yeahbuddy

Hey guys, I have a 68 Cutlass Supreme 4dr with a 350 Rocket. She has a 2sp transmission in it and I believe 53k original miles. Anyway, I got the car 3 years ago and found the build sheet under the carpet. Looks like one of the previous owners changed the color of the exterior and interior but most (almost everything) was original on it. Long story short, over the last 3 years Ive done a lot of upgrades and this includes new drum brakes all around, new heavy duty springs all around, new shocks gas in front and air shocks in back and new upper control arm bolts. A year ago I was going down a steep hill and I heard a thump. When I got to the bottom I pulled over and saw my front wheel bent in due to one of the upper control arm bolts snapping (You can find pics in the post I made about it). That put a lot of fear in me since I use the car as my daily driver. I drive it around 20 miles a day to and from work usually around 60mph on the highway. Should I be worried about other older bolts/suspension parts breaking mid-driving? I dont want to risk my life here. Today the roads were wet and I gased a turn and got my first feel of the rear drifting. Scary Would upgrades would make a big difference in safety and handling and wont break the bank?

droptopron

Are your brakes power or manual? If manual a change to power or preferrably power disc would make it safer. The bolt that broke on you, was it a hardware store bolt? That is a no-no. I'd get under the car and make sure nothing looks real rusted.

oldcutlass

Well it's an older car, and older cars break. You also have a 4dr, hence any money thrown at it is a loss, so if your going to throw money at it make sure its the car you want to keep.

There are a lot of things you can do to a car to make it safe and perform. What do you expect out of your car in performance? Whats your budget?

yeahbuddy

It has power drum brakes all around. Disc brakes are in the future. It stops pretty sharp. It was the original bolt that snapped. I ordered new bolts from OPG. Thats what they were replaced with. Nothing is really rusted out on the car other than the rear window channel. Its been in California all its life.

yeahbuddy

It drives like a champion, it looks great, and they only make 500 "convertible hardtop" versions which has no post. I love the car and I love it even everyday. I has sentimental value to me, I got it when my dad passed away and I was in a tight spot after losing everything...this car fell in my lap. I don't ever plan on selling it. It gets to around right now until things get better financially for me.

My budget is micro but I will make room to change things that are REQUIRED after being on the car for 40+ years. My next major performance based upgrade is going from the 2sp Jetaway to a TH400 transmission but that comes with time.

MDchanic

Nuclear war, terrorism, bird flu, MRSA, gang wars, pollution, global economic collapse, industry moving to China -- yeah, I'd be nervous.

As for the car: Eh. Drive it and have a good time.

- Eric

oldcutlass

X2 -Maintain it and then come up with a plan and some cash and go from there!

DENT

A 68 4 door!! My mom had one back in the day , it was the car I got my license in and I really liked it . It was a very good driver. If I were you I'd make sure the upper control arms or A arms have the correct bolts in them where they mount to the frame. Get an alignment and thats that. Put on a big smile and have fun.

yeahbuddy

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yeahbuddy

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DENT

Good lookin Olds. Moms was the same , but light blue with silver at the bottom. 350and a 2 speed slip and slide (thats what we called it) it was a very nice car to drive any time.

yeahbuddy

This is actually a good way to move on my next question.

What can I do to tighten the handling when I take corners? The car has upgraded heavy duty MOOG springs on front and back, gas shocks in front, air shocks in rear. What would be some low budget ways of stopping the car from roll so much on turns. It drives straight no sway but when I hit a turn at a decent speed sometimes my rear fender will scrape the rear wheel. I want to be able to take a turn like a Porsche. haaha...Okay...a bit exaggerated but you get the idea.

Rickman48

Polyeurethane sway bar bushings will help in the curves, as will a faster steering box.
Lower profile tires, too.
Dual exhaust will help performance and MPG by about 10%.

DENT

I hear that a level stance is more efficient (lower drag) make's for better handling and fuel mileage. Just a thought.

MDchanic

Dual exhausts will not help your handling, but bigger swaybars and good shocks definitely will.

Bilstein shocks will make a definite difference.

- Eric

Octania

A year ago I was going down a steep hill and I heard a thump. When I got to the bottom I pulled over and saw my front wheel bent in due to one of the upper control arm bolts snapping
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UCA to what? To the frame? I have NEVER seen that happen. I did have one that refused to come out and had to be ground away. Those things are Grade 8, and for a reason. Do you know how to determine the grade of a bolt? Perhaps someone put a grade 2 in there.

(You can find pics in the post I made about it).
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*I* can't
tried a search on 'yeahbuddy' to no avail.
How about a link?



That put a lot of fear in me since I use the car as my daily driver.
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Understandably

I drive it around 20 miles a day to and from work usually around 60mph on the highway.
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Sixty? Is this not an Oldsmobile? 60 is when the trans hits SECOND GEAR on a jetaway car!


Should I be worried about other older bolts/suspension parts breaking mid-driving?
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Only if they are rusted away or non-stock.

Let's see those photos
here's a bolt grade guide - typically at 2 to the number of radial lines observed on the head.
http://www.engineersedge.com/hex_bol...tification.htm

Grade 8's are about 50% stronger than Grade 5's.

Run to Rund

Grade 5 = 120,000 psi and grade 8 = 150,000 psi. Most broken bolts come some time after a gorilla used an impact gun or far overtorqued them.

yeahbuddy

I have KYB Gas-A-Just on the front and Gabriel Hijacker Air Shocks on rear

yeahbuddy

Here is the thread. Theres a bunch of pics in there..

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...s-supreme.html

BIGJERR

I have had a ten year old car do the same as the classics........

Just got off the highway and 70mph and went to back in the driveway and dropped the tie rod....

Maintenance is the key...

MDchanic

The difference between those and Bilsteins is like the difference between no shocks and what you've got.

- Eric

krooser

If you want the car to handle get rid of those 4X4 springs you have in the car and it lower...

70wcar

I agree that one of the simplest ways to get your car to handle is good shocks, springs and anti-sway bars.

Air shocks were never meant to handle. However, if they are new and you can't afford to change them at least make sure that they have separate fill lines. One fill point is convenient because you can raise or lower the car evenly. When you add air or let some out, it affects both shocks at the same time. However, that also means that when you go around a corner, there is nothing to keep the air from being pushed out of one shock and into the other which will make the car lean in the corner even worse.

Good springs are essential. Many people put in HD springs and are not satisfied with the handling. This has a lot to do with not only the spring rate but also the ride height. In the photos, yours looks like it might sit a tad higher then stock. If you want, you can lower the front by removing the coils and cutting 1/2 of a coil off. This is pretty much trial and error so don't cut more than a 1/4 of a coil off at a time, put it in and try again if it is not where you want it. Remember, once you cut the coil you can't add it back, you don't want to remove too much or the car will sit too low! One bad (or good) side effect of shortening the spring this way is they get stiffer.
If all of your springs were repaced, I would not mess with them at this point just to lower the car.

The next step is pretty simple and will probably offer you the most bang for your buck handling wise, Polyurethane sway bar bushings. Just get a kit with the new links and bushings. You WILL feel the difference. Want better handling? Does your car have a rear sway bar? Adding a factory bar will help tremendously. Just make sure that you either add boxed lower rear control arms or at east make a spacer so you don't collapse the stock ones when you bolt the bar on. Want more yet? Get a larger sway bar in the front. You can pick one out of a boneyard for a late 70's Trans Am, get the 1-1/4" diameter bar. you will need to buy new bushings and possibly the mounting brackets (I do not believe that the bushings for the 1-1/4" bar will fit the stock mtg brackets).

You don't need to spend a lot to get car that handles pretty well and is fun to drive.

Jim

miked

I agree with 70wcar on the air shocks. My 67 has them and you can bet as soon as I rebuild the rear they will be replaced with Bils. Love your 68 and it is definitely a keeper. Good luck with it!