Project Sabre, a 1971 Cutlass Pro-Touring car for the average Joe

[armourmark]

I believe that is the tranny from the Incredible Hulk's ride, not to be confused with goldberg. lol

[SparkyRnD]

Yeah, I had a few words with the seller. He was honest and upfront about everything else, packed it extremely well (Joe, do you have a picture of the 'padding' you can post?), but he failed to mention the nuclear booger green paint.

[BulldawgMusclecars]

I probably should have taken some. It was in a rubbermaid tub, held to a pallet with ratchet straps, and filled with a couple dozen old dish towels and a whole bunch of cardboard. Did the job, though...it got here in 1 piece.

[SparkyRnD]

I bought and read Mark Savitske's book, How To Make Your Muscle Car Handle, which was a very informative read with great information. We will be discussing the suspension upgrades over the next week or two, and hope to have it selected before the end of the month.

[BulldawgMusclecars]

The 6.0 is on the stand, and we've stripped off the harness, exhaust manifolds, motor mounts, etc. More pics tomorrow!

[SparkyRnD]

Fantastic! I finished the A-Body LS swap radiator prototype and will bring it tomorrow morning for a final test fit too.

[SparkyRnD]

Sold off the interior today! Local guy with a 1970 Cutlass S is buying it for his restoration. We also test fit the prototype, and I'm going to move the bottom tab over 5/8" to get it to better line up with the factory u-channel.

[MGCslugger33]

Great Idea on the build. I think many middle class guys, like myself, will appreciate it. You guys aren't too far from me either. I'll definitely be keeping up with this thread for some ideas on my build.

[SparkyRnD]

yeah, you are only an hour away from us. You should come up some time and check out the car in person. We have a monthly meet & greet at Bulldawg Musclecars shop (2nd saturday of every month, 8am until when ever)

[BulldawgMusclecars]

Sold off the interior today! Local guy with a 1970 Cutlass S is buying it for his restoration. We also test fit the prototype, and I'm going to move the bottom tab over 5/8" to get it to better line up with the factory u-channel.

Looks like the interior is still up for grabs...the buyer backed out, since he wanted the headliner (!) and we couldn't get it out in 1 piece. 40+ year old glue doesn't want to budge!

[SparkyRnD]

We sold the interior yesterday afternoon, to a semi-local customer restoring another Cutlass. We also mocked up the 2003 Monte Carlo interior, and it is almost a perfect fit!

[ChevelleNV]

Need more porn......I mean pictures! Looking forward to the progress on this project, I love A-Body's, owned more than a few over the years.

[SparkyRnD]

I recently received and installed the Modo Innovations pedal covers, and MAN ARE THEY COOL! Took about 15 minutes to mark and drill the pedals and install. The raised studs will make sure my shoes get wicked grip around the twisties. The rendering from Rushforth is almost done as well, so I'll get those uploaded soon.

[SRD art]

Pics! Looking forward to seeing more, I love Cutlass'!

[BulldawgMusclecars]

I just picked up the mounts from Jeff at BRP/Musclerods last night, before he left for SEMA, and will try to get the engine and trans mocked up by tomorrow afternoon, and get the pics up. Sabre is going to be the guinea pig for BRP's new transmission crossmember, which will bolt up to factory frame holes rather than requiring any drilling as before.

[zuess4u]

As Sparky mentioned, this build is intended to show that it isn't necessary to have an air-to-water intercooled American Express Black card to have a nice Pro Touring car. If you're looking for the latest widget machined from billet unobtanium, you're probably not going to find it here. We are using off the shelf parts, and in some cases parts that will soon be released to the general public. We will also be using some used parts, where deemed safe and reliable enough. For less than the cost of a new crate motor, we will have a 400+ engine with a 6 speed manual transmission and a rear end that will take anything we throw at it. Make no mistake, while this car is being built to the highest standards, it is being built with a realistic budget in mind.

Love this reply...right on point.

[BulldawgMusclecars]

Thanks Zuess!

[Drew2672]

Great project. I have an A Body Lemans Sport I will be doing in the future, so this will be great for me to watch.

[BulldawgMusclecars]

Here are a few pics of the engine, a 6.0 litre LQ4 from an '03 Chevy van. You can tell this isn't a passenger car engine, since it has a mechanical fan, "tall" accessory brackets, and the tall truck-style intake. Plus, it has an iron block. In this pic, I have just removed the intake, and you can see all the accumulated nastiness underneath. A shop vac and a wire brush made quick work of it, though.



The coolant tubes are pretty rusty, too...that'll need to be replaced.



The fan, which will be replaced with dual electrics, from RnD Fabrication, of course.









The original truck-style oil pan.







And removed...



The old windage tray and pickup:





The new...



GMPP Musclecar Pan Kit Installed (minus the dipstick and tube; this is just mockup)







If you're using a T56 with an engine that had an auto, don't forget the pilot bearing:



Clutch assembly installed



BRP/Musclerods Motor Mount installed

[BulldawgMusclecars]

The mounts bolt up to the same ones as the original Olds mounts; no drilling required. I hit the holes with a little silver spray paint for clarity.



One of the original mounts



This shot gives a better idea where the engine mounts up:



Mocked up (trans isn't in place yet)







The last shot shows my trusty TPIS "Happy Hooker"...its an older one, but we drilled it for LS engines as well as several extra carb patterns.



The old gas tank is also out, but no pics of that yet.