hello from florida

[lesbaldridge]

figured id say hi , just joined this forum today. i have always been a fan of the cutlass. my first car when i was 15 was a 1980 cutlass. my mom got it for me and it was supposed to set in the driveway until i got my license. one day my best friend and i got the bright idea to take it for a spin, we ended up with a couple buddys and a couple cases of beer in the car, which resulted in a crash that should have killed us all but by some miracle didnt. i have some pics ill try to post one of these days on here of the car after it hit 4 trees and flipped on its lid. i broke 28 bones and got just under 400 stitches in my face, thanks to the topnotch docs at childrens hospital in columbus ohio im in a lot better shape today than i should be. i let me best friend drive and thats the last thing i remember of the night until after the wreck. anyways, fast forward 20 yrs, i have always wanted another 80 cutlass, but it just never happened. for a variety of reasons. from dissaproving wifes to kids and financial hard times, and lately where i live in florida now its real hard to find a reasonably priced clean project that hasnt been turned into a lowrider with chopped up suspensin for hydraulics, or is a bondo wagon . well, thanks to a recent divorce, and i just hapened to come across a very clean stripped down project 80 cutlass on craigs list, i finally have what i have been wanting for 20 yrs. so ill probably be on this forum quite a bit looking for info and ideas.

[Fader]

Welcome to the forum...That is a crazy way to start out & almost end your life with a Cutlass!..Glad you made it out ok & were able to find one 20 years later...What are the details on your new Cutlass & what plans do you have for it?

[88hurstolds]

Wow...
Good luck locating an '80 Cutlass, the '80 442 is my favorite A body.

[lesbaldridge]

hey guys, sorry it took me so long to get back here, both my kids are here for the holidays so its been hectic lately..lol. i just got my new project drug home about a week or so ago, so im not sure on a few things yet, like what motor im gonna go with. the rest i pretty have much planned out though. im thinking bright canary yellow body with some chrome drag stars, black interior with some yellow accents. as far as the motor gos, i know alot of guys wanna keep it all olds, but mine originally came with a pontiac 260. im thinking probably a 383 stroker just because its more in my budget. but theres always a possibility of a large cubic inch big block still.

[lesbaldridge]

i got some pics im gonna try to post , well see how that works out..lol. im no computer tech.

*** allright, think i got it. i created an album called 80 cutlass project . check it out and let me know what you guys think

[lesbaldridge]

ok, thanks to my little bro, the computer genius, i scanned and added some pics of my riginal cutlass from when i was 15, wow , hard to believe that was 22 yrs ago. im turning 37 today, jan 07. hard to believe i or my 3 friends lived through that mess.

[BillsHoe]

ok, thanks to my little bro, the computer genius, i scanned and added some pics of my riginal cutlass from when i was 15, wow , hard to believe that was 22 yrs ago. im turning 37 today, jan 07. hard to believe i or my 3 friends lived through that mess.

Happy Birthday and welcome from New York

[87-Salon]

ok, thanks to my little bro, the computer genius, i scanned and added some pics of my riginal cutlass from when i was 15, wow , hard to believe that was 22 yrs ago. im turning 37 today, jan 07. hard to believe i or my 3 friends lived through that mess.

I saw the pics! hard to believe anyone coud survive that.

[lesbaldridge]

thans for the b-day wish. and yeah, to this day ts still hard to believe we lived through that wreck, i was 15, my friend who was driving was 14, his little brother was with us , he was 13 and another friend with us was 13 as well. it was the largest emergency medical response to a wreck in the history of the county we lived in north central ohio. 4 lifeflight helicopters and 2 seperate fire departments. but enough of that ...LOL.

so i went and picked up the motor the guy threw in with the car today. i paid $900. for the car, and he threw in a small block chevy 350 and the engine stand it was on with the deal. i got the car home last week, and finally got down to pick up the motor and drug it home today. i didnt look at the motor to closely originally , it was just a bonus to me, i was only after the cutlass . i ran the numbers and it appears to be a 4 bolt main 350 chevy, from around 85-86 ( i cant quite make out the code stamped on the front of the block, just the main casting numbers on the rear ) , according to the head numbers, they are the same vintage, 1.94/1.50 , 64 cc non-roller type rocker arms. from what i can gather they were used on the 285 & 300 hp crate engines. ill post the numbers and if anyone has anything to add please feel free. a few sites i checked originally had me thinking the heads were 1990 and up, but the majority of sites list them as only being used up until 1986. go figure, guess you cant believe everything you read on the net..LOL. but two things make me believe the 86 date. #1. the majority of the sites give this date and #2. it has a edelbrock 7501 rpm air gap intake on it which according to jegs and edelbrock only fits 87' and down cast iron cylinder heads and would not bolt onto a 1990 cylinder head. its a polished intake and is pretty spiffy, cost around $350. in the polished model. the cylinder head casting numbers are 14096217 and the block numbers are 14093638 ( according to these numbers these are either 2 or 4 bolt , i visually inspected though and it is a 4 bolt block ) . now im really in a tough decision spot here and id like some opinions from you guys. financially, a small block chevy makes the most sense, money is tight and this could very well be a two year project already. but, time isnt really an issue, it took me 22 yrs to get the car and if it takes me a couple more to finish the car im fine with it. i am leaning towards a big block, i think since im only building this once, and its my dream car i should do it the way i want, regardless of the extra time, cost and work. i can probably sell the small bloc and get a little extra cash to throw into the build. soooo....... if were talking big blocks here, any thoughts ? of course a olds 455 comes to mind first. another motor i have always had a strong interest in is the old 500 c.i.d. caddy motors. they are pricey to build, hard to find parts , but can put out some serious H.P. numbers and are lighter than a small block, if im not mistaken theyre aluminum. of course theres also the chevy 454. thoughts ? and along the line of thought on the 455, im assuming all 455 are not created equal, and there are some blocks and heads out there that are better for performance applications than others, anyone know what these would be or can suggest a good website with olds motor info ? any other ideas on motors ? if money was no object id love something like one of the world motors 600 c.i.d. mega motors, but unless i hit the lottery soon i dont see that happening..lol.

[lesbaldridge]

oh yeah, i guess i should throw in the goal i have is at least 500 horses of very streetable motor here ( id like closer to 700 H.P. ). it will eventually be a daily driver .

also, in case i forgot , thanks to all you guys who have posted so far. its great to meet other guys who are as into cutlass's as i am. i joined a couple other sites but this forum seems to the the best fit for me. some of the others are much larger but theyre seems like alot of jerks on them , and i usually find these smaller forums to be more my speed as far getting to know other members and feeling comfortable to post without being ridiculed or criticized . one of the forums i belong to would already be calling for my head for daring to consider a non olds motor even, despite the fact my car originally came with a pontiac made 260..lol.

[lesbaldridge]

actually, since im getting kinda off topic here fr the intro forum , im gonna start a new thread , in the A/G discussion forum, so check it out . i have ALOT of questions about my project and look forward to any input you guys might have.

[dr78442]

Welcome! Your build ideas sound very close to my 78 good luck! I will be watching for your progress:icon14:

[88hurstolds]

Cheby's are greek to me... I know nothing about them.

I'd stick with an Olds, 455 would be ideal and easy to install (but then again I'm bias and thing and Olds should have an Olds motor) but it's your car and your budget at that.
Glad you found a car!

[lesbaldridge]

thanks man , im kind of partial to keeping things in the family as well, and it will probably end up with an olds 455 ultimately, although i may build the small block just to get it on the road a little quicker. id like to be driving it next year. im waiting to se what happens with my ex, if i have to hire a custody attorney it may be sporting a 6 cylinder and donut tires for awhile...LMAO