'69 Cutlass

[Hawghead]

Hi all,



I'm in the process of doing a frame off on a 1969 Cutlass. I want to keep the 60's/70's muscle car look but at the same time I want to take advantage of the strides made in suspension and driveablitiy in today's modern cars. I'm not a fan of the rubber band tire look (product of the era I grew up in I guess) so I'll be sticking with 15" rims (maybe 16" if I just go nuts) . I just want the car to handle and ride as well as it accelerates. I don't know anything about performance suspension so get your stupid questions shields ready. Looking forward to learning a lot.

Sorry I don't have any pictures, the body is sitting on blocks under a tarp next to my garage and the chassis in the garage being torn down.

Thanks,
Scott

[BMR Sales]

Welcome Scott!

[Schwartz Performance]

Welcome!

Unfortunately, the fat sidewall tires don't handle that great to today's standards. The ole BFG Radial TA's are not so great these days. It'll ride nice though!

You can beef up the suspension parts and get a nice handling car, but the tires will always be the limiting factor in your case.

Many of us agree the old muscle cars look good with a nice tall sidewall on their tires.. but some day you'll have to get away from the Floppy Disk and go with a USB drive, so to speak.

There's a lot to be learned on here, so check out all the forum categories and use the search tool- that's your best friend!

-Dale

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

Welcome! I love 69 Cutlasses, I'll own one someday.

But tying in with what was said above, I'd go with at least a 17" wheel. Otherwise, if staying with a 15", I don't see a reason to deviate from anything more than a stock restoration as you won't gain much. Modern suspension technology goes with modern tires and wheels, not to mention the fact that you can't get a good brake to fit a 15" wheel. These A-bodies can get a pretty tall tire in there easily, say ~28", with a 17" wheel, that's 11" of sidewall. I did 18's on a Chevelle last year with 28's and the tires were still plenty meaty, and had a great ride without looking like there was too much wheel.

[deejai35]

Welcome to the site. There are a few Oldsmobile A bodies on this site that you can learn from. There is a ton of good information on this site and lots of great help.

[csouth]

Welcome aboard Scott. There are plenty of parts out there for A bodies so you definitely have a good place to start. Even if you don't go crazy on your overall pkg, you'll probably want to go at least 17" on the wheels to get some decent binders on there. Don't be afraid to ask questions, we all were new here once.

[Forgeline Wheels]

Welcome Scott!