It's been a while. I miss my 89 Custom Cruiser when I think about it, but I was beating it up using it for work and it needed a better home. I've got a new old Olds friend now and have a several questions I was hoping to find answers to with the help of the folks here.

Engine is said to be hard to turn over. This is coming from a shop where the car sat for 30 years. What's the safest, best procedure for loosening up the old 425 without damaging it? I've heard a read that Marvel Mystery Oil is pretty much the way to go. If the air cleaner says "super rocket" is that the 365hp rated version? Wouldn't I need to go into the heads and install hardened valve seats or something in order to run on premium without detonation?

The trunk is missing the lock and cylinder. How can I get it opened without excessively damaging anything please?

Some trim around the wheel wells is damaged but looks like it may be salvageable. It's sorta bent up and snapped loose partially towards the bottom. At the same time; these pieces seem delicate. Would it best to try to salvage them? So far it looks like parts may be kinda hard to come by. Also, my front and back glass are missing sections of molding/ trim. Where can I find these pieces if anywhere? Would any B body (from the same era) molding work?

The interior is a light blue, or used to be, but is showing signs of having molded at some point. These dark spots are pretty ugly. Is there a method to remove or clean old semi dry-rotted upholstery? Sellers says way back when, a dog chewed up the back seat. It's pretty rough, but also some surrounding pieces got mauled too. Is a back dasha thing? Cuz about half of that is MIA, as is whatever covers the area where the ceiling meets the side and back at the back dash. Would that be something an interior guy could handle?

That's it for the moment. Sorry it was more than 3 or 4 questions. Thanks for any guidance.

 

Hardened valve seats aren't critical, I would not pull the heads just to do that.. Run 93 premium unleaded if it is a HC motor.

If it has been sitting, soak the cylinders before starting it up.

 

Any more backstory on this car? I ask because it has 15" cop wheels and dogbowl hubcaps which are unusual on a higher line car like a Delta. Yes, 15" wheel cars thru 1966 used the 1956 dogbowls.

 

To be honest with you if it has been sitting for 30 years the best thing you can do is pull the engine and disassemble it. You cant try freeing it up with snake oil but more than likely any turning over you accomplish is probably going to just make things worse.

The entire fuel system needs to be flushed out, from tank to carburetor.

As far as the trunk goes you might be able to rig something up to go through the speaker holes in the rear deck and get to the trunk lock. I think most of those old GM locks could be opened with a screwdriver from the inside.

 

On the interior. I don't know if Impala four door sedan interior parts are reproduced, but if they are the Impala parts (carpet, headliner, package tray) will be the same as your 88. Door panels and seat covers will be different but can be used if you're not 100% stickler for originality.

Glass and weatherstripping is also same as the same bodystyle big Chevrolet.

The exterior and mechanical parts you need will have to come from another 66 or on some things 65 Olds 88.

 

If the lock cylinder is gone and there's an open hole where it goes, use a long flat blade screwdriver to reach thru the lock hole. You should be able to engage the slot in the trunk latch, twist it and pop the trunk open.

 

"HC"?

Thanks

 

Unfortunately not. I figured someone swapped the wheels and tires at some point as they seem to small and too inset. The car also sets at a significant rake.

 

What is the most efficient way to flush the fuel system?

 

Thank you.

 

"HC" ? = High Compression

 

thanks and please excuse my ignorance

 

Dual ‘66 big car owner here,
The trim on the sides will be a cominbation of stainless steel and diecast chrome. The part in the photo over the wheel opening is stainless steel. The interior trim will be a combination of diecast chrome and anodized aluminum (mostly over the doors as the cover to the headliner)

The easy way to fix this is get a new part. The harder way is to bend this part back into shape, sand it down to remove scratches and then spend an hour or so (on this one piece) to buff it back up to shiny.

I’ll defer to others on the engine stuff since many here know more than me about that.

I’ll offer up a couple of tips
1) Go to EBay or classic car book seller and get a copy of the 1966 Oldsmobile Chassis Service Manual (CSM) and the associated Fisher Body Manual. This will give you a great start on how these cars are put together. The CSM has a full color electrical diagram which you’ll need sooner or later in troubleshooting.

2) The brakes are single master (one hydraulic circuit). Along the way you’ll want to replace it with a dual master (2 hydraulic circuits) for safety. Or discs.

3) Until/unless you feel like redoing an Olds 88 as they built it, the Chevy interior will work o.k. No one makes reproduction interiors for a 66 Olds 88. To get it really correct is high $ and a long wait.

4) The brake drums and A-arms for a ‘66 Olds 88 _do_not_swap_ with anything other than a 65-70 Olds big car. No Chevy, no Pontiac, no Caddy, no Buick.

Dig around under my user name for more on 65-66 big cars if you can’t sleep. ‘66 Big Cars are fun, reliable, and ride nicely.

Welcome aboard.
Chris

 

Looks like a cool project. If I had a dog that did that to my Olds I'd have to bury Fido in the back yard next to his bones.😵 A good interior shop should be able to rebuild the package tray, seats and headliner.

You can use Marvel Mystery Oil and ATF in the cylinders if the engine won't rotate with a ratchet or breaker bar on the crank snout.

To restore the fuel system I would drop the tank and use a sealer kit on the inside of it. You can also paint the exterior of the fuel tank with a brush and your favorite industrial paint (POR 15 or Rust-Oleum).

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/poi-49239

 

Thanks for all the help. I was thinking I should disconnect the alternator belt and power steering belt to help the motor spin more freely. Took the plugs out pretty easily. Shot a little pb blaster in the cylinders. Got some acetone, ATF, Marvel Mystery Oil. Do I need to mix these or can I pour em in individually with similar results? Got the trunk opened. That thing is huge. The clock reads 88 thousand miles. The plugs are champion J - 10Y. Could be original? Everything else looks original under the hood to me. Oli looked great as did trans. Fluid. Would this be a th400? How can I find out what rear gear I have?

 

if the rear axle is an original Olds, a 2 number code is stamped on the right side (from behind the car) (in the case of a sedan, wait code QC ratio 2.93 ) and according to the service manual, we can determine the transmission for you. If the car has been standing for a long time, the axle will be rusty and it will be necessary to clean it and look for the code.

 

Champion plugs are not OE, would have been AC's.

TH400 with a "Switch Pitch" variable vane torque converter, nice to have.

Remove the belts to turn the motor? Yes.and try to turn it with the plugs out but don't let it sit them out.

What to put in the cylinders? ATF and acetone I hear are excellent, they get mixed 50/50 before install. Don't use a bunch of different things at the same time.

Be P A T I E N T when trying to free the motor and don't try to start it unless it is truly free otherwise damage will occur. A cheap borescope to look in the cylinders would allow ya to see if there is a lot of rust. If there is it should be disassembled first. Remove the coil wire and crank it before the initial start to get oil flowing. Replace the oil filter and completely fill it with oil first. Use an oil with high ZDDP content, that motor has a flat tappet camshaft that needs the ZDDP.

An even better alternative would be to pull both valve covers and the distributor to run/prime the oiling system.

 

Thanks again for all the help. Got power steering and alternator or generator backed off and belts off. Took upper radiator support off and pulled fan. Did these cars not have a fan clutch or is it an aftermarket four blade flex fan? Flex fan from factory?

Engine turned over easily in my opinion. Turned it about a quarter turn both directions with no real binding that I could tell. Used a 2' breaker. Didn't add ATF or anything past the little bit of pb blaster I had shot in the plug holes earlier. Should I rotate the motor all the way over to see if I find an area of least resistance? Guess I'll see about removing valve covers and distributor next? Should I drain and change the oil before priming? Should I lift the front and drop the pan? What about the distributor? Can't I jack up the timing if I pull it? I'm clueless as to the proper procedure for priming the engine correctly. I sprayed everything off good prior to removing plugs and oil looked perfect with regard to color and level. I'm all over the place at the moment. I thought the motor was jammed up. How freely should it spin without plugs in? Pretty easily right? Should I hit it with acetone and ATF anyway just to be safe? Just priming it should be good right?

Guess I need to see about pulling the tank next?

 

Is VR-1 good? What weight/ viscosity? Think I put 20-50 in my 552, but that may be a little thick for this application huh?

 

4 fan blades = cars without air conditioning
6 fan blades with a clutch and a fan shoulder on the radiator = cars with factory air conditioning

 

My buddy gave me one of his pups from a Great White Pyrennes/German Shepard pairing, beautiful puppies. Three males and a female. She was so hard to train and handle I finally gave her back. The next week I asked about her as she was no longer around, he said "don't ask". She did something to my property that finally broke my determination to keep her, see the picture in the next post.

 

this is after I had repaired the top and put a loop in it since I wear them under my jeans anyway...

 

All in one shot should work, that's what I did on the 400 in my '68 parts car, a little atf, a little pb blaster, a little of this a little of that. It is mostly for a solvent to break free any junk anyway and won't be exposed to high pressure or heat.

 

 

I'll definitely have to get a hold of a service manual. The only stamp I saw was more than two numbers

 

Your car looks very original. I’m not disparaging it at all, but it feels like no one got in there and “modified” it to their liking. Overall that’s to your benefit - no cleaning up after the previous owner(s).

The upside is things are probably where the factory left them. Downside is, well, that was 1966. 57 years ago. Typically the wires will be brittle and someone along the way would have replaced coil, cap, rotor & plugs - maybe in the 70’s or 80’s…

I’m hoping you have removed the top cover of the radiator for the photo. It’s supposed to have a cover with ears on the underside to keep the radiator in place.

There are better guys than me here than me on priming an engine, but I have the impression that you soak it in the mystery oil of your choice for a few days, change the oil to known-good fresh stuff, disable the distributor to prime it and (deep breath) when you’re ready reconnect the distributor that’s been refreshed with a good coil, cap, rotor, plugs and points.

Cooling wise - one good move on the fan is to get a 6 or 7 blade fan with a Hayden fan clutch. Another good move is to get a shroud to go around the fan. Olds didn’t always include the shroud, but with the gas we can get these days, traffic and what these motors were built for, you’re well advised to overbuild the fan and cooling a bit. The final part of the “good cooling” trio are the rubber curtains that go on the sides and bottom of the radiator that effectively forms a front shroud to force air through the radiator and not around it.

Look around under my username for Big Car cooling tips, I think I’m using a Hayden 2747 or maybe a 2765 on my cars. They work well and have since 2016 or so.

You can definitely screw up the timing if you pull the distributor. To keep the timing as it has been, leave it bolted in place, but if you decide to spin the engine pull the coil wire from the center of the distributor and it won’t fire while you’re priming up the engine with fresh oil. You can easily replace coil, rotor, points and cap (+ that missing plug wire…) without pulling the distributor which leaves you with one less thing to think about short run.

Pulling the tank is a good move, whatever’s in there, it ain’t gas anymore. You don’t want it pumped up into your engine. Disconnect the electrical and rubber hoses at the front, then loosen up the nuts on the carriage bolts in the rear to release the straps and it should come free. Depending on the level of dirt/rust, you may need to cut the carriage bolts if you strip the nuts or can’t get ‘em free. If I recall those gas tank bolts are 3.5” hardware store carriage bolts - very easy to find so cutting them is not a huge risk. Just don’t cut the tank. That’s very hard to find these days.

If you get the engine working, put in a new heater core. They have a lifespan and create a coolant leak when they die. Best to know it won’t be a problem by fixing it when the car is down. Top choice would be NOS (new old stock - i.e. original GM, but never installed), next best would be RockAuto for an aluminum replacement. A/C car heater cores will not fit your car. You need the 65-66 non-ac heater core.

Hope that helps and you’re having fun!
Chris

 

I removed the upper radiator support to more easily access the bolt on the crank. I did notice the radiator seemed thin to me, and that it did seem to be missing some rubber that must have worked as some form of shroud. I bet doing that is difficult.

 

Ended up hand tightening old plugs back in for now. They didn't have any in stock at AutoZone. The water pump seems to be why the seller said it was difficult to spin, as it is seized up solid. Sprayed some more penetrating oil around. Guess I don't need water pump just to fire it up. Curious about the electrical situation. I'm guessing the water pump I have isn't for heavy duty usage. I wonder if it the heavy duty/ a/c version would bolt up the same with the pulley still lining up.

 

Yes VR-1 is good, yes 20W-50 is thicker than I would use particularly in this "wake up" situation. Thinner is better to get into spaces it hasn't been. Hand and initial starter cranking should be done with the plugs out.

 

Did it turn over freely and evenly i.e., the turning resistance was the same throughout without spots that were sticky or binding?

 

Ended rotating it all the way across and a couple of times. First rotation I thought I found a spot with more resistance, but then didn't really notice it on consecutive revolutions. Not much force was needed through the process, but it did spin over ore easily after the first spin. Guess I'll see about draining the oil and refilling tomorrow evening maybe.

 

That may have a standard hex head drain plug or an odd looking torx like plug. If it has the odd looking plug use a 1/2" ratchet square end directly into the plug, works like a charm.

 

There might have been a rust ring on one of the cylinders that had not stopped at TDC, then when you rotated the engine manually you felt the resistance it presented on the first time around but on the second time around it had been "knocked down" enough so that you didn't feel resistance again. Doing an oil change certainly can't hurt, look for the presence of any water at all in the used oil, might give you a clue. Removing the spark plugs and running a compression check wouldn't hurt either.

 

Never did a compression check before. Can I rent the tool needed from a parts store? Anything special I need to know?

 

Yes, you can rent a compression tester from the auto parts store. You have to crank the engine over with the starter to do a compression test though.

 

Found some plugs that work and put em in still wondering about water pumps; if the heavy duty one will work. Went to change distributor cap and noticed a little trap door was partially opened. There was a lot of trash on top of the distributor. I blew it off with compressed air. I hope I didn't mess anything up. Figured I'll see if it'll fire before changing water pump. I'm also curious about the fuel pump; if it works. I should be able to draw gas from a small jug I guess, in order to see if it runs

 

The trap door is to access the adjustment screw to change the point gap while the engine is running, they sometimes don't close all the way. Take off the cap and ensure there is nothing inside like a mouse house, should be free of debris, while you are there might as well burnish the surface of the points with one of your wife's fingernail files or a piece of sandpaper. I like to use the extra fine wet or dry stuff, just fold it into a little napkin and put it between the points and seesaw back and forth a number of times. Also check the contacts on top of the cap and ensure they are clean and don't look burnt or blackened, rotor contact too. Fuel pump may or may not work and if it does it will be sucking fuel from your tank which may not be good. It is a good idea to use a small gas container (1 or 3 gallon size) and an electric pump to move some fresh fuel from it to the carburetor. If you don't have an electric or don't want to purchase one at least draw fresh fuel from a small tank through the mechanical pump. Either way, you'll need a good supply of fuel to get it running. You can usually get it to fire and sputter a lilttle by simply adding fuel manually into the carb but that is not very safe, with the timing in an unknown setting you could get a backfire and singed hair on yourself. Finally water pump. No need to worry about that until you know it fires an runs for at least a couple of minutes. Then you can address that later. For the time being, you could even run the engine for a few minutes without any belts on it at all, might make it safer as they won't be in the way and no chance of throwing one, you don't need power steering, or a/c, or even to charge the battery for that short of a time. Hope this helps out.

 

For what it's worth I got this engine running for about a minute in the condition in this photo (minus the upper radiator support). I discovered that there is a rod knock so I barely spent anything and now know it needs to be pulled completely and rebuilt. You can do it!

 

Two things...
First,
That curved oil fill tube was a '68 w/AC only version. Point is that may not be the original 425 engine, rather a '68 400 or 455. What are the block casting #'s between the water pump and the thermostat housing?

Second,
Does it just have a noise in the engine or was it diagnosed/confirmed to be a connecting rod? Check for loose torque converter bolts and pull the valve covers to see if a valve is stuck open possibly hitting a piston.

When a car doesn't have body damage and it is stopped being used it is often due to a major drivetrain defect.

 

You had me worried for a second. The number is 389244D