Privet from Moscow, Russia
February 15th, 2011, 05:49 AM
#1
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Moscow, Russia
Posts: 35
Privet from Moscow, Russia
Privet (Hi) from Moscow, Russia. My name’s Bazil. I have come across this forum, while checking out some exhaust sounds in the net. 
It’s putty I’ve found it so late. I’ve found some good advice which I could have used , while building my ride. Here’s a short introduction of me and my car. I’m getting 40 this year, but my desire for American Muscle cars has been in my blood since childhood, when I was presented by my dad with a VHS recording of several TV series of “The Dukes of Hazzard”. I could never imagine back in the USSR that one day my dream will come true and I will be a proud owner of a dream car from childhood. Why a Cutlass? Initially a was looking for a General Lee
, but then I came across a Cutlass Supreme convertible ’71. I immediately fell in love with it. A decision was made and i purchased my car via ebay from Fraserdante.com in Atlanta, Georgia . The car was shipped to me in a container. Originally it was a black paint, white interior 350 Rocket engine equipped CS Convertible. The car has gone thru a frame on restoration in 1996 and was in not very fresh condition at time of purchase. But I could not afford a fresher car. Upon arrival I drove it in Moscow for a couple of months and it came clear that practically EVERYTHING needs a re-build… suspension, interior, floors, transmission . So we took it apart to the last bolt. You can check the details of the work done here
http://streetmachines.ru/index.php?o...=4&startpage=1
The photos speak for themselves , everything else is in Russian… it took us full 2 years to get the car back on the road. There were no problems with spares shipped from USA. Summit, Jegs, Thepartsplaceinc and some other stores were used to find what we needed. And it was just about everything, except for the frame and sheet metal !!!
I changed the 350 to a 455 mildly tuned engine with a TH400, a 2800 converter and 3,08 main gear with a limited slip differential on 265/55r15 BFG rear tires. The dyno test is below. We presume that the loss of power in the transmission is 20%. I mean the software took the readings off the wheels and added 20% . The ¼ mile test gave me 14.02 seconds, with 99 mph at the finish, 0-60 mph in just below 6 seconds.
After we’ve run the tests I got fed up with street racing and now want to down grade the car a little for a better cruising mode. I will get rid of the rear sway bar, go back to the 1” front one, change to a 2000 converter and get myself a Dynomax VT exhaust for a husher and drone free sound at 55 mph. I still have some questions , which I’ll post in the appropriate forums.
Some more photos can be found here
http://photofile.ru/users/442/150034054/?page=1
And here is a short video of my Soviet army jeep, my son's dream and me ( i mean my Olds) winning 1-st place in a regional show.
http://photofile.ru/users/442/video/
Well, my best regards from Russia, and enjoy Your rides as much as i do.
It’s putty I’ve found it so late. I’ve found some good advice which I could have used , while building my ride. Here’s a short introduction of me and my car. I’m getting 40 this year, but my desire for American Muscle cars has been in my blood since childhood, when I was presented by my dad with a VHS recording of several TV series of “The Dukes of Hazzard”. I could never imagine back in the USSR that one day my dream will come true and I will be a proud owner of a dream car from childhood. Why a Cutlass? Initially a was looking for a General Lee
, but then I came across a Cutlass Supreme convertible ’71. I immediately fell in love with it. A decision was made and i purchased my car via ebay from Fraserdante.com in Atlanta, Georgia . The car was shipped to me in a container. Originally it was a black paint, white interior 350 Rocket engine equipped CS Convertible. The car has gone thru a frame on restoration in 1996 and was in not very fresh condition at time of purchase. But I could not afford a fresher car. Upon arrival I drove it in Moscow for a couple of months and it came clear that practically EVERYTHING needs a re-build… suspension, interior, floors, transmission . So we took it apart to the last bolt. You can check the details of the work done herehttp://streetmachines.ru/index.php?o...=4&startpage=1
The photos speak for themselves , everything else is in Russian… it took us full 2 years to get the car back on the road. There were no problems with spares shipped from USA. Summit, Jegs, Thepartsplaceinc and some other stores were used to find what we needed. And it was just about everything, except for the frame and sheet metal !!!
I changed the 350 to a 455 mildly tuned engine with a TH400, a 2800 converter and 3,08 main gear with a limited slip differential on 265/55r15 BFG rear tires. The dyno test is below. We presume that the loss of power in the transmission is 20%. I mean the software took the readings off the wheels and added 20% . The ¼ mile test gave me 14.02 seconds, with 99 mph at the finish, 0-60 mph in just below 6 seconds.
After we’ve run the tests I got fed up with street racing and now want to down grade the car a little for a better cruising mode. I will get rid of the rear sway bar, go back to the 1” front one, change to a 2000 converter and get myself a Dynomax VT exhaust for a husher and drone free sound at 55 mph. I still have some questions , which I’ll post in the appropriate forums.
Some more photos can be found here
http://photofile.ru/users/442/150034054/?page=1
And here is a short video of my Soviet army jeep, my son's dream and me ( i mean my Olds) winning 1-st place in a regional show.
http://photofile.ru/users/442/video/
Well, my best regards from Russia, and enjoy Your rides as much as i do.
February 15th, 2011, 06:34 AM
#2
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Rogues Island, USA
Posts: 3,613
I was told there would be no math! Now I have to convert 691nm to lb/ft $&@#%^$.
Great job Bazil. I hope that's a 12 pack of canned vodka you won and I did notice the scantily clad girls in the background. I'm impressed that American cars are so sought after in other countries. Very interesting to see to what lengths others will go to acquire them. Good luck with your project and lets see more pics.
Great job Bazil. I hope that's a 12 pack of canned vodka you won and I did notice the scantily clad girls in the background. I'm impressed that American cars are so sought after in other countries. Very interesting to see to what lengths others will go to acquire them. Good luck with your project and lets see more pics.
February 15th, 2011, 06:45 AM
#3
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Moscow, Russia
Posts: 35
I was told there would be no math! Now I have to convert 691nm to lb/ft $&@#%^$.
Great job Bazil. I hope that's a 12 pack of canned vodka you won and I did notice the scantily clad girls in the background. I'm impressed that American cars are so sought after in other countries. Very interesting to see to what lengths others will go to acquire them. Good luck with your project and lets see more pics.
Great job Bazil. I hope that's a 12 pack of canned vodka you won and I did notice the scantily clad girls in the background. I'm impressed that American cars are so sought after in other countries. Very interesting to see to what lengths others will go to acquire them. Good luck with your project and lets see more pics.
691 nm is something like 500 lbs. But that's not for sure. The 12 pack is nothing but an energy drink. But look what it makes to people , when mixed with vodka . The folks down the street selebrated as if it was their win.
February 15th, 2011, 11:52 PM
#15
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Moscow, Russia
Posts: 35
Thanx for a warm welcome! if any one might need some advise or help in Russia on or off the subject, i am more than willing to help.
Now i'mm busy reading , before i have specific questions.
Now i'mm busy reading , before i have specific questions.
February 17th, 2011, 07:06 AM
#19
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Sasebo, Japan.
Posts: 576
Yea, probably because Japanese were buying up American muscle like crazy back when their economy was booming, now not so much. Probably trying to get rid of them at the best price they can get. I am going to try to make it to a car show in Yokohama this weekend with American cars 69 and older and Japanese cars 79 and older. If I amke it I will post some pics.
September 26th, 2011, 04:00 AM
#20
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Moscow, Russia
Posts: 35
photos of my Cutlass frame off.
I don't call it RESTORATION. It's more of building a street machine that wouldn't give You a nasty surprise when you least expect it. here are some photos of what we went thrue with the car.
http://streetmachines.ru/index.php?o...=4&startpage=1
i've enjoyed it all the way for four seasons now and my hands are starting to itch, what's next?
I still want a 442. Not a numbers matching (which i probably can't afford) but a close to a true one.
Converting my 455 , auto trans, collums shift in to a 442 looks like a lot of work. Pls correct me or add if i've missed something serious , i want to evaluate effort and $$$:
-bellhousing, clutch and gear box. Gear box supports?
-master and slave clutch cylinders. do i need to move the master brake cylinder , or just drill holes next to it?
-cluch pedal. can i hang it in my 455 and with what effort.
-steering collumn + speedoment face with no gear indicator
-i have a front bench seat. Will i have to change to buckets with console?
-anything else , appart decals ?
Be free to comment,maybe it's a bad idea after all.
http://streetmachines.ru/index.php?o...=4&startpage=1
i've enjoyed it all the way for four seasons now and my hands are starting to itch, what's next?
I still want a 442. Not a numbers matching (which i probably can't afford) but a close to a true one.
Converting my 455 , auto trans, collums shift in to a 442 looks like a lot of work. Pls correct me or add if i've missed something serious , i want to evaluate effort and $$$:
-bellhousing, clutch and gear box. Gear box supports?
-master and slave clutch cylinders. do i need to move the master brake cylinder , or just drill holes next to it?
-cluch pedal. can i hang it in my 455 and with what effort.
-steering collumn + speedoment face with no gear indicator
-i have a front bench seat. Will i have to change to buckets with console?
-anything else , appart decals ?
Be free to comment,maybe it's a bad idea after all.
September 26th, 2011, 11:53 PM
#22
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Palm Bay, FL
Posts: 4,249
-bellhousing, clutch and gear box. Gear box supports? Nothing major. It's all bolt in
-master and slave clutch cylinders. do i need to move the master brake cylinder , or just drill holes next to it? These don't exist on these cars. It is a manual linkage.
-cluch pedal. can i hang it in my 455 and with what effort. The clutch pedal and linkage setup is the hardest thing to find and the most expensive part of the swap.
-steering collumn + speedoment face with no gear indicator This stuff is out there and not all that hard to find. You can convert your column to a floor shift style or just replace it, but shipping will be a bitch on that one.
-i have a front bench seat. Will i have to change to buckets with console? No. They made 4 speed bench seat cars.
-anything else , appart decals ?
There are a couple of other items you will need to address to do a manual swap. 1st and foremost being you HAVE to have the crank drilled for the pilot bearing because the cars that came with automatic transmissions are not drilled for it. And 2nd you will need another driveshaft and possibly yoke for the transmission depending on what trans you go with.
Be free to comment,maybe it's a bad idea after all.
-master and slave clutch cylinders. do i need to move the master brake cylinder , or just drill holes next to it? These don't exist on these cars. It is a manual linkage.
-cluch pedal. can i hang it in my 455 and with what effort. The clutch pedal and linkage setup is the hardest thing to find and the most expensive part of the swap.
-steering collumn + speedoment face with no gear indicator This stuff is out there and not all that hard to find. You can convert your column to a floor shift style or just replace it, but shipping will be a bitch on that one.
-i have a front bench seat. Will i have to change to buckets with console? No. They made 4 speed bench seat cars.
-anything else , appart decals ?
There are a couple of other items you will need to address to do a manual swap. 1st and foremost being you HAVE to have the crank drilled for the pilot bearing because the cars that came with automatic transmissions are not drilled for it. And 2nd you will need another driveshaft and possibly yoke for the transmission depending on what trans you go with.
Be free to comment,maybe it's a bad idea after all.
September 29th, 2011, 10:43 PM
#25
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Moscow, Russia
Posts: 35
December 12th, 2012, 07:49 AM
#28
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: S.E. Louisiana, so far still in U.S.A.
Posts: 1,613
There is still hope
If the politicians and the military people, worldwide, could relate as well as the old car people it would be a better world. 
Last edited by Ozzie; December 12th, 2012 at 07:57 AM. Reason: sentence structure
December 12th, 2012, 08:32 AM
#29
CH3NO2 LEARN IT BURN IT
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Land of Taxes
Posts: 5,011
QUOTE< I got fed up with street racing and now want to down grade the car a little for a better cruising mode. I will get rid of the rear sway bar, go back to the 1” front one, change to a 2000 converter and get myself a Dynomax VT exhaust for a husher and drone free sound at 55 mph.
Why remove the rear sway bar and down grade the front sway bar? Leave the sway bars in. It will be a huge benefit on the road for better handling in the corners. That’s what Olds is known for, among other things.
Why remove the rear sway bar and down grade the front sway bar? Leave the sway bars in. It will be a huge benefit on the road for better handling in the corners. That’s what Olds is known for, among other things.
December 17th, 2012, 12:44 PM
#30
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Moscow, Russia
Posts: 35
QUOTE< I got fed up with street racing and now want to down grade the car a little for a better cruising mode. I will get rid of the rear sway bar, go back to the 1” front one, change to a 2000 converter and get myself a Dynomax VT exhaust for a husher and drone free sound at 55 mph.
Why remove the rear sway bar and down grade the front sway bar? Leave the sway bars in. It will be a huge benefit on the road for better handling in the corners. That’s what Olds is known for, among other things.
Why remove the rear sway bar and down grade the front sway bar? Leave the sway bars in. It will be a huge benefit on the road for better handling in the corners. That’s what Olds is known for, among other things.
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