Last year i bought a 1965 olds cinvertible 88 dynamic , after a year just looking at it and cruising with it i have decided start restorating it and enhancing it .
So first i am trying to find as much details on the car, engine,trim, transmition and all interesting details about it , however i am a total rooky as far as cars are concerned , so i could you some help and direction ..
ok the VIN is 356675C107548, i also found a number on top of the intake manifold 384438, in the engine bay i have a plaque saying:
Style 65-35667 Body BC 118
Trim 993-top1 Paint C
C 60

and on the front of the engine by the timing chain cover i have the number
386525A

so if you gentlemen have any inside on all theses numbers please feel free to comment and instruct ..

also i am looking at getting a little more HP out of this engine , the engine has 52000 miles , car was only driven in the summer, the engine runs very smoothly but is a little weak for my taste , after all it's a muscle car
what would you do or not do to raise the horsepower, would you do a blower or change the engine components ... i am also wanting to change all the weather strips and rubbers around the windows and the roof so i need some info on finding those parts as well as looking into doing a dual exhaust for the car , already have the exhaust manifold (thanks Ebay) so please feel free to comment and inform on my diverse projects
BUT PLEASE KEEP EVERYTHING NICE, FRENDLY AND POLITE
ok i am going to try posting a few pictures for you all to see what i am talking about
9828_4.jpg
olds5.jpg

MOre pictures following very soon

 

here a few more pics to introduce you to my car

DSC_0139.jpg
this car looks so good , they sure new how to make a car look sexy in theses days

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DSC_0146.jpg

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Sharp car! White with blue or red always looks right on one of these.

356675C107548

3= Oldsmobile Division
56= Dynamic 88
67= convertible
5= 1965
C= Southgate CA assembly plant
107548= car sequential VIN


Style 65-35667 Body BC 118
Trim 993-top1 Paint C
C 60

65-35667= already explained above
BC 118= body plant job #
993= blue vinyl interior trim
1= white convertible top
C= Provincial White paint
C60= factory airconditioning

384438 425-2 barrel intake manifold casting #

386525A is a 1965 425 ci engine casting

after all it's a muscle car WHO TOLD YOU THAT?! a 2-barrel 425 made close to 300 hp but you're talking a 4000 lb car that probably has tall gearing.

Converting to a 4-barrel intake and carb with dual exhaust will wake this car up considerably but if you want original, you're limited to a 1965 intake and Rochester 4GC carb. 1966-later cars used QuadraJets and about any 1965-73 big-block intake can be used. 74-later intakes had EGR which you don't want. Unless you dig up oldschool parts, Edelbrock Torker and Performer aluminum intakes are about your only current choices there. You'll also have to tweak the downshift/switch pitch converter switch linkage a bit to make it work with 4-barrel.

I don't think you want to deal with driveability issues of a blower with a carb either. Even a centrifugal would have to have all kinds of custom bracketry and plumbing made. You need to determine whether you have a high or low compression engine; HC will not like the boost. Factory color was red, 330s were gold. Look on the front of the passenger side cylinder head for a number looks like this: MxxxxxxL M indicates 2-barrel engine, L indicates 9.0 engine, no suffix indicates a 10.25 engine.

Exhaust? try these folks and use these with rear resonators. http://www.sweet-thunder.com/chamber..._starfire.html
It'll be quiet until you romp it. I have them on my 64 Starfire and my bud is getting ready to put them on his 66 Starfire.

Rubber parts? www.fusick.com or www.steelerubber.com . Fusick also has other parts for your 65, and ebay is a good resource for unobtainium trim.

Have fun. Big 60s Oldsmobiles are nice cars and a lot of fun, just remember they have their quirks.

 

Nice Car! I believe you have a 1965 425 engine which if you have a 4 barrel carb it should be fun to drive! If it was my car and I wanted more power what I would do is pull that engine out, stick it in the corner of the garage so I could put it back to original some day if I wanted to, then install a 1968-72 455 built to your specs. The 425 and 455 share the same mounting points on the blocks so it would be real easy to install a 455. I know the 1966 425 had something different about the lifter bores and pushrod angles, so I suspect the 1965 is the same. The big blocks from 1967 on were different. I have some cars I don't plan to ever sell... but who knows what the future holds. Original cars seem to be easier to sell and go for more than ones that were customized and modified. That's why I'd save the correct engine and make sure I didn't loose the ability to change it all back. My 2 cents worth. John

 

thank you ROCKETRAIDER and 2BLU442 for your excellente infos given , i really appreciate it .
I do believe i was told the engine is a low compression one but i will go and verify that thanks to your great directions. also as far as an aftermarket intake manifold and a 4 barel carburator , it is done ! check the pic
DSC_0140.jpg
And as far as the idea of a 455 of later year it sounds pretty good too , it might be an avenue to explore what kind of money are we talking about , getting a big block like that and tuning it for a decent amount of power ( i am not looking for a HUGE amount of power) i still want to be able to enjoy the convertible that is why i keep coming back with keeping the engine and doing minor modification for just some extra oooomph.
Speaking of modification i like those chambers mufflers, i might just have to do that , does anybody as a sound byte so we could hear them ???
Once again THANK YOU BOTH for your inside

 

Uh, you already have a big block. The 425 and 455 are externally identical and share the same 4.125" bore. The 425 has a slightly shorter stroke, thus the smaller displacement. On the other hand, the 425 does have a forged crankshaft where the 455 only has a cast crank. For what you're looking for, the current 425 will be fine. Get a 4bbl carb and dual exhausts to really wake that engine up. Note that to properly run duals, you will need the specific LH dual exhaust manifold for these cars. Fortunately they are now being reproduced.

 

I thought the sweet thunder website used to have some soundbytes. Maybe they took 'em off? Go to the testimonials/pictures tab and read and see some of the installations and comments. The guy with the Excalibur summed it up pretty well.

Worth mentioning that as much noise as the Chevy crowd makes about their chambered pipe 1969 Camaros and Chevelles, they were a couple years late to the game.

Chambered exhaust was another Olds first, introduced on 1964 Starfires and Jetstar I's, and continued on those cars thru about half of 1965. Then the bean counters got into it, asking why spend that extra money on such low production cars? Then, as now, they couldn't understand the concept of "a little extra and a little different" on image cars.

Then by the time Chevy offered their system, noise laws were cracking down, so it was a one year thing for them. A rear resonator would have quieted things down a bit and not reduced performance by much.

 

Keep all your great comment and info coming this way, this is awesome i am learning so much my head is dizzy
i am leaving to go to las vegas, zion,bryce, arches, tomorrow but i will keep an eye on the forum .. i will talk to you soon ..
please feel free to continue to give me ideas or advice on how tune the olds just right .. i have decided for now to just make sure i can squeeze as much power keeping it as close to stock , so any good idea is welcome .. i am also going to need some help with a few electric gremlins in the rear brakes and indicators ..
see you all very soon
thanks

here is the pic of the day .. IT"S NOT AN OLDSMOBILE IT'S A LDS MOBILE
DSC_0135.jpg

 

That's a beauty, is that body all original? I've never seen one with the thinner type body moldings on it, looks great. My Delta has the wide ones on it. Looks like you have the switch pitch torque converter too. Do you have the NOS clock in the dash, or the blank plate where it goes? I've seen on with a tach in that spot, not bad. I prefered the factory clock myself so I got one on Ebay and converted it to a quartz movement, tick tick tick I'm trying to decide wether or not to keep mine and have the body work done $$$ or find her a good/ better home.
anyways, good luck with yours.

 

Beatiful car!

 

well thank you , apart from a paint job badly done on top of the original one yes it is all original .. What is the switch pitch torque converter you are talking about , being new with old car and Oldsmobile i am a rookie as far as terms. And concerning the NOS clock in the dash it's blank i am thinking about putting a tach in it or a clock, i am not sure yet , could you send me some pics of yours ..
and as far as what to do with yours it's a no brainer KEEP IT as long as necessary untill you can do a paint job

 

thank you very much , i am a lucky man

 

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-question.html

Norm

 

I just bought a 66 4Door Dynamic 88 , just wanted to know whatmake/size etc those rims are , they look most excellent

Car Looks GREAT!

 

thank you, i'll get all the info as soon as i am back in town,i i am touring the national parks in utah getting sunburned.. i like them as far as size but i want to fill up my rear wheel wells a little more , i need something different for offset.

 

the rims might go for sale this winter

 

thank you for the info 88 coupe but even after reading that post i am not sure i fully understand the use or the advantage of the switch pitch ..
can you spell R.O.O.K.Y

 

nice car 65topless. i too have a 65 olds dynamic 88 convertable that i am just finishing up a 3 year restro job on. they are a fun car to drive. I had mine in a car show this weekend and got tons of compliments. What I like is there are not that many left. I have the only one in my entire area and I live in an area where people love to collect their old cars. enjoy it. chris

 

Changing the angle of the stator in the torque converter changes the torque multiplication factor, but at the expense of slippage. This is equivalent to using a high stall speed torque converter. You'll get better acceleration off the line due to the torque multiplication in the converter. Unlike with a high-stall converter, however, the switch pitch converter can switch back to a more normal stator angle, with less slippage, once the gas pedal is no longer floored.

 

thank you joe for the explanation it's a little clearer now.
also i wanted to update my goals after reading more thread in the forum ... after reading a lot of your good advice i think i will try to stay as close to stock as possible and opt for torque versus horsepower .. so if you gentlemen have advices or opinions please feel free to share them here
i already bought an exhaust manifold to change my olds to a dual exhaust , any recommendation for size of exhaust or brend or would you just go with regular tubing quality exhaust ..
Also knowing the engine is really close to original what would you upgrade or beef up/ change before doing to much

REMEMBER I JUST WANT TO HAVE A SPIRITED RUNNING OLDS NOTHING TOO CRAZY

THANK YOU

 

I have a '65 delta 88 with a 425, originally with a 2 bl carb and single exhaust. I did a basic rebuild on it with new bearings and gasketes and such. I put an edelbrok perfromer 455 intake, holley 750cfm vac secondary carb, and switched to a dual exhaust manifold. The car seems like a completely different car from before, it seems to have so much more power now. I have 295/50/15 tires on the back, and it will sqeal them from a stop with out a problem, and that is with the stock tall gearing. I am also surprised to say that I get pretty decent gas mileage out of the car too.............

 

Aluminized pipe will work fine and last a good long while.

Heh. It's gonna mess with the exhaust guy, but on factory DE the RH pipe is larger than the LH pipe. Don't know why they didn't just go ahead and make them both same size, esp since the LH manifold is different, but only the Olds engineer who spec'd it knows why. It's like that at least thru 1967 on the big cars, and maybe thru 1970 since 65-70 all use the same manifolds.

If you use the Sweet Thunder Starfire chambered pipes, they come that way- one 2", one 2-1/4". You could just buy a pair of their 24" or 30" 2-1/4 general use mufflers for about the same money, but I think they might be obnoxiously loud without a resonator. You can use a resonator for any 65-74 full-size Olds; you might have to cut the spout to get the right length.

Can you tell I kinda like these chambered pipes? Oldsmobiles have their own distinct exhaust sound anyway, and the chambered pipes "enhance" it.

 

i love your car it looks like my cars brother! mines a 66 though,to bad your so far away id love to park mine next to yours at a cruise night....thats the first one ive seen to look so much like mine. ive had mine since the 80's. let me know if theres any parts you need. theres a guy re-producing the dual exaust manifolds..i have a set and they are great and half the headache and price of finding the originals.
enjoy!
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Thanks for all the advices , i was just wondering about that difference in size on the chambered pipes.. YOU wouldn't happen to have a sound clip of those pipes on your olds by any chance.. i think it the way i am going to go , right now i have just one pipe with a cherry bomb but it's way too quiet , but i also don't want something TOO lod since it's a convertible but i definitely want some RUMBLE ..

 

Yes blkmonday i am looking for the O for my Oldsmobile on the front hood if you know of one that would be great , it's for a 65

 

Been away from the forum for a bit and just found this thread. Nice car. I've got the same model, but a little tougher condition. I still smile whenever I see the back end of my car, just an awesome style. Love it.

Need to get a new intake manifold on her too, and wondering about ditching the carb. for EFI. (Don't shoot me for wanting a car that the wife can drive with confidence.) Any advice from anyone?

 

very nice olds , i love the red , rich and warm.. good luck with your mods .Here, i had the dual exhausts installed last fall and love the sound of it ... Now the only thing i need is a good mechanic that know olds well, because ever since having the 4 barrel installed with the intake manifold i find my car sluggish .. i feel like it needs to be adjusted. i also have not found the torque converter everybody was talking about..
I need to get going on finding some parts and replacing a few things such as the weatherstripping. i need to take some time and give the olds some TLC.

 

denise do you need the "o" for your hood. i might have some left over but not sure can look . just let me know thanks chris

 

Even the low-comp 2V 425 in good condition ought to move out pretty good. I bought a 33K 66 Dynamic, "hi-comp" 425 with 2V, it was a 310 hp, yours I believe is 300 hp. It ran very good and shifted hard, it was pretty quick. Torque is about the same. I think u have a tuning problem. Run a compression test, check the timing. Also the timing chain may be strected or the "nylon" teeth wore. Check to see if your getting good spark. U can change that distribiter to electronic easily, Petronic's or Crane makes them, I like the crane because they have a rev limiter built in. I have one in my 71 Delta, set at 4800 rpm's. My Delta is a lo-comp 455 and it's no slouch, hmmm, it does have a Performer/headers/ duals with torque tube/small converter, .456 lift RV cam. U say after u changed the manifold it is "sluggish," maybe u have the distributer a "tooth" off, it happens. good luck, Ken

 

Yes please Chris, definitely i would love an O for my LDSmobile... that would be great

 

thanks you for the advices , i will check all those possible problems. right now it is still stored for the winter, since the weather is not very nice here still.

 

I would suggest a 4 bbl intake with a Holley 600 carb. Im assuming its a 2 bbl if you say its only got a single exhaust. Dual it out and that should give you the little extra muscle your craving.
BTW- Nice lookin car!

 

...just saw this. I got an AFB and 4 bbl manifold put on my 66 425 and I have a Thornton exhaust manifold waiting to go in. You are saying that the outlet on the RH and LH exhausts are different? What is the size difference? I have a set of Cherry Bombs I was gonna throw under the car...do I need 2 different sizes or is there exhaust tubing out there with different size openings...like a reducer pipe that I can use?

 

 

All I know is that my mom has our 65 delta 88 425 up to 110 mph on the backroads of Nevada (dad didn't drive) with three boys in the back yelling "Go Mom, go!" That car was meant to cruise at high speeds all day long...not to run 1/4 miles.

You don't need more HP, you just need more road!

 

I put 3:08 ratio rearends in both of my 1967 98's and it made them more "frisky." Look around for a complete housing with 3:08. All 1965 through 1970 B/C Oldsmobile bodies will bolt in (except 1965 Jetstar.) Jmo, Ken

 

I thought I was the only one nuts enough to take an almost 50 year old car up to that speed

Mine has a 455 and even at 110 I knew it could go faster haha, I just ran out of road and nerves...