DoubleU30

Hi Guys. I am new to this site. I am going to be starting restoration on a 70 442 W30 I recently aquired.

I am wondering if the experts out there can call out the details commonly missed or done incorrectly in restorations.

I really want to build this car as correctly as possible and am looking for some guidance.

I appreciate any input. Thanks in advance.

72 cutlass455

Oldsmobile club of america should have a guide or something. you get in to decals, stickers and correct paint overspray can get really intense. And a car restored to this level is more of a museum piece because of the cost.

DoubleU30

Yes if anyone can share the details of a really over the top resto that would be great. That is what I am after.

GAOldsman

Seek out Lee Pearl (Leepear) https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...s/leepear.html he just had his restored (70 W-30) and won best of his class at the Nationals. https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...lass-nats.html

Welcome to the CO and good luck on your restore. Don't forget to start a build thread and post plenty of pics for us to oogle over and you can introduce yourself if you start a newbie thread as well.

Lady72nRob71

One of the mistakes I think of is shooting for perfection. Most restos are done much nicer than what the factory would have done. Take my engine and engine bay... Original paints have runs, there are missed spots, overspray here and there, scratches here n there, lopsided decals, inconsistancy in plating, etc.
I have even seen factory mistakes contrary to what the assy manual shows, like the trunk lid decals in the wrong places...

Regardless, I do admire those who restore cars to the level of "what GM SHOULD have done".

stevengerard

that's a loaded question that would need a ton of replies. easiest is to search and find some threads like Rob's under hood and Lee's threads. Also head to wildaboutcars.com and download the documentation they have, an assembly manual is priceless when trying to get it "right."

dc2x4drvr

Join OCA first, their are "model year advisors" listed in the back of the JWO mag, that would be of help to you. If you haven't yet, buy a Chassis Service Manual; Fisher Body Manual and Assembly Manual, they are the bible for guys attempting correct restorations.

davebw31

Just my 2 cents

i restored my car to "factory correct" and "musuem quality" condition! It was expensive. Cost more to do then an "over restored" condition.

My advice is: 1st, decide which way you want to go first, before starting your project. 2nd, decide what your budget will be and then add 10% and you should be close to total spent. 3rd, do you want to drive it or be a "trailer queen/set in the garage" type of restoration. 4th, are you doing most of the work or having someone else do the project (see 2nd for cost). 5th, DO YOUR HOMEWORK, study, research, and ask, ask, ask around and sort out who knows what, the people who really don't know, but think they do, and of course the BS'ers. Many will says " I stripped 5 Oldsmobile Cutlasses and one 442 and this is what ..........." Of course they have 120,000 miles or been wrecked, so who is to say how many parts have been changed in their lifetime! Some will want to sell you something that is not "correct" if you doing a factory resto.

Now if you want to win "Best of Class" at the Olds Club of America Nationals, then over restore it, cause they really do not know what a real "factory restoration" is!

If you want to win everywhere else then restore it to "factory/museum quality or just as it would look when being delivered to an Olds dealership", then do it! My car cost $104,000 to restore it to the aforementioned condition and I am very satisfied I did! I did most of labor/work/rebuilding on the car myself, except paint and body, chroming bumpers, replating nuts and bolts, the machine shop work on the engine (I assembled the engine) , and the reconditioning of the heads. That was what I wanted do. No one influenced me to do it that way.

I have won several awards, cash and prizes, and been in one mag and one calendar.
This past 2011 Hot August Nights, attend by 6,000 street rods, muscle cars, resto mods, etc, I won "Best of Show" at three different casinos. It is a 5 day show. I also won the second higest awarded for the week, "Best Restored Stock Car" ( out of 337 entrants) judged by five of the permanent judges for the Harra Car Collection Museum, in Reno, NV. As each judge shook my hand they told me four statements " I am tired of over restored cars, it looks like it was just delivered to a dealership, what a great restoration, and you deserve this award!" They looked at this car for over for 20 minutes, inside , outside, and even two of the judges crawled underneath the car!

I have attended two OCA NAts. and never won "Best of Class" although I did win enough points to get a 1st place Award. So if you want to win there, over restore, because that what the winners did.

BTW: I finished my car last 7/2010 and I drive it. I have put 1,500 miles on it since then and it has been at a drag strip twice, so I race it tooooooooooo!

Oh, BTW #2: one small additional comment, I just won the "2011 Hemmings Muscle Machine of The Year" award, that was voted on by the public! It will be on the cover and have a 4 page write-up/pictures in the Dec. 2011 edition. I must have done something right that the OCA judges missed. LOL

Oh, BTW #3: When taking apart/stripping the car/chassic bag and MARK THE BAG what it is/came from/how it was plated/ finished! Take lots and lots of notes, take pictures (lots of pictures), and I suggest video also!

Jamesbo

Welcome aboard

X whatever

Do your homework before you even think about buying or doing anything else.

leepear

Sorry to join this post so late but I met Dave at the Reno Nationals and respect his opinion. So the information above is correct. I just restored my 1970 olds w-30. Set your goal and remember you may exceed the value of the resale on the restoration so you need to do it for entertainment, satisfaction, love of cars and the correct reasons. I plan to do an entire restoration post addressing the various decisions and my lessons learned while restoring my car. There were many!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My restoration cost was similar to Dave's, mine done entirely by a restoration shop. The shop had a survivor car built three weeks from mine as a reference. So something like whether the white windshield washer connector is right angle or straight and whether the engine lift hoop had extra washers below or not was easy for me. Holy cow there are crazy details beyond belief when you are trying to be accurate. I had a w-27 with a fin ground off......turned out it was not junk. California w-30s had a different gas tank, extra gas line and even impossible to find fittings for the smog stuff. On the production line in Lansing the fin was ground off to clear the extra gas line. So there are some examples of the journey you will have to correctly restore your car.

Also, there are crazy details on my car that nobody will ever appreciate. For example it has a new process on the suspension to keep the parts natural that were never painted at the factory. Most paint their suspension parts that olds never painted. All of the investment on the underside of my car was never even looked at at the nationals (the judge wrote beautiful in the sheet). I went over the top because my car is documented and my purchase price 30+ years ago was very low. It is a very special car although all of our cars are special.

If you can do much of the work yourself you will save money. It would have been difficult for me to do my car at the quality level it deserved. So to conclude, the satisfaction you will receive when your car is finished is difficult to describe. When you get a thumbs up from a guy like Dave it is a great feeling. Lee

Jetstar 88

The only thing I find sickening about the uber-original restorations is when an original automatic car that has been converted into a four-speed gets put back to an automatic. Bleh.
Other than that, kudos.

davebw31

Thanks Lee for your kind words!

You right about underneath, as I had to coat/paint some parts to protect them from the elements using paint that closely matched the "natural finish" since I did this 8 yrs ago! I even have some fastners that were not plated, now getting rusty, so even after just 15 months after the restoration, parts already are "turning".

What is the process you posted talking about coating "natural" unpainted parts to protect them? The only products I have seen are only temporary.

BTW: have you removed the oversprayed blue engine paint from your exhaust manifolds yet?

leepear

Gary used an oil impregnation process but as you stated we are looking at a chemical that was at SEMA to keep the parts from turning. I will try to get you the name. I have been running the car. Paint will be burned off soon. Redid the firewall with correct stamps as you noted and checked the alternator bolt. Fixed all my 8 points from the Nationals along with many more improvements. Thanks for looking at my car and the input. I am sure I will get another list of problems at the MCACN next weekend in Chicago. Jim will have his sliver w-31 there to represent the 350 w machines. Lee

DeltaPace77

Probably good getting hold of an Eastwood catalog, as have all kinds of paints/coatings to reproduce the look of original parts, like greenish tint of master cylinders and such. Jim Osborn reproductions has a lot of the under hood stickers.

Run to Rund

Common mistake--wrong colors of parts! The OCA is slowing moving away from over-restoration as the judges become more knowledgeable about the stock classes. Modifieds will continue to be "over restored" because they look nicer that way. Points get deducted for built up grease and dirt, wrong tires and wheels, etc. Easy points in OCA include "Spirit items" (factory literature and OCA stuff), fire extinguisher.
I did my restoration/re-creation of the Rund car myself, and it has gone to First place, then Best in Class (Junior classes), Best in Class (senior), Senior Preservation so it can be done at home, if you do your homework and work carefully.