Brain fart! New with 93 cutlass

[j_train5344]

Good evening all! Jeremy here. New to the group but been lurking for 13 yrs now. Had a 94 z34 from 2011-12. Ex wife killed that. Just got a 93 cutlass coupe convertible a few days ago. Needs a bit of work but nothing crazy. Torch red pretty thing. I'll do my best with updates and pics as work progresses on the old girl. Couldn't be happier to be a w body owner again

[Oldsman]

Welcome. I haven't been on here very long and have only a few posts. My wife has a very similar car except hers is a 95 with only 27,000 miles. I found the thread on here about replacing the rear window weatherstrips. They are no longer available and the thread shows how to use 4th generation Camaro door weatherstrips. Excellent article. It looks like somebody has painted your brake calipers red. I did the same thing to my wife's car last year when I replaced the pads. These are really fun cars. Enjoy yours. 

[94 olds vert]

Welcome to the site! Your car looks to be in good condition. 

[j_train5344]

She's not without problems. Verified timing belt shredding itself, active coolant leak (unsure of location now), a 2in tear in the top, cut in the driver side weatherstrip above the window, and a problem with the seal at the driver side windshield where the top meets. The last two let water in. Rain all day yesterday verified the leaks. I don't have a garage so I bought a car cover.

But coming from Chicago I haven't found rust anywhere. And she's 30 years old now. Perfect is hard to find at a reasonable price with lower miles. 

[rich_e777]

Nice ride, Ive got a white `95 Vert thats been a project for awhile now. They`re great cars but the Verts and the DOHC engine both have unique parts no longer in production so they have to be maintained. There's several places coolant can get to leaking from, few are easy to get to. They can even get to leaking coolant from a plug inside the bellhousing.

One thing Ive encountered on mine and seen on several junkyard cars is the antenna mast seal on those can go bad, leak into the trunk and rust from the inside out just over the rear wheel wheel. You might check behind ya`lls trunk liner to check every now and then.

 

 

[jiggity76]

35 minutes ago, rich_e777 said:

Nice ride, Ive got a white `95 Vert thats been a project for awhile now. They`re great cars but the Verts and the DOHC engine both have unique parts no longer in production so they have to be maintained. There's several places coolant can get to leaking from, few are easy to get to. They can even get to leaking coolant from a plug inside the bellhousing.

One thing Ive encountered on mine and seen on several junkyard cars is the antenna mast seal on those can go bad, leak into the trunk and rust from the inside out just over the rear wheel wheel. You might check behind ya`lls trunk liner to check every now and then.

 

 

I just put a brand new one of those on the International.  Thankfully, the area on the truck floor is super solid with factory paint still there.  Of course it being an Oklahoma car is probably helping tremendously.

 

Edited March 9 by jiggity76

[j_train5344]

6 hours ago, rich_e777 said:

Nice ride, Ive got a white `95 Vert thats been a project for awhile now. They`re great cars but the Verts and the DOHC engine both have unique parts no longer in production so they have to be maintained. There's several places coolant can get to leaking from, few are easy to get to. They can even get to leaking coolant from a plug inside the bellhousing.

One thing Ive encountered on mine and seen on several junkyard cars is the antenna mast seal on those can go bad, leak into the trunk and rust from the inside out just over the rear wheel wheel. You might check behind ya`lls trunk liner to check every now and then.

 

 

Thanks! If you've got vids on YouTube I've seen your ride. Pretty sweet if so. I'm fairly confident it's an external leak. I get a little smoke wafting up from under the throttle body/rear cam carrier area. Haven't pinpointed where. As soon as I finish the timing job ( about to pull the belt), I'll start the teardown for intake gaskets. Hoping to find some steam cleaned parts when doing so, minus the head gaskets. 

I appreciate the info about the power antenna seal going bad. As best I can tell, it looks like the trunks never been used on mine. Although, the power antenna doesn't function properly

[j_train5344]

6 hours ago, jiggity76 said:

I just put a brand new one of those on the International.  Thankfully, the area on the truck floor is super solid with factory paint still there.  Of course it being an Oklahoma car is probably helping tremendously.

 

Swear jiggity76, between your replies/posts here and YouTube, you seem to be the authority on everything Cutlass!!! I'd love to see your cars in person!!! I imagine perfection!!!!

[jiggity76]

45 minutes ago, j_train5344 said:

Swear jiggity76, between your replies/posts here and YouTube, you seem to be the authority on everything Cutlass!!! I'd love to see your cars in person!!! I imagine perfection!!!!

That's very kind of you!  I've learned a lot due to me basically having to get so deep into both my cars restoration.  It's forced me to learn how these cars are put together and I've become very good at looking for parts, doing research, etc.  I'm trying for perfection but still have lots to learn and work to do.

I can't forget to mention the guys who came before me.  I've learned so much from them that I can't...NO ONE can do it without their knowledge and guidance.  I'm just trying to pay it forward.

Edited March 10 by jiggity76

[jiggity76]

Not sure if you care about it or not but it looks like you're missing the lug nut caps.  Very pretty car though!

 

[j_train5344]

11 minutes ago, jiggity76 said:

That's very kind of you!  I've learned a lot due to me basically having to get so deep into both my cars restoration.  It's forced me to learn how these cars are put together and I've become very good at looking for parts, doing research, etc.  I'm trying for perfection but still have lots to learn and work to do.

I can't forget to mention the guys who came before me.  I've learned so much from them that I can't...NO ONE can do it without their knowledge and guidance.  I'm just trying to pay it forward.

Jiggity76...and that's what makes you the man! For real, you honor those before you and you pay it forward. Torch red, black top on leather black interior with a stock cd player...how many were made...1 of what???

Also, I have the lug covers in a ziplock in the trunk. The dealer said they're mine and belong to the car. Silver if I recall. 

In that quoted pic it seems a top rib is out of line, is that normal to your knowledge??

[jiggity76]

16 minutes ago, j_train5344 said:

Jiggity76...and that's what makes you the man! For real, you honor those before you and you pay it forward. Torch red, black top on leather black interior with a stock cd player...how many were made...1 of what???

Also, I have the lug covers in a ziplock in the trunk. The dealer said they're mine and belong to the car. Silver if I recall. 

In that quoted pic it seems a top rib is out of line, is that normal to your knowledge??

It looks normal to me.  The car really presents nicely.

Good to hear about the lug nut caps.  Yes, they are suppose to be silver, Pontiac seemed to use a lot of black ones.  I just use a small extension with a 3/4 inch socket and use my hand to screw those caps onto the lug nuts.  Hand pressure or tightness is enough to secure them without the possibility of stripping them out.

CD is a rare option on these cars in general, especially the early ones.  More convertibles got CD it seems for 93-95.  Here's the numbers from our own Forum.  A dude named ManicMechanic figured out all the numbers on the verts and did the work.  He's incredible when it comes to production information.

6,626 verts made in 93.  1,440 of those were Bright Red, Graphite interior, and Black top.

 

[j_train5344]

7 minutes ago, jiggity76 said:

It looks normal to me.  The car really presents nicely.

Good to hear about the lug nut caps.  Yes, they are suppose to be silver, Pontiac seemed to use a lot of black ones.  I just use a small extension with a 3/4 inch socket and use my hand to screw those caps onto the lug nuts.  Hand pressure or tightness is enough to secure them without the possibility of stripping them out.

CD is a rare option on these cars in general, especially the early ones.  More convertibles got CD it seems for 93-95.  Here's the numbers from our own Forum.  A dude named ManicMechanic figured out all the numbers on the verts and did the work.  He's incredible when it comes to production information.

6,626 verts made in 93.  1,440 of those were Bright Red, Graphite interior, and Black top.

 

I'll post a pic from the back. Pass side looks more "in line". Driver side seems to bulge. That's where the roughly 2" tear in the soft top is. Also, with a little pressure the "rib" seems to give quite a bit. 

 Thank you for the kind presentation words. I thought so myself. It's why I pulled the trigger on price. As far as lug covers are concerned, I didn't know Pontiac preferred black, but I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that hand tightened them with a 3/4(19mm) socket. 

[j_train5344]

Given the number I'd seen from forum/YouTube posts. I knew you'd have the numbers. Regardless of who posted originally!!