1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

[NASBackyard]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

Were those mags anything like these here on this page at this link:

http://www.thepontiactransampage.com/appliance.html

Where I stayed in Alabama we used to buy these at a store called OTASCO(Oklahoma Tire & Supply CO) later bought out by Western Auto.

Yes, 3rd row down on the right is what he wanted.Modular Wire Mag. I'm suprised he didn't find them , we were living in KY at the time.

[NASBackyard]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

Thanks. It looks like the crossover pipe is toast. It looks like it needs dual exhaust but i need to check with my Olds boneyard and see if I need a different manifold for the dr side. This one has a front dump and won't work with duals.I'm going to have to take a ride up to Redbluff and get some more Olds goodies before I can proceed. Anyway, I parked it on the other side of the house and decided to tinker with my 68 Firebird. I need to pull the so called rebuilt Muncie I bought on e-bay a few years ago and have it checked out. When it gets fully warmed up it won't shift unless you turn off the engine. It also has a new Hurst shifter that also gets jammed up. Thats why I parked it over a year ago. Now I'm ready to tackle it again. It's nice to have choices. These dam cars are like drugs, Let's see I got my Ventura fix last week, a shot of Olds today, now I'm going to mainline some Firebird the rest of the week! I'll get back to the Olds later. Wow, I'm getting high just thinking about it. Oh, I quit all the real stuff almost 15 years ago. Heres the FB for your viewing pleasure.

Well, since the Olds is parked and i don't want to start a seperate post on the Firebird, I'll just do it here. Originally , the gears would jam up and it wouldn't shift when it was fully warmed up, so I was told it could be the clutch or linkage so I replaced the clutch and pressure with my old one which was good, readjusted the shifter on the bench,tightened everything up, replace the header flange gaskets an test drove it tonight. Everything feels pretty good. I'm going to take it on a long drive tomorrow and see what happens with the clutch and shifter. It sure felt good to get out and run it through the gears.

[Blazerteam]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

I bet you where ;D.Its always good to have long resting projects done ;)

[NAS Backyard]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

Well I got the clutch and shifter fixed on the Firebird, beat on it for few miles,checks good! Now I can sleep at night. While I was doing the old car shuffle I got a rare picture of all my running fleet in one place. Time to get back on the Olds. Tried out the Posi with all the mount bolts in, checks good also. Pulled out all the plugs ,cleaned and regapped them, a little soot but no oil. This thing hit the first turn but the carb was loading up a bit when i was moving it in. Pulled it in to investigate the rotten crossover pipe leak, found a really big hole. Broke of an exhaust manifold stud, only one though, so I removed the DS exhaust manifold.Right now i have 3 choices, make a new one out of parts from my old one and a Pontiac one i have, thats the cheapest way since I have a Mig welder. Have a new crossover pipe made but then I have to haul the car to the guys house (he has an exhaust shop out back) Or have Joel (the seller) send me a dual exhaust manifold for a 394 so I can put duals on it (not really in the budget at this time) but I can do half anyway. I'm going to the Turlock Swap meet and look around tomorrow,see if I get lucky.





I have to admit, the manifold was one of the easiest i ever removed. I did have to raise the engine but the 394 has the mount in the front with 2 nuts.

[milner351]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

Unreal - you can get an exhuast manifold off a 1961 olds - and I can't get a damned easy out to get a glow plug out of a '95!!!

Well done!

I'm starting to really love the early 60's cars - thanks for reminding me how cool they were!

[NAS Backyard]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

Well I got the manifold stud repaired and reinstalled on the engine. The heat riser still works good also. I needed 3 gaskets for the crossover pipe and I ended up getting ones for an 83-84 Nissan but I had to file them out a little to fit. I found a new crossover pipe online from NC for 73.00 delivered, I could have had one made for 60-70.00. but I decided to try and make my own since i really don't have 70.00. So I ended up using 1/2 of the Pontiac crossover pipe and 1/2 flex pipe. I spot welded the flex pipe to the original stub and then banded it with a cool S/S hose bander I borrowed from work. Now I need to take it apart, cut to fit, and reinstall everything. I'll put a couple more spot welds on it under the car and then band the edge so it won't leak. I tried to band the whole pipe but the band wouldn't squeeze it tight enough. In the event it does leak, I will have spring for a pipe later, if not i saved some money. The gaskets killed me, 2 of them were 7.00 ea. at O Reillys and one was 4.00 at my "real" auto parts store. Should have made them. Also scored some really cool vintage accessories for the Olds, a real, Made in USA cooler and thermos. My friend gave them to me for helping him move some stuff from his late uncles estate. They were bought with Blue chip stamps. The themos was in the original box. Theres also a fold out picnic table to match the cooler.

[383S-10]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

Great work as always........and congrats on the nice score of the "Therm-a-chest" & the "Therm-a-jug"...... :D

[NAS Backyard]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

I finally got it done, It ain't pretty but it doesn't leak. Cosmetics went out the door due to limited pipe surface to work with. I had to slide the flexpipe over the hard pipe and use a muffler clamp. I only had an inch of actual 2" pipe to clamp to where the flex wouldn't cave in. This will get me by safely until I decide to go duals or buy a real pipe, or just drop in a 455. The main thing was I didn't charge up 73.00 on my credit card. This still cost 25.00. I'll take it for a good ride this weekend and do a real leak check on it. Next will be getting the pass side window back on track. My plans for it is just to drive it around locally and enjoy it this spring ,and summer.It needs a carb kit in it too, so thats on the list. I took off one of the shocks to measure it. New ones are 40.00 ea. I was hoping to cross it with something but it's a 2 year only shock. It still dampens OK. The springs are shot though but still available from Rock Auto.

[NAS Backyard]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

Car 61 Where are you? Put my spot lights on, a little cosmetic bling. Going for spin.

[NAS Backyard]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

Man after fixing that leak and tightening up and replacing all the rear crossmember bolts, this thing is like driving a whole new car. It's quit and solid. I can now hear a tiny bit of valve rattling on hard excelleration, I checked the timing and its about 3 degrees off but I couldn't get the distributor to budge. I'll spray some WD-40 around it. Now I need to fix the brake lights a turn signals. Maybe I'll hook up the DS spotlight. I only paid 10.00 for it and it's in great shape. The PS doesn't have a mount bracket and is missing parts. I also need to run a tube off the PS valve cover into the air cleaner so the PVC gas will have somewhere to go . Also fabricated this floor hole cover out of galvanized, I used a big socket over the old part to get the indent, need to make 2 of these. Also installed an AhhhhhhUUUUGGGA horn I had in the junk pile since the stock horns just clicked.

[Huskinhano]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

Love the car! great post. Gotta get me a garage.

[NAS Backyard]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

Thanks, I'm thankful for that shop everytime I go in it. I drove it to work tonight, 12 miles round trip, this thing is turning out to be a real driveable car. Thursday I'm taking it out a little further to a friend in the country. Hopefully I can get it dialed in enough to drive it back up to Redbluff to pick up some more parts for it and show Joel the guy I bought it from. I might even park it in the spot I pulled it from and get a picture. Could use some defrosters at night with all the fog, I just left a blanket over the windshield. I might even take it down to the Goodguys in Pleasanton in March, I wonder if they would let me in the gate with it!

[Huskinhano]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

I have a ranch house with a 2 car garage in the basement. One side has my wife's 69 Mustang sitting covered with shit and the other side full of shit from when we had our house fire last year. Still haven't settled on contents with Allstate...they really suck. My 66 Mustang coupe is sitting in my driveway right now with a car cover, covered with snow :-[

[NAS Backyard]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

Had to do a Rockford in the Olds today, scared the crap out of my GF. An ambulance was crossing an intersection and everyone in front of me stopped. We came out unscathed, sideways across 2 lanes. Brakes need adjustment though. On a happier note, I drove to my favorite auto parts store today and took some pics. The guys behind the counter hid on me. I was doing some price checks on rear springs, I crossed my stock spring number to a HD Cargo carrier number that will raise the back approx 2.5 inches. Tax return will go partially to www.rockauto.com. This car is running great and will soon be making a trip back to the junkyard I pulled it from.

[Huskinhano]

Re: 1961 Olds 88 2 Dr Sedan sneak preview

Cool store. Glad you're ok after that incident. While the 455 and TH400 would be nice and practical, there'd be something nice about the 394 with duals and maybe a vintage tripower set up with a modern TH350 or 400 adapted. Keep the pots coming!