Project: Motor City Madness- 72 Cutlass (Delilah)

[csouth]

Looks great. So much progress. I should be taking notes. Do you want to just double your parts list for me?

Sure, send me a cashiers check..lol

[deejai35]

Are you coming down for Good Guys Columbus this year? I'd love to see the car in person and put name/face/car together.

[csouth]

Are you coming down for Good Guys Columbus this year? I'd love to see the car in person and put name/face/car together.

I will definitely be at Good Guys, but the car won't be ready by then. I have too many other financial responsibilites, so my goal is actually late summer completion.

['71cutlasluvr]

Yeah Chris, looks like the hotchkiss setup springs aren't going to cut it. Fortunately, I just installed a lift in my garage in october so lifting the body off of the chassis for mods won't be as much of a hassle as the first time. The tubular control arms in the front and the heavy duty rear sway bar and control arms are keepers. I look forward to seeing how the spc springs work for you. from what i've read coilovers with adjustable ride height may be the way to go but I'd rather put that $ towards a set of Jasons wheels. But stance is critical too, both for looks and handling performance. I know it's not a good idea, but maybe I can cut a coil or two out of the hotchkiss springs. Pretty sure I can't sell them for much, so might try that, but I only want to do this once and not keep taking the suspension apart to experiment. decisions decisions....

Did you consider coilovers? are they really worth money? Just the fact that you have all that adjustment might make it worth the investment.
I have soooo much to learn......

That green is nice! It really shines. But it's subtle. Great Idea adding a flaked cleat coat. my cutlass' interior was a goshawful camel/tan. I will convert to black. I have the foam and seat coverings for the stock seats, but will probably put that on hold and look for seats that provide the support autocross demands... again, soooo much to learn.

attached a pic when I pulled the small block out of the 'vert. you can see project car as it was before pulling the 468 from the hardtop to install in the vert when the 350 started getting tired. didn't like the blue wheels so painted them black. The other pic is of the vert a few years ago when i decided to powder coat some wheels from a 72 wagon which a friend and I bought for parts. decided to go the steel wheel/poverty cap route. Still have the wheels but she didn't quite handle as well with the 14's as she does with the 15's. Maybe I'll sell the 14's to help finance my autocross project. also added a double pic of what the blue car looked like just before teardown. The wheel wells are nasty and really show how bad the ride height is. But I'm glad I have a good starting point, so counting my blessings, you could say.

btw: Jasons wheels look great with those meats. Can't wait to see them on your ride.

[csouth]

I took the wheels into the garage for a glance, I'm going to order my brackets from Tobin so I can mounts the rears calipers.Once I get the wheels mounted I can sell the 15's for a little more project money.
That is VERY clean vert! Must be nice having one of each...lol I'm hoping the SPC springs turn out ok, I've seen a few A bodies here with nice stance after installing those and a Stage 2 kit from SC&C. I looked at coilovers before, but decided the springs would satisfy my needs. I will be adding some Varishocks to my list of summer purchases though for a nice complete setup. I think you could still get a good return on the Hotchkis springs of you tried. You could also look into circle track springs for the rear with adjusters. There are a few cars here running those as well. They are a cheap alternative to a rear coilover conversion. Here is a thread I found with an A body and SPC springs, the stance was perfect.

https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...ght16-s-69-GTO

['71cutlasluvr]

Thanks for the thread on the GTO. Great info Chris. What an improvement on the stance. I'd be happy with that compared to what my car looked like before teardown. Very promising. Perhaps you will get similar results with the spc springs. Good luck!
I'll have to look into those circle track springs with adjusters...didn't know there was such a thing....

Yes, I'm very happy (and lucky) to have one of each. The vert looks good in the pics but she's a 20/20car. But she shines up nice, eh? Funny thing, the vert wasn't even a thought until my youngest daughter (about 11 yrs old at the time) approached me and said how mad she was at me cause we couldn't go to any of the cruises that her girlfriends and dads were attending 'cause I tore apart the one we have! She added insult to injury saying some of her friends dads didn't even HAVE a musclecar, and we couldn't even drive ours..

I was absolutely floored. So started looking for a convertible oldsmobile. Not necessarily a cutlass, an 88 or 98 would have been fine. But then the prez of our olds club heard I was looking for a vert and let me know one of our club members was selling his '71 to get the funds for a concours resto for his '79 hurst olds. I paid almost double what I planning on, but when we went for a test drive with the top down, my daughter squealed with joy with a smile from ear to ear. Kinda hard to negotiate when your daughter is tugging on your sleeve saying "ya gotta buy it Dad, give him what he wants" And the rest, as they say is history.
Looking back, it was worth every penny. I don't see too many verts around here anymore. I think the New Enland winters just ate 'em up. Sadly, my daughter, although still a "car girl" is now 20, today in fact is her birthday, and she has more interest in personalizing her Honda civic Si rather than cruising with her dad in the 'vert, although she seems excited about me stuffing a roller cammed big block into the blue car and making it an autox project. She says we can do autox together... maybe. well see....

Thanks again for the info Chris. I look forward to watching your project come together.

[csouth]

I just got a little package from Tobin@Kore3. I ordered my rear caliper brackets and some stainless brake lines. The quality of the brackets excellent....Still waiting patiently for my L&H spindles so I can put my car on the ground....

['71cutlasluvr]

Very Nice pieces Chris. You must be chompin' at the bit for those spindles.

[csouth]

That's an understatement...LOL I've been waiting a while, but I know there are people that have been waiting longer. I'm patient because of some things were out of Luke's control. It's giving me time to decide what gauges I want to order.

[70OldsSportsCoupe]

What rear brakes are you going with?

[csouth]

What rear brakes are you going with?

I have some C5 Calipers front and rear. My car is parked to one side of the garage with the front on stands. I can't wait to put it on the ground so I can get the party started...

[70OldsSportsCoupe]

Ah, cool.
What are you going to do for a parking brake? I'd like to get the full-on C5 solution with parking-brake-in-rotor-hat, or the similar setup from a 3rd-gen F-body.
I actually have an 10" (IIRC) '77 Seville setup on hand, but I don't know if they'll fit with the non-staggered shocks on my Cutlass, since the Seville had leaf springs and staggered shocks.

[csouth]

That setup should work, you could also look into S10 Blazer rear discs if you'd like another option.
I'm probably going to get a setup from Kore3 in the future when funds allow. I talked to Tobin about it briefly, but its not in the budget right now. I told myself I'm only purchasing things that are preventing me from getting the car on the road right now, anything else can be updated later. I want to be able to enjoy the car at some point.

['71cutlasluvr]

Hi Chris. Been away for training and haven't had email access. What's the latest on your ride?

[csouth]

Hi Chris. Been away for training and haven't had email access. What's the latest on your ride?

I picked up my motor Thursday and I also heard that L&H will be putting spindles into production next week. I recieved my new gauges and now I'm looking to make a dash bezel. I just can't wait to get my car off jack stands, its been way too long. Once it's rolling, I'll take it my friends shop so I can start working on the motor and trans install. This car has definitely built my patience.

[70OldsSportsCoupe]

I know what you mean. I've been staring at a bashed left-rear quarter panel for something like 10 years, because I don't have the space or, if I'm honest, skill to fix it myself, or the $$ to have it done...
I could live with primer and multiple colors if only that giant dent wasn't there!
This would be why the current project is a storage building out back so I can clear out the garage to work on the car long-term.

['71cutlasluvr]

I picked up my motor Thursday and I also heard that L&H will be putting spindles into production next week. I recieve my new gauges and now I'm looking to make a dash bezel. I just can't want to get my car off jack stands, its been way too long...LOL Once it's rolling, I'll take it my friends shop so I can start working on the motor and trans install. This car has definitely buitl my patience.

Sounds like your making progress though. Good to hear. As mentioned before, I am getting my '71 ready for the road again after a redo for the engine. I am swapping the power assist master cylinder/vacuum diaphram with a manual unit from Master power brakes. Two reasons: 1. the new 468 has a lumpy cam... I only get about 10hg of vacuum, so the power brakes are useless, 2. The existing brake lines I installed initially had too many T's and couplings, all prone to leaks, so with the engine and headers out, access is much easier. Make it 3 reasons: The valve cover barely slips on with that big old vacuum canister...it's the original one, not the downsized version. So removing/installing the driver's side cover will be that much easier. Just finished the brakes last night. Need to bench bleed the unit, install and check for leaks. I eliminated all T's as the MPB unit has two ports for each section, so each front brake gets it's own port. Now I can concentrate on assembling the engine on the vert and installing. Once it's drivable, I can start on the cutlass S hardtop, my autox project. Gotta be able to drive SOMETHING! LOL. Cruise season is almost half done, and I'm STILL putting this thing back together! The good news is I am finally done with training for my job, which takes me out of state 3 weeks at a time, so now I can concentrate on both projects, in between house and family commitments, not to mention limited funds. We all know how that goes, eh?

Man, those guys working on project Sabre are amazing! They accomplished so much during my internet blackout. Makes me want to hold off on the 'vert and dig into the hardtop, but that wouldn't be wise. No ride is a bad thing for me. Gotta get my Olds jones taken care of. ;)

Hope your spindles become available soon and that your engine installs and runs hassle free.

[csouth]

Sounds like your making progress though. Good to hear. As mentioned before, I am getting my '71 ready for the road again after a redo for the engine. I am swapping the power assist master cylinder/vacuum diaphram with a manual unit from Master power brakes. Two reasons: 1. the new 468 has a lumpy cam... I only get about 10hg of vacuum, so the power brakes are useless, 2. The existing brake lines I installed initially had too many T's and couplings, all prone to leaks, so with the engine and headers out, access is much easier. Make it 3 reasons: The valve cover barely slips on with that big old vacuum canister...it's the original one, not the downsized version. So removing/installing the driver's side cover will be that much easier. Just finished the brakes last night. Need to bench bleed the unit, install and check for leaks. I eliminated all T's as the MPB unit has two ports for each section, so each front brake gets it's own port. Now I can concentrate on assembling the engine on the vert and installing. Once it's drivable, I can start on the cutlass S hardtop, my autox project. Gotta be able to drive SOMETHING! LOL. Cruise season is almost half done, and I'm STILL putting this thing back together! The good news is I am finally done with training for my job, which takes me out of state 3 weeks at a time, so now I can concentrate on both projects, in between house and family commitments, not to mention limited funds. We all know how that goes, eh?

Man, those guys working on project Sabre are amazing! They accomplished so much during my internet blackout. Makes me want to hold off on the 'vert and dig into the hardtop, but that wouldn't be wise. No ride is a bad thing for me. Gotta get my Olds jones taken care of. ;)

Hope your spindles become available soon and that your engine installs and runs hassle free.

Thanks, I hope it goes hassle free as well. I need to get it in a mocked, so I can measure for the new driveshaft. I also need to make a small cutout in my lower support for the radiator and fan setup I hope to use. I think once I get started the ball will roll quickly or at least faster...
Sabre is moving along pretty quickly, but there is a little more incentive when you're being paid to do it...LOL I think thats the reason why Joe's GNX is off to the sde. I'm sure it will be very nice in the end with everything they put into it.

Did you ever consider going Hydroboost for your brakes? My motor will have enough vacuum, its just something I did in case I wanted to make a cam change later. I actually just placed my order for the hydraulic lines I need for my conversion. The battle never ends...LOL

[csouth]

Well I had a surprise pkg yest when I got home, my steering arms from L&H arrived. The arms are very nicely constructed. I'm still waiting on the rest of the parts, but I know it was out of Luke's control. I also pulled out my gauges last night and started to make a template for a dash bezel. The outer ones need to be a little closer together. Its nothing fancy, you've seen this configuration many times. I'm thinking of using some carbon fiber once the spacing is right. Please excuse the pic, it was after midnight and was recovering from a late night on Sunday too...lol

Steering arms


SpeedHut Gauges

[SparkyRnD]

what about pics of the Rushforth's??!!