1969 Oldsmobile
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Steps missing but will be added later (disassemble) |
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Arthur Lever
Rochester, NY
1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
This is my project- a 1969 Cutlass Supreme with an interesting history.
I am 14 and a student at Dake Jr. High School. Four years ago I made a deal with my father (Glenn). If I stay on high honor roll, I can have a car funded by my dad. But if the grades drop, the car goes away until the next report card. Well, four years later after many report cards that just squeaked by with an A average I was looking for cars all around the US.
I had days when I swore by Chevelles or GTO’s, but in the long run I was in love with the flowing bodylines, aggressive nose and rocket power of the Olds Cutlass and 442. (My dad, however, will not allow the 455 in the 442.) I made phone calls to sellers in places as far away as Vermont and North Carolina. It seemed a common theme that it is easy to find 70’s or 71’s but what I was in search of was a 69’ Cutlass.
Almost every day during this search, we drove by a blue 69 Cutlass! You may have even seen it; it was parked in a driveway on the west side of Culver just north of Titus Ave. I joked I would get it one day, and even referred to it as my car. Well one day after picking up my father’s 2000 Z-28, we decided to see if the Cutlass was for sale. We pulled into the driveway; I was surprised to see what bad shape the car was really in. From a distance it had looked so nice. The rear bumper was falling off, an exhaust pipe had been duct taped together and the front, which could not be seen from the road—Well, take a look at the pictures.
When the guy came out and fought the hood into an upright position I laid my eyes on what I like to call a true piece of art just in minor disrepair. As it turns out the car had been sitting in that very spot for 10 years and who knows the last time it ran? But wouldn’t you know it the very next day it sat in our driveway along with almost 40 years worth of assorted parts.
The deconstruction began immediately. The first job was to catalog and store the spare parts and assess the damage. The car has a surprisingly clean undercarriage with merely surface rust. The interior is completely shot; who would have thought that ten years under the sun was bad for a car? The body is pretty straight except for the paint. The previous owner had it painted at BOCES. It is a terrible job involving some drips and some popping bondo.
The engine is really the first order of business and getting it to run is my main goal. The oil was drained and replaced with fresh 10W-40. Next, the distributor cap and wires were removed so the plugs could be removed followed by a shot of wd-40 in the cylinders. Then the old Rochester Carburetor was taken of to be cleaned and rebuilt. Next, the coolant system went under the knife. It was drained and hoses were removed.
That’s all that I have done in the first 3 weeks of ownership. The process has taken a while with school. But summer is coming soon and I hope to make bigger strides