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The funny part is they put the 4.66's in after the original owner sold it, and it had the third service engine in there... so it blew up likely with the 3.91's that much.
Long time, no update... the bad news is that after getting pictures from who we thought was the original owner, we discovered that his H/O was a post coupe. It's crazy how many modifications on my car match what was done to his car (carb, headers, intake, shift kit in trans, etc...), but he ran the local speed shop in Waterloo, so it's likely that he sold the same parts to other local hot rodders who had my car. Guess I celebrated prematurely... Ill re-update the earlier parts of the thread later...
On mine, the engine build is nearing completion, and the accessories have been getting restored in parallel. I recently got the engine brackets and pulleys powder coated (haven't decided whether I'm going to run power steering or not, so I had both water pump pulleys coated).
The distributor has been rebuilt with an m&h breakerless conversion and curved on a Sun machine. I also got an '8251 carb rebuilt for the engine; I recently scored the correct/rare '8255 through this site, but I'm going to run the '8251 for now, the '8255 needs a lot of help.
Probably won't be much else to show until the engine is completed. Patton has done an awesome job on the alternator as well, though it's not quite complete yet.
Started restoring the dash trim, and I found a handwritten number on the back of the large piece that is close the car number (car is 327, dash trim says 337). Also found a marker "16" under the adhesive.
I had heard the original trim would likely have a number on it close to the car number, but forgot about it until I saw this tonight.
Also attached a picture of sanding progress, used 220 grit and the trim started coming back nicely.
I just about finished up restoring the dash trim, which burned a ton of time. The original dash trim was in rough shape, as seen in the original pictures. I glued a crack, did some sanding with 100 grit, more sanding with 220 grit... but the color still seemed too dark. I ended up using oxalic acid to brighten the wood. I was hesitant at first, and mixed it very weak. I ended up going as strong as recommended, and everything turned out great.
I've seen original trim colors from a light yellow color to darker tan, so who knows what they exactly looked like when new. It was likely a clear finish (lacquer) over the walnut, which would turn yellow over time. I settled on a clear polyacrylic spray finish, since the water-based formula shouldn't be as prone to color change in the future (picture of can attached).
There are two pictures below where you can see the completed dash trim on the bottom (finish not completely cured) with the available repro trim on the top. I wasn't originally planning to restore my original dash trim due to its condition, but after seeing the difference in the grain of the repro trim, I decided to try to save it. I think it turned out pretty well. The repro trim is actually pretty good, particularly to replace trim beyond repair or for cars where it's missing.
My steering pump and box came back from Steering Technology Group (the former Lee Power Steering). I had the box converted to fast ratio (12.7:1) with heavier torsion bar, as I hate stock 60's power steering feel. They do awesome work, I'll have to re-detail the box to the proper finish color (cast iron gray, etc.) Once I sent the box in, they saw that it was a box for a big car (saginaw 808?) so the original one was long gone anyways.
Last edited by 83hurstguy; May 30, 2016 at 07:30 PM.
Luke,
Whatd the steering box work cost you? Im ready to do mine so Im starting to investigate the best option to restore the original with the quicker ratio. What was the turn-a-round time?
TX
Steve
Last edited by droldsmorland; Jun 1, 2016 at 01:35 PM.
It got pretty expensive because my steering box core wasn't correct for the application, and shipping was killer. Make sure you are sitting down... with the core, pump, steering box, Lee's fluid, and shipping, it was $700. They basically told me that the parts prices for fast ratio conversion have gone through the roof, as they use new Saginaw parts, but those are drying up quickly with Saginaw gone. He said they will likely be down to used parts/cores in the future at some point. The 670 boxes were another option, but Delphi has been sold off, those were discontinued, and will be coming back to market from a Chinese manufacturer...
I've been traveling too much for work to make any real progress, but I was at least able to get the steering box more appropriately detailed. Not perfect, but better than it was.
Got some parts back from Patton, and he did an incredible job restoring the alternator and starter. The alternator started as a really nice core from Greg, the starter as a nice core from a local friend.
Patton also restored some of the engine hardware, smaller brackets, divorced choke, etc. The plating was done by his local platers and Sparky for some of the clear zinc. You can see his level of effort on bagging hardware, I can assure you it was nowhere near that well-sorted when I sent it to him.
Really happy with the results, engine will look great once it gets released from machine shop purgatory.
Last edited by 83hurstguy; Jun 18, 2016 at 07:49 PM.
I was up in Chicago last week and got to pick up my completed engine and assemble the short block with Milan. It was an awesome learning experience, Milan is extremely detailed and knowledgeable when it comes to performance Olds engines. The heads are assembled and ready as well. I'll hopefully be back up in a few weeks to finish assembly, break in the cam, then it's dyno time...
For future reference. I bought my scoops and hoses from www.TheGoodOldsDays.com and the quality and finish are amazing as they are made of the same material the original ones were. You can put 300 pounds on them and nothing will happen (don't try this with the cheap Chinese ones from the Parts Place). I even custom made 304 stainless steel front grills for them to keep foreign objects out. He is hard to get a hold of but worth the effort. The air cleaner assembly i bought used but original and worth every penny. I ended up spending $1000 but i simply love it.
I bought my scoops and hoses from www.TheGoodOldsDays.com and the quality and finish are amazing .
yep, believe Luke knows this quality too
one batch of the hoses Mike had was the plastic like style, which I believe are NOS replacements. Not the cloth style as original
Originally Posted by W-27
as they are made of the same material the original ones were.
Who told you this? Not unless Mike made a second batch out of cheaper material, which I doubt (although I've been wrong before). They are made out of stronger material than originals. They also have more material (taller? longer?) where the hose attaches so there is more surface area to clamp that OAI hose.
Originally Posted by W-27
You can put 300 pounds on them and nothing will happen
For future reference. I bought my scoops and hoses from www.TheGoodOldsDays.com and the quality and finish are amazing as they are made of the same material the original ones were. You can put 300 pounds on them and nothing will happen (don't try this with the cheap Chinese ones from the Parts Place).
Mike has money of mine and never sent parts, never replied to my various inquiries, and has yet to refund my money. I'd recommend you not promote his business.
In addition, while his scoops are stronger and fit well, they aren't the same material as OEM and have a more textured surface finish. He was out of stock on '68 scoops and had no plans/schedule to get more in when I last talked to him. Either way, seeing parts from a guy who screwed me over in my own build thread is even more frustrating... not that it's your fault...
Luke, i hope that you paid him thru PayPal so that you can have recourse. I wasn't aware of the dishonesty factor as i never had that issue with him. Still better than the Chinese stuff.
If you understand manufacturing and design, you would know that you are getting a bargain on these low volume specialty parts. 25 years ago, I was hunting and scraping to find parts and paid small fortunes for any condition originals. For example I once paid $110 for one interior light lens for my 1973 CS. Today, I can go online and get re-pops for $20 to $30. I would just take the scoops and shoot them with a satin black and call it a day. Do you think Lansing actually "made" the air intake hose like a Rembrandt? Or, did the engineers go to Thomas Register and buy the available ductwork? Just sayin'
The only real issue that i have with reproduction parts is the actual "Quality, Fit & Durability" and we all should feel the same way. I have made by hand several parts now because most (not all) reproduction parts are made in the name of the $$ not in the name of "Quality, Fit and Durability" reproduction parts should be made to be better than original nor worst.
Some car owners are satisfied with "good enough". When putting my72 S that's was my mindset. When I do my wagon I will try and be more detailed. If I'm lucky enough to have a car like an HO or 442 I will enjoy all the details to get it "right". It takes extra time and effort and money but the journey is interesting. I've learned tons from this w car and another one I've know for almost 20 years.
Thanks gents. The engine is pretty much assembled and close to being ready for dyno in late November. I'm not expecting anything earth shattering, just making sure it breaks in and runs well. Been dealing with a kitchen remodel the past month, and will be moving at the end of the year, so I've had no car time... should have a few more restored parts showing up soon, but nothing else exciting to share.
Lol Gene, it's probably like seeing a long lost family member. They are really nice, I'm still glad we were able to make a deal happen on them.
I haven't had much time to work on the car lately, but recently got the brake master cylinder back from Karps, and my brake booster, MC lid, proportioning valve, and distribution block came back from Steve Gregori.
These are the original date coded parts for the car, the booster and master lid had some decent surface rust; the master was completely gunked up and got a stainless steel sleeve installed. I'm extremely happy with the results. The lid was in really rough shape, so Steve's effort to get it restored to a 9/10 is impressive.
Last edited by 83hurstguy; Nov 7, 2016 at 07:19 PM.
Got my seatbelts back from Python Restoration. This car had deluxe belts, which I think is neat... the hard part is the '68 deluxe buckles are a one year only design, and the originals from the car were trashed beyond replating.
Ended up with a near complete mint set from a member here with wrong color webbing, and Python had the remaining cores to make a near perfect set. The buckles were nice, so we didn't replate them (and re-chroming the backs fills in the text), so they were rewebbed with replacement date code labels to match the original belts with the buckles and retractors cleaned/rebuilt.
If anyone uses Python, he does awesome work, prices were reasonable compared to some other places I checked (not cheap, but reasonable), but you'll have to be patient. He typically has quite a backlog, and communication can be pretty sparse. Anyways, I'm really happy with the results.
Thanks! If you look at the original pictures in post #2, it pretty much still looks like that minus a bunch of parts that are taken off for restoration. Which makes me sad...
This has been the year of house projects (remodeled two bathrooms and a kitchen), and we are moving back to the Chicago area over the next 2 months, so I'm busy reassembling parts onto the car. I was originally trying to have the car out in 2018 for the 50th anniversary, but the hope of that is fading due to the move... thanks to rktolds, there's a neat plan in the works to get some driveline testing done next year, but that update is a few weeks away.
I can't believe it's been a year since I updated this thread. I didn't get much done on the car this year due to moving 500 miles (back to Chicago), but the original air cleaner for the car is restored.
The air cleaner had some rust with minor pitting and a partially flattened snorkel, it was in pretty rough shape overall. We removed the heat riser valves, used pieces of pipe and sockets with hammers to reshape the damaged snorkel, then bead blasted it. Several areas needed high build primer and sanding due to the pitting, but we were careful to not over-do the body work and make anything not look like a stamped part.
We ended up painting it base/clear, and Paul (Hairy Olds) worked his magic to recreate the silkscreened service instructions. For anybody that has a '68 air cleaner, it's a really awesome finishing touch, and it's great that Paul has helped create details like this (and the trans decals) for these cars. The lid is the rechromed original, with a pie pan from Fusick to top it off.
The pictures don't really do it justice, it's a piece of art now.
Wow! Nice to see an update Luke. That air cleaner came out awesome!! That silk-screening looks fantastic!!! My '68 had her 50th birthday in Nov (11A build) that makes you think!!
Thanks Rob. I forgot I finished restoring the dual gate this year too. I had an original top plate and the shifter handle rechromed, the woodgrain is reproduction from H&H (and is a great piece). For some reason I didn't put the **** on for this picture... but I'm very happy with the results.
I didn't mention this earlier, but the plan is to have the car out and running this coming summer, for its 50th anniversary at the H/OCA nationals. It will not be cosmetically restored... the original decklid (with the bullet hole) is going back on, and I'll have the car fully functional. It's going to be a bit of a thrash, but I feel that it needs to come out for a bit. Once the car is functional and straightened out, I'll know everything is there in terms of parts, and it can get blown apart for the final restoration project.
Last edited by 83hurstguy; Dec 5, 2017 at 06:59 PM.
EDIT: I've changed this post as I've been able to trace more history. This post will be long and likely boring to some, but I figured I’d post what I’ve been able to discover on the history of the car.
The Demmer List shows that the car originally went to J.J. Wright Olds in Hammond, Indiana. It may have been transferred out to Friedley Oldsmobile in Cedar Falls, IA, but I haven't had any luck confirming that. The badge on the decklid below is obviously from Friedley.
We know the car has a July 27, 1973 Iowa inspection sticker on the windshield (picture below). A gentleman named Philip Houston bought the car from Friedley Olds in that time period as used. Philip passed away 5-6 years ago, but his friend Rod Green was with him from the time Philip purchased it, and knew almost everything about it. Philip and Rod put 4.66 gears in it, and raced the car on the street, but never at the track. Rod stored the car for Philip for a long period of time, likely from the late 80's when it was parked.
Utilizing the newspaper.com archives, I found a handful of advertisements in the Waterloo Courier that contained the word “Hurst”. It appears that Friedley Olds sold 2 or 3 used ’68 H/O’s in the early ‘70s, and I didn’t see any search results for a new ’68 H/O in their inventory. A private party had a ’68 H/O for sale in the Waterloo newspaper around July 18, 1973. The windshield on my car has an Iowa inspection sticker punched for July 21, 1973. Soon after, a newspaper clipping from July 27, 1973 shows a used ’68 H/O for sale in Friedley’s daily advertisement. No mention of A/C is in any of those ads (though it says full power – and this car has power steering/brakes)… I suspect that may be this car, though I obviously have no proof. At least one of the other ads I found indicated the H/O for sale had A/C, which ruled this one out.
Herald Friedley, the owner of the Olds dealership, is still alive and well. I spoke with him on the phone back in January. He remembers selling H/O models, but could not recall if he had any ‘68s new or if they were used. Naturally, although a long shot, I asked about sales records and received the expected response that most of them were gone.
There is a sticker on the rearview mirror with the number ‘1984’ (picture attached) that I cannot identify. If anybody has any insight what it means, I would appreciate any feedback.
A bit of trivia here. Friedley sold 4 or 5 of the '68 H/O's as I recall (according to what my step dad told me, he was a salesman at Friedley at that time). His dealership was allotted only 1 or 2. He picked others up from "dealers" and they were a hot item. One was owned by Bob Sells (Sells Construction, Cedar Falls, Iowa) and was "around on the streets" more than the others. I thought only one of the cars Friedley sold had A/C, but I could be wrong on that. Bob Sells liked to race. I would think that is anyone put 4.66's in, it was Bob Sells. I don't recall seeing his H/O at Neita Raceway (now Cedar Falls Raceway),but he could have been there a time or two. My story: I bought the only '68 H/O allotted to Tate Cadillac & Olds. I bought it before it ever arrived. My fiance' worked in the office at Tate Cadillac & Olds til it was sold to Harry Reed, years later. In the winter/spring of 1969 a complete blueprinted engine from Berejik Olds was installed and raced. I went to the NHRA Springnationals in Dallas, Texas. It held track records around Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. My H/O was traded in at Hight Chevrolet & Olds in Webster City, Iowa. It was sold to a guy in Fort Dodge, Iowa and several months later totaled out. Ralph
The most exciting part of the project that I forgot to mention earlier was that I ended up talking to the guy who had the car from '73 until it went into the barn in Shell Rock. He confirmed they bought it used from Friedley Olds, it already had a holley carb, headers, aftermarket intake, and the service engine installed. He street raced it a lot and installed the 4.66 gears in place of the 3.91s, but did not track race it. He also knew who the owner was prior to it being traded at the dealership and was going to try to look him up. I need to call him again and ask more questions this week.
I never thought about it earlier, but the car likely has quite a bit less than 60k miles, as the 4.66 gears would have increased the mileage count, since the speedo gears weren't changed.
Would you care to tell me the name in a PM ? I grew up down there and moved to Minnesota in 1986. Also where does Olds24 live ? Ralph
