BUILD THREAD Street/AutoX/HPDE 78-79 Cutlass build!

[78cutlass406]

Minor update without pics today.

I welded the brake hose brackets and a drain plug/bung in the axle housing and got it painted. I also got the rear calipers and brackets cleaned and painted. A good friend of mine helped me out and machined my axles down to fit the rotors properly and another good friend of mine is setting up the gears for me in my third member. I already got the axles back, just need to press the studs back in and I'm currently just waiting for the third member to be ready. Once that is back I should be able to put the rear end back together and fabricate something to mount the c5 parking brake. Then I'll have a roller!

I also got the frame extension for the crossmember painted and installed. I have an Iceman tubular crossmember, we will see how that works out with the LS once it's installed and I can see it. I should be able to make that work okay without giving Holley more of my money...

 

[78cutlass406]

Quick update on status, but not much to report. Currently waiting for the third member to get back to me. Hopefully I'll have it later this week or weekend. I'm waiting on some other parts for the rear brake setup. Those should be here this week as well. Once I have all that I can get the rear hung in the car and get the rear sway bar mocked up / installed.

 

[78cutlass406]

Alright, I got the third member back from my buddy. I also got some goodies I ordered from KORE 3 for a working parking brake. I got the third member in the rear end and got it hung in the car, brakes installed and tires on to see fit. We officially have a roller!

 

[scoti]

Alright, I got the third member back from my buddy. I also got some goodies I ordered from KORE 3 for a working parking brake. I got the third member in the rear end and got it hung in the car, brakes installed and tires on to see fit. We officially have a roller!

I've spoken w/Tobin to learn about the possibilities on the e-brake. Looking forward to seeing the set-up.

 

[78cutlass406]

I've spoken w/Tobin to learn about the possibilities on the e-brake. Looking forward to seeing the set-up.

Yeah, Tobin is a great guy to talk to. I highly recommend getting stuff from him. Fit was great and the parts looked great too. I will say, the instructions leave a bit to be desired though.

 

[scoti]

Yeah, Tobin is a great guy to talk to. I highly recommend getting stuff from him. Fit was great and the parts looked great too. I will say, the instructions leave a bit to be desired though.

I helped w/their C10 stuff in the early days & have gotten a kit or two throughout the years. I actually purchased adapters for a C10 spindle to CPP Modular spindle swap (for additional track width reduction) last year for my '64. He had the brackets on the way before payment. Smart guy & has always been easy to work with.

 

[mclellan83]

Yeah, Tobin is a great guy to talk to. I highly recommend getting stuff from him. Fit was great and the parts looked great too. I will say, the instructions leave a bit to be desired though.

I can second that, when I called about stuff with the C6 Z06 brackets he wasn't super happy about it but when I put my buddy on the phone to get more technical he was very helpful

 

[Streetbu]

Alright, I got the third member back from my buddy. I also got some goodies I ordered from KORE 3 for a working parking brake. I got the third member in the rear end and got it hung in the car, brakes installed and tires on to see fit. We officially have a roller!

Looks good! And very familiar 😉 LOL

 

[78cutlass406]

Alright, some updates, and a few pictures to match.

So I was able to get the motor out of the Envoy (what a job that was). Got it home and cleaned up. LA Totally Awesome degreaser from the dollar tree, a pressure washer and a little bit of scrubbing with a wire brush does wonders! Decided to paint the block and valve covers black. Had to wait a while to find a few days where it wan't too humid for the paint to dry.

I upgraded the cam to the Summit Racing Stage 2 Turbo Cam and went with the dual springs and titanium retainers too (why not lol). I had always intended on going with the tight mount AC compressor bracket and tensioner relocation bracket for ICT billet. Turns out the tension relocation does indeed clear the cast timing cover with turbo drains they offer. Based on that, I decided the f-body pump would fit the car a little better and to make the stock truck bracket look nice I would have more time and effort into how cheap the ICT brackets were. I had an f-body power steering pump laying around and picked up a new alternator too. Accessory drive done and turned out super nice, I'm happy with it!

I also learned the hard way knock-off holley 302-2 pans are NOT the same and DO NOT fit the k-member if using holley mounts. I spent hours playing with motor mounts only to realize it was becuase the pan was keeping the motor from setting into them properly. I ordered the real holley pan and it set right in and fit like a glove!

Next task will be to get the bellhousing indexed to see if I need offset dowels and then I'll get the transmission bolted in and figured out to see if the crossmember I have will work for me.

 

[rfpowerdude]

Nice! Look at that monster front anti-roll bar!