hey there all,

back in December of last year i purchased a 68 cutlass for my father as a christmas present. i recently had moved out to arizona (where i bought the car from) and due to my job i actually spend a bit of time in the winter in illinois. well, i had convinced him to help me bring a "mustang" (this is what i told him we were going out there to get) that i had bought for myself back from az to il. he was in and away we went.

to make a long story short, he was very surprised to found out that we had actually just drove 1600 miles to get a 68 cutlass - the car i had always heard the man speak of, but never had the money or justification to buy.

well, now he has it and the process of making it at least drivable has begun. the car is going to need a bunch of work. i'll be posting in the wanted forum soon to ask about available parts and such. i'll also be handing this forum over to him (the original reason for signing up) so he can get on here do what's needed.

i believe the car was originally a 350 rocket, but the engine is long gone. he plans on putting a 455 (currently being rebuilt) out of my grandfather's 69 delta 88 that he has had since i was a little kid. anyway, that's the intro and story. i hope he finds a great group people on here to discuss, trade and enjoy oldsmobiles with. here are a few pics of the car. again, it's a bit rough, but i can see a lot of potential in this car. i think i may be more excited to see this car brought back than he is.

thanks,

mark

 

Great group here and we are all willing to help out where we can. Your pictures are showing up. Tell us more about the plans for the car.

 

That's a very nice and warming story. You sir are very good son. Welcome you and your father to the site.

 

Cool story and good dead done. Welcome to CO.

 

Great to see you here! '68s rule!

Randy C.

 

Looking forward to seeing some pics. I have a 68 as well. I think you will do well on here. All the posts I've seen so far look very informative!

Good luck,
M-

 

I love stories like this!
and I know exactly how it feels to surprise a father with the car he spoke of his whole life!
Nicely done...

 

Welcome aboard! I hope to be able to do what you have done some day for my father. Glad to have you both, lots of good people here and great info!

 

sorry for the late reply all. i've been super busy with work and i was having a bit of trouble uploading pix. i'm returning to illinois in late november and will be turning this account over to my father. hopefully he'll use this great resource. here are a few pix of the car when we picked it up last december. it's a bit rough, but it is a desert car = not too much rust. it's a solid car, but as you can see it needs a lot of tlc.

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car in illinois

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don't know what they trapped in there, but it ate the seat...

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needless to say, the interior is shot.

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don't know why the bumper is welded to the body. only time will reveal the reason...

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nice large trunk full of various parts that were once installed on the vehicle.
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The quarters have a little rust but it's not too bad. looks like it has been repaired before.

 

What a GREAT story! Kudos to you for your wonderful gift to your Dad! Tell him that the car is restorable, just take it a day at a time. Y'all will reach a point where you will say, "I know I'm gonna' finish it". A lot of us have "been there, done that". The wagon showing here was a $200 car 5 years ago. 4 years later is was finished; well, almost, they are never finished!! Good luck! You will be able to find enormous assistance on this great site for Oldsmobiler's.........

 

Very nice! A good thing about the Az cars is minimal or no rust.The bad thing is the interiors are baked.My 65 looked like that. Very nice to see a son giving his father a nice project like this-my son waits til it is finished,then takes it! ---bil

 

The interior is not that bad- save the steering wheel- looks like all the trim is there; welcome aboard

 

Welcome - I'm about 15 mi. west of you, right off 80 - PM me about local stuff or shops.
Some call me 'Rick the Finder', as I can usually find most anything!

 

Thanks for the kind words everyone...

Well, it has been awhile since either of us have been on here. My father is a bit slow in embracing the forum deal. he's been a bit busy with things, but we've still managed to put some resources towards the car. I will be returning to IL in November and my father will be giving me a crash course in engine assembly.

Currently, we're about $200 away from acquiring all the parts for the 455. I'll post some pictures of the project when I return to IL.

In other news, I found a '68 vista cruiser front clip to replace some of the damaged parts that are on the front of his cutlass. I've read and it appears that the front clip parts are interchangeable. Now all I have to do is get it back to IL..... Here's a picture of the front clip - it includes a nice daily driver bumper (not pictured)100_1289.jpg

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There's a bit of rust in the bottom of the fenders (normal spot for rust in these cars i hear), but it's not bad. We're probably only gonna use portions of the fenders anyway given the different trim. I think this clip will make a world of difference in the front end of the cutlass.

Well, that's about it for now. My father or I will be posting pictures of the project as it progresses...It'll be slow but progressing nonetheless.

 

What a great story, that is a good son. Any original paperwork with car?

 

Awesome! It's a good thing you do! Love those 68's

 

Welcome to the site. It's always good to see another Cutlass owner join the membership.

 

Yeah, that steering wheel looks saveable. Its got quite a few cracks in it but there are people around who can make it look almost like new.

Darn that front seat looks like a bear attacked it.

Unless the Delta is a rust bucket, I'd keep the 455 in it and find another engine for the '68. Then you could have two restorable Oldsmobiles! There are lots of 350's, 400's and 455's out there to be had.

 

snowballs,

no original paperwork that i know of. there may be some in the car somewhere as it's full of parts.

 

Just a few updates of the car. We used the fenders, bumper and core support to replace the same pieces on the cutlass.

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Vista Cruiser front clip.

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Fenders have rust, but it's in no way the same condition as the originals. The Vista fenders will still need to be repaired.

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Also bought and added a '69 front bench seat to replace the original.

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Cleaned the interior a bit.

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Installed the seat.

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Takin' it apart...

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Introducing the Vista...Cutlass...

 

engine is also finally coming together after a lot of cleaning and painting.
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Looks good!

 

I just love watching a great plan come together. Looks good. Best of luck my friend..

 

The engine paint looks great, did you wax the valve covers for extra shine already?