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Glad to see you finally found a solution to your frame problem.
If there are only those minor differences, then you should be able to work around them.
I've got to admire your tenacity; a lot of guys would have given up and scuttled this project .
Last edited by Charlie Jones; January 30th, 2022 at 08:56 PM.
Hey guys!
After a week of work, help from a good friend and some problems that kept happening, the frame holes were properly welded and sealed!
I'm really happy with the results
Just gotta keep Finishing the POR-15, then it's time for suspension!
Great and high-standard work as always! While you're in there...
See if you can find heavy duty springs, shocks and sway bars, and maybe box those rear control arms. That's what Olds did with the B01, B07 and B09 police suspension packages.😎
Maybe I should have encouraged you on the Starfire engine. Then you'd have had a Dynamic Police Apprehender.🚔
Hey guys. The frame has now been fully painted! I also sprayed cavity wax and sealer in areas that were accessible inside the frame. The trans cross member was also cleaned and painted with new bolts The rear end has had a helping of a diff service and new rear shocks, it has also has been painted.
Now comes the time comes for suspension. I had the control arms sent to a local shop for cleaning. I did new lower and upper ball joints. I think at this point and time I'm going to forgo control arms bushings. There way to expensive and i can make due with them for a few years before replacement. A friend is coming over on Friday with a spring compressor to put the front springs in.
I gotta say this is one hell of a project but every bolt gets me more excited to have it done.
Hello everyone! its been a few months but the olds is still coming along! All of the front suspension has been complete, steering arm was put back on and i got the trans mocked up. After moving out and a new job its getting tough to work on it but I'm doing it!!
Glad to see you making good progress.
Believe me, a body off restoration is a slow process.
So far, what have you noticed about the differences between the 1963 and 1964 frames?
I would say there 98% the same! I have had no issues adapting the 2 frames parts other than the parking brake cable mount is completely different. I don't plan to put the cable back in anyways but it is something to note.
Hello folks! As the Old's gets closer to finally being paired with her body once again I need some tips. We are using a full 2 post rotary lift to set the body back onto the frame. What I don't know is how we are going to align the frame with the body? We were thinking using floor jack to move the frame back and forth until the holes lined up but if there even off a few centimeters, the holes will not line up. Is there a method you guys have used to line up the frame to the body properly? The body is once piece, no sections have been removed.
-Also it was 1 years go today the body came off!
When I put the body back on the frame I used wheel dollies from Harbor Freight on each wheel.
I nudged the chassis around with a crowbar just where I wanted it.
There are two holes in the frame and body near the firewall area that the factory used to align the body to the frame when they "dropped" the body.
A tapered drift can be used in them to get the body in exact alignment.
In 2 month we will be coming up on 2 years since the start of this amazing project. I can finally say the 394 is in her final home! it sort of sucked to get it in the frame since I never knew the clearance from the control arms is so tight, like maybe an inch!
Also on the frame, can the alignment holes be seen in this picture? If so can someone point them out?
Im starting to feel like Charle Jones! Were very close to body time. The new brake lines from Inline Tube are comming on Saturday, so iv been tiding up other things that need to be done.
Enjoy a short and some pictures:
Believe me, it's a great feeling when you get the body back on the frame.
It feels like you have a car again, instead of a collection of parts.
Were you able to get all the new body mounts?
Since you still have the front Sheetmetal intact, you should remove the fan from the engine.
Clearance is tight, and you don't want to damage the radiator when jockeying it around.
Oh, and put the exhaust system back on now while you have the body off. So much easier.
Last edited by Charlie Jones; August 5th, 2022 at 07:42 AM.
Hey guys! The motor is finally ready to run! I got everything hooked up and just now have to buy some fluids. It was wrong of me to look at some forum posts where some 394s after rebuild have gone terribly wrong!!! One therad i saw is the cam walked out of someones 394, and there was supposed to be a pluger installed on the cam. In my whole rebuild process, i have not seen this "plunger". I made a video eariler in this thread of the play on the cam but it seemed very tight when i installed a new cam gear. Is the only thing keeping it in place really just the cam gear and chain? Im excited but also terrifed of finally running this old beast. Any motor tips or easly missed things would be helpful to know! Thank you and lets get this party started!
Hey guys! The motor is finally ready to run! I got everything hooked up and just now have to buy some fluids. It was wrong of me to look at some forum posts where some 394s after rebuild have gone terribly wrong!!! One therad i saw is the cam walked out of someones 394, and there was supposed to be a pluger installed on the cam. In my whole rebuild process, i have not seen this "plunger". I made a video eariler in this thread of the play on the cam but it seemed very tight when i installed a new cam gear. Is the only thing keeping it in place really just the cam gear and chain? Im excited but also terrifed of finally running this old beast. Any motor tips or easly missed things would be helpful to know! Thank you and lets get this party started!
The camshaft plunger and spring was only used on late 1949 thru 1962 engines.
In the 1963 & 1964 engines the cam gear just bolted on the cam.
DON'T believe everything you see on U-Tube.
Hello! Charle Jones could you explain a little more in depth the process of putting the body back on and how to use a Taper Drift? I'm a little nervous to begin this process, we will be using a 2 post lift to lower the body onto the frame. Just lining it up is what I'm mostly concerned since it need to be almost perfect!
Hello! Charle Jones could you explain a little more in depth the process of putting the body back on and how to use a Taper Drift? I'm a little nervous to begin this process, we will be using a 2 post lift to lower the body onto the frame. Just lining it up is what I'm mostly concerned since it need to be almost perfect!
You will need to get four wheel dollies.
I would let you use mine, but it's a 1500 mile trip.
They are available for $60 per pair from Northern Tool, Ironton Auto-Wheel Dollies — Pair, 1000-lb. Capacity Each | Northern Tool
Put the body up on the lift. And roll the chassis under it in the approximate place where it will line up.
I used a 6 ' crowbar to nudge the dollies one way or the other to line it up exactly where I wanted it.
I put the upper part of the mounts in the holes in the body.
Then I used a tapered drift about the size of the body bolt to make the final alignment.
I then lowered the body until it almost touched the lower mounts.
Get the left front and right rear bolts installed loosely and the rest of the bolts should drop in pretty easy.
Once you get the bolts in, then lower the body all the way onto the frame and tighten the bolts.
Last edited by Charlie Jones; September 25th, 2022 at 03:15 PM.
Finally exactly 1 year ago today, I finished the motor and I present to you my running 394! Its got a few leaks but I'll sort those out, I will upload a longer video of us trying to get it started! For now, ENJOY!
-it had around 60 pounds of oil pressure at the start then moved down to 40 as it warmed up
-temps stayed at 160F and did not rise above that
- no smoke out of tailpipe
-it needs alot of tunning becuase it ran a little choppy, i didnt have a feeler gauge so i used a match book to guess the dwell
-i ran 93 octane gas, pretty much the highest we have in the area
X2 on the dwell tach.
They are all over E-Bay, and they're cheap. tach dwell meter: Search Result | eBay
The points can be adjusted with the engine running, to 30 degrees of dwell, with an allen wrench through the little "window" in the distributor cap.
Where did you even find a matchbook?
Last edited by Charlie Jones; September 28th, 2022 at 09:31 PM.
The biggest drawback is that the sulphur tips don't seem to weather time well and many of them don't light. Maybe if the book was dried out real well they might come back, I'm not a chemist so not sure.
After years, countless hours of welding, painting and small details, the Oldsmobile is once more a car!! I will have plenty more questions and issues to solve but for now, thank you all for the help along the way. This would have never been possible
Yep and all torqued to spec! Do you by chance know what size the steering coupler bolt is? It is the bolt that pitches the steering coupler joint to the steering gear. I lost the bolt and can't seem to figure out the size!!!
Good,now we know that 63 & 64 88 & Starfire bodies and frames will swap.
Widens the seach for the next guy with a rusted frame.
The bolt is a specially made bolt . the factory number is 5686553.
Perhaps jhoppeolds or deadds would have a used one.
It fits 59 thru 64 Olds. Also fits Chevy, Pontiac , and Buick
Last edited by Charlie Jones; January 30th, 2023 at 03:00 PM.
January 30th, 2022, 08:43 PM
Frame has been full prepped!
Need some Tips
