rocketraider

Nope- no four doors <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />, but I can show you two 8-door limousines. First tell me where the front end Rocket is located on a 69, then I'll tell you if mine's pointing the right direction (it is, by the way). Then tell me where the Rocket is on a 1964 Starfire. Let's see on the armrests- offhand I can think of the following cars that used the long separate armrest. Buick-1965/67 Electra, Riviera, Wildcat Custom 2-doors Chevrolet-1965/67 Impala SS coupes and 1966/67 Caprice coupes Oldsmobile- 1965-67 Delta 88 and 1965/66 Starfire coupes Pontiac-1965/67 Bonneville, 1966 Bonneville Brougham and Grand Prix coupes ToroGuy, I'm sorry you don't like me for whatever reasons you have. Bottom line is I don't care, nor do I want or crave your respect. You've come on this forum with your ass on your shoulder and immediately attacked me when I offered a reasonable and fact-based answer to your question. I've never claimed to know everything about Oldsmobiles, but I <span style="font-style: italic">can</span> hold my own in any discussion or argument you can come up with about them. BTW, I'm an OCA Master Judge and served on the OCA Board of Directors from 1990-2000, so I think I'm qualified to offer an opinion on how OCA and the judging program operate. I might add I was on the BOD when the Minnesota group first made their bid to host Nationals. Don't make me regret my vote for it.

I didn't say it wasn't standard on the 1966 Deluxe car. I said it could be ordered on any 1966 Oldsmobile, F85 thru Toronado, standard or deluxe car. So that is not a way to differentiate between a standard and deluxe 1966-70 Toronado. The interior (and in 66 the VIN) is the key. Look in the 1966 Color & Fabric album. What did the VIN plate say on the 66 that was dealer converted to Deluxe? If it said 9 <span style="font-weight: bold">4</span> 87 it was a standard. If it said 9 <span style="font-weight: bold">6</span> 87 it was a Deluxe. End of discussion. In Minnesota, I doubt many were sold with air conditioning. Here in the South, probably 90% of them had it and tinted glass would have been ordered with it. I have yet to see a 1966-70 Toronado (or Riviera for that matter, which used the same glass) that didn't have the silvered band or remnants of it on the backlight. My information comes from experience and the factory sales and service literature. In OCA, there's a reason why you don't judge your own class, or a class that contains a car that you participated in its restoration. It's to eliminate any possibility of high-scoring your own car or your buddy's. If you have a car in 14A 1966 Toronado, you can judge 14B, C or D as long as you did not assist in restoration of a car in that class. Likewise if you're showing a Senior 1969 Toronado, you cannot judge 20G.

First thing you've got to do is determine which differential you have. A two-barrel big car used the same 8-1/2" 10 bolt rear end gearset as a Cutlass and those are easy to find and set up. <span style="font-weight: bold">UNLESS...</span> the car has heavy duty rear brakes or anti-spin differential, in which case it will have the 9-3/8" 12 bolt rear end. (Don't ask why they did it. I don't know <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />.)Your gear ratios will be limited with the 9-3/8" punkin. 3.42 are the highest I know of and they're not common- some big Cruiser wagons had them (and also leaf springs, so the rear axle is not a bolt in swap) or you can look under a 71-76 Riviera GS which had them. Most are gonna be 2.73 or 2.93, sometimes a 3.08. G heads will work fine with a four-barrel intake. Yours will have 2.00" intake valves and 1.62" exhausts. You can install 2.07" intakes if you want. Olds changed compression ratio with the pistons not the heads so you won't get any benefit changing to a B C or E.

Unless the 1966 car ordering information is wrong, you could get tinted glass option on any 1966 Olds. Option AO2 windshield only or AO1 all around. All 1966-70 had a silvered reflective band at the top of the rear glass to deflect sun off the rear seat passengers' necks, whether they had tinted glass or not.

I'm pretty sure he means a 403. Buick made a 430 1966-69 and Ford had one in 1960 Thunderbirds and some Lincolns. Olds never made one, closest thing would be the 1965-67 425.

I saw that clock and came close to bidding it. Regencys use a digital clock though, so I let it alone. Glad someone got it who can use it. If the car already has a clock- the clock is retained by ribbed studs. You can push the clock toward the windshield, then reach up thru the opening in the glove box that is just beneath the clock, and pull it out. Then disconnect the power and light wires and reverse to install. If car is a clock delete with Rocket cover plate- those are held on by speed nuts. ( <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />) Reach in thru the glovebox opening again using a short spinner handle and socket, take the cover plate out from the rear, and then you should be able to push the new clock onto the ribbed studs and seat it against the dash.

The difference is the interior. 9487 standard cars have a square-backed bench seat and small door armrests. 9687 deluxe cars have the Strato-Bench seat with fold-down armrest, molded door panels with full length armrests and usually, power windows. And then some years you could order a 9487 car with Y69 deluxe interior option. All of those I've ever seen had wind-up windows.

Short of pulling a head and checking the piston dish, no. If it were originally a 4-barrel engine, odds are it is high compression. 2-barrels came either way.

Price guides are always subjective and generally full of crap. If this car's mileage belies its actual condition, yes, it's worth the asking price.

Like it or not, you're not going to change Duane Allen. My experience with him is that if confronted he will be diplomatic up to a point, and if pushed past that point he's going to clear the air. I have learned to let stuff roll off my back. Being a Southerner with a pronounced Southern accent, I constantly hear insulting remarks about "ignorant redneck" and "Gomer Pyle" from people who have moved into this area and came in with a chip on their shoulder towards the natives. Used to irk me, but now I realise I was here first. So now when they mock "Y'all" I laugh and say "Youse Gies" back at 'em. They've learned that maybe they sound as ridiculous to me as I do to them. Tolerance is key here. Being professionally offended never did anyone any good.

GM must have consolidated part #s on these things because the basic wheel is identical to the Olds version. The center pad is a Buick item but shaped exactly like the one that came off my Toronado. At least these pads were soft trim. I had a 1980 Thunderbird years ago that I had to replace the clear plastic center emblem because the previous owner apparently never learned that to blow the horn you had to push a lever instead of mashing the emblem. It was busted up pretty bad. Not one of Ford's better ideas.

Congratulations! Lucky kid, to be born into and grow up in a home where old cars are appreciated!

I've used lacquer thinner to clean stains off vinyl upholstery. You can try dabbing (and I do mean dabbing lightly) some lacquer thinner or acetone on the vinyl paint in an inconspicuous area to see if it will soften or remove it. Another option might be naphtha or lighter fluid as they will be gentler than the chemical thinners. Both those are good for removing adhesive residues.

I wrote Graves three different times asking for information and scheduling on potmetal repair and plating service and never got a reply. I figured if they couldn't respond to a business inquiry, I might also not get my parts back, and I wasn't about to send parts without a confirmation of work scheduling.

You can get balancers rebuilt. There's several companies that do it. The only one I'm familiar with and know someone who used them is Damper Dudes in CA. The 800# in Hemmings is 800-413-2673. I don't know how much cheaper rebuilding vs new aftermarket will be. I've seen the blower switches on ebay, but you already know the competition for 66-67 parts can be fierce enough without adding in the auction atmosphere. Money? Simple. Plant a money tree in the backyard! You mean everybody doesn't have one??? <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> I've heard of people growing them in the basement too... <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Gawd- a gorgeous set of 1963 die-cast spinner caps just sold on ebay for about $100. They look the best on Ninety Eights over the color-matched spinners you always see on Starfires, plus they don't have those damn aggravating clips to hold them on. I bid them to $85 for my 64 Starfire but lost out... The Rockets will be strictly an NOS or used part. As always, www.fusick.com , they have some stock of early 60s big Olds NOS. Also try www.antiqolds.com . Can't think of anyone off the top of my head who owns a 63 Ninety Eight, but I have always thought them one of the most stylish Oldsmobiles ever built and among the best of the Ninety Eight breed- Slim Jim notwithstanding <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />.

Most GM Spring-Ring applications are being reproduced and I think that's the way I would go. You'd have to have the spring clamp itself, a means of attaching the cable to the clamp and a mold to pour the lead into. The repop would be cheaper than all that. Plus, even though your cable may look fine and even test good resistance-wise, it's still 30+ years old.

It is called a torsional damper and is actually a vulcanized rubber coupling between the outer and inner RH driveshafts. It's purpose was to reduce torque steer and absorb harmonic vibration. Most reman shafts do not have it. My 69 has a replacement shaft without it, and I can now feel some vibration on a hard uphill pull under acceleration that wasn't there with the original half-shaft. Of course, the original shaft's outer CV joint was junk, so I had to get one.

The best way is to look at the transmission code plate. A W34 car will have a code OM transmission. Code plate will be stamped OM-70-xxxx if it is the original transmission. All 1970 GTs had the GT hood script, dual exhaust w/notched rear bumper, and most had painted pinstripes. Bucket/console cars were uncommon. Estimated 1970 GT production was around 5500 cars. In contrast, there were only 111 1968 versions built, and estimated 1969 production is 2800 or so.

If it's like most of the GM auto show cars from that era, it got scrapped once the show circuit was over <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Dave@Moon's signature line "Don't believe the hype" is very appropriate here! Come on- 22" chromes, two tone leather interior with leather headlining and <span style="font-weight: bold">FLOOR?!</span> There is no denying the market this thing is aimed at and it isn't yer typical upscale suburbanite. I don't think Land Rover has a thing to worry about.

Me Toronado had one when I got it in 1986. Didn't work. Now it has a 69 Olds sport wheel. A buddy has a 70 Mustang that has it. Doesn't work. He has a pushbutton under the dash for the horn while he's looking for a decent and reasonably priced non-rim-blower Mustang wheel. One of those gadgets where theory and practice were 180 out.

Ah druther have an early 70s Estate Wagon or Custom Cruiser. Even an 80s box wagon looks better to me. This thing looks like it has no headroom, and for a 6'3" guy like me, that is a very important consideration. And there is no mistaking this thing's Aztek roots (where's the puke smiley when it's needed?).

I believe the 1958 master cylinder was still under the driver's floor and had to be filled from underneath the car, or reach way down in the engine bay to get at it.

My take on Hartmann's Britney Spears obsession was kinda like Wile E. Coyote chasing the Roadrunner- in the unlikely event he caught it, what would he do with it?! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.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="" /> Defend yourself, Hartmann- we know you're out there lurking in the shadows somewhere!