John - That course of action is way beyond my skill level, but I appreciate your comments and suggestions.

 

Chris - When removing the cover plate for the differential, if you don't have an appropriate catch bucket, you can easily sacrifice an empty 5 gallon bucket. Cut the 5 gallon bucket completely around in a circle with a new sharp razor blade utility knife at about 1/3 up from the bottom of the bucket. This will allow you to place the bottom 1/3 of a 5 gallon bucket under the diffy so as to catch the oil.

 

Yes, however, it's not beyond the skill of the guys you are hiring. If you don't want to move the car on a damaged rear, they can come pull it in your garage and take it with them, repair it, and bring it back to you and put it back in. If it's that bad it won't roll, that is.

 

Good morning everyone.

Well so far so good at work this morning. I slept so much the past couple days I didn't sleep for nuthin' last night. Work has been pretty steady and I got another new wall guy. He's been on the robot the past couple weeks and seems pretty bright, and has been doing well this morning. I'm sure he's been doing this since Monday.

Chris it sounds like you have the rear end all but wrapped up. Glad it will be this easy. I didn't know you had limited slip. That's even better.

Painter is supposed to come today. I don't have a good feeling about this. I thought the guy I know was going to come Monday or Tuesday. I called him Monday night and he said another guy is coming Wednesday. Hm. Should be there anytime. I left him some notes in case the other guy didn't tell him, and I told Mom if he doesn't want to do something, or can't do something, to tell him to stop. We can worry about it later. I just have this feeling after spending a bunch o'money on someone else painting, I'll be going behind him when he's gone touching up or redoing things.

Almost break time. I like to have 10 wheels signed off by break, and I'm at 14 right now. That's pretty good. Hope everyone has a good day.

 

Thanks guys!
John - You mentioned a "plastic pry bar", I don't know that I've ever seen one of those, and I know I don't have one. I know I need to be careful when trying to get the cover started and loose so as not to damage the gasket. Can you show me a pic of the type pry bar you're talking about? I would imagine it would need to be a pretty tough plastic to pry on the cover lip?

 

Mike - I hope all goes well with the painting!

I don't feel like I have the rear-end work all but wrapped up, other than some planning, and I'm even second guessing some of that.

Now, I'm leaning towards just having the rebuilder replace the bearings/seals on the axles, and me draining and replacing the fluid in the pumpkin. When I have the cover off the rear, maybe my buddy with extensive auto knowledge could be here to do a quick visual of the rear-end gears? Have not really made a final decision yet???

 

Chris, a sacrificial butter knife will do it.

 

Chris - Most of what I see being discussed probably involves your level of involvement. Simply a matter of exactly how much you want to be involved the way I read it; and, that's perfectly fine.

(1) Hail a tow truck & drag the 4-4-2 over to their shop (if practical based on location, etc.). Removes all burdensome involvement on your part;
(2) Remove the entire rear end from the 4-4-2 and take it over to their shop. You'll need jack stands, floor jack, etc. Easiest if you have the wherewithal for R&R. Removing nuts/bolts very easy but requires you to disassemble brake lines, reinstall brake lines then bleed brakes;
(3) Remove both axles etc. take to their shop, you'll have to perform full re-installation. If you haven't done it previously, you can easily become frustrated with no one to assist you.

Most likely best option to hail a tow truck and leave the 4-4-2 with their shop. Simply interjecting my stance on what I see developing as best case/worst case scenario(s).

 

John - Thanks for the rsvp, but this point will now be moot after you read my latest update on the plan.

 

Update on the Rear-end rebuild - I think I have the final plan ironed out

- I circled back with Randy B. (our Old's Club resto expert) to let him know what the rear-end specialist shop (Randy #2) had told me, and what his estimate was, $1.5K or more, depending on what he might find in the differential gear housing.

- Randy B. told me he thought the quoted price was too high. He said he would rather do the work for me and will do it much cheaper. He will come and pick the car up on his flat bed trailer and take it to his home shop to work on. He will source new bearings and seals for both axles, pending further inspection of the damaged axle and making sure it is reusable. He will have the machine shop he personally uses to remove the old bearing races and press on the new bearings, then install the rebuilt axles with new retention plates. The new retention plates have to go on the axle outboard of the bearing/seal before the rebuilt axles can be reinstalled. I got notice from Inline Tube this morning that the 2-pack of new retention plates has shipped USPS 1st Class. While working on the axles, Randy B. will pull the rear cover on the differential housing, drain the fluid, and thoroughly clean and inspect the carrier, gears, and bearings for any damage or excessive wear. Now if he finds something that looks troubling or damaged, it would have to go to the rearend specialist for rebuild. I can live with that. Randy B. does not think that will be the case though, but you never know? If everything looks OK in the differential, Randy B. will reinstall/reseal the cover and refill differential. He asked if I could get some supplies upfront, 2 cans CRC Brakleen, 3 bottles of Valvoline 80w-90 gear oil, two 4oz bottles of ACDelco limited-slip additive, and one tube of Permatex Ultra Grey gasket maker. It's all already on the way via Amazon and all supposed to be here by this Saturday, which is when Randy B. is supposed to be back in town.

- Next step is contact Randi B. on Saturday and set-up a date/time for him to come and get the car.

Hope this makes sense.

 

It all makes sense. You're fortunate to find someone w/ (1) the knowledge & (2) willingness to work on this at their home to save you American greenbacks. Everything you described sounds really good.

 

Norm - I agree with you 100% and feel like this is a best case scenario. Randi B. is known as Mr. Oldsmobile in these parts and has done many high end Oldsmobile resto's thru the years. I couldn't think of anyone locally I'd rather have working on my car than him.

 

Covertly determine what beer/alcohol he prefers and place an order.

 

I'm glad you heard that from someone you trust. I thought the same, but I'm just some guy on the internet.

 

Yep, his willingness to take this on has definitely lowered my anxiety about it, I owe him!!

Yes, I'm glad he told me his true feeling about the quote, especially when it's a guy who has done substantial work for him in the past. I feel lucky all around! 👍

 

Good. I don't think rolling on and off a flatbed will hurt anything or chuck a wheel off. Sounds like a plan.

 

Thanks!

 

Well.....it ain't an SX.

 

Is this an acquisition?

 

Yep, picked her up today.

 

Hell, even the reflection is straight.

 

Nice
Happy for you Dan. Looks like a dandy

 

Chris
Happy to hear you have a nice plan and the road to recovery sorted out. How far away do you have to go to work with him on the project

 

Enjoy, Dan.

 

Thanks, guys. new tires, and new dual exhuast are at the top of the list. I like the Goodyears, but these haven't been made in ten years. A four core radiator and Old Air a/c will be added in the near future.

 

Dan - Sweet ride! Very pretty car, I love the entire color scheme! I'm very happy you found another car you can enjoy! I was gonna ask if it had A/C, but you beat me to the punch. Give us an engine bay and trunk shot when you have time.

Shoot, too bad you already found that one. I know where you could find a real deal on a nice looking Aqua '67 4-4-2 right now . . . just kidding of course.

 

Thanks Keith, I'm feeling much better about the plan now. To be honest, I really do not know exactly where he lives, but I think it's quite a distance north of me. I'll be finding out though and I'll let you know.

 

Keith - I was able to get his address off of our Oldsmobile Club roster. He lives 42-miles north of me in St. Charles, MO.

 

How cool is that Chris. Just awesome. Happy for you for sure

 

I've been to St. Charles - almost a straight-line from Edwardsville, IL

 

Thanks buddy, really appreciate that!

 

Finding a guy willing to come and pick the car up on his flat bed trailer and take it to his home shop to work on is unheard of. You're one lucky buzzard.

 

Yes, I am extremely lucky, and the best part is the man's reputation as an Old's expert is unmatched in our area. Old's knowlege and skills wise, he is talked about in the same glowing terms that folks on CO talk about Joe P. 👍

 

Good morning everyone.

The overtime people have been busy this morning, so hopefully we have a good head start and we can get out at 225 this afternoon instead of 230(sheesh). Came in for regular time today because Tiger is at home again. The painters have the place all mucked up and Tiger would not be happy.

Nice car Dan! Dare I say, radiant! You just can't beat an A body convertible.

Chris I knew it would be easy. You've really hit the jackpot with your group. Though I'm not sure -everybody- talks about Joe P in glowing terms. Glowing red maybe. Where's Jaunty.

So speaking of the painters. Mom said they taped and primed and patched all day, and they had just started painting right before I got there. They had the first coat on everything being painted. And they used three gallons of paint. They have one left and said they needed two more. No problem, except he didn't tell me until 12 minutes before the store closed. And the store doesn't have anymore anyway. So the best we could come up with, is the guys are going to another Sherwin Williams and will call their boss(the guy I actually hired). The boss will call me, I will call the store and pay for the paint, then the guys will bring the paint to my house and continue. Sounds way more complicated than it needs to be. I'm not sold on the color but Mom likes it and that's all that matters.

Time to make the donuts. Actually someone brought some so it's time to eat them first. Hope everyone has a good day.

 

Chris, I'm with Ken and your Corvette buddy. Pull the cover and look around. If no damage-etc, Pull both axles, repair damage and put back together. Back in the day, rear ends usually went the whole life of car never needing anything- you always heard about car having a rebuilt engine or transmission, but usually rears never failed- now 50 years later - sure....

 

Oops realize now I didn't read till the end- sounds like a great plan Chris. Dan, that car looks sweet!!

 

Thanks Greg, I'll be saying my prayers and crossing my fingers it all goes smoothly.

Mike - I hope the painters are able to get the remaining paint needed and get it finished soon. Donuts sound good!

 

Nah, I wanted something that could move under it's own power! Seriously, glad to see that you have someone to get your '67 going again. Right you are.

 

When i was backing it off of the trailer in front of my house, a 20ish year old kid drove by and smiled in approval.

 

That's cool, one of the great things about classic cars is they bring alot of smiles to alot of faces! 👍