Introducing Project Sabre, 1971 Cutlass S Pro-Touring car
 

We're just getting started on "Project Sabre", a '71 Cutlass S being built for/in conjunction with Sparky at RnD Fabrication. In Sparky's own words:

We wanted to take a moment to introduce our future shop car and Autocross machine, called Project Sabre. The base of the project is a 1970-72 Oldsmobile Cutlass 'S'. We will be swapping in LS motor, manual transmission, chassis upgrades, custom brakes, Rushforth Wheels along with a slew of other killer upgrades.

The goals for this project are a platform to display our products in use, that we can also use competitively at the autocross tracks. But the main goal for this project is to build a very streetable and usable Pro-Touring Muscle Car that anyone can replicate with a little planning and elbow grease. This will not be an overpowered, overpriced car that spends all of its time at shows and on trailers. It is meant to be driven, and driven hard!

There are quite a few great folks involved with this build, including Bulldawg Musclecars, Jason Rushforth and others. We will be documenting the entire build from start to finish, so that everyone can see exactly what we used and why.

You can see our project site and updates here:
www.projectsabre.com

Project Sabre is underway! Here are a few shots of it the day it arrived at the shop.

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She's pimpin' with that white interior!

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The "Rocket" 350, now gone to a new home in an '87 4-4-2

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As Sparky mentioned, this build is intended to show that it isn't necessary to have an air-to-water intercooled American Express Black card to have a nice Pro Touring car. If you're looking for the latest widget machined from billet unobtanium, you're probably not going to find it here. We are using off the shelf parts, and in some cases parts that will soon be released to the general public. We will also be using some used parts, where deemed safe and reliable enough. For less than the cost of a new crate motor, we will have a 400+ engine with a 6 speed manual transmission and a rear end that will take anything we throw at it. Make no mistake, while this car is being built to the highest standards, it is being built with a realistic budget in mind.

Nice project Joe! Headlights and grill are nicest 3rd gen. Underrated A body IMO

Thanks Fernando! We're in the parts acquisition/mock up stage right now, but we have a pretty tight schedule for the build so its going to have to move pretty quickly.

From Sparky:

Throughout the build, we are going to update what we've spent on various parts. We want this build to be able to be replicated, so the prices we pay will be what are available all over, rather than just a one-in-a-million deal that no one will ever find again. We will also list the parts we use on Sabre, as well as the companies / locations where we purchase them. The best part will be early next year starting to run Sabre on courses and proving that this project not only works, but will take repeated floggings.

Safety though will be of top importance. Brakes, suspension, belts, and other items are being chosen for safety AND performance, not just because they look neat.

Here we are getting started on the teardown:

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The 350 removed. The firewall and undercarriage are in surprisingly good shape. I'm used to doing tons of rust repair, but there will be very little of that here. Even the factory red oxide primer is visible on the bottom of the firewall.

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Somewhere underneath all that wiring and ugliness is an iron block 6.0 LQ4. We'll take care of that.

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The seller of this T56 failed to mention it was painted flourescent snot green...that is going to be fun to strip off.

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The truck oil pan isn't going to work with the BRP/Musclerods mounts (or anybody's, for that matter), so Sparky ordered the GMPP Musclecar Pan Kit, PN 19212593. This came from our own Jeff Tate at Day's Chevrolet.

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The Cutlass had an automatic, so a set of pedals was ordered.

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The stock steering wheel has to go. In its place, this one from Momo.

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I can't wait to see the motor and transmission mocked up!

Here are a few pics of the engine, a 6.0 litre LQ4 from an '03 Chevy van. You can tell this isn't a passenger car engine, since it has a mechanical fan, "tall" accessory brackets, and the tall truck-style intake. Plus, it has an iron block. In this pic, I have just removed the intake, and you can see all the accumulated nastiness underneath. A shop vac and a wire brush made quick work of it, though.

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The coolant tubes are pretty rusty, too...that'll need to be replaced.

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The fan, which will be replaced with dual electrics, from RnD Fabrication, of course.

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The original truck-style oil pan.

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And removed...

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The old windage tray and pickup:

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The new...

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GMPP Musclecar Pan Kit Installed (minus the dipstick and tube; this is just mockup)

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If you're using a T56 with an engine that had an auto, don't forget the pilot bearing:

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Clutch assembly installed

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BRP/Musclerods Motor Mount installed

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The mounts bolt up to the same ones as the original Olds mounts; no drilling required. I hit the holes with a little silver spray paint for clarity.

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One of the original mounts

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This shot gives a better idea where the engine mounts up:

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Mocked up (trans isn't in place yet)

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The last shot shows my trusty TPIS "Happy Hooker"...its an older one, but we drilled it for LS engines as well as several extra carb patterns.

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The old gas tank is also out, but no pics of that yet.

When I saw that Sabre had a vinyl top, I initially cringed...the rust under a vinyl top is usually pretty bad, with lots of pitting in the metal. This one is in very good shape, considering...at least on the driver's side.

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The passenger side wasn't quite so good. There was evidence of rust under the bottom molding, and a couple of small holes in the metal. This isn't really that bad, though, and will be easily fixed with a fabricated patch. This is the worst part of the whole car.

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The previous owner's nickname, apparently...

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We'll be filling the hole in the firewall with a fabricated panel, and adding Vintage Air.

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In sort of an odd coincidence, I worked for Lewis Welch Olds briefly in the early '90s.

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