1980 cutlass longterm project

[lesbaldridge]

im shooting for something along the lines of this look for the tire and wheel combo. the rear wheels on this one stick out just a little more than what i have in mind, but its pretty close. i know thats not really the style these days, but i originally started building this car in my head when i was 15 back in 1990, when it was . id love to go with a mini-tub just to get a little more clearance but i havent figured out how to get around the trunk hinges. they are right in the dam way and i havent been able to figure out what to do with them unless i remove them and move them in a couple inches on either side. and that seems like alot of work so ill probably just skip it for now. id like to have the mechanicals done and at least driveable by august if possible.

 

[chstonebraker]

i kinda got stalled on the cutty for a minute. i had to go out of town a couple times, and some unexpected financial obligations popped up. i am back on it now though. i have been looking for an 8.5 rear end without much luck. last week i spent $40 in gas to go look at a rear that was advertised on craigs list as an 87 grand national rear end for $300. i talked to the guy several times before making the trip and he seemed pretty sure of what he had. when i got there he changed his story and tried to tell me it was a 71 grand national rear end. i told him there was no such thing. then he said he pulled it out of a 71 cutlass. since im no rear end guru i didnt want to gamble $300 on it so i passed. i dont have a truck right now so everytime i go look at something i have to con one of my friends into taking me and work around there schedule. i have also been struggling with wehter i want to stick with the small block for now or just start off with a big block olds motor. i pulled the car around to the car port where i can work on it a little easier a few days ago and i think im going to start with lifting the body off the frame so i can sand blast and paint it. i want to replace & upgrade some of the suspension pieces and order new body mounts which ill probably do this week. im gonna make a decision on the motor for sure by the first of april. thats the time limit i gave myself..lol. im also trying to figure out what size tires & wheels i want to go with. i have pretty much settled on using summits fast five rims. 15x10 on the rear, just got to figure out what backspace to go with.

just to let you know that limey on here has a really nice set of baby moon that would look pretty good on our cars, rears are 15x10 and fronts are 15x8

 

[chstonebraker]

oh ya and he has the perfect tires for the back of it also.. i would jump all over it if i werent laid off at the moment

 

[lesbaldridge]

not really feeling the baby moons, ive really got my head set on some five spoke rims. i was all set to order them last week and my 17 yr old wiped that idea right out with one phonecall..LOL. had to send him $1200 for his car . and the 12 yr old got into some trouble, im waiting to see what that cost me. between the restitution and the attorney i may be spray painting my car with rattle cans and dropping in a junkyard 6 cylinder . damn kids. i guess ill try to find some stuff to do on it that doesnt require money so much as it does elbow grease. maybe clean up the engine compartment and paint it this week.

 

[lesbaldridge]

BTW..anyone know what wheel backspacing works best with these cars ? best i can tell is maybe 3.5" on the rears

 

[rebelgtp]

les there are always things that come up aren't there? :lol:

Looks like you have a very clean body to start with there. I am kinda digging that pic you posted as your inspiration.

 

[lesbaldridge]

les there are always things that come up aren't there? :lol:

Looks like you have a very clean body to start with there. I am kinda digging that pic you posted as your inspiration.

yup, and my kids and ex-wife are very creative . since it looks like im gonna be on a tighter budget than i hoped it looks like im going to be alot closer to that pic than i originally intended. at least for now. was gonna do yellow paint with summit 5 stars. now it looks like primer black for the time being. just found a set of 15x12 chevy rallyes on craigslist for a decent price. gonna pic them up tonight or tommorow. theyre 4.5" backspace but i can always get some spacers if i have to. i just want to get the dam thing on the road for now. then i can refine it as time goes on.

 

[rebelgtp]

You know you might think about what I am doing as far as paint goes. I am using John Deere Blitz Black paint (they do have other colors) and it costs $35 a gallon, I already have all the paint and thinner and will spray it myself.

To give you an idea here are a couple Blitz Black cars. They do have yellow glossy as well.

 

[lesbaldridge]

hey, i like that. im definitely gonna have to look into that paint option. i just got off the phone with the machine shop guy and now im more confused than ever. he says maybe i should look into buying new cyliner heads verse having mine reworked. i dunno, i checked summit and talk about to many options. im starting to think ill stick with what i got and just have them done. my 12 yr old just got here and she says she feels like getting dirty so were of to the driveway to dig through some of the extra parts i got with this thing and see what we find . ill let ya know what im missing interior wise later today.

 

[lesbaldridge]

picked up some rims for the cutty. theyre 15x10 with a 3.5 backspace. some old chevy rallyes someone widened but they did a nice job. gonna clea them up and repaint them. gonna start looking for some fronts to match. not sure if im gonna leave them like this or add the center caps and beauty rings. i think i got hosed a little at $125. but they were close, and i wanted them, so.......