62 Starfire Patch Panels

I'm goin fishin here. Does anyone know if the shape of the rear wheel openings are the same as an Impala? Impala 1/4 panel patch panels ahead of and behind the wheel openings would save a lot time and money. Mine did not look that bad until they were sandblasted. Now we need surgery.

Thanks

Tom, check with the folks at Impala Bobs in Arizona.

1 800 IMPALAS

impalas.com

Good luck with your project, Dave

Was that a "yes" that they are the same? I'll be needing rear quarters on my 62 Starfire. Thanks!

That was a "maybe". The guys at Impala Bobs will know if they are the same.

Ok. Thanks for the clarification. We just got our 62 starfire. It has been in storage since 88 and needs some tlc. I'm a newby at the old Oldsmobile stuff.

I can guarantee that Impala parts are NOT the same. No one makes patch panels for full size Oldsmobiles. Heck, you can barely get panels for the 64-65 442s, and there's a significantly larger market for those. Rust free desert sheet metal is your only option.

Joe, thanks for the blunt truth. I'm in South Dakota, which is a long way from any desert. Do you have a salvage yard resource that has been good to work with? Also, I have a 394 in my Starfire. I've noticed that there are 2 different kinds of water pumps out there for it. A round one and an oblong shaped unit. Mine in the oblong. Did they have a changeover later in the production year, or do I have a later engine in my car?

Chevrolet and Olds quaters are very different in the wheel arch area and everywhere else. You need a good metal man unless you can find good western sheetmetal. The good thing is that ALL 1962 fullsize Olds quarters are identical in rear wheel arches , so you can get panels from any 1962 Olds 88 or Ninety Eight. One from a sedan might be cutting a little close on the front edge.

Any car from high desert areas, even up in Montana and some areas of Pacific Northwest, could be a donor.

59-62 394 use a cast iron timing cover and round water pump. 63-64 have an aluminum timing cover and oblong W/P. Since the two types do not interchange, sounds like you have a 63-64 engine. Look on the left head, between the center exhaust port and the valve cover, and see if the engine number stamped there has an "S" suffix which will indicate if it was an original Starfire engine.

Glenn, This is very helpful info. It does indeed sound like I have a 63/64 motor. Is there a difference in the 63/64 front motor mount vs the 1962? I noticed the previous owner had stacked two motor mounts on top of each other for some reason. It doesn't look safe or reliable. Knowing its a 63/64 motor will help I think. anything special I need to do there? Thank you! Rick

Another tell-tale sign of a '61-'62 394 engine compared to the '63-'64 version would be the type of fuel pump, and the corresponding location of the fuel filter bowl and bracket. The '61-'62 394's use a dual-action fuel pump, with the fuel filter bowl/bracket located on the neck of the oil filler tube; the '63-'64 location of that bowl/bracket is down next to the fuel pump, and I believe (someone correct me if I am wrong) a single-action fuel pump. Fusick's lists one type for '61-'62, and two types for '63-'64, one for an A/C car, and one without air conditioning (all are listed under the description of being dual-action pumps). As for the water pumps, there is a difference for the '61-'62 models dependent upon if the car has A/C or not; Fusick's catalog says that the '63-'64 ones are "available on an intermittent basis", so be mindful of that for future reference; I would imagine there would also be a difference between A/C and non A/C cars. Fusick's also lists front motor mounts as being the same for all 1961-64 cars. as well as being the same for transmission mounts between '61-'64 (except for '63-'64 convertibles for whatever reason).

Hope your Roto HydraMatic (also known as the infamous "Slim Jim") is working well. That really is about the only Achilles' heels with these cars, and we can discuss the trials and tribulations of those as we go along. Congrats on having the Starfire awoken from its quarter-century slumber, and hoping we hear about it being back on the road where it belongs soon!

i have a couple of real good sources for used parts. first one is fremans auto wrecking in whitehall montana (406-287-5436)50s 60s 70s cars as far as the eye can see; second one is desert valley auto parts (800-905-8024) 40 acres of cars 40s 50s 60s 70s. i have delt with both and would recomend both. only complaint is femans is hard to get a hold of.

Thanks guys. This is very helpful information. What kind of exhaust would you all recommend for putting on the Starfire? I've done some looking at past threads and it doesn't appear that the original style (of which I have NO idea what that is or looks like) is available? Is it 3 tubing"? Glass pack type mufflers? I've seen references to glass packed mufflers. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks guys. This is very helpful information. What kind of exhaust would you all recommend for putting on the Starfire? I've done some looking at past threads and it doesn't appear that the original style (of which I have NO idea what that is or looks like) is available? Is it 3 tubing"? Glass pack type mufflers? I've seen references to glass packed mufflers. Any suggestions are appreciated.[/quote

The 1961-62 Starfires (not sure about years after that) did come from the factory with what they referred to as "fiber-packed" mufflers, aka "glass packs". What I have done is have glass-packs installed, but only because I have a pair of resonators which are mounted between the rear wheels and the back bumper, where the exhausts are supposed to exit. Having glass-packs without the resonators would make them ear-jarringly loud. The resonators give the car a nice rumble, and still allow for a nice "bark" whenever you want one. I could not swear to what types of mufflers/resonators were on the car originally; I have a pair of Cherry Bombs with a pair of Wagner date-coded resonators that I was able to obtain from Fusick's. Again, if there are no resonators, you're better off going with a chambered pipe of some type as opposed to a pure glass-pack, or else you will shake the neighborhood...

You'll find that Olds did some weird things with its exhaust in those years. Don't be surprised to find two different size exhaust headpipes, though aft of the mufflers is the same diameter. The RH pipe is always the larger one, because single exhaust cars were all RH piped.

Agreed with Mike's assessment of glasspacks without resonators. They will bark.

64 Starfires used chambered headpipes, then front resonators in place of normal mufflers, then rear resonators. The resonators quieted the chambered pipes a lot- surprisingly a lot, in fact. Corvette Exhaust System, Sidepipes, Mufflers - Sweet-Thunder - MC Productions makes repro Starfire chambered sections in the correct "off" sizes, and no reason a good exhaust guy can't incorporate them into any 60s Olds dual exhaust system. Debating whether to order another set for myself.

Look close at the LH exhaust manifold. 63-64 are different from 61-62. 61-62 dump out the bottom of the manifold and the pipes snake all thru the suspension; 63-64 exits behind the steering box and eliminates that.

StarfireElvis, Are there two parts to the front motor mount? turns out that I have a 1963 394 in my 1962 Starfire. I'm fine with that, but when I spoke with Fusick's today he said (he says hi by the way) that there are two pieces. Fusicks sells the bottom which is steel and vulcanized rubber. He doesn't have the other piece. Where can I find it, or can I fab one up? Thanks, Rick

StarfireElvis, Are there two parts to the front motor mount? turns out that I have a 1963 394 in my 1962 Starfire. I'm fine with that, but when I spoke with Fusick's today he said (he says hi by the way) that there are two pieces. Fusicks sells the bottom which is steel and vulcanized rubber. He doesn't have the other piece. Where can I find it, or can I fab one up? Thanks, Rick

Off the top of my head, I'd try USA Parts Supply in Kearneysville, West Virginia; www.usapartssupply.com as they have quite an inventory. Would have to look further into it if they don't have it; maybe someone else can chime in with a solution...

I checked out usapartssupply. Man they have about everything you could ask for. I didn't see a headliner for the 62 Starfire. I don't have anything left from my original headliner. The cardboard was shot and nasty. I do have all the aluminum pieces and strips. Does anybody make the cardboard unit anymore? If not what would YOU recommend?

SMS Auto Fabrics in Canby, Oregon (www.smsautofabrics.com) will have the material that is very close in appearance, but much more durable, of course. You'll need to find the plastic bows and the brackets that they clip onto (or use the ones you still hopefully have); do not know of anyone re-popping those bows, and they tend to age (yellow).

As far as the cardboard goes, I actually had to improvise by going to an art shop where I live; fortunately the guy who owned it was a Marine (never met one I couldn't trust), and an old-car enthusiast, having owned a '55 Ford Thunderbird. At his recommendation, I bought two 1/16th thick (I believe it was 60" x 60") artboards (cardboards), and the person who did the work for me was able to glue them together back-to-back to achieve a necessary amount of stiffness plus pliability to cut out board that were outlined from a pattern someone had drawn up for me. They worked out very well.

Having said all that, I know that the same people who did the work on my sun visors, Acme Auto Headliners in Long Beach, California, were contemplating having some sort of reproduction of the headliner/boards when I last spoke to them about a year ago. The gentleman there named Bob (whom if I'm not mistaken is the proprietor) was extremely helpful. Their contact information I've cut and pasted is: 550 W 16TH ST., LONG BEACH, CA 90813-1510, (562) 432-0281 www.acmeautoheadlining.com

I'll try to put some images of the headliner on a following post so you can see how they turned out...

Elvis, that is one nice looking headliner.

Would I be overdoing it if I said "Thankya, thankyaverymuch!" ?? :cool:

So Elvis, I stumbled upon a pair of glasspacks that literally look just like the original ones from 62 Starfire. Got them for free. Score! Had new dual exhaust put on, skipped the resonator for now. That car sounds like no other!! Wow!! those 394's are some torqy motors! I had all brakes done (new wheel cylinders, shoes, drums turned, master cylinder and booster. It stops on a dime and makes change. You wont like this but I did put a new Edelbrock carb on it. After rebuilding the other carb it was just too worn out. The Edelbrock fit right in, and now it has an electric choke. Other than that she's bone stock. New motor mounts keeping the 394 in place helped too. Drove it for the first time today. Left a little rubber here and there. The old tires gotta go anyway as they're cracking. Here's a few pics of the survivor .

Congrats on getting it running and making those improvements, a good feeling to get it out and about once again I am sure.

I see some potential there; should not be a problem finding the correct spinner hubcaps (make sure you obtain the proper clips to hold them on--five per tire), getting those bulbs popped in for the taillights (only the outboard ones actually blink for the turn signals), and hopefully that Oldsmobile applique above the front wheel is only adhesive and not drilled into those precious aluminum panels and can be removed for it to be truly stock in appearance.

Let us know if there are any other issues we can help out with, and keep us appraised on the progress!

Also, when you get the tires, there are several sources for them (Coker, Universal, Lucas, Diamond Back); you'll need to decide if you want to opt for the original bias-ply (which if you ever go for serious judging as at an AACA Meet like Fall Hershey, you'd want), or the better-handling radials. Either way, the correct one-inch whitewall is available.

Does your car have air conditioning or not? If so, you'd need the larger 9.00 x 14 (bias ply)or 235/75/14 radial; if not, then you'd want the 8.50 x 14 bias, or 225/75/14 radial. The bias-plys are less expensive, but either way, you'd be paying quite a bit for vintage tires; however, in my experience, you get what you pay for when it comes to tires...

Sadly, the emblems were drilled into what were perfect side panels. Some kid back in the day.

I flushed the radiator and motor, have new hoses, and a 160 thermostat but the HOT light came on last night. Any thoughts?

Also, I need to get the wipers working. The fuse is good. Is there a typical issue with the wipers on the car?

I checked out the pics of your black Starfire. Man that is "The High Standard" car. Great work.

Also, What are the exact correct tire sizes for that car?

Thanks for the nice words. As for the overheating, is your warer pump old? Might be something to consider. As for the wipers, ironic that I'm having a minor issue with the wipers on my wagon right now. Could be the switch, but more likely is the motor, which is the issue now. When I get in front of my PC, I can look up the place in Tennessee, and post as necessary...

Thanks for the nice words. As for the overheating, is your warer pump old? Might be something to consider. As for the wipers, ironic that I'm having a minor issue with the wipers on my wagon right now. Could be the switch, but more likely is the motor, which is the issue now. When I get in front of my PC, I can look up the place in Tennessee, and post as necessary...

The place I've dealt with regarding wiper motors is WiperWorks in Sewanee, Tennessee. If it is a motor problem, they have a quick turnaround...

http://www.wiperworks.us/

The place I've dealt with regarding wiper motors is WiperWorks in Sewanee, Tennessee. If it is a motor problem, they have a quick turnaround...

http://www.wiperworks.us/

Tire sizes were listed on a previous post, breaking down bias-ply and radial size equivalents.

The radiator in my 62 Starfire is shot. Any recommendations on where to get a new one?