rocketraider

66 Cutlass. 87 was Buck Baker's car number all the way back to when he drove the original Griffin Motors 1950 Rocket 88 out of Florence SC. Tommy and Marshall Griffin have replicated that car and race it in vintage comp at Road Atlanta and elsewhere.

Hadn't thought about the air gap adjustment on the original version Ignitor. If it's off, it'll make one do weird stuff. I got the Ignitor II which uses the distributor's cam lobes to trigger the ignition. Much mo' better than setting that air gap.

OK- here we go. Indy 500 Pace Cars 1970-1980. 1970- Oldsmobile. 442 convertible 1971- Dodge. Challenger. This was the year the Pace Car went into the stands and near 'bout made a mess 1972- Oldsmobile. Hurst/Olds convertible. Hurst itself prepped and campaigned the car since the manufacturers were leery of liability lawsuits after the 71 fiasco 1973- Cadillac. Eldorado convertible 1974- Oldsmobile. Specially built targa topped Hurst/Olds coupe. What I have less targa top. Complete with VA vanity plate 58THNDY <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif" alt="" /> 1975- Buick. Regal 1976- Buick. Turbo Regal 1977- Oldsmobile. Delta 88 coupe 1978- Corvette. Black & silver 25th Anniversary/Pace Car 1979- Ford. Mustang coupe 1980- Pontiac. Turbo TransAM

My work schedule says night shift that weekend, but I think I put up some vacation time there. If I'm off, I'll probably try to make it.

The vacuum port in the choke housing is to pull heated air thru the choke stove and then the coil housing. If that port gets stopped up it'll take forever for the choke coil to heat up enough to open the choke. GM as a rule used a calibrated resistance wire from the starter solenoid to the coil (-) terminal in lieu of a ballast resistor. Serves the same purpose. Spark plug gaps too wide will cause more performance problems than gapped too close if you don't have enough fire to jump the wide gaps. A Pertronix shouldn't have any problem here. I set mine at .045 just to have a larger flame and the Olds 350 seems to like that. Jerry, right now I'm stumped. If I think of anything else I'll post. I'm leaning toward carb though, especially if it has a 4GC Rochester.

I like the new format. I like Tomsriv's smoke show even better

I thought the lowrider movement had died down in the East? I rarely see them here anymore, all the young pups have gone Euro/Fast&Furious. A few of them have old iron, mostly Camaros. Nothin' wrong with being different though. It keeps life interesting.

Are you powering the Ignitor with a constant 12 vdc source or using the original resistor wire? It shouldn't make a lot of difference except in starting, but it's possible it wants full 12v. Pertronix will usually allow you to increase base timing a couple of degrees higher than factory spec. When I installed mine, I had to play with idle speeds and timing till I finally got things where I wanted them. If you have the vac advance connected to manifold vacuum, idle will increase with it hooked up. Not sure what Buick was doing in those years, but Chevy, Olds and Pontiac used ported vacuum for distributor advance. Steady 17" Hg vacuum is a gracious plenty. Just curious- is the ignition secondary wiring in good shape? Distributor cap, wires (on in correct firing order?), maybe the plugs themselves? You're sure the choke is staying open? If not wired open, higher carb airflow on acceleration could pull the choke flap closed and cause stuff like this. Also possible carb needs cleaned and rebuilt. How about your fuel filter?

Yes indeed. They're actually more common than the 442 version. To verify it IS a Pace Car, look for Y74 on the body data plate underhood. If it has that code, it is a Pace Car whether it has 455, 350 or a bastard replacement engine.

Y'all are making my back hurt talking about this Will- go to Advance Auto or somewhere like that and buy yerself an engine lift. The kind that will fold up for storage. About $200. Then you have one for future jobs and your young back and legs will love you for that decision 20 years down the road... As an alternative- equipment rental places have these things for about $25-30 a day. Money well spent if you don't have anywhere to store one of your own. Only thing here is sometimes they're "well-used". Make sure the hydraulic ram is in good shape and not leaking past its seals, otherwise you'll get the engine half out the car and it will not go high enough to clear the sheetmetal no matter how many times you pump the ram.

Finding a 71-72 bumper will be easier than changing all that. Then you sell the 70 bumper (which I assure you won't be hard) and you still come out even or ahead. And the car has the correct part on it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif" alt="" />

...ya can't have nothin' for an idiot ! If you can find it, I'd go for replacement of all that damaged sheetmetal- fender, both doors, bumper- I think you will be better satisfied in the long run by doing that vs a mud job on the existing pieces. I'd also let her insurance agent worry about finding it before you accept a settlement check. When drunks screw up, they should be held 100% accountable for the damage they inflict on someone else's stuff. You might want to retain an attorney just in case. I can almost guarantee her insurance carrier will balk on repairing "such an old car" back like it should be.

And once again, the Forum is working .

Strangely, washdown isn't even mentioned in the VA restrictions . I also find it very strange that the Guv'ner's traditional voter base in Northern Virginia's DC suburbs is exempt from the restrictions. The gentleman knows which side his political bread is buttered on!

I don't know the car, but look at it this way. If you're in the market for a properly restored 1966 Toro, could you duplicate it for what he's asking? Doubt it. I have $15g in my 69 and it doesn't compare to this car. BTW, it's a good color combination- Autumn Bronze inside and out.

The 1983 Custom Cruiser is long paid for, runs well and looks decent enough for a 19 year old car. It delivers 16mpg and passes all its smog tests easily. Why should I stop driving it in favor of an econo-crapbox that although it may deliver 30 mpg plus, is patently unsafe against the big trucks and SUVs crowding the roads? Plus I'd have outrageous car payment, new car taxes and insurance on something I couldn't stand the sight of. Sorry Dave that argument doesn't hold water . You may remember that I work at one of the largest fossil fired steam electric plants in the country, so I'm well acquainted with environmental rules and regs, and 2 AM visits from the EPA. Fugitive emissions such as coal dust and fly ash cannot be completely eliminated (although we do a damned good job of it!), and when that stuff lands on a painted finish and contacts water i.e. dew, sulfuric acid is a byproduct of that mixture and will eat paint to the metal if not removed. Do you now understand why I want the stuff washed off? I gave the current flow rate of the Dan. Of that 160 million gallons per day, roughly 120 million of it goes over the weirs to points downstream. That doesn't count the water returned to the river after sewage treatment. This river feeds Buggs Island Lake, which again is low, but not critically so. The Roanoke River basin is not in as nearly dire straits as basins north of here. The well at my Mama's produces 15 gallons a minute and shows no signs of drying up. I believe Governor Warner is using this issue to make political hay in Northern VA and Charlottesville. And we don't have to vote him out- by the state Constitution, he cannot serve consecutive terms as Governor of the Commonwealth.

The 200-4R overdrive is your best bet here. It will bolt up to your 350 block. You'll need a TV cable and carb bracket which are dealer or junkyard items. Possible you'll have to modify the driveshaft and crossmember, but a 200 and 400 are almost identical size, and THM 400 was a Cutlass option, so, minor problem. These conversions are done daily and have proven reliable.

The kit included: speedometer head with 00000.0 miles which incorporates the on-off switch, speed sensor and feedback; brake pedal disengage switch; amplifier that mounts to back of speedo cluster; vacuum transducer/diaphram that bolts to the firewall; and all associated wiring, vacuum hoses and mechanical linkages. All in a "Pontiac Factory Engineered and Approved Accessories" box labeled "Electro Cruise Control- 1964 P8" which is 60s Pontiac-ese for a full size car. NTX, I think you still haven't grasped Electro Cruise. It was a vacuum-electronic system. The speed sensor was incorporated into the speedometer head itself, no transducer or governor. The electronic signal it generated went thru an amplifier mounted to the back of the speedo. The amp sent a signal to a small transducer incorporated into the throttle linkage vacuum diaphram, which converted the electric signal to vacuum and operated the diaphram. It was switched on using a knob in the speedometer which lit a "CRUISE" or "ENGAGED" lamp and also moved the speed set needle to your desired speed. Once speedometer hit desired set speed, E-C would engage and maintain speed until it was either manually switched off or disengaged by brake application. Simple enuff, right? until you have to remove the speedometer and half the dash to service the thing, and nowadays find someone who can work on it and hopefully have parts to fix it .

Philippe, I'd like to get some of that troubleshooting guide too. A buddy has a 64 Grand Prix with a non-functioning Electro-Cruise that we're trying to get working, and the 64 Pontiac manual is vague at best on this system. We've accumulated some parts including a hell of a find at this year's Spring Carlisle- a complete NOS 1964 setup. Installing it will be part of this winter's projects. Shame to replace the whole works though if replacing one or two components can solve the problem.

It will involve some disassembly of the column. Remove steering wheel, lockplate and turn signal switch, and you will see four screws buried deep in the column that hold the upper and lower sections together. These screws often work loose and cause the condition you describe. They're about an inch long. Some years use a 1/4" socket, later ones use torx-head sockets to tighten them. You may have to use a wobble extension to get at some of them (one of the BEST tools ever invented and Sears has 'em, I strongly recommend owning them).

First we need to establish which Cruise Control you have. From my knowledge, these cars could have had: the Dana/Perfect Circle all electric unit; AC vacuum transducer unit; or AC vacuum/electronic Electro Cruise. All three work differently. Since you say there's a speed set needle and an "engaged" lamp on the speedometer, this sounds like Electro Cruise. Complicated system, and not easy to service. A problem like this is generally in the electronic box on the back of the speedometer head. My guess is you'd have to find an AC authorised speedometer repair shop and hope they haven't obsoleted all the parts. Pontiac also used Electro Cruise 1964-67 but it's rare.

That would work if the garage were here at the house. It's a couple miles from here and no running water. I'd have to haul water up there to even damp mop them. I don't worry as much about the toy cars as they rarely get that dirty, but I like to keep the daily drivers clean too. Bottom line is mandatory restrictions gnaw at me. Friend in Greensboro NC (where they go into water restrictions EVERY summer) once said as long as he had a lockable garage with a floor drain, his car would stay clean. I've got an angle on this with a buddy's Amoco station. He just hired a detail guy and put out a shingle, so I'll prolly just wash them there. He could be considered a commercial carwash I guess. There's ways around things.

Governor Mark Warner has issued an executive order restricting water use across much of the Commonwealth. From the morning paper cutline, not only does this include surface water sources such as rivers and lakes, but also groundwater sources (wells, springs etc). Restrictions include but are not limited to: watering lawns, filling swimming pools and washing cars except at commercial car washes. The way I read this, not only can I not wash my collector cars here at home on city water, I can't even wash them using the well at my Mama's place in the county. Executive orders generally stick for one year. Stuff could get real nasty during that time, and commercial washers just don't cut it, unless the order is going to exempt detailing businesses who hand wash as part of their service. I'm well aware that much of VA is in severe drought conditions, but prohibiting use of your own well seems a bit far-reaching to me. The city water system here pulls from the Dan River, which is low but still running at near 160 million gallons a day and up to this point, the local government had seen no pressing need to implement water restrictions. Now they have no choice, and knowing them they'll use it as a revenue tool. I can see me facing a judge now because I washed one of my Oldsmobiles. Thots from other VA DFers, and from other arid places?

journeywitholds@mindspring.com will get you JWO Editor Clay Mollman. He can answer questions about the JWO publisher. Mention that I referred you if you wish. Glenn Williamson

It was driven off the LF wheel on full-size Olds thru 1970 except on 69-70 factory cruise control cars. Those drove off the transmission and actually had a separate trans code for the CC cars.