Which is my question, actually. How hard is it to remove the steering column? I pulled apart the dash because I have the interior out and the lower dash, especially the glove box and the ash tray are badly scratched. It's also scratched around the ignition key. I took everything out with the intention of pulling the dash board to paint the whole thing, then I decided it might be okay to match the paint, and just paint the glove box door and the ash tray. I guess I could mask off everything and try to spray the lower dash while it's still in the car, but now I have a great color that's almost a perfect match, and I'd like to pull the dash and paint it.

So how hard is it to take out the steering column? That part scares me.
And does anyone have docs on the climate control box? It looks like it's all vacuum lines. This is a non AC car, so I'd like to be able to operate the vents and they look like they're vacuum lines, not cables.

 

On a 1964, the shaft runs all the way to the steering box. There is no separable intermediate shaft the way there is on the later cars. Still not a big deal. Disconnect the wiring, unbolt at the steering box, unbolt the clamp at the firewall, and remove the nuts under the dash. Out it comes.

 

If you pull it, I recommend you take pictures before you pull it. If there are A/C vents/grounds/ accessory thing attached shoot a few snaps of those too. These are just small computer files now. I have to remind myself that we don’t have to “pay for film processing anymore”. The big deal here is photos/images are dead cheap now, but, at least for me, I have to remember to take a shot as though I were writing a sticky-note reminder. Photos just ain’t a big deal like they used to be. Cool

You may not need them, but if life intervenes, you’ll be glad you have a record of what it looked like before you pulled it apart. Pictures allow you to walk away and come back later with a full understanding of what you left undone. Even just a convenient reference, the “before” photos can be an invaluable reference for reassembly.

Also have a plan as to where & how to store the now-rare parts to make it easy to put back in. Personally I use ziplock bags & blue tape the fasteners near where they go on the assembly.

If you have ‘em, print the Chassis Service Manual or Assembly Manual pages which show you how it all goes back together.

Consider additional noise reduction on the firewall when the dash is out. Consider replacing the heater core when the dash is out. And every might-as-well you can think of.

Good luck & good hunting!
Chris

 

Oh - 1 minor item: if you pull the column, consider replacing the rubber donut that connects the steering shaft to the steering box. A nice new coupler helps tighten up the steering.

Chris

 

Here's an IPB. (The lower one)
'64 is typical of '63

 

Very nice document- thanks for sharing. That's incredibly helpfulfor people who will come here for this kind of info.

 

AKA the rag joint. Here are pics of my 63:

 

Don,
That new rag joint looks perfect!. I'd forgotten the name of the part. You'll like the result. Also a salute from me for custom making the ground wire.

I had a part on my '98 where the rubber was infused with metal bits that supposedly made that wire obsolete. Turned it as the part aged, it only allowed the horn to honk in certain positions.

So I remade the wire just like you have there.

Cheers
Chris

 

Minor safety note.

It's not a hard part to figure out, but be sure the splines are well down far enough on the box and column. Also there is a specific torque spec on the nut & bolt combination.

When I put it on I found it very helpful to have the front end raised to allow me access to the nuts/bolts in rotation. When you turn the wheels physically, the joint rotates very helpfully. Despite that...

I goofed mine up and had my suspension guy check it. I hadn't shoved my coupler down low enough on the box. He corrected my error. Specifically my error, not yours, but just a note of encouragement to do a better job than I did.

Chris

 

Agree, nice job. I didn't have to pull the steering column, but I did need to unbolt it at the rag joint. I'm thinking it's worth the effort to replace, as long as it's apart. I cleaned and polished some parts- I'm not sure they're worthy of a photo, especially where they're just leaning up in the corner of the room, but I'm pretty happy with the progress. I need to get under the dash and replace vacuum lines so the "climate controls" work like they should. I'm also thinking about a radio. The AM unit is nearly non-functional, and with everything torn apart, I'd like to put in a good AM/FM radio. I'm conflicted.
And don't have a clock. A clock would be nice, I think. And the vent delete, because it's not an AC car, the vent delete is broken, scratched- it just looks bad. I spent the time taking all this apart, and it's only March. So my wish list-
A clock
A vent delete, not broken, that fits right
An AM/FM radio that looks like it belongs in there, and I can wire up new speakers under the dash, and behind the rear seat, so they're where they belong, but they actually sound okay.

And maybe a new rag joint, now that see it....

I'll share some pictures of the bezel. It's been painted and polished


color and chrome mostly

badging. It looks pretty good

here's where I'd love to have a clock, and that vent delete is broken in back, scratched and off center

After so much work, a guy would like that to look better, I think...


Like I said, it's broken. Dude used epoxy and a bracket, which is fine if he got it right, but he didn't. It's off center, and scratched to **** in front. A lot of work went into making it look that bad- kind of a shame...

 

Just a vote for making the car how you'd like it. In my big cars I added all the toys. AM/FM (with reverb!) was already there on my 98 from Dad, but I added it to my Starfire. I'd say go for it.

If you do the clock, be aware that the old Borg Warner mechanicals wore out pretty quickly, but these days there's a Chinese (credit where credit is due) universal repalcement in a red & white box which you can adapt or have adapted to your original clock face. I've been running these for 3 or 4 years in both my big cars to great effect. They keep accurate time and don't draw down the battery from winding the clock spring when the car is shut off. Of course, you don't get the traditional "thwack" sound of the spring being reset, but I don't miss that much. Add the clock when you can find one.

When I got my Starfire in the 90's, my specific intent was to kit it out with _everything: power windows, custom power seats (GM parts), power trunk lock, autronic eye, cruise control and on & on. It's a lot of fun adding these toys if you can find the parts.

The big cars are not like Cutlass/442's with all the ins & outs of factory vs. added on options to fake or clone a high dollar car. In my view, make it how you might have ordered it in 1964.

Cheers
Chris

 

Here you go. It will probably need repair though.
It will fit. Use 10 OHM speakers.
1964 Oldsmobile AM FM Radio Delco OEM 982251 | eBay
I have one like it in my '63, works beautifully.

 

Thanks Charlie! I have to say, I question the condition of it. If it's a broken radio for $150, then it's not a dolla fifty to me, and it's already in someone's cart- but the point is, they are out there.

I'm going to try to swing this back to the "Dashboard removal thread". I got the steering column out, and now it's more about rebuilding the dash

 

These seem to pop up every few months. The last working one I saw, the guy started at $1.000 and finally went down below $600 before it sold.

 

My wife's idea- and it has some merit- is make sure the AM radio works, speakers and all that, and leave it original. Then just use a blue tooth speaker and your music app. You can just put a wireless blue tooth speaker on the seat and play music from your phone's music app when you want music. I can use one of the back seat 12v power ports (they used to call them "cigarette lighters") with a USB plug in to power the blue tooth speaker.

 

Recommend you keep your wife on board, but there are AM/FM radios out there to be found in either restored or restorable condition and there are services who specialize in that work.

I have a thing about music in the car. Both my big cars have AM/FM with reverb and rear speaker, as originally offered by Olds in those days. To me it’s fun that they’re pre-Stereophonic (remember when Stereophonic wasn’t just “Stereo”?). Those radios are factory, visible, they work, and sound o.k. It’s fun to demonstrate reverb for those who’ve never heard it.

But like I said I have a thing. I grew up in the time of tape decks, then individual CDs, which gave way to CD changers in the trunk, which gave way to music players like iPods, and Zune (hah!), which gave way to streaming. I hate streaming since you have to pay rent. I like owning digital files - like a radio-station’s worth of music. Collected over decades, but all digital and all lossless (high resolution).

Hidden in my big car glove boxes are an Alpine HD-149BT for each one. Close the glove box door and it’s 1966 again. Open it and you have iPod in, AUX in, Bluetooth In (for phone & music), AM/FM, SiriusXM and CD changer too (if you want it). My head units run to 2 amplifiers in the trunk. Mounting is easy on the trunk liner panels and these trunks are a 2 bedroom apartment. 1 amp is for the 4 in-cabin speakers.On top, I like a little bass so I have 1 amp for a subwoofer too. This is just a 10” woofer, not enough to sterilize mammals at 50 yards, though sometimes that’d be a nice feature….

If you like a car project, a hidden modern 4 channel stereo is right up there near the top of the fun scale, at least for me. And the payoff is great tunes of your choosing whenever you drive. If you do this, seek out the few remaining specialty shops at skip Best Buy for parts & pieces.

Hope this helps.
Chris

 

Chris, I'm probably in your "gen". The first upgrade to any car I bought in high school was a new stereo. I had a '68 Delta 88 I bought for $300, and I spent more for the stereo I put in it. I think it was a Pioneer unit- but I forget now.

Honestly, I'm starting to get impatient with this. I messed up my knee in February and it's hard to crawl around under the dash. The carpets and seats were ready in January. They're in my garage taking up space. I want them in the car. I had to paint the dash because it was so badly scratched, and that turned into a monster project, but now it's done. I just want to fix everything that needs attention, and I do believe I'll be very happy with a blue tooth speaker sitting on the seat and my I-tunes playlist cranking out all the greatest from the 60's- because the car is from the 60's. I'll blast plenty of great 70's, 80's, and 90's tunes, and some 21st century rock as well- and I'll absolutely mix in old school blues. Point is- I can do that without ripping the AM radio out of the dash. I just want to put this bad boy back together.

 

I'm just about to turn 61. Aches & pains are part of the deal. I've just been lucky so far. But we have Advil & Tylenol all over the house. And in CA, in an occasional win, we can use CBD/THC balms which seem to help. It's not my preferred analgesic yet, but I'm testing it after car/sports sessions to see if it helps.

I definitely spent more on the stereo than the car in those days. I still have that 66 98 convertible with 350K+ miles on it. Fun Summer car, and sentimental because it literally was my Dad's Oldsmobile.

You're rightly triaging what needs to be done to get it back on the road vs. nice-to-haves. On target. On restorations, I go safety, reliability, exterior, interior, toys. The stereo is definitely in that last category.

It might sound out of left field, but do you have an interested young person who might help with the legwork to save your back/knee? You teach what & why. They could learn a lot. If you can/want to sweeten the pot, you could offer an hourly wage. Neither of my girls were interested in jurassic Oldsmobiles, but a lot of their friends were. I didn't have help, but if you're my age, you're probably seeing how many professions/trades are deeply in need of young people to carry on stuff we need to get done. This could be an opportunity to work with / help a young person.

I was trying to remember what my first tape deck was - not Kraco, not Nakamichi, somewhere in the middle. Eventually I settled on Alpine head units & amps since they seemed the right trade off between quality & price. What's fun is that as each generation added features I didn't need to change the core wiring.

If you want to put together a fun '60's playlist, look up the Wrecking Crew. They were behind a sh*t ton of songs in the '60's that were credited to the artists. It's a fun mix. Carole Kaye is an unsung hero.

Cheers
Chris