April 3rd to April 19th.

[J-(Chicago)]

Yes, the whole thing from start to finish has been done right in the driveway, or the garage. Sorry I haven't posted on this thing in a long time. I took a 4 or 5 month break from it because work was terribly hectic. I was working 60+ hours a week for 2 months, and then the rest of the summer I spent racing the gray car, and gathering parts for the frame off project on the weekends. I broke a bunch of stuff on the gray delta, and ended up working on that for the autumn season.

I got rid of my old wood burning stove in the garage this summer because it was getting old, and the village doesn't want to approve me installing another one.

I tried using a kerosene torpedo heater, but by the time the garage is tolerable, it smells awful.

[J-(Chicago)]

I finally found some doors that should work a few weeks ago. I drove 8 hours out to Spencer, IA. They had a 4 or 5 2 door cars left out there.

Out of all the cars that the door trim was pulled from, I could only make 1 pair of good doors. 1 was from a Buick lesabre, and the other was from a Delta 88.

I picked up an entire rust free Custom cruiser Front clip in Madison, WI with an aluminum hood for $300, so I might just use that. It depends on how stupid the fender-to-door body line looks. The original delta fenders will require dent removal and weld patching which I may opt out of.

The firewall, trunk inside, and interior sheet metal has all been blasted and painted, but I still have to weld in the rear pans I have. Believe it or not, 67 cougar rear floor pans will go in a delta with a little modification, and are cheap at $40 a pop.

[ztim]

Greay work J! I just started reading this opera and am ready for the next chapter. Keep up the good work. Hey...wanna do my '84 88? It spent its whole life next door in Wisconsin until I went home and then drove it down here to SC.

[J-(Chicago)]

Thanks for unlocking this thread Richard!
It got in the upper 50s here this week and I hauled home a truckload of junkyard junk to build the car with.

Stay tuned for chapter 2.

[J-(Chicago)]

Hopefully breaking the motor in on Sunday.
Here's some before and after pics.





Its a 7a Headed 350.

[ztim]

What a neat transformation. Good work.

[Eric Anderson]

Hey J, looks great, so what happened between the before and after? Head work, cam choice, etc., just curious keep up the good work.
Oh and are you going to get some type of olds logo for that spot in those sweet lookin' valve covers?

[citcapp]

So glad you finally finished my spare engine. Ship it to me in the morning ok?

thank. Nice work.

[J-(Chicago)]

Originally Posted by Eric Anderson

Hey J, looks great, so what happened between the before and after? Head work, cam choice, etc., just curious keep up the good work.
Oh and are you going to get some type of olds logo for that spot in those sweet lookin' valve covers?

Here's a link to some of the specs I posted a while back.
http://classicoldsmobile.com/forums/...ild-specs.html

I got the motor for free. It was sitting under a neighbor's deck with 2 blown head gaskets, and he wanted it gone.
I forget how much I had milled off of the heads, but they were badly pitted from the blown gaskets and exposure to the outside air so I had to mill them a decent amount for them to be usable again. I had a 4 angle valve job done, and a nice bowl blend. No porting though.
I believe those valve covers are supposed to say "Rocket Racing" in that flat spot. I got that pair from them at their machine shop before they ran them on the CNC machine. I don't think I'm going to put anything in there though.

[J-(Chicago)]

I found a hole behind the LH tail light. Recurring problem with these cars. The only worse spot on these cars are the passenger side lower quarter panels. I'll post that later.

[J-(Chicago)]

I welded in a patch panel, and sandblasted the tail panel and the inside of the trunk. before and after pics of that too.

[csstrux]

Sounds like its coming along nicely, Is that a cart under the body that you built or just stands? Either way I'm going to have to come up with something when I am ready to separate the frame for supporting and moving the body on mine.looking for inexpensive ideas.

[J-(Chicago)]

Originally Posted by csstrux

Sounds like its coming along nicely, Is that a cart under the body that you built or just stands? Either way I'm going to have to come up with something when I am ready to separate the frame for supporting and moving the body on mine.looking for inexpensive ideas.

I built 2 of these carts. The one in the front was made shorter than the one in the back. I compensated for where the body "steps up" underneath the trunk. Total cost was a box of 3 inch deck screws. I pirated all the lumber from a local industrial park dumpster.

[easytobedead]

coming along there! A+

[Bluevista]

Looking really good, I like all the colors. That engine looks mean with those red headers.

Found all that good lumber in a dumpster??
What a waste, probably came off a government job.

[daves62]

I like the way you used some blue on the front of the engine it realy ties the look together with the wires.

[ent72olds]

Lumber probably was all the podium and stage and stuff from Obama's inauguration! What's a few more trees and government waste ...sorry, wrong thread, hey J, isn't he from your neck of the "woods"...

[easytobedead]

Originally Posted by ent72olds

Lumber probably was all the podium and stage and stuff from Obama's inauguration! What's a few more trees and government waste ...sorry, wrong thread, hey J, isn't he from your neck of the "woods"...

yea are lovely state of Illinois

[csstrux]

I was guessing some construction going on there with the unistrut. I will have to get some heavy casters and make some like that myeslf. Good thinking

[J-(Chicago)]

The timbers were part of a giant 20 foot pallet that a cnc machine was delivered on.

[csstrux]

That makes sense, where did you find the unistrut?

[J-(Chicago)]

My buddy works at an electrical warehouse. It was in the scrap barrel there.
They are also getting rid of a bunch of metal shelving I might try bartering for parts with at the boneyard.
My last barter there was a 307 short block and 250 bucks for a running 69 455.

[csstrux]

I would be interested in some myself If there is enough left over. You are talking about pallet racking right? That swap doesn't sound bad. Do you know where a guy can find a factory 4v intake for not too much, I have a 350 with a seized up 2v that is supposed to have been a runner when it was parked. I'd like to check this pup out, but don't have funds for anything fancy right now.

[J-(Chicago)]

I'm not sure what the racks are yet. They have all different kinds there.
As far as a 4bbl 350 intake, I had 4 or 5 of them, and scrapped them last year. No one would take em. Even on a freebie craigslist ad.
Lucky for you, there's still 5 or 6 olds small blocks left in the Rockford junkyard, and we can go pull one if you want when you come down.

[J-(Chicago)]

WELL.............. I forgot about my own thread.
Lots and lots of stories to share. It's been a rough year for the deltas and I.
Work dried up at the custom shop, and I got a part time gig for peanuts paying the bills. Problem with that is, there's no side cash to throw at the car. CASH makes things go faster and smoother when working on a project. Luckily, I do it as a hobby and can putz around with it now and again anyway.
All the work done to the car this year was funded by me selling out a LOT of my old iron, and it sold cheap since everyone around here has no money either lol.
I traded a bunch of parts and labor with Josh, F-85 on here this summer, and if it wasn't for his help I'd be less further along. I was pretty disgusted having to look at my 1/2 of a car and abandoning it halfway. Life is life though, and if something's important to you'll make time for it.

[J-(Chicago)]

You guys have been in the dark for 8 months, I think I'd better post some pics before a lynch mob shows up.

[J-(Chicago)]

Firewall blasted.

Firewall primed.

[J-(Chicago)]

Pictures of building the rear differential.
I kidnapped some spun aluminum wheels from a 77 lincoln, because I think they look cool after removing the big giant center caps. The look transforms from slow, to go, in a just a few minutes.

Without the big Moser "M" it doesn't look as cool though. Thanks to Monzaz for sending me the Overhaul kit. He has a 1 stop shop for differential stuff. Way easier than going to 10 auto zones and 2 speed shops chasing parts down.

[J-(Chicago)]

I actually found a date stamp when peeling the old top off.



Rust free Chicago car. I don't think it has never seen salt.



The trunk wasn't bad except in the wheel wells.


On a Chicago 80's delta, if you pull any trim off, expect the car to come with it.

[J-(Chicago)]

pic of the frame before the sandblasting


bumper inserts blasted and painted.


Frame boxed in. before and after



Readying floor patches for later use.

[J-(Chicago)]

Driver's side rear isn't worth saving, I knew it was coming though. The sandblasting just magnifies the carnage.


Tail panel and trunk blasted.



Wheel well had to come apart in the front and the back.



Here is some of it.

[J-(Chicago)]

In order to fit a 9" tailshaft TH400, onto a 96 Impala dual exhaust crossmember, into an 80's delta, you must extend the frame 6"
This pic is right before I did it. You can see how GM only intended this delta to be cursed with a 200c it's whole life.


Hoisting the body off of my carts to sandblast the undercarriage. No fancy body twirlers here. Just timbers and chains.

The pic with the yellow Corvair is my neighbor up the road. He stopped by because he saw the rolling chassis parked on the side of the road.
He was all smiles once he saw the body in the air hanging like a windchime.
He has a set of delta 88 horns in the Corvair that I gave him a few years ago, and he always honks when he goes by.

[J-(Chicago)]

There it is, all blasted. By the time I got it painted it was dark and the picture didn't take very well. Any photo shop wizards?



You can kind of see the trunk paint too, but everything is all dirty and dusty from all the blasting right now. It's not worth washing it down until it's ready for real paint.

All this black is just epoxy primer and/ or por-15.

[J-(Chicago)]

I drilled out every one of the stock cage nuts in the body supports. Even though none of them spun on me, this time..... I still think they suck. I used 1/2" hardened allthread in every body mount position. Made life easy when dropping the body on. Line up the pegs, and drop it right down from above.
To mount the body, I left the back end in the air on the hoist, and had the rolling frame in front of the firewall. Then 2 guys lift the fire wall, while 1 guy pushes the chassis under it. You can bolt a long 2x6 to the firewall for handles.



That's my buddy Gulley in the pic. He just got back from a tour in Iraq. A real multi purpose fella.
Armed service, Oldsmobile service, and, maybe even
armed Oldsmobile service. With a permit, of course.


And of course you all know Josh/F-85. Him and Gulley were the firewall lifters I was the chassis runner. I had some sort of an escape plan if they were to drop the body on me, but I forgot it as soon as I hit my head on the floor pan while running/pushing the chassis underneath.
Knocked my hat all crooked, but I left it as is for the style points.
You can see the allthread, nuts and washers really well in the pic. I cut the excess off once they were all loctited and torqued.



Body installation complete.

[J-(Chicago)]

Josh welding in the new pan. I had the fun job for that hour..... cutting giant holes in the body. The only down side was I had to keep putting my beer down to make all the patches while he was welding.
Me: "Oh, wait, here's another spot.....BUZZZZ "
"Ok here's your patch."
"Oh wait, found another hole....BUZZZZ"
"Here's another patch."
I think we got sunburn from all the little bs welds all over the place.




Passenger side floor. Those 2 pesky holes that have been ruining all my photos this year.
After everything was ground and repainted, I layed 3 layers of fiberblass down over the stock metal. It was all there, but wasn't as thick as it was from the factory, that's for sure.
Look at the photo with the 2 patches. You can see where the fiberglass resin oozed out of the tiny little pinholes and formed stalagtites.

[J-(Chicago)]

Rebuilding the passenger side wheel well.



I cut the roof off of a junk car for more metal. I have to block off the cab and the trunk if I'm going to have a fuel cell back there.
My welds aren't as pretty as Josh's, but I laid in the trunk and kicked them to prove a point. The panels aren't going anywhere if the tank explodes.



I drilled some holes in the vertical part of the frame, and ran allthread between the lower control arm perches and the frame. The stock mount just looked all sad and wimpy. It needed a hug.


Motor and trans are IN.

[f-85]

Looking good Jeremy! Let me know when you got some more work for me. I still got all that sheet metal if you wanna make that custom dash.

[Indy_68_S]

Awesome thread !
Keep up the work and more importantly; the pictorial updates !

[slowolds]

Excellent thread....

ingenuity,,
hard work,,,
determination,,,
creativity,,,,,,,,,
questionable cast of characters,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

All great elements, keep it going.......................

[citcapp]

Great update. What would this hobby be like without friends to help, incourage and give a us a leg up. Keep us posted on the progress. Next time lets here it run