1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass

[Der Bugmeister]

I researched various methods of removing the undercoat from the body.  Some sounded kind of sketchy (use a propane torch...I'm sure that would have stank, amongst other things) while others sounded more feasible. 

The first method tried was using a heat gun and putty knife to soften, then scrape it off.  I used my Milwaukee M18 heat gun which got the job done, but went through batteries relatively quickly and didn't get to temperatures that might have been more effective. 

The next method I tried was using a multi tool...as I didn't have one, I went out and bought a Milwaukee M18 Multi Tool (any excuse to buy more tools, right?).  I wasn't a fan of this approach - it was noisy, the vibration was irritating and the blade would nick the metal too easily while not getting into recesses well.

Another method was an angle grinder with wire wheel.  As I was working on my back with only a couple feet of clearance, I didn't like the odds of carrying out this method without injury, so it was back to the heat gun.

For a while, the heat gun approach gave me some zen like time with the car.  But after laying on my back for hours and emerging to see the glacial progress I was making, the zen wore off.  Yes, I had grossly underestimated the time and effort needed to clean the undercoat off and it was obvious that it wasn't going to get done with the body sitting on the glorified sawhorses.

I had picked up a rotisserie for a song a few years prior and decided that it was definitely time to put it to use!  The shiny black was me filling the need to see some cleaned metal painted.  My progress to this point was from the bottom of the firewall to the first floor support with a LONG way to go.

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With the body on the rotisserie and slow progress using the heat gun, I switched up to using the angle grinder.  I found a twisted strand wheel worked best, sometimes switching to a cup.  PPE is essential!  Eye protection, ear defenders, mask and good gloves are critical.  I was originally using some cheap Home Depot gloves, the kind with rubber grips but thin fabric back which didn't protect my fingers if the wheel jumped on me.  I still have the scar on my finger where it caught me once before learning my lesson!

Secondary to the PPE, you want to cover up well.  The tar and rust dust gets everywhere both in the shop, your hair and your pores.  Despite a good shower, I have a good white dress shirt ruined with dark brown stains from tar left in the pores of my neck.

So the grinder approach got things done the quickest, but I still spend most of the winter of 2023 cleaning the underbody and making a couple other small rust repairs.  Overall the body was in excellent condition.

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After extensive degreasing, the exposed metal was painted with a two part epoxy.  I decided that after all this work, I wanted to have some fun with appearance.  The frame was already black so I decide to go with a medium dark grey for the body underside to give some contrast.  Most people won't see it, some will look under the car and appreciate it, but it makes me smile everytime I'm under the car.  And this one is all about me!

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[Der Bugmeister]

Looks like I'm falling behind in my updates again...but I'm gonna skip ahead to today's events for a moment before returning to yesteryear's progression.

The engine last ran in December 2023 on the dyno, just over a year ago.  Yes, I could have rigged it to start in the frame but decided to just push ahead until it was ready to run in street dress.  Today was the day to fire it up and listen to it roar.

Here's one of the videos from this afternoon.  I'm the long haired one in a blue shirt, my buddy with the grey/white hair is a fellow Oldsmobile fiend and has been working with me throughout the build.  Eventually you'll see photos of the super clean wiring job he's done.

Anyhow, the video...startup, idle adjustment, idling for a bit, then near the end I open the electric cutouts for some real noise :-D

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WkjW-sunqc0

[TexasT]

super COOL!!!

One of my greatest pleasures in life is firing up an engine with open headers or manifolds and giving it some Whops.