rebelgtp
02-01-2010, 10:10 PM
Well I'm starting to gather the parts for my '80 Cutlass project so I figured it was time to start a project thread.
The car in question is a 1980 Olds Cutlass Supreme that started off life as a diesel powered car. I received the car free from my Uncles brother that use to race dirt track. I was looking for a project and he was looking to clear up some space in his yard.
I got the car home on a trailer as the diesel had been yanked and a Pontiac 301 had been dropped in its place that had long since thrown a rod. The rest of the running gear was fairly standard, auto trans and a peg leg 7.5 rear. The pleasant surprise was the fact the car actually had some aluminum bits due to its original diesel configuration.
Here is the car as it was when I got it home.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/07/DSC_3913-1.jpg
As you can see it needs work but is not terrible and heck you can't beat the price.
Now then the main ideas for this project is to rebuild the car to a point that it can one have a good amount of power (300-400hp), two actually handle (I would love to auto cross it), and thirdly I want to try and build it to the budget to qualify for the GRM challenge.
The Pontiac 301 is being yanked along with the transmission and the rear. A Chevy 350 from an early Z28 is going in its place that will be lightly worked over, a 4 spd transmission will be going in and the rear as of this moment will be replaced with a GM 12 bolt. Disk brakes on all 4 corners will help bring everything to a stop faster than the old drums.
The disgusting huge chrome mirrors are being tossed in favor of a set of aero units pulled from a later Olds. The seats are being tossed in favor of a set of black leather seats taken from a '98 Pontiac GTP. The rest of the interior will get stripped and rebuilt to match the rest of the cars remodel. Additionally on the outside the over all look of the car is going to get an over haul. The initial plan was to use the smaller Regal bumpers pulled in and rework the header panel, though a complete front end swap maybe possible in the future. The wheel wells will get flares on all four corners. Some rear down force will be added by a custom built aluminum adjustable rear spoiler fashioned after those used in stock car racing.
Originally I planned on simply using a carb on the engine and rebuilding a Quadrajet for it to go on the Edelbrock intake that is coming with the V8. However recently I acquired a TPI injection setup off a Corvette for a very good price that might be going in instead with the help of a Megasquirt. The injection possibility has also brought about the idea of going a bit more extreme on the engine setup. Currently at my local junk yard there are several M90 superchargers taking up space on their shelves that I could get for a song I'm sure. The idea of remote mounting two of these has crossed my mind.
The car had quite a few parts in the trunk when I got it including a set of G body racing springs. These will at least in the beginning be going in along with a completely rebuilt suspension and frame bracing.
Anyway as I get new parts and make progress on the build I will post updates here. Any comments or suggestions are always greatly appreciated, this will be my first build on this level but at least my girl friend is supporting me doing th project and is even helping me with some of the wrenching.
The car in question is a 1980 Olds Cutlass Supreme that started off life as a diesel powered car. I received the car free from my Uncles brother that use to race dirt track. I was looking for a project and he was looking to clear up some space in his yard.
I got the car home on a trailer as the diesel had been yanked and a Pontiac 301 had been dropped in its place that had long since thrown a rod. The rest of the running gear was fairly standard, auto trans and a peg leg 7.5 rear. The pleasant surprise was the fact the car actually had some aluminum bits due to its original diesel configuration.
Here is the car as it was when I got it home.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/07/DSC_3913-1.jpg
As you can see it needs work but is not terrible and heck you can't beat the price.
Now then the main ideas for this project is to rebuild the car to a point that it can one have a good amount of power (300-400hp), two actually handle (I would love to auto cross it), and thirdly I want to try and build it to the budget to qualify for the GRM challenge.
The Pontiac 301 is being yanked along with the transmission and the rear. A Chevy 350 from an early Z28 is going in its place that will be lightly worked over, a 4 spd transmission will be going in and the rear as of this moment will be replaced with a GM 12 bolt. Disk brakes on all 4 corners will help bring everything to a stop faster than the old drums.
The disgusting huge chrome mirrors are being tossed in favor of a set of aero units pulled from a later Olds. The seats are being tossed in favor of a set of black leather seats taken from a '98 Pontiac GTP. The rest of the interior will get stripped and rebuilt to match the rest of the cars remodel. Additionally on the outside the over all look of the car is going to get an over haul. The initial plan was to use the smaller Regal bumpers pulled in and rework the header panel, though a complete front end swap maybe possible in the future. The wheel wells will get flares on all four corners. Some rear down force will be added by a custom built aluminum adjustable rear spoiler fashioned after those used in stock car racing.
Originally I planned on simply using a carb on the engine and rebuilding a Quadrajet for it to go on the Edelbrock intake that is coming with the V8. However recently I acquired a TPI injection setup off a Corvette for a very good price that might be going in instead with the help of a Megasquirt. The injection possibility has also brought about the idea of going a bit more extreme on the engine setup. Currently at my local junk yard there are several M90 superchargers taking up space on their shelves that I could get for a song I'm sure. The idea of remote mounting two of these has crossed my mind.
The car had quite a few parts in the trunk when I got it including a set of G body racing springs. These will at least in the beginning be going in along with a completely rebuilt suspension and frame bracing.
Anyway as I get new parts and make progress on the build I will post updates here. Any comments or suggestions are always greatly appreciated, this will be my first build on this level but at least my girl friend is supporting me doing th project and is even helping me with some of the wrenching.