Northern Custom Cruiser

So i finally dropped the toronado and got myself a 73 delta 88 in its place, its rough on the inside, and i think it needs a new engine mount or something because the engine rocks quite a bit at idle.

As some of you know, this is my first older olds engine as all ive had is the 80s 307s so any tips or advice you guys have picked up through experience for getting one of these would be greatly appreciated!

Ill post pics later on if you guys are interested and thanks in advance!

Northern Custom Cruiser

I do have one problem, i locked the doors before i realized i never was given a door key, i got it open from the passenger side but the driver door wont unlock at all, so i cant even open the door to get the panel off to see whats going on

Greg Rogers

That happens a lot. Probably its rusted in the latch. Its tough to get off the panel with the door closed, and you probably will damage it but then you can get to it. Good luck. Yeah we would like some pictures!!

MDchanic

Ha ha. A real, proper American Tank. It can be made to handle like a newer car with a few hundred bucks, if you want to.

Regarding the engine: Nothing much to say.
Give it a proper tune-up: Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, dwell (if not HEI), timing, adjust or rebuild carb. and drive it.
Flush the cooling system when it gets warm out.
It it's got over about 80,000 miles, change the timing chain and sprockets.

As for the door panels, they are not like the older one-piece panels, they are a two-piece design, and you may be able to take off the top panel with the door closed, especially on a 4-door with the short doors.
The upper plastic panels are fastened by two screws, at either end of the moulding above the armrest. The forward screw is probably up toward the leading edge of the door, but you may be able to get to it with Vise-Grips or something. Unscrew the door lock button and then lift the panel straight off.
The lower panel has several screws exposed once the top panel is off, once these and the armrest, window crank, and door handle are removed, the push-fasteners around the lower edge should pull out one by one. If you break them, replacements are available at NAPA.

Good luck!

And post pictures!!

- Eric

oldcutlass

Hail to the new boat captain.... look forward to the pics.

Northern Custom Cruiser

Not the greatest of pictures or background but here she is!

oldcutlass

Looks to be in good shape, congrats.

MDchanic

Not bad. Watch out for that rust, though - it's under the vinyl roof, and since it looks like a repaint, probably in the rear quarters, too.

You should be able to get hold of a trunk lid and bumpers, if you keep your eyes open (the front, which doesn't tend to rust much, will be easier to get than the rear, which always disintegrates).
By the way, the fact that the front bumper's so bad may point to more rust than you think underneath.

I'd say this is a car to do as little as possible to, and enjoy it, then scrap it when something important falls off.

- Eric

Cincinnati Rick

Congrats on the new ride Keith.

Olds64

Oh yeah!

Gotta love the 4 door hardtops! FWIW my father; Oldsguy, had a 73 Delta 88 sedan when I was young that was canary yellow. Of course, we called it the Banana Boat.

Northern Custom Cruiser

Thanks guys! And it does have its fair share, it sat out in the weather for 20 years or so. Im not to worried about the body to much as it looks fairly alright but i do need to perform a tune up immediately.

It drove home alright but i could tell it needed one, its jumpy and cuts out for split seconds when i give it to much gas, and it sucks to start after its been sitting all night. It just continues to flood and will start for a half a second and then die or rev so slow it dies. I took the air cleaner cap off to play with the choke because he had a paperclip holding it open saying it gets stuck shut and while trying again to start it a fireball shoots out of the carb.... Still got it started after about 18 tries but id assume to start at the plugs like you said eric

Ive been working so much i cant even get to messing with it during the daylight. Also my gas gauge suddenly stopped working but its stuck on full so i think it may just be spitting the wrong message for whatever reason

jaunty75

The reason is that there is an open in the circuit. It could be between the dash gauge and sending unit, or the sending unit ground connection could be bad, or the sending unit itself could have failed.

Northern Custom Cruiser

Would the sending unit you speak of be the fuel pump? I haven't ordered my FSM yet so where would any of these connections be found?

Honestly i suspect sabotage, as my neighbor is certifiably crazy and ***** with my cars on a regular basis. Ive caught him in my car multiple times and he has cut wires and hoses before. Therefore if theres some wire in the engine bay thats easily accessible im sure its either unplugged or cut

Inline

Sending unit is at top of the fuel tank, accessible only By removing the tank. It meters the amount of fuel on tank, and changes that mechanical information to electric via varying resistance.
But wires do run ( atleast on 76 Cutlass, could imagine that wires were routed pretty same way despite the car model) at the trunk wire harness, from where it exits through a cable-connector towards the front of the car ( just cant get the word on my mind whats the part called where it moves). If i remember right, theres ground-point at trunk too for sending unit, approx. at the point where sending-unit harness exits from main-trunk harness to sending unit. Again, atleast on 76 Cutlass.

Northern Custom Cruiser

I just popped the trunk the other day and cleaned it out so it could most definitely be the ground, thanks for that info! Ill start looking for that ground to see if its been disturbed.

Also my engine would flood when id start it in the mornings and itd shoot out a fireball if i took the air cleaner off so i was thinking it might have to do with the spark or timing since its obviously getting gas. Could anyone tell me the exact measurements of spark and all the timing stuff because the sticker inside the engine bay is pretty much worn useless. I believe its got points, which is new to me...

MDchanic

This ought to do it for now, but you know what I'm going to say...

- Eric

Koda

Get the chassis service manual?

olds 307 and 403

Sweet, now you can fight the evil dead.

Northern Custom Cruiser

Yes we all know.... Im sure those words are more muscle memory than anything haha thanks and ive got one on the way for Christmas (;

MDchanic

Yeah - I don't even know when I'm doing it.

Great to hear, and fortunately the '73 manuals tend to be cheap because of low demand.

Regardless, everything you need to know should be in the file I attached above.

I believe your car will have EGR. If it's working, you won't gain anything from disconnecting it, but if someone else has already messed all the controls up, then you'll probably de better with the vacuum hose disconnected.

- Eric

76olds

Ya Ya, but I seem to see ..." Mdchanic"... come up in just about every thread here on CO, giving advice and always helping out.
Oh and I believe you sent out a manual "free of charge" to a member here
Soooo.. haha we know what you have to say LOL.
Put-er-ther!!!! Eric your an awesome guy to have around here on CO !!
Cheers
Eric H

Northern Custom Cruiser

I have to agree with 76 olds, MDchanic has pretty much chimed in with every post ive made on this forum and has offered tremendous amounts of help. I dont know what id do without ya!

You guys have been a life saver, ive learned pretty much all i know from being on here and thats something money cant easily buy.

Anywho, i think ive concluded that my carb needs a rebuild from the threads ive been reading, possibly some sort of floater i believe its called could be the most likely culprit. If im making a mistake, or if i should test some things out before this or if you guys yave any words of wisdom speak now because it will be taken for what its worth haha

How long should i set aside to do this considering ive never taken apart a carb before?

rocketraider

Dang, young'un-you have rapidly become an Olds fanatic! Always thought the 73 was the best-looking 70s big Olds. A four-door hardtop with Super Stock IV wheels just looks like it wants to get up and boogie!

Is this 2-barrel or 4-barrel carb? Either is fairly simple with a shop manual. You WILL need a good cleaner to get all those plugged passages opened up, and an air compressor to blow them out doesn't hurt either.

And I really admire the way you'll at least try to tackle a problem and learn things.

Northern Custom Cruiser

Thanks i appreciate it, i feel the best way to deal with a problem is to actually deal with it and learn whats wrong and how to fix it and Ill keep that tire choice in mind haha

This is a 2-barrel i believe, and while im at it i was going to perform a tune up as well. In the file MDchanic posted it says my spark plugs should be gapped at. 040 is that correct? Its got points. Also do i need to get a special oil or additive?

MDchanic

Well, gee, fellas... Thanks.



A carb. rebuild is not a big deal, so long as (as RocketRaider says) you read the manual carefully first, then keep it open while you disassemble and re-refer to it frequently.

Before you go there, read the CSM 6C-15 to 6C-30, which will tell you all about your emission controls and how everything should be connected.
You may notice something amiss after reading this that is easy to correct.

Once you've confirmed that all of the spaghetti is correct (and made sure the doodads are at least behaving reasonably properly), you should rebuild the carb.
Rebuild kits are cheap and you can get them at any parts store (NAPA seems best, but that may just be my impression). You'll need the number stamped into your carb. in order to get the correct kit.
Some people say that the kits you can get from some of the fancier mail-order specialty suppliers (such as Cliff Ruggles and others) are superior, but that has not been my observation. All the kits I've seen from the parts stores in the past few years have had what appears to be exactly the same alcohol-resistant rubber parts.
Either way, the gaskets and little bits are usually sold separately from the float, so be sure you get a float, too.
If you wish to get a kit by mail, they seem to run about $10-$15 more than you would pay at the store.

It would not hurt to read Cliff Ruggles's book, or the one by the other guy (I forget his name), but for a standard rebuild, it's not essential.

If you don't have a "drill index" or a large set of drill bits, you should consider it, as you'll need them one day, and they are extremely useful in precisely gauging gaps when rebuilding the carb. Alternatively, you could read the instructions, make notes, and just buy the bits you need.

I would also recommend buying the nastiest paint can of carb. soak that you can lay your paws on, plus a covered, non-dissolving container to soak in, as a QJ will not fit into the gallon paint can that the evil stuff comes in (not sure about a 2-Jet).
Remember that this stuff is vile and bad for your skin (and worse for your eyes), so use common sense.
Also, you will need to aggressively flush everything you soak with water afterward (don't blast any tiny parts to kingdom come), and, really, you don't want to do this indoors, so you'll need a way to do it outside (soaking should not be done in the cold, as the stuff works better when warmer).
Finally, you will need compressed air to blow the water (and any residual gunk) out of every tiny passageway.

As far as how much time to alot, I would say "as much as possible" because you make mistakes when you hurry, but not so much time that there is even a small chance that your parts will be mixed up or lost.
For the first time, give yourself two days, and you'll probably be done in less than a day.
Lay out a very large sheet of white paper on a table (tape smaller sheets together if necessary), so you have a flat surface that won't hide anything, then use a pencil to circle and describe all the parts that come off, including their orientation, so you can put them back without fear or mystery. It's a good idea to do the actual disassembly on additional paper that you can remove as it becomes dirty.
Make sure that the area is completely free of children, spouses, and cats for the entire time, or disaster will surely ensue.

Once you've done this once, it will be ten times faster the second time.

- Eric

MDchanic

0.040" is fine. I seem to recall 0.035", so they may have increased it as the emissions age dawned. Either way, I doubt it would be a problem.

You should run an oil with more zinc than is commonly used now.
Since they've removed most of the zinc from most diesel oils now, they are no longer the easy solution.
Valvoline VR-1 is supposed to be acceptable, and you can also obtain the right concentration by adding about an ounce and a half of Lucas Cam Break-In Additive (comes in a 16oz bottle) to "regular" oil with each oil change.

- Eric

MDchanic

Also, before messing with your carburetor, do be sure to check and adjust your dwell angle (30°) and then readjust your timing to about 5° (or more) more than the specification.

- Eric

76olds

[QUOTE=Northern Custom Cruiser;977113]I have to agree with 76 olds, MDchanic has pretty much chimed in with every post ive made on this forum and has offered tremendous amounts of help. I dont know what id do without ya!

You guys have been a life saver, ive learned pretty much all i know from being on here and thats something money cant easily buy.

I agree, just the diagnostic charges alone are costly.(If you can find a good old school mechanic) Then the repair. You need a thick wallet if your going to take a pre 87 into the shop today. If they can't plug a computer into it then it can't be fixed in most garages.
We are all very lucky to have these guys in our corner.
Put-er-ther !!