justinpba

Hi all,
I'm going to look at a 455 short block this weekend so I figured it was time to join up after trolling for a while. The car in my Avatar is my 1972 Olds Cutlass S. I know the S is for sport, but there was nothing sporty about this car when I first bought it 16 years ago. This was my first car, I bought it when I was 14. It had a tired 350, 2 barrel, orange paint with a white vinyl top and thrashed white vinyl interior. It did have buckets and a console though, so that was cool. I brought it into auto shop my sophomore year and we rebuilt the engine, 30 over with a few go fast goodies like cam, intake, headers and a 4 barrel. After rebuilding the engine we found out just how bad the tranny was after 200k and I had a rebuilt TH350 swapped in. Junior year of high school we swapped to discs in the front and polygraphite suspension (it was all over Car Craft in the late 90's). Senior year I painted the car its current blue. Shortly before I left for the Navy I smashed the front fender so while I was in boot camp I had the fender replaced and the vinyl top pulled. With my signing bonus for enlisting I had the interior replaced with black cloth and had a sound system put in. Then I got stationed in western Washington. For those of you unfamiliar with constant rain, these cars don't make the best daily drivers in it. I used to have to start the car up and drive down the street with my head out the window to the nearby gas station to let the defroster get going and clear up the windshield. After one winter there I bought a newer car and the Olds pretty much sat. After 2 years I sold the car to a kid who worked for me in hopes he would drive it more than I was. Fast forward 5 years and I was back in California, married and had gone through several projects, not really getting too deep into any of them. While perusing Craigslist one day for a new project, my wife, who met me when the Cutlass was still my daily, said "why don't you just buy your old car back?" I told her I couldn't just buy it back, but then, 2 months later, out of the blue the guy called me and said he was getting out and needed money and did I want it back. I asked my wife and she said absolutely, let's fly up there (Seattle) next week. So we did. As it turned out, he didn't drive it any more than I did, but he had left it outside for the better part of 5 years. Sadly, it was in a little worse shape than when I sold it, but not enough for me to mind, so we gassed her up and bombed down to California. We broke down a few times during the trip. Had to replace the PS belt in a hail storm outside Portland, had to replace the Alt belt in Corvallis (apparently it had thrown in Salem which would explain why my lights were so dim), but overall it was an awesome trip. Now the car is back with me and this fall I'll probably start the makeover. My hope is to build the car I always wanted it to be when I was growing up. Plans include a 455, T56 swap, new rearend (the only piece that wasn't replaced way back when) upgraded suspension and braking, OAI hood and Volvo seats (I used to drive an S60 and it was the most comfortable car I ever drove). Anyhow, I'll be asking lots of questions and looking for advice on quality engine and body guys around here. Thanks for reading my story and I'll be talking to you all soon.

70cutty

I have a good rebuildable 455 that I am willing to part with. I am in Campbell, if you are interested let me know. You can come by this weekend and check it out.

dc2x4drvr

Welcome!

oldcutlass

Cool story, welcome.

justinpba

I appreciate the offer but I'm in the north bay (Sonoma county) and am going to check out a long block in Santa Rosa this weekend. Thanks though.

Gary M

If you want to, start a build thread in the builds section of this site and post pics of your progress as you go. You can ask questions along the way and it will all stay in the same thread. Easy for every one to follow along. Check it out. Good luck and congratulations on getting it back.

tru-blue 442

Welcome, cool story.

justinpba

Thanks everyone.

Thanks! A build thread will probably be coming in the future, but this will be such a slow moving project I'm not going to post one up until I get deeper into it. For those of you interested in bikes, here's a link to my build thread for my '69 Shovelhead I'm finishing up:

http://www.jockeyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=101119

Oldsguy

Nice back story, if I could only buy back a few of the cars I have had over the years.............Welcome to CO.

OLD SKL 69

Welcome to CO! Nice story, glad you were able to get back your old car.

Lady72nRob71

Welcome aboard, and great story! Glad you were reunited with your old car.
Good thing your breakdowns were easy fixes. Belts can often be replaced without (or just a few) tools in an emergency.

This is one issue I can never think about doing, as so far I have not parted with any vehicle I have ever had...

justinpba

Thanks all! Just picked up a 455 (actually most of 2) and I'll be posting questions over in the engine forum. Thanks again for the welcomes!

Alex1972CutlassS

Hey
Welcome to classic olds. That is sure a great story! The olds looks great. If I remember it used to rain a lot in North CA. A lot of fog too! Pictures are a must here!
Alex in Idaho USA.......but used to live in Monterey CA and Ft Ord with the 7th Light Infantry Division. I also remember Ft Lewis, WA whooaaa a lot of rain!

68oldscutlass

Awesome story. Looking forward to seeing the progress!

don71

Late welcome, enjoyed the story. Good Luck with your project.

64Rocket

Justin, i'm just south of Oakland , in Union City and have a bunch of 455's
I go to Sears point raceway (Sonoma) all the time.
May see you there some time.

Gene

justinpba

Thanks! It actually doesn't rain too much except during winter where we are, that's why I want to build this thing to abuse as a daily (while looking pretty too). Yeah, I was in Bremerton, and while I sometimes miss the area, I do not miss the weather.

Man, you guys are a friendly bunch! Thanks for the warm welcome!

With an ET like yours I'd be at the raceway all the time! Do they still do run what ya brung drags on Wednesdays? I plan on heading out there once I'm finished, just to see what she can do. Know any good Olds machinists around here?

deejai35

Great story. Where are the pictures?

justinpba

Okay, okay, I get it! Here's the few pics I have on the computer right now. I'll post some pictures of it in all its orange, 2 barrel glory when I get to a point I'm going to start a build thread. Enjoy!
First, because I'm proud of it, here's the bike I'm finishing up:
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This is on the trip down in April '12 replacing PS belt in a hail storm outside of Portland:
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In Grant's Pass, OR:
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Same trip somewhere around Willits, CA
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And home:
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Cool shot in Bodega:
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And here's the haul from this last weekend:
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