Introducing Project Sabre, 1971 Cutlass S Pro-Touring car

[BulldawgMuscle]

Sparky came by a little while ago with more goodies...from Comp Cams! This should really wake up the 6.0.

[BulldawgMuscle]

From Sparky:

I've always been impressed with RideTech's quality, but lately I've had the chance to spend a good bit of time on the phone with them deciding what kit and components would be best for the car, the budget and my goals. I can't say enough about them, they will continue to get my business without a doubt.

We should have quite a few more goodies arriving over the next week or two, including the rear differential cover with girdle, wiring harness, headlights with built-in signals, exhaust components and more.

[SparkyRnD]

Here are the completed renderings, thanks again to Jason Rushforth!!!!

[SparkyRnD]

Here are a few updates from one of our other, more current build threads:


The front suspension is now gone:





Welding up trim holes





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RnD Fabrication's prototype fuel cell:





Once we check fitment, this one will get DA sanded down to remove any scratches, and then probably a brushed finish.

Here is the new wiring harness from EZ-Wire:



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Update time! First, a few pics of the Kwik Performance accessory brackets. I have used these on other projects, and they work great, are relatively inexpensive compared to other "new" alternatives, and look good. Plus, in our case, they allow the use of the truck style water pump and hub, but with a Corvette-style layout.



Next up is the Vintage Air Gen IV kit, made specifically for the '70-'72 Cutlass. This is a new item...so new, in fact, that the new control panel wasn't available yet, so the great people at Vintage Air converted our stock one! We have converted Chevelle-based kits for use on BOP cars in the past, but Vintage will make this one easy on us.



The stuff in the bag is from our original control panel, which Vintage Air sent back to us. Notice the nice braided covering on the wiring; this is straight out of the box! We must use the same supplier on wire loom, since I use the exact same stuff in my shop.



The Sanden compressor and hose kit



Condensor, drier, and lines. The condensor came with nice custom brackets for mounting in the stock location.



Vent hose and a few other misc kit items



The evaporator unit itself...still wrapped up for protection, since it won't be permanently installed til the car is painted



They even sent a banner, which Sparky and I will probably be fighting over!



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[SparkyRnD]

The transmission tunnel is almost done! According to BRP, the tunnel can just be stretched a bit, by cutting it down the middle and adding a piece, but we went a different route and are fabbing up a whole new tunnel.

The tunnel is in, but not fully welded at this point. Obviously, we still need to cut a hole for the shifter!





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We're running a little behind, but we have several goals for the week. First, we will be setting up the control arm brackets on the new reared housing (more on that later), and mocking up the RideTech suspension so we can measure for the new Rushforth wheels. We'll also mock up the new steering box and Hydroboost, pull the engine and trans, and finish weld the trans tunnel and possibly the marker lights. By the end of the week, I hope to be installing the new Comp Cams goodies, and getting started on the engine and transmission detailing.

The meeting with the upholsterer went very well. We spent an hour and a half going over the project, the intended use and desired effect, budget and tossed around ideas. At the end of the meeting, we had nailed down a rough concept of where we wanted to go and he is going to finalize a quote and time frame over the next few days. We are going to keep the interior clean and simple, and affordable (key to our whole build theme). If we can come in at or under budget, I think we will have a winner. He is also a small local business with nationwide ambitions, which I like to promote. Hopefully we can get the deal knocked out in short order.


The polished LS stainless steel bolt kit finally arrived, and we are still waiting on the ARP head stud kit (found out after ordering for the second time that ARP has them on back order, and they won't ship until 1/9/12). Hopefully though we will have them 2-3 days later and can start the cam swap and get the motor ready for clean up. Harness and ECM should also be back late next week, possible early the following.

[SparkyRnD]

Where did the marker light go?



Jeremy fitting a patch panel for the quarter.



Vinyl top trim holes filled

[SparkyRnD]

Got an update on the ARP head studs, looks like they are delayed again (3rd time now). So rather than ship yesterday, they are 'set to ship' by Friday.

[SparkyRnD]

Here are a few updates on the build so far:

Originally Posted by BulldawgMusclecars

Curt got the RideTech StrongArms, coil overs, and sway bar mocked up today

[SparkyRnD]

Originally Posted by BulldawgMusclecars

Making some progress today. I started tearing into the 6.0 for the cam swap. The oil pan, timing cover, and oil pump (mounts to the front around the crank hub) have been removed at this point.

















The cam card.



I had the hubs turned down today to fit the rotors (drum brake hubs left over from a '67 Camaro disc swap), and Curt got the brakes bolted up with the new KORE3 brackets, GM abutments, and a new C6 J52 (Z51) brake rotor and remanufactured C5 Corvette caliper, both from our local O'Reilly Auto Parts. This is just a mockup, so note the pads aren't installed.

They also got about half the valve springs, retainers, locks and seals changed out, and will get the rest knocked out in the morning, and install the new lifters and re-seal the heads. While they're off, the guys at BullDawg will get the heads cleaned up and looking good, and get the block cleaned up and primed. After color selections are finalized, the block will get painted to match and start reassembly.

[SparkyRnD]

Looks like our shift knob for the T56 transmission in Project Sabre is ready!