And another toy joins my collection

[3100 MPFI]

have you ever had one of those days where everything was going wrong, but then something good happens?

I was on my way home from work, and one of my heater lines sprung a leak. I had to take more time off work to fix it, and on my way home from the parts store, I saw a Cutlass Supreme in someones yard for sale.

I was not going to stop, but I decided to, so I turned around, and checked it out. It was not in the best of shape, but the body had no dents, and the interior just needs some cleaning up (for the most part).

Turns out he said that the engine was KNOCKING, so he was only selling it for $300

WELL!!!!! How could I say no?????

Anyways, here is what I am now dealing with.

It is a 1995 Cutlass Supreme SL Coupe. TEAL exterior, and Graphite LEATHER interior. The engine is the 3.4 DOHC.

Now, I decided to drive it home (it was only 3 miles away from my mothers house, and that is where I work on my cars). Well, we jumped it off, and when it started, it was NOT knocking. It sounds like it MIGHT have a collapsed lifter (if it was a PUSHROD engine, I would call it a lifter tick). It was NOT running smoothly, but it has an intake leak, and I think the EGR is stuck open.

It does need some other work too it. BOTH the door handles need to be replaced, the armrest is broken (I just got a new 2000 Grand Prix center console off of ebay, and it was delivered today, so I think I am going to put that into it).

One other interesting thing is that it has magnasteer (magnetic variable assist power steering). That was something I was NOT expecting.

Here are some pics:

Exterior:









Interior:





Engine:



Test-fitting the 2000 console:





Magnasteer:

[prophiseer]

It's a little worn in, but looks like a really decent find for $300!

[tijuana_no]

not bad at all ,give you some choices,re-built it or make a parts car and even make some cash selling parts.very good buy

[robby1870]

Yeah, you can easily fix what's wrong and turn around and sell it, if that's what you're trying to do. Good find though for $300.

[3100 MPFI]

I am not sure what I am going to do LONG TERM with it. For now, I am going to fix it, and maybe drive it. I think I am about to have tranny issue with the STE, so I might need another car to drive for a while. I still have the Cutlass off the road while I rebuild the 3100mpfi

[Canyonero]

Man, I hate you people! Why don't I ever get cheap or free cars? Well, once - but that doesn't count.

My 8th grade math teacher gave me his AMC Concord when it broke (yes, when I was in 8th grade). I had it fixed in 5 min. Some wire under the hood frayed and burnt a bit causing a burnt electronics smell and inability to start. Cut the wire back, stripped it, and stuck it back under the nut. Good as new! The rest of the car wasn't though (and I couldn't drive). I pretty much abandoned it at a "friend's" place, he and his redneck friends beat the crap out of it, left it out in the woods somewhere, and scrapped parts off it for the AMC Eagle one of them drove.

[3100 MPFI]

you are really going to hate me then with this disertation.

I have 4 W-bodies in all, and I have paid less than $1000 for all of them.

My 1988 Cutlass Supreme 3100MPFI was FREE (given to me by my grandmother)
My 1990 Grand Prix STE 3.1 MPFI I got on Ebay for $200
My 1995 Cutlass Supreme SL 3.4 DOHC I got locally for $300
My 1996 Grand Prix SE 3100 SFI I bought back from the insurance company after it was totalled for only $200

$900, and 4 cars. Not too bad in my opinion.

[AWeb80]

GREAT find for 300.....Nice.

[3100 MPFI]

just an update (56K BEWARE)

I thought I would do an update. I have done a LOT to my 1995 since I made this first post.

I have bought an engine for it (which is now being rebuilt). I got a complete BOSE speaker system (and a BOSE radio is on order).

I removed the dash to fix the crack in it, as well as install a HUD, and while the dash was out of the car, I wired in DRL's (to turn on the FOG LIGHTS), wired in the BOSE, wired in the HUD, and a few minor other things.

Here are the pics.

ENGINE:

This is my new twin cam. I bought it complete for only $150 from a local junkyard. It included just about everything including the complete engine wiring. The only thing that it does not have is the ECM.

When I opened it up, it had all the signs of a fresh rebuild. It had new gaskets, and a new timing belt.






INTERIOR:

When I got the car, the interior was TRASHED. I had a MASSIVE crack in the dash that needed to be fixed, but I could not find a replacment dash. I wanted to install a HUD, so I decided to pull the dash out of the car and fiberglass it. Here is what was done.

This is the CRACK that needed to be fixed.






First thing I did was cut out the area for the HUD to sit into, and then started fiberglassing. Here are some pics of the progress and just before paint.




Test-fitting the HUD.












Here are some pics of the interior while I was doing the wiring.




Here are some of the BOSE pics




This is the COMPLETE harness that goes from the C200 block connector to the BOSE AMP that is mounted in the trunk.












And the only things that I have done ot the exterior are to replace both of the broken door handles, and install some of the GM badges.

[tijuana_no]

Good Job Man ,i'am Glad ,you Almost Finish With The Stereo Stuff (well By Now ,probly You Are) The Dash Looks Good .
Let Me Now When You Are Done To Check Your Ride.
Man Where You Get All Your Parts At ,what You Doing This Weekend If You Going To Junkyards Let Me Know .i'll Be In Houston (home).

[3100 MPFI]

I ran out of cutting disks for my dremmel, so I still need to install the one door speaker. I just got in my Aurora Service Manuals, so once I get the BOSE radio, I can wire it up (I will probably wire it up anyways, but I can't test it until I get the dash back in.

the dash needs about 10 more coats of paint (I do light coats), and then I can install it.

I still have a long ways to go, but for now, I am happy with what all I have accomplished.

I am going to be home this weekend, so let me know what all is going on.

[3100 MPFI]

Finally got to do some more work. I got the last BOSE speaker installed. I installed the drivers door speaker, so the BOSE install is COMPLETE (other than the fact I still need to install the RADIO, and rewire the connector for it).

THE DASH IS IN THE CAR. Unfortunantly, the dash is TALLER, and I did not cut out as much material from it like the Grand Prix dash has, so I had to pull the dash back out to install the HUD. The original dash only had 2 screws at the top of it holding it in, so I drilled out the other 2 so that now I have all 4 like the other cars. I had to drop the HUD in place, get the dash in, lift the HUD out enough to get a socket and a slut-bunch of extensions on the bolt, then after it was tightened I dropped the HUD in place and bolted it down.

I laid out the back seat and the drivers seat and gave them a good coat of LEATHER CONDITIONER. Letting it soak in overnight.

I painted the END COVERS, and the PASSENGER AIR BAG cover to match the dash. My original GRAPHITE cover was cracked, so I decided to use the passenger airbag from my Grand Prix. The Grand Prix dash was LIGHT GRAY so I had to give it more coats, but once it was done, it totally matches the dash and covers.

Since the repaired dash is BLACK, and it was originally GRAPHITE, I have to paint all the trim in my car to match. I just created more work, but I think the ends will be worth it.

Now or the pics.

This is the last BOSE speaker in place.


This is the dash back into the car. I had to pull it back out to get the HUD in place, but so far, that has been the ONLY mishap.




This is the hole I cut for the HUD, but I should have made it bigger. The only upside to the smaller hole is that it will be easier to make a cover for it.


This is the HUD installed looking through where the instrument cluster goes.


The HUD finally installed and everything going back into place.


This is the airbag. The airbag in the BACK is my original GRAPHITE Cutlass Supreme airbag, but it has some spider cracks in it, so I compared it to my Grand Prix airbag. They look to be the same, so I cleaned it up and painted it to match the rest of the dash.


These are the endcaps for the dash. I had to paint them seeing the new dash is BLACK and the original one was GRAPHITE. They were also kinda scratched up, so the paint helps to make them look new.


That is the dash from my 1996 Grand Prix. You can see that the opening for the HUD is a LOT bigger than the one I cut in my Cutlass Supreme dash. You can also see the LIGHT COLOUR that it was. That should help to see what colour the AIRBAG was BEFORE I painted it, and it is also a testament to how good the paint that I used is. After I got the airbag painted, you can't tell that it was oringally a light gray.


This is the HUD DIMMER SWITCH for my Cutlass. I don't like it when things don't match, and I KNEW that the HUD controls backlighting in RED was going to get on my nerves, so I took the switch apart and removed the RED BULB COVER, and replace it with a BLUE ONE. The print on the headlight switch is CLEAR, so it will light up whatever colour the BULB is. By putting the blue cover on it, then it should light up the same as the rest of the car now. Now, the only thing that is going to be the wrong colour is the backlights for the STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS.


This is the HUD DIMMER SWITCH back together. You can see the scraps from the RED bulb covers, and you can see some scraps from the BLUE cover. The blue cover was too big, so I had to trim it up some. The true test will be once it I can get power to the car to test it all.

[3100 MPFI]

I got in the BOSE radio, and got it wired up and installed. Hopefully, I can get the interior TOTALLY finished tomorrow. I really don't have that much left, but I had to stop when my dremel went dead.

LOL

Anyways, onto the pics.
something small, but kinda needed. I added a light to the underside of the radio. That way at night, it will light up the inside of the storage compartment at the front of the console.


This is the part that shines through. I am going to put a BLUE bulb cover over it so that it will be less noticeable at night.


The BOSE radio wired up and installed. I can't test it just yet. No battery in the car, and the battery cables are removed. After I get the new engine in, then I can test it.


another shot of the radio.


had to adjust the radio to get the bezel in.


Finally got the bezel in, and everything sitting properly.


another pic but in this one, you can see the door panel is back on. I had to modify it for the new bose speakers, but the modification is not one that can be seen.

[3100 MPFI]

FINALLY!!!!! 99% finished. All that is left is some painting, a little MINOR trim to the center console (out of dremel disks), and then to do the defroster vent.

Even though the car can't be run, I hooked up the battery to install the drivers seat, then made sure the HUD turned on, and the RADIO worked.

HUD turns on, but it does not display the radio station. I think I know why it does not, but I will deal with that later. That is only a MINOR thing.

The BOSE radio is AMAZING!!!!! Sounds REALLY good.

Here are the pics in no particular order.

Here is the TRACTION OFF light. It is wired up to the SHIFTER BUTTON. When you press the button on the shifter to activate the SECOND GEAR START feature, it turns on the TRACTION OFF light so that I know it is on.




Here is the radio with power. The BOSE sounds AMAZING compared to the stock setup.


Pictures of the HUD.





BOSE badge that I put on the speaker covers. I still need to add one to the DRIVERS cover.



Pics of the back seat.





And finally pics of the interior. Clean, Vacuumed, everything working.

[442Mike]

Wow great job!! You've done alot of work to it and it all looks stock. Would like to see it all finished with the rebuilt engine.