Lots of updates to report, ended up getting a power steering pump from summit made by jones racing, I already had the pulley and this took care of the cobble job I was trying to do. And then I had to first modify a 63 alternator bracket to work with my 3 groove pulleys w/o AC , then I had to fabricate an AC compressor bracket and an alternator bracket for my future upgrade to AC. It was a lot of trial an error but I ended up with a 2 separate brackets with dual adjustments. I got my Gear Vendors 2 piece adapter on my Muncie but need to made some adjustments to the shifter to fit.I also have a buyer for my old slim jim transmission coming down from Oregon, he just needs something to get his car on the road and for 200.00 he's willing to go used for now. So her are some pictures.
Power steering bracket I fabricated. I had drilled out my head bosses earlier




had to shave 3/16" of one of these





still need to hog out SP hole and add a gusset

This is the piece of crap compressor mount I ordered, nothing like the
picture, so I made a pattern and sent it back

And made my own

 

Still have a lot of loose ends, I forgot the picture of the power steering bracket were I slotted it for adjustment. The AC bracket will get a gusset and more welding. I also need to get 2 67 1/2" belts going t cut a solid spacer for the alternator. I wanted to do all this while the engine was out. I'm actually still driving the Olds as a back up car. I also talked to Disc Brake Mike about a Chevy truck disc brake conversion. I need to send him a spindle so he can make the bracket, quite a bit cheaper and better than anything else out there from what I've seen. Here's a shot of the Gear Vendors

 

Did you check out "Scare bird" They make brackets for the disc set up.
https://scarebird.com/index.php?rout...product_id=111

Gene

 

WOW!! I hate to think what I would do for a couple of those cutlass bumpers. Do you suppose I could talk you out of joel's phone number?
I live in Reno, not to awful far from him(joel). If he is open to someone
coming to his place and browsing, I would sure like to. My cutlass is in
need of some bumpers and a couple of other parts.


ted

 

Ted, all of joels stuff went to hess bros in Corning ca. Yes,checked out scarebirds, disc brake mike has a better deal and bigger rotors

 

Ted, all of joels stuff went to hess bros in Corning ca. Yes,checked out scarebirds, disc brake mike has a better deal and bigger rotors

 

AC /alternator belt job checks good, runs true and doesn't throw the belts. On to the next project, dialing in the gear vendors and shifter...

 

Old engine and trans are out. Both rear mounts were busted . Will be adding a trans mount to take weight off rear ones. Front clip is coming off. Hope to have new engine test fitted soon so i can order new driveline. Still have alot of suspension and detail work to do. Got a helper now. My girlfriend is back with my boots on and ready to wrench. She helped me pull the engine this weekend.

 

Got a lot done. What were those Olds engineers thinking when they designed these cars ? Pulled the engine and trans out with the front end on .what a PITA ! Took my GF and I a good 6 hours. The front bumper wasn't too bad except for the rusty bolts. Taking off the front clip was a great idea. I think I found a keeper, my girlfriend surprised me when she helped me take the car apart. She's a hair stylist and into the make up and nails and hadn't done so much as an oil change with me before. And then it dawned on me that I never offered to work on a project with me. So she got on a pair of my boots and some dirt friendly clothes and got busy with me. We had been apart for about 6 months so this was a real bonus to have her participate. Anyway we got the original engine and trans removed last weekend and I got the bumper off and she helped me remove the front end this weekend and get the new engine and trans in place. I borrowed a 4' lift strap from work and ran it under the manifold and it worked perfect. This is only a preliminary fit but I got everything lined up and bolted in. I had to cut a couple of holes for the shifter and overdrive unit. The modified cross member fit with no issues except a couple of frame holes needed to be hogged out. I'm also going to fabricate a trans cross member to relieve some of the weight off the rear mounts. I'm ready to measure for the drive shaft now. one that's fabricated and test fitted I will pull the engine back out and finish my modifications and under hood work. I'll post some pictures later,I'm done for the night.

 

Lucky man.

Sounds like you're doing great!

- Eric

 

Heh

Interesting phrase on the AC compressor

"SUC DIS"



NICE JOB on the resurrection
And congrats on finding a girl who wrenches

 

The pictures are amazing. I was reading through the post after the search term "shroud" brought me here, did you ever find a place that sold fan shrouds? I have a 61 olds 88 myself and have been looking for one...

 

Beautiful! Looks like a work of art--at least to us car guys.

 

Got a youtube video under 394 Oldsmobile 4 speed with gear vendors overdrive up. Project has been on the back burner for awhile. I got the rebuilt wiper motor in, got the floor shift column restored and ready to install. Sway bar bushings and links just got installed today. Need to do some work under the dash before installing the column and a host of other things before putting the engine back in again.I'll post some pictures later this week.

 

I/ve been slowing chipping away at the Olds, engine is in and all 10 cross member bolts are installed. I got my pinion angle adjusted by trimming and rebolting the stock trailing arms I also found a company that makes adjustable trailing arms for the 61-64 full size Olds. www.spohn.net . My driveshaft turned out nice at 270.00 also. I test fitted my 65 Starfire bucket seats and decided to stay with the bench for awhile. I had to shim my sway bar bushings because they weren't a perfect fit. I'm currently mocking up a power steering line for the pressure side and a shop is making it for me. I installed new upgraded fuel lines through the front frame. For those of you in the know ,2 barrel cars had a 1/4' return line off the filter back to the tank. I went ahead and ran one in case I get an EFI itch. I also made a custom socket wrench for reaching the upper control arm adjusting nuts for front end alignment work using an old socket and round stock. I'm also going to make an access panel in the fender well to reach the clutch slave. I got my original wiper motor rebuilt and he gave me 75.00 off for an old core I had. I'll also be fabricating a floor center hump/access panel/shift boot. I want to be able to remove the transmission without messing with the cross member. Still lots of stuff to do.

 

Great goin'. Love to see the build up. I also have the Spohn arms on my 63 Starfire. With a pro-touring 9" ford sway bar I matched to fit. Really makes the car handle great. Your car is gonna be awesome.

 

I would like to see a picture of the sway bar on the rear. I have the Spohn lower and upper rear control arms on my 61 and would like to see how you did this.
Thanks
Pat

 

I just had carpel tunnel surgery yesterday so excuse my small caps. Got a few pictures to share. the tool I made to get to the upper control arm nuts,its an old 13/16" 12 point (very important) socket welded to a piece of rod at an angle. its a tight fit ,but works. I also got a "loaded" NOS RS upper control arm for cheap to use as a spare or flip.A really cool nos block heater for 25.00 I also got some 61 Only main bearings for less than 1/2 price for when I rebuild my original engine. My custom made power steering line turned out great an the price reflects it but its clean and right, I have been buying a lot of trick high grade hardware and bolts from Mc master carr. Even though I have tons of stock bolts. my hydraulic slave is mounted and works well and I installed an extra long bleeder line so I don't have to crawl under the car, I had my wiper motor rebuilt for 175.00 because he gave me 75.00 credit for an extra core I had, I also bought a roll of vacuum hose .Going to the exhaust shop after I fabricate another cross member for the gear vendors. I talked to an Olds rearend guy and he recommended a 3:64 gear but that's a wish list item. My re-furbished floor shift column came out nice and Im still working on the steering wheel, I used jb weld and por 15 putty for a 90% crack fill and finished with bondo so im not trying to feather epoxy into the soft steering wheel material. Im going to cut my 2 aut0 brake pedals in half for a stock look. I also have to fabricate a floor cover console with the new sheet metal tools the maint.dept. at work just bought.

 

this lift strap worked way better than a chain installing and pulling the engi


[IMG]http://i60.tinypic.com/245
[IMG]http://i57.tinypic.com/vevxxc.jpg

more to come

 

homemade tool

 

Pat, these guys told me someone made this one work on an Olds without to many mods
http://fabcraftmetalworks.com/produc...uded-GM544389/

 

Koolcat here is a thread of my sway bar install:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-starfire.html

 

Almost ready to drop it on the ground and take it on it's inaugural shake down run. I got it fired up last night and got the hydraulic clutch bled today. I've got everything temporarily mounted so I can work on everything easier. Only one side of exhaust until next week until I make it to the exhaust shop. I still need to fabricate a cross member and wire up the Overdrive. All of the wiring has been replaced, repaired and upgraded. I'll wrap it all when I figure out everything I need. I really like the power steering pump so I added a cooler to it. Still an enormous amount of work to do but I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I now know the reason you don't see many 4 speed conversions on 394's. You really have to be a special kind of fool to do this but I'm anticipating something really different with the 3.68 stroke behind the 4 speed OD. I don't know about the 3:08 gears but I'll probably get 3:64's at some point. When everything is dialed in I'm driving it up to Joel's (the guy I bought it from) about 300 mile round trip, and let him drive it because he's never driven a manual 371/394 Olds. Just waiting for the steering wheel to dry. Should have done it sooner.

 

WOW! I cobbled a DS exhaust together from my test stand and took it for a drive,... several. it works as advertised! The hydraulic clutch feels like a manual and it shifts great. My eyeball frontend alignment was even good, no tire squeal. The power steering pump is better than stock. It has long legs with those 3:08's and I don't even have the OD hooked up. I can tell it will be a blast to drive with that 4 speed verses that slim jim . Boy what a challenge to get to this point. A lot of time, dollars, and modifications to do it but now that it's been done (in recent times) maybe I will pave the way for others to do it. Next is a cross member for the back of the OD and then off to the exhaust shop. I have a car buddy who had a shop in his backyard that he does on the side so it will allow me to custom build a system that will accommodate maintenance and switching out mufflers. Need to break those moly rings in carefully. Once everything is dialed in under the hood I will put it back on and take it for a ride up to Joels so he can take it for a spin and check out his 403/350 turbo 64 Jetstar I project he just got running. Steering wheel and column turned out nice, I just flipped the shift indicator over and painted it.

 

2 cups of coffee and just got caught up on this thread awesome awesome work

Thanks for sharing..

 

Been following your thread from the time you brought the Olds home. Great work. And you have paved the way for others to tackle the same conversion.
Kudos

 

Here is the cross member I fabricated and tacked together, a friend at work welded it up for me. The bottom of the trans mount just happen to line up with the frame. I taped hole in the frame using 7/16"-20 bolts

 

Got the OD hooked up and have 6 usable speeds. What a blast to drive! My top end is unnnnlittteddd! I hade to change out my shift **** and run the wire down the shaft using s/s hose wrap and shrink tubing. Gear Vendors recommended cutting a grove down the shaft but I like the look of the wrap. I also used some heat resistant tubing to run the wires up to my custom made expanded metal glove box where the OD controls are mounted to the bottom. I have 3 on the switch and 3 hot at the fuse box I picked up at the local hot rod shop. Almost ready to tackle the doghouse. I have to cut an access panel for the clutch slave or I might add a remote reservoir. I have nice set of front fenders I got from Joel to replace the LF but they need blasting and primed. I also did a fine tune on the engine and will definitely consider a Pertronix upgrade at a later date. I wrapped the wires with an old bike tube.

 

Been shaking down the car for a few months, Had to put my rear pinion angle back to stock, should have never listened to the driveline shop and just tried it first. Had some binding but it's OK now. The hydraulic clutch is working great in traffic. The 6 usable speed OD is alot of fun too. i had my "new" LF fender and all adjoining front end tin blasted and powder coated . The gray on the fender is powder coat primer, really tough stuff. e have a local shop and they are buried with work. They do whole car bodies.I had the original Provincial White matched to a new Chrysler color and had a couple of rattle cans mixed to do the jams and small parts.16 bolts and screws per fender. Got it somewhat lined up. Who ever says they can just "slap" a fender on needs to be slapped in the mouth! GOOD Body guys don't get the credit they deserve. Doing it right costs money. After mounting this fender i would elect to jam all the parts, mount them and then paint the car verses painting the parts and trying to mount them. This is a driver quality restoration. I had nightmares about my 69 Roadrunner getting scratched and vandalized and it wasn't worth the worry. The engine is running strong and has a nice mild lope to it at idle.Doesn't run over 175 in traffic I need to cover the trans tunnel as soon as the other fender is on, It gets a little warm.My speedo and gas gauge are out so I need to get into the dash again The sender worked great when i reinstalled the tank, luckily I have a spare. Don't get to spend many full days on it due to other commitments so I better get back to work.
Modified vacuum line to access slave cyl

 

Looks great.

 

Wow, what a great thread!

What a great save!

My to-do list includes rebuilding the fuel tank sending unit for my '62 Super 88. There's only enough left to use as a template. could you answer a couple of questions for me?

What were you using as the pickup screen in the upper part of the photo?

Where can you find the new production pickup screen in the lower part of the photo?

thanks.

 

The upper screen is original with some safety wire holding it together, the lower on came from the local Chevrolet dealer but didn't fit over the tube. I had to drill it out. You need one for a 3/8" tube, theres alot of them out there, you need to go to a parts place were they will help you match something up. Don't pay 18.00 like I did.

 

Thanks. Tried the local NAPA store for the inlet screen -- no luck. Didn't do any better at AutoZone or Advance Auto Parts. These things seem to be deceptively hard to find.

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/oe...Zj5hoC3gXw_wcB

I know it's only 5/16"but i folnd this on a google search in less than a minute

 

Thanks. I see that they do have them in 3/8" and the total delivered price equal to the price that you told me not to pay at the dealership. I was hoping to find a local auto part store that had it, but it's looking like it's going to be a special order part.

 

AC Delco part number 5651705.

Have the auto parts store check its interchange guide.

- Eric

 

This is some really great work especially a lot of "fabbing" of parts. If I ever do another Olds, I'm thinking of an early Big Olds too. I will be studying your thread. Robski....

 

Took the Olds on a 360 mil round trip this past weekend and shook it down. It runs perfect ! I was going 80mph at 2200 rpm's and got 15 mpg with a 3:08 posi. That was on way too old used tires with no alignment or balance. The only problem i see is my whole engine has shifted forward from those stock mounts and now i have borderline driveshaft engagement. I think i will need to have a longer driveshaft done later. As for the project as a whole it has met my expectations. more details later

 

Wow!!

(Of course, we expected nothing less...)

- Eric

 

Fantastic build. Love this very rare body style. Nice craftsmanship with all the mods. That junkyard makes me cry. Just find this thread and saw it was started in 2008. I'm sure all those cars are gone. ??

JT