1983 Cutlass

[Shakes the Rat]

And then this happened,,,,



The frame will be boxed in, control arm mounts reinforced, rear crossmember added, and painted. I'll probably start cutting metal this weekend.

 

[Texas82GP]

Guess that pickup will be the dailey for a little while longer.

 

[Opie Knievel]

And then this happened,,,,



The frame will be boxed in, control arm mounts reinforced, rear crossmember added, and painted. I'll probably start cutting metal this weekend.

Looks like you've committed.

 

[sh1ft]

You are definitely committed now. Keep posting because you are giving me inspiration to get mine started.

 

[lilbowtie]

WOW !! I remember someone saying and I quote "I'm keeping the Cutlass stock until I can collect parts for a LSx swap but until then, I will be doing repairs and upgrades as I have time and money". Funny how things change-there will be no questions now, you will know exactly what you have and be proud of it when your done. There is a book by Ron Sessions - Turbo Hydra-Matic 350 Handbook which is a great book for rebuilding and hipo mods. Don't know if you have used Northern Auto but I've used them for years on my engine and trans builds - they use Transstar kits and are reasonable.

 

[Shakes the Rat]

Looks like you've committed.

I probably should be committed. I still have paying work coming in and the Cutlass is taking up room in the shop. I don't know what I'm thinking.

Guess that pickup will be the dailey for a little while longer.

And I'm actually okay with that!

 

[Opie Knievel]

I probably should be committed. I still have paying work coming in and the Cutlass is taking up room in the shop. I don't know what I'm thinking.

And I'm actually okay with that!

I guess it just proves that you're in the right place. A car nut surrounded by other car nuts!

 

[Shakes the Rat]

WOW !! I remember someone saying and I quote "I'm keeping the Cutlass stock until I can collect parts for a LSx swap but until then, I will be doing repairs and upgrades as I have time and money". Funny how things change-there will be no questions now, you will know exactly what you have and be proud of it when your done. There is a book by Ron Sessions - Turbo Hydra-Matic 350 Handbook which is a great book for rebuilding and hipo mods. Don't know if you have used Northern Auto but I've used them for years on my engine and trans builds - they use Transstar kits and are reasonable.

I still want to do an LS swap but I still can't afford to do that the way I'd like. I always figured I either want a car that is actively being worked on or one that drives. If it's sitting around, waiting for me to pay for parts then I lose interest.

I haven't looked at Northern, but I will. I bought all my parts from Summit Racing. Almost everything I needed was in their kit. I just had to add a few other parts.

 

[Shakes the Rat]

I'll be jumping around for a while as I get parts or I get the urge to do something.

First off, I'm not a transmission rebuilder. I'm a bodyman/painter. That said, I love to learn new things and challenge myself. This will be the second transmission I've rebuilt. The first one was a Honda BMXA out of my brothers 2001 Civic. I did the research on it and upgraded it so we wouldn't have a repeat of the same problems his transmission is known to have. This one will be the same. I'll be upgrading the weak parts so I shouldn't have any issues down the road.

I purchased two books.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613251890/?tag=gbody-20

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0895860511/?tag=gbody-20

Both are great manuals. They both have very similar info so either one will work. I bought a rebuild kit, thrust washers, shift kit, and hardened sprag from Summit racing. I bought the Summit kit because it included the bushing kit and uses Alto Red clutches. I could have used the cheaper kit with Raybestos clutches but since I used Alto clutches on my brothers Honda with good results, I'll use them here. I ordered a Transgo shift kit based on reviews I've read. I'll buy a torque convertor from Summit when I get ready to install the transmission.

The only thing I didn't order from Summit is the fifth clutch and steel for the direct clutch pack. I ordered those from Jegs since they estimated getting them out a few days sooner. We'll see. Since I won't be expecting all may parts for a couple of weeks, I'll probably move the parts table to the back of the shop and get started on the frame.

 

[Shakes the Rat]

I found out today the fifth clutch and steel that were supposed to be back ordered are being delivered tomorrow.

I didn't do much in the shop today. I stripped the frame down, set it on stands, and leveled it. I'm now at the point when I can actually start doing stuff to the car. Up till now its been disassembly and organizing parts. Now I can start throwing sparks, welding, and bending metal!!