Grimm

I think it's peer pressure myself. When most people think of muscle cars, not many are going to say Oldsmobile. So many people have a Camaro or whatever, that the ones that do have an Olds are afraid to take it and try to join the crowd. I think it's a treat to see an Olds after looking at 5 consecutive Chevelles at a show. I was just at the biggest show in Michigan Sunday, and out of about 1200 cars, I only saw about a dozen Oldsmobiles. I only saw two '68's, a Cutlass coupe and a H/O. I'm sick of seeing all the Chevelle's (though I do like them a lot), Camaros, ugly street rods, etc. I'm especially sick of all the chopped up cars with engine's that barely fit, and burst my eardrums as the idiot behind the wheel squeels his tires (like no one else at the show could do it). It's a breath of fresh air to see a nice stock 442 convertible. It would be nice if more people had the guts to take out their Olds (there must be a lot out there), but on the other hand it's nice having a car that's not so common.

Thanks Art. I did wonder about air in the lines. When I did fill up the fluid to the top, it didn't help at all, so I'm not sure that it is a leak.

When I purchased our '68 Cutlass 3 weeks ago, I didn't think the brakes were too great, but being an older car I figured it was probably normal. They worked OK, but I only had about an inch of pedal left when I was at a stop. I drove the car yesterday to a show and after about an hour on the highway we got off the exit and the brakes didn't grab as well, and I had to put the pedal to the floor to stop. Up until that point, I didn't even think to check the fluid level. When I checked it, the front was down quite a bit, but I don't know if it was any lower than before. I filled it almost to the top, and checked it later. It looked like it was down slightly, but hard to tell. Also when I would check it, the back kept spilling over. So I'm not sure if some of the fluid from the front was spilling into the back to make it look a little lower. I'm hoping to get it looked at soon, but I'm wondering if anyone out there has any feedback as to what the problem might be. By the way, I have power brakes with drums.

Sounds like my seats, button is in the middle of the back, near the top.

Thanks for the help, I might try it out.

I have seen on ebay a business selling shop manuals on CD. Does anyone have experience with these, and how does it compare to the book version? I see it says works best with Access '97, do you need that program to use it?? Thanks

Yeah, I will have to do the same. I found out my keys do not work with the glove box, console box, or the passenger side door. So I will be doing some tearing apart somewhere down the line (maybe this winter when I can't drive it) to get them all matched up.

Yeah, I figured it was changed. Must have been years ago. I like the Jade Gold color, but I'm glad they changed the interior and top. Hopefully I can find out what color it is now so I can fix those stone chips.

Thanks for the help. Actually rocket, your bet would be wrong. It has a black interior. By the way, the trim code is 944. It's really puzzling as to what this car has had for colors. The previous owner bought it three years ago, redone by a local guy. He really didn't know anything about the car, so I am starting from scratch trying to find out about it. The car was painted red, and I have found a couple inconspicuous spots (on a trunk hinge, and a piece of trim by the windshield) that have a very small blotch of blue, leading me to believe it was once painted blue. I haven't taken anything off to try and dig further, but the guy did an excellent job of painting everything, and not leaving a trace of any original color. The interior has new seats and carpet for sure, but the pieces on the rear side look fairly old, so it's hard to say if it has always been black, or just redone quite some time ago. Also it has a white top, and judging by the condition of it, and other top parts, it has had this top for quite a while. And it looks very solid, with almost no signs of rust, so I can't imagine it was just poorly taken care of. As far as the paint, could I take it to a local paint supplier or car dealer to have them identify the actual paint on the car??

Hi there, just purchased a 1968 Cutlass convertible. I'm curious as to what books would be helpful to buy. I've seen some already such as the assembly manual, Fisher body manual, shop manuals. Eventually I'll probably obtain everything, but I'm looking for what to start with first. I'm sure the shop manual would be good, but I'm curious about the other two, what they entail. One that would be nice, is something I can use to verify I have correct parts on the car (I know it has a 442 bumper, and I suspect an incorrect door mirror for one). I have also deduced that it has a 1974 engine, so I'm not sure if I should purchase the '74 shop manual as well? I would also like to find out what the original color was (S8 if anyone can give me the answer). Any other worthwhile books out there? Thanks.

Hi there, this is my first post here. Just purchased my first "classic" car, a 1968 Cutlass convertible. After doing some research on the internet, I had determined my car has a 1974 vintage engine (according to the code for the intake manifold, 712753) if the information I found is correct. This site also had code information for the exhaust manifold as well. The passenger side manifold has a "4" (could not see the code numbers), and the driver's side is a "1" with the numbers 411961. According to this site, that make the exhaust manifolds small block manifolds. Now the previous owner had this car three years, and bought it from someone who redid the car, and he didn't indicate any problems with the car, and it runs good. Is this OK to have small block exhaust manifolds on a big block engine??