75 Starfire - Olds 215, T5

[olds70supreme]

Hello,

This is pretty late in the game I know but I figure if I start a project journal now it will force me to do a better job of taking time to take pictures of my progress. First, some background:

My first car was a '70 Olds Cutlass Supreme that I bought using money from bagging groceries during high school. That was my only car for the next 10 years and I daily drove it through high school, college, and during the beginning of my job after school. This car never let me down through nasty conditions in summer and winter, 4 hour drives back home from school, blizzards, rush hour traffic, etc, etc... Near the end of college the plan was to take it off the frame and address the rust so I needed a second car to switch to during this time. I had always liked the looks of the 75-80 Starfire bodies and liked the idea of a small, maneuverable car as a changeup from my Cutlass. I looked for a Starfire for the better part of two years before I ended up getting mine. I probably paid too much for it as I was beginning to think I would never find one, but it is in great shape which has probably paid for itself in frustration at not having to remove rusted/broken fasteners.

Fast forward 2 years: The original '70 Cutlass has been parted out (terminal cancer - I mean, really really bad rust. Trunk, frame, inner/outer wheelhouses, both qtr panels, inner and outer rocker panels, floorpan, sides and top of firewall, windshield channel, roof - all needed replacing). I flew to Seattle and drove back a '68 Cutlass because I genuinely missed the feeling. I daily drove the Starfire for awhile and started to get the itch to work on it after reading what others had done on v8monza, h-body.org, and the web in general. This was only magnified after I participated in an autocross event last summer. Now I have two cars that I am working on simultaneously, switching back and forth as funds, weather, and time dictate. Enough background blabbering.

Starting point:
1975 Oldsmobile Starfire
231 Buick V6 w/ th-350 trans.
A/C, power brakes, power steering, Rallye wheels

Changes made to this point:
5-lug swap w/ manual s10 brakes, Olds SSIII wheels
Custom dual exhaust w/ two walker 17749 mufflers
New radiator

Long term plans:
Install Olds 215 w/ a T5 trans (70% complete right now)
Rack and pinion manual steering
Subframe connectors
Taurus electric fan
Centerline Telstar wheels w/ summer performance tires for track use.
Cold air intake
Relocate battery to rear of vehicle
Upgrade rear w/ better gearing
Replace dash pad (cracked vinyl)
Change interior color from blue to black/gray
Tubular front swaybar
Put aluminum drums back onto rear brakes
Repair rust spot near rear hatch and on hood, repaint car

I work at a snail's pace, so with the '68 Cutlass added to the mix I expect this list to take quite awhile to accomplish. Once I am done I plan on making a complete BOM for the swap. Speaking of which, make sure to check out my 5-lug swap BOM:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=27405&p=144846#p144846

Also, because I know everybody likes pictures,

As I got it


Practically right after I got it (after somebody backed into it in a gas station parking lot)


Cellphone pic of autocross last summer


70% completed 215 swap.

[NixVegaGT]

It's looking good man. Were you able to use the stock motor mounts from the v6?

[olds70supreme]

Nick,

I didn't even think to try. Given the age of the rubber (engine side) mounts I would have replaced them anyway, so I got new 215 mounts. As for the frame plates, I made a set in the same style as yours, but with different gusseting to allow for access to the bolt heads.

[olds70supreme]

Well, I still suck at remembering to take pictures, but last week I modified the stock trans mount. I made a 17 degree wedge that goes between the trans and the trans mount to level it (the stock T5 trans mount/bushing) out. Than I cut out the rear of the stock trans crossmember, bent a 3/16" plate to fit the contour, and welded it in. The plate extends the crossmember back for the new T5 trans bushing location. Hopefully tonight I'll be able to do final mock-up to verify that I am happy with the fit. Next step is to decide which way to mount the torque arm.

Oh, this weekend I got what I consider to be a hell of a deal on a set of Centerline Telstar wheels for my car - strong, lightweight, and look nice. The set of 4 wheels with center caps (2 15x8s and 2 15x6s) cost me $300 + $20 gas. The stock 14x6 Olds Rallyes weigh 22 lbs, and the new 15x8 Telstar (rear) weighs in at about j15 lbs. According to Centerline, the front wheels (15x6) weigh only 12 lbs. In wheels alone I am saving 34 lbs in rotating weight, plus the new tires that I will put on are lighther than the BFG's that I am running now. I will probably wait to put them on until after my current set are worn out, so I should be able to get a good back-to-back run (either street or autocross) with no other changes to see if I can feel the difference.

Here is a link to the Jegs page listing Telstars:

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s ... rm=telstar

[bill1978v8]

Do you have any pics with the rallye wheels on it?

Bill

[olds70supreme]

Well, I already said I suck at taking pictures, but I did snap one of the replacement fender w/ Olds SSII wheels:

[bill1978v8]

Wow, they do look really nice. What size tires are they?

Bill

[olds70supreme]

185-75-14 = Fronts
215-70-15 = Rears

Fronts could maybe go a bit bigger, while the rears have plenty of room to go taller.