BUILD THREAD Project Olds Cool (Recognition!!)

The 2025 Calendars are HERE. Two different editions, two different sizes, and a digital package!! Starting at $12.97US
Well I’m stuck inside and bored tonight, so I thought I’d put together this update from earlier in the month that I haven’t had a chance to do yet.

I put in an order to Mike’s Montes for a few goodies, and this is what came:

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Stainless steel braided brake line kit, new reproduction sill plates, window racer kit, an aluminum posi tag for the upcoming rearend rehab, and a new trunk weatherstripping seal.

The window racer was definitely a worthwhile investment, I was more than skeptical when I bought it, but I can vouch that it works exactly as advertised. As a bonus, it also speeds up the AstroRoof function as well!

Here’s a couple of video links of the before and after:


The braided brake line kit will be installed when the rearend gets removed from the car, when the rear brakes have to get disconnected anyways.

The original sill plates were fully amortized, they’ve definitely seen better days in their 40 years of service.

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A comparison of the old original passenger side next to a new one:

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The bends are a little off, but the fit is still mostly acceptable.

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The new one looks so much better installed in the car!

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Driver's side was next naturally.
Before:

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After:

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The trunk weatherstripping seal was next. Same as with the sill plates, it had lived a full life and was due to be replaced. Although still intact, it had shrunk considerably over the years and didn’t fit very well anymore.

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Note the gaps to the body where it had shrunk and wouldn’t stay in place anymore:

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The new weatherstripping was obviously intended for a Monte Carlo coming from Mike’s Montes, so the ends were already pre- fused together. Thankfully the Monte Carlos’ trunk openings are (apparently) a bit bigger than the Cutlass’s, so after a little careful trimming i was able to open it up and overlap the excess:

You’re able to see how much excess there was here, about 2 feet:

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After trimming it to size and making sure it was securely installed all the way around, it looked way better. The fit was excellent too, no complaints whatsoever.

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Last picture, you can see the reproduction jacking instructions and aluminum wheel decals that 69HurstOlds made for me in the background:

EFE0786B-70B6-498D-AA79-CF2739BE1938.jpeg


That’s it for now guys, little by little, addressing all the little details are helping make this thing really come together.

Thanks for following along with the progress as usual friends.

D.
 
All G bodies from this day forth shall be judged by what is now known as the "Donovan Scale"
Fear all, you inferior types, for your ride will never measure up to such a standard as this exquisite example.
:notworthy:
 
Awww shucks!

95087C48-7616-44B2-837E-D8ED26488930.gif
 
You document your work very well, but do you get the car out often and enjoy the fruits of your labor? I get it's the off season and I suck at documenting the action myself.
I’ve seen a photo here of Donovan in a fold up/beer fire chair in front of a car. It takes a lot of searching to find it.
 
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caught up once again, and cannot explain why in the world I want an 80 cutlass now......

beautiful work as always. I'd be almost afraid to drive it, for fear of ruining all the hard work. guess that's why I never really gave much thought into doing the bodywork on the chief... I told myself that I'd never own a car that I'd be afraid to drive, being to pristine (losing value), too straight and shiney (stone chips/ parking lot dings) or too much power (putting it into a ditch/ other cars). looking forward to seeing the finished product (and lots of cruising pics), and the restart of the juggernaut. keep up the great work and quality!
 
Well I’m stuck inside and bored tonight, so I thought I’d put together this update from earlier in the month that I haven’t had a chance to do yet.

I put in an order to Mike’s Montes for a few goodies, and this is what came:

View attachment 164776

View attachment 164777

View attachment 164778

Stainless steel braided brake line kit, new reproduction sill plates, window racer kit, an aluminum posi tag for the upcoming rearend rehab, and a new trunk weatherstripping seal.

The window racer was definitely a worthwhile investment, I was more than skeptical when I bought it, but I can vouch that it works exactly as advertised. As a bonus, it also speeds up the AstroRoof function as well!

Here’s a couple of video links of the before and after:


The braided brake line kit will be installed when the rearend gets removed from the car, when the rear brakes have to get disconnected anyways.

The original sill plates were fully amortized, they’ve definitely seen better days in their 40 years of service.

View attachment 164779

A comparison of the old original passenger side next to a new one:

View attachment 164780

The bends are a little off, but the fit is still mostly acceptable.

View attachment 164781

The new one looks so much better installed in the car!

View attachment 164782

View attachment 164783

Driver's side was next naturally.
Before:

View attachment 164784

After:

View attachment 164785

The trunk weatherstripping seal was next. Same as with the sill plates, it had lived a full life and was due to be replaced. Although still intact, it had shrunk considerably over the years and didn’t fit very well anymore.

View attachment 164788

View attachment 164789

Note the gaps to the body where it had shrunk and wouldn’t stay in place anymore:

View attachment 164790

The new weatherstripping was obviously intended for a Monte Carlo coming from Mike’s Montes, so the ends were already pre- fused together. Thankfully the Monte Carlos’ trunk openings are (apparently) a bit bigger than the Cutlass’s, so after a little careful trimming i was able to open it up and overlap the excess:

You’re able to see how much excess there was here, about 2 feet:

View attachment 164791

View attachment 164792

After trimming it to size and making sure it was securely installed all the way around, it looked way better. The fit was excellent too, no complaints whatsoever.

View attachment 164793

View attachment 164794

Last picture, you can see the reproduction jacking instructions and aluminum wheel decals that 69HurstOlds made for me in the background:

View attachment 164795

That’s it for now guys, little by little, addressing all the little details are helping make this thing really come together.

Thanks for following along with the progress as usual friends.

D.
Nice progress Donovan. I'm happy to hear about the window turbo. I bought one of those years back and I'm glad to hear it works well. I'm looking forward to putting it in my car someday. What is your impression of the reproduction door sills with respect to thickness of the metal? We bought a pair for my brother's Camaro when we were putting it back together. His were in awful shape. They look great but the metal impressed me as being very thin and cheap relative to the originals. I'm hoping the G Body sills are a better reproduction than the F Body ones. No matter what, you can't deny how much a new pair of sills really freshens it up. Thanks for the update!
 
All G bodies from this day forth shall be judged by what is now known as the "Donovan Scale"
Fear all, you inferior types, for your ride will never measure up to such a standard as this exquisite example.
:notworthy:

Pointing Up Morgan Freeman GIF by MOODMAN
 
You document your work very well, but do you get the car out often and enjoy the fruits of your labor? I get it's the off season and I suck at documenting the action myself.

If you’re asking me if I get the car out often enough to justify all the time and hard work that’s gone into it, I’d have to say yes. At least as much as I can.

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Not as often as I’d like to naturally, but a guy does have to work to make it all possible too.
 
caught up once again, and cannot explain why in the world I want an 80 cutlass now......

beautiful work as always. I'd be almost afraid to drive it, for fear of ruining all the hard work. guess that's why I never really gave much thought into doing the bodywork on the chief... I told myself that I'd never own a car that I'd be afraid to drive, being to pristine (losing value), too straight and shiney (stone chips/ parking lot dings) or too much power (putting it into a ditch/ other cars). looking forward to seeing the finished product (and lots of cruising pics), and the restart of the juggernaut. keep up the great work and quality!

Thanks Darin. Nice to hear from you again!

I understand that sentiment and fear, but you have to look at it from the standpoint that at the end of the day, it’s a car. It’s meant to be driven. I don’t build my stuff to sit static as garage art somewhere, I build my stuff to drive and enjoy. Otherwise what’s the point??
Rock chips and the occasional ouchie are all just part of the game, you fix them (or leave them as trophies of actual use), and move on.
That’s my philosophy anyways.

Now that the car is nearing the point of completion that I’d like to see it at, I’m looking forward to putting tons of miles on Olds Cool and enjoying every minute along the way.

Nice progress Donovan. I'm happy to hear about the window turbo. I bought one of those years back and I'm glad to hear it works well. I'm looking forward to putting it in my car someday. What is your impression of the reproduction door sills with respect to thickness of the metal? We bought a pair for my brother's Camaro when we were putting it back together. His were in awful shape. They look great but the metal impressed me as being very thin and cheap relative to the originals. I'm hoping the G Body sills are a better reproduction than the F Body ones. No matter what, you can't deny how much a new pair of sills really freshens it up. Thanks for the update!

Jared, the reproduction sill plates are most likely G body parts’ versions as near as I can tell. G body parts is boasting their versions are thicker and more robust than other versions, and these ones I got seem to fit that bill. They’re definitely not thin and flimsy, I’d have to say they’re equally as thick or thicker than the OEM ones.

I’d just like to see the bends match the originals a little better than they do.

Guys, did my Instagram link to the window racer videos work? The difference between the before and after is really quite telling.
 
The 2025 Calendars are HERE. Two different editions, two different sizes, and a digital package!! Starting at $12.97US

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