Just got back from the exhaust shop.. the only person who isn't fond is the wife. She says it's too quiet now.. lol

 

Sounds like standard octave Olds V8/lope to me. Road trip/adventure-ready!😀

 

Sounds Great! (but she's right )

 

lol I've been married long enough to know she's right, but she also complains my truck is too loud. Idk what the heck she wants..lol

 

Welp..today marks 3 years since pulling this thing out of the barn and bringing it home. I thought it was at around 90% finished until the whine became "not a pulley" like I'd hoped..but hey, it's not rotting away disassembled in a barn anymore. I'll call that a win

 

Very nice job you have done bringing her back from desolation!

 

You've come a long way, Brother! Keep the Faith!

 

That car looks and sounds great! Congrats on a job well done, ...well, it's never really done

 

Talk about never ending. ​​In my case, all the stuff I did 25+ years ago needs to be redone again.

 

Well, no better place to update than the main thread I guess.

So, as mentioned on previous posts, I suffered a ball joint failure pulling into work a few weeks back. Fortunately, I was only going like 5-10 mph when it let go, but still it hurt. The more I look at damage, the more I find. First, it was the fact that the ball joints were flat out wrong. Then I realize the outer tie rod end is now curved from slamming against the sway bar. I also notice the wheel lip molding is cut and bent. I put out a wanted ad, and was able to pick up an OE molding in pretty good shape. I took the busted one off last night and realized there was a bit more ugly than I thought, including the amount of glaze/bondo in that area.

In trying to straighten it back out, that became a mess. Granted, i know Im no pro so I'm only working on what won't be seen, and trying to do the minimal amount. Well, the OE trim doesn't fit..so the quarter still needs some attention.

Soooo.. I guess we'll just add that to the off season list. Fortunately, I still have the paint from the rear quarter repair, but having to now pay for a professional to address this issue is beyond frustrating. Not having to pay, but having to pay because the company I ordered the control arms from sent basically the wrong part.

If I had the time and cash, Id just say screw it and have the whole thing repainted. It is showing its age for sure..but the last quote was around 18k..and I'm not doing that.. lol.

 

A quality repaint is gonna cost you over $20k without blinking. Any quality paint guy is going to hedge his bet because he won't have any idea what's under that current paint. You may find things aren't too bad but you also might find a big mess. If it's not too bad, you're in for at least $20k. If it's bad, get a second mortgage.

 

Agreed. What should have been a pretty straightforward rescue has set me back enough financially already..ha!

 

Great thread and car!
First, did ya figure out what the whine was? I probably skipped over it.
Second, did you ever get a wideband O2 sensor/gauge hooked up for carb tuning?

Again, great reading through your journey!

 

The whine was the new filter in the TH400.

As far as wideband/o2, that will be done this off season. We got hit with a couple things that took a good bit of spare cash laying around, so I've been playing catch up. I think I figured it up around 600 miles from initial start up to spring this year, and I've put maybe another 50 on it since. I had the carb decent, but I think the plugs are just getting so fouled that its back to running not so great(it loads up at idle and I'm about out of adjustment on the Jet carb without opening it up). We did finally sit down and have the conversation though as to if we were going to keep it long term, or stick to the original plan of save it and find a better suitor..and it sounds like we'll be hanging on to it for a while. So, after everything that's on the docket this off season gets addressed, we're gonna sit down and look at the list to decide what's left to fix vs. what needs done to help preserve.

 

Always a big step to keep or to sell?
Alain platinum442 4spd factory A/C

 

Well, since the last update we've been busy.

I long said once this car was close enough, it was going to get out there to the shows to be seen. We suffered through the rain on our local July 4th show, went to a show last weekend at our local Moose Lodge, and just got back from a show at a local dealership. Tomorrow will be the first test since the balljoint failure, as we're going to a show a couple towns over. Haven't brought home any hardware, but it has led to quite a few conversations between the wife and I about expecting awards. She's competitive, I'm just thankful to have a 1 of less than 2500 car out there for all to see.. lol. Here's a few pics..






Also, amidst the shows I received in my freshly restored 7029251.


I'm hoping once the choke thermostat arrives, I can go ahead and bolt it on and take it straight to the dyno to get tuned in. If I can, that'll free up the off-season for a seemingly ever growing list.

 

Thing is beautiful. Best of luck in the field but even if you don't win, you can still be proud and enjoy your handiwork.

 

Eh, I’ve been going to shows for 20+ years and only got one trophy, a 3rd place just because there were only 3 cars in my category. I really don’t care as that’s not why I have the car.

 

Thanks. I keep telling the wife my win is being able to load everyone up and go get ice cream with it. She hears it but still wants a trophy.. lol

Yeah, I agree..I didnt buy it for trophies, I bought it to save it from the barn. It scored 1st last year at nationals, so as far as I'm concerned nothing from a local show will top that. The tricky part is getting the wife to understand that.. lol

 

I agree wholeheartedly with you. At the local shows I attend with my '68 and '69, most people don't even know what a 4-4-2, or a Cutlass for that matter, is. I took my '68 to the 2011 OCA Nationals in Reno and the car won Best Of Class (13B). Nothing a local show will offer can beat that, in my opinion. Besides, all those extra trophies take up room that my wife says we don't have!

Randy C.
'68 4-4-2 convertible
'69 4-4-2 convertible (a nice driver)

 

In case any are curious, the car made it to and from the car show a couple towns over. Naturally, I could hear all the things, and feel all the things..but I'm sure a lot of that was driven by nerves too.. lol.


so now, I'm going to work on gathering up some parts so that when I get back from vacation I can start putting things on. First up will be the carb swap, but other odd stuff like an AC line, finding someone to address the springs in the front seats (they're stabbing) and a couple little things.

 

Your car looks great, looks like a nice day at the show too!

 

Put the new carburetor on last night, and got it running on its own now. I took it for a quick blast up and down the street and it seems like it's got a bit more snap to it. There's still the off idle stumble problem, but I don't plan on doing anything much until it goes to the dyno to get properly set up.

Now to gather parts for the off-season.