johnnyhawthorn

Greetings everyone. I'm Duane, a former Chicagoan now living in Northwest Illinois. Thanks to grad school and underemployment, my 1970 Cutlass, which I restored to "pleasure cruiser" status back in 1997, is getting some much needed attention after almost 10 years of not getting some much needed attention. I'll be asking questions here and there, as most everything that I didn't repair or restore 15+ years ago needs the work now. I am also blogging about the experience, and if someone wants to proofread said blog or correct any errors I make, please do so. I want it to be a useful guide to anyone else who takes on this kind of work, and a decent read for the non-old car nut.

Allan R

Hi Duane! Welcome aboard.

Feel free to link your blog to this site, or better yet - start a thread or 2 here detailing the efforts you're putting into your vert!

Pics would be really nice to see - there's a sticky in the newbie forum that tells you how if you need some help.

don71

Welcome Duane. X2 We like pics and links to your project.

If you've been there once, It might help to show what you find the second time around.

Work on what makes it safe first, the show n go will come later.

johnnyhawthorn

Thanks for the welcomes. I'll start to get pictures up as I start to work on the car. Who knows when that will be. It's really cold here, as it is in most parts of the country not called "California" or "Arizona". And I couldn't agree more on fixing what makes it safe first. Before driving the car out here on the one January day that had decent weather, I had the brakes redone, the carb tuned, and the radiator repaired (see separate post about radiator numbers). For a 44-year old car it still runs well; I can go out and start it on a 5 degree day and all I have to do to make it run is activate the choke. The other major work I plan on for this year is replacement of the rear shocks (the old air shocks have seen enough), repairing of the worn-out top motor, replacement of the heater core, and replacement/repair of the ignition lock cylinder. That last one is something I'll need the most help with, so if anyone has some advice, I've started a separate feed on that too.


When I got the car (3rd owner) I'd say it was about 85% original. It's a numbers matching car; carb, engine, transmission, differential are all factory. The build sheet was still intact making it easy to ID what was right and wrong about the car. The second owner added Super Stock II wheels, the aforementioned air shocks, and a dual exhaust with a 442-cutout bumper and chrome trumpets. The only thing I've changed is the radio, removing the factory AM radio and replacing it with a factory AM/FM radio. As I've restored things here and there I've kept the car as original as possible. A few things like belts and batteries are aftermarket. I rebuild/repair the original component where possible (did that with the radiator, doing that with the top motor). Definitely not a concours car, but certainly one where I follow the advice on the air cleaner and stick with genuine AC Delco parts.


I do have one parts question though: where do you get the felt rub strips for the side windows that actually match the factory originals? I'll be darned if I can find any repro warehouse that makes them close to original.

oldcutlass

Welcome Duane, sounds like a nice car. Look forward to some pics.

Gary M

Looks like a nice car. If the top motor is humming but not going up it may need fluid. There isn't much to those motors but the replacements are expensive. I took mine apart and replaced some seals.

johnnyhawthorn

Gary: in my case it is the armature that is bad. The top cuts in and out. I did an electrical test and it was drawing over 100 amps when it should be drawing 30-35. This also trashed the top switch. That's more annoying than anything as those are expensive to replace. (FYI if anyone knows where to get the little nylon part inside the switch, let me know. I've got two switches now that just need this part to work.) Im rebuilding the top motor as it's original to the car. Today I plan on removing the dash for the second time to replace the switch. Despite what the shop manual says this has to be done. There's a brace for the steering column that blocks access to the switch from behind. I'll be writing a blog post about it. I'm not ticked about it; I need to replace the heater core too and that is best done with the dash out of the way.

OLD SKL 69

Welcome to CO Duane. Post more pics of your ride when you get a chance.

kattotonic

Welcome! I just got lots of rain here, but it beats snow, trust me, it snowed here just before Christmas and just last week. The whole place shuts down and I do not work! I drive a little school bus lol As my mom always said about our convertible, Think sunshine!!!

johnnyhawthorn

As my dad said about a convertible, "If it's over 50 drop the top". He also said, "You own a convertible becasue sometimes you have to put the top up".


I started the dash removal project today. Here's a link to the blog article:
http://thisoldscar.wordpress.com/201...-part-i-of-ii/


I'm writing in a style so that a person who knows nothing about cars can at least get enjoyment from reading. Pardon if it is a bit wordy. Feedback is appreciated!

z11375ss

Thanks for posting. You seem to really know your way around creating a website. If you can do that, I think you'll find your car to be easy! Welcome aboard!

Allan R

Your writeup and pictures are really well done, as you said, in a language that's user friendly. It's a lot of work but putting that on here instead of the link would go a long way for others searching for that info. (Suggestion - new thread titled "How to remove a Cutlass Dash".

re: radio tuner cleaner. Most auto supply stores sell a product simply called "Electrical Contact Cleaner" for use with a LOT of the new cars equipped with - well - LOTS of electrical contacts and puters....BTW, I noticed you didn't have the 'wave washers' with your radio. Easy to get if you decide to go concourse resto...

Great confirmations on bagging and tagging. I'm also a fan of that process and it saves me a lot of grief. Usually I put all the labelled bags in the trunk in a separate box - that way it all stays with the car. I also take oodles of pics before, during and after because I'm kind of a visual guy and I also like to see how the progress went. It only takes one 'oh dammit' for your brain to realize it should have been paying attention or a kodak moment was in order but didn't happen.

All the stuff you've detailed so far is right on the money based on the 2 dashes I've taken out. When you get to the stage of removing the actual intermediate dash/pad cover there are a few tips I can share with you.
1. You'll have to remove the fuse block to remove the harness without a lot of fuss
2. There are a couple of screws that hold the intermediate dash to the subframe
3. On the left side there's a stud with NO nut that simply holds the dash post in a friction clip. It just pulls loose if you've got your other nuts off their respective posts.

I found that working from right side to left was way easier and allowed me to find the areas that were binding easier.

My car doesn't have AC, but the dashes I took out were from AC cars so I know a bit of what you're going through.

I can't do anything in the down time up here because of the really cold weather. That's a huge factor in working with plastic parts. Cold weather equals brittle plastic that's easier to break than working in the summer when there's 'forgiveness' due to the heat. Wish I had a large heated shop to work in.

johnnyhawthorn

Allan: I have to admit I haven't seen the "wave washers". I'll have to search for a pic on those. The ***** and washers I have are those that came on the original AM radio.


Good tip on removing the harness from the fuse block, then just pull the harness out with the dash. Though if you do that you would also need to remove the kick panels and the courtesey light door switches?


I was curious about that stud on the LH side. I spent five minutes wondering why there was no nut on it. Not sure why I don't remember it from last time I took off the dash pad to put in a new top switch. At any rate the job is done and it's going to be easier to tackle that heater core now. As an added bonus, I recovered the original parts lables for my gauge clusters. Another indoor project: clean up the gauges and reaffix the labels.

Allan R

Duane,
Yes, the harness removal requires all other fixed points (like door jambs) and the auxiliary lead to the map light (if you have that) to be undone. You shouldn't have to take out the kick panels to get the door jamb switches apart though. There's enough slack in that grey wire to get it out far enough to take apart those plastic fasteners. The first time I tried doing that I thought I broke them...

As you found out there are a few other accessory wires that need to be disconnected at the fuse block (eg: rear defog) It's a long job, but if you take your time and walk away when you need a break (read that as 'want to swear') it isn't really that bad a job.

Wave washers look like this diagram. Are they absolutely necessary? No. You likely could make them yourself from some thin washers. Just bend them, heat them and quench to retain the springiness. Places like ILT, partsplace etc sell them for around 5.00/set

Sampson

Welcome to CO from NC Duane. Looks like you know your way around your car very well. Look forward to watching your progress and I hope the maw's do not impede your progress.
Steve

johnnyhawthorn

I know my way around just enough to be dangerous. And after this go-round I think I'll have worked on every major system of the car except the transmission (had a shop rebuild that) and the A/C (the thing still blows 32 degrees at the ducts). Look for questions about a few minor annoyances once I get this bigger stuff out of the way. And I now remember the "wave washers" from when my brother and I would tinker with our dad's 1968 Buick Elektra. (Underrated car and a shame that I only see them on very rare occasion.)

Oldsguy

Duane, welcome to CO. Although I am an Olds man I agree that the '68 Elektra was a nice one.

Allan R

LOL - showing your age again Dan. Hmmm, me too. I liked the 63 Wildcat better