rocketraider

Tony, if Dan K is willing to sell his ACRS manual I'll give you first crack at it.

Bill, several years ago the now politically corrected Confederate Air Force came thru Danville on an East Coast tour with a 25 and a 17. Magnificent machines. The local VFW post is named for Captain Archer T. Gammon and his grandkids were special guests of the CAF for that display.

Tony- I checked with the guy at swap meet and he didn't have another ACRS brochure. Said the one he sold me was the only one he'd ever had and to his best knowledge the brochure was only issued in 1974. He said he'd do a lookout, you can e-mail him at dansautolit@aol.com.<P>He's got a lot of neat paper.

Check the fusible links in the main wiring harness. They're located at the starter solenoid. If one fails, you should get the ALT warning light but not always. Those years GM big cars route the charging circuit from alt output back thru a splice in the main harness, splitting the juice two ways, to the fuse block and to the (+) battery cable at the starter solenoid. If the link fails, the alternator cannot charge the battery. <P>Have alt checked by someone who knows what they are doing- not the kid who started work at AutoZone last week.<P>Since this is a computer car, you may also have a parasitic electrical load that is discharging the battery while the car is idle. Check for electronic tuned radio drain; glovebox, trunk or underhood lamp not turning off; or a ground in some other circuit.<P>GM issued a fix for undercharged battery in 1983- believe it or not, they recommended running a 12 gage jumper wire directly from the alternator output post to the battery (+) terminal, bypassing the splice and fuse link. My 83 Olds wagon had had it done and I thought someone had jerry-rigged it until I got the 83 Dealer Tech Bulletin set, and there it was.<p>[ 03-10-2002: Message edited by: rocketraider ]

Had my first experience with a "You're-a-Peon" driver this afternoon returning from swap meet in Raleigh NC. I-40 westbound, we're in the 1976 Ninety Eight (with antique tags!) tooling along with traffic in the center lane, about 75 in a 65 zone, when here it comes- BMW 740iL with lights flashing, passed us on the right and left us like we're sitting still...<P>I was glad to get back to the hinterlands, away from all that civilisation. Wouldn't live there for it, fighting that I-40 traffic every day.

Thumper, it'll have to be snail-mail as I have neither scanner nor fax here at the house. E-mail me privately and we'll get things moving.

Ventiports, toothy grilles and sweepspears. Except for the portholes, even the 90s Skylarks had those styling cues, however modified they may be. While we're at it, how 'bout some 50s style hood shields-<BR>not the Tri-shield, more like the ones used from about 1950-53, or even on the 59 hubcaps. Those were works of art.<P>I don't know whether to categorise current GM styling as jelly-bean, melted-by-blowtorch, or just plain bizarre. The Aztek and Avalanche are proof positive of bizarre. At least Buick still has SOME identity.

This is excellent! Someone who was at the factory when Dynaflow were built and knows them inside out- MrBuick, you wouldn't happen to have had a friend over in the HydraMatic plant would you? Who would post and share with us? I have a SlimJim that beats me up bad, and nobody wants to work on it...

If it helps here's the original part #s from the 1976 Oldsmobile Hatch Roof Service Manual supplement-<P>31216M001 right rubber surround weatherstrip<BR>31216M002 left rubber surround weatherstrip<BR>61216M003 hatch weatherstrip left or right<P>The manual is 14 pages. Will copy if you want. It gives all details, 1976 updates over the original 1975 Hurst/Olds installations, service and waterleak correction procedures.<P>It specifically mentions the differences between 1975 and 1976-later weatherstrips. There were some mods made to address water leaks and the hatch panel weatherstrips also have to be updated if you use the 2nd type weatherstripping.<p>[ 03-08-2002: Message edited by: rocketraider ]

That was another thing- having to lower the top 3/4 way down, then get out of the car, tuck the top fabric in between the folding rails, and then get back in to lower the top into the well. Then out again to install the boot. Yah- and I had been searching trader-online for another early 70s big ragtop. I think I have talked myself out of it!

Add to the aggravation- the hold-down cables break after a couple years and the top develops an arc over the side windows. Had one that arched bad enough it started letting water in. Also- seems like the top material always pulls loose from the second bow. Then you have a lot of wind flap, and the top never stacks right on its own- you have to fumble and tuck to get it to lay down enough to install the boot.<P>The scissor-top wasn't one of the General's better ideas. Corvairs had them first, then in 71 somebody got the idea it would be great for the big cars. This frame is flimsy, and heavy, and after a while always kinda flops around in operation. Ever had to synchronise yer drive cables?<P>The scissor top was ostensibly to increase rear seat room. I think they used it to save a buck 'cause they could then use the same rear seat cushions and side panels in the convertibles and closed cars.<P>Just out of curiousity- what are fiberglass parade boots going for these days?

Umph. You're in the same city as the "Billions and trillions" guys, those good ol' boys from Tulsa, who have advertised in Hemmings as long as I can remember. Do they not cut it?<P>I'm partial to Tri-City in Elizabethton TN. "Very" good quality product with guarantee and reasonable price. We have a 64 Pontiac front bumper coming from there this weekend.<P>One I can recommend staying away from is Bumper Boyz. Everyone I know who has used them has had serious problems- pitting, peeling, premature rusting etc. They're one of the more expensive platers too.

My daily driver is an 83 Olds big wagon. I work with a crowd who are into, to be polite, conspicuous consumption. Meaning the parking lot is full of outsized Expeditions, Lincoln Navigators and Caddy Escalades (why GM thinks Cadillac needs a truck line is still beyond me), not to mention GM's grown-up Aztek, the Chevy Avalanche!<P>They say, "why do you keep driving that old station wagon? Station wagons are out of style!" And I just smile to myself as I watch them hop into their supersize station wagons. <P>Add to the SUV/minivan/cell phone rant, Volvos. I've been cut off, run out the road, nearly rear-ended by Volvos so many times I'm convinced they're the vehicle of choice for non-driving idiots. Must be something in Volvo advertising about safest car in the world that attracts them. And there's more than a few Volvos in the parking lot too...

1970-81 F-body suspension components are a near bolt-in for the 68-72 A-body cars. TransAM sway bars, polygraphite bushings (not polyurethane, they'll make it ride like a buckboard wagon), multi-rate springs and a mid 80s Monte Carlo SS/Grand National/442 steering gearbox will all improve handling without completely sacrificing ride quality. F-body spindles will also lower the car just a tad. In the past year, Popular Hot Rodding has gone over just about the entire handling thing with the Red Line Lubricants 1970 Chevelle, which has the same basic suspension as the Skylark.

The pieces you describe are the reflector section of the lens. Look at your outer lens and it's smooth. The inner lens has thousands of tiny prisms cut into it.<P>For your end, the taillights work just fine without them, but from a safety standard, they're needed so an oncoming driver can see your car if it's stopped with no rear lights. His headlights will hit those prisms and it'll look like the whole rear of the car lit up.<P>It's a salvage yard or swap meet item.

Fusick for the sail panel lenses. They're also common to other GM hardtops of that era.<P>Clock- first, try a light mist of WD-40 and you may have to file the points a bit to clean them up. If this doesn't work, if it's a Borg clock, you can send it back to Instrument Services in WI for factory authorised service, or have a quartz movement installed. H&H in SC, Ole Doc Clock in NC, and others can do this conversion invisibly. I occasionally see 65-6 big Olds clocks NOS.<P>You mention Climate Control head. Is this a Comfortron car (if so you have my sympathies) or a Four-Season CAC car? <P>I know someone who may have some 66-67 Comfortron parts if needed, don't know if he sold them yet or not. He doesn't have a control head. It was fairly common in Ninety Eights that year, so shouldn't be too hard to find a junkyard part. (Working may be another story!)<P>Sounds like you have a nicely equipped car. In addition to AACA, I recommend joining the Oldsmobile Club of America and the National Antique Olds Club for parts support. There is no OCA chapter in AL to my knowledge, but there are active ones in Atlanta and Nashville. <P>Glenn Williamson<BR>the Rocketraider<BR>1964 Starfire (and other assorted Ose)

James, e-mail me privately and we'll talk about 1976. I have a 76 Regency, all the manuals and factory literature, and have owned enough 71-76 big Olds that I am quite familiar with them.

Edelbrock website says their Q-Jet won't work with B-O-P-Cad throttle linkage. I know two people who bolted them onto 68 442s. Chevy used the same throttle cable as the other GM divisions, so I think it could be adapted easy enough. Holley is showing a full line of reman carbs for Olds apps- whether they're truthfully any better than other rebuilders, who knows, but they are a carb manufacturer. <P>Is anything preventing you from having your existing Q-Jet rebuilt? Don't underestimate them- I set a track class record with a 66 442 in 1974, running a mildly built Toronado 425 with a blueprinted Quadrajet. They are a fine carb set up right, trouble is most people don't have a clue about how they work and get them all buggered up, then blame the QuadraJet.<p>[ 03-05-2002: Message edited by: rocketraider ]

Steve, although I wasn't at Denver I've also heard many good comments about that show. They really had their act together. I didn't see letting people continue dancing on the backs of the bruised, so I opted out. First National Meet I'd missed since 1988.<P>Like another past board member told me about the editor mess a couple months ago, "the s**t never ends". I'm glad to be rid of it, though I have sadly watched my Zone start a downhill slide . No leadership. Hopefully this year's elections will change that.<P>GW

QuadraJets come in two cfm ratings: 750 which is standard, and 800 which was used on some early 70s big-block cars. The 800s are a smog carb so you don't really get the performance benefit you might think.

Edelbrock and Holley both make QuadraJet replacements. They're side fuel inlet since they're mainly designed for Chevy and pre-68 apps, but one of these should work OK on yer car. Order a 66-67 Olds fuel line from one of the Olds vendors and you're set. You can get the carbs from Jeg's, Summit etc, think even Advance Auto might can get them.

The brown wire connects to the coil (-) post. There's also a fuse inside the case on these 60s GM tachs.

Thanks for all the recommendations, it seems that getting a pre-65 transmission serviced is a universal problem- hey, I had to have a THM400 done last year and the youngun in the shop had only done one, all he'd worked on was electronic OD trannys. And I realised, they haven't made Turbo 400s in nearly 20 years. Who'd have ever thought those would be considered obsolete !<P>I have a lead on a guy in IL who is very good with HydraMatics, and probably DynaFlows too, but I was sure hoping I could find someone close by to do it, within a couple hundred miles anyway.<P>Guess Loren is right- we have to learn how to do this ourselves. I rebuilt one transmission in my life, a Powerglide, to satisfy auto tech school graduation requirements, and decided better to leave that job to a specialist.

It helps to have a reasonably complete V8 parts car. <P>First thing to remember is that "everything" on the Busix is on the opposite side of the car from the Olds V8. Fuel pump and lines, starter, the engine wiring harness, it's all different.<P>Helped a buddy do this swap once. Never again. You're about as well off to get a reman Buick 6, since a 307 ain't noted for power. A 350 or 403 might make this swap worth the effort.

Well- I was hoping some of you might know a shop that does DynaFlows, figuring that such a shop could do an old HydraMatic too. Most current shops have never heard of one, and the two I've found that have worked on them want nothing to do with it.<P>Anyways, tx for input!<P>Glenn Williamson<BR>the Rocketraider<BR>past Director, ASE Zone (1990-2000)<BR>Oldsmobile Club of America