rocketraider

Unfortunately, it's working about like it's supposed to. I've seen very few SlimJims that didn't feel like they were skipping a gear between 1st and 2nd. I've got one in a 64 Starfire that feels like the engine's gonna stall when it shifts. It is officially a 3-speed unit, but every manual except 1961 refers to it as "4-S HydraMatic". It's a weird transmission, and was revised every year it was produced (1961-64), sometimes 2 or 3 times in one model year. Every year had different gear ratios and often different shift characteristics. I recommend buying a 1962 Olds factory service manual and a set of 1962 Service Guild/Tech Bulletins. Also a parts requisition booklet for 1961-64 HydraMatic. These will show revisions and operation of the Roto-HydraMatic 375 Model 10. So don't think it's acting up. It's probably working right! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

The 442 fender was prepunched at the stamping plant, but if you have a non-442 fender your best bet will be to get a 1969 Cutlass assembly manual. They're made up of the factory engineering drawings and should have the info you need to put the numbers on correctly. You'll find them on e-bay or some of the big Olds parts vendors sell them too. $25-30, well spent.

Good news is that all 1962 big Olds use the same bumper. Bad news is they all rot out and good cores are expensive. Originality Plus in CA often has them, but they're so outrageously expensive on everything they're the last resort for me. Try Paul McGuill pacwestauto@1stnetusa.com . If he doesn't have it he may know someone who does.

Patrick, the only thing I can come up with is that the car may have been built with a Turbo 400 wiring harness (they may have all been to save having two different harnesses). The THM 400 downshift wire is orange/black or red/black and downshift solenoid wiring appears to be part of the Turbo 400 TCS switch connector. Look at page 6C-19 in the CSM and it shows the connector. Looking closer at this thing, it appears the TCS pressure switch itself is inside the transmission and the T-plug is only a connector on the outside. Green wire connects to a terminal that has a black wire inside the trans going to the switch. The red/black would connect to the wire going to the 400 downshift solenoid inside the tranny. So based on that, I'll say you need more than just the TCS switch. You need the t-connector and internal transmission wiring to make this thing work per design, meaning you'll have to go into the transmission. You have to decide if it's worth all that to you to restore a system that was designed to reduce performance. It was probably removed when the transmission was redone. The internal stuff may still be there, just the connector got broken when they were tearing the unit down and rather than try to find one they plugged the mounting hole. Keep us posted.

Wonder if they can do anything with an Olds SlimJim or Jetaway HydraMatic? I get the same thing from tranny shops when I ask about those. Like the pic, Will- SCOTS is a favorite! "It don't matter if your pants are shiny..." <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> I'll assume you're also familiar with Squirrel Nut Zippers and Let's Active? How about Fetchin' Bones and Don Dixon? <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

It ain't easy, and it helps to have small hands. You have to go in from behind the dash and disconnect the speedo cable and wiring plug. Then take out 2 screws that hold the speedo to the dash (curved piece under the gages). You can then pull it out from the front. On an air car, you have to remove the left a/c flexible duct and maybe the manifold. On a column shift automatic car, you have to disconnect the shift needle link on the steering column from the link in the speedo cluster. Have fun!

67-70 88 and 98 disc brakes will interchange. I'd go with 69-70 as they are single piston calipers, and are easier to find replacement parts. They're also a little easier to live with than the 4-piston 67-68 versions. I think I'd go with power brakes too. All it takes to run them is a little vacuum, and the difference in braking is noticeable. Find a disc brake parts car (all 70s had them) for the booster, spindles, hard lines, metering valve etc, and use the calipers and master cylinder as cores. You might get lucky and get a serviceable pair of rotors. New rubber hoses, and try www.inlinetube.com if you need new hard lines. I think the tierod ends and ball joints are the same between 65-70 disc and drum brake spindles, but I'll research it.

A good custom exhaust shop (not Midas) should be able to bend pipe to fit this car easy enough. Most all of them still have the Huth bending machine program cards. Get it done in aluminized pipe and it'll last and look nice longer. Even if 2-1/2 won't bolt directly to the manifolds, the shop can probably start out with a short length of the correct size pipe and then enlarge it to 2-1/2 close to the manifold. You'll find that many years Olds factory duals used two different size exhaust pipes from engine to muffler, and the pipes after the muffler are often smaller than the headpipes. You may lose just a little bit of low end torque with big pipes, and that's what you really need to get these boats moving. What kind of mufflers are you thinking of? Flowmasters are gonna be some loud on a big car. Pretty sure Walker and others make a good low-restriction muffler for it.

Sounds like distributor bushings are worn or the breaker plate is loose on the shaft. I had one do that in my Toronado years ago, same conditions you describe. You can probably send your distributor off for rebuild and keep the original stuff, and once in a while a 394 distributor converted to HEI will show up on ebay. 10 degrees initial is really high for a 394 especially with current pump gasoline quality, but the Pertronix will compensate for that some. I still have points in the Starfire but the Hurst has Pertronix II and I was able to jack up the base timing on that 350 quite a bit and run 87 octane with no detonation. The Toro has a Mallory Unilite which is reliable and efficient, but I still can't increase base timing much. Set to spec it doesn't like 93 octane fuel.

P- how many wires are in the harness going to the switch? If only one wire (dark green as in earlier post) and it goes to the top of the T, I think the switches you've found will work fine. Good luck!

If you can jump-start it, I don't think the kill feature on your alarm is causing it. I think you've got a dead or weak battery, and the alarm or stereo memory could be contributing to that. Also take the cables loose from the battery and clean them with a wire brush so you've got good contact. Have the alternator checked too, though since the car would run without the jumper battery it's probably ok.

Right now I am once again at war with a 4GC that won't stop leaking at the fuel inlet nut. Threads are weak, I guess. I can tighten the nut, but even with double gaskets and thread dope fuel still dribbles all over the intake. I've given up and ordered a reman from Foosick and am terrified of what it's going to do, because the one on the car runs great- no off idle stumble, no right turn bog, no funky idle- none of the things the 4GC is famous for doing. But with leaks, I can't drive the car. If they tell me it's no good as a core unit, I'll try to find someone who can heli-coil the thing and then put it together with Loctite, and have a spare. I hate the things, but they're the only carb that will work on these cars without a whole lot of fabricating and twiddling with the transmission TV linkage (which if adjusted wrong makes even more trouble). The off-idle and right turn stumbles are related to float level, and an old-time carb guy told me to set the float level 1/16" to 1/8" higher than specs especially if the repair kit had rubber tipped floats. The jets are actually uncovering 'cause the fuel level is low. I can't remember the primary jet size offhand but the secondaries are .080 on a Starfire carb. You might also check to see that the baffles are still in place on the bottom side of the airhorn, and that the float arms don't touch them at full up travel (needle seated closed). If the arms hit the baffles, the needle won't seat off and it'll cause a flood condition. Even the wrong throttle body-to-float bowl gasket will make these carbs do stupid stuff. I've never seen it addressed in Olds service literature, but one of the 1961 Buick service pubs explains the reason for the slotted gasket and its relation to idle quality. Your gooseneck may be slightly warped. Try sanding it on a piece of plate glass or other true flat surface to true it up. 80 grit sandpaper should work. Then use something like Permatex Indian Head gasket shellac on both sides of the gasket. It'll fill any remaining gaps. You can try a halogen headlight, but I think they're about the same brightness on low beam as a regular incandescent lamp; the halogen filament is only on the hi-beam. Make sure your reflectors aren't dulled and that the lamps are aimed right.

I have one but found it didn't work too well with the Delco radio unit. With the cassette loaded into the adapter, the stabilizer "ears" on the cassette were too wide to fit in the 8-track opening. To get a working cassette and keep some semblance of originality in my 76 Regency, I used a 1980s Delco digital tuner AM-FM-cassette. It fits that dash like it was made for it and except for having to drop the lower dash for access, was easily installed.

You don't have to pull the dash or the individual pods, but you'll probably have to take the A/C manifold loose behind the dash to get up in there. Should be a couple of screws holding it to the heater box assembly. Remove it and move the left-hand flexible duct around for access to the dash lights. There is no really easy way to get at them on 68-69. Just takes patience.

Is this 88/98, Cutlass or Toronado? It's a tight fit, but you should be able to replace dash lights on all but Toro by reaching up behind the dash. Toros are easier by taking the speedometer panel loose at top and bottom and tilting the top edge toward the seat. I can offer more info once I know which carline you're working with.

www.smsautofabrics.com . They'll send samples of what they have for your car. They're not always inexpensive, but they have always come thru with what I needed.

Maybe if Senatah Ted had had an Amphicah, Chappaquiddick wouldn't have tuhned out quite so messy. Still hate that he was driving an Oldsmobile... <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Ask for a side terminal battery bolt- the one that attaches the cable to the battery. They may try to sell you the whole terminal or cable, but if all you need is the thru-bolt, get that. It has threads on one end and a 5/16" hex head on the other. You can also get extended bolts to connect other electrical accessories to the battery if needed.

What year? Some years use a clamp, some years use a spring-ring, all the side terminal batteries use a thru-bolt that can be found at any auto supply store.

Interesting that this guy now owns paper worth nearly a third of the car's value. It reinforces my belief that e-bay tends to attract people with 1) more money than sense and 2) a win-at-all-costs mentality. Neither of which is a particularly attractive character trait. Of course this fool now has bragging rights and is probably telling all his similarly over-moneyed and under-sensed friends about his victory and conquest. That said, I find auctions like this immensely entertaining. I'll often put something on my watch list just to look at 'em go <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />.

Saw that too- what coulda woulda shoulda been. What would the factory have called it? OldsCamino?

Good find! The buckets/column shift was one of the two standard "no-cost" seat options on Cutlass, S and Supreme coupes. What Olds offered was a choice of bucket seat or bench seat interior, both with column shift. The D55 sports console and floor shifter was an extra cost option. I'd say it is a bit rare as dealers ordered most bucket seat cars with the console because they sold better. Enjoy it!

The hood insulation pad should be yellow thru 1963. Fusick will have the correct stuff, just got a new catalog from them yesterday. www.fusick.com . I'm an OCA judge, specialising in 61-66 Starfires and 60s and 70s big cars, and can judge 66-78 Toronado and 73-77 Cutlass competently. I'm lost on 50s cars and 66-72 Cutlass, though I'm trying to increase my knowledge about them. I'm told I judge hard, but fairly. My standard is, can it be improved or corrected to showroom appearance with reasonable effort and expense? We had a 1967 Ninety Eight convertible out of Greenville SC in Mid Atlantic shows and I picked up early on that this family wanted the car to be the best it could be. I judged it for several years, and every time it was judged, the next time out the items I'd noted were corrected with never any complaints. When it finally went to Nationals in 1995, it scored 985 points out of a possible 1000. It's been stunning people ever since. The family now owns a 1968 Delta Custom which is slowly reaching the same level as their Ninety Eight. A car and attitude like that makes a judge's job fun. I'll reserve my comments on the OCA point judging system. Bob Casey is trying his best to straighten out the mess the original longtime head judge left him, and to get OCA judging back to where it means something again. We had ridiculous year breakouts on class divisions, a new car class that spanned twenty years, and no clear point deductions on incorrect components. And a judging video that was almost Keystone Kops in its presentation. When I was Southeast Zone director I asked for many years to institute a judging certification program where judges would be certified in knowledge of particular cars, and also for the National Judging Committee to take responsibility for all judging related issues at the National Meet including recruitment, training and scoring tabulation. All this stuff is left up to the host group while the NJC remains mostly invisible. "Hovering godlike above the showfield, out of reach" is how another director put it... I was told in no uncertain terms that the NJC would walk if they were assigned that responsibility, to which my reply was "then what the hell good are you?". One of the few times I lost my temper in a board meeting. Sorry for the rant and tirade, but I watched OCA National awards go from respectable to a laughingstock over the course of several years, and I know people who had high scoring OCA cars go to AACA and get hammered. And the Olds Club is supposed to be the group who knows what is and ain't about Oldsmobiles. I'm happy to say things are beginning to go up again. Anyway- bring the 59 to Cincinnati. If the car is an unrestored original, register it in class 18, and see the guidelines on page 16 of Jan 2003 JWO. I wouldn't mind seeing a few nice 59-60 cars out as I grew up with a Sixty. Someday I will own another 1960 Dynamic 88 Celebrity Sedan like the one my mother drove from 1960-1971.

As far as I know, the mounting brackets are the same. You might get into some clearance issues between engine and firewall. I can't remember offhand how much space is between them on a 68 big car.

I think you'll find some information here. You have a rare piece in that 442, esp a 455 car. I have a 74 Hurst, and just yesterday afternoon I saw a 1974 442 out on US 29 between here and Greensboro NC. You might also check out 442.com, and you can link to the OCA website from here. From that site you can link to the Oldsmobile Cutlass Coupes website which specialises in 1973-77 Cutli.