rocketraider

Re-reading my original reply, I see where I have confused you. The Cutlass axle will not bolt into a Delta 88 drum-to-drum. It's the gearset and carrier section that is the same between Cutlass and 2-barrel Delta. You still need to measure the punkin to see which rear end you have. Then you can narrow your options. If you're looking to replace it drum-to-drum, you should be able to use any 71-76 GM big car axle except one from a wagon. The Chevy might have the light duty axle. The C-body cars (98, Electra, Caddy) will have big brakes.

Thanks for all the gorgeous pics, Brian. I've never seen a 61 Buick in that shade of red before. Olds called it Garnet Mist and Pontiac was Marimba Red. Buick? Was the Fawn Mist 61 Olds out of New Jersey? If so, I saw it at Fall Charlotte and was mighty impressed. You rarely see them in any condition. And a 61 Caddy is also a favorite car. My next carp as always- WHY can't they build cars like that now?! I keep forgetting- they'd cost $60,000.

And once again, the forum is doing what is was designed to do- help keep another old car on the road and running sweet! Dderal, have you contacted Eastern Mass GMO or New England Olds Clubs? Both are based in Massachusetts.

Other than the Slim Jim these cars weren't bad mechanically. 394 in general seem to have valve guide problems, but that's usually due to the knurling wearing down. I don't think this is a $5500 car judging by the amount of trim it's missing, and it needs paint. 61 stuff isn't easy to find either as it's one of the forgotten Oldsmobiles. But boy what lookers- you think this one is cool, ever seen a 61 Ninety Eight sport coupe? They had an angled C-post and were really tough looking cars.

Was this a local or nationwide contest? If it was national, contact Pepsico and see what they can tell you about it. Dodge Division might have some records too. If it was local, good luck.

If you hear clicking in both up and down odds are the relay is good. This could be as simple as dirty switch contacts, and the switches can be taken apart and cleaned. Aggravating, but what's the odds of finding one NOS or even good used? You can also try disconnecting the drive cables at the top actuators (top corners of the rear seat) and see if the motor runs with no top load on it.

63-64 DE manifold will work. I see vacuum motors on e-bay fairly often. Tell me which one you need and I'll look up the part #.

Olds Club handles this issue with a judging restriction- "If a non-Olds engine is installed it must be a factory installation". That tends to keep the Chevy-powered street machines at bay, though the post-70s cars often had them factory installed. Most of us can fathom no reason to install one in the first place! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I can do it, but you can delete your own posts by selecting the "Edit" button at top right of your post. Scroll down and you'll see a button "Delete this post". Then it will ask are you sure? Click yes button and it's done. Let me know if you need help.

Another rarity- Chris, can you enlighten folks on the GS340? There's still one here, rough. The other one got traded for a Camaro at one of the Charlotte AutoFairs a couple years back. Talked with the kid who owned it just last night.

MasterWrench, the best I can do is mail you a photocopy of the 1962 and 63 shop manual stuff. I need to get me a scanner and learn how to put stuff like that on here. PM me with your snail-mail and I'll send you what I have. 185 hp with 4-barrel carb, 215 hp with turbo. It's the same little aluminum block V8 that Rover used forever after they bought the tooling from Buick Division in the mid 60s. I sometimes think that the late 50s-early 60s were truly GM's engineering salad days. We haven't seen the likes of it since.

My Delco carb book shows 7024054 as 1964 330 cid automatic transmission. Since all 1964 442 were four-speeds, this is not a #s matching 442 carb though it would probably work. The synchromesh carb # is 4055. If it's NOS it ought to be worth a few hundred. Jobber remans go for $175-200, so you could ask a few dollars more for a Delco-Rochester factory rebuilt.

Jerry, I found this link awhile back. www.1aauto.com . You might check Fusick or Ames too as I've found that sometimes Chebby stuff, even though it's for the same series car, is just a bit different than the other Divisions.

Scott- don't leave just yet. ToroGuy- there's nothing secret about what happened. I was on the OCA board when it all went down, and I'm frankly tired of hearing about it and discussing it. It was all we talked about for three years, and the relentless single-mindedness that certain people exhibited about it bordered on insanity. We couldn't handle normal club business because these people kept steering the discussion back to the kickback and legal action issue. And all the time the BOD was sidetracked on this mess, certain elements were running amuck in club business, doing things by executive privilege instead of bringing them before the board and pissing off a lot of people in the process. Not to mention shuffling a lot of money around. As far as settlement details, I don't know them. I've heard from two current Directors and they haven't been told anything either. And if I knew details of it, I wouldn't broadcast it here. It's not my place to do it. Pat Yancey and Clay Mollman are the only people in OCA right now who are in a position to disclose anything about this, and until they do so, I'm not discussing it any further here.

For reliability and parts and technical support, it's the Carter AFB or its derivatives hands down. 4GC have been obsolete for over 30 years and there are no parts other than gasket kits readily available. Not to mention they have their quirks. I have two of them on identical 1964 Oldsmobiles- one works perfectly, the other has given me fits for fifteen years.

Depends on how you're gonna use them. For a cruiser or lazy street driver, you can probably get away with not installing hardened seats and using octane booster or lead substitute, or even some 100+ octane racing gas once in a while, and they'll survive fine. If you're planning to use a 455 like it was meant to be driven, I'd say yes, have them installed. Just make sure your machinist uses the ones for an OLDS engine, and not big-block Chevy. I've seen Olds heads ruined by trying to put in the BBC stuff because the machinist cut into the coolant passages. If that happens, you've got a pair of C-casting boat anchors, and an argument with yer machine shop. Are these big-valve (2.07 intake) or small-valve (2.00) Cs? Good set of heads either way, but the 2.07 are the factory hi-po pieces, used on 67-69 442 and Toronado engines. I've also seen them on factory dual-exhaust 98s. Unfortunately no way to tell with them on the engine- no difference in casting #s between the two.

Found it in the trusty Rand McNally... it's a suburb of Dallas TX, a little bit SE of the metro area. All the streets mentioned are right on the D-FW city map! Dang, that was fun... <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> It could have been anywhere from Duluth MN to Laredo TX, which are the northern and southern termini of I-35.

Another great site and already bookmarked! I'm gonna ask the guy about floorpan clearance on a SlimJim car, and if that problem is solved, a certain 64 Starfire may have a modern tranny quicker than planned.

I'll explain the details in a PM later, Parm. I do not think this forum is an appropriate place to discuss this issue, and ask all participants to respect that. No need to divide the Olds Club all over again here.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">must be politically correct,mustn't we</div></div> Thhpphttt! The politically correct would outlaw a car like this as non-egalitarian. BTW Stellite- who is the new portrait? Do you still have the drunken pit bull?

Hee-hee.. I just dug out a 1969 printing of the 1961-64 SlimJim parts requisition sheet- the one the dealer mechanics used to order parts for these things. From 1961-64, there were NINE different valve bodies used in them. Nine different part #s over 4 years, and all but two were revisions trying to get them to shift smoother. 1961 alone had three revisions. But looking at the exploded drawings in it convinces me I could rebuild one, as long as there's no special HydraMatic-only tools involved. That might be my project in the local community college's DIY auto shop class this summer, if the state government cutbacks don't get it.

I think it's a J-I too. Can't see front fender vents or tailpipe outlets, so it's hard to tell. There's a dark Starfire convertible towards the back. A guy in IL has a 1970 455/3-speed Delta convertible that he's documented as one of two, and he's been chasing the other one for years. He might also know something about the 69s. PM me and I'll give you an address and phone.

The choke hot air tube connects to it. There should be a 1/4" diameter or so tube going from the choke stat to the intake manifold. There is another tube in the intake manifold that runs thru the exhaust crossover passage and is open to atmosphere on the other end. I think 58 used the intake manifold for choke heat. The tube may go to the RH exhaust manifold. What happens is: There is a small vacuum port inside the choke housing. This vacuum draws outside air thru the heat tube in the manifold to the choke stat housing. The heated air heats the choke coil spring which relaxes and opens the choke flap. If the tube isn't connected, that could have caused the original hard start/flooding out problem. Might explain why the choke was disconnected too. Try www.fusick.com and see if they have a reproduction heat tube. It's possible the heat tube in the manifold may have rusted out or burned thru, or even got plugged with carbon. It's a straight tube so you can probably rod it out. Try blowing it out with compressed air and if it's plugged that might get it out. If the manifold tube is rusted out, until you can replace the tube or manifold, you can get a hand choke kit that will allow driving the car. Plus the kid learns how to use one. Or you could even install an electric choke if you want to keep the automatic choke and fast idle working.

General Motors is in no real position to take anyone down anymore. They're too worried about keeping what shrinking market share they have left, but they should worry about what this car could do to Cadillac. Who is backing this Packard adventure? Estimated price? If the engineering and marketing keep up with the styling, most middle-range luxury cars might need to worry. That said, what about this car's styling does GM not get? This car is elegant, substantial and looks like 100 mph sitting still. GM builds Azteks and Avalanches, and everything else looks like a melted jellybean.

I've been looking thru the 1961-64 service manuals and the HydraMatic sections are thoroughly screwy. These things are supposedly 3-speed units, but 1961 is the only one that functions as a 3-speed. 62-64 are called 4-speeds in the factory manuals and go into detail about four different stages, with 1st gear ratios from 3.56:1 to 3.32:1 depending on the year. 2nd, 3rd and 4th appear to be fairly constant at 2.93, 1.56 and 1.00. It doesn't say when or where the deep first gear is used or if it starts in 2nd, or skips 2nd (a good reason for the shudder-clunk-lurch shift), or what. I've never felt one shift more than twice, and I've driven Starfires, 88s and 98s from that time period, as well as a couple of SlimJim equipped Pontiacs. They all do the same thing. It's no wonder nobody wants to work on one of them <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />