32' Oldsmobile Deluxe Convertible Roadster

[chistech]

1 hour ago, JV Puleo said:

Well, I'd stop in if you were just a bit closer. I'm fortunate in having at least two friends who appreciate pre-war cars... one of them has an unrestored '31 Chrysler CM6 roadster.

That’s exactly it joe, we’re all just a little too spread out. My buddy with a 32’ Chevy lives in Voluntown CT which is just a little too far at the hour twenty minute mark. There is a guy in town with a very decent collection from pre-war to the 80’s but he’s basically 95yrs old and still working in his garage. He has a friend who comes over to his place every day so I won’t intrude. He’s a little eccentric, somewhat of a miser, and I know we wouldn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things. He’s like “that will be good enough” and I’m the opposite with “it needs to be done the best way possible”. I’m not big on being encouraged to cut corners if you know what I mean. 😆 

[chistech]

Primer is still hardening up so a guide coat got sprayed on and we started on the front fenders. They were done years ago and left in primer. While the majority of the surfaces of both fenders are perfect, there are some areas that were exposed to moisture and it caused the need for some removal off the old work and new touch up repair.

[John S.]

Ted, any updates? John

[chistech]

Geez John, it’s only been two days! LOL 😆. Actually, Gilly has had obligations and I’ve been straight out with family things and other Stuff so no, nothing has happened but I believe if not tomorrow, the Sunday Gilly will be coming and we’ll get back to it. I’ll be heading to Florida next Tuesday and won’t be back till the first  but Gilly will continue working while I’m gone and I’ll have him send me pictures and progress reports so I can post them.

[John S.]

I get nervous Ted when you don"t post for a day or two. Just kidding. Enjoy Florida, and the holidays. Merry Christmas, John

[chistech]

Gilly came today and pretty much finished off one of the front fenders. While they were done back in the 70’s to a very high, ready to paint finish, they got shop rash and some rust where the storage building leaked and some water pooled in the fenders. What’s pretty amazing is these fenders appear to have never had any damage on their edges. All the edge rolls are perfect and we cannot find one single area on all four fenders that looks like there was ever any damage. 

[chistech]

Decided to paint the four dash knobs today. Three have wording and all four have a perimeter ring. I used the left over sign painters pinstripe paint from my wheels. The wording was fairly deep in the light and shutter knob but shallow on edges on the coasting knob. Need to let the paint dry more because no matter how carefully I tried to paint and wipe the excess away, the “C” and “G” kept losing all the paint while wiping all the excess off. Overall they look much better than they did and with a little diligence, I’ll get the coasting knob right. First picture shows the light knob before paint. 3rd picture is the cats eye cigar lighter.

Edited December 17, 2018 by chistech (see edit history)

[chistech]

Here’s a picture of my headache knob! Needs a little buffing to remove the extra paint. 

[chistech]

Well I’m down in Florida enjoying time with my in laws and my son. Luckily they only live about an hour from each other. While I’m here unable to do anything on my car, Gilly has been putting in a few hours. He’s also a highly accomplished lead guitarist and because of the holiday, has some performances he has to practice for so his time is limited. With what time he’s had he was able to finish up both front fenders so they’re ready for priming, wet sanded both doors, and the golf bag door. Hopefully we’ll start spraying color by the end of January.

[GARY F]

Great time consuming work. Cant wait for the color.

[Luv2Wrench]

Those knobs really turned out good.  What was the process for polishing them and did you do the paint before the polish or polish before and after?

 

[chistech]

A simple buffing wheel and toothpaste works good if you can believe it. It really depends on how much you need to buff and how bad your knob is. Of course, if the knob is bad, you have to buff more and be careful about not removing too much of the inletting of the print. My knobs were polished first then all the original paint was removed with a small round wire sharpened by grinding the wire at an angle. Don't rotate the wire while grinding it to make a pencil point, simple grind across the wire at an angle so the point looks like an oval. This shape fits in the groove and chips the old paint right out easily. After getting all the old paint out I wiped the knob surface with Prepsol to remove any grease or residue. I then simply paint the lettering with a small brush and Sign Painters enamel or pinstripe paint. Let is dry about 5-10 minutes then wipe it across to remove the paint around the inletting. I was told the Goo Gone impregnated towels work well for this. I used thinner on a paper towel wrapped tightly around my finger and I try to wipe in the direction that is opposite the majority of the grooves so to speak. My knob are a brown bakelite rather than a black and if you try and polish them with too much pressure or too much of an aggressive compound it roughs the knob up rather than polishes it. That is why the wet toothpaste seems to work good as it stays moist and is a light abrasive.

Edited December 24, 2018 by chistech (see edit history)

[Luv2Wrench]

2 hours ago, chistech said:

A simple buffing wheel and toothpaste works good if you can believe it. It really depends on how much you need to buff and how bad your knob is. Of course, if the knob is bad, you have to buff more and be careful about not removing too much of the inletting of the print. My knobs were polished first then all the original paint was removed with a small round wire sharpened by grinding the wire at an angle. Don't rotate the wire while grinding it to make a pencil point, simple grind across the wire at an angle so the point looks like an oval. This shape fits in the groove and chips the old paint right out easily. After getting all the old paint out I wiped the knob surface with Prepsol to remove any grease or residue. I then simply paint the lettering with a small brush and Sign Painters enamel or pinstripe paint. Let is dry about 5-10 minutes then wipe it across to remove the paint around the inletting. I was told the Goo Gone impregnated towels work well for this. I used thinner on a paper towel wrapped tightly around my finger and I try to wipe in the direction that is opposite the majority of the grooves so to speak. My knob are a brown bakelite rather than a black and if you try and polish them with too much pressure or too much of an aggressive compound it roughs the knob up rather than polishes it. That is why the wet toothpaste seems to work good as it stays moist and is a light abrasive.

 

Wonderful description, many thanks!  I believe my issues were aggressive buffing and scratching the inletting with a pencil point instead of lifting the paint up. 

[chistech]

Glad I could help. When I say wire I mean a piece of piano wire about 1/16” or .0625, not something real fine and soft. 

[chistech]

When we’re away from home and our projects, one thing we can do if we have the time and means, is to sit and do some research of our cars on the internet. I know it helps satisfy my want to be home working on my project when I can’t be. It seems almost every time I look at factory photos or photos of the era of my car I observe something new. Now, just because a factory photo shows something doesn’t mean it was done on the actual production cars and this rule rings very true especially on 32’ Olds. Many details shown in factory promotional photos were never carried over to production cars. Recently I noticed a factory photo of a 32’ with an angle cut tailpipe. The photo is of a sedan with a trunk rack which makes it a deluxe six wheel car. Looking at other factory photos of other cars I also observed straight cut tailpipes just like my replacement Waldrons exhaust was made. What I did come to realize is that it appears Olds put the straight cut tailpipes on the standard 5 wheelcars with rear mounted spares and the angle cut tailpipes on the deluxe cars with the rear trunk racks. Perhaps the idea with the angle cut was to help prevent exhaust gases from flowing up into luggage and down more towards the ground? I wonder if that theory has ever been investigated? Again, not trusting factory photos, I asked a couple of fellow Olds owners. Both have very original cars and both have deluxe models with original tailpipes. Both are angle cut.  So with my car also being a deluxe, I will be cutting an angle on my tailpipe to be more OEM correct.

[8E45E]

41 minutes ago, chistech said:

What I did come to realize is that it appears Olds put the straight cut tailpipes on the standard 5 wheelcars with rear mounted spares and the angle cut tailpipes on the deluxe cars with the rear trunk racks. Perhaps the idea with the angle cut was to help prevent exhaust gases from flowing up into luggage and down more towards the ground? I wonder if that theory has ever been investigated? Again, not trusting factory photos, I asked a couple of fellow Olds owners. Both have very original cars and both have deluxe models with original tailpipes. Both are angle cut.  So with my car also being a deluxe, I will be cutting an angle on my tailpipe to be more OEM correct.

 

I imagine that luggage rack was sold as a genuine accessory item at the dealer level.  If someone has an original luggage rack with the installation instructions, perhaps cutting the end of the tailpipe at an angle might be included on the instructions sheet.

 

Craig

[chistech]

10 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

I imagine that luggage rack was sold as a genuine accessory item at the dealer level.  If someone has an original luggage rack with the installation instructions, perhaps cutting the end of the tailpipe at an angle might be included on the instructions sheet.

 

Craig

Olds did things differently than most. Accessories were factory installed and there’s no list of dealer installed accessories that I know of. The luggage rack was a factory installed item standard on a deluxe car and not offered on a standard 5 wheeled car as an accessory. Some items like front and rear bumpers were offered for both series but again, were factory installed, not dealer installed.

[chistech]

Got a text today from Gilly on how his work is progressing. It appears he is not planning on shooting color by the end of January as I had hoped. It seems he’s planning on starting with color by the end of next week or the start of the week after that!💃🕺💃🕺💃🕺

[Laughing Coyote]

On 12/10/2018 at 8:00 PM, chistech said:

Now with the excitement of it getting close paint, I can’t seem to sleep again!😅

I'm sure you really are having a hard time sleeping now while your away. 

[chistech]

No, it’s not. My wife is right, I’m addicted and it’s bad. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t as passionate about things I get involved with and could just walk away for a breather once in a while but it’s very hard for me. I’ve done tons of things in my life and I tend to do them with the same sort of passion. From training ranch horses to building RC planes and restoring cars, just doing it is never enough. If I had all the hours back I spent learning to do all that I’ve done, I’d probably live another 100 years. The best thing is I know I’m not the only one with the addiction. There’s lots here on this forum and on all the other forums and groups I’ve been part of that have it as least as bad as I do. Right now we’re down in Florida with my in laws who live in a golfing community. Their neighbors ask me if I play and before I can say no, my wife says, “please, he doesn’t need another damn hobby to get involved with”! LOL 😂. So tell me, how many of you don’t sleep well when you have a project getting so close to fruition??

[jan arnett (2)]

I do my best problem solving when I am asleep and I am obsessed over getting it right.  Just my engineering and EMT training I guess.

 

[Laughing Coyote]

Actually you already have a start on the golf thing.  Don't you have a set of clubs that goes with the 32 Olds? 

[chistech]

1 hour ago, Laughing Coyote said:

Actually you already have a start on the golf thing.  Don't you have a set of clubs that goes with the 32 Olds? 

Damn, you're good! I totally forgot about that set of clubs. Plus, I have a door on my car for those clubs. Now I guess I'll have to take up the game!

[John S.]

Interesting aside about  the angle of the cut on the tailpipe with the luggage rack.  This, to me, is what makes a restoration so fascinating . I appreciate the research behind the automobiles being restored.  There are so many  different little touches from car to car, within the same make, depending on the options, that most people take for granted.  Imagine the meetings with designers and engineers  at Oldsmobile about this simple little detail, which most  experts  today would not even notice. Great work Ted! Thanks for the history lesson. John

[chistech]

21 hours ago, John S. said:

Interesting aside about  the angle of the cut on the tailpipe with the luggage rack.  This, to me, is what makes a restoration so fascinating . I appreciate the research behind the automobiles being restored.  There are so many  different little touches from car to car, within the same make, depending on the options, that most people take for granted.  Imagine the meetings with designers and engineers  at Oldsmobile about this simple little detail, which most  experts  today would not even notice. Great work Ted! Thanks for the history lesson. John

John, this Olds has taught me so much about restoration research. It’s really up to the individual on how far one wants to delve into their project. Today, most judges would never catch a lot of things because the minute knowledge of every nook and cranny has been lost through the years. Many things have been done on restored 32’ Olds cars that slips right past judges and those cars get high awards when shown. I will not name specific cars but will mention specific things that are done that are missed by top judges at today’s shows. One of the most frequently seen is the total chroming of the horn trumpets. This is totally incorrect as the horns on Olds only had the bells of the trumpet chromed. The tubes were painted to match the fender color, whatever it was. Another is pinstripes on wood wheels. Many paint the stripes too wide and at the edges of the painted sprocket pattern because artists renderings and factory promotional photos show this. But, always a but, any wood spoke “original survivor” wheel from actual production cars that can be found shows a much narrower pinstripe and the stripe set back from the edge of the pattern. My wheels also showed proof that two 32’olds historians believe, that a single narrow stripe was painted around the inside perimeter of the wheel. My wheels have been painted to the exact way the research of production wheels has shown it to be. Then on top of small things like this, we have also determined where there were at least three running changes in the Olds model year on the hood alone. Early models had the latch mechanism screwed to the hood sides. Mid production models had them riveted. Last production models had them riveted but also included a piece of 3/4” angle sheet metal along the inside lower pivot points of the hood doors to stiffen the hood sides because they were very flexible and prone to kinking some due to the length of the side panel. Then there’s the front motor mounts that used screws with straight frame rails and later cars that used bolts with a bulbous front frame rail so the bolt could be easily removed from below the frame. There is also a know example of a six cylinder car with an 8 cylinder body, matching numbers, that was made at the end of the model year and one can only suppose it was done to use up the bodies that were left. The 8cyl cars used an indented firewall to clear the end of the longer 8cyl block.  I can guarantee that only a 32’ Olds owner well versed in the 32’ model year would know these things and most owners only know what their own cars have. A judge could car less if the hood is correct to the car based on it’s serial number and date of production. I’m one of some, that small things like that matter. Of course they really only matter to me but it’s what make me happy. My goal all along was to restore this car back to the closest OEM possible and that is what I’ve been doing to the best of my research work. I have possibly deviated only in areas where there is no specific knowledge either way. One thing is interior color. Two colors were standard with the four paint color combinations available. The maroon w/black fenders or my all black roadster would come standard with black roof and black interior and there was an option of tan whipcord for all four colors. The other two body colors, two tone blue and two tone brown came with saddle brown  leather standard.  What is not known nor is there any documentation either way is whether the saddle brown leather was available on the black or black/maroon roadster models if requested or ordered. So I suppose it can be said this is where I varied to my own personal taste but no one can say with authority that it’s incorrect. It’s crazy that a middle of the road marque would have so many variations and that many can be documented with so little factory technical documentation still in existence. Sorry to be so long winded. This Olds has just really fascinated me. I’m really happy I own this car.

Edited December 29, 2018 by chistech
Added info (see edit history)

[Luv2Wrench]

17 hours ago, chistech said:

Damn, you're good! I totally forgot about that set of clubs. Plus, I have a door on my car for those clubs. Now I guess I'll have to take up the game!

 

You'll need period correct clubs of course... hickory shafts only.

 

[chistech]

38 minutes ago, Luv2Wrench said:

 

You'll need period correct clubs of course... hickory shafts only.

 

That’s what I have in a period bag. I think there’s a photo on this thread somewhere.

 

 

NOTE: found the post with the picture of the clubs. Not a great picture but you’ll get the idea of what I have. It’s almoa kids set! 😆 Page 13, July 16

Edited December 28, 2018 by chistech (see edit history)

[Laughing Coyote]

2 hours ago, chistech said:

That’s what I have in a period bag.

Now you just need some period correct golf gear and you're all set. These serious guys look like they need someone else for a foursome.  Fore!!!

 

[Spinneyhill]

4 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said:

These serious guys look like they need someone else for a foursome.

That is not all they need.....

[chistech]

Still in Florida but leaving late this afternoon. Gilly sent me some pictures of today’s work. He had primed the bottom of bothe front fenders and has been working on the tops. He also started on my hood sections. He jokingly sent me a picture of the hood telling it was in bad shape. It has a very lightly pitted area about 3/4” in size. Again, it’s amazing how good of shape this car is in for its age considering what it’s value was years ago. I believe it going into storage 50+ years ago had to have helped.

 

Edited December 30, 2018 by chistech (see edit history)

[chistech]

More pictures. First picture shows the “bad” area on my hood. I really don’t think there’s a dent in the hood which again is surprising considering this car was in a building with many other cars with a ton of junk piled on top of it. Front fenders are now primed on the tops and 2 of the 4 hood panels are done. 

[chistech]

Been working with Gilly to get the front fenders ready for paint. Found a couple of issues that needed attention. One was the screw holes at the front of each fender had been repaired from most likely having the slotted 5/16 x18” oval head screws pulled through at one time which was very common with the 32’ Olds. Each hole had a washer brazed to the bottom to sure up the thin fender. These holes and washers needed to be countersunk enough to allow the oval head screw to fit flush as intended. The other three holes in the fenders have stamped in finishing washers to prevent the bolts from pulling through and they’re all in perfect condition. Many who restore 32’ Olds use polished SS screws and SS finishing washers on the two front holes but all that is incorrect, all  hardware should be plain steel and painted.(    I was fortunate that all the original fender mounting hardware was with my car when I purchased it. When the fenders were removed many years ago, all the hardware was removed and red oxide primed, the put in a coffee can. Every single nut, bolt, and washer, including the special shaped rear fender washers were in that can with not one of any needed fastener missing! Even all the rubber washers and fender/body mounting pads were there! Pretty amazing. Using one of the oval head screws, I counter sunk each front hole in the fenders deep enough for the head to mount flush as intended. There was enough braze in each hole to allow for opening up the countersink and allowing the washer to stay brazed to the fender. The extra thickness of the washer really surges up the front hole.

 

Edited January 12, 2019 by chistech (see edit history)

[chistech]

Another issue was with just one fender. The front fenders have a small inner fender panel at the very front inside in the area of the headlight cross bar bolts down to the chassis rail. No one really knows why this small panel is there. On my drivers fender, it appears that the small panel suffered some hanger rash at one time putting a decent kink that needed to be taken out. The inner panel was held to the fender with four areas of braze along the bottom of the front fender edge bead. Using a dremel thin cutoff wheel, I cut through the braze to remove the panel. Incredibly, when the panel came out exposing a lightly oversprayed original fender surface, there was virtually no real rust to be found on 87 year old fenders. A couple tiny areas but that was it. 

   I tin knocked out the crease and.ground off all the braze. I used my blast cabinet to freshen the metal to take the etch primer then primed it and the fender. Next night both got red padded and sprayed gloss black. Next night had me tig welding in the panel. Now just some touch up body work and this fender will be done too. Supposed to shoot color on the front fenders and both front and rear aprons.

Edited January 12, 2019 by chistech (see edit history)

[John S.]

Ted, I can't wait to see this car done. John

[chistech]

Thanks John, I feel the same way. Now because it’s so close to the painting, it seems like progress has slowed way down and we’re not getting anywhere but that’s really not the case, it just feels that way. It’s like it’s never going to get there sometimes! What’s really neat is those who have followed its journey on this thread will soon see it finished and they know all the steps it went through to get there.  Most have been along for the entire ride with me and I really appreciate the help, comments, motivation, and the thumbs up I’ve gotten. I’m still shooting for sometime in May to have it done. Gilly told me he’s going to be coming more often so he can help me reach that deadline. I’ve lined up some extra hands when assembly time comes as they will be needed. It’s funny how guys like to stop by and see the progress but have now offered to help in those last few weeks. I think everyone wants to finally see it done. LOL 

[chistech]

Going through all the small detail parts and checking everything for fit before paint gets applied. My two spare tire locks, another factory supplied part that came with the deluxe option car, were both on my car. It’s made up of a formed steel lower metal bracket and a upper white metal casting that holds the lock mechanism. My white metal housings had a smooth finish but were dark and cloudy looking. I believe the housings might have been painted yet mine didn’t have any paint on them. I took them over to my neighbors and see if they’d polish up. Turns out the white metal, or whatever type of metal it is, polished up like chrome. They’re going to stay just as you see them.

 

i also fit my windshield frame and lower gasket one more time to the cowl. The difference this time is I bolted it all down tight making sure it sat down correctly all along the cowl and new gasket. Alls good so off it came.

[John S.]

Really sweet, Ted. Really sweet. John

[chistech]

The front fenders, splash aprons, rear apron and radiator apron got loaded in my enclosed trailer today for an appointment with paint booth on Monday! Getting closer. Got notified by Hampton Coach that my roof is done so will probably be making a trip up next week to get all my items. Only piece I don’t have of my car is my chrome instrument panel. That’s at the Finishing Touch in Chicago but they tell me they should be done with it by April the latest. I might actually be able to make my end of May deadline.

[Laughing Coyote]

7 hours ago, chistech said:

That’s at the Finishing Touch in Chicago but they tell me they should be done with it by April the latest. I might actually be able to make my end of May deadline.

When the car is already to go and your just waiting on the instrument panel to come back and be installed you're not going to be able to sleep a wink.   It's coming along nicely.

[chistech]

In the middle of working on my car, a customers truck, and my regular job, my wife and I are planning the remodeling our kitchen. New tile floor, new countertops, new sink, new backsplash, and walls getting painted. I need to start on it but we have football parties because we’re patriots fans. Had to hold off pulling tile up last weekend when they played the chargers and held off this weekend for the game with the he chiefs. So now they won again. Not sure if I can’t wait another two weeks to start pulling the kitchen apart. Those damn Pats with their washed up old quarterback!😀