BUILD THREAD 1987 Cutlass Salon T-Top Frankenstein build

[olds307 and 403]

I am with you there, my 70 S was mouse filled as well, can hardly wait to replace the headliner. I love that you are going Olds powered with this car. I thought only myself was the one tearing out sbc's and replacing them with Olds V8's. I would use high temp RTV and double up the gaskets for the headers, it has worked for me. Let it set up for a while so not it isn't as messy. Don't over look the Dodge Stratus fans, they fit the G body rad like a glove and move serious air. My suggestion is have a manual over ride on your fan controller, I have had so many controllers, thermal switches and relays fail.

 

[Gozer442]

I am with you there, my 70 S was mouse filled as well, can hardly wait to replace the headliner. I love that you are going Olds powered with this car. I thought only myself was the one tearing out sbc's and replacing them with Olds V8's. I would use high temp RTV and double up the gaskets for the headers, it has worked for me. Let it set up for a while so not it isn't as messy. Don't over look the Dodge Stratus fans, they fit the G body rad like a glove and move serious air. My suggestion is have a manual over ride on your fan controller, I have had so many controllers, thermal switches and relays fail.

Thanks. Yes, everyone is putting in newer Chevy engine combos... more parts available, less expensive, easier. I've never followed the crowd. I've always been more of a purist to the Oldsmobile make. I'd love to find a vintage '50-'60s EFI intake like this, sticking out of the hood...

For the price of 2 pairs of exhaust gaskets, and RTV, I opted for the Remflex gaskets. I'll let you know how they are. I'm picking them up today. The Dodge Stratus is not as common of a car up here as the Intrepids...but I'll keep my eyes open. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Gozer442]

Here's two pics of the interior.. nice and fresh, if you can overlook the cigarette burns from the previous owner!

Crap! Just noticed that black smudge on the driver's seat! I hope that comes out!

 

[O. D. Showtime]

Looks good!

 

[olds307 and 403]

Mine were off a Plymouth Breeze, same thing. I got them from Westman Salvage in Brandon, Manitoba. These fans have to be almost 20 years old, 98 model I believe and still work great. I know Moon made a couple of the Hillborn style intakes for the Olds 350 years back, serious $$$ but would LOVE one! I have loved Olds and the SBO V8 since we had a 75 Cutlass 4dr with an Olds 350 as a kid that piled on the miles and took a lot of abuse. Then we had a 81 Delta 88 with the Olds 307, what a great car, that 307 went over 450,000 km. I miss the Olds powered 94 chebby 4x4, ran all the factory efi, trans etc. It burned due to a shorted block heater. From idle to 4000 rpm it was tons better than 5.3 trucks with the same trans and gearing. I currently live in Melville, Saskatchewan.

 

[Gozer442]

Thanks Olds307. I'll have a look for those fans.

I sanded the whole car down today, and got rid of the delamination from the crappy paint job the the previous owner did. Found out the drivers door is not original. I was thinking of replacing it anyways. Going to primer it black just to clean it up enough to drive for now. I'll do the bodywork in the winter.

 

[Gozer442]

Looks good!

Thanks!

Did some tuning on the Holley, and made some timing adjustments. I don't think the vacuum secondaries are engaging...look at it closer this weekend. I've had it out a few times this week. it runs nice and cool...great throttle response...and the 100 octane aviation fuel smells soooo good!

I continued some cleanup in the engine bay...and painted the washer reservoir.

After trying all sorts of cleaners I had...I prepped the plastic with a 3M grey scuff pad, and wiped it down with grease/wax remover. Then gave it a few light coats of this Krylon Satin Black. It's seems to have bonded really well...time will tell. I'll do the rad overflow next.

Looks like I'll have time this weekend to put in the Remflex header gaskets. I'll take some pics of the process.

Also ordered some headliner samples from an online supplier from Ontario... http://www.outdoorfabricscanada.com/

I should have them next week. That's it for now. Have a great long weekend!

 

[Gozer442]

I finally got to replacing the header gaskets last night. The passenger side took 10 minutes, but the driver's side took and hour and a half! With how tight everything is on the driver's side for clearance, I had to place a 2x4 under the driver's side head, and use a floor jack to lift the motor. The FelPro gaskets were not even close to sealing the exhaust! Have a look at the size comparison to the Remflex!

So many leaks...the centre ports were even blown out!

It was a little late to start it up last night, so I'll let you know tonight how it turned out. If the rain holds out, I'll be hitting a the local cruise night.

 

[axisg]

Its really coming along and you have been doing all this work in the killer heat !! It looks great

 

[Gozer442]

Its really coming along and you have been doing all this work in the killer heat !! It looks great

Thanks axisg! Ya, the heat has been a killer! Without the Strongbow in the garage fridge...I'd still be staring at an empty engine bay!