1971 Olds "S71" Progress thread [Archive]

oestek

07-13-2007, 11:59 AM

Our 1971 Olds Cutlass S "S71" project is progressing.

It's an interesting car in the fact that the original owner ordered basically a 442 without the 455. Factory 'glass hood, 4-speed, disc brakes, sway bars, buckets, etc., but he ran out of funds when it came to the engine.

So we're building the original 350 but adding a single turbo, keeping the 4 speed, adding a Gear Vendor, and keeping the original Viking Blue / White combo.

Here's the final rendering with the new wheels - these are from Street Smart Classics. They're still in development, but we hope to get a set for this car. Combined with the redline tires, we think it's a cool look.

We post all the video from the build and update blogs on our site, www.v8tvshow.com. (http://www.v8tvshow.com)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

- KO

Rantheman

07-13-2007, 12:22 PM

nice should look sweet when done

oestek

07-13-2007, 12:33 PM

Hey, thanks! Do you have a thread for your car? We're also building a '65 Chevelle with a GenIII motor...

- KO

LMDGUY

07-13-2007, 12:42 PM

WOW.. that looks sweet.

Mr Nick

07-13-2007, 05:24 PM

Very nice, glad to hear you're keeping an Olds engine in it.

You know... there is a guy making 16-20" billet SSII style wheels. I believe first prototype is done.

http://www.streetsmartclassics.com/home.htm

NOT my car:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

Mr Nick

07-13-2007, 05:36 PM

Well I just did a search and the new wheels have already been brought up... Oh well!

I'm hoping he finds an 'off the shelf' wheel hoop to use, then I might be able to afford a set.

Rantheman

07-14-2007, 12:43 AM

had a thread but that was a little while ago I have made no pregress but my cardomain in the my sig explains everything

rileydawgg

07-14-2007, 09:58 AM

Kevin, those wheels look much better in that rendering than the others you had on there. I personally would've liked the cutsom SSIIs on your project, but I like that you're going for an updated look from the original regardless.

I think those and the custom SSIIs are really the definition on pro-touring with regards to wheels.

oestek

07-14-2007, 08:39 PM

Thanks guys. I think the Olds had a cool look with the SSIIs, they really ID the car, so we're looking forward to seeing the updated versions.

Plus the fact that the wheels now add to the American hero look with the blue face, polished hoops, and red-striped tires. It's almost Evel Knievel-esque.

oestek

07-16-2007, 10:32 AM

Here's an early 3D model of the wheel.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

nbecker

07-16-2007, 10:51 AM

The car and wheels look great cant wait to see it done!

curly

07-17-2007, 03:55 AM

That will be an awesome looking Cutlass! I'm also glad to see that you are staying with the Oldsmobile powerplant (especially with a turbo :smoke: ). Good luck with the build and keep us posted. I'll have to pass the information on the wheels to a friend of mine that is a Cutlass lover and owner!

wick

07-17-2007, 07:55 AM

That will be a nice car. I think the Buick GS's would make good starting points as well.

texasred

07-22-2007, 07:13 AM

ProTouring442

07-22-2007, 11:21 AM

I agree that keeping it all-Olds and just updating it is more radical than just stuffing a rat under the hood and making another Chevelle out of it. The over-square Olds 350 is a nice little motor.

As the owner of a 71 Cutlass convertible, I can appreciate everything you are doing. I'm especially looking forward to reading more about the wheels and the turbo.

Thanks!

C.J.

Hey now, be nice... I have one of those Chevelle-ized Oldsmobiles! :eek:

Then again, I did buy my car with no motor, and already owned the LS-6 454 I stuffed in it. :)

It's all good though, if I had not already owned the 454, I probably would have built a 455. By the way C.J., Welcome! How about a thread on your 71 'vert? Mine's a '72 'vert that I just might finish one day! Pics are on my F-Quick site, linked in my signature.

More pics on the progress of the S-71, please!

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

steemin

07-24-2007, 06:55 PM

KO..
Kudos for doing something different.:worship:
I love the rendering and I am anxious to follow the build of this car.
Scott

texasred

07-26-2007, 11:06 AM

Hey now, be nice... I have one of those Chevelle-ized Oldsmobiles! :eek:

Then again, I did buy my car with no motor, and already owned the LS-6 454 I stuffed in it. :)

It's all good though, if I had not already owned the 454, I probably would have built a 455. By the way C.J., Welcome! How about a thread on your 71 'vert? Mine's a '72 'vert that I just might finish one day! Pics are on my F-Quick site, linked in my signature.

More pics on the progress of the S-71, please!

Shiny Side Up!
BillBill,

What a schweeeeeeeet ride!

But I guess it's kinda like putting a Ford 429 in an El Camino. That doesn't make it a Ranchero....but can you still say it's a Chevy?

Mine's down for paint right now. Nothing as exciting as yours, but we are filling in the seams in front of the resr fender wells, the rear fender extensions and the front fender eyebrows. Final color will be mid 80s Bright Red.

The car's already got a dual gate, 442 rear bumper and trumpets, rear sway bar and SouthSide Machine bars, 1.5" front sway bar, Rallye Pak gauges, "slightly" warmed over 350, LT-1 electric fans and fast ratio steering box, aluminum radiator, RobbMc mechanical fuel pump, 3.42 posi and SS-I rims.

C.J.

ProTouring442

07-26-2007, 04:56 PM

Bill,

What a schweeeeeeeet ride!

Mine's down for paint right now. Nothing as exciting as yours, but we are filling in the seams in front of the resr fender wells, the rear fender extensions and the front fender eyebrows. Final color will be mid 80s Bright Red.

The car's already got a dual gate, 442 rear bumper and trumpets, rear sway bar and SouthSide Machine bars, 1.5" front sway bar, Rallye Pak gauges, "slightly" warmed over 350, LT-1 electric fans and fast ratio steering box, aluminum radiator, RobbMc mechanical fuel pump, 3.42 posi and SS-I rims.

C.J.

Sounds nice!

How are you filling the seams? I thought about doing this, but was afraid of cracking paint issues.

How about a few pics?

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

texasred

07-26-2007, 06:11 PM

I'm not a a "body guy"...I'm more of a a mechanics and electrics guy. One of the guys in the local Olds club is "trading skills" with me. He learned old school bodywork from his dad...a real tin-bender.

When we were planning this, I was concerned about shrinkage and cracking issues on the seams. He used a product called AllMetal. It is is regular plastic bondo that has been infused with a metal powder. It gives the plastic bondo better "thermal" properties and it is better able to shrink and expand as the car shrinks and expands with temperature changes. It's the closest thing to soldering that you can get.

I saw several examples of the results when the Olds Nationals were in Dallas last year. I talked to several kustomizers and they all raved about it.

Check out http://s122.photobucket.com/albums/o263/texasred_satx/Cutlass%20project/

There's one pic that shows it down to the bone. It's like sanding aluminum, all right. We skimcoated Premium Bondo (gold can) over it and anyplace else we needed to level.

C.J.

68cutlass

07-30-2007, 08:38 PM

Its great to see an Olds as a project car on a show. I looked up the tv schedule for direct tv and I'll start watching religiously. Also the video blogs on the site are nice. Its good to know that I'm not the only person to find a bunch of leaves down between the rocker panel and fender! Keep up the good work, and thanks again for keeping the Olds 350 in it.
-Mark

oestek

07-31-2007, 02:40 PM

Hey guys,

We've been going crazy on 5 different projects, so the Olds has been quiet for a little while. We're going to start the chassis / suspension build next week, so more blogs and video are on the way.

Thanks for the positive feedback - it's good to hear that we're not crazy to run a 350 Olds! (or maybe we are... but who cares?)

- KO

texasred

08-02-2007, 01:27 AM

Make sure you watch the clearances on that Olds motor...it ain't no Chevy!

C.J.

Just kidding....Bill Trovato's a great guy for that SBO.

oestek

12-12-2007, 10:46 AM

We're beginning the bodywork on our 1971 Olds project, and we're trying to save all the original steel if possible. This time, we're patching the lower fenders, as these cars - all GM "A" bodies in general - seem to have rusty holes in their fender bottoms.

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/468/43/

oestek

12-13-2007, 05:43 PM

Just a quick update from the shop... Kelle brings us up to speed on the chassis and the body moving from the Autotwirler to the body jig we built.

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/469/1/

oestek

12-18-2007, 12:29 PM

Thoughts on disassembling the body on our 1971 Olds "S71" project. This time, it's spotweld seperation 101. We'll feature more on this topic when we begin the reassembly of this car using an HTP QuickSpot II spotwelder. This time, we take a look at some of the disassembled panels and see how they came apart.

Next video - sparks fly!

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/470/43/

oestek

12-19-2007, 12:42 PM

The cutting tools came out as we began cuttin' up the Olds. This time, the rear wheel houses are removed as well as the outsides of the trunk floor. This is the ugly stuff!

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/471/43/

oestek

12-26-2007, 06:47 PM

Here's some crappy camera-phone shots of the "S71" Oldsmobile's frame after returning from the media blaster today... we were pleased to see the frame is in great shape, with the original stamped numbers clearly visible on the rear side rail. Soon, we'll be adding some supports and boxing this frame to give it some additional strength.

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/472/43/

oestek

01-10-2008, 08:37 AM

S71 Update: Tonight, the guys were busy cleaning up the original chassis, grinding sloppy factory welds, adding new welds where needed, and planning for the addition of new steel to strengthen the frame.

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/479/43/

Young Gun

01-10-2008, 02:18 PM

that was awsome...that grinder was pretty cool, must be nice to have to get into the nooks...the frame looked great, seems like you have a top notch crew working for ya! keep it up!

oestek

01-16-2008, 09:08 AM

We finished the initial chassis boxing and shot the chassis last night. Back to black!

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/483/43/

oestek

01-20-2008, 03:42 PM

The follow up to the spot welding blog... here's some techniques on plug welding and using a commercially available electrical resistance spot welder on restoration projects.

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/487/79/

oestek

01-21-2008, 11:16 AM

Here's the trunk floor, wheel house, and rear tail panel install on the S71 Olds. The sheet metal work is nearly finished, as all we have left is the quarter panel repairs and the upper dash repair, and those are coming soon!

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/490/43/

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

klunde

01-21-2008, 01:26 PM

Have you found a new owner for this project? If not I am very interested. Please contact me.
[email protected]

oestek

01-21-2008, 01:33 PM

Hey klunde -

Yes, the S71 has a new owner. Maybe next time?

Thanks!

- KO

oestek

01-31-2008, 10:35 AM

We finally tackled the quarter panels on the "S71" Olds project. We were a little hesitant on this one, as the original panels were very nice save for some rusty edges, so we elected to just replace the edges with some quarter skins.

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/496/43/

jackfrost

01-31-2008, 10:44 AM

any updates on the motor build?

oestek

01-31-2008, 11:01 AM

We're gathering the parts now, and we'll be screwing the motor together in about a month. We'll keep you posted.

- KO

SPECWARSQUID

02-01-2008, 09:40 AM

I'm really enjoying watching this car's progress. I'm a wee bit biased though. My first Muscle Car was a 1969 Cutlass "S" with a 425 Rocket ("C" heads) out of a Toronado. Fun car but I unfortunanely sold it to a baptist minister from Toledo, when I joined the NAVY.

Really like the history behind the S71 car and the attempts to preserve as much of the original car as possible. Very talented people.

keep us posted.

Shay
_____________
Semper Fortis

darth_flavor

02-02-2008, 10:51 PM

thumbs up.

steemin

02-03-2008, 12:19 PM

Hey klunde -

Yes, the S71 has a new owner. Maybe next time?

Thanks!

- KO

Congrats on finding an owner for the car.
It has been fun watching the build..
Looking forward to more!:headbang:
Scott

oestek

02-04-2008, 12:57 PM

Thanks guys! The dash panel swap is the next video to come. It's more tech that applies to all GM A-bodies as well as this car.

oestek

02-05-2008, 02:15 PM

The dashboards all seem to rust on GM "A" bodies, and the "S71" Olds was no different. We elected to replace the rusty dash with a piece taken from a rust-free parts car.

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/499/43/

oestek

02-21-2008, 05:53 PM

The S71's body came back from the media blaster, and it only revealed a couple small surprises, namely a couple small holes in the floor. You can see the difference between plastic media blasting and glass bead here, as both were used on this car.

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/536/43/

oestek

03-04-2008, 10:34 AM

The S71 Olds gets a bath in PPG DP series primers... DP90 in black for the bottom, and soon DP60 in blue for the interior and exterior before filler work begins.

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/540/43/

oestek

03-12-2008, 12:22 PM

Just finished seam sealing the underbody on the S71.

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/543/43/

oestek

04-16-2008, 09:25 AM

The S71 chassis got tuned up with new suspension parts from Global West and Baer. The Negative Roll system is designed to keep the tires planted in the turns and provide smooth, flat cornering. It's going to be a fun car to drive!

Front Suspension Install:

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.php/topic,25.msg1200.html#msg1200

oestek

12-03-2008, 08:10 AM

Building the dash on the S71 project:

Part 1: http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/704/1/

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/12/S71_112908s_005-1.jpg

Part 2: http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/705/1/

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/12/S71_120208s_051-1.jpg

More to come!

Gary Willard

12-16-2008, 05:03 AM

Our 1971 Olds Cutlass S "S71" project is progressing.....

Here's the final rendering with the new wheels - these are from Street Smart Classics. They're still in development, but we hope to get a set for this car. Combined with the redline tires, we think it's a cool look.

We post all the video from the build and update blogs on our site, www.v8tvshow.com. (http://www.v8tvshow.com)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

- KO

It's been a while since the last post, but I have now scored a deal with Bonspeed to be the wheel manufacturer. They do AWESOME work and with their help, have brought the price of a finished wheel down AND opened the door to more sizing options. God bless them! If anyone is interested, send me an email, [email protected], and I can send you a CURRENT price list. The price list on my website is no longer valid. I'll get it removed and updated as soon as my partner can do it (he's out of town today).
Thanks!

Johnny C.

12-16-2008, 04:30 PM

I can't wait to see this car. It looks like it will be awesome. Keep us updated.

gearheads78

06-09-2010, 09:55 AM

Did this car ever get finished?

oestek

06-24-2010, 09:27 AM

We've not updated this thread in a while, but the S71 is in the home stretch of the build. Here are the first two engine build videos shot at BTR Performance in Rochester, NY. Bill Trovato is a veteran race engine builder with NMCA records, Engine Master Challenge competitions, and even an Olds book to his credit. It's a 422 cubic-inch Olds diesel block based stroker engine.

Even if you're not into Oldsmobiles, you'll want to see this series for the engine building tips it contains.

s6dR0WCFRmA

aBQVaKX0hRI

There are about 10 more parts to this series, and they will be published over the next several weeks, about one every 3-4 days if things go smoothly. Or, a DVD of the 2.5 hour build is available at www.v8tvshow.com/enginedvd . Enjoy!

The Stickman

06-24-2010, 11:30 AM

Now those were some awesome videos. Thanx so much. They were very informative. Ofcourse now I am rethinking that DX build all over again.

oestek

10-08-2012, 07:36 AM

The S71 is alive and well... it's been a long road, but we're finally driving and dialing the car in. Holy cats does it pull under boost. Here's a snap shot of the car at it's first "event" - a local car show - with less than 100 miles on it. We're waiting for the wheels to be shipped, so it's on Soft 8s right now.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/10/s71_lot_pic-1.jpg

csouth

10-08-2012, 08:26 AM

Glad to see this project got done, I was wondering what happend. What wheels are you going with since those Billet SSII's seemed never to come about? Last I heard the guy sold to Billet Specialties, then "poof"... Nothing

oestek

10-08-2012, 08:57 AM

Thanks Chris!

I believe Bonspeed bought the wheel design, but I was led to believe they have not determined if the market is big enough to support the wheel. It would have been interesting.

We elected to go with... wait for it... Weld "S71" wheels on this car. It was a natural...

http://weldracing.com/street-performance/rts-18-inch.html

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

oestek

10-08-2012, 09:04 AM

Here's the S71 build photo galleries...

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/1386/79/

csouth

10-08-2012, 09:56 AM