rocketraider

That's better than Boardman & Stiff, which is an actual funeral service in Appomattox VA. Yep- time to have fun and be smart-asses and wits. Peter- great idea expanding to Pontiac and Cad-LaSalle. I don't know how much traffic a Chevy forum might attract since, like the cars themselves, there's already beaucoups of them out there. How about a truck-only forum? Granted there's already some truck exchange on the AACA General and Dodge Truck, but there's plenty of us with pickmups and even ancient Macks.

Are you asking for the complete seat assembly including upholstery, or do you want just the tracks and motor? The Strato-Bucket seats are the same in all 1966-72 GM A-bodys (Cutlass, Chevelle, Skylark, LeMans) and the seat is also used in 1966-70 B&E body cars (Delta, Impala etc and Toronado/Riviera). It will be either a 2-way or 4-way seat. I'd say your best bet finding one will be in a Buick, Grand Prix or 1966 Starfire. The power bucket seat option wasn't really popular in the A-body though you often find them in GTOs. And since they are popular for GTO, you can expect to pay GTO price for it when you find it.

This is the exact reason why, if the car is going to be out of your immediate care for <span style="font-weight: bold">any</span> length of time or reason, the insurer should be notified <span style="font-weight: bold">in advance</span>. I made sure ACI knew my Hurst/Olds was going to the body shop and furnished them the shop name and address. What if the "prospect" had wrecked and damaged someone else's property while in the car? The owner's insurance would have been liable. What if "prospect" had gotten caught with contraband in it? The cops would have seized the car and not a damn thing the owner could have done to get it back. It would have been sold at auction after it had been used as trial evidence. A little advance planning can often eliminate a lot of aggravation. It's a shame anyone has to go thru something like this, but I also would hire a lawyer and go after them. If they're not stopped or discouraged, someone else will go thru the same thing. And people wonder why the used car sales profession enjoys the reputation it has.

I guess we have it better in VA than most other states since we don't have to fool with registering both a regular plate and then the YOM plate to a car, or renew them annually. Permanent YOM or "Vintage" plates are treated the same as the state-issued "Antique" plate. You register it to the car, paying a one-time fee, and the registration is then permanent until you decide to surrender the plates. You can, if you wish, register a YOM as a regular plate and renew it every year but what's the point in that? No cost savings there. We don't have mandatory insurance here either, though uninsured cars are required to pay an Uninsured Motorist Fee before tags are issued or renewed. last time I looked it was about $500. VADMV will send out a questionnaire on your insurance coverage every so often. At one time, I was getting those notices every year on every car I had. Finally complained about it and was told it was randomly computer-selected by license number. With 5 cars on annual registration at the time, I guess I was a good target. But since the complaint I haven't gotten one in years.

The <span style="font-style: italic">Standard Catalog of Oldsmobile 1897-1997</span> says 991 1987 Firenza S hatchbacks were built. Doesn't break it down between the four-speed and automatic, or between the base 2.0 and the OHC 2.0. I would guess the automatic is more common. A rare little beast in anyone's book. Some will say rarity means only that a car didn't sell well when new, but that shouldn't keep you from enjoying your Firenza. There were only 783 1987 Firenza GTs built. I knew I shoulda bought that one in Greensboro NC two years ago...

Under 10 bux? 1/2", 3/8" and 1/4" drive wobble extensions. Often found only on cheap tool counters, but Sears has Companion brand for $9.99. Also crowsfoot line wrenches. Northern Tools usually has 'em SAE and metric for about $9.99 for a set of 10. Under 5 bux? A bulb socket cleaning brush, and a distributor cap terminal cleaning brush. I get these from a tool vendor who sets up next to the big tree near the grandstand at Spring Carlisle. K-D, Lisle, good name brand specialty tools, cheap. The stuff may not be Snap-On, or even Craftsman, but I can promise they are indispensable tools and will do what you bought them for. Which reminds me- the Homier Tools truck is in town this weekend! Time for another $20 bench grinder to replace the one I bought from them 15 years ago! The most useless tool I own at any price has to be a spark plug wire boot puller. I've never gotten one to do what it was claimed to do.

I doubt ACD services the 400 pump. You might find one for a 307, 350 or 403, any of which will run the car, but might starve fuel under hard running. If you found an NOS anywhere, I'd be skittish of the rubber diaphram once this bs that passes for gasoline hits it. Your best bet might be to sacrifice originality and use an electric pump near the tank, unless you can live with one for a later engine.

The 1971 shop manual shows all 1971 455 engines in B,C & E body cars (88-98-Toro) use R46S AC plugs. A-body (F85-Cutlass) 455-4 barrel engines use R45S. R45 won't hurt a thing, it just doesn't have the extended tip the S plugs have. The 45 may actually help eliminate pinging as it is a colder plug than the 46.

You could get it for 86-91 Delta coupes. I've only seen one car with it and one of the guys at the Charlotte Olds Zone Office had it. It also had rocker panel ground effects and a small spoiler "to give the 88 coupe a NASCAR superspeedway flavor". Or that's what the promotional blurb said. I have it here somewhere but lord only knows where, probably buried in the storage unit. You're the only person I've found outside of this area who knows anything about W88 option.

Look on the firewall above the brake master cylinder. All I've ever seen have been in that area. It will have black/orange stripe, purple and blue wires run to it.

Most of the scissor top failures I've seen have been the dash switch or the relay. The motor is similar to a power seat motor and seems like someone is rebuilding those. Hydro-e-lectric has the motors but dk how expensive, as it's been several years since I had a scissor-top car. Talk nice to me and I might consider selling the NOS spare I had for my 73 Delta! You can find these motors on 1971-76 GM B and E body convertibles, and of all things, Corvairs as they also had the scissor-top. Matter of fact my NOS is dated 10-68.

<span style="font-style: italic">The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-75</span> says 1971 Centurion convertible shipping weight is 4181. It goes up by 50-100 lbs or so every year thru 1973. A pavement crusher in anyone's book, but all 70s cars were.

I just wish I could figure out why General Motors cannot or will not build cars like Brian's and Adam's. Don't have to be outsized like the early 70s cars, just design something with some style like these have! You can look at them and instantly identify them as Buick. I can see: sweepspears, portholes, massive toothy grillework- I can even see elements of the gorgeous 1962 tail-end styling. As it is, it is impossible to tell a new Buick from any other rounded jellybean of a car unless you can find the Buick nameplate. Baah. The 90s baby Skylark had more Buick identity than anything had had in a long long time. By the way Brian- thanks for the large pic of your Formal Coupe's rear window treatment. I had wondered exactly what that looked like.

Yee ha. I doubt anyone here would know, since turbo-ing a 307 is uncharted territory. I would think anything that would work on a Grand National would work here since they use the same tranny. You might want to visit Garrett AiResearch or Banks Engineering websites if you haven't already.

www.powersteering.com in Springfield MO. Owner Chip Woyner is into Oldsmobiles and advertises in <span style="font-style: italic">Journey With Olds</span> .

I've found that it depends a lot on the area you're in. I paid $1.25/mile roundtrip to get a car transported by rollback from OH to VA last summer. I might have gotten by cheaper using a commercial enclosed transport, but using the gas station up the street ensured the car was picked up and back home in a day, and didn't have to fool with tracking the truck and wondering why it was taking so long to get here. Most insurance carriers will automatically cover a newly purchased vehicle but you should check with your underwriter to be sure. I'd make sure I had coverage on it just for peace of mind. Any reputable tow or transport service will have plenty of insurance. Don't be afraid to ask them.

rtabish, dual exhausts weren't available after 1975 on any GM passenger car, but 73-74 A-body crossmembers will fit 75-77 and allow the installation. Yes- in her hearing, you WERE speaking Greek. If you had said "catalytic converter" or "flex-joint" she'd have known what you were talking about. If you'd wanted a big shiny muffler with a four-inch tailpipe, I ga-ron-tee she'd have understood perfectly <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/tongue.gif" alt="" /> ! I haven't had very good experiences at Midas shops. Like Adam, I had to take a Toronado back half a dozen times for rattles and leaks. Finally got tired of it and took it to a local shop where an 18-year-old exhaust wizard (now 24) put new pipes on from engine to bumper with nary a leak or rattle, and all bends, flats etc done right. The kid's daddy taught him right, and I think he's a better exhaust man than his dad was.

Senders are different between gauges and idiot lights. I recommend using GM parts if you can find them- more expensive initially but you don't get gauge flutter with them. Even reputable name brand aftermarket parts will do that sometimes. The wiring is a little different behind the dash. You'll have to move some wires around at the cluster connector. www.442.com and go to tech pages and FAQ. There should be instructions on how to make this change.

Adam- ain't old cars great?!

1980-85 are pretty much the same car except for detail items like grilles, taillights etc. Some 1977-79 stuff may fit. You can also find the HD suspension stuff under other GM B-body cars from same timeframe.

This one has gotten like the 50s Olds Rocket engine color debate. One supplier claims he has the only paint mixed according to the exact factory formula. Another guy who was working the engine line in those days says the paint was nothing more than standard Industrial Dark Green enamel delivered to the engine plant in 55 gallon drums and labeled as such. I'm more inclined to believe someone who was actually there. Besides, Anonymous- you, yourself, haven't given us proof that Critterpainter's info is wrong. Where is <span style="font-weight: bold">your</span> documentation? At least he tried to find his.

These "boltless bumpers" are the bane of any 62-70 big Olds owner- for some reason Olds and other GM were obsessed with hiding all the attaching parts they could. To clean up the bumpers Olds began welding brackets to the backsides and then used those to attach the bar to the car frame. Looked good, nice smooth custom touch, but the welded brackets didn't have a very good drainage system and trapped dirt and water between them and the bar. Result- the bumpers rusted out around the brackets from the backside. And now, 40 years later, good core bumpers are scarce and expensive. The good news is a bumper from any 1965 88 series will fit your car. Try some of the western sheetmetal suppliers- doubt you'll ever find a good one on the East Coast. Be glad you don't have a Starfire. Those cores regularly go for $500-700 and I've seen an NOS sell for over $1500 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/shocked.gif" alt="" /> .

"Holiday" was Olds-speak for the pillarless hardtop body first introduced on 1949 Ninety Eight two doors as Holiday Coupe, then expanded to the 76 and 88 series in 1950. The Holiday Sedan four-door hardtop was introduced for all series in 1955. The cars didn't have external "Holiday" badging every year- I know 51-53 had a lucite one on the roof C-post, and 54-56 had HOLIDAY lettering on either the doors or front fender. 1963 88s had a Holiday script on the roof sailpanel. 61s and some 62s had them on the interior door panels. Those are all I remember. Several Holidays were made in later years, even after true hardtops weren't being made anymore. 1977-81 Delta 88s had a "Holiday 88" package with bucket seats/console and badging. 1984-86 Cieras had a Holiday Coupe option that was mainly a vinyl roof with revised quarter windows. Give my regards to the Rocky Mountain Olds Club. They hosted an outstanding National Meet last year that, in retrospect, I wish I had made an effort to attend.

As long as GM was using vulcanised rubber window gaskets, they didn't have water leak problems. In 1965 when they started using the butyl rubber tape seal, that's when they started leaking. My folks had a 69 Impala that leaked from the day it was bought new and driven home in a rainstorm. It went back several times for waterleak correction and finally just before the 24k mile warranty went out, the old man told the Chevy dealer enough was enough- pull the windows and reseal them, and replace the ruined carpet under warranty while they were at it. Turns out that neither the windshield nor back glass had ever sealed properly at the body plant- someone had forgot to put the butyl seal primer chemical on the glasses, and the butyl tape never stuck to the glass! But they messed around for two years gobbing black sealer in there trying to stop the leaks.

These tops are all-electric. The motor, relay and transmission mount to the trunk divider, then the drive cables go from the transmission to the top actuator drives at the top corners of the rear seat. I rarely hear of any real issues with the top drive mechanism other than sometimes a drive cable will strip out or get out of sync, and you'll have to synchronise them. The key to keeping these things working smooth is to keep the actuators and cables cleaned and lubed. Now, the top frame itself is a different set of dogs. It's heavy and flimsy. Most problems stem from wear in the pivot joints and the second bow ball joints. Some light oil or white grease goes a long way toward keeping them working. Top motors are a replacement item. I don't know of any rebuilding service, though they're similar enough to a power window or seat motor than someone is probably doing them. 1971 is different in that it didn't originally use siderail top hold-down cables, and the top fabric will arc over the windows after a while. When you order the top, make sure it has the hold-down cables as used 1972-75. 2-barrel 455 was standard on 1971 Delta Custom and Royale. You can change to a 4-barrel carb and intake, and you'll need to get the 4-barrel throttle cable too. A/C parts are available most anywhere. Good POA valves are getting hard to find, seems most aftermarket don't work that well. If you can find NOS Frigidaire, those are the best parts; otherwise go for Four Seasons or Murray.