86 Cutlass Salon - The good, the bad and the ugly

[360x]

The price makes it a bad deal. Think... double 86CutlassUCF's deal for 1/2 the car. 😢

The point is I take a lot of pride in my bodywork/paintings. Knowing me, when/if I take the initiative to "Fix" this situation, I'll do so hell bent on making this car as hot as any other "Similar" Cutlass and I suspect I would succeed. That, however, would be a time consuming project which I didn't want until later in the year or next year. I'm not the type that just "Does" it. If I make it a project, I do it all the way.

It's not about that. I just expected a lot more out of the paint job and body. Things like dents and horrid paint were not expected. Things like hard to find T-top moldings and matching grills and headlights and carpet and break lights and center consoles were not expected. Not that I CAN'T do it. It's just time consuming and people want grip for a lot of these rare parts in decent shape. I could put some stuff together and have the car on the road, through inspection, tagged and titled in 2 weeks.

Basically, I've decided to see if I can trade the car within the next few weeks for something similar that can wait a bit for me to give it my full attention. If I don't find that or cash a few hundred bucks below what I paid (don't ask right now), then I basically have no choice but to make the car a killer. I'll probably just get it running. Totally fix the interior and light situation, then Car cover it until later this summer when I should be finished with my Impala project. The setback is that i'm going to have to save a little cash to find me ANOTHER ride to get me back and forth to work.

I know this sounds *ss faced, but I hate driving cars with bad paint/bad body. I'd rather tarp it until I can get to it.

 

[360x]

decided to keep the car and make it happen. I'll provide pics of progress. Got a gallon of paint for the Impala so I should have enough left for this one. The body is straight enough that by summer it should be beast. Cross your fingers for me. Don't like having 2 project cars at once, but looks like that's the cards i've delt myself. Thanks for the comments.

 

[86CutlassUCF]

woo hoo! good choice and good luck

 

[O. D. Showtime]

Where abouts you located?
I have access to a White 84 with T tops and Burgandy interior. T top trim is there decent shape except for the trim right on the T tops...door panels are still there too but can't remember the actual condition of them. If your interested in some stuff let me know.

 

[jade81olds]

decided to keep the car and make it happen. I'll provide pics of progress. Got a gallon of paint for the Impala so I should have enough left for this one. The body is straight enough that by summer it should be beast. Cross your fingers for me. Don't like having 2 project cars at once, but looks like that's the cards i've delt myself. Thanks for the comments.

good for you-keep us posted, as you say you will! Heck, i'd like to see the Impala now.

 

[HurstOlds]

I don't think you'll regret this in the future. Yeah, it will be a lot of work, but T top Cutlasses are getting more rare, and they look the best when done right

 

[360x]

Well, thanks to this website I'm making progress. Should have All of the exterior (and some of the interior) parts I need within the next 10 days. Looks like I should have about a gallon of Jet Black paint, Clear and primer left. Seriously considering a intense 4 day paint job on this car in about a month. I just gotta find somewhere to put my Impala.

Don't like going from white to black, but I'm thinking I can pull off a 442 paint scheme with this car. That would look cool. No, not a clone, but a nice Black, silver and red scheme OR Black, Gold and red scheme. No 442 text or anything cheezy like that (when you know you don't have a 442).

 

[360x]

Guys. I don't want to start a new thread so I'll just ask here.

I'm going to putting carpet in this car very soon. What's the best way to go about doing this. The floor is clean. No rust issues. Is there something I should be doing to prevent rust since the metal is already exposed and I don't have to rip out seats and carpet to get to it.

Also, what should I be putting underneath this carpet. I know you dont just dump carpet over bare metal. Shouldn't I be lining this thing with heat shielding and sound dampener? Not sure. Help if you can.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

You can just put it over the metal as the carpet kit will likely have sound deadener already attached. You also could coat it with bedliner material to keep the carpet from wearing the paint off and allowing rust to form, or you could use a Dynamat type material over the metal to dampen interior noise as well. I plan on going the Dynamat route with my car, even though the carpet kit has sound deadener/padding already attached to it.

I would also caution you to pay the extra money for the factory type rubber backing instead of the cheaper carpet that comes with a thin backing. The factory type backing will hold up better and should also dampen some noise due to it's rubber construction. To install it, I would put the seatbelt bolts in their holes before putting down the carpet. This will make it easy to find the place you need to cut the holes in the carpet. Also, when you cut a hole, cut a small slit and not an actual hole. This will be more forgiving if you make a mistake.

 

[360x]

I'll pick up some bed liner today. I didn't think of that. Especially in the area where feet rests. Whatever to preserve the metal. 30 or 40 years down the road, maybe someone else goes to restore this thing and he/she will be greatful for the added protection. Thanks for the suggestion.