Build Thread: '87 442 . . . Time to turn and stop

[Injectedcutty]

I'm with the olds1 on this, your cutlass is definitely in superb shape and nice to see you have given that girl a nice place to stay over the last 30 years....it sure makes a difference!!! I really can't wait to see all those new parts on, especially them sabers which should set that 442 off!!!! Keep it up man, wish my '87 was in that good of shape when i got it....wouldn't have had to go through the almost 5 yr resto (so far) to get it back to "like new" status.
Scott

 

[Canon_Mutant]

OK, slow progress but progress. Had to get this done before I could put the new spring, shock, and lower CA on.

Before: Surface Rust

After: After Cleaned, Etched, and Sealed. This sealant was still a bit wet. It won't be that shiny when dry.

 

[Canon_Mutant]

Unfortunately, I was trying to put my Curt hitch bracket on while the sealant dried but it looks like it is going to have to go back. It is out of square with the car and won't fit. Also, with the way it mounts, it might work OK to pull a 3000 lb max trailer but as an effective means of tying those rear frame rails solidly together [??] . . . [meh!] not so much IMO. I'd keep it though if I could get it to fit . . .

 

[Canon_Mutant]

OK, more progress. On the bad front, UMI didn't bother to indicate that "adjustable" lower control arms are required in order to use their lowering brackets. I suppose this should have been intuitive but I assumed you just had to rotate the relative angle of the rear axle slightly depending on which hole you use which would alter the power to ground attack angle. I need to talk to them about it but I couldn't figure out how to make it work so I just hooked my lower control arm to the factory mount position for now . . . unfortunately their lowering bracket is pretty much a press fit over the factory mount so I got my factory mount I just stripped and resealed all scratched up again trying to get their lowering bracket to fit over the top of it. Oh well, probably won't be the last touch up I'll have to do . . .

And I got the shock tower bracket installed. I had to enlarge the mounting holes to 3/8".

On to the driver's side tomorrow night . . .

 

[Canon_Mutant]

BTW, for informational purposes for those that haven't had the pleasure, getting a wrench on the [nut] side of the rear-upper-control-arm-front-bolt is nearly impossible. First, there is a brake line in the way. OK, so you can remove that. Then the only thing I could get to work was to take a 3/8" 18mm deep socket with a wiggle socket on it to a 6" extension to a ratchet. This places the ratchet nearly 90 degrees to the nut but I was able to hold it just good enough to spin the bolt out with my impact wrench. If you had a specialized box end 18mm that has those offset 45 degree bends you might be able to get that to work. I have a set of those but naturally there was no 18mm. The biggest wrench was 17mm on one end and 19mm on the other.


Then comes the fun getting the old bushings out of the rear end but that just requires a special tool. Auto Zone and Oreillys have them you can rent.

 

[Injectedcutty]

BTW, for informational purposes for those that haven't had the pleasure, getting a wrench on the [nut] side of the rear-upper-control-arm-front-bolt is nearly impossible. First, there is a brake line in the way. OK, so you can remove that. Then the only thing I could get to work was to take a 3/8" 18mm deep socket with a wiggle socket on it to a 6" extension to a ratchet. This places the ratchet nearly 90 degrees to the nut but I was able to hold it just good enough to spin the bolt out with my impact wrench. If you had a specialized box end 18mm that has those offset 45 degree bends you might be able to get that to work. I have a set of those but naturally there was no 18mm. The biggest wrench was 17mm on one end and 19mm on the other.


Then comes the fun getting the old bushings out of the rear end but that just requires a special tool. Auto Zone and Oreillys have them you can rent.

Agreed, those front bolts suck a$# for sure!!! It definitely helps to have a 2nd set of hands to accomplish that task. Glad to hear you managed through it, we can't wait to see some pics of the rest of your shiny new parts installed onto that cherry body!
Scott

 

[Canon_Mutant]

Just more feedback on stuff I am using . . .

Not sure I can recommend this product. Being a 3 step process, I assumed it would be more thorough but I'm not very impressed. Naturally, it has a 5 star rating.

1) The degreaser KLEAN product works pretty decent but certainly no better than many others I have used and not as good as some.
2) The etching rust remover BLAST doesn't do much at all. Even tried some full strength. Oh, it does some good, just not much.
3) The sealer SEAL [duh?] is supposed to be satin, not gloss, but it is pretty high gloss. Since my previous pic was when it was still tacky wet, I assumed it would tame down some when dry but it is still high gloss.
4) The sealer is not bonding at all. Probably partly due to the BLAST stage not working very well but it is like putting on a coat of rubber. When you get a chip [like the UMI lowering bracket did to my lower CA mount] you can just peel all that sealer off in big chunks. Even where there was no rust, it isn't bonded to anything but itself.

Short of dropping the entire rear end and having it bead blasted and powder coated . . . Anyone got a better idea?

Just a good cleaning and regular ole Rustoleum would be better than this . . . me thinks.

 

[Injectedcutty]

Just more feedback on stuff I am using . . .

View attachment 54247

Not sure I can recommend this product. Being a 3 step process, I assumed it would be more thorough but I'm not very impressed. Naturally, it has a 5 star rating.

1) The degreaser KLEAN product works pretty decent but certainly no better than many others I have used and not as good as some.
2) The etching rust remover BLAST doesn't do much at all. Even tried some full strength. Oh, it does some good, just not much.
3) The sealer SEAL [duh?] is supposed to be satin, not gloss, but it is pretty high gloss. Since my previous pic was when it was still tacky wet, I assumed it would tame down some when dry but it is still high gloss.
4) The sealer is not bonding at all. Probably partly due to the BLAST stage not working very well but it is like putting on a coat of rubber. When you get a chip [like the UMI lowering bracket did to my lower CA mount] you can just peel all that sealer off in big chunks. Even where there was no rust, it isn't bonded to anything but itself.

Short of dropping the entire rear end and having it bead blasted and powder coated . . . Anyone got a better idea?

Just a good cleaning and regular ole Rustoleum would be better than this . . . me thinks.

Without pulling the rear out...yes a good cleaning and rustoleum works just fine. The best way to use that kbs stuff, or i prefer POR15 is to take the rear out, sand it down to damn near bare metal (i took mine all the way down), clean the muck off, metal etch it, then paint.
I did mine like this a couple years ago and it still looks new! The POR15 needs time to cure and they prefer a humid environment. I literally let it sit for a week before touching it and that stuff is tough as nails....as long as brake fluid doesn't touch it!!! I can post you some pics, but didn't wanna thread jack. I have pics on my 87 cutlass efi build thread if it helps.
Scott.

 

[Canon_Mutant]

Just saw your thread and me likes. Since I am accustomed to doing things twice anyway [sometimes it's even my fault] I am going to consider just pulling the entire rear end out. The more I look at it the way it is, the more I don't like it. A do-it-my-selfer, pulling it by myself might be a bit of a challenge but the car is otherwise show quality and this 1/2 a$$ed reseal job just doesn't cut it . . .

I have a little time pressure because of a few fall shows I wanted to attend [not to mention I just want to drive it] but I want to do this right . . . plus my Sabers won't be here until late Oct, early Nov anyway.

 

[Injectedcutty]

I hear you on doing the same thing multiple times to get it right, it's been somewhat of an MO of mine lol! I don't like to half *ss it either.....most people wouldn't notice, but it would eat me inside knowing that i didn't spend the time to get the results my picky, detail oriented self can achieve. If you were close enough to Louisville i would gladly give a helping hand as pulling the rear is definitely easier with 2 people!
There are several shows i have lost out on recently due to my build taking longer than expected, but i know when the car rolls into them next year i will be ecstatic! Besides, you wouldn't want to slap that rear back together and put them gorgeous Sabers on that clean body knowing the rear might lose paint if a rock touches it. Go whatever route suits you best, and keep us posted man.
Scott.