BETTY RUMBLE - '87 Cutlass

[GP403]

So um, yeah, the "Old Blue Hair" name has to go. I know I'd heard that somewhere before, and it turns out that there was an "Old Blue Hair" Project Nova on that Musclecar show on Powerblock TV/Spike.... yeah.

So once again I'm up for suggestions. And haven't done much else with her (or the GP) but drive her once or twice.

 

[EME_Mack]

Marge

 

[v2vera]

Poppa smurf! Or the smurfett

 

[HAFROD]

That car was almost purchased by me. It sat around the area for sale about 1/2 mile from my house. When I moved my $ budget higher for a daily driver, I went on craigslist looking for it. It was gone and now I know where it went. Very clean and original

 

[GP403]

So yeah, where does the time go. She's been driven a bit this spring, in between the snow and when I was gone for a month. Don't feel like taking her out in this 100F BS heat until I know for sure she can handle it.

Just ordered a Walker 442-H/O cat-back dual exhaust setup from Rock Auto, going to try and get some things done to her this year. Hopefully I can rig up something that doesn't look like garbage for the tailpipe hangers since they are unobtanium now.

Then there's wheels/tires. Thinking of going with 17x8 Silver/Black Hurst "Dazzlers" (stupid name) and 235/45s... should match the tire height and look decent, modern and not stupid. Should be able to get a set mounted/balanced/delivered for ~$1K from Tire Rack which isn't awful IMO. If there's something in that size that looks more "Oldsy" than that and about the same price I'm all ears.

The GP is still in pieces. Every time I look at that thing I get overwhelmed not knowing where to even start, so I don't. Once I can get a cooler weekend I'll start cleaning up the engine bay and remembering where everything goes(!)

 

[Injectedcutty]

So yeah, where does the time go. She's been driven a bit this spring, in between the snow and when I was gone for a month. Don't feel like taking her out in this 100F BS heat until I know for sure she can handle it.

Just ordered a Walker 442-H/O cat-back dual exhaust setup from Rock Auto, going to try and get some things done to her this year. Hopefully I can rig up something that doesn't look like garbage for the tailpipe hangers since they are unobtanium now.

Then there's wheels/tires. Thinking of going with 17x8 Silver/Black Hurst "Dazzlers" (stupid name) and 235/45s... should match the tire height and look decent, modern and not stupid. Should be able to get a set mounted/balanced/delivered for ~$1K from Tire Rack which isn't awful IMO. If there's something in that size that looks more "Oldsy" than that and about the same price I'm all ears.

The GP is still in pieces. Every time I look at that thing I get overwhelmed not knowing where to even start, so I don't. Once I can get a cooler weekend I'll start cleaning up the engine bay and remembering where everything goes(!)

Here are the wheels i just got for my 87 cutlass....17x7 and 17x8. American racing VN501's which cost a fraction of their billet version. They have that retro rallye wheel look and priced decently.

 

[GP403]

^^ Those wheels are nice but almost 2x the cost of the Hursts.... unexpected expenses hit and it looks like the wheels will have to wait til next month at least.

In the meantime, its too damned hot to even think about really tearing into anything, so I replaced the stereo with the blown left channel, with a "new" 1.5DIN Pioneer DEH-P47DH +wiring from eBay. Auxiliary 1/8" input cable, sounds really nice. I'll be putting these pics and instructions into a "do it the right way" thread on GBM. Went smoother than I could have hoped for, except for nearly breaking the trim plate trying to get the last tab out of the slot. Nothing broken!

pics in the next post, since they're still on my phone, doh!

 

[Injectedcutty]

^^ Those wheels are nice but almost 2x the cost of the Hursts.... unexpected expenses hit and it looks like the wheels will have to wait til next month at least.

In the meantime, its too damned hot to even think about really tearing into anything, so I replaced the stereo with the blown left channel, with a "new" 1.5DIN Pioneer DEH-P47DH +wiring from eBay. Auxiliary 1/8" input cable, sounds really nice. I'll be putting these pics and instructions into a "do it the right way" thread on GBM. Went smoother than I could have hoped for, except for nearly breaking the trim plate trying to get the last tab out of the slot. Nothing broken!

pics in the next post, since they're still on my phone, doh!

I didn't buy the billet version....too much for my pocket! These are the cast version, 17x7 were $180/each and 17x8 were $189/each via summit.

 

[GP403]

I know, right, priorities! Gotta have decent tunes. Hey this is the first thing we all did back in the day, right?

The glue that made this so easy. Two wiring harnesses via eBay. One for the radio, one for installing an aftermarket radio in the Cutlass. Hook the ends, solder, and shrink wrap. Maybe 20 minutes doing that, probably saved hours up inside the dash trying to butt-splice and hack things up that way. Do it this way, trust me. Verify that the color codes are the same. These were identical, but that may not always be the case.

The plug in the car is actually 3 plugs. Don't panic when you pull them out and let them flop, they are keyed (bottom edge) so they'll only go into the new harness one way.

I had to take these brackets off the original radio and use them on the Pioneer. They're 30yo plastic and brittle, one hole broke on me trying to fit it up. luckily it didn't matter much. The cuts on my hand are from the #%^@#$ trim piece that didn't want to come off.

All done. No cutting, hacking, or anything. Fits right in. Find the right replacement or at least get a single-DIN and a bracket kit. Don't cut up the dash to fit a 2-DIN unit unless you're really good at making it not look like garbage. Sounds excellent. I have a set of Pioneer 4x10's laying around here somewhere that I've had since '89. I should see if they're any better than the stock speakers lol. Not going to put an amp and sub and all that garbage in, its not that important that I lose any more of my hearing.

Lucky for me, and you probably can't tell.... The bottom left corner of the trim plate on the radio broke off. I super glued it back on, but you can't even see it. I was prepared to sand it and paint it, but eh, nobody knows. Well, erm, you know what I mean.

 

[GP403]

Wee haa.... Since it turned out to be a not-hot-as-hell day I weed-eated (ate?) the driveway and got the old girl out to put the dual exhaust on. The old pipe/muffer... man it was a shame to take it off because apart from having to cut the muffler off (somebody had thoughtfully tack-welded it on) the bolts all came off like butter. I'm not used to that. And it was still almost shiny. Must not have been that old of a system. Midas probably saw the old lady coming a mile away.

Anyway, Got her all mostly fitted. I need to go to the store and get some bigger clamps, the recommended 1/4" ones were CRAP and stripped out before they got any clamp action going. So I had a pair of bigger ones which at least got me mostly fitted up. I think I have the pass. side lined up using the existing hanger and one of those rubberized straps. The driver's side is going to be tricky though. I'll see what sort of hanger doo-dads they have at the autoparts store. I'll report back with more photos when I get her off the stands later tonight.

(and yes I realize the tailpipes are swapped L-R in the above photo!!!)

I still can't get over how clean she is under here....

Tied up just to get it up off the ground

The old pipe/muffler --- probably going to junk it unless somebody wants to come get it.