1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass Three Quarters View

1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass - Strange Inspiration

Its inspiration might be odd, but there’s nothing wrong with a homebuilt, LS-powered ’64 Cutlass that rips the autocross and gets 23 mpg

From the November, 2011 issue of Popular Hot Rodding

By Stephen Kim

Photography by Author

Other than a lot of really bad haircuts, it’s hard to imagine that the IROC-Z Camaro inspired much of anything. After all, it’s just a gussied up third-gen F-body for cryin’ out loud, right? In truth, although the demographic of the owners these cars appealed to—particularly on the second- and third-hand market—forever ruined their reputation, the machines themselves were actually ahead of their time. Even the elitist, import-humping mainstream car rags of the day loved their balance of acceleration, braking, handling, and affordability. As someone who had lived through both the glory days of the ’60s and the smog-choked doldrums of the late ’70s, Rocky Stephens openly admits to digging those old IROC Camaros. He dreamed of a day when he could integrate the modern technology and driveability of a late-model into a muscle car, and 20 years later, the aftermarket enabled turning his fantasy into a reality. Rocky’s reward for waiting things out has culminated in a homebuilt, LS1-powered ’65 Olds Cutlass that tears up the dragstrip and autocross in addition to knocking down 23 mpg. Apparently, inspiration can indeed come from odd places.

For a kid destined to catch the hot rodding bug, Rocky’s parents couldn’t have timed things any better. Born in 1960, Rocky entered his formative childhood years just as the muscle car wars started heating up. His first car was a ’55 Chevy 210, which was superseded by a ’70 Charger, a ’66 Chevelle SS, a ’73 Camaro Z28, and a ’55 Bel Air. Then the late ’70s hit, and Rocky couldn’t bear to own any of the hideous, underpowered performance machines of the day. That all changed in 1985, when he picked up a brand-new IROC-Z Camaro. “After my experience driving the Camaro—which I feel is the first American performance car other than the C4 Corvette that would do more than just go fast in a straight line—I dreamed of owning a ’60s muscle car that would start, stop, drive, and handle like the IROC-Z,” he says. “I wanted a muscle car with fuel injection, overdrive, and modern suspension and tires. I remember telling my friends how cool it would be to merge ’60s styling with modern technology, and I wondered why no one was making the parts to build cars like that. Nearly 20 years later, the aftermarket had made it possible, so it was time to make my dreams come true.”

The first order of business was finding a suitable project car, and in 1998, Rocky picked up a ’65 Cutlass for $3,500. “I knew nothing about the car other than the fact that it reminded me of the ’66 Chevelle I had in high school. It was a regular F-85 car with a 330ci small-block, A/C, and power steering and brakes,” he says. For the first five years of ownership, Rocky used the Cutlass as a daily driver while he restored it back to original condition. After fuel prices spiked, the Olds sat in storage until 2007 when Rocky started building the Pro Touring machine he had always envisioned. “At car shows, you rarely see other ’64 or ’65 F-85s, which is a good thing, but unlike with Chevelles, finding reproduction parts is very difficult. After some research, I realized that my car had a front clip off of a ’64 Cutlass. I considered putting the correct clip on it, but decided to leave it alone. To me, the ’64 front end looks more muscular, like a mid-’60s Impala.”

For all they do well, LS-series...

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Rocky decided to stick with...

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The Cutlass’ modest interior...

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With the bodywork complete, Rocky shifted his attention to the powertrain. He initially toyed with the idea of a fuel-injected 455, but quickly changed his mind after adding up the costs. “For less than the price of putting EFI on a 455, I was able to pick up a complete LS1 engine and 4L60E trans. The LS1 offers performance, driveability, and affordability all in one package,” he says. Instead of taking the easy way out, Rocky completed all the fab work himself. “Rather than buying an LS swap kit, I chose to make my own engine frame mounts and trans crossmember. This gave me the freedom to locate the engine exactly as needed, allowing me to fit the A/C compressor into the engine bay without cutting up the K-member,” he says. “My setup also uses OEM engine mounts, which can be purchased just about anywhere when it comes time to replace them. One of the coolest things I discovered was that the 4L60E would connect directly into the Cutlass’ column shifter linkage as if it had come from the factory that way. The wiring had me a little scared going into the project, but after doing some research, it turned out that the wiring was one of the easiest parts of the swap. It is really amazing how few connections are required to make a modern EFI engine run in a classic muscle car. ”

Not long after getting the Cutlass on the road, Rocky quickly racked up 10,000 miles on the new setup, ironing out minor quirks along the way. All was going well until the stock driveshaft broke during a 135-mph high-speed test. That episode set the project back several months, but afterward Rocky was able to focus on the rest of the combo. Since the Cutlass was intended to be a proper Pro Touring machine from conception, Rocky gave the suspension a complete modern makeover. SPC Performance springs and Bilstein shocks suspend each corner. Up front, SPC control arms have been matched with Classic Performance Products spindles. Out back, PMT Fabrications control arms locate the 10-bolt rearend, and a Spohn sway bar keeps the posterior level. As with the rest of the car, Rocky opted for a modest set of rollers. The Cutlass rides on 17x8 American Racing Classic 100 wheels wrapped in 255/45R17 Nitto NT555 tires. While the setup isn’t as flashy as the giant heaps of billet that are the norm these days, the wheel and tire combo provides more than enough stick through the autocross cones given the car’s reasonable 3,400 pounds of heft. Bringing the A-body to a halt are 11-inch Classic Performance Products disc brakes all around.

Although few will mistake the Cutlass for a high-dollar show car, Rocky has built quite an impressive machine for a total investment of $28,000. He estimates that the car is driven between 6,000 to 12,000 miles per year, and with a mileage tally like that the Cutlass was obviously built with cruising in mind. Needless to say, he’s pretty thrilled with the fruits of his do-it-yourself effort. “Even with all the headaches that came along the way, I would not trade my experience building this car for anything,” he says. “I wanted a classic car that could be driven anywhere at any time like a late-model, and I have achieved that and more. The bottom line is that I am very happy with what I have created on a limited budget, and the car is a blast to drive. It performs very well and even gets 23 mpg.”

Even though the Cutlass’ primary mission is providing kicks on the street, it still doesn’t mean it can’t hold its own when going toe-to-toe with megabuck Pro Touring machines on the autocross. “I built this car primarily as a cruiser, but I autocross it whenever I can. I managed a respectable 14th Place out of a field of 32 cars in my class at the last Goodguys show, and my car was just a little off the pace of many of the professionally built cars with big sponsors,” he says. “Given the fact that my car isn’t really optimized for autocross competition, I think with a little more tuning and practice I could narrow the gap between my car and the pro-built cars that cost 10 times as much as mine. I can’t outrun everyone, but I can hang with the best of them.” For a project car inspired by a garden-variety third-gen Camaro, that’s not too bad at all.