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I'm another "Darksider". This is my first post. I've owned this 65 Jetstar 88 since 1977. Purchased it from the original owner, a farmer. I drove it a few years, did a little work on it as a teenager, then parked it in dads barn in 1984. I also owned a couple of 66 Jetstar 88's, sold one years back. The other green 4 door I drove the life out of. Purchased it in 1980 for $350 with 92,339.1 miles on the clock. Parked it in 1995 with 92,339.1 miles still on the clock. During my 15 years with it there wasn't much that didn't get taken apart and put back together at least once. It was our main family car. When I gave it up the compression in #5 cylinder was down to 60 pis, rear end howled and would catch every now and then, the trany was once again in need of a rebuild, and there were foot size holes in some of the sheet metal. My closest guess is that it had between 350 and 500,000 miles on it by then. The road salt here in upstate NY is the main cause of car cancer. So now back to my 65. My dad passed in 2010. The 65 J88 once unburied from it's 26 year rest came out of the barn and pretty much right back to life again. I trailered it to my my house and I'm finally doing some restoration work on it myself. It's not pretty by any means. But, it's is my Darksider project.. Did you notice the 330 was replaced with a 425... oh yeah I even fabed up my own set of headers when I was a teenager... check out my replacement clock that I put in back then...
I had alcohol in my tank as well, helped to reduce the pinging and more POWER.. I even have a spare injection system.. Sorry, the pics are a little blurry, I took those with a cell phone in 2011 when the 65 J88 came out of it's resting spot. No resent pics yet. I haven't done any body work on it since getting back home so it still looks pretty much the same. Back in my youth I did the engine swap to the 425 and I did a little upgrade. Board it out 0.060" oversized, forged pistons, shot peened rods, balanced, cam, timing chain & gears, Mallery dual point with mechanical tach drive, heads done with triple angle valve seats and all new upgraded parts. Swapped the turbo 300 for a built 400 with 9" converter, custom drive shaft. Since I've had it back at my home I rebuilt the 8.2 BPO rear transaxle with Eaton posi unit, 3:90 gears, new axles, bearings, and seals, installed an electric fuel pump, ss lines, filters, braided hoses, and regulator. Fitted a Holley 4165 to the intake. Replaced the entire brake system, lines included. Put an original radio back in it and wired in a new CD, media unit with remote under the front seat. FYI, if anyone is looking for a place to get axles for their J88, they can be purchased at Dutchmanaxles.com . I had the Jetstar fired up a few days ago. First time since I put it in the garage 10 years ago. Sounded pretty good too. Once I get my newer tires installed I may take it for a spin around the block. I'll still need to wash the 40 years worth of barn grime off the windows so I can see out them again. Hopefully, this weekend my Darksider will make it's first road appearance in almost 40 years. Then on to some much needed metal restoration.
We have been working on our 67 Delmont 88 425 2 door hardtop off and on as finances allowed. I've run into something I can't figure out from the different books I have. Build sheet shows "Trim 311" paint G G. The paint is gold, but specs only show 5 different colors for the interior, none of which are 11. The 3 denotes a morrocene full bench seat but there is not any "11" code for any of the colors available. My understanding from these different forums is that a -- means special order
Last edited by golden rocket; July 16th, 2021 at 07:54 PM.
Reason: misspelling
We have been working on our 67 Delmont 88 425 2 door hardtop off and on as finances allowed. I've run into something I can't figure out from the different books I have. Build sheet shows "Trim 311" paint G G. The paint is gold, but specs only show 5 different colors for the interior, none of which are 11. The 3 denotes a morrocene full bench seat but there is not any "11" code for any of the colors available. My understanding from these different forums is that a -- means special order
Trim code 311 was a Pewter bench seat interior for either the Delmont Holiday Coupe or Holiday Sedan. No special order about it, it was a normal trim option. I don't know what specs you're looking at, but this chart is from the Oldsmobile Parts Book. There were ten interior colors offered in the 1967 Delmont line.
This page is from the 1967 SPECS booklet. Pewter is again shown as an available interior color on the Delmont line, though interestingly it was not a recommended interior color for the Gold exterior. The fact that it was not recommended doesn't mean that you couldn't get it, just that Olds didn't recommend that combo as going together. The recommended interior colors with Gold exterior were Black, Champagne, and Yellow. Olds did have an additional step in the ordering process when requesting a non-recommended color combo, similar to Microsoft asking "Are you sure?" when you try to delete something.
During the last several months been getting after some restoration-cleanup projects on the 63 Starfire. Being it a 36K mile car, the theme is keeping it original as possible. Just recently Glen ( realoldsman) and I rebuilt the 4-jet, I pulled the distributor cleaned it up real good and changed the vacuum can-it would not hold vacuum. While I was at it changed the points, rotor, cap. spark plugs and plug wires. Then moved on replaced the fuel pump, and the fuel soft lines to the cross-member where they meet the hard lines. While that project was underway, the shroud, water pump pulley and some AC brackets all were powder coated. Sourced the correct parts and purchased the battery hold down parts, A/C alternator-belts, correct upper radiator hose and clamps, washer fluid refill bottle the decal and bracket and both positive and negative battery cables. I plastic welded the cracked washer fluid container and painted it, good as new. I did notice when I pulled the water pump pulley there was a radiator hose type clamp around the snout on the water pump HMM that's interesting? Charlie let me know that is the original aluminum pump and the clamp was a dealer service added item, the snout housing is weak and the bearing was wearing out prematurely.(wonder now how long that will last?) Moving on, I had the starter motor restored, cleaned up and insulted the 2 wires coming off the solenoid about 8 inches up passing through the heat insulator tube as a measure of quality and reliability. While under the car I replaced the 2 rear engine mounts.
Joe, thanks for the quick reply. The info I was going by came from www.oldcarbrochures.com I was looking on Rock Auto for a headline, as most of the seams have split, and there are several chew holes in it from when I got the car. My wife recommended taking it down and removing the "insulation" and replace it with Dyno-mat, to help out the A/C here in Oklahoma. It is hard to tell the color of the headliner, but Rock Auto doesn't seem to have the pattern that is in there. Any suggestions?
There were at least 2 styles of headliners in those days. I think they were something like pincushion and diamond pattern. At least to my eye, either works fine, but then I don’t know what’s correct either. I may have the right stuff, but basically I just got used to it and consider it “right” whether or not it is.
I can heartily recommend Dynamat in the roof above the headliner. I did this on my Starfire. I also lined the floor pan from trunk to firewall on my 98 convertible. I’m pretty suspicious of the advertising placements they do across all the car TV shows, but in the end, the stuff works. And no, it ain’t cheap when you want to plaster an Oldsmobile with it. Helluva a lot of surface area to cover y’know.
Dynamat extreme makes a big difference in sound deadening & seems to help with heat. Doing your roof is a 2 or 4 day project. Most of the time is preparation: scraping the old GM cardboard bread off the underside of the roof metal. Then cleaning out all the parts that 55 year old junky dust falls into/onto. That part is no fun and you want protective gear and plastic to tarp off what you don’t want to ruin with breadboard dust like when you paint walls at home.
I think I did mine about 5 years ago and the dynamat has not fallen down at all. The Dynamat adhesive, when affixed to a properly prepared surface (scraped, then wiped a few times with solvents like lacquer thinner), works great. I suspect one thing I got right was surface preparation. I got it really back to metal primer with all the GM junky breadboard removed and as clean a surface as I could crate before rolling out the Dynamat. Additional layers of Dynamat product may help but at the cost of additional $ and weight. 1 layer works, 2 might be better.
The end result is a very quiet roof which may even reject some heat. The last FYI/caveat is that Dynamat is very effective as getting rid of the big noises.
Once the big noises are gone, the little noises like squeaks & rattles come out since they are no longer masked by road & roof noise.
Joe, thanks for the quick reply. The info I was going by came from www.oldcarbrochures.com I was looking on Rock Auto for a headline, as most of the seams have split, and there are several chew holes in it from when I got the car. My wife recommended taking it down and removing the "insulation" and replace it with Dyno-mat, to help out the A/C here in Oklahoma. It is hard to tell the color of the headliner, but Rock Auto doesn't seem to have the pattern that is in there. Any suggestions?
Thanks mike
I got a correct aqua headliner for my 67 Delta from SMS. I paid dearly for it, as with all SMS products, but the material match, color, and quality are top-notch.
Jumping in to ask why 71 to 76 has been excluded from the "Dark Side"?
These beasts are some of the largest ones built.
I guess I should start an outcast thread!!
LOL
When -I started this thread , I had seen how successful the 46 thru 48 and 54 thru 56 threads were .
I wanted a place for big cars , away from all the " A " body chatter .
I had been on a Pontiac forum where those who had "B " body cars were referred to as " darksiders .
I had to set a year limit on the group . 61 thru 70 seemed an opposite to 64 thru 72 "A" bodies .
If you want a 71 thru 76 group , start a thread .
I'ts fun and this thread has grown to over 650 posts .
During the last several months been getting after some restoration-cleanup projects on the 63 Starfire. Being it a 36K mile car, the theme is keeping it original as possible. Just recently Glen ( realoldsman) and I rebuilt the 4-jet, I pulled the distributor cleaned it up real good and changed the vacuum can-it would not hold vacuum. While I was at it changed the points, rotor, cap. spark plugs and plug wires. Then moved on replaced the fuel pump, and the fuel soft lines to the cross-member where they meet the hard lines. While that project was underway, the shroud, water pump pulley and some AC brackets all were powder coated. Sourced the correct parts and purchased the battery hold down parts, A/C alternator-belts, correct upper radiator hose and clamps, washer fluid refill bottle the decal and bracket and both positive and negative battery cables. I plastic welded the cracked washer fluid container and painted it, good as new. I did notice when I pulled the water pump pulley there was a radiator hose type clamp around the snout on the water pump HMM that's interesting? Charlie let me know that is the original aluminum pump and the clamp was a dealer service added item, the snout housing is weak and the bearing was wearing out prematurely.(wonder now how long that will last?) Moving on, I had the starter motor restored, cleaned up and insulted the 2 wires coming off the solenoid about 8 inches up passing through the heat insulator tube as a measure of quality and reliability. While under the car I replaced the 2 rear engine mounts.
Very nice car, you have been busy! Weren't the motor mounts a fun job? Does your A/C work?
The rear mounts were easy, I have not raised the front of the 394 for the center 1 right behind the crank pulley. A/C is all there, needs service, hopefully a re-charge.
Thought I would introduce the present project I have. 70 C/B 48" ambulance. From the original pic you can see not for the faint of heart. Have come a long way with much of sheet metal replaced from donor car. Engine, transmission, front end all rebuilt. Paint done.
Present activities center on prepping for interior refinishing.
Most parts are there, but still need:
- good quality rear bumper,
- good black steering wheel.
Have included a couple of shots of completed stable mates.
Thanks for any assistance. 52 National Pontiac 57 Superior Pontiac 65 Superior Pontiac
I missed out on one about 15 years ago ex Air Force 70 C/B 48" ambulance, I was stationed in New Orleans at the time and could not make the purchase...
Newbie Here!
Thanks Charlie for the invite.
Just picked this up a want to make a driver for now. We'll see where it goes. Just finished putting a front bumper on an fixing some collision
damage. Just have to clean up a bit and reinstall the signal lights.
Last edited by 62 Super 88 Coupe; September 27th, 2021 at 04:22 PM.
62 88 Need some info. On my 394 it is running single exhaust. If I want to have dual, do I need to get different exhaust manifolds? and where would be the best place to find them?
Can I use existing? Do I need to replace both? How hard are those bolts to get out? Don't want any to break. Any advice here is much appreciated.
'62s use the same manifolds for single and dual exhaust. Remove the crossover pipe, cap off the front of the right side manifold and run new pipes on the left side. Lots of bends in the downpipe to get around the starter.
'62s use the same manifolds for single and dual exhaust. Remove the crossover pipe, cap off the front of the right side manifold and run new pipes on the left side. Lots of bends in the downpipe to get around the starter.
Thankyou! I thought you had to get a different manifold. That's good news!
How hard are those bolts to get out? Don't want any to break.
Patience , is key here .
Soak the bolts daily with PB blaster for at least two or three weeks . Soak the area between the head and manifold too .
Use six point sockets to turn them .
Thanks Charlie. It will be a while before I do it but it just seems right to have dual exhaust with this big motor.
They should have all been dual. aguess they wanted to save money.
Posting some pics of my -65 88 that i owned for 6 years now , imported from north California 2015.
Needs an engine overhaul , low compression in cyl 5 but starts easy , have oilpressure and no heating
problem. Second and third pic from Sweden.
Another new guy in the Darksider club. Thanks to Charlie for the invite! 1964 Dynamic 88. Here's a couple photos. Took her to a car show only two weeks after buying and ended up going home on a flatbed! Almost made it home from the show but had a charging problem.. The alternator decided to **** the bed. Taking this opportunity to change the belts, nasty looking battery cables, and clean up the front engine brackets. Also fixing an annoying rattle.. the bottom mount for the fan shroud is broken so I'll weld that back together while it's out and give it a nice coat of paint too. Going to have to dig deeper soon as it appears the valley pan is leaking oil onto the top of the timing cover also. Winter project is to pull the engine and do a cleaning/inspection/painting.
Looks like a pretty nice solid car .
I'd recommend ditching that flexible upper radiator hose . And get a moulded one . Fusick has them .
Flex hoses have been known to be eaten by fan belts in these cars .
Replacing those stupid flex hoses is definitely on the list. I hate the way they look but didn't know about tendency to get eaten by the belts. I'll do the hoses sooner than later. Haven't ordered from Fusick's yet but they are right in my backyard here in Conn.
Thanks so much for liking my 54 and all your advice with installing my 394 into it. I was hoping it would be a case of just switching engines. Will that 1954 radiator handle the hotter running 394 ?
Will that 1954 radiator handle the hotter running 394 ?
A 394 doesn't run any hotter than a 324 . Provided the cooling system is in good condition .
Operating temp is dependent on the thermostat .
I would recommend that you send the radiator to a radiator shop when you have it out for the engine swap .
Have them flow test it . If it doesn't pass the flow test , it may need to be re-cored .
If the '54 radiator is in good condition , it will handle the 394 just fine .
Last edited by Charlie Jones; October 25th, 2021 at 05:44 PM.
Replacing those stupid flex hoses is definitely on the list. I hate the way they look but didn't know about tendency to get eaten by the belts. I'll do the hoses sooner than later. Haven't ordered from Fusick's yet but they are right in my backyard here in Conn.
Definitely... I've gone through 2 hoses in as many years!
Thanks again for the information. It's great to have experienced people to ask these questions to. The 394 of mine is .030 over with Olds 455 pistons. I believe it's still at or near 10 to 1 compression ? I also have a Edelbrock 1906 AVS2 carb that I'd like to install on the 394 if it is a good size for the engine.
June 16th, 2021, 07:04 PM
