Since there are no repro fuse blocks for 67 442's does anyone have any idea if I can get the fuse connectors and buss bars separately? I've done a bit of digging and I am coming up empty handed. My harness is fine but the connectors are way too rusted out.
Thanks for any help.

 

Who told you there are no fuse blocks for the 67 442s? Have a look at this eBay ad, it's for the whole shebang
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Olds-Cutlass...cc967b&vxp=mtr

You might also want to give these guys a call and ask if they would sell you just the fuse block if that's all you want
Exact reproduction Wiring

And last, Supercars Unlimited will rebuild your original fuseblock with all new metal and wire it to a new harness.

You can get selected Packard terminals if you want to play with them http://www.pcsconnectors.com/packard56.aspx . The bus bar I'd let someone else rebuild so there's at least a warranty.

You apparently do have options.

 

The GM fuse boxes for glass-style fuses use terminals that are riveted in place. Since it is not easy to replace these terminals without a rivet set, I have been unable to find anyone who sells just the terminal clips. There are many vendors who will rebuild your box, so obviously SOMEONE sells the terminals, I just haven't been able to find a source. As for the buss bars, they are simply flat pieces of metal clamped to the clips with the same rivets that hold the clips to the box. Not particularly difficult to replace if you have the capability to properly set the rivets. Note that you cannot use pot rivets here, they need to be proper solid rivets.

The ATO-style (flat blade) fuse boxes use clip-in terminals and there are many vendors who sell these terminals.

 

That's why I suggested he contact Supercars and Exact to see if they will do it. They both say 'new metal' for the fuse holders so either they have developed some proprietary parts or they know where to get them. I'd be curious to know if they also re-label the holders with new lettering.

 

Yeah, I got that, but being cheap, I'd like to buy direct from the manufacturer or distributor and avoid the additional markup.

 

LOL - call one of those companies and tell them you want to know where to get the parts. Then you can post that info on a new thread for 'Fuse Block Rebuilding'?? That's not being cheap, that's being uhh frugal, yeah that's the ticket...

You obviously have the skillsets, but also keep in mind that others may be a little leary of tackling this job themselves. Bakelite used for fuse blocks is pretty tough stuff though so shouldn't be that terrifying.

 

Yup, that's me: Frugal and not afraid to tackle anything.
Allan, the first line in that Fleabay note says NOTE: Customer must supply the original fuse box. It seems to be the same whether it's Supercars, or any other suppier. No 64-67 fuse blocks supplied by them.

i am going to try acid dipping the nasty terminals and see if they survive. Maybe a light blast if needed.

I will follow up with calls and try to get the parts in case the experiment fails. Then I'll post a fuse block rebuild thread along with a "Silkscreening 101" lesson. That's another lost art.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Every little bit helps.

I took it apart today to do that. Here's what I have to deal with. As you can see, the rivets only hold the terminals together. They don't mount them to the fuse block.

 

Try putting one in distilled water, see if that loosens the rust {assuming...my favorite word...its surface only} if that doesn't quite fit the bill, pick up some EvapoRust and soak one in that. I suggest one at first to see how everything reacts before you media blast them. I have had amazing results with Evaporust on many different parts, an it leaves the original paint, only reacts with rust...unless you forget & leave it soaking for a week, then the paint sloughs off too, but the metal is unharmed....whewww, sorry for the dissertation. Good luck!

 

Is this link of any help to your for connectors? lectric limited - all brands repair connectors

 

Allan "...where does he get those Wonderful toy's?..." you never cease [nor desist..lol] to amaze. Great!

 

SUPERB contribution Allan

Hardly worth fiddling with the rusty ones
You will need to connect the wires to your new pretty terminals properly

OP - ye will be fixing that uninsulated splice in the pink wire, right?

I would try the evaporust first unless it's a 1 of 10 concours restoration,

If using the old wire, check all wires over every mm within the fusebox for wear. In the '66 442, I found that two wires crossing and rubbing for 40 yrs had almost created a short. adjust and insulate as needed.

 

Allan, that may work. I will have to call them to see. They say if I have to supply my old fuse block, which I do because it's a 67, that they will not supply the repair kit.

I have been soaking the connectors in Wash Safe's Rust Off. They're coming along, but I can see that the connectors will not be perfect. It may have to go with it and a slight blast if I can't get the repair kit.

Octania, yes, I saw that splice when I took out the harness. It is for a lead that goes nowhere now. It was coming out of the auxiliary grommet to the engine compartment. It appears it was initially hooked up to the junction block, but the original engine harness was so bastardized that I don't know if it was supposed to go there or not. I got a replacement engine harness from Supercars and where my original had 3 leads coming from the junction block the replacement only had one. I have a Rally Pac dash so maybe it is for the ammeter? Seems strange that it would be just tapped into there. Just redundant and serves no purpose. Maybe the Rally Pac was possibly dealer installed? I don't know, but the instrument cluster cut out for the rectangular plug was obviously hand cut, and a poor job at that. Just another thing to deal with.

And no, it won't be a 10. I'm looking at a 9.

Thanks for all the info,

Paul

 

say what? why do they care how much you supply?

what if you were to coat each terminal with soldering flux and dip the entire thing [after cleaning] into a solder pot? That would make a nice Pb surface finish that won't rust. Or, after cleaning and polishing, apply silicone [dielectric] grease to ward off oxidation.

66-67 Rallye Pack? Those were low production hand crafted installs I believe, with hand cut dash plastics, etc. An ammeter wire by definition has to be in series, so a T tap would not help that. I would guess they had a failed wire or perhaps connection at the bulkhead, and bypassed it with that Franken-repair. Was it ever taped over?

As for the "1 of 10" I meant one car of 10 so made, or similar absurdly rare vehicle. Not a repair rated 1 out of a possible ten.

 

I had mine rebuilt by Amercian Autowire for <$150. All new fuse connectors and they went through all the wiring to confirm ohms and replaced any damaged wires. The entire dash harness came back looking brand spanking new.

 

I have not tried this, but maybe put terminals in a vibratory tumbler?

 

 

You might try cleaning those terminals with apple Cider vinegar. You will be surprised how well they might clean up. I use this method on all small parts with great success. Soak overnight. Regular vinegar will not work as well as the apple cider. Use a plastic storage container with a top

 

Before you posted, Pat, I had already tried cleaning them in Rustoff. Pretty good results. That stuff works great for surface rust, so I thought I'd give it a try on more heavily encrusted stuff. Worked pretty well, but I ended up hitting them with a little Black Beauty and they came out in unexpectedly good condition.

I tried tinning them like Octavia suggested but for some reason they don't want to take it.

In a perfect world, and if I could find someone willing to do it, I would have all all the connectors gold plated.

 

I believe that pink wire is for UHV ignition.
Go to wild about cars you will find it on one of the diagrams
Steve

 

I got my fuse block clips at ynzyesterdaysparts.com. Worked with "Scott". I sent him a pic of what I had and he sent a pic of the new ones. $.75 each. Yours may be different but he may have them.

 

Those look like dome light bulb connectors.

 

Nsarsks, these clips look 99.9% like the ones Oldsmobile installed in my fuse block except they are not rusted. The pic shows one of the best of what was in the car when I acquired it. All the others were very rusted and beyond restoration. I also put on a light coat of dielectric grease after soldering was complete.

 

Proper crimping of your new terminals is a great excuse to buy the $50 ratcheting crimper with dies. Getting a proper crimp on the wire strands AND THE INSULATION is crucial to longevity. The hard part is determining what tool you are looking for. Then search feepay, Amazon, Google, etc. for a nice used or new one that you can afford.

Here's a fairly good generic write-up on crimping:
http://www.molex.com/tnotes/crimp.html

 

This is an age old concern by many of us restoring these cars. I used a very light and gentle touch of a dremel tool to scuff them up just a little and then used very fine sand paper to finish it off. Take your time and be patient. Too much force will ruin (or burn thru) them so easy does it. if they are too rusted and too far gone, bite the bullet and buy new. this is playing with fire and not something to skimp too much on. Maybe also try baking soda and water?

 

Thanks Octania. That's the best article I've seen on crimping. I also solder all of my connections. May be overkill but it works for me. BTW, does anyone know exactly how the factory secured the wire to the clips of any type around 1959? It appears they did more than crimp the conductor. My 67 year old eyes seem to see a very thin bond of what appears to be copper between the end of the conductor and the clip. I also was not able to "uncrimp" the clip. Just curious......

 

johns59, those are exactly what I need! I looked through their catalog but didn't see them. Are they something you have to phone them for?

 

My 67 will face this once I restore it and add this ralley pack. I have the dash and the cluster and the pcb, but no harness or sensors.

Useless trivia, bought it on ebay in 06, and you could see other bidders then, and I may have sniped *the*rocketscientist for it, lol.

 

I have a Mint 67 that even includes the Emergency Brake Light Lens..
Clean Block .Ash Tray Light. Glove Box Light and Lens.Very Clean
If anyone is interested .It will soon go on EBay.
Ron

 

2olds4u, sorry so long getting back to you. I called then sent pic, he sent pic back and I ordered over the phone. Talked to Scott P. His number is 909-798-1498. Hope this helps. I was unable to uncrimp old clips and had to cut wires, crimp and solder new clips. Good luck!

 

Evidently a great way to clean all things Electrical is 6% Vinegar MIXED WITH SALT.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/science...per_caper.html

Other car guys swear by it.

Rinse well, rinse with alcohol, apply dielelctric grease to ward off future oxidation.

 

I tried this tonight on old all-copper pennies

WOW

Within 10-20 seconds in the microwaved vinegar and salt, the pennies were almost all pretty damn shiny. Some very black ones were hard to clean, but if you have brown terminals or bulb holders or whatnot, this works GREAT and FAST.

Test pennies are now waiting for green coating if unrinsed or not if rinsed.

Perhaps photos later, too late now.

I also put steel pcs in the juice after the pennies left, to see if the steel gets coated with copper ions.

 

I have a few nice fuse block wiring sets for those looking.

Contact me direct
lemoldsnut@aol.com

Or calls 8 am to 8 pm west coast time 541-815-4363

Thanks
Larry Moyer
Redmond, Oregon

 

I tried the penny thing and it DID clean them up nicely, so I decided to try them on some dash sockets. Dropped the nasy sockets into the mix and in 15 minutes they came out better than new! Don't have to worry about any bad connections for those anymore!
I have already blasted my fuse block terminals (see previous post), but I am anxious to try this on the remaining plugs (Fan switch plug, lighter, etc) to see what happens with them.
Thanks Octania!

 

If your terminals are not corroded how about taking each fuse out and coating the ends with dielectric grease? That might be a good preventive measure.

Sorry about the move comment. It was just so surprising to see how things back there rust just sitting on a shelf.

 

Larry, when you make up the cruise control care package for me, throw in a fuse block wiring set. Thanks.