pcard

Hello All. Rob has talked me into posting my restoration blog on CO so other members can review and comment.
I will try to input a bit every day, so here goes.

Introduction

In the early 70s I was dating a girl who had a Cutlass Supreme convertible. My girl’s sister crashed the car sometime after we broke up.
I think of the car often and this year I decided to do some research to see if my memories of the details were accurate. Little did I know that the 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Oldsmobiles in general, have a bit of a cult following. Nor did I realize that the car I remembered, a 1970 Cutlass SX, is now considered an iconic muscle car.
In doing my research I began to wonder if I could buy one and have it restored close to my girl's original. My wife began asking me why I was on the Internet so much and I had to confess. I guess she was so relieved that I was not engaged in virtual dating that she told me to go ahead and buy one. Life is short.
By coincidence, that week I watched a show on TV about car restoration and they featured Fred Mandrick in Arizona who loves Cutlass 442s. I emailed him and he referred me to Gary Riley of Level One Restoration in Denver. I emailed Gary and he called me a few days later, saying that he thought my story was really interesting and he would love to help me with the project.
Gary is a straight up, wonderful guy, and I trusted him within the first 5 minutes of picking up the phone. Up until that point I was still just feeling my way around the idea for the car, but it was when he called and I spoke with him that I realized that this was no longer a game, and if I pursued it any further then I had to be serious or tell him I was just fishing. At that moment I made the commitment.
What happened afterwards is documented here.
Thanks for your interest.

pcard

I did not put this into the blog since I thought it would not be of interest to my "regular" friends.
In January of 2011, when I started my search I was aa complete novice when it came to The Cutlass. In fact I knew very little about Amercican cars, and I could not have told you the difference between a Buik, Pontiac, Olds or Chevy.
Looking at Autabuy, Car on Line, Lemon Tree, eBay, Wikipedia was all new to me. I must have viewed hundreds of cars, many multpile times, learning the distinguishing features. I soon graduated to 442.com and Wild About Cars. I found Classic Olds and Real Olds Power. All of these were great sources of information to help confirm what it was I was loooking at, and help me decide the best candidates for purchase.
The also guided me on pricing, and I think I got a good deal, but probably paid too much.
The next post will describe my purchase.

pcard

After researching on the web I became a bit of a technical expert on the 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass Convertible SX. There are some fantastic resources and archives, as well as a great forum for Oldsmobile. Learning the details of the car gave me some insight on what to look for, and to look out for, when evaluating the cars for sale on the web. I also had alot of help from Gary Riley, who was able to spot things very quickly from some pretty poor photos.
The first car I actually went to look at was in Manchester New Hampshire, and my friend John and I drove up to see it. It was not an SX. It was a two barrel 350, in good shape, but the price was too high.
I spoke with a number of other sellers, and the second car I saw was in Chicago. This was an SX. It did not have AC, nor bucket seats, but it looked interesting. It was advertised as a W32 option. Gary flew out to Chicago and met me there and after spending a morning going over the car we decided that it was not a W32 but an L31 engine. More torque less horsepower. In many ways this was more interesting to me since I want to drive it, not race it. In addition, any car we bought was going to have the engine rebuilt and I could put any cam I wanted on it. The price had already been negotiated, and we decided it was a good deal. I bought the car and Gary helped me make arrangements to ship it to Denver. Three weeks later it arrived at his shop.

Funkwagon455

A very nice story to introduce the restoration and acquisition of your SX. Thanks for taking the time to share the adventure and please continue to keep us updated on it's progress. After 17 years, I sold my unrestored '70 SX coupe last fall in lieu of buying a '70 SX convertible, but alas the '40 Series 90 Coupe that I'd been searching for for years became available instead. I hold a very special place for these cars with their great styling, power, and the overall good feeling that they inspire when you drive them...., and they are meant for driving and enjoying!!

stevengerard

nice car - nice color

pcard

It is now the fall, and Gary has been able to begin work on the car. Here is a photo after one week. I will be going out to Denver in a couple of weeks and learn about all the stories and problems that have arisen.

vette442

Nice SX and color combo. Hope to cross paths with you on sx455.com sometime as well as here. Do you have your car registered yet?
Terry

Chumley

I had a '70 SX back in the day. However I'm a little unclear as to the W-32 option. What exactly did it include? Chumley

1969w3155

I It was the 365 h.p. engine, same as the 442.

ent72olds

Level One is about as good as it gets with these cars! If I remember correctly, Gary did leepear's '70 w-30 convertible! I had the pleasure of seeing this car first hand at Reno, and it was second to none. Gary is usually at each Nat's(at least when I've been there) and has examples of Level One's work there.

1969w3155

pcard: both the L31 and W32 had the same torque rating, 500lb ft. I see no reason to go the 2:78 rear, convert the 3:08's to posi.

pcard

Gary and his crew pulled out the big guns in late November to take almost every nut and bolt off the car. There were no major problems found thankfully; only a rusted out radiator support and a cracked exhast manifold were worth noting. The windshield was original, see the bead of cloth tape in the photo. The car was very straight, and aside form the driver door all the panels were original.
The engine and transmission are being sent out for rebuilding, with stock specs being the goal.
Some minor metal work was needed around the windshield, the trunk lid and fenders.
The car was taken off the frame and sent for media blasting which took a week or so. On return, new body mounts put on and the body reinstalled for filling.

pcard

Hey Chumley, attached is some info on the SX engine options for 1970, 1971.

The L33 Engine was originaly designated for the SX but in February 1970 this was changed to the L31 engine. Lots of torque, 510 ftlbs at 3000 rpm, same HP as the W32 at a lower RPM.

I have taken grief from a number of people about going to 2.78 gears: Gary and Brian to name two. I know the standard gearing for the L33 was 2.56, for the W32 and L31 was 3.08. But I am putting a shorter tire on the car, so I figure it will be ok. Hey, if it moves like a slug then I will put the 3.08 gears back in.

pcard

Hey Eric Ent72Olds, I am hoping to be at the Nationals this year, but there may be two conflicts, one for Gary with another major non olds event that week, and me with The Tall Ships Race in Newport - I have been told by she who must be obeyed that my participation is required; still trying to work out a compromise on that one.

Allan R

I love what you're doing with the car! It's nice when you have something that solid and straight to start with. Had to laugh at your story; especially about your wife's worry about on line dating! Kind of had to wonder though about what kind of hot chick your old girlfriend must have been to have a 70 Olds vert! Glad you remembered more about the car than her.....yeah right....

Is the car going back to original specs or do you have other plans for it?

re: 2:56 gears. FWIW even if you put a smaller tire (you haven't said what size wheel/tire combo you're planning) it will probably drive like a slug. I know that you probably don't want to hear it, but either go with 2:78 or 3:08 right of the get/go. In the long run I think you'll be way happier with them than the 2:56's. You can still get good economy on 3:08 but they will really snap a lot better when you feel the need to punch it. And to be honest, what SX owner with a 455 doesn't feel that need every so often? IMO, 2:56 is good for grocery getters and highway cruising - sorry.

Looks like the car is coming back together very nicely. Any issues with setting/adjusting the panel gaps? That's something that comes up fairly often.

pcard

Cheers for that Allan. I am not allowed to remember how hot my former girl friends were; and at my age I recall them all as being pretty hot.
I hear you on the gears, I would not go to 2.56. I am planning on 2.78, we will see how it works out. Going back to the original 3.08 is not that big a deal, and I would have some direct experience to convey to all you guys.
There were no real problems at all with panel gaps, these guys make it look easy. I just wish I could be working on it with them, what a learning eperience that would be.

vette442

And the W32 used the OG trans versus the OD used with the 310 hp L33 and the later 365 hp L31 (L31 was the "big car" 455 versus the W32-option "base 442" 455).

vette442

Just make sure it comes back in the correct 455 aqua blue. Nothing makes me more crazy than seeing a nicely restored 455 painted too light like a Pontiac or too dark of a blue. The 455 in the beautiful red 1971 W30 in a recent Hemmings Muscle Machines was really dark compared to the original aqua color, and I think it's from a fairly major supplier too. Not sure where they got their original sample for color matching, but it sure wasn't from any of the low-mileage factory paint valve covers that I've seen...

Terry

CLcutlass

Hi Allan,

My car has the 2:56....I have no idea what is involved in changing to 3.08. Who even sells gears and how much would a job like this cost

leepear

Hi Peter: Glad to see the progress here. I hope to see the car finished. Another award winner from Level One. BTW I have 2:70ish gears in my Vista Cruiser and I hate them. 3:08 or 3:23 are the minimum gears I would recommend in an oldsmobile to enjoy the performance of the car. If you want a great driving car put in a OD 4 speed automatic trans and a 3:42 and you will be able to beat most stock 442s and get the best possible mileage too.

Lee

mmurphy77

x2.

pcard

What impressed me most about the car when I went to visit it in Denver in early December was the fact that it had been completely stripped of paint a week prior, and was sitting in the shop with the bare metal shiny and clean. If it had been in Bermuda, after the first day it would have had a sheen of rust on every square inch.
I have begun putting together the parts list for all the new things we will need. It is a pretty long list on a spreadsheet, with different suppliers, part numbers, and prices so we can select the best from each. We decided that price was not going to be the sole criteria to use when choosing suppliers (within reason), but rather quality and convenience in obtaining complete assemblies where possible.
Since we would like to show the car I am trying to stay as original as possible on parts, and picking good repos where possible. The only exceptions so far have been the suspension and radio/speakers. I am looking for new springs with slightly better handling specs, but same ride height, and new tech shock absorbers. For the radio I am going with something designed to fit the original opening, but with USB inputs and four channel output. Speakers will be a stereo unit installed in the original dash speaker location, and two under-seat enclosures.
The other changes to buildsheet specs will be the installation of bucket seats, floor console shifter, rally pac gauges, rear sway bar (ala FE2), and 225-70-14 radials. I am considering replacing the open differential, 3.08 gears (code SC), with a posi unit with 2.78 gears. Gary thinks I am crazy to go to 2.78 and I am still pondering the question.
The colours will be twightlight blue (code 28) on exterior, ivory (pearl white) on the interior (code 977v) and a white top (code A). The original colours were platinum (code 14), blue (code 993v) and a blue top (code C). It seems that the original platinum paint for that year was frequently recalled due to fading.


Not wanting to wait too long, and the filling and straightening been done, Gary took it off the frame and popped it into the painting booth and began the process of priming, blocking, sanding, priming. I must say it looks pretty good in its undercoat.

pcard

There was some rust holes in the front floor pan so Stu got out his welding kit and went to work. He also put in the brackets for the new buckets. That completed the repairs to the rust areas; not bad at all.

1969w3155

I understand you wanting to change the color, as I am fond of the different shades of blue offered, but the Platinum (silver) and blue interior combination is not very common, I don't think that I have ever seen it. Remember that the paint you get today won't have the fading problems of 40 years ago. Twilight Blue and pearl is hard to say no to!

pcard

Sorry it has taken me so long to continue this saga, but have been very busy as we will see.
Not wanting to delay we began putting on the real colours in the new year. This is Gary’s forte, and the photos do not do the job justice. The car is sitting on a modified convertible frame attached to the rotisserie so no door braces were used. Buffing and sanding, buffing and sanding make a brilliant finish.
The inside is painted in red and the underside and firewall black.
The frame was taken to the blasters and then powder-coated. The powder-coating looks great but I wonder about how we could have mitigated the rust that must be on the inside of the frame members. I would have liked to perhaps spray POR 15 in there.

pcard

Some more pictures.

Joffroi

That's an awesome color.

oldsguybry

Awesome Color , and outstanding work ! Great Job ! X 100

Allan R

Very nice Peter! I like shiny things!

pcard

February was a bit slow but finally got new parts in and the rear end blasted, powder coated and rebuilt painted. I decided to go with new repo suspension and brake components. Not being able to do any of the work myself it was less expensive for me to go that route. I will have some very good original parts left over and hope to recover a portion of the costs.
The new front control arms from InLine were great quality, but the fit was a bit off and required some persuasion. The rear assemblies worked well. The new brake components, also from InLine fit well and went on with no issues at all. New fuel lines, new shocks (Bilstien), original springs. I had thought about putting in new springs but the car had such a good stance that Gary convinced me to keep the originals so that we did not risk changing the ride heights. I am glad we did because, while these pictures without the engine installed do not show it, the final result was right on the factory specifications.
The rear end was original except for a new Easton posi unit from Jim (MONZAZ), keeping the 3.08 gears, new shocks, and a new (NOS) sway bar. And yes we will paint those shocks the regulation grey.

pcard

Thanks! The colour is absolutely stunning in the sun.

pcard

Here are some more photos of the rolling frame, as well as a couple before blasting. Notice the nice frame number.

pcard

This is a pretty exciting part of the build, when two major parts come together. They had been separated and rejoined a few times, for body work and painting, but this is the last time I will see them apart. All things considered it went very smoothly. I wish we had the engine back from the builders but it makes little difference if you have put as many engines in cars as Gary has.

pcard

I went out to Colorado to do some menial work on the car and put in the Dynamat. That process has been described in a separate thread if anyone in interested.

While I was there I worked on the heater box seals, transmission and shifter.

You will notice that the heater box has some regular insulation strips installed. I wanted something a bit more substantial so bought a new set from Inline. The inside ones are a little tricky to install, it is easier if you have small hands. I could not figure out how to get the lower vent flap out so left that one alone. Anyone has a thread for that?

I cleaned up the blower motor while I was about it. The paint job on that is not the best, but it is all inside and I just want to stop rust.

The shifter Gary had in the shop needed some work so I took it all apart, blasted and painted it, only to find out it is a 1971 shifter. The 1970 version has a different support bracket on the rear, and the pin mount for the shift cable is different.

I had a go on the new pulleys too. I am being faithful to the assembly Manual and putting in the three groove pulleys for the Y72 HD Cooling and Generator option. Some will say that is not correct with AC, but that has been debated elsewhere. I also picked up a nice 1100777 55 amp alternator from Mark Stellar.

pcard

Here are the pullyes in the process of blasting and painting. They turned out much better than the photo suggests, after applying a bit of filler to some pitting and sanding down.

pcard

The transmission came back from the shop, and thankfully they had not blasted the thing. I took some Simple Green, scotch pads and elbow grease to it, and it came up nicely, while retaining the original stencil and also the colour coded marking for the speedo (Green). The stencil on the ID plate has long been gone, but the 70 OD code is still there, and the VIN number is clearly visible.

pcard

The new torque converter is pretty stock at 2075, and I must say it is very driveable given my engine build (more on that later).

Because I am going to a smaller tire than original, Cooper Trend Setter 215/75 R 14 whitewalls vs the original G78x14 K2DB, I am changing the 42 driven gear in the speedo housing to a 43 tooth purple driven gear. This worked out very well in the end with my odometer reading being about 0.5% less than my actual driven distance, or reading 995 over 1000 miles driven. If I had not changed the gears it would have read 1019 over 1000 miles.

Allan R

Peter, I was just thinking about you yesterday.
Very nice update and pics. What's with the broken tab on the transmission housing to the left of the speedo gear?

stlbluesbrother

I intend to do a frame-off on my SX convertible some day. Tracking your progress and success is an inspiration. Keep up the good work!

pcard

Hey Allan: thanks for your thoughts!! I did not think that the tab on the transmission was broken. I know it looks kind of shiny, I did alot of rubbing on that transmission, but not having seen a TH400 naked before did not think it untoward.

Does anyone have a photo of that area on their unit?

BluesBrother thanks for the encouragement. I see that you are in St. Louis! I drove through there on my way from Denver to RI - I loved the countryside to the south and west - did not go up north towards Hannibal but I understand that is beautiful there too.