rocketraider

Can't help on the carb without knowing some of what's in it, but you'd have surely melted in the Charlotte car corral this weekend. One of the 8 1973 Stage 1 4-speed cars was for sale, with original car order and window sticker. Dark met blue, white gs decals, black canopy vinyl roof. A striking car. Striking price too, but it was a beautiful restoration.

It's not entirely Buick Division's fault. The major blame lies with GM Corporate, especially the policies put in place during the Roger Smith years, and the current idea that bringing in management from career fields that have not a damn thing to do with making automobiles is the salvation of the company. You need car people to design, build and market cars- not burned out toothpaste or detergent executives or fast-tracking MBAs who were taught that managing product is secondary to managing people.<P>When GM was comprised of relatively independent Divisions instead of "brands" and "marketing groups", they did very well. Between the current styling trends (which run from totally bizarre to totally bland) and the lackluster ad campaigns, I can't see spending the money to buy a new GM product, knowing I couldn't stand the sight of the thing until it was paid for. And slaughtering Oldsmobile while allowing that wretched Saturn to survive even after existing ten years without turning a profit- does that tell anyone what GM is about these days? They have their heads farther up their corporate arses than they've ever had since 1977, when the seeds of all this mess were sown.

You're not seeing things. They were on the cars 1950-1956, some years on the RH side of the decklid, other years on the left. Interestingly, the rockets disappeared on 88s from 1957-60 and reappeared in highly stylised form 1961-63. One Virginia dealer, Suttle Oldsmobile in the Tidewater, took it one step beyond. Their dealer badge was a five pointed chrome star that was mounted just above and to the right of the skyward pointing factory rocket. Uncle being a Suttle salesman, I saw many of those star and rocket combos growing up.

Flyer sez swap meet and corral. After 4/6 and at the gate, $20 first 8x16 space, $15 each additional. So yes, I'd say you have a prime opportunity to move your desirable paper. (Ya wouldn't happen to have any 50s Olds Service Guild sets hiding in there, would ya? I'm trying to assemble a complete collection 1951-??)

I know the Hornet's Nest people had no control over this, but trying to get into AutoFair yesterday morning made me pretty damn ill. I got to the Speedway a few minutes past 8 AM and the NC Highway Patrol had already closed off the main entrance, which forced the show car traffic to have to enter thru one of the vendor gates and then go thru the Green Field to get to the inside-track show areas. Sat in traffic from 0810 to 0930. Apparently NCHP hadn't told anyone they closed the gate early; the guys at the tunnel said they noticed nobody had come from that direction in some time. LMS staff at the vendor gate didn't have a clue about routing the showcar traffic either.<P>This was the most inept job of traffic control I've seen in 15 years of showing at AutoFair. Can anyone from Hornet's Nest address this?

Wayal- Roanoke winters ain't quite as bad as they are in Michigan, but you'll still see some snow and ice in the beautiful Valley! The good news is, there isn't enough of it that you can't take yer old iron out on a seasonable winter day. There's also active AACA and Pontiac clubs in the area and plenty of cruise nights.<P>The Commonwealth is very old-car friendly about licensing, inspection, and taxation too.<P>Plus Virginia is just a nice place to live! I've known a lot of Northerners who moved here grumpy as hell from the winters and hectic lifestyle and mellowed out once they'd lived here awhile. Well, OK- they didn't move to the DC suburbs, with all the traffic and sprawl and the attendant BS that goes along with it!

The flyer I have says it's at Marriott Fairfield Inn on Haynes Bridge Rd (exit 9 off GA 400) in Alpharetta, 8:30-4:30. <A HREF="http://www.segtoa.com" TARGET=_blank>www.segtoa.com</A> for info.

You can look at the engine number and narrow it down to what year engine, and the VIN of the car it was originally installed in, but that's about all. Olds used a tape on the oil fill tube to ID the engine specifics, and the tape is always history.<P>1968-later engine #s are stamped into a machined pad at the left front of the engine block, just below the cylinder head. Sometimes the pad is obscured by the alternator mounting bracket. To read it: it will have something like 39Mxxxxxx, in which 3 is Oldsmobile Division, 9 would be 1969, M is Lansing assembly, and then the six digit car VIN. 455s will have 8,9,0,1,2,3,4,5 or 6 for the 2nd digit, for years 1968-76.<P>442.com has a FAQ section that should give the alpha codes for specific engine applications.

I cannot lay my hands on my reference material right now (time to go digging thru the piles in the den floor!) but there weren't many. There were only 1500 or so total SX, coupe and convertible, built in 1971.<P>Saw three SX in Charlotte swap meet car corral yesterday plus one in the Olds car show area.<p>[ 04-07-2002: Message edited by: rocketraider ]

F85 is Oldsmobile-speak for their A-body (midsize) line of cars 1961-77. Cutlass is a higher trim level than F85. The aluminum 215 engine is correct for 1961-63 F85 and Cutlass, and yes, it is made by Buick. After 1963 the 215 V8 tooling was sold to Rover Cars in England and lived on into the 80s.<P>The Olds factory parts books never list an A-body car as Cutlass. It's always F85, or sometimes it goes by the series numeric designation.

Nope. You're on your own here. You might be able to adapt 59-60 Chev motor mount perches to the Olds crossmember, but I think there's some difference between the two. A good street rod builder should be able to make it work for you. You'll have to do some fabrication on the trans mounts too to put anything besides the HydraMatic in this car. Anything is possible given enough time, thought and money.<P>Hope you plan to keep the car forever if you do this. You'll need to build that puny Chevy too, hauling a 59 Ninety Eight around will work it to death.

And I'd always heard it called Nashvegas...

Graduated 1974. Had a 66 442 post coupe that I couldn't let well enough alone, as we were all into street racing. In our little Southside Virginia town, there were both an Olds and a Buick-Pontiac dealer who were into selling and supporting performance. Also a full-line Ford dealer who campaigned a car at the local dragstrips every year, and a Chrysler-Plymouth store who sold hot stuff too. A good time to be 17 years old, until the first wave of gas crunch hit- and there we all were with cars that got between 7 and 10 mpg downhill with a tailwind.<P>My best friend came from a Buick family, dad was a life and casualty agent and always had Electras. Time for Tommy to get his car, it was a given that it would be a Buick. A 1971 GS Stage 1 to be precise. When they went to the Buick store to order it, Tommy checked off "Stage 1" and his dad says what's that. T being a quick thinker and bs artist, says "it's the Electra engine, daddy. I want something that's gonna last a long time" and his old man bought that line. About six months later his dad found out what he was doing with the Buick and made him trade it in on a 350-2 barrel Skylark.<P>I don't remember many pre-60s cars in that high school parking lot, except one of the guidance counselors, Mrs. Lantor, had a 55 Roadmaster sedan that she drove forever. A boy named Charles Green had a 1960 Ford 2-door post with a built 390. Most of us with our own cars had 64-70 midsizes, and lot of the girls were driving Mama's Caprice or LTD. Except for "Big Red"- the girl whose brother built her a 72 Nova that she used to lay waste to all of us. We were all afraid to beat her, scared she'd come beat the dogs**t out of us.<P>So yes, I think the cars that were in our high school parking lot are the ones we want now tha we can afford them again.

I think what your buddy has seen is a dealer badge for Hippodrome Olds in Nashville. They were chrome plated slushcast metal and had a really high-styled lettering that could be mistaken for a manufacturer's script.

I'd say there's a leak. After 7 years and 85k it's possible. Check the strut itself and all the airlines and fittings. Possible the compressor itself is leaking. Remote possibility the level pot at the rear suspension is going bad and fooling the system into thinking the tail is low.<P>You can use soapy water to find the leak. Spray it on all components and the leak will show up as bubbles.<p>[ 04-03-2002: Message edited by: rocketraider ]

You're not the first, the only, or the last to get abuse from the Kenney Brothers. They are legendary in the Oldsmobile world for screwing their customers. And since they're not sponsoring this board, the truth can be told. I can give you literally dozens of references...<P>I would have probably laughed at a request for an NOS 70 decklid too, but would have at least taken the time to explain that such a part would be rare and prohibitively expensive if available. Settle for a desert piece. It won't be cheap either, but it won't be rotted. Larry Camuso or Paul McGuill (both in CA) are excellent Olds used sheetmetal sources. Desert Valley will do in a pinch, but you're paying for their advertising. All advertise in Hemmings.<P>And here's a tip- the rare and elusive convertible decklid is also used on (drum roll please) the FOUR DOOR SEDAN! Get 'em while they're hot, folks...

You should still be able to find 8 ohm load speakers which will be close enough to work with no ill effects on the radio's output transistor. Think Jensen and Pioneer still make 8 ohm speakers. <A HREF="http://www.crutchfield.com." TARGET=_blank>www.crutchfield.com.</A> or if you hurry, Radio Shack may still have some. I'm told they're phasing out all their car stereo stuff. <P>Another option would be to have your current speakers reconed but can be expensive.<P>If this guy knows what's what, he should know that he can wire in a resistor on the speaker + lead and put the impedance where it should be, without all that banjowork. Whatever he does, don't let him wire the grounds together or you'll have instant fried Delco radio.<P>I may have a set laying around. I took the factory ones out of my 73 88 ragtop 20 years ago, think they still played OK at that time. Finding them will be the trick.

Yowsah! we visited this unsuccessfully a few weeks ago . A Turbo HydraMatic will not bolt directly to a 394 or earlier Olds engine. 394s have a shroud that covers the fluid coupling, then a metal plate bolts to the block, then the SlimJim bolts to the plate. THM have a shroud over the torque converter that bolts to the block. <P>There are companies who will cut down the case of a THM in the torque converter area and modify it so it will bolt to the 394 trans mounting plate. I have no idea of cost, but I'm getting about desperate enough with my 64 Starfire to try it.<P>Pontiac had the right idea. They used a bellhousing to mate the SlimJim to their engines, and that bellhousing just happens to have the later B-O-P-Cad THM bolt pattern. I know of several early 60s Pontiacs with THM 400s and 200-4Rs in place of the cantankerous old SlimJims. Bears witness that the things were only used 4 years. Cadillac wouldn't use them at all, and Pontiac only used them in Catalina and Grand Prix (?? they were usually the Pontiac hotrods though ), but stubborn Olds used them in everything.<P>Of course, 30 years ago, every transmissoin shop could repair them.

Closest thing to you is Mid Atlantic Chapter of Oldsmobile Club of America. Based in Greensboro NC, meetings move between Charlotte area and Greensboro. We'll be at Charlotte AutoFair this weekend in Pit Road show areas Saturday and Sunday. E-mail me for contact info. <P>Dixie Olds Club is in Atlanta but looks like they're farther away than MAOC. They will participate in the Peach Blossom B-O-P-Cad show in Alpharetta GA April 20, Southeast GTO Association hosting this year. <A HREF="http://www.segtoa.com" TARGET=_blank>www.segtoa.com</A> for info.<P>I was Southeast Zone director of OCA for years and was never able to develop a stand-alone chapter in SC. Not enough people close by each other to start and maintain a chapter, so the SC folks joined MAOC or Dixie. Wanna try? Good luck.

As late as last year Raybestos listed 65-70 GM B&C body brake drums as still available new. Don't know if they've obsoleted them yet.<P>Just curious- you've bled the system completely? Shoes are adjusted properly? Seems like I remember some late 60s GM cars just had low pedals, no matter what you did. My folks had a 68 ElCamino and 69 Impala, both non-power drums, that were both like that from new.

And I'm sure they will both be remembered 20 years from now for the recorded work they made today! (My gawd, let's hope they get forgotten!) She was also 60s jazz guitarist and producer Tommy Mottola's trophy wife for a while, I think.<P>The girl has a set of pipes on her. Shame all that raw talent is wasted on the manufactured pop music she sings. But then some folks like it. I'd rather hear loud jangly garage rock meself, but I'm sure that gets on someone's nerves- it sure as hell got on my parents'!

All the folding top service info is in the 1972 Fisher Body service manual. Goes thru the whole process of remove/install. These are easily found at swap meets or mailorder lit vendors. And e-bay <P>Why do you need to remove the top to do electrical repair? All the body wiring harness routes along the floor. Taking seats out I could understand.

<A HREF="http://www.darwinawards.com." TARGET=_blank>www.darwinawards.com.</A> The gentleman who thought his gasoline needed to be warmed up is a prime candidate for a Darwin, which are given to "those who have improved the gene pool by dying as a result of their own stupidity".<P>I've been fortunate I guess. Most of what I've had to fix behind someone involved butchered wiring or baling wire. Ty-Raps and duct tape are always fun to find too.

The most obvious 1970 clues are the Toronado GT badge on the LF of the hood and the cutout rear bumper. Also look for code OM on the transmission ID plate. If all these things are in place, and the engine #s match the VIN, the car is a W34. Estimated production around 5000.<P>1968, look for the OM trans code and cutout bumper, and also for the ram-air duct and special radiator w/ vacuum switch to open the headlight grilles if engine gets hot. Total production 111.<P>1969 is the hardest year to ID. The OM trans code is about the only sure way to do it. Only W34 were supposed to have dual exhaust that year, but the cutout bumper was not used and a lot of regular 69 Toro got converted to DE. Estimated production around 2800.<P>There's some debate about whether the package included Y70 paint stripe option. My 69 did not have it.<P>As you see these are fairly rare beasts. Too many of them have given up their 455s to a 350 or six cylinder Cutlass.

Loren, I am trying my damndest not to fall out the chair laughing at this post . I know you were dead serious, but something that size with three used rubbers included... I am about to pee my pants here!!<P>We must have fun and good laughs while our old cars beat us up. Life is too short to do otherwise!