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Greetings! I am brand new to this community, and am most definitely not a gear-head.
Tomorrow, I will take delivery of my grandfather’s 1969 Cutlass, which has been in my late father’s garage since about 1991. I have all p/w from dealer showing grandpa was original owner. 69000 original miles.
My question for the group is where do I start with the restoration? I know I am going to need to replace all rubber and most likely upholstery. My goal is to restore and keep due to sentimental reasons. What do I need to be aware of before trying to “turn the key?” Any pitfalls I need to avoid? I feel like I only have one chance to get this right, and I don’t want to blow it! Of course I’m going to replace all fluids, filters etc.
Ok, so the first thing someone is going to tell you is "let's see if it will crank!" Don't do it. If that car has been sitting for 34 years, the bearings in the block are dry and gummed on oil, and you could gall them when cranking. Don't do it.
1. Change the oil and the filter.
2. Assuming it's an automatic, pull the transmission dipstick and look at the fluid. It may be awful. If the pan has a drain plug, you could drain out the old ATF, measure, and put back the same amount as new. It will be close to right. You could service the trans based on the fluid amount and condition.
3. Coolant. Look in the radiator. If there is no coolant, fill it up with the green stuff. If there is some coolant, consider removing the lower radiator hose from the water pump and dumping it, and filling up with new. You will want new belts and hoses soon, so, if this hose has to be slit and peeled off, no big loss. Yanking a hose is a great way to cut your hand when it pops off, so, if it is mad stuck, get the box cutter.
4. Optional, look in the master cylinder. Add DOT3 if it is low. Pump the pedal. See if it is nice.
5. Remove engine accessories as needed to get to the valve covers. Power steering and AC do not have to be connected to run the car. Alternator and water pump don't either, for a little bit.
6. Remove valve covers. Do valve cover job if needed.
7. Take distributor cap off, leave wires connected and know which way they went on. Clean the points by running a dollar bill through them.
8. Mark the timing on the distributor via chalk line, or silver marker, to its housing and the intake. Remove distributor.
9. Get a drill and the right extension, tape those extensions up so they don't fall off, and plug into the oil pump socket. Spin CCW until you have oil coming out the pushrods in the heads. You are now primed.
10. Reassemble distributor and valve covers.
11. Siphon old gas out of tank as much as you can get.
12. Disconnect fuel pump line from carb, stick into a clear empty water bottle.
13. New battery. At this point, see if it turns over.
14. Hook new rubber line up to funnel and into carb inlet. Prime bowl with small bottle of gasoline.
15. Put a gallon or so of good gas in tank.
16. Put a little gasoline down the primaries.
It should fire up. You are looking for it to run, and to pump crappy gas into the water bottle. Once you like the gas coming into the bottle, you can hook up that line to the carb again, and put more gas in tank. Once it's running and warmed up and idling ok, you can blip the throttle a few times, then get in it, see how the power brakes feel, and put it in gear and see if it moves.
17. Put air in tires at some point. And the spare.
18. See if it moves and all wheels are rolling.
19. Put accessories back on if you haven't already, check power steering reservoir, see if it turns.
20. Check the ATF level. If it moves, turns, runs, and stops, drive around the block in first gear. See if it stops and how it steers. If happy, go someplace to see if it shifts right. Get up to 30.
You could have any of the following issues:
A. Gummed up carb.
B. Gunky points.
C. bad fuel pump.
D. Dead battery
E. bad gas
F. cracked vacuum line and a vacuum leak.
There's more to do after this but this will start you.
How long since the car has been started and driven?
Before anything you need to remove the spark plugs and use a socket and breaker bar to try to rotate the engine. This is to ensure it's not seized.
If you can find someone to help remove and reinstall the distributor, use a stout drill motor to spin the engine's oil pump and get oil on the engine bearings.
Don't attempt to start the engine with whatever fuel is in the tank. Old varnished fuel can cause extensive damage to the engine's valvetrain. Remove the gas cap and smell the gasoline. If it smells funky, you need to drop the fuel tank and clean it.
Odds are good you'll have to go thru the brakes too.
Waking up an old car takes time but it can be done. See if you can find an Antique Automobile Club of America or Oldsmobile Club of America group local to you, or go visit a cruise night or cars and coffee group. People there will usually be willing to help get an old car running.
Rocketraider, the last time it was started was about 15 years ago and the last time it was driven was in 2002. Thank you for the info! I’m going to take it very slow and start doing an inside and out cleaning (including gas tank!)
That is a G R E A T looking ride with family heritage no less! Many happy miles to you. Do you know which engine it has?
Consider how you "restore" it, a "preservation" with needed repairs may be preferred, your car so it's your call. Don't exchange nor discard any original parts e.g., alternator, starter, water pump, distributor, carburetor as most are repairable to a better standard than any replacement part available today.
Looks like all you really need to "restore" this car is to;
1. Get it running.
2. Re-build the brake system. New or re-built master and wheel cylinders, New hoses. New shoes and turn drums if worn.
3. Replace the seat upholstery and carpet.
4. Polish the paint, then wax it.
5 Drive and enjoy it!
I I’m embarrassed at how long it took me to find the hood release…thank you all for the good advice! When I say restore, I mean get into the best mechanical and appearance shape that I can, as close to original as possible. SO many memories in this car! I took my driving test in this at age 16…I’m the one that cracked the dome light at age 4 or 5 with my head when I was climbing from the front seat to the back! I will keep you all posted with my progress!
Nice car, pretty much everything has been covered, old tires are plain dangerous. The fuel, brake and maybe cooling system probably needs overhauled along with a cimpete tune up. My 1970 Cutlass S was a 6 hour drive away. They got it running after sitting in a barn for years. An Olds 260 replaced the orginal 350. The trans leaked like crazy then slowed down on the drive home, added Lucas conditioner and stop leak. I think the seals just came back around to a certain extent. The trans had a weak reverse. That is why a trans service isn't a bad idea, see what is in the pan and expect every seal to leak. Check the differential level and service is a good idea plus you can count teeth to see what ratio and if it is posi. My brakes needed 4 wheel cylinders and a master cylinder, the hoses weren't swollen or even very cracked. I did shoes, only do one side at a time, for reference and the front are wider than the rear. Found that out the hard way when they gave me front shoes for my rear brakes. Also a good chance lines will seize and break removing wheel cylinders. I used replacement Nickel Copper lines, so much easier to bend and corrode less. Your motor will probably leak oil somewhere, the rear main seal is a PIA to remove, even out of car. For interior things like seat covers, if Legend has covers in stock, go that route. PUI's catalog was a nightmare to decipher. I ended up getting covers without head rests for my bench seat. I just deleted the head rests, rather than try to return etc. Get hog ring pliers for the seat hold down rings and the bow headliner requires some patience to do.The PUI covers have held up OK over 7 years. Legend is supposed to better all around but may be currently back ordered. Just a new front seat cover and new headliner made a big difference. With cleaning and replacing mouse skeletons with seat foam and a non **** and **** filled headliner basically eliminated the smell with a super through cleaning. Good luck, expect dozens of hours or thousands of dollars to restore it, if someone else does it.
I would pull all the spark plugs and squirt a fair amout of penetrating oil like Kroil..in the cylinders try and coat them..
Let sit over night or more..
I'd jack of the front for clearnace and get a socket the fits on the crankshaft bolt and a breaker bar you may need a pipe for more leverage. and turn it clockwise a bit.
I would then squirt more penetrating oil in the cylinders
then I would go counterclockwise a bit , back and forth and finally do at least 5 good clockwiese turns to make sure the enginer is free otherwsie you could ruin a starter or? you also need to push out any excess oil. oil doesnt compress and could cause some serious damage..
a seized engine is the worst. you can almost buy a cheap borescope to see what the cylinders.
Do the other things people said, take your time, get all the things you need first. keep talking to people especially local gearheahs who can help..
Once you get it running disconnect distributor vaccum and see if engine slow down this is to make sure distributor vacuum advance is working. inside the vaccum adance is a rubber diapham that is prone to fail after so many years.. Replacements readily available..
Best of luck. post your progress like to see how it goes..
Thank you Fred! Just out of curiosity, do you know if there is such a thing as a centrifugal advance distributor for water cooled engines? I had one on an old VW Bug, and it was nice to not have to worry about vacuum leaks.
Just out of curiosity, do you know if there is such a thing as a centrifugal advance distributor for water cooled engines? I had one on an old VW Bug, and it was nice to not have to worry about vacuum leaks.
Not sure what you're asking here, Kenny. The distributors in these cars all have centrifugal advance weights. Moreover, I'm not sure how that would have an effect on vacuum anyway.
Nice 69 Cutlass! It looks great for it's age.
Speaking of which, once you do have it running please keep in mind that it likely needs the original timing set replaced because of mileage and age both. The top gear has nylon coated teeth originally (OEM hardware), unless that has been changed already. I wouldn't put mileage on it before replacing it. Love that blue!
Nice 69 Cutlass! It looks great for it's age.
Speaking of which, once you do have it running please keep in mind that it likely needs the original timing set replaced because of mileage and age both. The top gear has nylon coated teeth originally (OEM hardware), unless that has been changed already. I wouldn't put mileage on it before replacing it. Love that blue!
