joe_padavano

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.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm coming up blank on the VIN pad. </div></div> Meaning that you can't find it or that it is really blank? If it's really blank, this is a replacement block. The dealership was supposed to re-stamp the VIN derivative when installing a replacement block, but may not have.

You do realize that despite the 17" rims, those tires are somewhat smaller in diameter than the original tires, right? Your proposed fronts are only 24.4" in diameter and the rears are 25.7". I've run 245/60-14s (25.6" diameter) on factory SSIII 14x7 rims and 255/60-15s (27" diameter) on factory 69 Hurst/Olds rims on all four corners of various 68-72 Cutlii with no problems. I don't know how your proposed wheel offset compares to that of the factory rims, but it sounds about right. Just keep in mind that unless you plan do lower the car significantly, you'll have a lot of daylight between the tires and the fender opening. The 245/60-14s look absolutely lost in the wheelwells of an A-body. The 255/60-15s fill the wheel well and look great.

First, a Cutlass is an A-body and a Jetstar is a B-body. Two different cars and two different wheel wells. Second, a 225/45-17 tire is less than 25 inches in diameter. That's smaller than the tires that came on the 65 Jetstar originally. Third, comparing a 17x7 and a 17x8 is meaningless unless you know the offset (or backspacing) of each, since that effects clearance also.

The wheel diameter isn't important. It's the tire diameter that matters. For example, you can buy a 17" tire that's smaller in outside diameter than some 14" tires. It's all a function of tire aspect ratio.

The "heavy duty" frame option on the mid-sixties cars was simply a convertible frame under a hardtop.

My Hollanders says 63-64 are the same and 65-70 are the same. Unfortunately, my book doesn't cover 62 and earlier.

Is the rust on the inboard surface or the outboard? Convertible and HT frames use the same outside members. The main difference is the additional pieces welded to the HT frame to box it out. These are specially formed parts, not just flat pieces, so boxing a later model frame is a lot more complex than on a street rod. However, if the special convertible sections on your frame are in usable shape, you COULD cut them out of the old frame and weld them into a HT frame.

I'm pretty sure the 65-70 B-body convertibles all use the same frame. It is not easy to convert an unboxed hardtop frame to a convertible frame. On street rods, where the frame is a relatively simple C-channel, boxing the frame is not too difficult. On these cars, the convertible frame starts with a hardtop frame then uses a number of specially shaped sections that fit inside the channel of the hardtop frame for reinforcement. These are not simple plates or even channels, but are formed sections that taper to clear the floor pan and other obstacles. Look closely at your convertible frame and you'll see where these additional pieces have been welded in. If the welded-in parts are in good shape, you CAN carefully cut them out of the old frame and weld them into a hardtop frame. I doubt, however, if this is really cost effective. At some point it's cheaper to just buy a complete car from the desert and start with that. Unfortunately, the very nature of the boxed convertible frame retains moisture and promotes rust.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">So if I had (have) factory shoulder belts in my '71 Cutlass Convert . . it would be a bit special? </div></div> Yup. They were a seldom-seen factory option that year.

78-88 A/G body cars with a manual trans like this 79 Olds are pretty rare. That's not to say they will bring big bucks however. The trans is a T5, primarily used behind V6s and very low horsepower V8s. Factory rating on the 260 is around 110 HP or so, if I recall. Not exactly Oldsmobile's finest hour.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Factory 2bbl olds engine were 8 or 8.5 to one compression engines, but the two speeds were designed and bult for the quarter mile. If it runs right it will burn tires. How much you get out of it depends on how much you put into it. Everything is available to make it screem. Just figure out what you want and what you are willing to spend. Mike </div></div> I'm going to have to respectfully disagree here. The 2 speed Junkaway...er, Jetaway is NOT a Powerglide. It's a Super Turbine 300 (ST-300), a completely different trans. First gear is 1.76:1 (yes, that is the same as a PG); a TH400 or TH350 has a steeper first gear that will improve off-the-line acceleration.

As I noted in my earlier post, convertibles were exempted in the Federal regs. On the other hand, shoulder belts (front and back) were optionally available in convertibles (at least according to the Fisher Body manual) but I've never seen one.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have a 71 cutlass convertible and i need to replace the window regulators. My teeth are all chopped up and the windows of course don't go up correctly or all the way. What other cars can i take these off of? My buddy has some from a 70/71 camro, will these fit and work properly? Any help is appreciated, thanks. </div></div> Camaro will definitely not work. Any 71-72 GM A-body (Cutlass, Chevelle, LeMans, Skylark) 2 dr hardtop or convertible will work. 68-70 A-body may also work, but I know there was a change to the window mechanism somewhere in there due to the requirement for impact beams in the doors.

Actually, 1968 was the first year that front seat shoulder belts (along with side marker lights) were federally mandated, so yes, a 68 should have them. Note that shoulder belts were optionally available prior to 68, but all 68s (except convertibles) were required to have them.

A 67 front bumper is differenf from a 66

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The block numbers are 30M137064 and the heads are a "C" series, part number 394 548. Best we can tell is the 69 442 had a 70 short block installed (warranty possibly?) </div></div> Actually, a factory warranty replacement block would have come unstamped. The dealers were instructed to stamp the new block with the number from the old block. The fact that this block has a different VIN derivative on it indicates that the block was originally installed in a 1970 production car and at some time the owner of the 69 442 either blew up the original 400 or just wanted a 455. Or else, the motor didn't really come from a 69 442 and was just assembled from various parts (admittedly, good ones, however).

Wayne, As others have noted, backdriving your breaker panel from a 110 outlet will only power one side of the 220 panel unless you can find two 110 outlets connected to opposite phases of the panel. We're in Northern VA (Loudoun County) and have a 15 KW PTO-driven generator that we run from the tractor. I use a 60 W/220 v breaker to connect the generator output to the breaker panel. Someday I'll wire an outlet to the outside of the house (I could use it to run a welder normally!) but for now I just drag cable through the basement. Of course, always be sure to turn off the main before connecting the generator.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Any thing else I need to look for? </div></div> Sounds like they bolted the original 69 442 heads onto a 70 short block. Correct 442 valve covers will have "notches" (basically dented-in areas) at the rear to clear the power brake booster and A/C box. These are sought-after. Olds did not drill the crank pilot bearing hole on engines bolted to automatics, so an MT crank is worth more than an AT crank.

You're correct that the block stamping is from a 1970 Lansing-built car. Could have been a 442 or a Vista Cruiser, or a full size - there's not enough info to tell. The casting number on the heads is actually 394548, not 894548, and these heads were used on 67-69 big blocks (400, 425, and 455s), so they aren't the original heads from that block. The "C" heads could have come with either big (2.07") or small (2.00") intake valves.

In 1970 Olds used the then-new "notchback" Cutlass Supreme body style as the basis for all its A-body convertibles. As a result, the Supreme convert and the 442 convert used the same body shell. The 442 got a unique VIN, but the body stampings and frames are the same. The Supreme could be ordered with 350 or 455 motors, the 442 with either the 365 HP standard 455 or the 370 HP W-30. The 442s came standard with beefed up transmissions - in the case of the TH400 automatic the 442 had unique identifer tags on the trans. The 442s also came standard with the FE2 suspension package that included a larger front sway bar, a back sway bar, and stiffer springs and shocks. Of course, the 442 also got the unique grilles, emblems, stripes, and the outside sport mirrors. Everything else (console, rally pac, OAI hood, posi rear axle) were options on the 442. There were some minor trim differences (upholstery, exterior chrome) but these are nits. You could also order virtually all the 442 equipment on a Supreme convertible as well. In fact, in 1970 you could get the SX W-32 package (on either the Supreme hardtop or convert) that included the 365 HP 455 from the base 442 and the FE2 suspension package.

The plastic cowl screen/cover was used on Chevelles and GTOs, which is why Year One carries them. They are NOT correct for an Oldsmobile, but can be used if you prefer. All 68-72 Cutlii came from the factory with the metal screen. Note in particular that the factory screen has a formed "dome" above the wiper motor to clear the crank arm. It is very difficult to find this part in good condition. Hardware store screen that I've been able to find does not have the correct hole size. Don't destroy the part if it's not damaged.

That's definitely an Olds 215. Someone built a do-it-yourself TR8. Buick designed the 215 but Olds developed their own unique heads, thus the different valve covers. What intake manifold is on the motor? Real TR8s used a pair of 2bbl side draft carbs, which is why real TR8s needed the raised portion in the hood. This looks like a GM dual-plane intake.