rocketraider

I just leave it in drive for all conditions. I have an original Hurst Dual/Gate shifter for SlimJim but don't know if I'll ever install it. That tells me the things had some performance potential. The one in the green Starfire works great, the blue one does the hucklebuck. It's possible the TV rod from carb to tranny could be out of adjustment causing the weird shifts, but these things are a different animal. The way Olds made their engine blocks, a Turbo HydraMatic case has to be modified to fit a 394 (or earlier) block. Couple of companies are doing it, and it's not cheap. Sometimes I think it would be worth it to get rid of the SlimJim/4GC combo <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />. Pontiac had the right idea on bolting them to the engine. SlimJims need a bellhousing to adapt to a Pontiac block. And that bellhousing just happens to be the same bolt pattern as a 1965-later Turbo HydraMatic. So the Pontiac guys have it made when their SlimJim quits. They can put a modern tranny in with no issues except driveshaft length and crossmember location. Booey.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">out right rude</div></div> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

That's the reason I put the cars in very few local shows, unless I'm asked by the sponsors to bring them. Even then I usually enter them as display only, because I know the politics of the local shows. The worst experience I ever had was at the hands of an AACA-trained judge, at a local show that included a "National Winners" display class. The Toronado had just come off a heady show season in which it won an OCA National First 1967-70 Toronado scoring 982 points out of a possible 1000, Best Oldsmobile at the Peach Blossom BOP, and 2nd Place Overall at Fall Charlotte AutoFair-Oldsmobile show division so I put it in that class (had not joined AACA at that time so had no AACA experience). Over the winter, it had developed a hand-sized paint blister on the right door which I had not had time to correct and honestly had not seen until the morning of the show, but the money was paid so it went. Well- guess what? At judging time (which I never understood why these cars were judged to begin with as it was advertised as a DISPLAY class), our friendly AACA-trained judge overlooked everything else about the car and zeroed in on that one paint blister, demanding to know how that car could possibly have won a National trophy with a defect like that? People who have known me for years told me they had no idea I could be that ugly to anyone. It bugged me, and soured me on AACA scoring for a while until I was told later that the guy saw that Toronado as a direct threat to his 1970 Monte Carlo's continued dominance of that show and wasn't about to let it outclass him, and had said so within hearing distance of several people. It amazes me what people will do to each other over a $25 trophy. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

The Kaiser-Frazer Club is usually sited next to the Olds Club at Charlotte AutoFairs so we've had the opportunity to check out a couple of Dragons as well as a Darrin. I think I can honestly say that had they had a contemporary OHV V8, they'd have put Lincoln out of business and given Cadillac a run for their money in the 1950s American luxury market. They are stunning cars, tastefully styled and appointed (well maybe except for the gaudy roof fabric, but it grows on ya when ya see it up close) and comfortable. That Continental flathead six hurt 'em- it was a good engine, but couldn't compete against Lincoln and Cadillac V8s and didn't even come close to Chrysler's Hemi. K-F had some interesting cars. Ever heard of a Virginian Traveler? Their mid-line four door sedan, with an incipient hatchback. The decklid folded backwards, and the rear section of roof raised up, then the seats made a bed. Install the included tent cover and walla! instant on-the-road lodging. Interesting that the General offered a similar setup for their X-body compact hatchbacks in the early 70s.

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?