gmoney

403 engines are found in GM cars made from 77 to 79. These can still be found in the yards. E-Bay would be my last resort. Try Hemmings Moter news magizine. 350 or 400 intakes will fit.

Small block or big block, matching numbers?

Don: You can still find these in the yards. Where are you located. Mike

Post some pictures, maybe someone will know what you have. Mike

Radials handle better and have better traction. Radials also wear better. If they were an option in 68 and you can verify it you will not lose show points. I thought radials came out in the early 70's. But I was in Juiner High school at that time. Bias ply tires are easy to spin for burnouts and make a wonderfully loud sqealing sound. Mike

If you machine the crank the heat treating is lost, as it only treats the surface out of neccesity. If the entire depth was treated the steel would become brittle. At 500 horse take no chances. Good luck, Mike

I will tell yo what is rare, if you can find one at all. Back in the old days we had what was known as a Full service Gas station. You pulled in, did not get out of the car, thsy pumped the fuel washed your windshield and checked the oil. All this was done at 29 cents a gallon. I bought fuel today. 10 dollars got me 3 gallons and a clerk that had never heard of full servic. Mike

OK MJ. You do not state what mobel of Dynamic 88 this is.The Celebrity Sedan weighed 4111 lbs and they made 38742 the Holiday coupe weighed 4079 lbs and they made20768. Holiday sedan 4148lbs and they made30784. You did not state convetable but let me add that in, at 4158 lbs and production of 5540. This information is from Setting the pace written by two long time former employees of Olds motor Works. The records do not discrimenate beween four door models and two door models.However it can be presumed that Celebrity sedans were post cars and Holiday sedans were built with no post at the doors.A Holiday Coupe is a car with two doors and no post. Figure it from here, good luck, Mike

The above message should have been addressed to Conni.Mike

Julian. Before taking any drastic measures, check your personal messages for how to flush out sludge from an engine. Mike

dwell angle is 30 degrees, manul trany is 2 degrees BTDC AT 850 rpm. NO SETTING SHOWN FOR AUTOMATIC. ONLY VISTA CRUISER SHOWN AUTO WITH A/C AT 14 degrres BTDC AT 850 RPM. CHECK YEAR ONE , BUY THE CORRECT ENGINE DECAL AND IT WILL SHOW THE PROPER INFO FOR YOUR CAR. Mike

I have done this with no problems, be sure to tourqe the bolts correctly and check them again after running the engine and letting it cool off. There are no garentees you will not have a future poroblem. You do not state why you upgraded your altinator. Did you add some electrical options? A larger alt will do nothing for you if you did not need to change for electrical reasons. The battery will only draw what it needs and more available current will not be needed for a car that is not burning more electric power. Sort of like putting high test gas in a low compression engine it cost more but has no bennifit to power. Good luck, Mike.

Pick up a Hammings Motor News for junk yards that advertise vintage parts. 84 parts should be easy to find all over the country. Mike

Smitty: New bumpers can be bought aftermarket at Year One, or Original Parts Group just to name two. Check Hemmings Motor News magizine for other sources. Mike

Noel: you will get better replies if you give more information, Such as what parts you are looking for. Body parts are found at junk yards and some NOS dealers, Common wear parts are found at some parts stores and, aftermarket suppliers have just about anythung else. I do not know of specifics for you as I work with 64 and latter mobels at this time. Mike

Feb 06

To me a rare car is one you have to search long and hard to find even one. I have only seen one REO Sedan in my life. I'm no kid at 50 with 35 years interested in antique cars. I have also seen only one or two REO trucks and only one Franklin, that was a 1930 model. Quit an impressive car. My grandfather had a 29 Franklin but, that was before my time. Imagine the buetiful cars we would have if not for the depression and the post war scrap metal recall!! When I look at evilbay and see a car listed as rare, then see several more on the same page it makes me lauph and wonder who they are trying to fool. Pre-war hand made cars are rare because there were few made and time has taken some. Soon some models built from '73 to '78 full size cars may be rare because even mass produced cars dissapear when no-one is interested in saveing or restoring them. Mike Not so rare, '71 Cutlass Supreme hardtop

To start with, do you have a repair manual? The book is a must. I am not infinitly familar with this model, but most mid 70s cars dash boards are held togather with screws and a few interlocking pieces. Use a book to open the dash so as not to damage anything. The most likly cause of the problem is a burned out bulb. Inspect and test the bulb, if it is good test the bulb socket. If they are both good the fault must be in the wire. I presume you already checked the fuse and that other dash lights work. Good luck, Mike

Check your private message box on this site for my home E-mail address. I will do what I can to help you out, Mike

You say that every time you turn the key on this fuse blows, you also say the signals and reverse light work. This is confusing to me. Have you tested the switches for a short? To burn a fuse the power must go to the ground without first being reduced in amperage by some unit that burns electricty to function. What we are looking for here is the short to ground. Isolate each wire and component and test for a ground fault. Has ayone rewired this car? A fault can be inside a wire harness. Isolation should show whitch componet is at fault. You may find a wire, switch or connector is at fault. The problem would make more sense if it happened when you applied power to an accesory. Check all wires that share this harness, another lamp or accessory my be shorting to these componants and burning this fuse first before some other reacts. Good luck, Mike

Larry; The chasis for 68 through 72 "A" bodies are all the same. The only bushings I believe are the grommets that support the anti-sway bar. The first thing to do is have a complete front end inspection done by a reputable repair shop. They can tell you if you have worn tie rod ends, worn ball joints, a worn pittman arm or a worn drag link. Any of or a combination of these will cause your car to wander when the brakes are applied. Ckeck the front and rear shocks. Are they wet with oil (leaking), old as dirt, push down on a corner of the car with all tour weight. Does the car bounce more than once or twice? (Depending on how big you are.) New shocks are cheap and make a huge differance. All parts are readily available from local parts stores. Stay with major names like Moog or TRW, catalog companies are great for hard to find things, but are expensive. GM "A" bodies are plentiful for thier age, so parts stores carry everything for the chasis. Do not forget to finish with a new front end alignment for a great driving car. let us know how this works out. Mike

Gentlmen: Years ago I had a similar priblem on my 69 Cutlass. After money spent and much vexing thought, I had to replace the little 90 degree check valve when it fell apart. All the problem went away. I since learned to start with the little things first. This is the plastic fitting on the power booster that is vacume fed from the engine. I hope this helps, Mike

I have wiring diagrams for the 71s, But are they the same. I had to buy a factory service manual to get this information , and it was well worth it! Mike

Joe, you are right about the 9 digdets. It had been years since I checked one, I forgot all about the first three. I had to use a mirror to see mine on the 350 as the alternator bracket abscures the pad. Mike

Dan: A noise can be difficult to isolate. First I would check for exhaust leak, look for tell tale soot or burned paint around the manifolds and heads. If you do not find any leaks do a compression test , this will isolate the cylender at fault. A collapsed lifter will tick and increase the rapidness with speed. Some mechanics use a stethascope or long screw driver to find the source of the noise. A collapsed valve spring will make plenty of noise. Lastly remove the valve cover and look for obvious problems in the valve train. Be sure to start with the simplest answers first and, move slowly to the more complex areas last. Maybe someone here has aspecific trouble shooting guide to help you out. Let us know what you find. Mike