Cutlass

[98ssnova]

dude just roll with it and lesson learned. Cool to see a project like this coming together keep up the good work and take the knock as lession learned and don't do it again. Good job bro

[olds]

Thanks for the posts everyone,

The short block is assembled after a long delay


flat top hypereutectics, .030 over


no spider girdle, but will be running comp cams retrofit hyd. roller lifters for some extra power (also roller rockers)


cam is degreed, it's a comp cams XR282HR with intake and exhaust duration at 282/288, and valve lift at .510/.520



My budget only left room for a cast crank and I beam rods, which are pushing the limits on what this engine can do - they max out around 500 hp so I'm sucking it dry in terms of performance as it will put out right around 500hp/tq. I have a feeling this whole car will be built right on the threshold of street performance and high performance due to my college budget. I just don't want anything to crack or snap (a throttle stop will be one of the first additions to the top end list). The two bolt should hold up nicely with ARP studs rated at around 600 hp so the crank and rods are the weakest link of the set up. Hopefully they'll be stout through some decent revs up to 6 grand.

[olds]

more engine pictures:




The heads story - I wanted to go with AFR's 195cc intake runner heads, the regular type, which flow about 270cfm at .500 lift. I looked around for the best deal but couldn't bring myself to spend 1500$ on a pair of heads. So the search continued until I found the new patriot freedom early SBC heads. They just started making them and they're the standard run-of-the-mill aluminum heads you might buy from any company. In short, they aren't AFR's, dart, or brodix. I called them up and they told me to call one of their distributors who had some promotional goodies for the first short while that the heads were being introduced. Talk about luck, I called them up and they had a pair of new patriot freedoms with a 195cc intake runner that were bowl blended (which I believe patriot also offers), pocket ported, dual springs set up for the roller lifters, and all at a price of 750$. Thats half price the AFR's for damn near the same performance take 5 or 10 hp. I also received a flow bench test which sets them at 255 cfm at a .500 lift. The other interesting thing is between a 500 and 600 lift airflow increases significantly, at a higher percentage than the AFR's (not saying the 600 lift is higher than the AFR's, but these heads close the gap considerably during this lift but fizz out afterward). So I bought a cam with a 510/520 lift to take advantage of this fact while saving vacuum for the street. The next luck with heads came a few days after I bought the patriots when I ran across some 283/327 heads someone had bolted onto an old 350 at a junkyard. If anyone wants the 327 heads we might work out a price - just send me a message and I can send you pictures.

[olds]

Some body work:

The rusty roof needed some work so it was sanded, rust cured, primed, and painted. I used a two stage primer (not a real two stage, just filler and sealer) and sprayed some flat black and clear on the top. The idea was to get a satin finish but it will end up looking high gloss because of the clear. It's a shade under that deep black look from using high gloss black, it's almost a dark gray/black color. I use spray cans and only spray cans working one panel at a time because that's what I'm accustomed to. I've done some paint jobs with spray cans and people think I'm lying to their face they don't believe it. I have tons of hours left on the paint, most of which will be color sanding and buffing, but this is just the start. You'll be able to use it as a mirror just like any paint job when it's finished, but it isn't a show car or trailer queen.





Here's where some ideas could be helpful - I am thinking about this dark gray/black glossy color for the entire top, then the line which follows under the windows across the side of the car make a 1 - 2 inch deep/high gloss black stripe, then a simple flat black on the entire bottom of the car (that way rocks and chips won't worry me because there won't be any finish on the bottom half). How does that sound? Any other ideas would be awesome, the theme is black.

Here's the car as it was a few days ago and in the infant stage of its build. Let me know if the bare fiberglass bones for the front clip looks good or dumb, I need some input before I go head first into that project (it's just a base, the final product - if that decision is made, will be clean and follow body lines).

[oldzzy]

Welcome to the site, and nice sounding project. I remember seeing the Fe3X in Lansing at an Olds show when they first built it and that it was badass then.... i think it's still badass now!

[andrewmp6]

Looks go so far,The w30 hood usbody and few other sites sell them.The rest of the fiberglass good luck on.

[WSSix]

best of luck. I love Gbodies. I had an 86 Grand Prix and loved it eventhough it was a weak 3.8 V6.

Also note, when looking at flow numbers, you can't compare the numbers really directly unless the same bench flowed the heads back to back. Too many variables to compare them other wise. Use the numbers as an idea as to where the head flows air period, not how much. Also, flow numbers from .2-.4 and .5 sometimes matter way more than anything else. Think about a cam as going up a hill and coming back down. You spend way more time in the mid range than top. I'm sure those heads will work well for you. Patriots are a great bargain head.