jdelima Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 Hey guys just picked up the cord project from Idaho. Looks like it's going to be a lot of work but I pulled the trigger long before looking at it. First things first I'm gonna try to clean it up empty the fuel out change the oil and locate where the battery is to see if I can get this bad boy started. After further investigation it seems to have a 1950s Oldsmobile engine (RWD) so I may be forced to keep it a 50's hot rod theme. Wish me luck and after looking at it looks like body and dash may be original everything else was modified by my great uncle and grandfather in the 50's. The top is in poor shape, interior is in fair condition, body is not too bad, original drivetrain was no where in sight, chrome is pitted but seems to be restorable, there are parts I still need to identify. Is there a manual available or if anybody has a PDF of a manual that would be awesome if one of you guys could email it to me. My email is jdelimarealtor@gmail.com. I will post more photos as I start to clean it up. Joe 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 If you can get it running as is that would be your best outcome. Very cool. Good luck. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 Great start to a project. I all most bought one years ago. And there was one hiding in Idaho. I guess you still never know what is stashed away right down the road. With everything converted to a RWD setup. A lot of the high restoration costs will not be there. But at the same time, a lot of the high finished value will not be there as well. Have fun with it, great car to play with in the garage. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 Very nice car, looks super solid. I agree that I'd get it running and driving as it is. While it can be converted back to original, you basically would need to buy everything from the firewall forward except sheet metal. That doesn't sound bad, until you start looking at costs of engines and transmissions, and rebuilding them. Just drive, enjoy, and don't open the hood! Great find, congrats... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdelima Posted May 21, 2021 Author Share Posted May 21, 2021 19 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said: Great start to a project. I all most bought one years ago. And there was one hiding in Idaho. I guess you still never know what is stashed away right down the road. With everything converted to a RWD setup. A lot of the high restoration costs will not be there. But at the same time, a lot of the high finished value will not be there as well. Have fun with it, great car to play with in the garage. This one's been stashed away for a long time. Unfortunately I don't think I'll ever convert it back to front wheel drive too costly I'll probably just keep it as is in the 50s style as my uncle wished. It'll be cool to put around with my daughters and everybody that has seen it thanks it's gonna be a cool project. I'll put some more pictures up after I clean it up a little more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdelima Posted May 21, 2021 Author Share Posted May 21, 2021 18 hours ago, trimacar said: Very nice car, looks super solid. I agree that I'd get it running and driving as it is. While it can be converted back to original, you basically would need to buy everything from the firewall forward except sheet metal. That doesn't sound bad, until you start looking at costs of engines and transmissions, and rebuilding them. Just drive, enjoy, and don't open the hood! Great find, congrats... Thanks man I'm looking forward to getting it going. Yep it'll stay rear wheel drive. Do you know a lot about the tops on these things this one's in pretty bad shape how much do you estimate it would cost to replace? I have all the bars in metal it's just a canvas is ruined. Also the canvas that goes over the rear seat when the top is down I need to get my hands on one of those. I'm in California and one upholstery shops in around $24-$2800 to redo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdelima Posted May 21, 2021 Author Share Posted May 21, 2021 Also does anybody know where the batteries are in these things I think they're under the floorboards but I haven't got that far. Any good suggestions on what battery to replace it with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Battery is under the drivers seat. We just pout a top on a Conv coupe and that was around 6k. You can do it for more or less although your top is longer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 1 hour ago, alsancle said: Battery is under the drivers seat. We just pout a top on a Conv coupe and that was around 6k. You can do it for more or less although your top is longer. Yes, I'd say it would be in the range of 6K, materials alone will be a thousand. That's not an easy top to make and there are certain oddities about it, including flaps over the front irons above doors to seal glass frame. If you can find someone to do it for 2800 you'd better jump on it, but make sure they know what the original top looked like and the features of same. I'm not sure what you mean about "canvas over rear seat". Covering the rear seat with a cover stretching across was not an original feature. The battery was originally under the driver seat cushion. Make sure that you don't put a battery in that's too tall, or the cushion metal framing could short it out. I've seen a car that had an interior fire started like that. I lay a piece of rubber over the battery in my Cord just in case. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdelima Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 On 5/21/2021 at 4:58 AM, trimacar said: Yes, I'd say it would be in the range of 6K, materials alone will be a thousand. That's not an easy top to make and there are certain oddities about it, including flaps over the front irons above doors to seal glass frame. If you can find someone to do it for 2800 you'd better jump on it, but make sure they know what the original top looked like and the features of same. I'm not sure what you mean about "canvas over rear seat". Covering the rear seat with a cover stretching across was not an original feature. The battery was originally under the driver seat cushion. Make sure that you don't put a battery in that's too tall, or the cushion metal framing could short it out. I've seen a car that had an interior fire started like that. I lay a piece of rubber over the battery in my Cord just in case. Perfect looks like I'll get a little time tomorrow to play with it so I'll tinker and let you know how it goes I'm gonna order the 6 V battery after I take some measurements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rg171352 Posted August 15, 2022 Share Posted August 15, 2022 Any updates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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