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Finally have the old beast up and running, but still on the quest for a solid set of 2 door fender skirts. Is there any interchange reference or does anyone know if anyo there years or models will interchange?
Thank you - any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Is there some difference between two-door and four-door skirts? Because the parts book doesn't back that idea up.
As you see these are 1966 Ninety Eight only and left and right skirts are the same for them all. Coupe, convertible, sedans. 8.175 391338 RH, 391339 LH.
I’ve had a similar car for 40 years. You’re looking at 1 year only skirts both because of shape and die cast chrome unique to that year. As far as I know convertibles, 2 doors and 4 doors all share the same skirts.
In those days, Olds varied the body shape & trim slightly year to year to create a “new” product which was often 90% the same as last year underneath.
The high buck way to do this stuff is hunt down custom manufacturers, but very few of us do that in favor of used factory parts that we recondition to the best of our ability. If you find yourself on the hunt for mechanical stuff like distributors, carbs, brakes and what not, I’d recommend you favor USA made parts more often than overseas stuff which is claimed to “fit”.
The main exception there is Fusick’s which has long served our community and they get stuff made offshore, but I’ve always (for 30 years at least) found their stuff to be at least great, often hard to distinguish from original parts.
For used skirt sources I can suggest Turner’s Auto Wrecking in Fresno, CA. They have a 66 Cortner Bevington Ambulance and the skirts might still be on it. If the skirts are there, get pictures before you bite, they might be o.k., but I’ll bet the die cast chrome trim has been fairly well beaten by the California desert sun. Also check Desert Valley Auto parts in AZ.
I can also suggest French Lake Auto Parts in MN. I pulled a bunch of interior parts last Summer and don’t recall if the skirts were still on it, but I didn’t pull ‘em. French Lake is well prepared for shipping. They’re a classic yard. Generally they know what they have & what to charge for it, so don’t expect the worlds greatest deal. If they have what you want, your question is whether you like the price enough to bite. Having said that, if they have the car you need, and you need a bunch of stuff, do a package deal & you might save a bit.
Iceman, welcome to the world of 65-70 big Olds. We’re glad you’re here. You’ve chosen a fairly steep path with such a car. Expect it to be harder than a Mustang or Camaro. Up front you should know few people are keeping these cars. That has at last 2 implications: 1) you’re driving a fairly rare car (fun!); 2) since it’s rare, there is very very little reproduction market support for it.
The upshot of those two things means that you have to get creative about parts acquisition and maintenance. Your main mechanical source / swaps will be 65-70 big Olds cars, not Cutlasses very often. Big Olds means 65-70 88’s / 98’s / Starfire parts can swap in, but you’ll go wrong here & there on a hop
As you get into hit, look around under my username for notes on what to do with these cars. If you have questions, don’t be shy on this board, most people here are more than willing to help. Most of the time, at one time or another, we’ve been where you are. And most of the time, we’re happy to help.
Old guy moment: However much you make the car “go”, focus on safety first: tires, suspension, brakes & a fire extinguisher. Your family/friends will want to ride, you don’t want to be nervous for their safety. Maybe you’ve had other old cars, in which case I apologize for telling you stuff you probably already know.
If you already have fender skirts that are rotten it would be a good opportunity to learn some body work skills. The passenger's side fender skirt on my 71 98 was quite rusted. I fixed the rust in the fender skirt when I took an evening auto body course.
Thank you for sharing that information - my intel may not have been accurate - it was one of the Oldsmobile pages on FB. So glad I found this site - been a great help putting it back together again.
I’ve had a similar car for 40 years. You’re looking at 1 year only skirts both because of shape and die cast chrome unique to that year. As far as I know convertibles, 2 doors and 4 doors all share the same skirts.
In those days, Olds varied the body shape & trim slightly year to year to create a “new” product which was often 90% the same as last year underneath.
The high buck way to do this stuff is hunt down custom manufacturers, but very few of us do that in favor of used factory parts that we recondition to the best of our ability. If you find yourself on the hunt for mechanical stuff like distributors, carbs, brakes and what not, I’d recommend you favor USA made parts more often than overseas stuff which is claimed to “fit”.
The main exception there is Fusick’s which has long served our community and they get stuff made offshore, but I’ve always (for 30 years at least) found their stuff to be at least great, often hard to distinguish from original parts.
For used skirt sources I can suggest Turner’s Auto Wrecking in Fresno, CA. They have a 66 Cortner Bevington Ambulance and the skirts might still be on it. If the skirts are there, get pictures before you bite, they might be o.k., but I’ll bet the die cast chrome trim has been fairly well beaten by the California desert sun. Also check Desert Valley Auto parts in AZ.
I can also suggest French Lake Auto Parts in MN. I pulled a bunch of interior parts last Summer and don’t recall if the skirts were still on it, but I didn’t pull ‘em. French Lake is well prepared for shipping. They’re a classic yard. Generally they know what they have & what to charge for it, so don’t expect the worlds greatest deal. If they have what you want, your question is whether you like the price enough to bite. Having said that, if they have the car you need, and you need a bunch of stuff, do a package deal & you might save a bit.
Iceman, welcome to the world of 65-70 big Olds. We’re glad you’re here. You’ve chosen a fairly steep path with such a car. Expect it to be harder than a Mustang or Camaro. Up front you should know few people are keeping these cars. That has at last 2 implications: 1) you’re driving a fairly rare car (fun!); 2) since it’s rare, there is very very little reproduction market support for it.
The upshot of those two things means that you have to get creative about parts acquisition and maintenance. Your main mechanical source / swaps will be 65-70 big Olds cars, not Cutlasses very often. Big Olds means 65-70 88’s / 98’s / Starfire parts can swap in, but you’ll go wrong here & there on a hop
As you get into hit, look around under my username for notes on what to do with these cars. If you have questions, don’t be shy on this board, most people here are more than willing to help. Most of the time, at one time or another, we’ve been where you are. And most of the time, we’re happy to help.
Old guy moment: However much you make the car “go”, focus on safety first: tires, suspension, brakes & a fire extinguisher. Your family/friends will want to ride, you don’t want to be nervous for their safety. Maybe you’ve had other old cars, in which case I apologize for telling you stuff you probably already know.
Enjoy the car!
Cheers
Chris
Greatly appreciate the intel - I have have a 70 C-10 with a ton of parts available - but this Olds is a whole different animal.
August 14th, 2023, 04:44 PM
