newbie with 72 Olds 98 Regency

[blue72regency]

Hey,
i'm new here. I'm Steve
i picked up my blue on blue 1972 ninety-eight regency from a farmer in Iowa when i was there visiting my grand parents for about $1000. i drove it a few hundred miles to my parents place where it was stored until i got settles into where I'm stationed now, in Great Lakes, IL(i'm navy). the body has a lot of rust but i just need a trusty winter car.
the interior is still very clean for having 500,000++ miles on it.
Right now I have it at the base hobby shop. I'm changing out the distributer, wires, changing out the head gaskets cause theres an oil leak below the heads and taking the intake manifold off and polishing that up. It's pretty scarey but i'm really just trying to get a reliable beater winter car out of this and learn a thing or 2 in the process. This'll be the first carburated car i've had in a long time. almost all my mechanical experience is from my modular fuel injected 4.6

theres a few things i'm looking for info on...
.
-where can i buy under hood insulator (the old one is breaking apart and dirty)
-how much do the quarter panels run on these when i find body parts?
-what after market shiney valve covers have the best fit?
-where can i buy weather stripping for the windows

as you can see there is a LOT of rust. you cant tell from the pic maybe, but there is.





so far the parts seem so much cheaper for this old motor than what i'm used to spending on my newer modular 4.6 Mustang parts (costs me less for the whole set of gaskets for the 350 than it does just for the 4.6 mustang head gaskets).
this is my other car which i want to keep off the road this winter when i drive the Oldsmobile.

[blue72regency]

just to make sure..the 8th digit in the vin is a 4...
it is a 350 right? i'm new to this obviously and i'm sure you guys can tell just from the pic.
also what is the difference with the chevy 350 and the oldsmobile 350? same?

[don71]

I bet that car rides like your living room couch

The olds 350 and the chevy 350 have about....hmmm 6 bolts in common. They are very different. Olds engines look a whole lota like. You need to check the block casting # to be sure. The Olds big block is simply a raised deck version of the small block.

To id the engine for sure look here. If its a 350 the number will be 395558. The pictures below show a 403 and a 425.




If its a 455 the number will be 396021.

I would like to suggest you buy these valve cover gaskets, they are awsome.


I say have fun and enjoy.

[Oldsguy]

Looks like you will have a nice winter driver. I drove a '73 Delta 88 fourdoor for three years while I was recruiting in Wausa Wi. for the Navy. That car was a boat! It never failed me and when I transferred I sold it but should not have. I have some stock steel valve covers that I had chrome plated, they look pretty nice. I think I posted a picture on here somewhere about a month ago. Someone was thinking about buying them then. Anyway, let me know. And welcome to our site! What is your Rate?

[blue72regency]

Originally Posted by Oldsguy

Looks like you will have a nice winter driver. I drove a '73 Delta 88 fourdoor for three years while I was recruiting in Wausa Wi. for the Navy. That car was a boat! It never failed me and when I transferred I sold it but should not have. I have some stock steel valve covers that I had chrome plated, they look pretty nice. I think I posted a picture on here somewhere about a month ago. Someone was thinking about buying them then. Anyway, let me know. And welcome to our site! What is your Rate?

i'm a Hospital Corpsman on shore duty here at the Naval Hospital ENT clinic. i'm just looking for a cheap set of valve covers to dress up the engine bay. i dont know how much you're asking for your chromed ones but that sounds like they look sharp

[Olds64]

That car is SWEET! If you want to find weatherstripping or a hood insulation pad then check out the following website.

www.fusick.com

You can also get insulation material from the hardware store and cut it to the right size to fit your hood. This will save you some money, and if you do it right it looks just like new.

I don't think you will be able to find quarter panels for that car from an aftermarket supplier. If you have some cancer and you want to fix it then you will most likely have to find a good parts car to cut body panels off of, or you will have to do some welding yourself. Actually, the car looks pretty good. Welcome to the site.

[Cecil Anderson]

What a great car, I would love to drive it all over in our beautful England, loads of ruts to cruise over with out chipping a tooth. Andy

[Oldsfan]

Steve, for starters - welcome. Now... hate to burst your bubble, but that's not a Regency. It looks to be a Luxury Sedan. Regencys were first available in '72, but they were all a funky gold color, I think called Regency Gold. They also all had a crushed velour, loose-pillow-look interior. A Luxury Sedan VIN will start out with 3V39 (so will a Regency, because it was just an option package in '72). A base 98 sedan will start out with 3U39.

The 8th digit in the VIN being the engine code only applies to newer vehicles. Your engine code should be the 5th digit and should be a U, which is a 455 with automatic. I'm pretty sure all 98s came with 455s. You've got a blue engine, which indicates to me that it is a 455.

Paul

[Oldsguy]

here is the link with the pictures, same price

http://classicoldsmobile.com/forums/...-sbo-same.html

[J-(Chicago)]

Originally Posted by Oldsfan

... hate to burst your bubble, but that's not a Regency. It looks to be a Luxury Sedan.

Doh. Well it is now, because It's his screen name.

[blue72regency]

Originally Posted by Oldsfan

Steve, for starters - welcome. Now... hate to burst your bubble, but that's not a Regency. It looks to be a Luxury Sedan. Regencys were first available in '72, but they were all a funky gold color, I think called Regency Gold. They also all had a crushed velour, loose-pillow-look interior. A Luxury Sedan VIN will start out with 3V39 (so will a Regency, because it was just an option package in '72). A base 98 sedan will start out with 3U39.

The 8th digit in the VIN being the engine code only applies to newer vehicles. Your engine code should be the 5th digit and should be a U, which is a 455 with automatic. I'm pretty sure all 98s came with 455s. You've got a blue engine, which indicates to me that it is a 455.

Paul

the VIN number does start with 3V39 like you said... whats the differences with "luxery sedan" and regency?
the fifth character is a "T" (???) what does this mean???
it said regency on the title (guess that doesnt mean much though)

[blue72regency]

455 '72 - '76 4.126 4.250 S,T,U,V,W metallic Blue

???guess its a 455
does the 455 and 350 share the same distributor? i ordered one for 350 so i can only hope.
i'm guessing the 350 gaskets & wires i bought dont fit either, gotta return that stuff

[don71]

Olds 455 engines were blue in color from the factory,like yours. You are in luck, the 350 distributer will be just fine in a 455. The timing curve may be different, the vacum advance cannister might offer more or less timing, but thats too many details to worry about right now. It will bolt right it and function.

Earlier I stated Olds engines look a whole lot alike. The distributer, among many other engine parts like cams and their bearings, timing covers, oil pans, valve covers, etc will swap, from 330 cid to 455 cid. Except intakes.....theres more to that story for a later time.

I forgot to welcome you to this site earlier, excited you got a nice rid'n cruiser. Enjoy.

[J-(Chicago)]

Great lakes is a pretty cool place.
My old band used to play a lot at Friendly's Tavern in North Chicago by you guys. I met a lot of cool people. I remember 1 navy kid especially who had a broken leg and was running around on his cast and had the top pad to his crutch hanging out of his zipper. Good times up that way.

[dar83501]

Did you say...that car had 500,000 miles on it? Are you kidding..that's insane!

Nice car though. You should restore it... better yet....beater 4 door sleeper. Not that you'll have much time to cause trouble with it, being in the navy though =(

[blue72regency]

whats a good carb intake manifold comb you guys would suggest for my 455?
i'm in the process of tearing it down right now to change gaskets. i might just stay with the stock intake manifold and sandblast it into new and paint it blue. but it'd be nice if ya'all knew of a nice one i could add,maybe order one real quick off summit or jegs while i have it apart
edit:
looking for a single carb intake manifold that fits under the hood

[Oldsfan]

Originally Posted by blue72regency

the fifth character is a "T" (???) what does this mean???

Dunno. I am away from my pre-'75 parts book until Monday (it breaks down VINs), but my '72 Cutlass assembly manual doesn't list a T motor. But it may only list Cutlass motors.

Oldsmobile made 98 Regencys from '72 through '98. I guess at some point, someone must have mistakenly titled it as a Regency, even though it is not. '72 Regencys had the special Gold paint and special interior mentioned previously. They also came with a Tiffany clock in the dash, a special Regency ignition key, and a special Tiffany key fob.

Paul

[Oldsfan]

Originally Posted by blue72regency

the fifth character is a "T" (???) what does this mean???

That means I am a dope. I finally was able to look at this at work and I realized I read the book wrong. The U motor is the L75 455/automatic for Cutlasses, or the L74 455/automatic with dual exhaust for full size cars. The T motor is the 455/automatic with single exhaust for full size cars.

Sorry about that.

Paul

[Oldsguy]

Originally Posted by blue72regency

whats a good carb intake manifold comb you guys would suggest for my 455?

Stock iron (or an Edelbrock performer if you want aluminum, performs about the same) with a Q-jet. Contact Danny Sarvis for the carb, he is 70wcars here at ClassicOlds.