really pretty easy to do including the drilling. As far as cost of materials, you need to save the weight everywhere you can. Think about the amount of time it will take to fabricate the pieces. I recommend going with aluminum. If you don't, I think you might regret it later. I painted mine because I heard that it was a pain in the *** to keep it looking clean and shiny.

67 Cutlass Freak

Well guys it's been slow going on my car. I've been working on other peoples heads and helping get a 350 drag motor in a G body, but haven't done much on my own car. My friend CopperCutlass has been plugging away on the body work, but there's not much to show in photos anyway. The good news is I have been able to save up for some finishing parts. I just got the shocks and springs-
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These are single adjustable Strange shocks. The rears went in real easy. I adjusted the spring to get my 14" ride height and I set the dampner to right in the middle.
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Unfortunately I'm having some difficulties with the front installation. these are 600 Lb rated front springs and the established ride height is 14" in the front also. The spring is hitting on the knuckle and upper control arm. The shock was adjusted almost all the way down with only three threads showing. With the lower control arm supported the ride height is correct, but the upper control arm is not level. I believe it should be. I may have too stiff of springs. If the arm was level, there would not be a clearance issue. My chassis builder is coming over sunday to take a look.
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I have ordered the hood and deck lid from VFN. I should see them in six weeks. My chassis guy is going to set me up with the Lexan kit which is actually for a Chevelle. They don't make one for the '67 Cutlass. He is really cool, he said, "pay me when you get the money". I was really hoping to debut this car at Norwalk in a couple weeks, but now I don't think it's going to be possible.

Dave Siltman

That thing ought to run 10.50s like its falling out of a tree!!! Try googling "422 All Stars" and check out my buddy Wayne Shipley's (he and his son do my engines) '66 442. All steel, not a tube car, 455, 4-speed, and it can run 10 teens at will. His car can dip into the nines should he desire, but doesn't have it set on kill. All good parts mind you, but NOT a tube car; I think your estimate is somewhat conservative.
Your car is very, very nice and you should be commended for sticking with it. Many people would have lost interest and bailed out of the project. I really want to see this one finished and hear it run. will there be any dyno figures?

archeryshooter

That car would look so sweet candy purple

Dave Siltman

I'm wondering if your front suspension dilemma will disappear when the weight of the car is on the ground at ride height.

coppercutlass

Mr. Freak I found another color similar to that color I was talking about but this one is a gm . I think it has more of that purple flop on the side view.




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67 Cutlass Freak

I had the weight of the car all supported by the jack under the lower control arm. It was still binding. We have come up with a solution. Kind of sucks, but we are going to have to weld in upper shock mounts that have the locator hole 1/2" further in. I have the passenger side mounts cut off. I will keep you all posted, and photos to come.

74sprint

600 lb springs is a lot even for a a full body street car, you would need 1,200 lbs just to compress those springs 1 inch with loose springs. If there is anyway to return or switch them then wait til the car is finished. You need to weigh the front end of the finished car so you can get the proper springs. On my buddies old car we had 400 lb on the front and 190-210 lb springs on the back depending on the track. This was on a fiberglass & tube chassis 94 Berreta. 2190 lbs all up weight with 1280 lbs on the front which gave 1.5 inch compression, adjusted to 1 inch and the back as solid, springs are tightened up. From what you told and showed us your front end as it is must weigh less than 1,200 lbs which makes sense since you have no front body panels, rad, water and so on, on it yet. On my S&S BBO 74 Ventura I have 500 lb springs and get @2.0 inch compression, that's @2,000 lbs.

I hope this helps.
Ray

67 Cutlass Freak

Well finally got back on this pig, and have made some good progress. It took me three tries, but I finally got the upper shock tabs welded in and located properly. We switched to a 500# spring in the front. The car is back down on all 4 paws. I think that I am going to weld in some limiter straps. I plunked down some more coin, picked up the custom cowl hood, deck lid, and lexan. My good friend Don (80Rocket), set me up with a harness. Now all I need is the Zeus fastener kit and the carb tray, alignment, and I should be ready to hit the track. It's been a long hard road with many bumps, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. I really wanted to have this thing ready for Norwalk, then it was Byron, now it's Cordova. Hell I don't care any more, I'm goin' to Da Grove! should be real soon now. I need to recruit some knuckle heads and get this thing done.
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coppercutlass

Looking good !

67 Cutlass Freak

Pulled it out to do a side job. Just had to snap a couple photos.CIMG4704.jpg
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young olds

looks good, cant wait till mine gets that far. what lenght rear shocks do you have?

CarCrazyChemist

That thing looks sinister, and is giving me some major "motivation" to get back to work on my 67' sedan.
I kind of wish I was still back in the Midwest now...

ROBZ442

That looks bad ***. I need to get back over there and check this thing out sitting on the ground. Great work.

Ranzan

some beach that thing is nasty looking…...

67 Cutlass Freak

Time for an update...
My car was in storage all winter, so I didn't do anything to it. Lately I've been way too busy porting heads, and a few other projects, to spend any time on the race car. Recently a close friend bought an open car hauler trailer for me, and that consumed a lot of my time rebuilding it. A couple friends helped me make some headway. I got the deck lid installed, hood is 75% done, windshield and rear lexan is ready to be fastened in. I'm waiting on some nutserts from the parts store. I picked a color. It's from a 2015 Camry. It's called blue crush metalic. It has a purple flop to it in the right light. We got some stuff edged in yesterday, and I got the windshield brace installed. I'm getting real close now to hitting the track. The to do list is getting shorter. I've got to get the side lexan installed, five point harness is ordered, then I need to haul it to my shop to align it. Right now I need to focus on finishing Milan's heads, which are very close, then I can make some hits. I'm going to take a brake from porting for a while. I have three sets on deck, but I'm getting burnt out. Time to relax a little, and enjoy life. Here's some progress photos.
Enjoy, Dave - The Freak
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oldcutlass

Awesome work.

archeryshooter

Good to see you picked a color looking pretty get that thing done! LOL

67 Cutlass Freak

Car is really close now. I had to take a break from porting heads, and workin' on other folks junk. This lead sled is gonna make a pass really soon. Simpson harness is in, 3/4 of Lexan is done, swapped out the intake for my Victor.
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Ran into a little hood clearance issue with my throttle cable bracket. I had to make a low mount holder from some aluminum stock I had laying around.
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oldcutlass

Whens the big day?

67 Cutlass Freak

today!

67 Cutlass Freak

Well guys the Freakmobile finally made it down the track today. Really felt great. This is my first race car. I have never drag raced anything like this. I sucked at it. I couldn't do a burn out right, I couldn't launch right, I couldn't shift right. I guess I picked the wrong week to quit drinkin'. I've been building this car for more than half my life. I am not a wealthy man, but I have spent a considerable amount of money on this car. My wife and kids hate it, & me. I'm sure they'd love to take a baseball bat to it.
I will try to do a brief recap:
Full Mild Steel tube chassis car built by Alston's Race Cars
All steel body except hood, deck lid, & bumpers
Fab 9" rear with 433 gears
461 CI BB with stock rods, heavy TRW pistons, ported C casting heads, JM25-28 cam, Victor intake with 1050 dominator
Turbo 400 trans, reverse valve body with a brake
I made four passes and they were all messed up. Like I said driver error - big time, but the car went 11.93 @ 114.02 MPH for it's first pass ever, with a very soft launch. Shifter was giving me trouble, and I didn't get a good burn out until the final pass. Car went a best of 11.53 @ 115 MPH, 1.572 60 Ft with me missing the shift. We never changed anything on the car all day except an alignment adjustment. We never changed anything on the chassis or engine. I need to learn how to drive this beast, then I am sure it will be in the tens. Remember this engine was originally built almost twenty years ago with the intent of having a hot street/ strip motor. Joe Mondello helped me a lot with all the dumb questions about porting, and specs. I had no idea I was going to build a full tube chassis car. Had I known that, this thing would have gotten a monster motor. I am happy that I started here, because I am so wet behind the ears. We also got to weigh the car, and the running weight is 2710Lb. Some of you guys may remember a thread a few years back, before the last crash, to guess the weight of my car to win $100. I still have the list of guesses, and will dig it out to declare the winner. Hope they left good contact info.
Eventually I do want to go faster. My goal is 9.50 I know I will need more power to get their, but in the mean time there's a lot to learn about driving, and tuning what I have. I just wanted to say thanks to all of you that have supported me along the way. I have made a lot of good friends from here, and really do enjoy the entertainment. It really feels good to be part of this community, and that I am no longer a bar stool racer. Petty soon I will post up a video.
Thanks again to everyone for your patience with me.
Dave - The Freak
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Oldsmaniac

Awesome!!

Ranzan

awesome Dave Congrats !!! Bet you had a big SH#t eating grin to lol

Magna86

That's awesome! You still went pretty damn fast for not knowing what you were doing. ;-)

archeryshooter

Awesome Dave! I have never done it as well got to be a blast let us know when you are going back and maybe robz and I can come check it out. Have you picked a color out yet?

67 Cutlass Freak

I plan to be back at the track this Friday, the 24th for the Oldsmobile Club of America event. The show is in Milwaukee this year, but the drag race event is going on at Great Lakes Dragaway. Hope to see you guys there.

oldcutlass

Sweet, it's like being newlyweds, you have to get to know all about how she feels and reacts under all conditions.

67 Cutlass Freak

Well guys we had a lot of fun tonight at the OCA race at Great Lakes Dragaway. I went a best time of 11.31 @ 117.41 MPH last night, but the car was having issues. My trans brake button broke, & I was running out of fuel at the big end. Turns out my Auto Meter fuel pressure gauge was reading three pounds higher than the actual pressure. Still learning how to drive. I got the burnout down, and was much better with shifting, just gotta be sharper on the tree, and more consistent with everything. Tonight I won my first round of competition ever. Was beaten by a slower car in the second round by snoozing and spinnin'. Track prep wasn't as good tonight as last night.
There was a lot of really sharp cars there and I finally got to meet some of the guys from here and CO. Everybody welcomed me to the fold. My car was the only one in primer, but I don't think anyone minded.
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Fullsizelover

Some nice pictures there, congrats on almost finishing your car and improving your ET!

Oldsmaniac

cool, Cool, COOL!!

real57vetteguy

Very nice build! I love the suspension setup!

ROBZ442

Congratulations on getting the car to the track thats pretty sweet, especially with what sounds like a fairly easy hit list of adjustments. Any pictures of it at the track? The racing part will come with time, I've got a long ways to go myself. Keep me posted on possible track days. Works been a big fun time killer this summer but hopefully it will get better shortly.

67 Cutlass Freak

Well it's been a while since I've updated you guys on my junk. Last year I made 50 passes. The car went 11.83 on it's first pass and the last pass of the season was 10.77 @ 124 MPH with a 1.42 sixty foot time. My tires were shot. I bought them used, with the rims, many years ago. I borrowed a set from 80Rocket for the last few passes. My biggest gains came from a carb, and converter change. It was also helpful for me to learn how to drive the car. We estimate the car has 475 HP from a pump gas engine, with cast iron heads. I just removed the heads for inspection, and some upgrades. This was the first set I ever ported more than twenty years ago. I think I've learned a little since way back then. We are going to flow them as is first, then I will try to improve them. I'm also planning on milling them .050" and upgrading the cam. With new slicks I'm hoping to get it down to 10.50, but I will need to find an extra 25 ponies. My good friend Ulises is helping me with the body work. I thought that I had it really close, but I was wrong. He works in a body shop, is super meticulous, and patient. Today he sprayed the shell in tinted primer. We are real close now to having it in paint. My car may not be that fast, but at least it will look good. This thread is coming close to an end. Years ago I started documenting my build for you guys. I guess a race car is always going through upgrades, so it's never really finished. Once my car is painted I will post up pics, but after that I'm not going to post in this thread any more. If I make improvements or upgrades I will just start a new thread. Thanks to all of you guys that have given me positive encouragement throughout this build. You know who you are. I have met some of my best friends from this website.
Here's the latest progress. Enjoy, Dave - The Freak
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67 Cutlass Freak

Thought I'd give you guys a little update. Car has been painted. Did it at home in my garage. Turned out pretty nice. We had some water issues on the roof. I borrowed a drier unit to do the hood and deck lid. I'm still working on getting the trim back on it. I took it to the track and made 5 passes all around 10.90 in the heat. Switched to 33" tall slicks. That slowed me down a bit, but the price was right. I think I'm going to switch to 4.56 gear over the winter. Also want to switch out the master cylinder. Other than that I'm just gonna race it like this for a while and save up for a stronger running short block with better components.
Hope to see some of you guys at the time Machine Nationals @ GLD or the BOP race at Byron,
Dave - The freak
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archeryshooter

marxjunk

wow..how did i miss this thread? cool..very cool

oldcutlass

Sweeeeeet! Came out great from the pics.

marxjunk

that green 70 F85 does things to me..my shorts just got tight in the front...