Shifting Gears

I have come to a cross roads in my life and change is in the air, that or I'm just going through an early mid-life crisis. Nothing mechanical stays the same with me, although I recently shattered all personal records by managing to keep my '72 Cutlass for over 10 years. That's huge for me. It's like the equivalent of Charlie Sheen being married for 3 years. The Cutlass, recently dubbed "Project H2Olds", was in need of a major overhaul. My daily driver for many of those 10 years, it had seen better days. I was in the early stages of planning the restoration, trying to decide what direction to go with my Olds, when just like that, a solution presented itself. Before you could throw a rod through the side of a block I was heading in a new direction.





Money talks, B.S. walks. That's a phrase I have heard many times. It especially applies to cars, where a lot of folks just like to B.S. In the past I have had numerous offers on my Cutlass, usually in the form of a business card or note left on the windshield. A few times I had actually contacted the person and decided to call their bluff. It always ended up being B.S. In person inquires where the bozo actually follows you is a little more rare, and a little daunting. Nothing like scaring off a potential buyer by greeting them with a Walking Tall stick. Hey, it's either that or do my best Billy Jack impersonation!





By now you are probably wondering what this new direction is. It's sort of a two part direction, like a fork in the road. I'll tell you about the left turn later, because right now I'm going to reveal what the "right" turn was. The new direction I was heading in was... the bank! That's right, I sold my '72 Cutlass. Project H2Olds is now in the hands of a happy new owner. Truth be told, I am feeling the effects of this bad economy just like everyone else, so when someone thrusts five large in your face you tend to make up your mind real quick. So much for the B.S.





As the '72 drives off into the sunset I am already contemplating what to buy next. Most of the money is already spoken for but I will have a little left over to fund my next project, which was found on that left turn that I mentioned earlier. Stay tuned to see what a little money and a lot of B.S. can buy.

Giving Up The Ghost

I have come to the sad conclusion that my '72 Cutlass, Number 1, will not run forever. So what if the engine has over 360 thousand original miles? I have heard stories of Olds-mo-bubble engines living to half a million miles or more. I guess it's more the body and interior that is giving out then the actual engine, as it does still run pretty good. Although I have noticed a deep knock down in her bowels when she first fires up in the morning, but it only lasts a second. Still not a trace of smoke and she only uses about a half quart of oil every 4 thousand miles or so, but all the tell-tail signs are there. More oil leaks - check. More squeaks and rattles - check. More random problems - check. Getting uglier by the day - check. Basically Number 1 is giving up the ghost, throwing in the towel, cashing in her chips, heading out to pasture... I think you get what I'm trying to say.


Of course all of this just did not happen at once, it has been building up over the last couple of decades or so, and has been steadily getting worse. I guess my plan of using an original 37 year old car as a daily driver is coming to an end. I have been down this path before, as I tried to retire Number 1 about 3 years ago. Back then I had plenty of cars to drive so I stopped using the Cutlass as my daily driver and just let it sit. Big mistake. It rotted outside for about two years when all of a sudden I found myself out of cars, cash, and a daily driver. You can find the story of Number 1's resurrection here. There is even a video I made of me firing it up after sitting all that time.

This go around I have a plan. First, I had to find a new daily driver. This was no easy task as my budget to buy another car was almost non-existent. I also wanted to find something that got half way decent gas mileage because we all know that the slightest hiccup in our world (like a hurricane, stock market slump or swine flu) will cause the price of gas to go through the roof again. I can't afford a new vehicle and really don't care for any of the cookie cutter cars (Honda, Toyota, etc), I just can't see myself in them. So I found myself gravitating toward older makes, only the prices of any decent older ride was still out of my league. Although I am a big fan of the carburetor era, I love the reliability of fuel injected vehicles. I really like the late '80s to early '90s GM trucks because they are easy to work on, fuel injected, and last for hundreds of thousands of miles. I also discovered that they are dirt cheap, which is the category where my budget is located.

So what did this finite category lead me to? I found a super clean, single family owned '87 GMC S-15. It is equipped with the "4Tech" fuel injected four cylinder engine and a 4-speed trans. Great gas mileage? Yes. Stump-pulling torque? No. Nice, clean daily driver? Yes. Turns heads wherever it goes? No, unless I filled the bed with bikini clad women in an effort to re-create that famous 80's poster "Haulin' Ass"! As for the rest of the plan that includes my Cutlass, as usual, I don't have a plan. I really like the look of the pro-touring cars, but I also like street/strip cars. Do I build a track car or a drag car? Drifting or drag racing? Ovals or quarter miles? Maybe I should just do a concours level restoration, complete with assembly line chalk marks. Yea right, how much fun would that be to drive? I know, how about a retro NASCAR look, complete with 10 inch wide steelies on all four corners and flared fenders? A low rider with tru spokes and hydraulics? A sled with satin paint, white walls, and an air ride system that can lay the car on it's frame? Decisions, decisions, decisions! I did manage to actually put Number 1 in my garage, and I even disconnected the battery! Damn, I must be getting serious...

Hell Freezes Over!

No, this is not a blog about the Eagles album from 1994. Nor is it about Van Halen reuniting with front man Sammy Hagar or GM changing it's mind about axing Pontiac. It is about the fact that my '72 Cutlass, Number 1, actually made it into a magazine! No, it was not Classic Car Trader either!

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Here is the photo the magazine used, complete with their official moniker.
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Grab the August issue of Popular Hot Rodding and check it out. I bought like a hundred copies. Just kidding, I only bought fifty. You know, that reminds me of the movie Splash when Freddie Bauer (John Candy) buys a zillion copies of Penthouse because his letter got printed in it. Real movie buffs will connect the hammer in the above photo with Splash also. Remember when Allen Bauer (Tom Hanks) is in the motor boat with Fat Jack (Al Chesney)? The engine dies suddenly and Hank's character starts to panic. Fat Jack tells him "Don't worry, I'm a mechanic, I can fix anything" and picks up this hammer and starts beating the crap out of the engine. I laughed so hard the first time I saw that I think I missed the next five minutes of the movie!

So what's next with Number 1? Progress is slow not only because of the lack of funds, but also because it is my daily driver. Any work has to be completed over the weekend. Add in a "honey do" list, other vehicle maintenance, home repairs, yard work, eating and sleeping, and... I think you get the idea. Shoot, I'm still trying to put on the ram air hood I bought for it over 2 years ago! I did manage to put the old grills back in. It had been so long I was trying to remember why I removed them in the first place. Then I remembered that I took them out to install a custom transmission oil cooler. (look closely, it's a refrigerator condenser coil) Talk about lazy, I never put them back in. I guess it took seeing the car in a magazine without the grills to get me to reinstall them. Considering most of the plastic mounting tabs were broke off, this was no easy task. I had to get really high tech and use zip ties. I owe Number 1 some body work, so I think that has to be next on the agenda. Now if only hell will freeze over again...

It Lives! Olds Cutlass Raised From the Dead

So I got my '72 Cutlass, Number 1, running great after quite a bit of work. Funny thing about cars that sit for long periods of time - they tend to fall apart. This is the case with Number one's interior, the front seat to be exact. After pulling off my custom seat covers (T-shirts) the seat looked as though a gang of squirrels had rumbled on it.

See, what did I tell you. Amazingly, the back seat only has one tear in it. Maybe my squirrel theory is not that far off...

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This is beyond covering with a seat cover so I had to come up with a temporary solution. The seat frame is in excellent condition as well as the springs, plus it is a split bench with the not-so-common fold down armrest in the middle, so I definitely want to keep it for the car. While I can't afford to get it re-covered right now, it can't stay in the car either. I came up with the idea of putting in some bucket seats on a temporary basis, but got sticker shock when I started pricing '72 era bucket seats. The prices were outragous! What the heck, are the seat frames made of gold or something? I was almost set to buy a pair of those racing type seats you see in all the imports (yea, I know) when I came across a deal too good to pass up.

I found a set of bucket seats advertised on craigslist for a paltry $40 dollars. The ad said they were out of a Mazda RX7 and in very good condition. Hmmm, sounded like it might be worth a look. When I got there I discovered they were non-electric, leather covered, and felt good to sit in. Sold! Even though these came with the tracks, the Japanese must assemble their cars vertically, because the bolt holes in the tracks were all facing horizontal. I'll show them! That's what good old American angle iron is made for, even though the piece I used was probably made in China.

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This is what I had to do to bolt the Mazda seats

in. Yeah, I know their burgandy, but they are also temporary. They bolted right to the original holes with my custom angle brackets, if you can believe that!

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Here is the burgandy bun rester all bolted in. One down, one more to go. These seats should fill in nicely until the original split bench seat is ready to re-install.

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After my bargin basement seats are installed and years of dust vacuumed up, the interior should be driver quality. Up next, it will be time to address the exterior. I'm not a big fan of primer, and I love patina, so stay tuned to see what I come up with to make Number 1 look a little more presentable and less like a rusting oil tanker.

Day of the Dead - Deadly Resurrection

Sounds like a low budget horror flick, doesn't it? In reality, it is a real B-movie that was made in the 90's. Do you know what is really scary? I was actually in the movie! My first and only acting gig. My old Chevelle was also in the movie. I think it actually did a better job of acting then me! While that movie was total fiction, I recently discovered that getting a derelict old car road worthy is a lot like resurrecting the dead, it's impossible.

I decided to take on the impossible and put my '72 Cutlass, Number 1, back on the road. Now keep in mind that Number 1 has been out of commission for at least three years. I use to start it up every other week, but that lasted as long as a bucket of KFC chicken. So I decided to do a visual inspection to assess the mess that Number 1 had become. Both front tires were now flat and most of the trans fluid had leaked out. The engine hadn't been started in at least a year, and it seemed to be leaking from anything that contained fluid. The front rotors were rusted badly and were wafer thin, it needed new front tires, the trans needed to be serviced, engine oil had to be changed, front end lubed, gas tank hoses replaced, carburetor rebuilt, possible tune up, wiper blades, and let's not forget washing years of dirt and grime away. I was afraid to even look in the interior, suffice to say it needed help before I parked the car...

First things first, I had to see if the engine would still run, as this would give me some kind of indication of how bad things were. I decided to charge the battery and then see if old Number 1 would start up. Of course I did the basic fluids check to make sure I didn't damage the engine. To my utter amazement the engine fired right up. All I did was prime the carb with some gas! A true testament to the durability of Oldsmobile engines and synthetic oil. Hard to believe? I caught the whole thing on video. Check it out:

Pardon the camera shake, I'm kind of new at this. Come to think of it, it kind of reminds me of the horror flick I was in! Now that I know that Number 1 still runs pretty good, it's time to dig in. Gee, I can't wait...

Here it is all raised up and ready for me to start working. Hey, I don't have a lift yet so I use what works. Besides, I have to be able to get all of my girth under this beast.

I figured I would start from the bottom up, so I started with the front brakes, then did the trans. After that I replaced the fuel tank hoses, changed the oil and lubed the front end. To wrap up the underside, I did a complete visual inspection just in case I missed something. All I needed now was a couple of front tires so I could lower Number 1 back down

Ok, the new tires are mounted and Number 1 is back down to earth. Now it's time to dive in under the hood. The carb needs to be rebuilt, spark plugs changed, and I need to inspect the cap, rotor and wires.

When I was removing the carb I remembered that the passenger side valve cover had been leaking before I parked the car, and that leak had gotten considerably worse. I had done the drivers side a few years before so it was nice and dry. Oh well, I'll just add it to the list of repairs!

After removing brackets heavy enough to be on a Sherman Tank, I was able to get to the valve cover to remove it. Your looking at a valve train with over 300 thousand miles on it! The benefits of running synthetic oil are clearly visible.

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When I was done rebuilding the carb (the subject of a future blog) and replacing the valve cover gasket, it was time to replace the spark plugs and then fire her up. Now we know that it ran before I started all this work, so it should run great now, right?

Wrong! I couldn't get the engine to idle. It kept hunting for an idle and running rough. This picture is after I had remounted the carb after removing it to double check the float level and check for vacuum leaks. My experience told me it was a vacuum leak because the trans was not shifting correctly. Plus, I replaced the vacuum modulator when I serviced the trans so that ruled it out. After checking a few things with my vacuum pump, I discovered the leak in the distributor vacuum advance. One more thing that now needs to be replaced!

I am beginning to sense a pattern here, a parts replacing pattern! As I write this Number 1 is running good and is streetable. It may not look the best right now but I will be addressing that very soon. Next up is installing some bucket seats and cleaning up the interior. Stay tuned as Number 1 begins it's slow transformation from side yard fodder to a clean looking street machine.

Corn Binder or Corn Bread?

Well, I sold good ol' Number 2, my latest Cutlass project. It was a great car and an excellent project, but I could see myself spending way too much money on it. In case you haven't realized it yet, I get bored with vehicles real quick. I feel good about the sale, not because I made a nice chunk of change, but because it went to a true Oldsmobile enthusiast. Maybe I'll see it someday at a car show...

Being flush with cash I was now on the hunt for another vehicle. (my favorite thing to do!) I decided that I needed a truck, pre-smog, and in the "dare-to-be-different" catagory. After a lot of surfing (the Net, not the ocean), I found my next ride.

Behold my Grandpa Green International 1100c pickup truck, fresh from the farm!

Most folks perceive Internationals as farm vehicles. Heck, there as comfortable as a hay wagon and as good as Grandma's corn bread. This truck was so stock I'm suprised the salesman wasn't in a casket in the bed! It even had the line card. For those who don't know, a line card to an International is like a build sheet to a Chevy. Back in the day you could literally build these when you ordered them, option by option. This corn binder was ordered with the 304 V-8, 3 spd heavy-duty trans, custom appearance group (side moulding), deluxe hub caps (I'd hate to see the non-deluxe), A/C (big spender here), push button AM radio, heavy-duty heater (the heater core was the size of a small child), and full length vinyl flooring... It also listed things like the rearend gear ratio, paint, seat material, gas tank size, etc, etc.

Here is the stump pulling 304 V-8. Yes, International engines really are that big.

So now I have myself a pickup truck. This will be my daily driver for awhile. Let's see how long it is before I get sick and tired of the three-in-the-tree shifter. You can't argue with the fact that it is unique looking, definitely a classic. You see, I just got held-up at gun point... oops, I mean, I went to the gas station to fill up and on the way home I got two "thumbs up". Ok, maybe one was a middle finger, but who's counting anyways? Well, off on another adventure...