rocketraider

75 shows up as Matador Red in the 70-72 books, Spectra Red in 73-74 and Rallye Red in 75. Same color formula, different marketing name. I think red was a standard color offering in 1972. There were some special colors- Viking Blue 26; Radiant Green 36; Saturn Gold 53; Flame Orange 65; Covert Beige 50, Sunfire Yellow 56.

I don't think a carb job is beyond the capability of an average backyard mechanic. Those books should walk you right thru it. NAPA Echlin or Standard HyGrade are excellent carb kits. You'll need the carb ID # which is found on the left rear side of the carb and should look something like 17058253 You need some type of immersion cleaner and a small metal parts basket to get the thing really clean once it's disassembled. Load the metal parts in the basket and dip them in carb cleaner for an hour or so, but be warned, carb cleaner stinks and can give you a chemical burn so be careful. Then wash them with water, air dry them (blow passages out with compressed air) and begin reassembly. If you're not totally comfortable, buy a junkyard carb to practice on.

Grimm, you've got the right idea. Either a late model side jack or a small hydraulic in its own plastic case are the only way to go for safety if you have to change a tire or go under the car on the road. Detail the bumper jack and leave it in the trunk! The parts book shows same p/n for 1968-69 F85 jack hook, so yes, I'd say the 68 jack will work fine. There's a lot of 8 GM jack hooks on ebay right now, search 74 olds* and it should come up. Maybe a hook for your car in it.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I heard a Camaro guy joke that he needed my car to haul a 4'x8' sheet of plywood. Another time, I arrived in my nicely-restored 455-powered full-size 2-door hardtop, and a couple of guys joked that my car would make a wonderful donor car for their next street rod project.</div></div> I get the same stuff with the Ninety Eight and Toro, but Brian, you are way too polite to this crowd. Salvos fired deserve retorts, and mainstreamers are the most fun of all to mess with because they can't stand being upstaged <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />. To the Camaro guy- "Hey, you need the plywood to fix the floors in that rustbucket?! Be glad to haul it for ya, just don't tell anybody I'm hauling Chevy parts..." To the rodders- "Doubt YOU could build a car to handle a Buick 455" followed by a small burnout demonstration. Sorry, the highschool smartass is still deep within me <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />. Of course, being 6'3" and 235 lbs with a military buzz and a goatee generally ensures no backtalk. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

A 67 W30 aircleaner housing is chrome metal, has a single 4-bbl carb opening, and has two large air inlets on the sides of the housing. 66 is similar except it's set up for 3x2 bbl carbs. Henry, can you add anything to this?

Scott, this event started life as the Carlisle Camaro Nationals, so it stands to reason it would be overrun with F-body cars. I had wanted to go, but something called making a living got in the way once again. I've had vacation cancelled 3 times already this year, twice for Carlisle events. They tell you at the literal last minute "business needs do not allow for any vacation or time off at this time". The a-hole middle manager doing this got transferred abruptly to another plant today, hooray! The inaugural All GM in 2001 was sad for Olds too- the Riviera Owners Association had more cars there than total Oldsmobiles. I don't know what to do to get them out there. I will say this- I found a beautiful Western used 64 Starfire grille at the 2001 event, so it can't be a total bust <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />. I'd been looking for one for 15 years.

You need to match the cam's RPM range to the intake's RPM range. I think the cam you're looking at will work OK with a Performer intake but I'd go with Edelbrock's matched cam and intake set if you want the Performer. It's easy to go too big and the car turn out to be a dog on the street. Plus, if you don't up the compression, that big cam will actually drop overall compression due to valve overlap and seriously hurt performance. With a heavy car like a 77 Cutlass, you need a torque cam more than you do raw horsepower for street driving. I'd bet that car has some really tall gears in it too which will negate a hard-hitting cam. Decide what you want this car to do. A 3000-7000 rpm cam is not going to do any good on the street with tall gears. Look at something in the 2000-5000 rpm range. use a 2600 rpm stall and maybe some 3.23-3.42 gearing and you'll have a respectable street performer. www.realoldspower.com is where the hardcore Olds racers hang out. They can tell you what works and what doesn't.

Guy named Walt Vallelunga made repop 65-7 tailpipes for many years, try him 810-739-8255. Also Gardner Exhaust www.gardnerexhaust.com offers them but I don't know anyone who has used them.

You'll have to find an NOS parts vendor, or you might luck up and find one on ebay. I can't find a part # for a solenoid for 1971 V8. Does the car have an electric solenoid or a dashpot?

Modern Buick advertising schemes notwithstanding, Harley Earl is probably spinning in his grave over what currently passes for GM "Styling" if not trying to claw his way out of it. Some of Bill Mitchell's "razor-edge" influence is still there but not translating well except for Cadillac. Sometimes I think the Japanimation company who designed the 80s "Transformers" toys all went to work for GM styling.

Not uncommon to find a rubber fuel line with inline filter on an older car that originally had steel. My guess is that the original fuel line got twisted or broke trying to replace the fuel pump or the fuel filter in the carb inlet, and the rubber line was cobbled up to get the car back on the road. I don't really like rubber fuel line on the pressure side of the fuel pump, but it'll work until you can repair it right. Olds have 3/8" fuel lines, so get some 3/8" fuel hose, and a 3/8" fuel filter (AutoZone's Deutsch brand p/n is FF419, metal body filter). Then simply replace everything. While you're at it, get enough fuel hose to replace the fuel pump suction and return hoses too. It should have a steel fuel line pump to carb. You can get a reproduction steel line from the various Olds vendors. Order one for a 1966-67 400 with QuadraJet and it should fit properly. Fusick's part number for that application is 6603FL, $19.50. The 1967 car should have a side inlet QuadraJet. If it's been replaced with a later carb with a front fuel inlet, you'll need a steel line for a 1968-later 400 or 455. Before you go taking stuff apart at the carb, check to make sure the carb hasn't had an oversize fuel inlet fitting installed. Old QuadraJets are notorious for stripping the threads out of the fuel inlet and several companies made repair kits. Some involved oversize threads with loctite, others used an o-ring. Both types recommended using an inline filter to keep from disturbing the fitting and creating another leak. If it has a metal tag attached saying do not remove, leave it alone and keep the rubber fuel lines unless you're ready to replace the carb.

I recommend buying a 1957 Olds factory shop manual and the 1957 Carburetion Supplement manual which covers the J2. You find both on ebay fairly often. Also join OCA and its 1957 Chapter. Those guys will know and may have some spare parts lying around. If you're close to Cincinnati, the National Meet is there July 9-12 and there are always several correct J2 cars attending.

Here is the 1969 full-size hierarchy starting at the top: Ninety Eight Luxury Sedan, Ninety Eight Holiday/convertible, Ninety Eight Town Sedan, Delta 88 Royale, Delta 88 Custom, Delta 88. Didn't include Toronado as it is a one of a kind and sat at the absolute top its entire production run 1966-92. The A-body cars have a different sales and marketing focus: 442, Cutlass Supreme, Cutlass S, F85. So your Ninety Eight is the middle rung of the Ninety Eight series. The LS was in Cadillac territory and the Town Sedan was a stripped down 98 without any power options. Most Delta Royales were better optioned than the TS and it was a slow seller compared to the other 98s with slightly over 11000 sales. The LS sold nearly five times as well. Even the LS post sedan which was the same body shell as the TS outsold it 3 to 1. Holidays were always an important part of Olds marketing from their 1949 introduction to the last true hardtops of 1976. The name carried enough weight that it was used on 1977-81 bucket/console equipped Delta 88 2-doors and again in the mid 80s as a Ciera high-line trim option.

Is the OEM type in fact new or a reman? I'd go for new parts if possible. A clutch job isn't something you want to do very often. The Hays may be a little stiffer than factory, but won't be bad.

Spend a few bucks and have a lawyer draft a letter to his insurer, citing negligence and lack of reasonable care, and specifically stating that the top has been on the car less than a month. Wouldn't hurt to include a current value on the car and to mention that it was registered for a National event which damage now precludes its attendance. It's sad when you have to involve lawyers, but you might be amazed at how much time and aggravation that can save. If the insurer still balks, bring a private civil suit against the shop owner himself. "Reasonable care" should have inferred that a convertible be put inside after business hours.

Think your best option is to find another seat frame. You might find a large commercial upholstery or furniture restoration shop that has the stuff, but I wouldn't count on it.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">this year I was going to ready well before, guess it's will be down to the wire as usual <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> </div></div> I am in the same boat with one of the Starfires. Ordered a new Desert Cooler radiator which took 3 weeks to make, and it gets here and is 2" too short top to bottom. They made me a Cutlass radiator <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />! But it was guaranteed to be made from original factory prints and to fit correctly. Now there is no way I can get another radiator made before 7 July, and the original is not roadworthy. Local radiator shop tells me he can get a new core, but will have to be made and probably take 2 weeks. So now I have to change the car registration for OCA Nationals 3 weeks before the show, and get the Ninety Eight ready for the trip. Why can't people do the job right the first time? At least your loss will be covered at no expense to you. I don't understand people who will purposefully damage someone else's property just for a thrill or to [censored] someone off. Of course, punks like that don't understand people who will put a foot up their arse or pop a cap in them when they get caught damaging stuff. And then if it goes to court they will always say "I didn't mean to do it, I was just having a little fun and got stupid. I feel really bad about it". Sorry Bubsy- stupidity and remorse are no excuse for anything in my book.

I have a Hoover "Steam Vac Jr." that I use for upholstery and carpet and it does a nice job. Got it at WalMart and it's a handy thing to have. The wife can even use it to clean upholstery in the house (a good angle to use when convincing the better half something like this is needed <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />) If those water stains have been there a while, the SV Jr may or may not get them out. If not, GM offered a powdered cleaner for stuff like this. What you had to do was mix it with water and then clean the fabric section by section, starting at the spot and working your way all way to the edge of the panel. Then you were to force dry it with air. I remember there was some specific caution about not rubbing the satin upholstery too hard so it wouldn't frizz. You might want to check with a commercial cleaning service and see what they use for problems like this.

Get them for a 76 455 Cutlass. 455 was available 73-75 too, so if they try to tell you there is no such thing, there is.

If a factory option is installed correctly, how would anyone know it didn't come on the car when delivered short of demanding a build sheet? Items such as AM-FM radios, cruise control, power trunk release, rear window defoggers and accessory lamp packages could be dealer installed all the time back then. Even air conditioning and power steering and brakes had accessory package part numbers. Randall, PM me with a mailing address and I'll send you copies of the parts manual 1969 Optional Equipment list and the Ninety Eight section of the Product Selling Information book. Those would be the clearest authority on what was available that I know of. I've been known to add goodies to my own cars to make them "mine". Even stuff that may not be absolutely correct for the carline or model year, but it has an Olds part number and looks right for the car. I have an early 80s Delco AM-FM digital tuner cassette radio in the 76 98 that looks like it belongs there, and a set of SSIV Polycast sport wheels too. They are technically correct only for 1971-72 Delta 88s, but they set that big car off so nice that I wouldn't even consider going back to the correct wheel covers just to satisfy a judging sheet.

The button location won't affect the seat kit. All the 66-72 Strato-Bucket seats as well as Strato-Bench backrests are basically the same construction, and the headrests don't affect it either as all you do to mount the headrests is make an X cut in the seat fabric for the posts to slip thru, then attach the escutcheons. Bryan, does your car still have a mounting hole for the ignition switch on the dash? To have put a 69-72 column in and make the column mounted ignition functional would have required some major rewiring. Possible someone changed out the entire dash and wiring harness with a 69. Here's a giveaway. Are the dash knobs round with a flat face and black stripe around the edge(69), or are they butterfly shaped (68)?

I don't see a problem with using the OCA logo on your pictures. When I was a zone director we encouraged members to display the logo prominently at non-OCA events in an effort to raise interest and membership. I see your use of it here as the same thing, but you may want to contact OCA President Pat Yancey peyancey@aol.com to clarify as certain parties within OCA tried to take all the damn fun out of things a few years back.

Make sure the fluid is at the right level. Those RotoHydraMatics (yes, Cutlasses had a version of them too) can be really sensitive to fluid level and either too much or too little will make them do hateful things. Another possibility is that the pump is cavitating due to a crack in the torus cover. Common ailment for these things. The only sure fix for that is another cover.

140. Interesting to note that the 80s 307s made about the same power as the original 303 Rocket. The 303 was the hottest thing on the road in its day. The 307 was considered anemic. Times turn around...

Yes, it can. All you need is the S casting LH dual exhaust manifold and matching shift linkage. A good exhaust shop can then custom bend you some aluminized exhaust pipe. The S manifolds show up on e-bay once in a while, but the things have gotten expensive. They're as bad as the 442 W&Z manifolds now. If you don't get the shift link with the manifold, there's a tech article and pattern for how to make it on 442.com . The S was used on 1965-69 425/455 dual exhaust big cars. 1970 is also an S casting but does not have a heat riser valve. ALL 65-66 Starfires had these manifolds. Good luck.