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Hey guys, I have bought the 51 Olds super


Guest Jonny88

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Guest Jonny88

Hello everybody. A few weeks ago I had posted a thread that introduced myself and a 1951 Oldsmobile Super that I was looking at for $4000. You all were very helpful with my questions and gave me the knowledge to buy this 51' 88 super. Well I have finally bought it and will have full ownership by March of this coming year. The verdict of the car: Well I must say this super 88 is in decent shape for the price Bill the owner was offering it for. I will list some of the details that when on with my investigation at PM yesterday.

The body of the car: I know you guys said it is best to stay away from rust if possible. The exterior of this car is in excellent shape for the most part. The hood does not exactly align directly to the front end, almost as if it is bent about a centimeter out of place. The same result with the door creases where they meet with the frame body. There is no visual rust on the surface of the outside of the car, and the paint is in very good shape, painted about 10-20 years ago restoration, although the restoration was not done to original Olds super 88 specs as you guys had discussed earlier. Inside the wheels wells is some surface rust and there is a flake or two inside the well where the beginning of the cabin starts. The front bumper will need re-chromed again, horns and all, there are a few spots where the chrome on the bumper has flaked off. Aside from needing new carpeting from the front seat to the firewall there is a bit of surface rust but no holes, on the most part surface rust only. On two of the doors, the underside is rusted moderately and will need repaired, but once again, no holes.

The engine bay: Is quite clean, everything runs as should and the car idled like a sewing machine, quite nicely. The engine block was repainted Chevy red for some odd reason the owner didn't know and was never modified or taken out as far as he knew. The belt connecting the alternator and fan was either loose, worn out, or the bearings to something were bad, the belt wobbled a bit when the engine was running. Throttle and transmission linkage was also good.

The electrical system (what a mess): OK, the car is a converted 12 V system and charges the battery fine. The car starts on the first push of the button no problem. But aside from that the car will need all other electrical looked at by myself, I will have to learn the system. The bad: The headlights work fine with the conversion, and one tail light works as well, other could have a busted bulb. Parking lights don't work, turn signals don't work, brake lights (as the brake peddle is pushed in) don't work, all interior lighting does not work, speedometer does not work, gas gauge does not work, amps do work, volts do not work, engine temp gauge does not work the heater does not work and the horn does not work. Big problem on my behalf but should not be a huge problem.

Transmission: I did take the car for a drive with the owner after I had inspected the body (no fiberglass add in's, which is a good thing, I checked as described on the forum). This old 88 does shift well for its aged transmission. All gears in D L and R work fine. I did notice if you start out in first and really step on the gas the car just seems to rev its self without moving?? Interesting, any input on this??

Brakes: The brake pedal is missing its rubber pad for the foot. The brakes will need work, the shoe on the left rear tire needs a complete overhaul with a new one installed I could hear it clanking the whole time, and the car will need new brakes all around. I do know that this is a manual brake system and had to pump it several times to get the car to stop. Parking brake does not work ether.

The rest of the car is in fairly good shape including the interior, aside from it needing a new glove box interior and lock cylinder as well as a trunk lock cylinder. surface rust is present but overall a very solid body, I must say from a distance you would think this car would need no work, that is more than a tease. But with an old car come work to be done, you cant stop aging. One good thing about this buy and this car, it was reasonably price and I could take it for a spin when ever I wanted, it runs and drives well.

While I am paying off the car I will start searching for NOS parts for the car and will eventually, by summer time have the car switched back to a 6 Volt system so the electronics will work. I am lost on where to start, some questions for you guys, once again greatly appreciate your help, thanks

Questions: Let me know what you guys think of what I had stated above and below, thanks.

12 volt conversion back to 6 volt, what to start on and how to go about with it.

I will need to get owners manuals and shop manuals, as the owner does not have any that came with the car.

My search for parts starts now. I am mostly interested in NOS parts mainly, but I know they are hard to find. My last resort will be the two companies that Rocketraider referred to me, which I greatly appreciate. I want to bring back as much originality as possible and would love to have the car back to original condition through the next few years (this will be my project car).

Parts that I am currently interested in obtaining within the next few months:

NOS or original parts Windshield wipers both for driver side and passenger.

NOS or original parts 6V alternator

NOS or original parts fuel pump

NOS or original parts Lock key and cylinder for trunk and glove box

NOS or original parts Air Filter Pan

NOS or original parts rubber foot pads for both the Brake pedal and Gas Pedal.

NOS or original parts Brake shoe and 4 drum brakes that are not wore out.

If any of you guys know any dealers or owners and are able to refer them to me, that would be great.

My other question for now would be how to go about with brake shoe replacement and drum brake replacement.

As always I appreciate all of your help, this hobby is fairly new to me although I am learning at a fast pace and as best as I can, thanks for your input.

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hi, well you've got yourself a very merry olds christmas present, congrats. i hope you'll start with the brake system, they are so important to have working properly. you mention having both a amp and voltage gauge. you should have water,fuel,ampere,oil pressure gauges. join the oldsmobile club of america, lots of help there for you. have fusick's send you it's catalog, or you can view it online. you must have and get the shop manual. well done jonny88, charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.

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I second the comments of pontiac1953 and will add a reminder that the brake system should be refurbished all at once, not piecemeal. Repair and replace all brake components at once and hopefully you will not have to do it again for many years.

Many of the items you need are listed at Fusicks, and I would advise do not get hung up on the need for NOS parts rather than reproduction or replacements. For example, Fusicks has brake pedal pads for $12.50 and in this case an actual NOS part in the original Olds package is not worth your paying extra. Likewise, brake parts can be purchased from normal replacement stock and Fusicks has them, as may your local NAPA. If you need an air cleaner housing you will probably need to buy a used one and restore it. Good luck, Todd

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Guest Jim_Edwards

About that tranny shifting issue. One of your first tasks will be to have it rebuilt. Sounds like a lot of issues with internal pressures being insufficient. Typical cause is crud and an old worn clutch pack along with a clogged filter. Of course those early hydra-matics are never going to get you going like newer transmissions. They learned a lot in the first ten years of building automatic transmissions.

Be very careful of investing in NOS parts like fuel pumps and carburetor kits. All the rubber and leather components will be dried out or decomposing. Virtually useless after 50 to 60 years of sitting on a shelf somewhere.

Brakes are most certainly important, but don't condemn anything until they are thoroughly examined and the drums have been measured for serviceability. Be more concerned about the condition of the rubber parts of the brake cylinders and condition of all brake lines. The latter will likely need replacing.

Unless you have intentions of getting involved with points judging I wouldn't revert all the way back to an oil bath on the air filtering issue. A paper filter type setup from a 2bbl setup from 1958 or later will have virtually the exact same physical appearance in general as the oil bath and one heck of a lot easier to maintain; and certainly more efficient at removing unwanted airborne abrasives before being sucked into the carburetor and into the engine.

If that non functioning taillight is not a burned out bulb or corroded socket then the problem is likely the curse of all GM produced cars until the last couple of years, poor grounding.

Most of all buy all the GM published manuals for the car you can find before doing anything.

Edited by Jim_Edwards (see edit history)
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hi jonny88, on the transmission issue, your transmission is a four speed single range hydra-matic, reverse is park when the engine is shut off. low gear means the transmission will be held in 2nd gear, not 1st gear, if changing the filter and fluids doesn't help it, might need an adjustment made, find a hydra-matic professional, or someone very educated in hydra-matics. for 1952, the hydra-matic valve body was improved, now the transmission had three forward choices, drive left= 1-2-3-4, drive right= 1-2-3 up to 70-75mph, then 4, low= 2. oldsmobile would label drive right as "S" for super. charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.

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Guest Jonny88

Thank you both for discussing isuess on the transmission issue. I understand what you guys were saying about a clogged filter and fluid change, I do not know if the most recent owner had done any of this maintnence, most likley not. This sure will be a big task for me. Can you guys guide me in the steps of cleaning the filter and fluid. I also found a owners manual and shop manual, original for $130 after shipping, what do you guys think. Will the shop manual cover details about the Hydramatic and electrical wiring and electircal system. I am starting to think that once the owner changed the electrical over to 12 volts he blew just about all the electrics for the gauges, turn signals, brake lights, and radio. Ironically the headlights work just fine. Im hoping the original owner did not reconnect all the componets. Whats your opinions? Thanks guys.

Jon Ketron

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Once you get the service books ($130 sounds just a liddle bit high ta me), your next step is to find someone in your area who thinks and understands 50s Oldsmobile.

Dedicated to the preservation & enjoyment of Oldsmobile then search local chapters- in your case should be Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Chapter OCA. They hosted the 2003 National Meet and they have a lot of 50s guys in the group. If they don't have someone familiar with the 51, there are several other chapters in Ohio which seems to be a very strong old Oldsmobile state.

1951 is one of the few service manuals missing in my collection, but if it's like its contemporaries, it will have detailed procedures for transmission and electrical. Use the wiring diagram and trace each circuit from source to load, and if it's hacked up pretty bad, repro harnesses are available.

I expect one reason it got changed to 12V was because those original style batteries got hard to find- unless you knew where to look. Most tractor and equipment supply places will have that long narrow 6V battery. Lotta tractors still use 'em.

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hi jonny88, tell me, does your 51 olds have a hydra-matic fluid filler tube and dipstick under the hood, on the right rear part of the rocket V8 ?, i know pontiac had the dipstick under the carpet and floor, on the right side of the trans floor hump untill 1955. when you go to changed the fluid, there's two places to drain, one is the drain plug on the rear of the pan, and the other is to drain the torus bowl (it's a fluid coupling- not a torque converter). there should be two plugs there, i don't think the shop manual will cover the hydra-matic other than throttle linkage adjustment. find a olds hydra-matic shop manual. hydra-matic pan gaskets are not hard to find. you may be asking why the torus bowl has two drain plugs, one will let air in so the fluid will drain out the other one. they should be 180 degrees apart. charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.

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Guest Jonny88

Hi everybody thanks for your replys I appriciate the help, Pontiac1953 I am pretty sure the dipstick for the hydromatic trans is in the engine bay. I will be away from the car for sometime until this March it is in storage a few hours from me. I could give you a better answer at that time. Could anyone point me in the best direction for hydromatic transmission fuid when I flush the system to put new fluid in, thanks. I did go ahead and bought the two manuals from a seller. Both shop and owners manual were sold to me a few days ago. Both are in good condition and will help me in my coming adventure with the restoration of this olds 88 in the summer months shortly. I do have a question, for the shame of me I do not remeber a manual choke button on the dash of that 1951 olds 88 I test drove and bought. Does anybody know if the 51 B Olds 88's had a automatic choke or manual button. Thanks guys I will be joining two Oldsmobile clubs in the coming months, the national olds club and olds club of america. This summer I would like to get her on the road, once electical is fixed, and take her to a few shows, let me know if any of you guys will be attending shows this summer. I live around the Cinncinati Ohio region and will travel an hour or two out of my way for shows this summer. Two shows that I will be attending in my area are the Annual Hamilton (My home town) Antique car parade, A huge show and a smaller one, Bebb Hill park show. Thanks.

Jon Ketron

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Guest Jim_Edwards
Hi everybody thanks for your replys I appriciate the help, Pontiac1953 I am pretty sure the dipstick for the hydromatic trans is in the engine bay. I will be away from the car for sometime until this March it is in storage a few hours from me. I could give you a better answer at that time. Could anyone point me in the best direction for hydromatic transmission fuid when I flush the system to put new fluid in, thanks. I did go ahead and bought the two manuals from a seller. Both shop and owners manual were sold to me a few days ago. Both are in good condition and will help me in my coming adventure with the restoration of this olds 88 in the summer months shortly. I do have a question, for the shame of me I do not remeber a manual choke button on the dash of that 1951 olds 88 I test drove and bought. Does anybody know if the 51 B Olds 88's had a automatic choke or manual button. Thanks guys I will be joining two Oldsmobile clubs in the coming months, the national olds club and olds club of america. This summer I would like to get her on the road, once electical is fixed, and take her to a few shows, let me know if any of you guys will be attending shows this summer. I live around the Cinncinati Ohio region and will travel an hour or two out of my way for shows this summer. Two shows that I will be attending in my area are the Annual Hamilton (My home town) Antique car parade, A huge show and a smaller one, Bebb Hill park show. Thanks.

Jon Ketron

The transmission fluid type is TYPE A. You can have any parts store order you a case if they don't have it in stock. Or, you can use any Dexron fluid, which they will have on the shelf.

Jim

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Guest Jonny88

Hello everybody I got a question for you all. I am kinda confused, I know that leaded gasoline was used in the old days until the 70s when they switched it over to unleaded fuel, at least that is what I was told. They don't make leaded gasoline anymore but I do know that there is a mixture that you can get for those leaded gas cars. The 1951 Oldsmobile super 88 that I am now the owner of, does it take leaded gasoline, the past owner stated that he just used unleaded gas that you get at the station now. Does it matter if you use leaded or unleaded gas in cars of the past including this model, if anybody can give me insight to this question it would be most appreciated, thanks. And if there is a mixture available for leaded gas cars, what is it and how do you go about doing it, thanks.

Jonny88

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Guest Jim_Edwards
Hello everybody I got a question for you all. I am kinda confused, I know that leaded gasoline was used in the old days until the 70s when they switched it over to unleaded fuel, at least that is what I was told. They don't make leaded gasoline anymore but I do know that there is a mixture that you can get for those leaded gas cars. The 1951 Oldsmobile super 88 that I am now the owner of, does it take leaded gasoline, the past owner stated that he just used unleaded gas that you get at the station now. Does it matter if you use leaded or unleaded gas in cars of the past including this model, if anybody can give me insight to this question it would be most appreciated, thanks. And if there is a mixture available for leaded gas cars, what is it and how do you go about doing it, thanks.

Jonny88

The car will run just fine on the proper grade pump gas available today. 87 Octane regular should work with no problem. If you find the engine pinging on acceleration or dieseling on shut off move up a grade and check the timing. At some point in time it may become necessary to put hardened seats in the heads for the intake valves. However, unless the car is going to be driven something like 1000 miles per month, that eventuality could be years away.

FYI the lead in gasoline served to help lubricate the contact point of the valves with the valve seats.

Jim

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