BUILD THREAD 87 Cutlass EFI build: 9/13/23..NEW STUFF!

[Injectedcutty]

I should be outside stripping the trim to be repolished, but hell i work in the heat everyday and need a little inside time too! I've been going through old build pics and will start posting a few at a time.

I always disliked the factory hood hinges and wanted to go with a GN style strut setup instead. However, since the olds hood or inner fender doesn't have the provision for this i had to get creative. With the help of a malibu site, some simple measuring and the right parts i was able to make it work! My brother n law and myself took the separate strut mount from the regal style hinge and welded it to the main upper hinge, then got the right ball studs with metric threads and gas struts with the correct length, psi rating to work with a glass hood, and voila!! I think it looks way cleaner than factory springs and they work just as intended.

 

[Injectedcutty]

One tedious and painstaking thing was scraping and grinding the 20+ years of gunk off the underside of the body in preparation of fresh paint. Honestly, it sucked doing this part but i wanted to do it right and not mess with it again so i just hammered down until it was down to metal. Cleaned it, used quite a bit of metal prep spray, then brushed on 2 coats of POR15 chassis cote gloss black. Now, if it gets dusty or dirty i can just wipe it down with ease.

Disclaimer....if any of you guys ever use POR15, suit up as best as possible. I wore a tyvek suit, gloves and respirator because it's potent and if it gets on your skin it's a real pita to get off!

 

[Injectedcutty]

 

[Injectedcutty]

When i bought my cutlass it had the 7.5 rear and land speed record gears in it. I learned quickly upon dropping in the stout sbc that it just wouldn't cut it. I found a 8.5 out of an 85 442 with the 3.73's in it and had a shop put in a powertrax unit. However, we didn't know the driver side axle was slightly bent and I drove it for 2 days popping and clanking.....found a straight axle but the damage was already done!

Went ahead and cleaned the housing, metal prepped and put a couple coats of POR15 aerosol on it a few years ago to protect it. When i get the car back from paint i will have the guts redone, new axles, gears (i have a brand new set of richmond 3.73's waiting, and a new locker). When installing the new poly pumpkin bushing i didn't wanna spend $60 for an install tool so i just made one with some all-thread, nuts and thick fender washers and it worked like a charm.

 

[Injectedcutty]

After converting to buckets i always wanted to put in a console. I made one out of mdf but it just didn't look right. Luckily, i was at a local yard helping my brother n law find some stuff for his daily when we stumbled across a monte that hadn't been ravaged yet! It had buckets and console in super great shape and i scooped it with the floor mounts for a whopping $13!!!! After converting the measurements over to my cutlass i riveted the mounts to the floor, raised the rear of my hurst vmatic about an inch to avoid it from hitting the console when in 1st gear, modified the shift plate and am super happy with how it fits. The only visual issue is the front bread box area doesn't match the angle of the cutlass dash bow the radio but i can live with that considering what g body consoles go for in decent condition. All it needed was a new console lid with hinge that i picked up from mikes montes. Yes i know, that steering wheel is hideous but i assure you guys, its temporary. Didn't want to put a nice wheel in until the cutlass is close to completion lol!

 

[SoFloG]

Land speed record gears, lol. Where is that hood from?

 

[Injectedcutty]

Land speed record gears, lol. Where is that hood from?

I got the hood from up22 out of California but i would not recommend them...the quality is not the best....there are alot of rough, unfinished edges that other brands take care of, no provision for a hood spring but Jim (liquid8) showed me a cheap solution for that. Damn bolt on glass hoods cost too much to buy another, too late to ship back for full refund so my bodyguy is doing his best to spruce it up!

 

[MrSony]

I should be outside stripping the trim to be repolished, but hell i work in the heat everyday and need a little inside time too! I've been going through old build pics and will start posting a few at a time.

I always disliked the factory hood hinges and wanted to go with a GN style strut setup instead. However, since the olds hood or inner fender doesn't have the provision for this i had to get creative. With the help of a malibu site, some simple measuring and the right parts i was able to make it work! My brother n law and myself took the separate strut mount from the regal style hinge and welded it to the main upper hinge, then got the right ball studs with metric threads and gas struts with the correct length, psi rating to work with a glass hood, and voila!! I think it looks way cleaner than factory springs and they work just as intended. View attachment 53142 View attachment 53143 View attachment 53144

Always been thankful that my Regal has struts, and they still hold the hood up! Yeah, it won't hold it up halfway but if you go over 3/4 to full it will stay open even in winter.

 

[Injectedcutty]

Always been thankful that my Regal has struts, and they still hold the hood up! Yeah, it won't hold it up halfway but if you go over 3/4 to full it will stay open even in winter.

Sweet, i looked into getting some regal inner fenders but price was stupid when all i needed was the stud to mount the lower part of the strut and mine were in great shape. I tried making a bolt work and even bought some regal struts wrapped in carbon fiber but it just wouldn't work! I still have those struts brand new in the package if you know anybody that has a regal with a glass hood....they aren't strong enough for a steel hood.

 

[MrSony]

Sweet, i looked into getting some regal inner fenders but price was stupid when all i needed was the stud to mount the lower part of the strut and mine were in great shape. I tried making a bolt work and even bought some regal struts wrapped in carbon fiber but it just wouldn't work! I still have those struts brand new in the package if you know anybody that has a regal with a glass hood....they aren't strong enough for a steel hood.

Will do. And to add to the convo what was a pain in the *ss for me is that mine use those dumb little shoulder bolts that are a weird thread and are 30$ for four. And BOY do they break easily.