68 Cutlass S Pro-touring Buildup

[scr8p]

i know some other members are into real cars, old and new, so i thought i'd get a build thread started for my 68 cutlass s. here she is now.

for now, i'm not planning on doing much (if any) body or paint work on it. just want to spray the new hood my dad found out at carlisle last month so it matches. i'm just gonna focus on sandblasting the frame, and building up the drivetrain, brakes, and suspension. i'm really into the pro-touring style cars.......... old car, modern suspension, big brakes, etc. there's a TON of different manufacturers out there making parts for the GM A-bodies, and every one saying their stuff is better than the rest. so, i've been doing a BUNCH of reading trying to figure out the best route to go to give me the performance that i want to get out of the car, but not kill the budget. not an easy thing to do. the rear suspension i have pretty much figured out, except for what sway bar i want to go with. that'll depend on how i build the front. but i'm still undecided so it's gonna have to wait. but here's a start on the parts list:

engine/trans/rear - the car already has a 350 olds rocket that was recently rebuilt. so, that will find it's way back in the car after a good cleaning and a new coat of paint. for the trans, i'll be using a 200-r4 overdrive trans out of a wrecked 87 monte ss i bought 10-12 years ago. the open rear will also be swapped out for a chevy 12 bolt (i hope) posi w/ 3.73's. with the overdrive trans, it'll be fun to rip around town, but cruise nicely out on the highway.

brakes - as much as i'd LOVE to to run some 13" baer or wilwood disc brakes, it's just not in the budget. so for now, i'm just gonna go with a stock disc brake kit in the front, but also in the rear. right now, it has 4 wheel drums, so putting ANY kind of power disc brakes is gonna be a HUGE improvement. 68's are supposed to have dual piston front calipers, but i'm gonna go with the single piston kit. they became standard for GM in 69, and the price difference between the single piston kit compared to the dual pistons is like $400.

front suspension - i'm leaning more towards this front end kit from sc&c. it utilizes the stock lower a-arm and knuckle.

http://www.scandc.com/suspensions.htm#streetcomp2

i'll be getting the "plus" kit with the taller ball joints.

springs - most likely going with the spc lowering springs from sc&c as well.

http://www.scandc.com/spcsprings.htm

sway bars - up in the air yet. i'll update this later when i figure it out.

shocks - i'm REALLY hoping i can spring for a set of these adjustable alston shocks, but i doubt it.

http://www.scandc.com/varishocks.htm

rear suspension - back here i'm going with this trailing arm kit from umi performance, as well as the rear chassis braces.

http://www.umiperformance.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_32_42&products_id=328&zenid=66voh3k9vnuqgboh3rk0kssj27

http://www.umiperformance.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_173&products_id=286&zenid=66voh3k9vnuqgboh3rk0kssj27

wheels/tires - i'm not sure about tire sizes yet, since i'll have to see what the ride height turns about to be, wheel well clearance, etc. but i'm gonna be going wit these wheels from summit. the ones i REALLY want are just too expensive. $2,000 just for rims is not in the budget. the summit wheels will give me the size and backspacing i want, but won't break the bank.

17x8 fronts - http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-141-7861GM0/

17x9 rears - http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-141-7961GM0/

this is gonna be more of a winter project, so it might be a little while before it gets updated again. but stay tuned. i'm hoping to have it done and ready to go for the big cruise down in O.C. Maryland this coming may.

[jwscab]

nice! we do OCMD cruisin' every year.....per my damned cool wife, it's our 'anniversary' mini vacation, gotta love it!!

the sc&c stuff is supposed to be pretty good...at least as far as the later G bodies guys say.

[scr8p]

ya, i've heard nothing but good things about them too. another cool thing, they're fairly local. i can drive right down to their place, talk to the guys, see the stuff in person, etc.

[adam lancia]

Nice Cutlass scr8p! I love all of your ideas, very practical instead of the usual 'throw tons of money at it' approach. I do have one suggestion though and that's about the wheels. I know 17's aren't huge but I think it'd look cool on 15's or 16's. Although, if you're going for the all out Pro Touring look then bigger rims are the ones that fit the template. Curious as to what you think seeing as you're in the business and therefore a little closer to the heart of the matter.

[jwscab]

yeah, you know, i used to not like anything larger than 16" wheels, but it's getting tougher and tougher to find decent tires in 15 and 16" sizes that are not 'specialized' and therefore $$.

17" is about the max you can go before the cars start looking out of proportion, and you can still get decent priced performance tires.

[rc10johnny]

Scrappy, is the cutlass have the same front end as the chevelle? I've seen the upgrades for f&r disc conversions or to put 69 chevelle disc on early models then just add a aftermarket rear disc W/ propr valve. ?

[fastang]

Cool, I love the pro touring look as well.

Looks like a nice list of parts you are going to use. Only thing I would do differently is go with a 9" instead of the 12 bolt. The 12 is just so big and isn't any stronger than a cheaper, smaller 9". Aftermarket support for the 9" is much better too.

Can't wait to see it done!

[scr8p]

Nice Cutlass scr8p! I love all of your ideas, very practical instead of the usual 'throw tons of money at it' approach. I do have one suggestion though and that's about the wheels. I know 17's aren't huge but I think it'd look cool on 15's or 16's. Although, if you're going for the all out Pro Touring look then bigger rims are the ones that fit the template. Curious as to what you think seeing as you're in the business and therefore a little closer to the heart of the matter.

for me, i like a larger rim. especially on the old cars that have huge wheel wells. to me, i think 17's are a good size. you'll have a decent size wheel that can accomodate larger brakes, but you'll still have some meat on the sidewall of the tires. the roads around here are pretty good, but they're not perfect. i don't want to be bending rims left and right.

Scrappy, is the cutlass have the same front end as the chevelle? I've seen the upgrades for f&r disc conversions or to put 69 chevelle disc on early models then just add a aftermarket rear disc W/ propr valve. ?

ya, the chevelles are an a-body, just like the cutlass, regal, gto (68-72).

Cool, I love the pro touring look as well.

Looks like a nice list of parts you are going to use. Only thing I would do differently is go with a 9" instead of the 12 bolt. The 12 is just so big and isn't any stronger than a cheaper, smaller 9". Aftermarket support for the 9" is much better too.

Can't wait to see it done!

the main reason for doing a 12 bolt will be the fact that i will be able to come up with one quite easy (and at a good price with the people i know), and it'll bolt right up. but i'll weigh the options when i have the chance to buy a used one and have it rebuilt, compared to just going out and just buying a new one from say currie or moser...... or someone else.

[skunk.werkz]

Nice, i'm actually in school at the moment to get my degree in restoring vintage cars. My buddy is also currently working on a 73' Cutlass, gotta love the old muscle sleds.

You mentioned the Olds rocket motor, I actually have worked on one of the older ones in our shop. Here are some pics of where we do our work.







sorry for hijacking your thread, but I love old cars!!

[Der Kommissar]

nice! we do OCMD cruisin' every year.....per my damned cool wife, it's our 'anniversary' mini vacation, gotta love it!!

the sc&c stuff is supposed to be pretty good...at least as far as the later G bodies guys say.

jwscab, what are you rolling with in OCMD? I'll look for you in October.

Scr8p, if you've never been, it's a must. Once you go, you'll never stop.

If you'd like a hookup on a room, PM me....

[scr8p]

i haven't been down for the last couple years. i was there for the one in may both '06 and '07. my wife's friend, her family owns a house just off of route 1 (opposite the ocean) about a block from the maryland border in fenwick island. when we go, we stay there. it makes it a pretty cheap weekend getaway.

[RichieRich]

Oh this should be a fun build!!! Jason, I love A bodies too. One day I wanna get one and put in a full independent suspension for the rear. I don't even know if this is possible, but I think these cars could handle a lot better. Or at least a watts-link if independent isn't possible. I have having to change my pants every time I hit a seam going around a corner because the solid axle can't handle it.

[scr8p]

One day I wanna get one and put in a full independent suspension for the rear. I don't even know if this is possible

anything is possible.......

http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68462

[scr8p]

so a little update on this.

today, we got the car in the garage. yanked the front end sheet metal, engine/trans, got the body off the frame and set on the dolly we made for it, got the frame stripped bare and on our rollover jig. we'll get it sandblasted tomorrow, and painted tomorrow or monday. i'll get some pics tomorrow, i forgot my camera when i left the house this morning.

unfortunately i'm gonna have to change direction on how i'm gonna be putting this thing back together. the funds i set aside for this project took a hit last week when i got another car. quick story, my grandmother bought her last new car when she retired in 1991...... a 91 plymouth acclaim. 4 door, 4 cyl., nothing fancy. when she passed away in 2004, my aunt took the car. at that time, it had like 28,000 miles on it. well, between her and my uncle, they put 60,000 more miles on it. so now at just under 90,000 miles, the head gasket went (and during my teardown found out the head was cracked too), and they didn't want to put the money into it. i told them i'd take the car, so they gave it to me. so after a new remanufactured head, head gasket kit, and everything else i figured i'd change while i was working on it....... timing belt, altenator/water pump/power steering belts, upper/lower radiator hoses, heater hoses, water pump, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, etc etc etc. after i got it running, i took it for a ride and could immediately tell it needs an alignment, the steering rack feels a little goofy, it needs struts, and the back brakes were horrible. so i took care of the back brakes. cut the drums, new shoes, and hardware kit. so those are good now. i figured i might as well do the front brakes too, so i grabbed so new pads in preparation of doing those in a couple days.

so more or less, i'm into this car for like $1,000, and i'll have maybe another $500 in parts i'll need to throw at it until it's all done and good to go. normally, i wouldn't waste this much time/money on a used 4 cyl. fwd car. maybe i'm being sentimental because it was my gram's old car and i want to keep it going. but the car is in unbelieveably good shape for how old it is. it's never been hit, repainted...... hell it hadn't even been driven in snow until 6 years ago. but for a $1,500 investment, if i can get 30-40,000 miles out of it, i'll be happy.

[scr8p]

not to mention, my son will be turning 16 in january and getting his drivers license around summertime. so i was gonna have to get another car anyway........