..Anybody have a how-to guide for a cage? We drive at that speed on the highway.

 

Not me.

Look at it this way: You're safer than you are on a motorcycle.

You'll never make this as safe as a modern car, no matter what you do.

Hey, my car's got no shoulder belts, AND no roof. And, yes, I sometimes do 80mph in it for several hours at a time.

- Eric

 

I was kidding, but it's a consideration and a choice no matter what.

Never had an accident in my meager five years of driving.

 

The set I bought came with upper mounts that fit perfectly. I did turn the short belts over in the plastic, and that helped the fit between the console and seat.

 

Did you buy it from the same website?

 

I bought my belts from Morris Concepts.

 

Todays part that just wont work are the Fusick rear seat floor mats in this '71.

If you lay them correctly in the front they climb up the back waaaayyy to far;
MVC-907F.jpg


If you line them up corecctly in the rear they are way too long at the front;
MVC-909F.jpg

 

The sport mirror gaskets (part #9874839) that OPGI sells for the 73-77 cutlass are way too thin and when used, leave your mirrors angled inward and high like a boxer's cropped ears. Remedy: grind down all high ridges and studs from one gasket, glue the second one directly on top, then sand bass of new formed gasket down at preferred angle and thickness. BTW, several other companies also sell the same part, claiming it fits.

 

This is not a specific part but inventory EVERY order you get from Inline Tube. I have now had 5 orders in the last 3 years that had wrong parts in them. All of them were only one or two digits off from the part number I ordered. The invoice is always right but not all the parts in the box match the invoice.

Every time they sent me the correct part with no problems but if you don't check the order and 3 months later find out that you don't have the part you thought you had and need it now... It is just a pain in the butt.

 

It is not only that. ILT does not have a desirable return policy. I tend to try to buy in batch when doing a restoration and it is common for a part to sit on a shelf for a couple months. If you wait that long to find it is wrong they wont take it back.

Nor will they accept any part in return that you may have picked up from their booth/display at a car show or swap meet.

I have a box full of stuff they wont take back.

 

I know it's not an Olds, but I've been putting on all the aftermarket trim that my buddy bought for his 66 SS Chevelle. This was the worst pile of crap I have ever seen purchased from OPGI. Clips suck, trim twisted and stamped wrong, and poor painted finishes. It's taken 10 times as long to assemble this car than it should have.

 

I called Fusick today about these mats. The guy on the phone told me that the factory patterned the mats on the "88" models and that the dealers/factory offered only the same mats for the Cutlass models, and that they were indeed correct.

 

Vendor peeve:
NEVER any instructions

Lame *** no effort ads on epay and etc.

Working on a 71 Challenger with aftermarket engine parts.
Several times now we have tried various heater hose nipples, the car has AC and aftermarket front cover/ WP housing, and so things vary form the usual car.

I see what appears to be the correct heater nipples on epay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=221549433666

So I ask for a measurement of the thread sizes the parts have. I would like to get this over with on the next try. The reply:

"designed for stock applications. Not familiar with aftermarket water pump housings. Sorry I can't help more."

Well, sir you *can* help more, you see. You just opt not to. You CAN go get one in your hands, and measure it, and put that info in the ad. Then I *can* read that info and decide if it fits my engine.

I can't care more about the sale than you do. I will keep shopping, there are other suppliers. Helpful info gets return buyers and recommendations. Refusal to make the simplest measurement and put said info in the ad instead of 100's of lines of stuff that doesn't really help.... not so much.

Good lord, even the most basic info is just too much trouble to put in the ad.

Yet, they can fill page after page with all about the place and general info.

Grrrr...

I bought from a different vendor.

 

RocketGuy, I had this very issue. I had to clear both the arm rest and the b ase. I got it to fit pretty well.
I also had issues with the PUI door panels from OPGI. Several of the clip reliefs were glued over. I was able to get some to work, but not all. Best advice was already stated - try not to order until you are ready to install, or inspect immediately.

 

Today's part that just wont work is this '71 442 reproduction battery tray from OPG.

It looks pretty good at first glance;
MVC-340F.jpg


But take a correct AC Delco group 27 battery;

MVC-337F.jpg


And it does not fit!

MVC-341F.jpg


That is because the radii in the corners are just different enough;



Does anyone know where I can get a 442 battery tray that will hold a group 27?


.

 

How about that one on the left there in your photos?
Looks like a fully serviceable factory part to me.

 

For the guys that own 73-76 cutlass years.... I recently ordered a set of front brake pads (Hawk performance brake pads)from summit racing.... PART # HWK-HB119F-594 these do not fit 73-77 although they say they do in the application pull down on their site. I had a discussion with them to do with this and they are going to sent me the proper one's. (To Canada) I cross referenced the Hawk Performance site to find the proper order # HB103F.590. Summit still has yet to change the site as of today.
Hope this helps out the 73-77 cutlass guys
Cheers
Eric

 

I recently purchased ebays front tubular control arms. Global west knock offs. After install I took my car to the shop for alignment only to find out the control arms were good, the ball joints that came in them were junk. A lot of play in them and I will need new ones soon. Now comes the dilemma, do I do the hard work again? Or let the pros handle this one when I get some coin? I hope this helps anyone trying to improve their suspension.

 

Ball joints are not that hard, you can have them done in a weekend if the control arms accept stock ones.

 

Seems to me every one I buy is warped..stick with the original....I will put it back on today

 

Feel your pain about crappy resto parts. Is it possible that the Group 27 battery's "footprint" is slightly different than the R71-S I believe your car came with? Even if that were the case, the repro tray is still not exactly like the original

 

Just cut the corner off the battery. Jeeez.

But seriously,
Went to NAPA parts store, to get the best part- needed a 3/8 ID PCV hose with a 90 degree bend at one end. There it is. Bought it, did not look closely, figured it was as good as available.

Not so. Well, maybe "as good as available" but still crappy.

slides over both 3/8 nipples and is loose.
WTH?

Examine pkg closlier.... MADE IN CHINA
evidently they made the ID 10mm instead of 3/8
Not sure I can use it, I want no leaks and do not want to use worm clamps.

Grrrrrr...

 

Looking for some help in finding correct part or part that fits. Ive gone to Autozone and have ordered a Brake Cylinder for a 1968 cutlass (front drum brakes) and both times these parts have arrived were wrong. Would anyone know of a place to get these items. It may be a little harder but I would rather stay away from ordering online just because I would want to compare parts. On another note wouldnt mind just ordering the kit and repacing internals but has anyone ordered replacement kit from opgi? Any help would be appreciated Thanks in advance

 

Have you tried a NAPA store?

 

No sir will try that today...I guess I just got irritated with autozone/advanced and o reillys

 

+1.

Nothing good ever came out of AutoZone.

- Eric

 

Brand new Flamethrower distributor fails to trigger the coil.
No spark at all.
Grrrr...

 

NAPA insists that the correct directional flasher for mid 50's cars is #550. Nope. Look around for a Tung-Sol P273D.

 

Gave up on Lamethrower distributor today, installed factory original. ''

Spark plug wires?
Nope. some are two feet too short.

 

Once again, Inline Tube strikes again. Don't buy their 68-72 Quarter Pillar Seals as they are too small. (INL12337) I made 3 or 4 attempts to get this rectified, but the only response I received was, I'll forward your comments to the Tech section. What a joke, gone into the abyss. No communication again. They have many great products and out of another order of seventeen items, one item, the 71-72 Hose clamp kit, (INL10487) did not contain the correct sizes. Three of them are too big. I'm at the point I don't think I'll need anything more from them so I 'll just roll over and suck it up. So for anyone considering these items, don't buy them. It's too bad they operate this way, but it's obvious they have plenty of customers and customer service is not part of their business model.
P.S. I obtained the correct sized quarter seals from Fusick.

 

Did you find one which is correct? I'm in need of a tray and would like one which will work without modification to the battery or tray.

 

This underhood light

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261808499274...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

looks almost right for say your Olds, but isn't
size and shape are wrong, no stamp in the backside

The part that holds the bulb is too short to hold the mercury switch.
Maybe Corvettes used the light switch to activate this lamp.

No way is this part useful

 

I know this post is pretty old, but I just thought it might help to add my experience. I have the original (ratty) mats for my car, and they're EXACTLY the same size as the reproductions I got from Year One. And neither rear mat fits properly, so I think this explanation might be the case.

 

I have had great sucsesson my 66 442 resto that all parts from year one looked fit and performed like origanals

 

’68 Cutlass trunk drop filler panels.
I don’t know if they are all the same, but the ones I have are just awful.
One of them is missing the flange bend at the trunk floor rear step.
The stampings are not crisp, extremely wavy, bend radii are wrong, missing drain plug hole.
The chalky primer is a joke, so thin you can see through it.
Vendor was Tamraz, I have had these since last spring, just now trying to fit them.
I didn’t expect them to be perfect, but wow. Why would a company invest in a stamping die
to make a part this bad? I believe I could make a cardboard pattern, cut and form
one by hand, and it would fit ten times better than these. I may end up doing just that.

 

[QUOTE=Rocketguy;737628]Todays part that just wont work are the Fusick rear seat floor mats in this '71.

If you lay them correctly in the front they climb up the back waaaayyy to far;
MVC-907F.jpg


If you line them up corecctly in the rear they are way too long at the front;
MVC-909F.jpg

MVC-908F.jpg[/QUO I bought mats from Olds dealer many years ago and they were to big and dealer told me that the back mats were sized for full size only.

 

Stockinteriors can send samples before you buy and they have a huge selection...got mine the other matches rite up...as mine is very faded

 

Just my experience yesterday bought a chrome combination master cylinder brake booster with proportion valve. ( resto mod not looking for factory correct) any way was replacing the Delco 11" booster and master. Quick moral to this story is the brackets need to be purchased separately they do not come with the Right Stuff brand I bought from Jegs. So I'm a skilled craftsman brackets worked on the old one so a little retro fit will have brakes today. Wrong old booster was a bitch getting off, firewall was a mess, then when I discovered the lack of brackets I proceeded to sawsall the riveted brackets off the old booster to reuse. Two blades and a hour later I had two brackets which I sanded and painted. Now looking good will have brakes by the time it's dark. Wrong they wouldn't line up, close but not quite this result after another hour getting brackets mounted ( tried both ways mount on unit first mount on fire wall first) very close so I drill out the holes real real close drill one more size bigger now I'm in danger of not enough meat on the bone or bracket for making it a nice secure fit so I add washers and that's when the real fun started still can't find that hammer I threw in my yard somewhere. The new booster has raised nipple bolts and when washered screws everything up. For $10 order the brackets mine are on the way till then no brakes no car.

 

Ummm. . . . . wow. Pics would be great! Best of luck to you.

 

Fusick mats are correct, at least for 68. Thats what the OEM mats do. I have an original OEM set out of a 68 442 vert ordered from the factory and they are exactly the same, they climb up towards the rear seat. A little added protection isnt a bad thing unless you're were expecting them to lay flat.