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Words: Tommy Parry
When Dan first grabbed this car nearly 25 years ago, he lived for drag racing. His Cutlass existed solely for the purpose of going quickly in a straight line; braking and cornering were of no interest to him. After the local drag racing scene mellowed and family commitments intervened, Dan put his Cutlass away in the garage, where it sat for some time.
With a few years to think up an appropriate list of upgrades to turn the Cutlass into more of an autocrosser, he got started three years ago with an enthusiasm he hadn’t felt since his drag racing days. The first order of business was getting the suspension retrofitted with modern goodies made popular by the Pro Touring scene.
To get the right squat and confidence from the rear suspension, he added Currie upper and lower control arms with UMI springs and braces. Varishock single adjustable shocks at all four corners and Helwig Tubular sway bars front and adjustable rear were the next additions. Then, he sharpened the front end with Global West upper and lower arms with a 1" taller upper ball joint. The resulting stance was more corner carver than raked dragster, without a doubt.
Confident with the motor and now in need of some proper brakes, he installed a set of Wilwood Forged Dynapro 6-piston brakes up front. Finding adequate replacements for the rears wasn’t as simple, since they needed to fit c-clip axle ends. Fortunately, Wilwood's Forged Dynalite-MC4 kit worked well, and with a Hydroboost setup, the Cutlass now stops on a dime.
Inside, he opted to swap out the aging leather with the interior from a 2011 BMW 328i. Needless to say, grafting a late model car’s interior onto a classic muscle car was not simple. Lots of cutting and forming were par for the course—and the wiring involved with the electric seats filled the garage the sound of him banging his head on the wall. However, after standing back and witnessing the completed interior, he realized it was worth all the frustration.
While the interior now had all the plush leather one could want, it still was kept from being truly civil by an irritatingly whiny fuel pump. After replacing it with an Edelbrock Quiet-Flo unit, which reduced the cabin whine considerably, he rebuilt the carburetor and the regulator. New fuel lines, a new distributor cap and fresh spark plugs put a smile across his face—he was ready to give the engine some long overdue abuse.
Then, after procuring a new hood with a fiberglass top, he tacked on a new fender, deck lid, grille, headlights, bezels and buckets. It was looking fresh and ready for a long term at paint jail. As the summer heat in Houston makes wrenching brutal work, he was happy to hand it off to another for an extended period of time. He was even happier when his paint guy informed him there was next to no rust.
After eighteen months away, the Cutlass returned to Dan prettier than ever. Now that the build is truly taking shape, he’s ready to start snapping necks and turning heads.
To keep up with this gorgeous Cutlass build, you can follow its thread here.
