Projects 1941 Oldsmobile 98 Coupe Custom

Taildragger is definitely the way to go. I was working on rear end yesterday and I think the springs that are in there will give us a low back end.

You are right that would help change the look of the front end. I don't think I want to go as far as fabricating a new grill and shell on this one. But who knows

 

Hey buddy, you gonna have this bad larry ready for the fallout Oct 8th? I was thinking about cruising up to Manchester on Sunday and could stop by and give you a hand on a few things if you would like?
Chuck

 

Ya I want to drive it to the fallout! I need to get the wheels and tires all set so that I can move it over to my shop. I have no tools where the car is now and moving tools back and forth sucks. As soon as it is back at my house I will go as fast as possible on it! Not sure what my plans are for Sunday as of yet thanks for the offer.

 

Coker said the 560s would not fit my 6" wide wheels. Looks like these might be my best bet

http://store.cokertire.com/670-15-firestone-3-1-4-whitewall-tire.html

Do you think these will cause the car to sit too high?



My other option is go to a radial white wall in order to get the width without adding more height.

 

I found a set of white walls on the curb down the street from me!!! I will post some pictures later!

I got the bumper in the mail and I had to mock it up. I think it looks soooo much better.

 

Bumper is a big improvement. Now lose the hideous frenching kit on the headlights...

 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You found a set of whitewalls, why can't I be so lucky LOL
Chuck

 

Cant wait to see pics!!

 

I wish they were wide whites but they should work







not bad for $free.99

 

Hey go in the tech section and find the tech on making your own wide whites. It would definately improve the look of the tire and its also free if you do it yourself

 

God bless the H.A.M.B.

I guess I can make them wide white walls

 

If you mount the tires on rims and on the car, get the rear wheels off the ground with stands, slip into gear and use a flap disc on a grinder it comes out even.

Check this ideo out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY-LNveJU4E&feature=related

Chuck

 

That looked quite dangerous!!!!!

 

I think I will stick with doing them off the car

 

LOL, Come on, at least he is wearing safety glasses! I watched a guy at a dealership a few years back cut wide whites on a machine that spun the wheel. I'm gonna try it on the car spinning. Of course I will have it safe with jack stands and such.
Chuck

 

Why is the centerlink installed backwards on the front end? Inner tie rods go into it from the rear, or closest to the crossmember.

 

Perhaps this was done to try and eliminate bump steer since it is so low?



I need everyone's help / suggestions on what to do with my wheels and tires. Yesterday I received my wheels from earlywheel.com I meant to get a normal steel wheel but I said the wrong thing to Jason and ended up with these smoother looking wheels. I asked for the most backspacing they could do for the rears and I am still having fitment issues. Take a look

Rear wheels are too wide and will rub on the tires.



The big problem here is that the axle is too wide for this body

The smaller wheel arc in the front makes things hard




Obviously I would have no turning radius with this large of a tire

So I am not sure what to do. If I went to a smaller tire (current ones in the shots are 225/75R15) maybe I would be ok. Would a smaller tire look stupid? How small should I go?

Here is a picture of the 205/55R15 that was on the car when we bought it


I want white walls on this car but most of all I want to be able to drive it!


HELP!!!!!!!!

 

Looks in the pics like more back space is needed in the back. Maybe you could get more with a different wheel design.
I think I would mount the white walls on the old wheels and if needed cut the hoops off the centers. Then move the hoop in, or turn them around backwards, or do what ever I could to maximize backspace and weld it up.
Keep in mind that you ain't trying to make this exactly what you want, you are trying to make it marketable at a minimal cost.
Up front you may have to narrow the suspension A arms to make things work.
Ever wonder why it stayed "For Sale" for so long?

 

Thanks for the advice. And btw this car was not for sale for a long time we picked it up before the guy advertised it.

I just spent a couple hundred bucks on these wheels and I would like to try and use them. Should I spend the money on some smaller white wall radials like a 205? Just pick up some cheap used small tires?

 

here are a couple of pics of a 40 olds I did 18 years ago

 

That car has much potential. Fortunately the things that were done that are ugly are just details.
Lose the diagonal slots in the front sheet metal. They don't fit.(Maybe make some horizontal stainless grilles to cover them.)
Get black spark plug wires, lose the red tag on the carburetor, paint the script on the valve covers, choose an appropriate air cleaner.
Add a splash of color with the wheels.
Have fun!
~Alden

 

Obviously those rear wheels need more back spacing to move the tire over the drum, and away from rubbing. I thnk that's an easy fix...it's just that you gave the wheel builder the wrong info...see if you can work out a deal with those wheels, maybe he'll take them back...or modify them to what you need. IMHO, the wheels you got are plain ugly...look like somethiing off a late model.

The "old" front wheels look like they'll work, just run a 75 series tire instead of a 55 series and I'd think they'll fit fine...again, it's the back spacing that is wrong...How much room do you have on the back side to space the wheels in...??? I'm not sure you need to go to the trouble and expense of shortening the A-arms .

Oh, FWIW, hope you are going to paint the wheels a bright color...and whitewalls would help the look a lot...!!!

R-

 

Love dem Oldsmobeels! Dad had a '67 98 when I was little, and I loved it. It's what turned me onto the brand. Mom got a new '77 Cutlass Christmas morning of '76. Blue, with a big fat red ribbon on it in all the snow. I'll never forget that, and there were others. I have my '60 now for 16 years.

This '41 is just beautiful, and THANK YOU for getting rid of the tail lights!

 

speters,

Super-Kool Ride, love dem Olds ! However, you can be a little more creative with the taillights...try a pair of '41 Stude's ! They will conform to the fender, and add a lot more class to the back of the Olds than the Ponchos would.

Neat car ! The original fronts on these babies is PURE Art Deco !

Jonnie King www.legends.thewwbc.net

 

youre right there is some cosmatic work on the car but love the body line,s cool looking ride good luck enjoy it cheers

 

Ya,grind 'em!

 

Send back the wheels and get some old GM steel wheels that would have came on the car. Also, just take to time to resize the front wheel openings so a decent size tire will fit, it will be worth your effort. I really want to see this car come together into a good clean tail dragger!!!

 

That will not affect bumpsteer, but ackerman. I was wondering if they had done it so the steering would clear something else, like the crossmember. The car looks to have alot of potential, but as with some projects that someone else gave up on, you may spend alot of time fixing things that weren't done correctly. Good luck and have fun with it!

 

So with only 16 days left until this needs to be on the road, we decided not to try and change the wheels. Yesterday I dropped them off to be powder coated red. I already have trim rings and we will order some spiders soon. Personally I did not want to go red, but I was out voted.

So now I need to make these work by getting the right tires.

Maybe I can get away with these? They seem narrow enough and I have heard you can fit these on a 6" wide wheel.

http://store.cokertire.com/165r15-coker-classic-2-1-4-whitewall.html



I go a big shipment of parts from summit on Tuesday and I have been working my way through the car. The drive shaft is in, the headers are on and valve covers cleaned up.

The missing wiring instructions are in the mail headed my way.

 

Can anyone verify that those 165R15 Coker Classics will fit on a 6" wide rim? I want to order them today! This car has to be driving in 12 days!