rocketraider

Dave, talk to a good upholsterer first and get them to estimate how much material you'll need. If they can supply the bolster material they may be able to do the job cheaper than if you bought it all from SMS. They came thru with that 64 Ninety Eight cloth (beautiful stuff BTW- why can't we get interiors like that in cars NOW <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />?. Now to decide if I really need another full restoration project. I already have one non-running 64 Olds in the yard.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Remember...Don't give in to kill joys and bean counters..</div></div> If only General Motors would listen to that... <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I think what you're seeing is the lower end of the choke hot air tube. Try blowing air thru it and see if the air blows out the tube at top of intake manifold, where the choke tube connects to it. If it's rusted out (many are), one can probably be fabricated from steel tubing. If there's no tube in there, you'll have an exhaust leak.

There may be some difference in the rear floor for seat mounting points, but since all 1964-65 VC were on a 120" wheelbase I'll say the 55 and 65 bodies are the same. The 1964 Product Selling Manual has a cutaway view of the VC showing 3 seats. Also lists the divided second seat as standard on 3-seat and optional for 2-seat models. Mentions the underfloor luggage locker as having 3.5 cu ft of space on 3-seat cars and 7.5 cu ft on 2-seaters.

Just noticed that I had a brainfart on the top color. You posted "2", I gave you the color for "1". 2 is black convertible top or vinyl roof color. So- Pewter silver with black interior and top.

Isn't there a variant of it on the 46-48 passenger car top grille bar? or is that just the Ford script? Bill, a 65 Ford is one of my favorite non-Olds cars. Knew several folks here who put Custom 500 taillights on LTD/Galaxie for a "Custom" touch in the mid 70s. The law used them here so there was always a good supply of them in the junkyards.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">a service manual. I prefer Haynes </div></div> Gaa-aaack! They're better than nothing, but not by much. The factory service manuals are the best. Many are available on CD-ROM now if you can't find a good original copy, and originals are all over e-bay.

11D- is the build week. In this case 4th week (D) of November (11). Thanksgiving week. Meaning- you may find some weird stuff. My Toro is a 12D which was Christmas week and explains a lot about that car. 67- 1967 model year 38467- 3=Oldsmobile, 84 is Ninety Eight, 67 is Fisher body code for convertible LAN is Lansing plant, 1330 is Fisher Body plant job number. TR 030-D is interior trim code which I cannot find- my books have a gap from 1965-67 and the 442 crowd have driven the price on those years slap out of reason. I am not going to pay $250+ for a C&F album. P-2 are the paint and convertible top color codes- P=Pewter, 1=white top Not sure about the remaining codes. They have something to do with power top/windows/seat or air conditioning if car has it. Hope it helps!

Dave- consider the source. Since time immemorial, if it wasn't built in Japan or Germany, the "enthusiast" magazines generally had little good to say for it. Although it does sound strange that they would slam a Zero. Maybe Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is figuring out that American car buyers like cars that look American and style the product to suit. You gotta remember C&D types are people who could find fault with a Rolls-Royce. But Rolls, like Buick, fits its target market well. Big deal if it can't go 100 mph thru the esses and then stop in 50 feet.

No. The $900 was for shop supplying all material. Toro uses Madrid grain vinyl which is still commonly available, I think in all the colors. 'Course black or white makes things simpler... The trim shop that I use here, who does a lot of old cars, couldn't get the Comfort Weave or wet-look thru their suppliers so it was back to trusty SMS. I'm waiting on a reply from them now about cloth for a 1964 98 Custom Sports Coupe I'm looking at, and I will say up front that its availability will determine whether I do more than look at the car. I don't mind substituting some Doeskin vinyl for the original leather, but the cloth has to match. Dave, hook up with some local AACA members. They'll know who is old car-friendly and does quality work at a reasonable price. Just curious- what color interior does your 98 have? Friend down in SC has a Spring Special (triple yellow) and was able to find the Ostrich grain that it used in yellow no less.

www.smsautofabrics.com . Not always inexpensive, but they have come thru for me many times. Tell them what car you have including trim code if you know it (you can get it off the underhood data plate, look for a TR followed by some numbers). They'll send samples if they have it. I can understand wanting to keep as much of the original seat material as possible, but consider that it is over 30 years old and has probably dry-rotted a bit. Eventually it will crack or split if any pressure is applied to it. If you can find enough yardage to replace all the panels, I'd do it. Or at least buy up enough of it for future repair.

A muffler shop would use either heat or an air chisel to remove it. If there's room to work you can try a cold chisel to split the muffler nipple a bit; it should then come off the pipe.

Other than that they were built using Pontiac mechanicals and front sheetmetal on Chevrolet wagon bodies, no. There's a 55 4-d Chieftain wagon here, with Pontiac-style taillights made to fit the Chevy pods. Even the rear wheel openings are unmistakably 55 Chevy. I'd like to see how they grafted Pontiac-style taillights onto a 58 Chevy body. I think I may have an idea what they looked like from the custom taillights in an AMT 58 Chevy model kit I built years ago.

Grimmy, upholstery yardage is measured by linear yards. Most of it is either 54 or 60 inches wide. $45 a yard isn't an outrageous price. I paid SMS $60 a yard for the Hurst's Comfort-Weave and $55 a yard for the wet-look Naugahyde. Went ahead and got enough to do the back seat too when that time comes, since I figure it won't get any cheaper.

Visit the Oldsmobile Club of America site (link at panel to the left), then select Chapters. List of states will open, select Florida and you'll find information on the Oldsmobile Club of Florida. It's based in Orlando/Clearwater area but they have members in the Miami area who may know of a shop that can fill your needs. You can also link to the Toronado Chapter of OCA from the OCA site. And of course, Toro are always welcome in AACA. Florida has several AACA groups who can help you find reliable repair shops who understand older cars. In addition to the rust areas Greg mentioned, the windshield posts are also bad for rust due to a poor channel drainage design. Trunk floors often rust when the rear window drain tubes rot away. They are almost bulletproof mechanically, but pay attention to the drive axle CV joints. They also tend to be hard on brakes. Fusick www.fusick.com and Kanter www.kanter.com can supply restoration parts, and NAPA parts stores are usually pretty good for being able to get early Toronado parts.

I had the front and rear seats and new vinyl top done on the 69 for about $900 in 1999. This was using readily available GM Madrid grain black Naugahyde instead of that metallic-thread "Empire" double-knit cloth it came with. The shop was able to duplicate the original seat pattern except for the "octopus" stitching in the backrest top panels. (Truth be known I always thought that was kinda gaudy anyway. I don't miss it.) Depending on where you are, it may cost more, but a good trim shop won't have any problem making the covers. Mine is a Strato-Bench seat which is fairly complicated to take apart. If you have the Standard square-backed bench seat it may be less expensive yet.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">as soon as I pay off my credit cards.</div></div> That is not likely to happen for anyone who owns an old car, especially an old Toronado! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Ol' T. Rex has sure been deep in my bank accounts the whole 17 years I've owned him... sometimes I think it would have been cheaper to have a kid! Thanks for the info on the Bruce Roe controller! Mike, I haven't seen an NOS switch in many years. Junkyard ones are hit or miss, and the Toro switch is different from 88/98/Cutlass. Just for grins, in case you ever find one NOS- Grp 4.057, p/n 392983, switch, transmission throttle control, 66-67 Toro THM except HD or Trailer Towing. HD/Trailer Towing p/n is 395081. For all other carlines: p/n 1993355, 65-67 V8 AT except Toro or Trailer Towing. The difference in the trailer towing switch is the switch angle at which the stator angle changes.

Did you replace the solenoid too? It may be bad. Wiring should be: Battery (+) cable to the large center post. Yellow wire to the coil on the "R" terminal. Purple wire from the ignition switch on the "S" terminal. Make sure none of the wires touch each other at the starter post or are pinched together in the wiring harness near the starter. GM and their wire routing <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />... Next thing I'd check would be the ignition switch, but if it was working right before and started this mess after installing the new starter, that tells me there's something amiss with the new starter/solenoid.

Was in Winn-Dixie tonight (along with everybody else here, a snow forecast stampedes everyone to the grocery stores) and checked their automotive aisle. Sure enough, there it was! Warren Oil Co Type A transmission fluid. They also had Warren non-detergent oil in 20, 30 and 40 weight, though I can't imagine what anyone would use that in nowadays. Maybe a lawnmower.

I've never run them myself as I was always able to find a tire that met my requirements off the dealer shelf. I HAVE talked with the DBC guys at length at the Charlotte swap meets, and I am convinced they have a good product. What they do is take a new radial tire, in the size and brand you prefer, and vulcanize whatever width whitewall or redline you want onto that casing. The colored rubber stripe is slightly raised above the tire casing surface. They try to use American made tires as much as possible. Some sizes are only made by certain manufacturers, so you may not be able to get, say, a Michelin in your needed size, but my experience is that a high mileage tire like that will dry rot before it ever wears out on a collector car. The business owner is a career rubber chemist. He will steer you toward the correct load rating and tire profile to get the performance and appearance you want. Their display car is a 1950 Olds that they drive from SC to Charlotte. The size you need is going to be a modern LT (light truck) radial. Meaning- it will be weight rated for a truck and may ride a little harder than a passenger car radial.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Roberta, thank you for the background information on Adams and Fraleigh. It's clear that the days are long gone when Buick's general managers came up through the engineering organization. As noted in some of my comments above, marketing will be a huge part of GM's future success or failure, so I guess it makes sense to have the best possible marketing people involved. Let's hope that these guys take a strong interest in the product itself, although I recognize that responsibility for the product decisions rests elsewhere in the GM organization. </div></div> I would hope they learned something from the Karen Francis fiasco at Oldsmobile. I maintain that one cannot successfully market a product without understanding it or more to the point, totally believing in it. You need dyed-in-the-wool car people to build and sell cars, not toothpaste executives.

The Fusick compressor is probably a rebuilt unit. Most that are available now are rebuilt. Your car uses a Frigidaire A6 compressor and these use the same compressor shaft seal from 1958-1977. Original part # Group 9.175, #6599114, 1958-77 All C.A.C. with axial compressor. The O-rings should be readily available, but since A/C is probably not common in northern Europe, they may not be. You can probably find a pre-kitted assortment with several sizes. Try www.usapartssupply.com , you can download their catalog online, or contact Classic Auto Air Mfg Co, 2020 W. Kennedy Blvd, Tampa FL 33606 USA. Phone 813-251-2356. There's another company in Texas I've dealt with but I can't find their address right now.

Born late October 56, came home in a 1953 Olds Ninety-Eight sedan on Halloween! It was traded for a 1960 Dynamic 88 sedan which is the car I really remember from my childhood. It was named "Clyde" when Ray Stevens released "Ahab the Arab". My dad also had a 1949 Chevy pickup that he claimed was the coldest vehicle on earth to ride in!

www.442.com has a FAQ that might help. Short of a build sheet there's no foolproof way to do it, but the odds of a counterfeit car decrease greatly after 1972. Look for HD suspension with the big swaybars front & back. Remember that no 442 were built in 1979 or 1981-84. A 1980 will have a factory installed R-code Olds 350; it was the only GM A-body to get a 350 that year.

It will be fine. I doubt the ST300 will suffer any ill effects from having a little "modern" fluid in it! Type F or that new Chrysler-spec stuff might make it do the tango, but Dexron is a long-time GM formulation. GM started using the Dexron formula in late 67-early 68. Up to that time they recommended Type A fluid which can still be found in convenience and grocery stores of all places- usually Tradco or Warren brand. I've noticed Turbo HydraMatics (ST300 derivative) that sit are often bad about draining all their fluid from the torque converter back to the pan, overfilling it and leaking fluid at the pan gasket. Had a 73 Delta 88 ragtop that would do that and make the damndest mess in the driveway if it sat for a couple weeks.