rocketraider

Why don't you see them? 1) rust and quality problems- they didn't last 2) gas mileage- abysmal in the days of high-dollar fuel 3) scrap weight- crushers love 'em 4) demolition derbys- they have tough drivetrains and are heavy Total 1971 LeSabre & Custom/Custom 455 production from Standard Catalog of American Cars- Four door sedans: 26348 LeSabre, 26970 Custom Four door hardtop: 41098 Le Sabre, 41098 (?) Custom Two door hardtop: 13385 LeSabre, 29944 Custom Convertible: 1856 all Custom Early 70s GM big car popularity waxes and wanes almost like the moon. Some years they're hot, other years you can't give one away. Even the convertibles aren't immune from that cycle, though Caprices seem to hold their value a little better than the BOP offerings. Eldorados are a different market entirely, and there sure seem to be a lot of them for sale. Sometimes I think every Bicentennial Eldorado built is on the market at the same time... Years ago when I was in high school working in a country store, a local bought an early 70s LeSabre, few years old and good looking dark green car. He put gas in it and then came in to pay for it. When he went out his just-licensed daughter wanted to drive the "new" Buick. He let her and the first thing she did was go hauling ass backwards right into the "Gulf" sign and crunched the trunk and bumper. It still had the temporary tags on it... I heard later the girl's backside was hurting about as bad as the Buick's!

You should be able to get a remanufactured one at any auto parts store.

1969 Ninety Eight Holiday Coupe production was 27,041 according to the Standard Catalog of American Cars. The Oldsmobile research was done by the late Dennis Casteele who was at Oldsmobile in those years so I believe that to be accurate. From the 1969 Product Selling Information book- Model 8457, Ninety Eight Holiday Coupe. Engine: 10.25 compression 455 cid 4 barrel, 365 hp @4600 rpm, 510 lb/ft torque @ 3000 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif" alt="" /> Transmission & rear end: Turbo 400 with std 2.56:1 axle Dimensions: 224.4" long, 80" wide, curb weight 4359 lb on a 127" wheelbase Standard equipment included: power steering, brakes and windows, 2-way power Custom Sport bench seat with center fold-down armrest, lamp convenience group, fully carpeted trunk and full wheel covers. Optional equipment: you could get about any option Olds offered on these cars. Sometimes certain other options were required to get the one you wanted. Interestingly, in a time when GM was sticking a vinyl roof on just about everything that went out the door, the PSI book shows the Ninety Eight Holiday Coupe without one. Much more graceful without it, and arguably the best styled of the three C-body hardtop coupes (Ninety Eight, Electra, Coupe deVille).

Did 1962 Electra convertibles use leather on seating surfaces? I know Olds and Pontiac did on their top-of-the-line droptops. That might make this an expensive proposition, especially if you go with anything other than black or white. Priced light metallic blue leather for my first 64 Starfire and decided that Elk/Madrid grain vinyl might not be so bad after all.

It's the fuel tank vent and vapor recovery and separation tank. It's an early fuel vapor recovery system. Fuel vapor from the underhood carbon canister travels to it and is then condensed back to liquid fuel which returns to the fuel tank. The fuel tank also vents thru this device and the carbon canister, so if it gets stopped up, your mess ain't gonna run very well at best, and the tank could implode at worst. As long as you don't get any sand or undercoating in it or the tank you should be OK.

My parts books show that 1963-64 88 4 doors use the same armrest base as 63-67 Cutlasses. Fusick only lists them for two doors, but try one of the Pontiac vendors like Ames and see what they have. Some Impalas used the same chrome plastic base too and if they're made, the Chevy vendors will have them. If the plastic is in good shape it should rechrome OK. If it's dry-rotted or cracked, you'll need better ones. Several companies advertise plastic chrome plating services in Hemmings. These parts were originally vacuum plated which is why the "chrome" tends to wear off after years of use. Most companies now plate the plastic similar to chroming metal parts. Or did the S88 have metal ones like Starfires and Ninety Eights?

I'm not following you on this dark olive green. I don't remember any 1970 F85 green interiors having an olive tint. The factory parts books show that 1970 F85 cars (Olds-speak for F85/Cutlass/VistaCruiser/442) used the same green floor carpet with trims 302, 902, 912, 922, 932, 942, 962, 972, 982, and 992. Visit www.442.com and look under parts for sale section. You'll find a bunch of vendors who do nothing but Oldsmobile and will more than likely have what you're looking for. PUI supplies almost all vendors including YO and OPG and they are usually dead on with color and texture. Ask them to send you swatches of the carpet/vinyl they're using and see if it matches what you have, or if it is in fact totally wrong for the car. Just out of curiousity, where did you get the carpet? Possibly it isn't the exact factory color?

It would cost, but a good street rod shop or other shop specialising in fabrication could probably transplant an Eldorado convertible windshield, top frame and motor/drive system onto a GM C-body. The convertible rear seat cushions are same width as closed cars, the drive mechanism is all electric and wouldn't have to have provisions for hydraulics installed, and a LeSabre dash is very similar to an Electra for installing a top switch. Quarter windows might be a problem. Someone in Pontiac club did a 1970 Grand Prix convertible using a Cutlass Supreme top frame, and I've seen a 1970 Monte Carlo convertible too. There are people out there talented enough to do this. All you have to do is find and pay them.

Total 1965 J-I production- 6552. Figure a 10% survival rate and you have 650 left, and I doubt there's that many. There were a few over 16000 64s built and I rarely see any of them except at Nationals. There was a Bermuda Blue beauty on Traderonline right after I bought the green Starfire this summer. Saw a white one in a junkyard near Asheboro NC today, which was a complete and restorable car when it went in there some 6 years ago. Front fenders and console are gone, grille still there but rough, no drivetrain. There was a dark blue one in a yard near Martinsville VA about ten years ago. I remember when we went in the yard it was sunny. An hour later it was snowing. An old drunk had one here in town when I was in college in the mid 70s. Used to see it sitting out in front of his house every day driving to class and wish I could save it. I think these cars had the misfortune to be overshadowed by the Starfire and Toronado from within its own house, and the Grand Prix and Impala SS from GM itself. Plus you had other carmakers' personal luxury offerings too. And then there was that damned Jetstar 88 confusion... People never really understood what a Jetstar I was supposed to be. It also hit the performance market about time it was shifting to mid-sized cars, which didn't help sales a bit. I've often thought that if Olds had renamed the Dynamic 88 series "Jetstar" and then marketed the J-I as an upscale sporty version of that series (it already was) similar to the Impala SS, it would have done better. I never really thought Olds needed a lightweight small-engined full-size car like the Jetstar 88. That market was already well covered by Chevrolet. But economics figured into it, and they could amortise more of the 330 engine's development costs by sticking it in the big car, ergo, Jetstar 88.

The body data plate on the firewall underhood has the original trim code. Look for TR followed by three numbers. With those numbers we can decode the car's original seat style, fabric and carpet. As I remember, 1970 used a very dark green interior which had matching carpet. www.fusick.com who is probably the best known and most reputable of the Oldsmobile suppliers will have the correct color carpet. Find another trim shop. Attaching carpet to door panels is an everyday thing for a competent trim shop, though getting a complete interior kit is a lot less hassle.

Well- Chrysler never had any problem with taking a risk (got 'em in some serious binds sometimes, but they'd do it anyhoo). The General is almost too conservative for his own good- downright stodgy in a lot of cases, and things move very slowly at GM. For a corporation that was at one time the epitome of American ingenuity and style, they have become an also-ran. Wouldn't own a new GM-built vehicle. They have nothing styling or engineering-wise that attracts me. I've always thought the 74-78 Riviera should have had a convertible. Those cars are grossly underappreciated. They weren't as visually striking as 63-70 or as controversial as the Boattail, but they had good lines and were a bit rakish from certain angles. Rear 3/4 view especially.

I'm not sure what is what vis-a-vis 1951 Plymouth body styles, but the Standard Catalog says 49,139 Concord 2-dr sedans which I take it were fastback bodies by the accompanying picture.

Amphicar- I doubt He'd have a need to get out and push- He'd simply walk back to shore.

If you've got documentation from new, then don't worry what 442.com says. Like all Internet-based information, errors are possible and that site has its share, notably in the Toronado FAQ. Factory paperwork outweighs what someone "says" is correct. My info shows 1969 series 3100-4800 were assembled in Lansing, Fremont CA and Linden. As a rule, wherever Cutlasses were built, 442 were built also. The exception is that W-cars were built in Lansing. I've never seen one that wasn't.

Jerry, find a 1962 Buick Color & Fabric book. This is the book dealers used to present interior fabrics and colors to prospective customers and to order cars. It will have small swatches of all OEM interior materials and recommended exterior/interior color combinations. There is usually very nice photo or artwork showing the exact interior design for each series car along with detailed information on which carpet, headlining and convertible top and boot colors go with each interior trim. Some years these books will even have transparency drawings of the different carlines, that you could lay over the paint swatch to get an idea what the car would look like in that color. My experience with non-Cadillac 60s GM is that white or parchment seats usually had black dash, carpet and package tray. Caddy would often match them to the color of the car.

I think Himself would have a sense of humour- anyone who would design a platypus, hippopotamus and large flightless birds would have to! Not to mention them frilly Australian lizards that run on their hind legs, or red-arsed baboons... The Son, of course, has a hotrod- You never heard "Jesus Built My Hot Rod"? Agreed that it's unlikely any of the Jehovah family would own a Ford product, or a Mercedes or Volkswagen.

1973-80 350 engines had them. They're perfectly fine for a stock rebuild. The worst thing about them is that, like their big-block brother J's, they sometimes crack the exhaust seats.

www.brakeboosters.com is Gregori's website as listed in new <span style="font-style: italic">Journey With Olds</span> . 559-875-0290, 559-876-7716 fax. Also try www.mpbrakes.com which is Master Power Brakes in Mooresville NC. They did my buddy's 1980 TransAM booster and it was a beautiful job. An Advance/Auto rebuilt booster will be functional, but from experience won't be pretty. All Cardone does is paint them rebuilders' cast gray. No plating etc.

It's definitely a 71- the 1973 front end styling wasn't as massive or heavy-looking as the 71-72. Trouble is, the 1973 federal bumpers with all that reinforcement behind them, are heavier than the 1971-72 bumpers which are physically nearly twice as big!

Re SSIV- Olds adapted the design from a late 60s Motor Wheel Company design that for whatever reason, never took off. The MWC wheel had the vented 8-slot polyurethane face bonded to a steel wheel and the entire center cone was also polyurethane. The MWC wheel used a small round red center cap much like mid 70s Ford sport wheels used. Olds used a diecast chrome center cone with Rocket, that bolted onto the wheel from the back side. I have a pic of the MWC wheel in an old Popular Mechanics somewhere, and have seen a pair in Ford/Mopar bolt pattern at Spring Carlisle several years ago. These wheels are heavy, which probably had something to do with why they weren't popular when introduced by MWC. Heavy or not, they sure did make a difference on my Regency. Not "year-correct", but they look like something Oldsmobile's flagship should wear and lightened the appearance of that monster car considerably. Kinda like the difference in a pair of brogans and a pair of dancing shoes!

I also remember seeing that ad in Hemmings and thinking it was crazy. That was until I found out how hard it is to find those wheels. I found two nice sets of 65s at Spring Charlotte this year- without wheels. Both vendors said "They gotta have special wheels? Wish I'd known that in the junkyard." I remember my surprise when trying to put the first set of CS caps I bought on my blue 64. Whatever I tried, the caps set out from the rim about 2". I had the idea that I could bolt them onto the existing lugnuts. <span style="font-weight: bold">WRONG!!</span> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/mad.gif" alt="" />

Both "Anonymouses"- Watch it. I do not intend for this forum to go the way of the AACA or CCCA forums with anonymous insults and pissing matches. Oldsmobile people are more civilised than that. Glenn Williamson RR (moderator)

A beautiful set of 1965 Custom Sport Wheel Disc caps, centers and wheels went for about $300 on e-bay a month or so ago. I find the caps and centers often at swap meets, and own about a dozen myself, but they are no good without the special wheels. My research shows they were used only on Oldsmobiles with no interchange between Cad and Buick. The wheels and the bolt-on sections are identical for 1964 and 1965 (the only two years they were offered). I believe Scott mentioned one reason why in another thread- too many were being ruined by tire shops and service stations who didn't know they were bolted to the steel wheel and tried to pry them off which resulted in breaking a chunk out of the edge. They also gained a reputation for being hard to balance, but I think that was due mostly to the balance clips on the inner edge would fall off. A good tire man with an on-car balancer didn't have any trouble. Modern computerised balancing equipment would be even easier. There are three different center caps depending on year and carline. 1964 Starfires and Jetstar Is used a 2-bar spinner with the three-pointed Rocket lucite emblem as used 1962-64. 1964 88s and Ninety Eights including the 98 Custom Sport Coupe used a dished center with a larger version of the 3-point Rocket center. All 1965 cars used a 2-bar spinner cap with the 1965-later version of the Rocket. Now if you really want to see how these things can accent an Oldsmobile's appearance, you need to see a 1964 Ninety Eight Holiday Sedan with them. Just curious- have you ever seen the 1971-72 Super Stock IV Polycast wheels, or the 1977-79 PO5 chrome wheel option? Both really set off a 1970s big Olds. My own thought is that Oldsmobile's bottom line wheel treatments were almost always very plain if not downright homely, but the higher line wheelcovers were usually quite striking.

Buick- a fine and proud Scots surname, variantly spelled Buie. The first Buicks were built in America by David Dunbar Buick, expatriate Scotsman. Rocketraider Not only into Oldsmobiles, but also Celtic Rage

Steve, this is sad commentary on the current state of American business. I wish you luck in whatever else you try to do. Most all the dealers around here were dualled, usually with Cadillac. None have closed up shop, but there's noticeably less activity around them these days without Oldsmobile in the sales mix.