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[QUOTE=fleming442;1632086]
Got it buttoned up. It'll probably drop a little more, but as of now, it's only 1/2" lower than the tall ball joints. 1" of rake, currently
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Very nice! 👍 Have you had the chance to take her out for a shakedown yet? I was wondering if there is any noticeable handling difference?
Got it buttoned up. It'll probably drop a little more, but as of now, it's only 1/2" lower than the tall ball joints. 1" of rake, currently
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Very nice! 👍 Have you had the chance to take her out for a shakedown yet? I was wondering if there is any noticeable handling difference?
I do recall the tall ball joints making a noticeable difference. It should be back to stock, just lower.
Sadly, it started raining just as I finished (I backed down the driveway, then pulled back in). It's not supposed to stop until Sunday, so I guess the cover goes back on. 😕
I started out changing my valve cover gaskets, and ended up replacing my valve stem seals after finding some black crumblies in the corner of the heads! They were just starting to break apart.
Went to the Tillsonburg Cruise night. Had 266 cars show up! I managed to get a spot next to another 1964 - a very nice Dynamic 88 convertible with 394ci and manual transmission! Column shift too. Had a nice chat with the owner, and did lots of comparing between the models.
Went to the Tillsonburg Cruise night. Had 266 cars show up! I managed to get a spot next to another 1964 - a very nice Dynamic 88 convertible with 394ci and manual transmission! Column shift too. Had a nice chat with the owner, and did lots of comparing between the models.
Ty - Wow, that is a nice turnout! What are the chances you'd get a spot right next to another '64 Old's guy??? Looks like a great time with lots of cool cars to check out!
Did some "housekeeping" and clean up work on the trunk trim on my '72 Supreme today. Polished the bright work, cleaned up the trunk lock bracket and screws and replaced the trim screws.
Yesterday I took care of something on the 1994 Cutlass that never worked from day one when I bought the car. Yes, this was 31 years (minus when my Dad & Brother Owned it) of saying I will do it "tomorrow": I fixed the console shift indicator back light. The red dot light always worked, the minibulb, but this car came right from the dealer without that backlight on. Turns out it was working all this time. You might have guessed, the light bulb & socket are held on by a boxlike plastic piece that apparently fell off and found its way to the bottom of the console. I never saw a glow there as the bulb has a blue tint painted on it.
Why did I never fix this? I was fearful of breaking the shift **** if I tried to get it off. I'd consider that an excuse now, not a reason.
But wait, it gets even worse. I never, in the 31 years I have owned this car off and on, paid attention to the fact the rear console courtesy light was not working (same car). This is the light located at the bottom butt end of the console. Yesterday I went in to replace it which entails removing the lid/cupholder/storage piece. I popped out the 2 piece lens/socket holder and found there was no bulb to replace as the factory never installed one. Wow. In order to get at the socket there were 4 tabs holding the lens in place. Knowing this lens is 31 years old and quite brittle, I tried pushing the tabs back with a plastic screwdriver. No dice. Deciding they will break if I pushed harder, and knowing this would be one heck of a piece to find to replace, I gave up and reinstalled all back to the way it was. I went without this light for all these years, so be it.
Interesting that it passed Q/C on the assembly line without a bulb, but it really isn't a big deal nevertheless. While I'm a big stickler for having everything in working order, sometimes you just have to back off.
But wait, it gets even worse. I never, in the 31 years I have owned this car off and on, paid attention to the fact the rear console courtesy light was not working (same car). This is the light located at the bottom butt end of the console. Yesterday I went in to replace it which entails removing the lid/cupholder/storage piece. I popped out the 2 piece lens/socket holder and found there was no bulb to replace as the factory never installed one. Wow. In order to get at the socket there were 4 tabs holding the lens in place. Knowing this lens is 31 years old and quite brittle, I tried pushing the tabs back with a plastic screwdriver. No dice. Deciding they will break if I pushed harder, and knowing this would be one heck of a piece to find to replace, I gave up and reinstalled all back to the way it was. I went without this light for all these years, so be it.
Interesting that it passed Q/C on the assembly line without a bulb, but it really isn't a big deal nevertheless. While I'm a big stickler for having everything in working order, sometimes you just have to back off.
I had a similar experience, although with an earlier year. You may want to contact Inline Tube. Inline has replacement lenses.
I hope this helps.
Interesting that it passed Q/C on the assembly line without a bulb, but it really isn't a big deal
A friend of mine, who recently passed away, worked for GM from 1949 through 1984.
He told me that when he started there everything had to be just so.
The management hated warranty work.
But by the time he retired in 1984, He said "anything goes".
Take it from there, '79 is on the high end of that scale.
Took 5 hours and the use of a friend who has done a few. Without him, I would not have known about or had the patience to deal with the bolt and spacer under the power steering pump! I put in a pump from Summit and a Cold Case, black powder coated, aluminum radiator. Sorry for the lack of pics, but I kept forgetting to take them as we had a deadline to meet.
Also, even with flushing the block, I've had to flush it twice more (and probably a few more times too). I'm guessing the rust is coming from the heater core as nothing but clear water comes out of the block and radiator after the flushes. If anyone knows of a quick solution to flushing the heater core, I'm all ears!
Took 5 hours and the use of a friend who has done a few. Without him, I would not have known about or had the patience to deal with the bolt and spacer under the power steering pump! I put in a pump from Summit and a Cold Case, black powder coated, aluminum radiator. Sorry for the lack of pics, but I kept forgetting to take them as we had a deadline to meet.
Also, even with flushing the block, I've had to flush it twice more (and probably a few more times too). I'm guessing the rust is coming from the heater core as nothing but clear water comes out of the block and radiator after the flushes. If anyone knows of a quick solution to flushing the heater core, I'm all ears!
use a rad flush and get one of those portable circulation. Pumps to just keep flushing
better yet at this point just replace it
Washed the red wagon yesterday and preparing for a 5 hour plus drive to San Angelo this coming Saturday to race it in my TMCCC brackets , so oil change this week and maybe finally install new gauge trio although she doesn't overheat but would be nice to know though.
. I'm guessing the rust is coming from the heater core as nothing but clear water comes out of the block and radiator after the flushes. If anyone knows of a quick solution to flushing the heater core, I'm all ears!
Unhook both hoses from the engine and run water through the heater core in both directions until clear. Put the hoses back on and be done.
Took the ‘80 out around 7am this morning and had a few people stop for a look while I gassed up. Strolled across town and enjoyed a quiet Sunday morning and listened to the tail pipes and a Metallica Black cd in the stereo. The car is running great, leaves a pair of stripes behind it anytime I wish…… not a damn thing to complain about! And, had blueberry pancakes waiting for me when I got home, courtesy of my daughter.
Sitting at the beach house now with an adult beverage watching the world go bye.
Car show on Father's Day at a local brew pub. My '64 Dynamic 88 convertible might not have been the best of show, but it certainly was the biggest! It was a nice day, too
Car show on Father's day with the freshly rebuilt '70. 70 minute highway drive both ways, no problem...feels like a new car. Hit the 442 mile marker on the way home.
Meanwhile, my '71 decided to blow out the passenger side exhaust manifold gasket so I'm working on cracking the manifold bolts. Day 2, only 1 of 5 freed.
I had not known of the dash clock option until I removed the gage cluster from my ‘80 Cutlass over the winter. I found the wiring for it tucked into the dash under the rear defroster that my base coupe, oddly enough, had. I’ve been looking for an oem dash clock since but hadn’t made the purchase until a few weeks ago. I bought the bezel and clock (unknown at the time if it worked). They came in this past week and are in nice condition. I bench tested the clock and it works fine. Need to buy another bunch of green LED bulbs so it’ll match everything else and possibly wet sand or buff out the clocks face to make it a little cleaner/clearer. Beyond that just clean up the bezel and install them. I think it’ll be a nice addition to the dashboard. 👍
Well done Mike! You've got the rolling drum clock, which uses a heck of alot less current than the optional analog clock. I added the rolling drum in my 19 Brougham, and the analog in the blue 79. The wiring plug was there in the blue 79 but not in the black brougham. You could get the clock dealer installed & the package came with clock jumper wires, an easy upgrade. Below, note the white line in the clock surround. I'm not 100% sure if this was continued to 1980, but yours is close enough and it works which is a huge bonus. Well done!
This one's in my 79 H/O. Not sure if the white line you see in the clock surround was also used in 1980 but I will check.
Last edited by BlueCalais79; Jun 22, 2025 at 05:05 AM.
Hello Gene! I had noticed the white surround on some clocks and not on others while looking for these parts. I have no idea when or why there is that minor difference of with or without the surround on the clock itself. I’m curious to see what you find out!👍
Yesterday, went to a really fun local cruise night… There are three checkpoints in the city, and each time you attend a location you get a stamp on a card. Then you put the card in a bin for some nice prizes.
So, you can complete as many cards as you want. As participants go from location to location, it becomes a old school style cruise. Every intersection is full of classics.
Here's a few Oldsmobiles that that I spotted
Went a Nostalgia race at Capitol Raceway in Crofton, MD yesterday. I double entered in Nostalgia and 11.50 index. Pretty well botched 3 time runs- slow clutch release from the slipper valve, then, surprise! pro tree, d'oh! Finally got an 11.86, so I dialed 11.80, and went red (bigly LOL) and got an 11.83. I figured I was safe with the dial. There were only 7 or 8 cars left across 3 index classes, and they turned it bracket racing (gay af). Broke out by 15 when the car finally acted right with an 11.64@119. Anyway, here's some pics, and I'm pretty sure everyone else trailered in (pansies).
Then, stopped through the cruise night at the Jimmie Cone on the way home
After 7 or so years of saying I will do it tomorrow, yesterday I finally got around to installing these olds school Night Watchman T-Top Locks. I'm in the process of re-dying some of my interior pieces and this was one of them, so I thought what the heck, its only 2 drilled holes and you can't even see those. Both sides fit and they both function really well. Yes indeed, the days of widespread stealing of these tops are long gone, but I also did it in the hope I can cut down on a few of the rattles the handles were making. If not? No big deal.
Last edited by BlueCalais79; Jun 24, 2025 at 03:39 PM.
I installed a set of QA1 double adjustables GD401-10400B to solve my waaaaay too high front end. The car has Restoparts aftermarket control arms on it that require zero modification - apparently OEM does. They don't seem to have any pocket to clock the spring in which may have been part of the problem. It couldn't be aligned properly because it sat ridiculously high. 27" from lip of fender to the ground, same as the rear.
QA1 sells a kit 7888-110 with the adjusting tools + a needle bearing kit that replaces the simple bushing you get with with the shock. TBH for the money it should come with that stuff. In any case it is very easy to adjust the height.
Previous owner banged into a curb or whatever and bent an outer tie rod end, shoved the sway bar back and mangled the dust shield. I took the time to fix/replace all that and detail paint everything.
No pics because I haven't decided on ride height yet. I am not a fan of having vehicles slammed right on the ground and prefer it when they sit up a bit. I'll probably give it about 1.5" of rake. It had/has a Hotchis TVS small block package on it when I bought the car a few weeks ago. I went with the coilovers for the adjustability. It goes down the road very nicely, really not much different than with the Hotchis springs in there - definitely NOT like a 1968 anything. It's a lot of fun to drive for sure !
I have to figure out how to route the ebrake hardware. Right now that steel cable sawed a slight notch into the Tremec transmission.I also have a pile of stuff from Crutchfield to install. I love working on stuff like this.
