joe_padavano

Assuming the car is really as rust-free as it appears, $7K sounds like a good deal. I assume you've verified that the VIN starts with 344... to prove it really is a 442. The numbers-matching engine and trans are certainly a bonus. Given the repaint, I would be most concerned about rust that had been patched. Look carefully at the seams at the bottom of the rear fenders behind the wheel opening. The inner and outer panels should come together at a pinchweld that is factory spot welded. If a patch panel has been installed this seam will usually be covered by the new metal, which often has a somewhat ragged edge to it. Similarly look for a patch panel at the bottom of the front fenders behind the wheel openings. The factory fender contour is folded under the bottom of the fender and has two indents where the bolts hold the bottom of the fender to the cowl. Finally, look carefully for rust under and adjacent to the chrome trim around the windshield and back window. These areas commonly rust on the A-body cars and can be expensive to fix correctly. Everything else you've mentioned is minor and if the body is truely rust-free, then this sounds like a good deal. Just keep in mind that to have a quality repaint done by a reputable shop will cost several thousand dollars (as opposed to Maaco or Earl Schibe).

All GMs of that vintage use the same Saginaw pump, so that isn't the issue. I've had a similar problem on one of my cars and it turned out to be a loose pressure valve that's located in the fitting under the pressure hose connection on the back of the pump. Unscrew the pressure hose fitting (dumping PS fluid on the ground in the process...) and check the valve assembly that's screwed into the center of the fitting on the pump. Mine was loose and when I tightend it up the PS worked fine. If the valve is tight, it may be contaminated an need cleaning.

The "flat" part of the spring goes up into the frame. The lower control arm has a recess that the end of the spring wire fits into. There's a small hole in this recess. The end of the spring wire is supposed to be visible through this hole.

If the car is that far apart, don't waste $20 on somebody's copy of a wiring diagram. Get a correct factory service manual. The FSM will have the color wiring diagram in addition to torque specs, overhaul instructions, and just about everything you'll need to get the car back together.

Have you checked for vacuum at the hose and fitting going to the power booster? It's possible that the check valve is bad, the hose has collapsed internally, or some creature has build a nest in the hose. We have mud borers here in VA and they tend to plug up hoses and fittings.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Gentlemen, let me add this. My experiance with 68 to 72 "A" bodies that were unmolested and factory original is with cutlass s and cutlass supreme models. The louverd hoods were used only on 68 and 71 model years. The 68 and 71 hoods only interchange if you also replace the radiator support and grill assembly. Convertibles for 70, 71 and 72 used the sme quarter panels as the supreme hardtop for those years but, convertibles can be had as "S" models as well as the other variations. The louversd hoods for 71 came on the "S" cars only, but will fit all 71 and 72 "A" bodies with no modifications. Mike </div></div> That's not completely correct. For 70-71, ALL A-body convertibles were either Cutlass Supremes or 442s. In 72, the only convertible was the Supreme convert; the 442 was only an option package that year. Louvered hoods were available in 71 and 72 - in fact the 72 A-body cars were virtually identical to the 71s since they were a last-minute replacement for the delayed redesign that finally came out in 1973. There were actually FIVE different A-body hoods in 1972, the fiberglass W-25 hood and four different metal hoods. The four metal hoods were the four possible combinations of with or without the chrome louvers and with or without the stamped slots at the base of the windshield.

I'll be the heretic here. I currently have five OBD I or OBD II cars so I finally broke down and bought an OTC Genysis test unit on ebay. Note that the Genysis is not just a code reader but has bidirectional test capacity, just like the factory testers. It cost me about $600 used (plus software updates as I get newer cars), but I now have the ability to read everything going on in the electronic systems of these cars. I can also monitor every possible parameter while I drive and even save a snapshot of an intermittent problem. Combined with a factory service manual, it turns out that troubleshooting is much easier than before. There are also less expensive shareware programs that can run on a laptop; you just need to buy the appropriate interface cable to plug into your car. I have several friends who are using these tools to reprogram their car computers to make the most of performance upgrades such as cams, headers, etc. For example, if you want to turn up the idle speed, just a few keystrokes and it's done. Contrary to popular belief, many of the electronic components ARE common to a lot of cars (particularly on GMs). For example, virtually all of the OBD I throttle body injected GM vehicles use the same computer - only the memory chip is changed for the specific installation. Same for the sensors, coil packs, etc. Do it right and you can change your fuel map, get more performance, then download the original map when it's time for an emissions test - all without getting your hands dirty.

Actually, there's an adapter kit available now: http://www.transmissionadapters.com/Pricing.htm

New windshields for 68-72 A-bodies are available for $100 - $150. Don't waste your time with any coatings - you'll still have chips and scratches.

Hurst has had a factory rebuild program for their shifters forever. Mr. Gasket (which bought Hurst and just about everyone else) has continued this program. Here's the form to have your shifter rebuilt. http://go.mrgasket.com/pdf/hurst_rebuild_form.pdf

Any 78-88 RWD GM mid-size is the same. That would be the Monte Carlo, Malibu, El Camino, Grand Prix, Regal, LeMans, and Cutlass variations. Keep in mind that GM reallocated some of these model names to FWD cars, so only the RWD versions in those years will work.

I'm pretty sure Year One and USA Part carry nothing that's diesel specific. You'd have better luck with a diesel truck vendor. The Olds 350 diesel was also used in Chevy and GMC pickups in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before the 6.2 was released. Might want to try those sources. I did try a quick internet search for injectors and came up empty.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Put in the 350, paint it silver and keep the hood closed. (Just dont let the blower stick out through the hood!) </div></div> Uh, does the width of the V8 even allow you to close the hood? Here's a thought - how about a late model Vortec 4.2 liter inline six, as found in the Chevy Trailblazer et al? Better fit, still an I6, late model EFI driveability, and you get Dare-to-be-Different style points? I know this doesn't make use of your existing SBC, but most engine swaps result from "I've got this car and this engine" as opposed to figuring out what the right combination really ought to be.

Eastwood sells a plastic polishing kit for exactly this purpose.

Before you go off into the weeds looking into Ford parts, I suggest you do some research on the parts you have. Again, from the description it sounds like you have the original GM spindles. The two-part rotors are also indicative of an original late-60s GM part. Comments like "these look like the Ford parts in here last week" are, frankly, notoriously unreliable without having the parts side-by-side for comparison. You should first get the part numbers off the wheel bearings, since that will help confirm what you have. Tell us the rotor diameter, thickness, and offset. Next, it would help us help you if you could tell us exactly what's "broken" on the original rotors. Maybe I missed this, but it may be an easy fix. Finally, keep in mind that this is an old car and some replacement parts are not available. Given your experience and my research, it's clear that exact replacement rotors are not currently available. ANYTHING new you get from a parts house will be different from what you have. Also, I've found many parts books to be unreliable, particularly with limited production options on 35 year old cars. Unless you have hard data to the contrary, I would assume the brake setup you currently have is the orignal design. It's possible, for example, that you can find a separate rotor that will fit on your current hubs and work fine. We're trying to help, but it's really not possible to provide much hard info by long distance without some pictures, measurements, and information from you.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am located in Jacksonville Fl. And thanks for all the help you guys. I am just a 22 year old kid. I do not know alot about the older cars. But I want to fix this one up. </div></div> The first thing you should get is a 1970 factory service manual. It will have pictures, service information, critical measurements, and torque values for everything on the car. <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">And the bolt pattern is definetly 5 on 4 and 3/4 But I layed a 5 on 5 rotor/hub in the tire and it wil match up. So I guess it is a 5 on 5. </div></div> I'm still struggling to understand where you are getting the 4 3/4 dimension. A circle drawn through the center of the five lugs will be 5" in diameter for this car. Unfortunately, with five lugs you don't have two directly opposite, so you can't measure directly. <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">But the hub is so different nothing I have looked at fits it. Because of the bearings in the back of the rotor/hub. The rotor hits the spindle before the bearings meet up right. I am not sure if you guys understand what I mean. </div></div> Help me out here. The original rotors clear, correct? The one that hits is a replacement you got someplace? Again, can you post pictures? Have you compared the two rotors (old and new) side by side? Look for diameter, rotor thickness, and offset (the dimension from the wheel mounting flange to the face of the rotor. Next, look at the bearings and races. Are the bearing part numbers the same? Is the dimension from the backside of the rotor to the inboard edge of the inboard brearing the same? If not, this isn't the correct rotor. <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">But I am to the point of just putting the originals on it.</div></div> Well, again, what exactly is "broken"? The two-piece rotor you described is typical of GM rotors for 67-70, so that is likely an original or an OEM replacement. <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Do any of you know where I can get the original Spindles, Rotors, Calipers. Pretty much from the spindles down. If any of you have any laying around I am more then willing to pay for them and for shipping.</div></div> Well, from your description you already have the original spindles, so I'm not sure what new ones will do for you. As you've found, no one makes replacement rotors. <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">From what I have heard the 1967-1970 Oldsmobile Spindles are interchangable. If any of you guys have a set or know where I can get a set please let me know. Thanks again for all your help. I am not giving up on this car. I will have this car back on the road this month ( some how...lol ). </div></div> Actually, 65-70 B-body GM cars are interchangeable, but disk brakes were only offered in 67-70. The B-body cars are the Olds 88, Pontiac Bonneville, Chevy Impala, and Buick LeSaber. The C-body cars may also interchange (Olds 98, Buick Electra, and Caddies) but someone else needs to verify this. The 67-68 cars used the four piston calipers and the spindle brackets and rotors are different from the 69-70 cars. Single piston calipers should be the same for 69-76. A 67-68 setup will swap for a 69-70 setup (and vice versa) but only as a complete set - everything from the spindles out needs to be changed. These B-body disk brake systems were very rare when new, so good luck finding parts today.

GMs with manual convertible tops used springs in place of the hydraulic cylinders to offload the weight of the top. Good luck finding those today.

I did a little research and it turns out that the 65-70 B-body cars and the 71-76 cars all use the same inner and outer front wheel bearings. I'd be willing to bet that a 71-76 front rotor will bolt onto that 70 Delta. You may want to grab an inexpensive wrecking yard rotor off a 71-76 B-body and compare it to yours for thickness and offset.

This site might be useful: http://www.kleenwheelsincolor.com/kwic_determining_bolt_circle_diameter.htm

I suggest you try measuring the bolt circle again, because ALL 65-70 Olds 88s came with a 5 x 5" bolt circle. If you're just measuring between two of the lugs, you won't get the correct dimension. If you have a compass, try drawing a 5" diameter circle on a piece of paper then overlaying the paper on the ends of the lugs. This circle should pass through the center of all five of the bolts. Having said that, it does sound like you have the original setup. And you are correct, no one makes replacement rotors for the 65-70 cars that I can find. What part of the rotor is actually "broken"? If it's just excessively worn there are shops that will flame spray new metal onto the rotor and resurface them. This is the same process as is used to "weld" up worn cranks and is done frequently for aircraft brakes. Maybe you could post a picture of the car and the front rotors? That would help a lot.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Edit- I wonder if someone managed to adapt 77-later B body spindles and brakes to this car. I think suspension geometry is different, but I suppose it could be done. Padavano- do you know if later spindles will adapt to these cars? And Bear- has this car been lowered or otherwise changed? That will help us narrow down what you've got. </div></div> Glenn, That was exactly my thought when I saw the 4 3/4 bolt pattern. As you probably know, the 77-90 B-body cars came with one of two bolt patterns. There were 11" diameter by 1" thick front rotors with the 4 3/4" bolt circle (used on sedans) and the 12" diameter by 1" thick rotors with the 5" bolt circle (used on the wagons, 98s, Caddys, and police/taxi cars). These spindles and rotors CAN be adapted to the earlier cars. It requires retrofitting the later upper and lower ball joints and outer tie rod ends since the ball stud taper is different. You're probably aware that this is a popular swap on the A-body cars, but there's no reason someone couldn't have done it to a B-body also. Original 65-70 B-body disc brake setups are very rare. The easy way to tell which spindle you have is to look at the caliper mounting ears. The 65-70 spindles use a separate caliper mounting bracket that bolts to the spindle. The steering arm is also separate and bolts on from the back. All 71-96 spindles are a one-piece forging with integral caliper mounting ears and steering arm. If you have a one-piece spindle, it's been changed. If you have a multi-piece spindle with bolt-on caliper bracket and steering arm, it's original and you should recheck that lug bolt circle. Note that the thin metal splash shield may cover the part of the caliper bracket where it bolts to the spindle, making it difficult to see the seam on the bolt-on design. Also, grease and dirt may further obscure the joint, so check carefully. I want to be certain that this car really has a 4 3/4" bolt circle on the front rotors, however. If it really is 4 3/4", then it would use different wheels on the back, since those would still be the 5" bolt circle drums. Is that the case?

See my response on 442.com

The only 68 A-body with a 455 was the Hurst/Olds, but the 400 offered in the 442 that year was externally identical. In 68, all the Olds A-body cars used the same motor and frame mounts, so any 350 mounts will work as well. Be careful, because the big block mounts changed in 1969 and many vendors incorrectly list the 69-72 rubber motor mounts as 68 mounts. In reality, the 64-69 small block and 65-68 big block motor and frame mounts are all identical, so you can use any of those and be correct. In fact, so long as you use motor and frame mounts as a matched set, you can use any 64-72 A-body mounts and the 455 will fit just like stock. There are three different motor/frame mount configurations - the early mounts I noted above, the 69-72 big block mounts, and the 70-72 small block mounts. All three configurations will put the block and the crank centerline in exactly the same place when used as a matched set, but due to dimensional differences you can't mix (for example) a 69 big block rubber motor mount with a 68 frame mount. As for the trans, is it a long tail housing or short tail housing TH400? The A-body cars use the short configuration, though I've heard of people who used the long trans and had a custom driveshaft made. It isn't easy to change the tail housing as the output shaft also needs to be changed, which requires the trans to come apart. You really want to get the engine at the proper level, since having it misaligned will cause problems with things like fan shroud clearance, carb float level, u-joint alignment, linkages, and exhaust system.

I often have to remind people not to confuse asking prices with selling prices. There are a lot of similarly outragous asking prices on ebay and other auction sites. What I like to do periodically is to do a search for your favorite car (Olds 442s in my case) but search on completed auctions. It appears that few if any of these cars actually sell. Virtually all of them are "reserve not met". I'm especially skeptical when the bidding poops out just under the reserve (ebay now has a little flag that says "next bid meets reserve" or something like that). Even the cars that do "sell" frequently end up relisted a week later because of some issue with the buyer. Unfortunately I think many people see the prices at BJ and the fantasy asking prices on auction sites and assume they can get that same level. A dealer near me here in VA brought a 70 Cutlass convert to Carlisle. The car had 442 grilles and emblems, but only a 350 engine, so I wouldn't even call it a clone. Despite large rust bubbles on the front fenders and poorly installed patch panels on the rear, he was asking $29,500. The car is back on his lot this week...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> ...You are only allowed to turn a rotor .060, so it doesn't take much to render them useless. good luck in your search.... </div></div> Actually, that's not true. Every rotor made is required to have a cast-in minimum thickness on the face of it. Many newer cars have very thin rotors to start with (to save weight) and sometimes you can't even turn them once. On the other hand, older cars were less weight sensitive and frequently rotors can be turned several times.