rocketraider

BOP-Cad show in Hendersonville TN (Nashville) August 8-9, 2003. Hosted by Music City Rockets Oldsmobile Club at Holiday Inn Express. toy442@nctc.com for info. My bad for not posting this show earlier. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Music City Rockets Chapter of OCA is hosting a Buick/Olds/Pontiac/Cadillac show in Hendersonville TN (Nashville) August 8-9, 2003. toy442@nctc.com for info. My bad for not posting about this show earlier.

Bloomington MN, August 25-28, 2004. www.mnoldsclub.org for info and hotel details. Hopefully they won't have the same hotel problems GCNK had. Looking ahead, the 2005 show will be in Seattle (very fitting with the Space Needle and Rockets), and rumour is one of the Texas chapters will host 2006. Mid Atlantic is rumbling about doing another one in North Carolina and I understand there's some interest in hosting one in Nashville by Music City Rockets. I had to dig thru a bunch of stuff I picked up at Nats to find the info. I didn't attend the Board meeting this year as there were still people on it who I refuse to deal with.

I've never seen a Cutlass or other GM A-body car with this speaker grille. It was found mostly on the higher line two-door cars. You might be able to get a <span style="font-weight: bold">GOOD</span> custom trim shop to modify the seat frame to install one. Seems like all it would take is attaching the metal speaker frame to the existing seat frame, and that is certainly not beyond the capability of a good trimmer. Many convertibles had a separate speaker box mounted behind the rear seat and 68-later had the rear speakers installed in the bulkhead between the rear seat and trunk, facing the trunk compartment. My 65 books show two rear speaker options- U80 rear speaker, and U84 rear speaker incl U80. I don't know what the difference is. It may be the box, or it may be the chrome grille.

I have a friend who owns a tranny shop and I bugged him for one. He gave it to me.

And the car was at the National Meet. It is stunning. Only word to describe it.

From a financial standpoint, it's probably not worth investing the cost of a restoration in a 1967 98 sedan. Convertible, yes. Holiday coupe, maybe. Even an LS goes for only $5-7000 in excellent condition and they'll sit a long time then, because they have to have the right buyer. They're not practical as a daily driver because of the gas mileage. And you indicate you have no real interest in the car. The sedan and convertible interiors are very different, but most of the mechanical components interchange so it might be useful to a convertible owner as a parts car. All of you know by now that I like 98s and that I believe any four door can be a practical and stylish collector car, but you have to realise that you cannot save them all. Four door cars have to be top-flight to be a good collector car.

Randall, there were two beautiful 1970 Ninety-Eights for sale at the Nats- a white coupe and a red convertible, both by same party whom I have known for many years. $6500 on the coupe if you're interested. Cars are in Cincinnati area. I judged 1961-70 full size this year. There were more of them than I ever remember seeing at a National Meet- 28 registered, 5 show only and two no-shows. Took five of us from 10 am till 4 pm to judge them. Stunning stuff, especially the 1963 98 Custom Sport Coupe and the Holiday Red 1964 Jetstar I, which I really expected to be awarded best of class but the points added up differently. I never tally points when I finish a scoresheet. Check it off and move to the next car. That way it can't be said I loaded the scoresheet.

400 was the planned production run. 280 was the actual number produced. These are an aftermarket conversion done by Tops and Trends of Kernersville NC for the NC dealer marketing group. I'll post more about these next week when I return from the National Meet.

Change the fluid and filter. You may even want to take it to a shop that has a Bilstein flushing machine and have the whole shebang flushed. I think what has happened is that during storage, all the fluid drained back to the pan and seeped out around the pan gasket (explains the quart low), and the remaining fluid film varnished on the transmission internals. The governor is probably sticking a little causing the late or no shifts, or the downshift solenoid or switch could have stuck too and caused the no upshift. The salvation here is that transmission fluid is also a fairly decent solvent and will probably dissolve the goo eventually. It may take more than one cycle of flushing and driving to straighten it out. At worst you're looking at a transmission rebuild, and most any shop can do a Turbo 400.

I've seen lots of 60s Pontiacs that have a "blade" type stud on the letters that is a press fit into a slot on the decklid or door. Maybe the Buick is the same? Hate to tell you to go prying on them to see if they'll pop off- GM used some strange trim attachments over the years.

You can often find very nice one owner Delta four door HARDTOPS (not sedans) for little money, and they can be very stylish and practical collector cars for a family. Other than the fact they are heavy and thirsty, they will go forever with reasonable care and are modern enough that you don't have to worry about finding replacement parts or someone who can service it. They share many mechanicals with the other GM B-body cars and can run happily on unleaded fuel. The hardtops are often nicely optioned cars as they were aimed at the high midpriced market. AT, PS, PB were standard, and most had air. Tilt, cruise, electric windows and seat (which with kids you probably don't want) were all available. And 71-2 cars had a fancy wheel option that really sets them off- the Super Stock IV Polycast wheel which to me looks better on the 4-door car than the coupe. There are a couple of drawbacks. GM materials quality wasn't the greatest in those years. Chrome will almost always be pitted or peeling, and NOS isn't easy to find for these cars as it seems all the vendors concentrate on the Cutlass and toss the big car stuff. A lot of sedans had cloth seats too, which may not be practical if yer kids are small. They do have some rust problem areas- rear wheelhouses and trunk edges are places to check closely. 73-later 455s with J heads are known to burn valves and crack valve seats. I have owned several early 70s big Oldsmobiles and they were good road cars and dependable to a fault. Good luck in your search for one.

p/n 1998138. Used 1956-62 full size Oldsmobile. Probably Pontiac and Caddy too, not sure about Buick. Hope it helps.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">He is 18, has 3 accidents on record and now a DUI on a fourth. I felt terrible for his Dad who came and checked on my parents and I. I pray for that youngman and hope he learns this valuable lesson. </div></div> Randall, you're a better man than I am. I'd already have the lawyers on retainer. I have no time or use for a drunk anymore- I've had some really bad experiences with them. And sounds like this one is on his way to habitual offender status. Or does CO have that driver classification? Sorry to hear the Ninety Eight is gone. I have enjoyed helping you troubleshoot it, and it's well known in OCA that I like Ninety Eights. They're underappreciated.

It would help if the pics were oriented as skirts would appear on the car. They're upside down on my browser. First set appears to be aftermarket 1958 or 1959 Chevy. 2nd set- factory 1965-66 Cadillac? Maybe 1955 Packard?

Well- to me, it's easier to raise the rear of the car with a floor jack and then put stands under it than it is to try to get the rear of the car on ramps. Either way will work to raise the car for working room. Showing my southern white trash background... there's been plenty of times I straddled a ditch to get room to work underneath, but once I started making my own money, I decided I would be damned if I'd keep doing things like that. Some of the first tools I bought myself were a floor jack and stands, and a sheet of 3/4" plywood to support them so they wouldn't dig into the ground. My dad could never understand why I wanted hand tools. All he had were screwdrivers, pliers, hammers and monkey wrenches, and a few tools that came with the Farmall tractor, and he saw no need for having more than that. Couldn't understand why I wanted to work on cars either. He always took it to the garage "where somebody knows what they're doing works on it". Doing my own work and accumulating a tool set were points of contention between us until the day he died, and knowing how he felt, I never did any work on his cars. I let him take them somewhere where they knew what they were doing. I guess that's the biggest reason I'll take up time with a boy who shows some interest in cars and encourage him to go for a tech school degree- to the point of helping buy books and tools if it's needed. It's an investment in the future.

Those pins are the bane of all GM owners. I have to do a seal job on the Ninety Eight, and it has a c-clip axle with the lock pin. And I totally dread the job because I am sure the pin will break. I'd honestly rather press a bearing off and on than fool with a c-clip axle. Will, try a GM dealer. They put enough of those things in late model Chevy trucks that the dealer should have one, and yours sounds very much like what those use.

Plenty of PB Blaster on the fittings! The job is easier on a lift, but can be done on jackstands if you don't mind laying on your back and not being able to get good leverage on the fittings <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />.

A lesson in Automobile Clocks 101. These "electric" clocks are actually mechanical clocks that are electrically self-winding. They have a set of points and a small solenoid in them. When the clock runs down, the points close and energise the solenoid. The solenoid then "kicks" the winding mechanism which opens the points and winds the mainspring. This cycle repeats every 2-5 minutes depending on the clock and is the "tonk" you hear from the clock every so often. The solenoid may be getting weak enough that battery voltage (12v) isn't enough to operate it, while alternator voltage (14v) may be enough to work it while the engine is running. Or the clock may just need a good cleaning and oiling. You might consider upgrading to a quartz-controlled clock movement. It uses a small quartz crystal to regulate the clock's motor speed at a constant 60 Hz. I have two of those and like them, but I also like to hear the clock tick and "tonk". Plus quartz conversions are expensive- usually about $100. But then NOS clocks are often just as expensive. Another thing to check is that it is connected to a constant power source. If it is connected to an ignition switch controlled circuit, once the car is shut off it wouldn't be able to wind itself past a couple of cycles. On a 1969 Ninety Eight, the clock power feed is thru the "CLK-LTR-CTSY" fuse thru an orange wire that also feeds the front lighter and glovebox lamp. The lamp feed is a gray wire. Everything grounds thru the main instrument panel ground. I had a 1976 Custom Cruiser that had had the clock connected to the power trunk wire which is switch controlled. Power trunk option was not available on the CC, but the wire was there in the harness same as the sedans. So sometime in its life, either at the factory or by someone buggering around behind the dash, wires got crossed.

Please join me in congratulating <span style="font-weight: bold">Steve Moskowitz</span> on his appointment as AACA Executive Director. I really do not feel the AACA could have picked a better candidate for this job. Steve brings not only old car sense to his new position, but as a successful and highly recognized Oldsmobile dealer he brings business savvy to the position as well as an understanding of the workings of the car manufacturing business. Hear! Hear! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I think I'd be more concerned with getting out of its way before it ran over me!

365 horsepower already, and Randall wants to up it even more?! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> One of the Mid Atlantic Chapter guys (chapter president actually) had a 67 98 LS as a daily driver. He was parts manager for a forklift dealer and had a 17 year old helping in the parts counter who every so often, would drive Daddy's 67 SS396-325 Chevelle to work. Britt tormented that boy with that Ninety Eight, never missing an opportunity to light off the tires when the Chevelle was around, waiting at stoplights for him, generally aggravating him. The kid finally quit driving the Chevelle at all after he was shown the factory specs on the 425. What's that thing they say- "too much horsepower is never enough"?

Which engine does he have? Not much out there for the 4-cylinder, but there's a bunch of performance stuff made for the 231 V6 and the 305 V8.

Since all 65-later Olds heads have the same exhaust flange bolt pattern, and a 330 is a couple inches narrower than a 400, and 330 and 400 both used Jetaway automatics in 1965, I'll stick my neck out and say the ones for a 1965 400 will fit. Headers are almost always a tweak job though. You may have to massage them some to get a good fit. I've always heard the 64-67 frames are the same but I can't verify it with my parts books as the frame listings start in 1966.

Valve covers could be suspect because oil runs down from highest point. Other suspect areas are: fuel pump gasket, crankshaft seal, oil pan-to-timing cover seal, oil pan gaskets, oil pressure sender. I've also seen oil leaks between head and block. Once you get the v/c gaskets on, have the engine and chassis cleaned. Then you'll be able to see leaks. If you have a pressure washer and don't mind stains on the driveway, it can be done at home (the pressure washer will also clean the mess off the concrete). If not, it's worth the $50 or so to pay a pro detail shop to do it.