Showing off my new toy

[crash93ssei]

I picked up a 1982 Cutlass just after the snow went away here in Michigan. Went down to look at it and fell in love with it, the paint was beautiful, engine sounded mean, only problem was the interior looked bad.

The day I bought it

Put a different wheel / tire package on it

Now, when I picked the car up, the sun was constantly popping in and out from the clouds so I could only get a little look as to the condition of the paint. From what I could see, it looked absolutely perfect, so I was happy, yet at the same time sad because I wouldn't get to do a good turnaround with it. After looking at it very close for the next three or four months, I could see that the paint did have a lot of marring, swirls, and holograming, but nothing too serious. The car was repainted a couple years ago and has sat under a car cover most of the time since then and it showed. The paint looked amazing from five feet away, but once you got closer it looked dull and not nearly as good as it should have.

I wanted to do a cruise for the local car show, so I broke out my UDM (anyone still use these, or did they all break LOL ), orange CCS pad and Menzerna SIP.

Sadly, the camera on my Droid phone had decided to mess up and not save all of the pictures I took of the car before, so all I have are some after shots.

I still have to go over it with my white pads and some Menzerna Micro Polish, but it looks a thousand times better now then it did before. It will also be treated to some Souveran!

The interior was painted gloss blue by the previous owner (YUCK) so I am little by little removing it and repainting it black, and it looks so much better! I also picked up a set of seats out of a 1982 Grand Prix that was wrecked and swapped the seats in a few days ago and that alone made the interior look a lot better then before with the seat covers over seats that were trash.

Two months ago, the engine developed a nasty rattle that turned out to be the cam wiped out and took out four lifters with it. I pulled the engine out, had it completely rebuilt, threw on some Trick Flow heads, and some other goodies. I can post up pics of that whole process as well if anyone wants.

For now though, here are a couple videos, one just a walk down the side of the car after polishing, and the other an idle video for any gearheads out there :dblthumb2:
[video=youtube_share;fn2afKkZDB4] - 1982 Cutlass after some polishing[/video]
[video=youtube_share;8YWNSLq0umw] - 1982 Cutlass idle after engine rebuild[/video]

 

[Dubbin1]

Sounds like it has some flowmasters under there. Those make anything with a V8 sound good :xyxthumbs:

 

[crash93ssei]

Sounds like it has some flowmasters under there. Those make anything with a V8 sound good :xyxthumbs:

Yup, Flowmasters. Just edited my sig to show all that it has... there is much more then just the mufflers hiding under it

 

[ryandamartini]

Id be mad with all that work and you end up in the 14s. Smooth ride nonetheless.

 

[aria]

Still have mine, I got the upgraded switch from ag and no other problems but the vibs. Got a new flex awhile back and love it. Tryed to use the udm the other day to take off wax and even on speed 4 it was to much vibs. So went back the the flex to finish the wax take off.
Nice car! I will have to look up where sanford is not sure , i'm in Port Huron.

 

[crash93ssei]

Id be mad with all that work and you end up in the 14s. Smooth ride nonetheless.

I was very upset, but it is my carb that is killing me. It is way to small for the engine it sits on top of. It is only a 600 CFM and is not tuned, I actually need a 725 - 750 and after tuning it I should be in the mid 13s. My time slips showed that the bottom end is extremely strong, but it just runs out of breath at the end of the track. I am hoping to have it in the 12 second range next summer and it will still be my summertime daily driver. Either way, the Chevy engine is just there right now because that is what was in it when I bought the car. I will be getting a 455 Olds Rocket engine and building that up to throw in it within the next two or three years.


aria - Sanford is right between Midland and Mt. Pleasant.

 

[Shane731]

Sweet! I'm an Olds man myself, so I love these cars! Neat toy! :dblthumb2:

 

[ScottB]

always fun to have something to tool with and detail , nice wheels too.

 

[cfd135]

Very nice! I had several of these cars in the mid 90's and I had a lot of fun with them. What are you running for gears? That may have 2:73's or higher with an open diff. A set of 3:73's or lower with limited slip out of a Monte SS or Grand National will make a huge difference. Good luck!

 

[Dubbin1]

That Comp Cams 280H isn't a very big cam at all and with only 9.5:1 with no power adders (NOS) I don't see it getting anywhere close to the 12s.

Now if you are going to replace that carb then look no further then a Demon. That bolt on alone will be a MAJOR improvement.

What series heads are those? Trick Flow sells a ton of their factory replacement heads that really are not much better then stock.

Excellent set of headers and exhaust on it. I had the same thing on my Monte when I took the motor out of my FED dragster so I could play on the street

Here's the end results of that adventure (thank god it happened at the track). Tranny blew apart at 3/4 track. The morons sent 3 more cars down that lane before they closed it to clean the track off. Half of the drive shaft was laying in the middle of the track as well as all the tranny fluid and many many pieces of a tranny case...

 

[crash93ssei]

Wow, ouch on that trans!

I know the 280H is a small cam, 231/231 @ .050 " duration .480"/.480" lift.

The Trick Flow heads I have are Kenny Duttweiller signature series CNC profiled heads, 195cc intake runners, 64cc combustion chambers 2.02" intake 1.60" exhaust valves, angle plug heads. They were part of a Trick Flow top end kit including a cam and Trick Flow 1.5 ratio aluminum roller rockers, the kit was a 350 hp, 400 ft. lb. kit. The springs on the heads were only recommended for a max of .480 lift, so I went with the 280H for now.

I plan to be in the 12s with this car, not necessarily with this engine I have been told by several gearheads on various forums that the crap 600 CFM Edelbrock carb on it right now is really holding it back and they have recommended a 725 Barry Grant or a 750 Holley. The Edelbrock is what was on the engine when I bought the car, and the cost of the rebuild was enough, so I couldn't get a better carb at the time, though I hope to have a good one by late summer or early spring.

The rear is a 3.73 posi, tires are 255/45/17s.

There is some work to be done to get more power out of it, but I will get there!

 

[Dubbin1]

I have been told by several gearheads on various forums that the crap 600 CFM Edelbrock carb on it right now is really holding it back and they have recommended a 725 Barry Grant or a 750 Holley.

Yes that carb is JUNK!!! FYI Barry Grant carbs are now called Demon carbs

 

[Apokiliptik1]

demons are great but pricey but you get what you pay for. i will never buy another dang holley again! have no issues with my edelbrock 750. i had a couple monte carlos built a 383 for it with a 200r4 trans. what kind of trans? th350 th400?

 

[crash93ssei]

The trans is a 200-4R with a TransGo Performance shift calibration kit in it, I love it! Chirps second quite often on dry pavement, on wet pavement you better hold on even taking it easy. I actually won't use a TH350 or TH400. I like to drive my cars, and with that, I like to be able to afford to drive them... I'll take an overdrive trans any day

As far as fueling goes, in all honesty if I had the money it would hands down be an aftermarket EFI setup.... someday

I do have much to learn, and it is nice to get opinions from all sides of the gearhead world, thanks guys!

 

[Apokiliptik1]

i heard that od trans is the way to go. just i know those cars have th350 and 400's in them most of the time. i have a 700r4 mated to a 454 in my 64 impala way more driveability and bullet proof than turbo trannys.

 

[Dubbin1]

The trans is a 200-4R with a TransGo Performance shift calibration kit in it, I love it! Chirps second quite often on dry pavement, on wet pavement you better hold on even taking it easy. I actually won't use a TH350 or TH400. I like to drive my cars, and with that, I like to be able to afford to drive them... I'll take an overdrive trans any day

I don't blame you one bit. I always stuffed a 4:88 gear in my hot rods and could never really drive out of town much.