rocketraider

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.

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!