1972 Cutlass

[andrewb70]

Bill,

Make sure that loop is not so tight that when you drop the rear down the driveshaft hits it.

Andrew

[Reckn8]

Smart move to replace the whole tunnel!

[cutlassconvert]

First ever post. I am starting build a 70 Cutlass convertable. Been out of the car seen for a goog while man things have changed. You are starting awesome car and can't wait to see it grow.

[Bill Howell]

First ever post. I am starting build a 70 Cutlass convertable. Been out of the car seen for a goog while man things have changed. You are starting awesome car and can't wait to see it grow.

Thanks! Thanks for coming to Pro-touring.com This is a wonderful place for info, ideas and to make life long friends. However, let me warn you it is expensive around here...lol
We all have a passion for our cars and we look forward to meeting you and once you start your build, start your own build thread.

[64G-lark]

Nice build Mr Howell. I had to cut my tunnel out as well and found that a first gen Camaro replacement hump helped a lot and made plenty of room. The hump I used was to replace hacked up 4 speed cars, I recently saw were Mark Bowler is offering the whole first gen tunnel/ hump as one piece. This would be even better. Just something to check out and save some fab. time.

[Bill Howell]

Tunnel is coming along. Flu bug hit my fab man last week, but back on the job now.

[Bill Howell]

More big brown truck porn today. I decided to ditch the power brakes and just use this instead.
This is BAERs brand new Made in Arizona Master Cylinder. I can add power booster if I want but for now, this fixes clearance issue with coils and really gives that clean look under the hood.

[chichirone]

Really like this build Bill. My dad had one of these. Green with white vinyl top and white vinyl interior. He had white Cragars with big and littles on it. I recall as a very young child, maybe 5 years old, when the muffler rusted out and fell off. We lived in Erie, PA...rust belt. It sounded so cool. My dad still laughs nearly 40 years later because I cried when he fixed the exhaust. "It don't sound like a race car anymore daddy!"

[andrewb70]

Bill,

Does that new Baer MC have a deep hole in the back of the piston for the pushrod to snap into?

Andrew

[cutlassmann]

Check out my build from last year

[Bill Howell]

Andrew, the BAER brake cylinder has a 1 1/4inch hole for brake rod. It is smooth inside.

Sometimes it is the parts you don't even see or think about that take a lot of time to get right but well worth the effort. Since this piece is rarely seen after you finish your car, I thought I would post a picture now before it goes into place.
I wonder how many know what it is (that is the easy part) but more importantly how many know by looking how much it has been modified from stock to accommodate modern technology?

[andrewb70]

Bill,

Looks like you had steel sleeves welded to the pedal mount and there are bushings inside to make the pedal work smoother. Good call.

Is that MC a 1" bore? Might be a tad big for manual brakes. I saw they were also coming out with a 15/16" version which would be better.

Andrew

[Bill Howell]

Yes 1 inch Andrew, that is what Dutch recommended for my set up.



You are correct on the brake pedal/clutch pedal mount/brace. This is after I bought a "bolt in kit" that was sold as "plug and play". There has been quite a bit of trimming to the bracket too for clearance of added Clutch pedal and M/C rod. Since we were making new sleeves to space it out properly, we went the extra mile with the bushings also. This "made to fit" "bolt in" product only took about four hours to get correct fitment (had to rebend pedal) , rod angle, travel and alignment. I have bragged on some parts that actually did what they were advertised to do, this McLeod 68-72 A-body sure fit clutch pedal/master cylinder kit was anything but.....

[andrewb70]

Yes 1 inch Andrew, that is what Dutch recommended for my set up.

You are correct on the brake pedal/clutch pedal mount/brace. This is after I bought a "bolt in kit" that was sold as "plug and play". There has been quite a bit of trimming to the bracket too for clearance of added Clutch pedal and M/C rod. Since we were making new sleeves to space it out properly, we went the extra mile with the bushings also. This "made to fit" "bolt in" product only took about four hours to get correct fitment (had to rebend pedal) , rod angle, travel and alignment. I have bragged on some parts that actually did what they were advertised to do, this McLeod 68-72 A-body sure fit clutch pedal/master cylinder kit was anything but.....

I'll be interested to see how you like the pedal effort with the 1" bore. I used a 15/16" MC for a long time but ultimately switched to a 7/8" for a softer pedal (at the expense of greater pedal travel).

Sucks about the McLeod "bolt in" pedal master kit.

Andrew

[Bill Howell]

Got this done today. Always nice to have access to a machine shop and someone that knows how to whip out those one off pieces. This is a transmission mount for the ZF tranny that bolts to the original rubber mount. Believe it or not, I am using the original auto trans cross member. All we had to do was redrill one of the bolt holes in the frame where we shifted it a couple inches. Life is good!

[snappytravis]

Andrew, the BAER brake cylinder has a 1 1/4inch hole for brake rod. It is smooth inside.

Sometimes it is the parts you don't even see or think about that take a lot of time to get right but well worth the effort. Since this piece is rarely seen after you finish your car, I thought I would post a picture now before it goes into place.
I wonder how many know what it is (that is the easy part) but more importantly how many know by looking how much it has been modified from stock to accommodate modern technology?

Looks good, better then messing with the little plastic bushings.

[SparkyRnD]

Love this build thread, and let me know when you have the radiator installed and can get me measurements so we can select fans. I have Project Sabre going in to a new shop in the next week or so (after firing the last shop), so hopefully I'll be on the road later this year so your Cutlass won't feel lonely

[Bill Howell]

Can't do much with car until it warms up a bit so not much to update. However I did get this today.

[Motown 454]

It looks good Bill. Nice billet piece.

[rchaskin]