rocketraider

Good lord. That means I need to get my ass in gear and finish this 1974 Hurst! Tell you what- post this also on realoldspower.com . There's a few 73-77 guys on there, and also try www.hurstolds.com for 1973-75 H/O's. I think the Oldsmobile Cutlass Coupes chapter of the OCA is now defunct, and they were exclusively 73-77- they called it "The Forgotten Five". I know of a nearly 100% original 1974 Cutlass sedan in Reidsville NC, unless the guy has done things since he bought it. Typical ugly 70s gold and a low option car. PM me and I'll try to help you contact him if you're interested. Those of you not familiar with <span style="font-style: italic">Collectible Automobile</span>, you're missing out. One of the finest and most accurate collector car magazines in existence.

www.fusick.com has the correct color red paint. 1964 block, intake, oil pan and heads are red; timing cover and water pump are natural aluminum; aircleaner housing and valve covers are dull silver. Always thought that was kinda odd because 1961-63 Starfire engines had chrome valve covers and aircleaners. In addition to the engine paint, Fusick has a lot of underhood detail items for this car. They reproduce all the hoses, battery cables, a-frame seals, hood bumpers, battery hold-downs etc. Depending on how far you want to go, Antique Auto Battery and New Castle Battery both have repro batteries in the correct size for the battery tray. With a J-I, you have the advantage that all the exterior trim is Dynamic 88 so 1) there's less of it, and 2) you don't have to pay Starfire price to replace it. Plus it's just a drop-dead gorgeous car- cleanly styled, nicely appointed, and will run like hell. There was a light blue one on traderonline a few months back, and I sure did wish I'd had some extra money and a place to keep it. My ultimate Olds collection would include 1964: Starfire, Jetstar I, and 98 Custom Sports Coupe- and maybe a four-speed Jetstar 88 coupe. And I keep dreaming <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />.

As far as I know the Strato-Bench seat frames and tracks were identical for all carlines that used it. All 64-72 6-way seats used the same motor and transmission. You might have to transfer the tracks from one to the other, but that should be no biggie. Question- if your car already has power strato-bench, why not just repad and reupholster that one? Or is it a 2-way and you're looking for 6-way?

76-78 Eldorado rear discs will bolt on to the axle, but you have to consider that those cars used HydroBoost instead of a vacuum power brake booster. I'm not sure if the Eldo master cylinder will bolt onto a vacuum booster and if not, what other m/c is compatible with the mid 70s GM rear disc setup. If you have to adapt the HydroBoost, that means you also have to get power steering pump and hoses from the donor car. I heard the factory service people grumble so much about those rear disc setups that I decided it wasn't worth the effort to put them on my 69. When a Zone service manager looks you in the eye and says, "Believe me, you don't want that system" it tends to influence your decision.

Roberta, I will reserve my comments about GM's fascination with placing non-automotive people who are padding resumes in high executive positions.

Folks, this is an exceptional car that I would love to own myself except, like Julian, I currently have nowhere to store it properly. (Planning to build a garage next year and the money will have to go into that instead of another toy <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> ) You may have seen it at Lansing 97 and Cincinnati 2003. It is a Luxury Sedan with all the amenities that go with that package- Olds' absolute top of the line.

The entire instrument cluster has to come out. You'll first have to remove the heating and ventilation controls, light switch and ignition switch to gain access to the four cluster attaching screws. Once all the electrical connections are out of the way, you can remove the cluster from behind the instrument panel. So yes, a "mission". Not totally easy, but necessary to repair your speedometer. If you don't have one, I recommend purchase of a factory printed 1960 Oldsmobile Service Manual. It will prove invaluable in servicing your Sixty. They are often found on e-bay, or the big literature vendors should have them. It's difficult enough to find service for an older American car here in the States. I can imagine what it's like in the UK, and the service book will help both you and your mechanic in repair.

Go to Wal Mart or somewhere and buy a Hoover "SteamVac Jr." It's a small version of a Rug Doctor or similar extraction cleaner. Mix the detergent solution up kinda strong and then use the SteamVac Jr. per instructions. It will clean the carpet (or upholstery for that matter) and leave it smelling fresh. Added benefit is the wife or significant other can use the thing in the house to clean upholstery. Or you could rent a Rug Doctor if it has the small upholstery nozzle attachment, but the SV Jr. will pay for itself after a few car cleaning sessions.

They are the same car under the sheetmetal. The MC frame will fit.

And there is nothing more Southern than a big outsized car tearing along a dirt road on a hot summer's day, kicking up a plume of dust that can be seen for miles... Couple years ago I set out thru Pittsylvania County VA on my 1976 Ninety-Eight, armed with a DeLorme atlas and a full tank of gas. A joyride- nothing more or less, nowhere to go and all day to get there, and this county encompasses nearly 1100 square miles. Took out thru backroads I never knew existed, and found more than one state-maintained dirt road. Some of these roads were one-laners, literally thru cow pastures. So what if the car was covered in dust by the end of the day? It washed off, and I can honestly say I enjoyed that trip as much as any I've ever taken.

Coil (+) should have two wires connected. The yellow/black trace is the starting voltage wire and feeds from the starter solenoid. It supplies 12 volts to the coil during starting and should be connected to the <span style="font-weight: bold">"R"</span> terminal on the starter solenoid. The resistance wire should have only 5-7 volts with ignition switch in RUN. This is to keep from burning the points. I've seen these wires black/red, white/red, red/white, or pink, depending on year. The 1966 Chassis Manual wiring diagram shows it pink, but mentions that the resistor section in the harness is white with red/black crosshatch. If it has constant 12v that sounds like some rewiring has been done. Has this car been converted to electronic ignition? Some aftermarket conversions have to have constant 12v to work properly. I'd recommend use of a Pertronix Ignitor II or a Mallory Unilite conversion, just to get rid of the points. We had to go into the engine wiring harness on a friend's 66 Starfire to correct some similar issues- except that car was starting and running off the resistor wire, the cranking volts wire had been cut in the harness. Car was difficult to start and would cut off unexpectedly. The car had had a carburetor fire and had a junkyard harness spliced in, and apparently whoever made the repair didn't go to much trouble to make sure it was done properly. Fixing that was really satisfying, especially when everything started working right. I recommend having a 1966 Chassis Manual with wiring diagram handy before you go into the harness, if you decide to go that far.

All I've ever seen on them is a small rectangular red "Oldsmobile Rocket" decal. It goes on the lid, about middle of the front. I've also seen them without any decal, or any evidence one was ever there. The 1960 Dynamic we had when I was a kid, had the decal.

The wiper switch is common to all 1962-66 B & C body Oldsmobiles, and I'm pretty sure that since Buick, Pontiac and Chevy all used the common Fisher body wiring and windshield wiper systems one from those carlines would also work. Just make sure it's 2-speed with washer. OE part # is Grp 10.163, p/n 1993607, 1962-65 2-speed exc F85, 1966 all except Toronado. I don't understand the trouble you're having finding that lamp socket. It was used on all series 1963-70 and again on all the B-O-P-Chev cars. I've seen aftermarket versions in Advance Auto, Auto Zone and CarQuest though those are made in China like everything else. It may not have the correct wire colors but if you need the socket to make the lamps work it'll do in a pinch. Those design sockets can be hateful to deal with though. You've checked wiring continuity up to the socket, and made sure the taillight pod is grounded properly to the body?

Al- check your PMs. If you can deal with a sedan, the Nov 04 NAOC magazine has a 56 S88 sedan for sale in Canterbury NH. Up front- a 56 convertible in any condition is expensive now.

Early Rocket gasket sets are on ebay all the time, but I always worry about shrinkage, dry-rot etc on old stock. www.kanter.com should be able to fix you up.

Handsome automobile! But then I'm just a little biased toward that roofline... <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Look on the top right side of the cowl, in front of the vent grille. It may be partially covered by the hood-to-cowl rubber seal. A complete 5-volume set of 1964 shop manuals is on ebay now, opening at $9.99. Sometimes the set goes cheap, sometimes high, depending on who sees them. They're definitely a worthwhile investment.

Wow. That's the color combination on the front of the 1960 sales brochure, of a Ninety-Eight Holiday Sedan- the flattop 4-door hardtop. 336 shows up in my books as a turquoise interior. www.smsautofabrics.com for interior yardage. Give them the trim code and body style and they'll send samples of what they have for the car. It will be the exact material, but they are sometimes pricey on it. For reproduction parts- www.fusick.com . For mechanical parts- www.usapartssupply.com or www.kanter.com . The 394 engine in your 60 uses rocker shafts that do wear out over time. You should be able to find rebuilt ones and changing them is not a difficult job. Olds engines use self-adjusting hydraulic lifters so you won't have to worry about valve adjustment when you change the rocker shafts. Just make sure they have plenty of oil on them prior to startup.

There's a set of turquoise ones on evilbay tonight at a cheap starting bid. I found 'em searching 64 olds*. I think they're actually 65 as they have the chrome lift-up type buckle with red carriage emblem. Worth a look.

Dave- if it's out there, I haven't seen or heard about it. My best advice until it's available is to use the star pattern headliner material Chevrolet and Pontiac used. You could possibly use the sponge grain vinyl headlining material that Ford used in the early 60s, if you could get it cut to a GM pattern.

I had forgot Blownolds was cruising this forum now- usually see him over on realoldspower.com . He'd be a good hi-po guru for what Jake wants to do. I need to talk to Tanson/Tanovitz about a transmission for my blue Starfire. If I can get rid of the Slim Jim, I can also get rid of the aggravating-ass 4GC carb. I like the idea of keeping the 394 in it though. Otherwise it would be 455/400, and I've started accumulating stuff to make that swap- J88 mounts, 64 330 water pump and lower hose- the next thing is will it ever get done.

Is it just the headlights or are all of the lights out? OK- headlights. Make sure they're not blown (sounds too simple, but I once had a Pontiac wagon that blew all four taillight bulbs at once). Then- check to make sure light switch is plugged up properly and that the switch is good. The headlights have a thermal circuit breaker in the switch that will turn them OFF if they're pulling too much juice, and reset and turn them back on when the overload is gone. If that circuit breaker has gotten weak, it will sometimes prevent headlights from turning on. If it's all the lights I'd suspect the switch first, and then a bad connection to the junction block underhood. Turn signals- If the dash indicator glows when switch is actuated, that's usually an indication of a burned out bulb. If not, there's two flashers- the one in the fuse block is for the 4-way hazard flashers. The turn signal flasher is in a wiring harness behind the dash and is usually in a metal clip. Either of these can cause turn signal problems. The turn signals are powered from the ignition switch itself and don't have a fuse, but you can check the 20 amp "STOP" fuse just to make sure the brake lights are functioning. Speedometer- do you have a smaller or larger diameter tire than original? That's the most likely culprit to throw a speedometer off. A good speedometer shop will be able to calibrate the error out of it, or you can just learn to live with it. And yes you're right- Zeppelin does rock! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I assume you have the 1964 service manual set? If not, the Cruise Control diagnosis and repair is very involved and too deep to go into here in the Forum. PM me if you need it and I'll copy the CC section for you. Some easy checks- check the 5 amp inline fuse in the green wire under dash (taps off the fuse block upper right side)and the 20 amp circuit fuse feeding the power tap, and check the brake release switch above the pedal. Some more involved checks- 1) Disconnect the connector at the CC regulator. 2) Ignition switch in ACCESSORY. 3) Turn CC dash switch OFF. 4) Probe regulator connector terminal #1 (red wire) with test light. Test light should light. If not, check for blown fuse, brake release switch adjustment, or defective control switch. 5) Probe terminal #2 (brown wire) and turn CC switch ON. Test light should light. If not, check for defective control switch. 6) Probe terminal #3 (light blue wire) and depress control switch pushbutton. Test light should light with button depressed and go out when it is released. If not, check for defective control switch. The A/C duct is not really hard to remove. Two screws on the bottom of the center manifold take that out, then you can remove the flex duct and if needed the LH dash vent duct. Let's hope it's something simple like a blown fuse or misadjusted brake switch. If either the control switch or brake switch is bad, the odds of finding one are astronomical. I have seen only three 1964 Cruise Control cars.

I like this boy already <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />. Make sure you get to the 2005 OCA Nationals in Seattle. I don't know enough about the 50s cars or engines to help you, but there was a ton of speed equipment made for the 303-324-371-394 engines- the 394 ruled the NHRA Gasser classes for years until the Ford SOHC Cammer appeared. There's an Offy dual-quad intake on ebay right now, but I think it's 371-394. Yup- the HydroStick was made for 4-speed HydraMatics. Just make sure yer car doesn't have a Buick Dynaflow- the HM plant burned down in 53 and they had to resort to Dynaslushes to keep the automatic transmission buyer happy. If it's got a P in the shift indicator, it's a Dynaflow car. Doug- does Tanovitz have a website? I've never seen it. Tanson Enterprises in CA is in tune to 50s Olds hotrodding, and a couple guys in NAOC offer stock and performance engine building services. Tanson also sets up later GM automatics to work behind an early Rocket engine. Seems like 30s Cadillac-LaSalle 3-speed sticks were a pretty popular transmission behind the Rocket, but those, like Olds stick trannys, are few and far between now. Stick with us Jake- check out the National Antique Olds Club too (link from bar to your left). Lot of them guys are into old-school. They had fast Rocket-era Olds back in their day, and they still like to play with them.

Now this is something different <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />. You can probably find the taillights etc on ebay, and NAPA may have the brake parts. If not www.usapartssupply.com is a good source for old Oldsmobiles. Is this a 2-barrel or 4-barrel engine? Don't know what to tell you on the windshield, as a lot will depend on how much chop you did. Also check out the National Antique Olds Club website; you can link from here. Look at the links bar to your left. Believe it or not, a lot of the guys in there are into 50s Olds customs and rodding. Their latest magazine had an article about updating power steering boxes on a 54.

To paraphrase the late great Hattie McDaniel in "Gone With the Wind", "Oh Mr Bwalat, you ba-ad." <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />