Need a little info or advice... Just picked up a 62 Olds F85 Cutlass to resurrect for the better half and my young daughters. It will be a daily driver and will have the Bellflower touch.... Blue body, flaked silver roof, tips etc. Since my kids will be in it alot, I want disc brakes... Anyone know of an easy swap? I am considering trying to fit '70's / '80's Camaro (F) / A body / G Body rotors and calipers to the stock spindles. For economy and to quicken it's maiden voyage, I am seriously thinking about putting in a 4.3 V6 / 200R from an S-10 or 3.8 from a later Fbody (ala Hack!?!). I will build the Aluminum 215 sometime in the future.... I have most of the parts except the block..... I am thinking econo-rod here... 20-25 MPG!?! I also have an almost complete '66 Buick 300 (Wildcat 310) in my shed that could use a rebuild, but I am afraid it would be too heavy.... Any thoughts / suggestions... It currently has the little 13" wheels, which I don't care for.... If I change the front rotors as explained above, the 4 lug problem goes away, I'll have to get creative on the rears. If I keep the 4 lug wheels, are there any decent period wheels? Did (Does) Radir make a 4 lug wheel? I am thinking maybe steelies (not red) and baby moons or spider caps. Does a later car, such as maybe a Vega, have a 14" or 15" wheel with the same bolt pattern? Does anyone have any suggestions for body parts found near Ohio? I have some wrinkled sheetmetal (Hood, Front bumper, RF Fender, gravel shield and front pan). These parts are workable, but replacing them would be much quicker and easier.... Does the gravel shields / hood / front pan carry over from the Buick Skylark / Pontiac Tempest? I did put an ad up in the WANTED section of the classifieds... I realize that this car doesn't necessarily fit the core curriculum of the HAMB even though it does fit the cut-off year and will not be a muscle car, but I also know the power of the HAMB and know that someone out there can give me a little direction. Thanks, Andy
I own one, a four door. Neat lines on the little car, mine is clean-but rusted all to hell, no idea how that happeneded other than the 100 pounds of pine needles that found their way into every seam in the body. Door skins and front fenders rusted loose from bracing and all kinds of interesting and strange rust damage. And, strange enough, a quick photo-crap chop I put together a few minutes ago.
I have 2 extra doors, but they're probably about 4" too long.... Hmmmm.... A '34 grill is easier to find than a '62 buick grill..... I have a sawzall and a torch..... I too think that they're neat little cars and the best part of them is that you hardly ever see them (at least around here). Except for the wreck damage (front clip, light hit), the body is pretty decent, even has a little shine on the paint still. I am hoping to get it roadworthy by spring....
That concept is kinda ridiculous looking, but has something attractive...or atleast creative about it- at the same time, haha. Yeah, I think their kind an underappreciated body style, mine is almost screwed when it comes to the exterior sheetmetal being attached to the innner structure, hell-I think its even solid underneath. I saved it from being scrapped though-the vent windows are probably worth what the guy would've got out of the car (excluding the aluminum V8) had he scrapped it.
I've just started a neat little Buick Special Convertible -V8 4 speed. I', m currently "restructuring" the body, 'cause it is RUSTY ! Look on Ebay for the brakes (Buick Special -Parts and Accessories) - there is a kit that puts together some import rotors (saves the 4 bolt pattern) and GM calipers - I know nothing about it, but am considering it also. There are many 4x4.5 wheels around - has been used on several popular cars (early Mustang ?) - check a web site like Tires.com. I don't think any of the Buick sheet metal is common .
I was kind of hoping that the 4 x 4.5 pattern wasn't a bastard! I need to spend some time in the junkyard measuring. The 13" wheels have got to go... I won't spend money on a 13" tire just so it will roll.... Right now it has bias plies that leak from 20 psi to 0 in about 10 minutes... I'll search the scam site.... I guess worse comes to worse I hammer out my own parts or make do with what I have... I keep looking at the body lines and keep wondering if the '62 Tempset front clip would bolt to the '62 Olds.... The doors look the same on all 3... B. O. P.. and I like the Pontiac front end better.... Perhaps it's time to get in touch with my Kustom side.... I guess drum brakes aren't so bad..... I really hate put import parts on any of my cars if it can be avoided... which is freaking hard to do these days. Andy
A Buick 300 should fit. The stock transmission is junk. You can bolt a 2004-R up to a 300. So, that is something to consider.
I have info on adaptinf a wilwood disc brake kit for the front and it is 5 lug. I will have to look for it again. I will have a 3.8 motor on the way if you want to swap it in. I would be interested in the 215 if you want to work out a trade or something. PM me for the brake info and I will look for it in the next day or two.
I understand that your car shared alot of suspension parts with the Corvair. Any info on Corvair brake conversions could be helpful to you.
Wasnt there a lot more sharing with the Buick Special and the Pontiac Tempest than with the Corvair??? Buick, Olds and Pontiac were the 3 referred to as the B-0-P cars?? Corvair wasnt mentioned. ??? Its front end weight had to be considerably less with the engine and tranny in the rear than the Olds with a 215 V8 (even aluminum) weight up front Just guessing of course..........
This is my favorite car of all times. I loved the one I had until it was totalled.It had a mustang frontend, 4.56 rearend gears in a ford rear axle, and a 375 horse 350 chevy with an m21 4 speed. I really want another one.
A little update on mine... I have a running 231 Buick in it with a 350 tranny... For 70lbs more than the 215, I get 16 cu. in. and fairly easy obtained repair parts... i had to move the floor (tranny tunnel) a little, but it bolted in on original 215 motor mounts. I decided to keep the 4 wheel drums, but will be adding a dual master cylinder, because my kids will be in this car alot.. Not that singles are death wishes.... I am looking for 14" wheels from a Mustang to get rid of the 13"'s, but won't need them until late winter when I roll it out... I am still shooting for mid 20's MPG.. I just put my Buick in storage so I can the Olds in the garage for the winter... I did score a new doghouse, via the HAMB from NE Ohio... Thanks!!! I need to do a little rust repair / straightening, and then the dog house will be ready to bolt on.. Best I can tell, the BOP used the same basic frame and doors but used small adaptors, about 3" wide to adapt the 3 unique core supports and fenders. Andy
Look to a wrecked Rover for larger version of the 215 and for more transmission options. You can bolt a 4.9 and O/D auto or five speed in there depending on what you like.
Pretty sure the Ford wheels will not fit. They have a diff dia pattern. You need BOP or Corvair, Vega, Monza, early Nova wheels. I have a couple 63 F85's. The Cutlass convert has four spoke Cragars. I have 2 four spoke Keystones also I am looking for a couple more. These both have dual pattern (slotted) for GM and Ford. I also have a later style set of AR wheels with covers over the lugs and they are a dual pattern also.
he was on this morning, so he's not dead. but back on topic, i have a 62 olds f-85 also. im thinking about getting rid of the motor and putting in a SBC with 350 behind it, getting rid of the plit driveshaft and modifying the floor to accomodate. any suggestions? this is my fiance's car now so im just looking for stuff to make it more reliable and easier to find parts for. i actually like the 13's on mine. i have the original hubcaps though.
i had a 63 skylark. i loved that car. i kept the 13's and the 215. that motor had some balls for being little and in need of a rebuild. i rebuilt the transmission. theres a shop in glendale, cal. called trans-matic(818-246-7788) parts. they specialize in automatic transmission parts from 41 on up. hes got everything you need for any old obsolete transmission. anyways, there is a small jap car that has the same bolt pattern with disk brakes. i dont remember which one, but i had a friend who got a couple wheels from it for his skylark. and yes, radar made wheels and i have 2. i am on a constant search for another 2. I will build another car around those wheels. the falcon had the same 4 lug pattern, as did later vw bugs.
I had a machinist redrill my 63 Skylark drums and rear axles for a 5 on 4 and three quarter pattern.Just another option for ya!
I got 15" rims off of a '59 Triumph, they fit just fine! I'm doing something strange with the F-85 too! They do have some interesting lines! Dan Stevens dba, Steelsmith
What's a 62 F-85 with 78,000 miles on it worth if it's in really nice shape? It needs a little TLC, it runs and drives but it's really not too road worthy. Brakes need to be looked at (a little grabby) and the engine could use a tune up. (the generator is shot, runs good as long as the battery can last) The interior looks like it only had 30,000 or less miles on it, it's in very very good condition. The seats are great, no holes or rips or any signs of use really. The dash is perfect and the steering wheel is really nice too. The good, it's been in a shed it's whole life and the original owner took very good care of it. The bad part.. it's a 4 door. I know a guy that want's to sell it. I don't know what its worth, Maybe I'll just help him sell it on the hamb. I'll get some pics of it tomorrow and post them in the classifieds.
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