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I have been working on a 1968 Cutlass project for some time now and have also been helping my brother with a couple of other similar cars. This will mostly concern the third generation of the Oldsmobile Cutlass and 442, their intermediate car line of 1968 - 1972. The Cutlass used the A body platform, like the Chevelle, GTO, Buick Skylark and others. Each division had it own outer sheet metal and drive trains but shared a lot of the hidden structure like frames, firewalls and floor pans. In typical 60s GM fashion there was a huge number of body styles and submodels. The A body Olds were the F-85 (budget), Cutlass, Cutlass Supreme (luxury), 442 (performance) and Vista Cruiser (skyroof station wagon). The main Cutlass line had six body styles, 2 - door, 2 - door hardtop (no b-pillar), 4 - door, 4 - door hardtop, convertible and a station wagon (distinct from the Vista Cruiser in that was flat roofed and on a shorter wheelbase). My 68 is the single largest seller for Olds that year, the 2-door Cutlass hardtop. I bought this car in 1994 in London Ontario, at the time it had 29,000 miles on it. I was told the original owner only drove it in good weather, but I suspect the opposite was true, that it was only driven when the weather was too crappy to wait at the bus stop. It was in nearly perfect mechanical condition but had serious rust in the rear quarters and, as it turned out later, a weak frame. We had the local body shop put in new quarters and repaint it. I had to take it off the road in 2000 when the frame cracked in the passenger side front corner. I eventually located a very nice frame that had come out of the US south west and decided to attempt a full restoration. In a previous thread that is now deep in the archives somewhere I detailed the painting and assembly of the frame. We'll pick up the story as of a couple of years ago when the body was united with the frame - I had access to a spray booth but not the skills to actually paint a car. I am good enough to paint the firewall, rad support and inside so that was done.  We had to weld in some repairs at the base of the windshield and at the top. It turned out pretty well. This car had a vinyl top which can be terrible moisture traps. Note the Made in Canada on the cowl tag. This is an Oshawa built car and there are a few things different about it compared the US cars we've been working on.    These are the reproduction fenders that became available a few years ago. They are actually a pretty good fit. The supply of good used fenders has pretty much dried up so it was this or trying to have rusty crap repaired. I drilled all the holes for the moldings and emblems, that was a bit nerve wracking.   The mighty Rocket 350. This is the basic low compression 2 barrel carb version.  It was difficult to find someone to paint it, the body shop we eventually found to do it does mostly insurance work but likes to keep a classic or two in the back to work on when not too busy. I wasn't in a particular hurry so that was fine. We hung the doors, put the trunk lid on it and hooked up the steering column and shifter so that it could be easily moved around and then trailered it over there. Coming up, a 1969 Cutlass convertible, a 1968 442 barn find that inspired the thread title, and some muscle car royalty.
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Mar 2, 2022 06:27
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Neat to see an Oldsmobile project on here. I have a 1966 442 that I got as my first car when I was 16 in 1999. It had some pretty bad damage to one of the rear quarters and repops were not available at the time so there's still some waviness even after we painted it. This is what it looked like after fixing some of the damage before paint:  This is it currently: 
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Mar 2, 2022 17:47
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That's a good looking car Racer-X. While the 68 project was ongoing we restarted this stalled 1969 Cutlass convertible project.  This car was running and driving and my brother had it on the road for a few years. It was taken apart to have new quarters put in and then it sat for awhile.  Here it is after returning from the body shop. We did all further reassembly ourselves.  I enjoyed doing the grill repair work and all the little adjustments to get it and the bumpers lined nicely, it was a neat little challenge.   We set out to make a good looking driver rather then a full restoration with this one.
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Mar 3, 2022 03:53
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Once the convertible was on the road I returned to the 68 which had come back from the body shop. This was last spring. I always wanted to go back to the original colour, Nocturne Blue. This is the same colour Chevrolet called Fathom Blue. I haven't had a chance to take pictures in better light, this Chevelle in the same colour gives a better idea - http://www.classiccarstudio.com/inventory/1464-1968-Chevrolet-Chevelle-SS/ Watching some very Canadian tv in the shop.   I used this material I bought from a booth at a swap meet under the roof panel for sound deadener, hopefully the mice will like it less.  Bumpers are rechromed originals.  
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Mar 10, 2022 04:01
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That's a gorgeous blue.
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Mar 10, 2022 05:49
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Fornax Disaster posted:Bumpers are rechromed originals. i never noticed how much better that rear end looks with the trunk taking up the whole rear, and without the tail lights sticking up like the 69 chevelle. that whole trunk/lights/bumper tail area is very nicely designed. is the trunk lid wider, or do the rear quarters scrunch in further at the top? Seat Safety Switch posted:That's a gorgeous blue. seconded i want to find a color that's dark like that, but red. the burgundy from around that time is close
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Mar 10, 2022 08:14
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Get this man some shelves! Great project. When I was born my dad had a '69 convertible and a '69 Vista Cruiser. I was his 5th kid so the vert had to go but I rode in the wagon until the late 70s. I still have a soft spot for the cutlass convertible, if I were to ever get an american muscle car that'd be the one.
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Mar 10, 2022 22:29
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Raluek posted:i never noticed how much better that rear end looks with the trunk taking up the whole rear, and without the tail lights sticking up like the 69 chevelle. that whole trunk/lights/bumper tail area is very nicely designed. is the trunk lid wider, or do the rear quarters scrunch in further at the top? It's a perspective thing, the trunk lid is pretty much the same width back to front. This was a single model year design, the 69 has larger vertical lights. I am little uncomfortable with how low, small and dim the tailights are, I have been thinking I might want to come up with some sort of slim led centre brake light I could put in the back window. Suggestions are welcome.  According to the cowl tag the original colour of the convertible was burgundy, but from the photos I am seeing it was a bit dull. It would have looked like this one but with a white interior - https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1969-OLDSMOBILE-442-CONVERTIBLE-186957
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Mar 12, 2022 05:37
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Fornax Disaster posted:It's a perspective thing, the trunk lid is pretty much the same width back to front. This was a single model year design, the 69 has larger vertical lights. I am little uncomfortable with how low, small and dim the tailights are, I have been thinking I might want to come up with some sort of slim led centre brake light I could put in the back window. Suggestions are welcome. sorry, my description was kind of unclear. i meant that the trunk lid is pretty much the full width of the back of the car. there isnt much "bezel" around it, compared to a normal A-body like a chevelle, so i wonder if the trunk is wider or if the tops (like, towards the sky, not towards the front of the car) of the rear quarters are narrower. e: looking at these pics it looks like the trunk lid is indeed wider 68 chevelle for reference   its a good look personally i really like the thin tail lights. they look nicely integrated with the design, rather than slapped on like the 69 or 70. unobtrusive. imo just put some bright-rear end LEDs in there if you're worried about being seen, though the idea of a stealth CHMSL is kind of neat
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Mar 12, 2022 07:56
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I see what you mean, the Chevelle quarters do seem to cant inwards more, and the trunk lid is narrower than the window. Both those cars actually share the same roof panel, so the upper corners of the back window are in the same place. Olds carried the shape from there almost straight to the back corners of the car. I've drawn a dotted line roughly where the roof panel ends. Each GM division had it's own separate styling studio, I'm impressed by how they were able to integrate that panel into each of their own designs and have them all look so different from one another. I took a crack at installing my own headliner. It turned out reasonably well for a first attempt, though I spent something like three weekends messing around with it before I was happy with it.  The headliner came from Legendary Auto Interiors, it comes pre sown with the pockets for the metal bows. Fortunately I was smart enough to number those when I took the car apart. The material was a prefect match to the old stuff, there was some colour difference but I think that's due to age.  I put some of the screws for the coat hooks and seatbelt holders in ahead of time so I'd be able to find them. I didn't for the dome light so I measured a whole bunch of times before I dared cut a hole for the wires.  These are the original sail panels, showing the colour difference. I could have replaced those with new so they matched better but the objective here is to use as much of the original interior as possible.  I made my own package tray. These are reproduced but I'd be paying big shipping costs for something I could make myself. This is the underside, I don't have a good picture of the top handy. It's 1/8 hardboard with some fine weave burlap stretched and glued over it and all painted black. The remains of the old one were used as a guide for drilling out holes for the speakers. The burlap covers the holes on the topside so you cannot see where the speakers are at all. 
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Mar 15, 2022 03:50
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Olds Super Stock Wheels, a Field Guide Originally this car had stainless steel hubcaps. I decided to upgrade to Olds' styled steel wheels. Now, we have all seen these, as they made them for something like twenty years. They're called Super Stock II when gray, Super Stock III when body colour. There are a few variations to choose from - Upper is the most common, the 1980s 14" x 7". One of the guys I buy parts from made one into a hose reel for his yard. Lower is a mid 70s wheel, 15" x 7". This is what I was running on the car when it was last on the road. Those tires were a bit too big and rubbed the inner fenders when turning.  This is the 14" x 7" from the muscle car era. Instead of a short snap on center cap it uses a deeper bolt on one and are just subtly nicer looking. This would have been the sensible choice as they are not too hard to find.  But I am too much of a purist and decided to use the original version of the this wheel, the 1968 - 69 14" x 6". I really like the way the design looks with the shallow trim ring. The downside is they limit tire choice and the body style does look better with a beefier tire. I had these powder coated argent. Instead of using metal trim for the wheel openings I painted them. 1968 was the only year that they came this way and there is actually a ridge there on these early wheels.  There's a couple things that wouldn't be correct if the goal was a concours restoration, they're a bit too glossy, and these are not Olds trim rings. Good luck finding a set of those, though.  This isn't quite my original vision. I always wanted to go with red line tires, but I was quoted 400$ cdn per tire . I'd be afraid to drive the thing if I had tires that expensive on it. 
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Mar 19, 2022 04:58
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I love the red line tires so, you know, as long as you’re taking feedback just spend the $4000 and get two sets (obvi need separate spares with each set). But your rims look great.
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Mar 19, 2022 13:17
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I had a couple mobile glass guys come to install the windshield and back glass. My old windshield was delaminating around the edges and looked bad so I had them use a new one. The old one was a replacement from the 90s not an original one. A new one wasn't very expensive, maybe about 1/3rd the cost of a single red line tire.   I installed the moldings around front and rear windows. This is a job that's not easy to do well, especially with a car that has had rust repair to the window channels. The clips that holds the stainless moldings on fit over pins that are welded to the window channel, some of those had to be replaced during the repair and the weren't all exactly in the right place. I had to adjust the positions of a lot of the clips so that the molding wouldn't sit too low or be too loose. They need to be tight against the glass but also even with body work. Another complication is that the replacement windshield is not quite as thick as the originals. It came out alright in the end, I have seen worse at car shows, anyway. First step in installing the side glass is chrome channel that holds the weatherstrip along the top. Next is the vent windows in the doors, their position can be adjusted backward and forward and in and out at the top. 1968 was the last year for these on hardtops, yet another part that is one model year only.  Aligning and installing the side glass was next, this took a while before I was happy with the result. Not having a b-pillar means glass with a lot of adjustments has to line up another piece of glass with a lot of adjustments while also meeting the weatherstrip at top that's attached to the body.  Making the grill and bumper line up is easy by comparison.   I had some minor fit problems with the reproduction fenders when attaching some the trim at the front, I got it to work. That's all original parts across the front except the headlights, I repaired the broken and cracked areas in the plastic grills and repainted them. Krylon Dull Aluminum is a perfect match for the silver areas.   The body side moldings and fender emblems were installed. While I was waiting for the car to come back from paint I bought a book called How to Restore Automotive Trim and Hardware and tried out some of their techniques for restoring stainless moldings and got some pretty good results. https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-c...e7f9295f0db6e81 The correct way to install the fender emblems on these cars is to do it with the fenders off the car. I didn't want to risk damaging the paint or disturbing the alignment of the sheet metal so did my best with them on. The passenger side Cutlass emblem only has two out of three nuts on it but its not going anywhere. 
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Mar 28, 2022 22:06
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That is coming along very nicely. Looks real good!
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Mar 29, 2022 06:44
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Interior time. I haven't been posting these updates in real time, I am still not caught up to where the project currently is. These pictures are from last October through to January. I wouldn't want to create any false impressions about how fast I work! The dash was assembled before installation. The steering column had to be dropped to be able to maneuver it in. There was a lot of threading on of small nuts by touch in hard to access places.     Over the mufflers seemed like a good place for some more insulating.  i have had this replacement carpet sitting in a box for something like 15 years. It fits much too loose over the trans tunnel in the front, I had to pad it out with a couple of layers of underpad. This seems to be a common problem.  I found a build sheet stapled to the back seat frame. Where these turn up can vary by assembly plant, if a car has been disassembled before or has a lot of water or rodent damage it might be gone. This doesn't tell me anything I didn't already know but is neat to see anyhow. These are the same RPO code system GM still uses. It looks like I have a W-machine, not the 442 W30 or Cutlass W31, a W39! Deluxe seat belts  Some of the same option codes are repeated on the body tag just under Made In Canada. This isn't normally seen on US cars, it is an idiosyncrasy of the Oshawa plant apparently. These are the ones for bucket seats, console and Jetaway 2spd transmission. The rest is of it is like a US car, 947 indicates Parchment bucket seat interior, EE is upper and lower body colour, Nocturne Blue. I have been told having a 2 speed auto with a console shifter in one of these cars is unusual, anyone wanting something sporty would get the Turbo Hydromatic instead. Oddly I don't see any indication of the vinyl top in either place, it had one that looked oem on it when I bought it.   I should probably try to repaint the arm rests at some point, they have yellowed terribly. It would be a real tough colour to match, though.  Those are reproduction plastic seat backs and lower side pieces. They suck, poor fit and texture. This is another thing I bought years ago, so maybe what's on the market now are better. The originals had been eaten by the sun to the point where you could carve grooves in them with your fingernails. The door sill plates are aluminum, all they needed was a good polishing.  None of this has been refinished, just thoroughly cleaned. The dash pad is nearly perfect, the only flaw is some old glue residue on top I haven't been able to completely remove. I wonder if it had a St Christopher statue or something there. 
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Apr 23, 2022 04:15
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Fornax Disaster posted:Interior time. my chevelle has been untouched since december 2020, if that helps put things into perspective looks good, and its p cool that you can use so much of the original stuff
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Apr 23, 2022 07:16
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I'm not familiar with this year Cutlass, but I dig the skinny lights, reminds me of the iconic 71-74 HQ Holden: 
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Apr 24, 2022 00:56
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Let there be light!  I still have some issues to sort out, the horns don't sound and the driver's front parking light isn't working. I repaired some obvious damage before the battery went in, I have more checking to do. Fortunately the entire wiring diagram is a single page. 
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May 3, 2022 03:15
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Thread Title Explainer, Barn Finds Are Gross Check out this thing my brother found. It came from a barn locally, a 1968 Olds 442 convertible. It's a very desirable model but is in very rough condition. I wasn't in favour of buying this, we have enough projects, but let's take a look.   Optional wood rim steering wheel.  Amazingly, the power top worked.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPOuF19_Dc0 The engine is a correct g-block 400. Earlier 400s are a different block, this is a 68-69 only engine. VIN on it is hard to make out but I don't think is numbers matching to the body. It briefly fired up with some gas down the carb. (There are no fuel lines on the car). Transmission is a numbers matching 3 spd auto.  Intake manifold is has an EGR valve, so it must be off a 70s 455.  Yet another 1968 only part - the rare four piston caliper front disc brakes. All this car's brake parts were in a box, not attached to the car. It looks like someone was in the middle of trying to rebuild these. My 68 was originally a drum brake car. When I converted to discs I decided to use 1971 style single piston calipers. Parts for those are much cheaper and easier to get, Canadian Tire had the pads in stock!  Someone has put in a full floor pan. The job wasn't finished, though, the rear seat hooks need to be welded in.  All the underside floor braces were also replaced.  Here's the big problem - the frame is no good. New metal has been clad over top the sections where the lower rear control arms attach. In one area scrap diamond plate was used. I don't think you can get poo poo like this registered, not that you would want to. When we put this on the hoist the door gaps changed size.  According to the VIN this is a Lansing built car. There is a GM of Canada oil change sticker in the engine compartment, this suggested that is was a US - built car imported to Canada new. This is sometimes the case with rare performance models that the Canadian plants didn't build. GM Historical Services in Oshawa can provide an information package for any GM car sold new in Canada so I ordered one for this car. This got us a full option list and the name of the dealership that sold it new. It was in north Toronto, a Best Buy is now at that address. It had a AM/FM radio, which must have been uncommon then. The original colour scheme was interesting. Silver-Green exterior, black interior and a orange (!) Y70 stripe. The Y70 stripe isn't the vertical one that 68 442s often have, it was a narrow horizontal stripe that ran parallel to the bodyside molding. This what the Silver-Green looked like.  I mocked it up in Forza Horizon, stripe is too thick here, on a convertible it would go all the way to the tail.  It's tempting to do another using what I've learned restoring the Cutlass, but this one is pretty far gone. The replaced floors, rockers and rear control arms plus the condition of the frame makes me suspect it spent some time plugging a fence with its belly in the dirt. If we lucked out and found a frame or parts car for a reasonable price it might be doable, any 68-72 A-body convertible frame interchanges, but that's probably a long shot. In conclusion, it should probably be sent back to Davy Jones's locker. Having it documented will make it easier to sell, at least. We have storage so it's just been put away for now.
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May 11, 2022 04:09
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What a shame about the tin worm. I'll bet that car with that color scheme was a real eye-popper back in the day.
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May 12, 2022 13:27
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Straight out of 1960s Toronto. It looks like it was a colorful place. https://www.blogto.com/city/2016/11/the_cluttered_beauty_of_toronto_streets_in_the_1960s/ Surprising number of convertibles in those old photos, doesn't seem real practical for Toronto's climate. I have found a few Camaros in that colour, Chevrolet called it Seafrost Green but it's the same paint code. https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0118-312698/1968-chevrolet-camaro-rsss/ And this original paint Impala. It looks like one of those colours that can look very different depending on the light, none of the pictures they took of it looks the same. https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/bona-fide-bowtie
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May 12, 2022 16:26
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...Did Buick or Pontiac by any chance call that same color Metallic Mint Green?
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May 14, 2022 02:29
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boxen posted:...Did Buick or Pontiac by any chance call that same color Metallic Mint Green? Looks like the Pontiac version was Springmist Green and the Buick version was Tarpon Mist Green. https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?gmcode=WA3726&rows=50&syear=1968&smanuf=GM&smodel=Oldsmobile&sname=Silver%20Green
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May 14, 2022 02:39
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Returning to the blue Cutlass - When fluids were added it was found the engine was leaking coolant from the back of the intake manifold. It was decided to bring in a local mechanic with a tons of vintage engine experience to replace the gasket and setup the carb and ignition timing for us. This was money well spent, both for piece of mind and a chance to learn from someone really knowledgeable. Nothing has been modernized, it still has the breaker points ignition.  It was now running, though quite loud. It was loaded onto a trailer and taken to an exhaust shop and had 2 1/2" dual exhaust put on it. This is after its return. Notice that the ride height is much better. I made a stupid mistake when putting the frame together, I tightened the control arm bolts down without the weight of the body and driveline on them. After they were loosened it settled down a bunch. The exhaust shop also did an alignment and rechecked all the bolts while they had it. There was some concern about how many shims they had to use on the driver's side but they test drove it and they believe it to be ok.  Besides making the engine work go more easily the hood had to come off to change one of the hood hinges, it wouldn't go down all the way at the back. From what I have read online this can be a symptom of them wearing out, lubrication didn't help. Luckily I knew where to find another! Jack and spare mounted in the trunk. This spare is for display purposes only, since it is the original spare tire from 1968. It has never been driven on, it still has the little molding nubs on it.  Still chasing some electrical issues, one of the taillight sockets was found to be hanging by a strand. I had a couple of new sockets I got from Rock Auto that didn't fit the housing but upon examination had identical metal contacts. Despite the fact that they were manufactured on different continents fifty years apart I was able to pop the contacts out of the new sockets and into the old ones. Maybe the correct bulb sockets are available somewhere but if they are I bet they cost more than the $5 this fix cost.   This brings us up to date. Putting it on the road could happen soon. There are still a few minor electrical issues, and I have a loose rocker arm making noise. The pinion seal on the axle has a leak, I'll see if I can put that fix off until later.
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May 25, 2022 04:06
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boxen posted:...Did Buick or Pontiac by any chance call that same color Metallic Mint Green? Well the 1963 Pontiac Tempest could be had in the colour with IRS and Positraction.
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May 26, 2022 15:13
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BigPaddy posted:Well the 1963 Pontiac Tempest could be had in the colour with IRS and Positraction. Two yoots.
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May 27, 2022 01:07
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Buick Skylaak too.
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May 27, 2022 02:27
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Heater Cores as a Symptom of Our Civilization's Decline The rocker arm noise turned out to be worn parts. They are not adjustable in Oldsmobile engines. It's unclear why this happened, maybe the engine sat too long after it was rebuilt. They are getting plenty of oil. It was decided to replace all the rocker arms, rocker arm pedestals and push rods. All noise is gone and it is running very well now. With that resolved the hood was put back on. Replacing the driver side hood hinge fixed the issue with the hood not going down at the back.  With the engine running we now have fluids coming out of places it shouldn't, kind of like when I eat too much food with wheat in it. Coolant was leaking out of the heater box into the interior. I don't know why there is pinkish ooze on the core, there is no sign of coolant in the engine oil or transmission. Maybe it got contaminated while the car was apart.  Coolant doesn't go there. (The white foam is glued to the blend door, it replaces old foam that was breaking down and blowing through my defroster vents. I came from packaging from some speakers I bought).  This used to be a easy repair, back when I could get replacement parts that didn't suck rear end. I have discovered that copper heater cores have gone extinct and you can only get aluminum ones now. The first one I got from my local auto parts store didn't fit, the lower tube was bent at the wrong angle so that it couldn't be maneuvered through the holes in the firewall. I tried another from Rock Auto, and found the same problem, but not quite as bad so I was able to make it work. I actually ordered two different ones from Rock Auto because the shipping cost wound up being the same as for one, we have another project these will fit. Packaged well, this is the one that worked -  Packaged not so well -   The transmission also sprung a leak. Nothing was done to the transmission, just stuck in a corner until it was time to put the car back together, so I am not surprised. It appeared to be coming from the base of the dipstick tube.  The O - ring looked bad, flattened out and hardened. I used one out of a Dorman O - ring assortment from Canadian Tire that seems like it will do the job. 
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Jul 5, 2022 05:04
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The final push to get it ready to be pass safety - All fluid leaks were now at least manageable. Parking brake was adjusted following the procedure in the chassis service manual. Some of the dash lights were working intermittently. This was found to be loose pins where the harness plugs into the back of the gauge cluster. These are very fragile and are very difficult to unplug without damage. I goobered a little solder on them to get it working. I don't expect this fix to last, apparently there is a better way to do this by threading small machine screws into the back of the pins to hold them, I'll give that try someday.  That 53,897 odometer reading is accurate and has not rolled over.  Safety was passed without trouble, car is now registered and insured. First car show! More of a tractor show really, but it had the benefit of not being very far to go.   I have added a set of stainless wheel well moldings. We put a reproduction set on the red car. For mine I dug through the parts pile to put together an original set. They were a bit mashed up but I was able to repair the worst of the damage and polish them up.   The repro quarter panels that are on this car don't have the correct shape to the edge of the wheel opening, it's rounded over much too much. Adding moldings will hide this.  The 68-9 Cutlass were borrowing some styling themes from the Toronado which is why they have these round, emphasized wheel openings.  Fit of this front one needs some fine tuning, I had to unbend the front bottom and it's still not quite right. 
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Aug 5, 2022 04:10
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man, even the dash looks cooler than the two-pod chevelle one. led bulbs?
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Aug 5, 2022 05:08
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Regular bulbs, long camera exposure is making them look brighter than they are.
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Aug 5, 2022 14:10
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Now that I have got it out to a few car shows I’m finding what’s being asked about or commented on the most is the colour. One guy wanted the exact colour name because he’s looking for a colour to paint a customised 55 Chevy Cameo truck.
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Aug 7, 2022 02:47
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Have some underside and engine compartment photos.  After a month on the road it's running well for the most part. The rear axle is unhappy, it's making noise and I get a vibration at highway speeds. I found some glitter in the gear oil, this is a 69 Pontiac axle I bought thinking I wanted positrac. I think I would have just used my original rear end if I was making these decisions today, the older I get the less I care about performance. It's the styling that interests me more. My old axle is a 2:73 Chevrolet 12 bolt, this is actually something you would only find in a Canadian built Cutlass. I think I must be the only person in this province driving around with year 2000 license plate stickers. The provincial government eliminated the stickers this year (just before the election, lol) and the car had been off the road since then.
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Sep 7, 2022 05:28
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Fornax Disaster posted:the older I get the less I care about performance. It's the styling that interests me more. Style is the one thing modern cars just don't have. Like great your average family car is faster these days but when it comes down to it, visually they just aren't cool looking. Style >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> speed. How are people going to be able to gawp at your rad ride if you drive it everywhere at 120?
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Sep 7, 2022 11:14
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Getting the wiper blades replaced wound up being more difficult than I anticipated. Refills for the original blades seem to have become unavailable. If anyone knows otherwise let me know, they are Trico 16". The full replacement blades sold at autoparts stores are fugly black plastic universal ones. I ordered some Trico Classic blades off of Amazon, they aren't sold in Canada in any brick and mortar stores from what I can tell. Once they arrived they were a bit disappointing, they are a bit shittier than the picture on the box. In particular the metal adapter piece shown has been replaced by an awful looking plastic one. I don't think that it would have been necessary for my application but still. What I decided to do was only use the blade refill out of them, that way I kept original blade holders with their nicer finish and cool old Trico logos.   
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Sep 14, 2022 02:54
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I’m starting to get the blue Cutlass ready for spring. The primary issues are a noisy axle, leaking transmission and failing water pump. I got some repro parts in to make some cosmetic improvements. A new rearview mirror -    And new horns -  I think I have decided to put my original rear axle back in the car. Setting up differentials is beyond my skill level and I think I want to go back to my original gear ratio. The difficulty in this plan is that it looks like this -   One of the axle shafts is definitively no good. The bearing has started chewing it up. There are repair bearings available that move the contact area but I am not sure I can use one here as there is also a big groove from the oil seal.  This is the other shaft. 
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Apr 1, 2023 00:57
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Some sandblasting and wire wheeling later -  I found the axle code. RA 0710 K. This translates as 2:73 C-type open diff manufactured by the St Catherines McKinnon plant on July 10. As noted above this is not something you would find on a US built Cutlass, it is a Chevrolet 12 bolt. A US built 68 Cutlass would have an O-type axle. 
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Apr 1, 2023 03:18
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Fornax Disaster posted:
Hey!! My uncle might have put that one together!
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Apr 1, 2023 03:19
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Neat! Here’s a detailed timeline of the plant I found while researching this. http://hotrod.gregwapling.com/chevrolet/mckinnon.html Resources I used for deciphering the code - http://chevellestuff.net/1968/rear_axle.htm https://tech.classicoldsmobile.com/73.shtml GM sure was building a lot of different axles. Fornax Disaster fucked around with this message at 04:14 on Apr 1, 2023 |
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Apr 1, 2023 04:09
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why go to 2.73:1? that sounds like a pretty undesirable ratio. what ratio is in your other axle?
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Apr 1, 2023 05:28
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