'83 Cutlass Cruiser Build Thread

[Blake442]

Well, I stopped by my neighborhood CarQuest the other day, and as I was walking in, I remembered 85 Cutlass Brougham recommending Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish. There it was staring at me, so I decided to give it a try.

So I just got done polishing up one of my wheels, and all I can say is wow... what a difference! I had polished them up before with that pink impregnated cotton stuff from Wizards, and to be honest, I wasn't too pleased with it. I'll admit it was a great improvement over how they looked before I started, but it didn't seem like the black residue would clean completely off. It made them look kind of dark and hazy.
The Mother's stuff on the other hand really brightened them up.
The sun went down before I got to snap a comparison picture, but I'll have to post one up when I do the rest of the wheels. I only got one done since I got kind of a late start, and while it's been nice, it's still kinda cold outside...

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I like to sand them smooth first, then use the polish as it seems to give the best results. I start with some 400 or 600 grit if the surface is really deteriorated, and finish with 1,000 to 2,000 grit before polishing. I did this to one of my wheel arch trims then buffed it with Mothers and my drill with a buff attachment and it looks like brand new. The attachment, BTW was part of a kit I got for $10 at Harbor Freight. My next step is to use one of the old industrial electric motors I have and add an arbor to it so I can turn it into a metal polisher. I got the motors for free (one was a oven roof ventilator motor from a pizza shop I used to work at), and the arbor was under $10-Harbor Freight once again. I could probably mount it to either the AV cart I garbage picked at the Pizza place, or the Workmate I picked from the garbage on a delivery one night.

 

[Blake442]

Yeah, I'll have to sand them down if I want them to be really top notch, as there are some pretty good marks on them. I just ran over them quick with a red scotchbrite this first time, and I'm sure I'll end up going over them again once the new tires are on and they're mounted on the car.
Straightening and polishing stainless trim is a big part of what I do at work. Not too much aluminum trim, though it still slips in there. It's tough to protect the aluminum trim after it's polished once the anodized finish is gone.
Trim is one thing, but this is my first attempt at doing aluminum wheels, so I'm learning how to do it better along the way. Your system is pretty much the same as what I do, with the exception that with the machine polisher, you don't have to sand them out so fine. I usually just go to 600 or sometimes 1000 and then start polishing. I thought about just using the polisher at work on the rims, but I don't feel like holding the damn things for the half hour each it would probably take...

And go for it and make that polisher out of those parts you have. Aside from trim, you'll be amazed at just how much you'll use it once you have it, especially for cleaning up the heads of fasteners.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I thought about trying to restore the aluminum trim on my car, but I am not that much of a glutton for punishment. If I did it, I would have the trim anodized again when I was done, and that would probably cost real money. So, my solution has been to sand all the trim with 2,000 grit and call it a day. It looks a little better, but it does not take out heavy scratches.

For the wheels, I just remembered an old Hot Rod article on polishing them. Hey put the wheel on an axle and then spun a buff wheel inside it to polish it and I think it rotated the wheel too.

 

[BosMobile]

im a painter ,love the green.no woodgrain . were sick enough already to drive wagons.either way itll be cool, later BO

 

[Blake442]

Well, time for another update...

Friday after work I went to try and get some stuff accomplished on the wagon. Instead of monkeying around with running a return line, I ended up just switching to a fuel pump without a return. Problem solved. I had to bend up a new line from the pump to the carb, since my old high output pumps line would no longer work. I got that all squared away, and got the car running for a while.

I ran into a problem though, either my buddies battery charger isn't cutting it, or my battery is finally checking out after seven years of faithful service in 4 different cars. I'm also not positive if my alternator is charging, so that may not help either. So with the inability to get it running again, I called it a night.

Saturday I cleared out the garage at home, and moved all the stuff that was stacked around the 442 for the winter so my mom could get her car in the garage. Now that it's not so crappy out, her car is back in the driveway, her half of the garage is full of stuff, and I've got enough room to get the car in and out. I also fired up the 442 and ran it for a bit, though I forgot to get some oil and a filter for it, so I guess that'll have to wait for another day. Car ran well, though my choke still needs some adjusting.

Once I had everything in the garage squared away, I made use of the beautiful day we were having and finished polishing the other 3 mags for the wagon. They turned out great, and I'll be ordering some new tires for them this week once my tax return pops up in my checking account.

I really just need to get the wagon to run long enough to load it onto a trailer. Then take it to get the exhaust hooked up, then trailer it back home where I can put the new wheels and tires on it, inspect the brakes, and start shaking down the rest of the problems. Having the car 47 miles away from home sure restricts how much you can get done. I'm back to work full time now, but kept my night gig I had picked up hosting trivia 3 nights a week, so the only times it is really practical to go out there are mondays, fridays, or saturdays. Friday seems to be the only time I can swing it though, since I'm already halfway there when I'm at work.

 

[Blake442]

Well, another update for today...
I've been itching to head to the junkyard, and with the perfect weather we've had the past couple days, I couldn't resist anymore, so I skipped work and made a journey out to the yard. The only draw back is that it's two hours away... All the other yards closer to the cities have been picked clean of G-bodies, but it's worth the drive for the selection of parts. I even snapped a couple pictures of just how many Cutlass's are out there.
I rounded up a bunch of small stuff that I needed for both the wagon, and the 442. I grabbed a nice set of front bumper fillers, marker lights, a battery tray, and another set of all the aluminum 1/4 window trim for the wagon to replace that shitty vinyl stuff. I also rounded up the shifter linkage pieces I needed, so I should have enough to keep me entertained for a little while.
I also got a nice set of the rubber seals that go in between the header panel and radiator opening for my 442, an extra set of rear glass trim, as well as a ton of fasteners and clips that I needed.
I was really hoping to find some nice headlight bezels and a nice grille for the wagon, but even with the massive amount of Cutlass', there weren't any worth taking. However there are about 7 nice '78-'79 header panels, so now that bug is starting to gnaw at me again... :lol:
Next time I go, I'll have to grab the windows and motors out of the Regal wagon with power rear vents. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to grab them today.

I'll probably head out Sunday to see if I can't get some things accomplished on it, since tomorrow I'm hoping to go get the Caprice out of storage for the season, so I can enjoy my one car with a/c.

Argh! I just wish the damn wagon was at my house, so I could work on it whenever! :x

 

[Blake442]

I told you guys there were a lot of Cutlass's here!...

 

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[85 Cutlass Brougham]

That slope back 442 is a real shame! I wish I could find that many Cutlii to strip parts from.