I recently acquired my father's Oldsmobile...a 1964 Starfire. It is in really good condition considering it has spent the past 25 years in a barn and hadn't run for six years until I coaxed it to life with gasoline down the carb' two weeks ago.

There is much to do to bring it back to its former glory, but my immediate concern is just cleaning it up to see what else needs to be done. A major concern is the insulation pad under the hood...it must contain five pounds of dirt that constantly rains down on the engine. How do you get this thing off??

There are some kind of strange square metal clips like I have never seen. Then there is the usual spray adhesive, but I am afraid to start prying on the clips for fear of damaging the hood.

Anybody?

I would also like to establish an Internet relationship with anyone else with a 1964 Starfire who knows more than I about this sexy land yaht.

 

Oldzzzz: Those square metal thingies are just pushed into holes in the hood, no nuts on the back side (on a Cutlass, anyway). I would say lay a blanket (old, of course) across the motor area to catch all the dirt/crap that falls, then c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y pry around the edge of the square thingie to pop it out. Do the others the same way. You will then have to destroy the pad when pulling it away from the glue that holds it, also. You might check with Fusick prior to removal, to insure that a new one is available. Good luck, and welcome to CO!

 

Hey Aron:

I appreciate your reply. I am going to need lots of help with this car.

I plan to throw the pad away, so I can destroy it in removal. I just don't want to harm the hood removing the clips.

I have found a good source for bulk pad material that can be cut to fit (easy on the Starfire). I would not put the pad back up at all except I suspect the heat from that 394 would fry eggs on the hood

 

Fusick www.fusick.com has the pad and clips, though the repop clips are plastic. I expect those original clips will break apart trying to get them out.

Ask away. A few of us here speak Starfire.

 

hey good luck with the new wheels. I picked up a 64 88 two years ago. This past summer was the first year I was able to put some time and repairs into it. I replaced the hood pad this past summer.Good idea to cover engine they hold a ton of dirt. I even wore a mask.
I primed and painted the hood prior to reinstalling the pad. Anything you can do to slow the aging is worth the time. Again welcome aboard and feel free to pass on your progress.

 

Thanks for the responses!

I was afraid I would have to face this project alone. I'll get after the hood pad this week. Then cleaning up the carburetor...eww!

After I get the engine room cleaned up, I just want to get all the fluids purged and replenished, including the brakes. When it appears everything is safe to drive, I'll concentrate on making it purty.

 

As a former navy guy I am one to think Chemicals are our friends! The first drive with my car was like this...I put 10 gals high octane in tank with Marvel mystery oil, ran mystery oil in the crankcase, topped off the radiator,power steering and brakes and gave the carb a drowning of carb cleaner. I then took the ole gal for a 20 mile run on the highway...a little smoke a few pops but she came alive...great feeling.
A little advice...my girlfriend says I get more excited about my car then her and that she remembers when I looked at her that way....woman they just don,t get it!!!!!

 

HAR!

I plan to put spray carb cleaner through it, then run some Gunk engine flush through and drain after 10 minutes, then put on a fresh oil filter and put in some premium oil with zink/phosphorous additive. I don't want to lay a wrench on this baby unless there is no alternative. Only then will I do an engine rebuild.

I rebuilt a 1954 Olds 88 motor that ran like the proverbial striped-*** ape, but this Starfire is a classic that I want to keep as close to original as possible...in case anyone wants an original-owner example.

 

Be real careful with the engine flush. A buddy of mine did that and plugged all his oil pass thru lines. I have been told just do a few extra oil changes. I did three oil changes in a 3000 mile period. When I pulled my valve covers my engine was spot free.

 

That sounds like good advice. I am a bit nervous about something as aggressive as Gunk Engine Flush myself. I think I'll follow your regimen of oil and filter change every 800-1,000 miles and maybe add some Sea Foam at the 3,000 mile change. Sea Foam is not nearly as aggressive as Gunk, but does a good job in either the crankcase or the fuel tank.

 

Seafoam is great...I had a sticky valve on an old plymouth and it cleared up great. The stuff is great to clean your PVC. And regarding valve covers...most likely they are leaking a bit concidering the time the car sat. When you pull them to replace the gaskets make sure your oil returns are clear. I used long pipe cleaners. I have read GM tech notes stating the oil returns clog causing engine damage. I poured seafoam down the tubes and you would not believe the sludge that was on the pipe cleaners.

 

The rocker-arm covers don't leak a bit, but THAT's the problem. My father is a great believer that Permatex Max (the stuff that hardens like epoxy) is the only way to dress gaskets. He used the stuff on both sides of the gaskets when he had the covers off about 10 years ago and I'll probably have to employ my air-chisel to get them off to clean oil returns.

I appreciate your counsel and will probably be asking a lot more questions when I really get into this project. I have all five volumes of the factory shop and body manuals, but they are surprisingly sparse on a lot of basic information (like those hood-pad "thingies").

 

I'm glad my dad wasn't the only one who believed in Permatex (or Indian Head shellac as it was called way back when). It rarely leaked, but god help getting the stuff off.

 

What's after that? Sickbay and then the transporter room?

"I canna give you no more, Captain, we're at warp 9 now!"

 

This is probably because those five manuals are for the chassis and drivetrain. You need the accompanying body manual. Anything to do with the hood, doors, seats, trunk, glass, trim, fenders, etc. would be in the body manual.

http://www.faxonautoliterature.com/1...nt-P15541.aspx

 

My Volume 5 is a comprehensive body service manual for the Starfire and shows detail on the construction, operation, and removal of virtually every other attachment clip on the car. All it has to say about the under-hood insulation removal is:

"The hood insulator is a fiberglass material and is held in position by five snap-in retainers, one on each corner and one in the center. (Fig. 15-103)"

The referenced figure has a photo of the underside of the hood showing the insulator pad with arrows pointing to the locations of the retainers. No close-up of the retainers showing how they "snap" in, so I was reluctant to just start prying on them with a cat's-paw or screwdriver. Looks like that's the way to do it, just very carefully.

Modern adhesives are much better than what was used in 1963, so plastic repop retainers will do just fine when I put the new pad on. I'm sure the old pad will come off in shards, leaving fiberglass fuzz and hardened adhesive behind. I'll make a template before I tear the old pad to shreds...it is essentially a flat rectangle, so cutting a new one should be pretty simple. Getting the hood off and cleaning up the mess behind the pad for fresh paint and adhesive will be the real chore.

 

The mess from pulling off the pad was a scene. The adhesive was brittle and came off with a wheel brush. By the time I removed the old glue I had most surface rust removed and it was ready for 1) Rustex 2) Primer 3) Two coats of paint.
When you pop open the hood with the new pad it looks sharp.

 

Fusick does show these available for your car for $45. Page 8 of their Catalog 20BC. Fasteners are 75 cents each.

http://www.fusick.com/catfile/Catalo...Layout%201.pdf

 

Thanks for the link, Jaunty75! I see trunk compartment pads that I will also need...but much later.

 

For some reason trunk carpet is $$$. So I purchased my own carpet and had a sign graphic buddy of nine put an olds logo on it. It was a bit cheaper and I could put a little style of my own on it. For all trunk parts check out U.S.A Parts supply..www.USAPARTSSUPPLY.COM ... You can order the catalog or down load the catalog. They do have an impressive parts supply for the starfire.
It takes the stress off knowing this web site is there for you and there are a good list of companies to help you maintain and restore your classic

 

oldzzzzz,
Just out of curiousity.... the Fusick catalog sez their replacement hood insulator doesn't have the recesses for the hood braces or the air cleaner. Were there any traces of these features still visible in your original?

 

I just bought a new hood blanket and 10 new clips from Fusik for my 64 F 85. Looks like a pretty easy installation coming up.