Well, this will be Cutlass number 9 that I have owned, and G-Body number number 7 I have owned. I found it 2 months ago, while browsing the local online classifieds. It had been sitting in a barn for 12 years about 40 minutes away from my home in central Ontario. The Cutlass was complete with hardly any rust on the body, and the tops look really good. The paint was grey with grey interior, tilt steering, power windows, F41 package, rally gauges, 305 Chev, TH200C metric trans, and a 2.29 posi.
I trailered it home...not being able to start it because of the bad wiring under the hood. After fixing the wiring, and changing the fluids, it fired right up...ran smooth, then blew spark plug #6 out the passenger side head! From sitting in a barn for 12 years, most of the plugs were rusted out. Next was tackling the interior smell...when they say "Barn fresh"... they sure as hell aren't talking about how fresh the smell is! I gutted the interior to find 7 mouse nests...the worst was under the back seat. There was a nest even in the headliner! The floor had a number of patches to fill, but the frame looks fine for now...a little thin in 2 spots...but ok for the next year or so. The power was a little lacking for me, so I pulled the motor and trans out next.
I've been accumulating parts for the past 10 years, so this was finally the time to put them to good use. I had a 403 Olds I bought from a machinist so years ago, that he used for drag racing. It has 455 heads with the large valves, Crane springs and aluminium roller rockers, adjustable pushrods, 5xx lift cam(don't know the full specs yet), Toronado pan and pickup, modified oiling system, Edelbrock RPM intake, double roller timing chain, Holley 4160 750cfm, rebuilt HEI distributor with Accell hardware and coil, and Hooker headers. After the heater box removal, and cleanup of the engine bay/firewall, the motor dropped in after I welded in the lower mounts. I bolted a TH350 behind it, with a Hurst Stage 2 kit, and 2400 stall converter. The rad is an F-Body aluminium unit, which I added a secondary transmission cooler in front of it. For now, I have a FlexLite aluminium fan on the pump. I'm on the hunt for an electric fan setup... maybe an F-Body setup, or a unit from a '90s Intrepid. I have done a number of floor repairs, and fabbed in a Hurst Quarter Stick.
I have a line lock unit I'll hook up later...I'm just itching to get it on the road before the summer is over! I'm removing the landau roof, and modding it to a regular hard top with the T-top...and giving it a quick primer paint for the rest of the year. I also had a cowl hood that was made for me about 16 years ago, that I've put on too. Here's what it looked like on my first G-Body Cutlass on my wedding day...
I'll do the bodywork over the winter. Oh, and I have poly bushings for the suspension and body mounts, 373 gears, and lowering springs to keep me busy as well. Next update will be the interior going back in.
Thanks for watching.
I trailered it home...not being able to start it because of the bad wiring under the hood. After fixing the wiring, and changing the fluids, it fired right up...ran smooth, then blew spark plug #6 out the passenger side head! From sitting in a barn for 12 years, most of the plugs were rusted out. Next was tackling the interior smell...when they say "Barn fresh"... they sure as hell aren't talking about how fresh the smell is! I gutted the interior to find 7 mouse nests...the worst was under the back seat. There was a nest even in the headliner! The floor had a number of patches to fill, but the frame looks fine for now...a little thin in 2 spots...but ok for the next year or so. The power was a little lacking for me, so I pulled the motor and trans out next.
I've been accumulating parts for the past 10 years, so this was finally the time to put them to good use. I had a 403 Olds I bought from a machinist so years ago, that he used for drag racing. It has 455 heads with the large valves, Crane springs and aluminium roller rockers, adjustable pushrods, 5xx lift cam(don't know the full specs yet), Toronado pan and pickup, modified oiling system, Edelbrock RPM intake, double roller timing chain, Holley 4160 750cfm, rebuilt HEI distributor with Accell hardware and coil, and Hooker headers. After the heater box removal, and cleanup of the engine bay/firewall, the motor dropped in after I welded in the lower mounts. I bolted a TH350 behind it, with a Hurst Stage 2 kit, and 2400 stall converter. The rad is an F-Body aluminium unit, which I added a secondary transmission cooler in front of it. For now, I have a FlexLite aluminium fan on the pump. I'm on the hunt for an electric fan setup... maybe an F-Body setup, or a unit from a '90s Intrepid. I have done a number of floor repairs, and fabbed in a Hurst Quarter Stick.
I have a line lock unit I'll hook up later...I'm just itching to get it on the road before the summer is over! I'm removing the landau roof, and modding it to a regular hard top with the T-top...and giving it a quick primer paint for the rest of the year. I also had a cowl hood that was made for me about 16 years ago, that I've put on too. Here's what it looked like on my first G-Body Cutlass on my wedding day...
I'll do the bodywork over the winter. Oh, and I have poly bushings for the suspension and body mounts, 373 gears, and lowering springs to keep me busy as well. Next update will be the interior going back in.
Thanks for watching.
