'83 Cutlass Cruiser Build Thread

[Blake442]

Time for an update!
So the day after I last posted, I went thru the carb on the 442 and went for a spin!
Made it about 60 miles and then the radiator cap blew off!
I limped it to a nearby parts store and ended up getting it towed home.
I haven't pulled it apart yet but I'm pretty sure a head gasket let go...
So with the 442 out of commission, I drove the wagon as much as I could.
We got a little early snow, but it melted quickly and we got back to cruising...
Drove it all the way thru Nov. 7, gave it a bath the 8th and parked it for the season.
It's been a while since I was able to drive this late into the year! Here it is in the parking lot at work (I work nites).
Not sure the exact total, but I put like 4500 miles on it this year, and have over 30K on it since I put it together in 2008...
I have the next 11 days off and I'm hoping to get the axle swap done finally.

 

[Blake442]

Started pulling apart the wagon today...
Just need to disconnect the brake hose and parking brake cables and we're ready to drop the old one out...

 

[Blake442]

Everything came apart really easy...
A leaky pinion seal made a bit of a mess, and a bad axle seal wasted the shoes on the left side.

 

[1evilregal]

glad you were able to enjoy the wagon this year. Like you, I drove the Chief as much as I could this year.

at least the pinion seal helped avert any underside rot in that area! 😆 (gotta look on the bright side from time to time...)

 

[Blake442]

Was able to keep my garage pretty toasty (*58) last weekend despite the cold...
So I managed to get a pretty decent amount of work done!

I've got another 4-day weekend ahead so I'll see if I can make some more progress...

 

[liquidh8]

Nice to see you enjoying it Blake!

 

[Blake442]

Everything is back together...
Just need to mess with the brakes a bit and I decided I should spend a little time spiffing up the rear wheel wells before I call it done...

3.55 Richmond gears with Yukon Duragrip and TA Performance girdle.
UMI upper and lower control arms and shock mount brace.
AC Delco HD cargo shocks, F41 rear sway bar, and I just cleaned off the springs that were already in the car.
Can't wait to see how it feels!

 

[Blake442]

Well after lots of dragging my feet, I decided to see about finishing up the brakes...
Popped the drums off only to discover half the hardware is missing...
Pulled everything apart and found this lol

I mean, I know the clip-in wheel cylinders are a b*tch, but this is bad! It's not even the right one!
Guess I'll be pulling it apart and swapping the backing plates next...

 

[Blake442]

Time to get caught up!
Wheel wells were looking rough so I picked out the loose sealer, pounded the seam full of fresh seam sealer and buried it in a few coats of undercoating...
Then I finally installed my rear mud flaps!
I only had to trim one side a little...
This highlights the fact the not only are the exhaust pipes not symmetrical, but the lower 1/4s aren't either lol

 

[Blake442]

This next part caused some big-time feet dragging on my part... S10 wheel cylinders...

Here we see the mounting differences... Clip-in bad, bolt-in good!



Except now I have to open up my new backing plates to accommodate the different shapes... I stenciled the outline for easy visibility...



Except there's still a problem... The area the cylinder would bolt to doesn't sit flush with the mounting pad on the axle ends... A spacer would be needed and the pad would have to be drilled because the S10 backing plates mount differently...



Also the difference in length on the backside would not allow for good access to tighten the fitting...
So I abandoned the idea and put a new set of stock wheel cylinders... super easy to install on the bench! Hope I never need to replace them lol



So the axle is back together and filled with oil...



All that's left is to throw the rest of the brakes back together...



And that's how a weekend project turns into 6 months lol