79 Cutlass Wagon G-machine build

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Finished pulling doors and interior today.

Last ugly seat photo, I'm really glad to see these things hit the dumpster. On this passenger side I pulled out the foam which was in great shape so that I can fab a small jump seat that will fit in between the buckets so that I can still fit my wife and 4 kids in the car with me. When not in use the back will fold down and do double duty as an arm rest. I also pulled off the factory arm rest to save for another project.

 

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Here's a shot of the passenger side floor. I knew this was there and screwed down a piece of sheet aluminum a couple years ago until I could get to this point to fix it. Funny, the parts car on page one had a large hole in exactly the same spot. My guess is that because this is right above the gynormis factory cat, I'm thinking that the cat got hot enough to cook off the under coating, and the salt they use on the roads here in winter just took it's toll over time. With the school shop tools handy I'll use the bead roller and brake to make another insert out of 16 ga sheet steel and weld it in properly.

Unfortunately I didn't know this was here. The previous owner had filled the gap above the windshield between the roof and trim with clear silicone, a tell tale sign of a windshield leak. I'll bet that's what caused this. Luckily it hasn't rusted to the point that the floor integrity has been sacrificed so some cleaning with a wire wheel and some Por-15 should take care of it. I'll be pulling the windshield trim to patch up any problems around there.

The rest of the floor pan is luckily in great shape. Interesting how at the factory instead of gluing the jute pad to the floor they just slapped down some double stick squares and laid it down. Quick and simple.

 

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And last for today, new goodies came in. I ordered 2 LS swap books from Joseph Potak and Shawn Henderson and Marcus Savitske's handling book from Amazon. Right around $50, free shipping. I glanced through Marcus' book so far and I like the way he writes. I'm artsie fartsie so when people talk to me like I'm an engineer at Boeing it goes over my head sometimes. From what I can see he spells things out in a way that even I can wrap my head around the concepts. Really looking forward to reading it. PS I see Tony has his Monte's photo in the g-body section! Coool!

 

[sh1ft]

Loving this thread, and your web site is just as nice. Good luck with your build.

 

[Longroof79]

Ben,
Many G-body cars tend to rust on the right side floor due to a leaking airbox. Chances are that it may have to be removed and resealed with 3M strip caulk.
It might or might not be the windshield that's leaking. Also check all your body seams around the firewall and behind the right side fender.

 

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Are you referring to the heat/ a/c box?

 

[Longroof79]

Are you referring to the heat/ a/c box?

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Yes sir. The caulking becomes dried out and cracks over time, and therefore tends to develop a leak around the box. It's not always the case however, but it is one of most common causes of leakage in that area.
While you have it all apart and the body off, it might be an opportune time to address that. I'm not trying to cause you more work... :lol: you certainly have your hands full.

One quick note, did you remove the seat brackets before you tossed the bench seat? I was going to say, you may want to hold on to them to do your bucket seat swap.

 

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I already removed the a/c evaporator a while ago and modified the box a little so I would have more header bolt room. This time around with full access because there's nothing in the way I'll be building an even smaller box that will basically bypass the evaporator area and have a smaller duct go to the heater core. I wish I could simply bolt on a non a/c air box but I've never seen one in person and they're pretty spendy otherwise. I haven't spent much time thinking about it yet but I think I can come up with something that functions well and looks half way decent. More on that as I get to it.

 

[Longroof79]

I can't blame you for wanting to minimize the size of the airbox. It does make accessing the right rear spark plugs and header flanges a bear.
I can't say that I've ever come across the non-A/C heater box perusing the junkyard. I would think that they're like looking for hen's teeth down here.. and yes, people are asking stupid money for them.
Living down here, changing to non-A/C isn't even a consideration, even though the A/C has been kaput for the last few years.

Member Blazenlotus was selling a smaller aftermarket A/C unit that fit under the dash. I believe it's used in conjunction with the non-A/C heater box assembly. It looked like an interesting set-up.
Perhaps he'll chime in and provide more details about it.

 

[rngcrshws6]

Just wanted to say Very good thread, you have some cool ideas for your wagon.
Helping to inspire the rest of us, keep up the good work.