I just obtained a nifty booklet titled 1971 Oldsmobile Inspector's Guide. A very interesting publication. It contains the codes used on the factory build sheets.



On page 31 it lists Air Cleaner Codes. It doesn't list the L32 455 in a 4200 series but it does in does in the 4800 Vista Cruiser. All the 4 Bbl cleaners in all the body styles list the color as RED.

My build sheet indicates OI J in the air cleaner box which the booklet states it should be red.

any thoughts?

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I'm not positive when the air cleaner color went from red to black, 1968 to 69 I think. I've seen a lot of 1970 and 71 air cleaners and all of them were black. If your publication says the 1971 model year should be red I think there's an error there.
John

 

Every 69 I have seen was black.

 

Probably a dumb question here, but what type of black paint?
I'm going to be painting the one I have for the '74.
BTW, the one on my '68 is red....

 

I'm not sure what car we're talking about but Every 69 I've seen is red
[orangy cheby red/orange]

 

I think that may be a case of something got overlooked when they updated from previous printings, or possibly a very early print date and then they changed the spec. I've never seen a red aircleaner after 1969. I think it would look a little garish next to 455 blue!

I have a couple of those from mid 70s complete with the inspector's name. Neat piece of literature to have.

 

I hope these inspector guides are not filled with alot of mis-information, as I just paid $19.95 for a reprint of a 1970 one.

 

Semi-gloss black from the auto parts store is a close match. If you want an OE color I think you can order cans from Fusicks or Year One.

 

except for the air cleaner info, all the codes on the build sheet correspond with what is listed in the guide.

could be RED refers to a tag or sticker on the air cleaner shipping container or some such

I'll be sticking with black until evidence dictates otherwise

 

I received my Inspectors Guide for 1970 yesterday and it also called out red air cleaner color.

After seeing this too, I have too believe you are correct in thinking that they are talking about the "decal printing" color that is placed on the side of the of the air cleaner base. As my car is an unrestored original and the air cleaner is "BLACK" and not red.

One thing I noticed stange about the Inspectors Guide I received, is that the FE2 suspention parts listed as standard equiptment for the 442 model showed "NA" for the front and rear coil springs, and a dash ( - ) for the front and rear shocks???

I am guessing that some of the "FE2" suspension parts may have not had assembly line two digit codes labeled on them???