Projects An Olds new lease on life

Instead of cluttering up my intro thread of off topic stuff, I'll just keep it here in what I believe to be the right place for it, (if not dont kill me please!). Pics wont upload here for some reason so imgur links it is.

Everything is original, right down to the factory AC that still works. Ive had to change the usual points, wires, coil and plugs though. She cleaned up great, half a bottle of Mothers chrome polish and the trim/bumpers were startin to look like mirrors. Hard to believe theyre over 50 years old.
Before


After

*Buffing by hand not recommended, it does *****

After the outside was cleaned up I decided to tackle the daunting task of changing out all the little air hoses behind the dash for the AC/heat systems. Im pretty sure I found out what a mechanics hell would look like



Didnt think I'd ever be able to get it back together again.

But I kept at it. I saw a few stamps along the back of a few parts saying they were built in December of '59. So that pretty much proved I was in over my head haha. Decided it'd be best to polish the chrome up while I had it out.


and clean a bit of the trim


Before


After


But after painstakingly laying upside down in the floorboards (that are falling through btw) for a day or so I got it back together and the chrome looking better than ever.

Before


After


All in all its been a great project and I plan on doing quite a bit more to it before I sell it. Ive yet to see another one around town nor did I see one at the car show that had a record 1.090+ cars. And Im basically broke due to being laid off atm so progress will be slow but I usually get bored and at least do something with it anyway.

Couple of my favorite shots (they look horrible resized)
http://i.imgur.com/y5SSovF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2FTVCRP.jpg

and if you wanna see more
http://safeofbananas.imgur.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/107933386@N08/
^vid of startup on flickr^

Questions, comments, love 'n hate are always welcome.

 

Very nice

 

not bad, i like it =)

 

Thanks guys, appreciate the warm welcome as well.

Went out and took a pic of what its like now in about the same angle as one of my other dash pics for a comparison. Mothers sure know what theyre doin it seems haha

Before
http://i.imgur.com/fBWH2PX.jpg

After
http://i.imgur.com/pfXkhvt.jpg

 

Nice car. Congrats!

 

You were so close to getting your pictures posted. I was going to post one of them here to show you but your pictures are too large to post here in the forums. Your image links should look like this but with brackets... [ ] in place of the parentheses...

(IMG)http://i.imgur.com/pfXkhvt.jpg(/IMG)

If I used the brackets in the link above you'd see the picture instead of the example of the link.

Downsize your pictures and try it again. 800 x 600 pixels is plenty big for web display. Anything over about 1000 pixels wide tends to break the frames in the forums. Your pics are currently uploaded at 3264 pixels wide.

 

Nice car.. Cool dash...

 

I know, I was just too lazy to reupload em. I'll switch some out now.

Thanks, never wanna mess with it again though haha.

 

Looking good! A little bit of elbow grease goes a long way!

 

You did a good job with the A/C and all that intricuit polishing. That's the detail work that most of us skip, but you tackled it and its refreshing to see it pay off. Hope it goes to a good home, and thanks for sharing.

 

Nice I love old original dash's one of my favorite parts of a car.

 

^mine too!

Appreciate it, guys. I doubt I'll have many takers for this ol thang for a while so I do plan on taking it places and making some memories along the way. Im pretty much in between directions with it as to what I eventually want done to it. Ive been told not to paint it by every single car nut thats talked to me in person so that decision was made for me haha. I was thinking bout finding some rusted cragar SS's (like 15-16in) but wanted to see what others thought first.

Any smaller details yall think I should look into?

 

Good job on the clean-up and getting it back on the road. Have fun with it for a while, spring will b e better for selling than right before winter.

 

Thanks man and will do, Im at least gonna take a few long roadtrips (stl, dallas, and some beach thats warm somewhere) before I give it up.

Figured yall would like a shot of the paperwork that came with the car back when it was new.



Have yet to see another one of those '60 Olds pins either

and yes the protection policy booklet still has the original little plate at the end




Also, noticed the ****** fluids low. Any recommended brands and type I should get?

 

I think they called for Dextron back in the day but now I think you would be safe with almost any good quality ATF. Transmission Fluid has come a long way since 1960!

 

I suspect the manual you have will specify "Type A, Suffix A" for trans fluid as well as power steering fluid. That spec was long ago replaced by Dexron which is now called out as Dexron VI or Dexron IX or whatever level it's up to these days. Any Dexron rated fluid should work properly in your application.

 

Haha yeah I'd say so, just wanna make sure I dont put somethin in it and mess anything up. Guess I'll get some dex

And the only thing the manual says about fluids is the capacity, doesnt say what type anywhere through it.

 

Actually no one ever called it Dextron. It was always DEXRON except perhaps on the H,A.M.B. Ron

 

Lookin Good!!

 

Nice job on the dash and saving this big Rocket sled. I have a ton of experience, rebuilding all the mechanicals on a customers '60 Super 88.
PM me if there is anything that you need help with. Also have a factory service manual, if you need any of that info.
Interesting bit of tech, in 1959 GM delivered the Oldsmobiles with whale oil in the automatic transmissions(unsure of 1960). Dexron works just fine. factory shift linkage adjustment is critical.

JT

 

^PM'd

I finally landed a job more or less (8.50/hr aint much but its somethin) so stuff might be happenin soon with it.

Anyone got a set of old rusted chrome cragars with a 5x5 bolt pattern laying around?

 

So yeah, been too busy/broke to work on the 88 lately. Tried to tackle an issue today.

Wipers stay on when plugged up to the motor even with the switch completely out. I do have both speeds though which is really messing with my head.

Could it be a grounding issue within the motor ***y. or a short in the wires that go to the switch or what? I'm at a loss for logic here.

 

I'm pretty sure the wiper park switch on these grounds through the switch in the dash. Since you've had your dash apart, make sure the switch is well grounded and I think your wipers will park OK.

 

Alright now that I''m making decent money while the 88's held up under a tarp, I'd like to set some goals as to what i should work for.

First off I'd like to go through the engine. Gaskets, rebuild the carb, change some things that need changin, that sorta thing. So anyone got any pointers as to what brands/products I should start saving up for? I want the good stuff and would like to do this right so no short-cuts.

So any pointers?

 

Bit of progress I figured I'd share.


Yes the garage is messy, finding time to clean it out is impossible. Please overlook it haha

Love how these turned out:


And these:


A faded black eyesore no more


Before and after shots of the generator (not completely done):












Didn't forget this lil guy:


Ive coated the parts I took down to bare metal with clear engine enamel, I like how they look as they sit and think they will look good in the bay. The AC compressor is up next (the thing weighs a ton!) and it has at least an inch of crud and grime almost all over it.

Plans for later include:
-sandblasting the intake manifold
-cleaning up the oil pan and the trans pan
-getting a ton of grime out from under the bay somehow
-taking off the wiper motor ***y. and try to find out why it wont turn off when plugged in
(if anyone has any from of wiring diagrams or knowledge of the wiper system please post or PM me, I have zero idea how to even get it off the firewall)
-cont. to try figuring out why I have no vacuum or power brakes

...and many other things when I can get to them.

I am still looking for some torque-thrust lookalike wheels in the 5x5 pattern if anyone has them or knows where I can find them please let me know. They can even be old.

 

A few more pics

Everything together:


Before:


After:


Bit of chrome love:

 

You are mov'in along, good job!

 

This is not an alternator that is a generator.

 

Looks like a pretty nice car.

just a little help with terminology..this is a Generator. HRP

 

Thank ya!

Loudbang and HRP, thanks. I'll change it.