Build Thread-85 Cutlass Brougham-New Pics Added!

I have posted various pics in other places, but I figured I would start this thread as a generic place to show my progress.

The story behind the car is this: It was bought for me by my grandfather back in 1993 so that I would have something to drive to college. It had 61k on it at the time, and was silver with a dark blue landau top and interior. Power (or lack thereof) was provided by a 3.8 V6, TH200C, and 2.41 open diff. It had 195 75 R14 white walls and wire hubcaps. In 1997, I added a 355 Chevy and TH200 4R, which are still in it today (with a new cam and rockers though). The roof started to rust within 6 mos of buying it, and I did not fix it correctly until 1999. It also was used as a pizza delivery car for 4-5 years, and still does so on occasion now, with it's last pizza delivered about a year ago.

Current specs include Eibach lowering springs, FE-2 sway bars, fast ratio steering box, 3.23 rear axle, and 16x8 Enkei 92 rims with a 4 inch backspacing that can take 245 50 16 tires. It also has a aluminum hood, and a few rare parts I have acquired over the years. Future plans call for painting it Navy Blue Metallic ( a 2002 F body color), more handling upgrades, new wheels, and a manual trans conversion. It still has the Brougham interior it came with, but I may go to some Recaro seats from a German car of the 80's or 90's with a custom console if I go with the manual trans.




You'll note the frame from a cheap 10x10 gazebo I bought last night to give me some shade to work in. I used a tarp instead of the cloth it came with so as not to ruin the thin material provided with the gazebo.

Update: Picked up some used parts from forum member Rockstar today. Some will go in the spare parts pile, but some, like the cruise control, will help me finish my car. He was stripping out all the extras, while I am adding them all on, so it was a win-win situation.

Naaah, mine are steel....for now. I gotta put it in paint before I worry about that detail. I should post some interior shots, but all I have is pics of what is actually in the car now... a dash and garbage...lol The interior is in various rooms of my house until I paint it. Anyhow, here's some more pics from last year.

JB Weld trunk seam repair:


Junk in the Trunk:


Fiberglassing the floor pan and acid etching the rust:




Rust under driver's side seat mount. I cut this out and patched it with steel, then welded a new mount from a donor car on top of the patch. It was sealed with fiberglass resin afterwards.

I found them at a swap meet at a local speed shop in 1993. I paid $275 back then, but they were in better condition at that time. As for now, I have no idea what they would go for as I have been looking for a pair with a 1/2 in different offset for the fronts for a year or two now. They have become rare since they were last made in the late 80's. Center caps are particularly hard to come up with, as they were made of plastic that ends to become brittle and crack over time, so they get lost easily. A bit heavier, but better made, would be the T/A wheels from the 80's. You would need a set of 4 fronts, but they are much higher quality and easier to find. You may be able to use the rears on the front if you run the B body spindles, as they push the wheels outwards a bit, which would compensate for the offset difference. BTW, that's why I want the other 2 wheels.

Oh, for progress today, I finished the last bit of filler today, and have only one 2in square spot left to sand. Tomorrow, it's Primer-Surfacer time!!! Hopefully in 2 weeks, it will be paint time! 😀