Allan R

I'm always amazed. In the summer you complain about the heat. Then in the winter you complain there's not enough heat. LOL had to jab that in there. Just looked at your forecast - I feel so bad that it's only going to be around 80 in your neck of the woods now. Best put on a coat so you don't catch cold.

Lady72nRob71

Little by little, she goes back together. After months of waiting, I finally got the preheat pipe back from the sandblaster. It went with a load of a friend’s parts so I was in no hurry - it was free for me.
I painted it with two coats of Eastwood’s Extreme chassis black satin to match the air cleaner.
I was also able to find a use of the giant cotter pins included in the 600 piece assortment I got at Harbor freight long ago – it fit perfectly.



And here it is installed; do not mind the dust on surrounding parts.

OLD SKL 69

Looks great Rob, what else still needs to be done?

Allan R

Very Nice Master Obi Wan. You interested in some proper date coded plug wires? You can buy them (code 1-q-72) from a company called windy_city_muscle on flea bay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1Q-72-dated-...item3ca08912dc

Lady72nRob71

It is more about keeping the ladyfriend warm, rather than myself. When she is warm she is quieter; imagine that...

We did our Christmas light cruise last weekend and it was 63* that night, plenty warm. Had the heat on lukewarm and she even told me to turn it off. Never needed the seat heaters!
Heater hose leaked a couple drops when I got home but I gave the clamp another 1/6 turn - hope that fixed it.

Thanks - need to finish the A/C - hoses, compressor, condenser, repaint radiator support, and maybe do the grilles. I will see what the MAWs bring me.

Thanks for the complements but no thanks on the wires. I have my anti-MAW helmet strapped on tightly.

Allan R

Ha ha ha NO! I can't imagine that. She must have been feeling quite content to sit beside a red hot guy like you than on some electric heating coils. Are we talking the same ladyfriend you used to have or have you moved on? Heaven forbid she gets so excited she pees herself - my gawd she'd be electrocuted.... But I can imagine what would happen if you tried to keep her quiet by clamping her mouth another 1/6 turn.

Don't need the MAW helmet and I get that we haven't heard what's happening on the job front lately. Just noticed the wires weren't up to your normal standard. Aren't the ones by the heat stove pipe supposed to go around the outside to stay away from the e-man? I'm prolly going to get a set of those wires to go with the OEM disty that's going back in next year. Not happy with the HEI I put in back in 2008. Prolly a recurve in order, but it also interferes with clearance on the stock air cleaner.

Greg Rogers

Rob I just found your thread and followed it from start to end. GREAT JOB! I was trying to get the conclusion to O's_Car thread about the Classic Air system he was installing on his Olds and I saw you were talking about evaporator installation with him.(Do you know if the end of that thread has been moved or something...?) Now I am wondering what your outcome is going to be along with his. I am going to redo the air on my 71 Cutlass Convertible this winter and am trying to make the choice between factory type or aftermarket- R12 or 134A-.... etc. Thanks for the great thread. I will be following it. Greg

Lady72nRob71

That would be logical but that one was stretched when routed outside.
Great - now you are making me want to try all 7 others to see if they will reach comfortably outside.

That has been thought of more than once, I assure you...

O must have either dropped off the radar or he has not finished yet. No reason why the end of the thread would be elsewhere...

In my opinion...
If you have heat only and need AC, aftermarket will be a bit easier to install. No AC'ed defog if that is important.
If you already have factory AC like me, it is easiest to just make it work like it should. The box is not a big deal to restore. I have not finished mine and have not decided what Freon, either. I will use an oil that is compatible with both and all the components were either flushed or are new. Therefore I could start with R12 and change to 134 later if needed. R12 works best in these factory systems. I am most likely going with a NEW A6 compressor.
Hopefully this will be finished this spring...

Oh - and thank you for the kudos!

Greg Rogers

Rob, I think I am going to go the original type route w/ R134a. I noticed you left your evaporator cover bare- it looks good. Do you think thats the way they were when new? It's sort of a dark grey finish. I know mine had been painted black at some time but is coming off and looks bad. Also 1 of the screws that goes into the firewall is off kilter and looks funny. I have noticed this on other Cutlasses. Did you have that issue??

Lady72nRob71

From the factory, the evap boxes on my year were left natural - the greyish fiberglass color.
If your was painted, after you disassemble it all, soak it in oven cleaner - it will strip that paint off like magic.
All of the screws in mine were fine. Recon yours was removed at one time and not reassembled right?

67 Cutlass Freak

Rob, I think I speak for most of the people here, to say THANKS for sharing your restoration story with us. I love your naritive and attention to detail. I'm sure you've inspired a few here to jump in and tackle some smaller projects. What I'm trying to say is it takes a lot of work to document, photogragh and compose the text, many people here are lucky to have you showing us your progress. You should be very proud. I'm glad you posted again, 'cause I just found this thread and spent a couple hours reading through it, along with throwin' back a few cold ones. Best of luck to you in the new year. ROB YOU ARE DA MAN!

Greg Rogers

Amen to what freak says... Thanks Rob.

Lady72nRob71

Guys, thank you for the kind words!
While restorations are a passion of mine, so is sharing my techniques so others can help save these old mechanical marvels as well. Besides, why make the same mistakes I did?
I was licky I had a flexible job that gave me the extra time needed to do writeups in that kind of detail. Unfortunately my upcoming far-away new job will barely give me enough time to eat, shower, and sleep, so I might not be around here as much. I will still be seeking a more compatible job closer to home so hopefully this will not last long...

Greg Rogers

Rob, Looking back thru your thread I noticed on pg 9 the 2nd pic shows your exhaust heat riser stove. It's just like mine but I always thought it was wrong because it looks like there should be a stud type head bolt and then a nut to hold the stove. But mine is just like yours. The slot sits above a regular head bolt so I guess its correct. I know yours is a 72 and mine is a 71. I also have a 70 vista cruiser that the heat stove is different yet....

Allan R

71/72 will be the same because the 72 was never supposed to exist with this body style it was supposed to originally be replaced with what we know as the 73 'colonade' series. + in 72 there weren't the smog reduction legislation and head differences required for emissions in 73.

Greg Rogers

Rob, I finally got back to my project and ordered a bunch of parts from Classic Auto Air. I didn't get the sticky goop that goes around the bulb. Do you think I could get that locally? I noticed when I scraped the sealing surfaces of the evap box that the sealer that was there seams identical to the stuff we use at work that we call monkey dung. This is where you said you used the 3 m strip caulk I think. Thanks,Greg

Lady72nRob71

That sticky stuff is tarred cork strip - available cheep at your local auto AC shop. I have a bunch here so I can send you some if need be.

I used the 3M strip calk for sealing the box to the firewall and also the two halves of the box. Also I sealed the blower motor with it, and around the heater box, etc. Works great and almost factory.

What are you doing for a POA valve?

oldsguybry

Probably similiar to this .... Black gooey stuff that never hardens all the way ....

Lady72nRob71

No, no, no - it is a solid 2" wide cork tape that had been saturated in tar. You apply it with your hands and is SUPER sticky. Most of the tar stays off your hands, but have your favorite hand cleaner or solvent handy to clean off the residue.

Greg Rogers

I had some all along it was inside one of the bags. I'm working along will ost more soon on mine-Thanks again.

Boilerz25

Rob,

The car looks great from the photo. I am just starting down the long road of restoration and was wondering what your approach was to doing the car? I guess more of what things did you start with, etc,.?

Thanks
Sean

Macadoo

Rob, where did you pick up the wiper motor grommets?

Lady72nRob71

I got them here:
http://www.firewheelclassics.com/sto...pID=&SKU=WW103

I did not like the screws that came with them, so I got these repros:
http://www.firewheelclassics.com/sto...pID=&SKU=WW298

This is a Camaro supply shop, which I can relate to Fusicks to Olds.
FWC is located very close to where I live so i drop in for parts and stuff or just to talk cars. Fair prices, VERY friendly staff, no hassle returns, and
willing to special order Olds stuff. Great folks there.

Many parts can be found both on the Camaro and the Cutlass so i check with them for lots of parts. Upper A frame bolts I got from them too.

Macadoo

Thanks Rob, I've got them on order. :-)

Macadoo

Hey Rob,
When you pulled the evaporator, did you see oil on the inside of the box? My rubber drain hole is a gooey, sticky mess like yours was but I don't feel any oil. I'm hoping to get the box off tomorrow. I have to make the conversion to r134a so I might as well (ugh) pull the condenser and take them both in for test and flush. Did you do anything to your compressor before the conversion?

JCMC64

For those that are needing the wiper motor grommets/ rubber bushings, you can check in the HELP section of many auto parts stores. After buying some online originally, I happen to find them in the help section At Pep Boys. They look identical and probably not the markup of "classic" parts. I did originally check other Stores but I didn't check Pep Boys HELP section. Turns out they have a quite a few things that you can use for your car that others sell online as
"classic". Check that section out you'll save some bucks.

Macadoo

I'll give that a try next time. Thanks.

Lady72nRob71

I had oil dripping out of that drain hole and the inside of the box had oil in it, which can only mean one thing - evap leaking. I had it tested and sure enough. Bought a used one and it leaked too - sounds like a common issue with these?? Had to buy a new one from CAA.
Good work on the tests and flushes. Get some oil that is compatible with both freons in case you decide to go back to R12.
My compressor is still in a box on the garage floor and still have not decided what to do with it. I think i will buy a new or reman.

Never thought to look for these parts there - I will save that advice for the next car, or maybe just grab some if they are cheap enough. Parts stores here do not even carry many parts for older cars. I was looking for a master cyl gasket and they had none for the old iron ones.

brown7373

If you are converting to 134a, I highly recommend replacing the condenser with a parallel flow condenser from Classic Auto Air. The weak point in 134a in an original system is the condenser. The original condenser can't cool the refrigerant enough, and the system won't cool as well, especially when at a light. The parallel flow is designed to run with 134a. They can also rebuild and recalibrate the POA for 134a. An rebuilt POA works much better than the POA "updates" they sell. My Cutlass puts out 30 degree air. I replaced all the O-rings, flushed everything, replaced the expansion valve, rebuilt and recalibrated the POA and put on the parallel flow condenser. I am still running the compressor that was on the car when I bought it in 2006. Incidentally, the parallel flow condenser is exactly the same size and mounts identically as the original, using the same hardware.

Macadoo

CAA doesn't have the most intuitive site. Could I ask for part numbers for the condenser and the evaporator? What am i looking at as far as cost? And re-calibrating the POA? Do I have to replace the hoses if they look to be in good shape?
Sorry, this is one I don't want to spend $$$ on but these Illinois summers can be in the 90s with 90+ humidity. And we're still reeling from the propane fiasco this winter. We spent close to 3k for heat this winter.

brown7373

Parallel Flow Condenser 11-803P $299.00 7/16/2010
POA Valve 15-200 $169.99 + $45 core charge 7/27/2010
GM Expansion Valve 15-205 $52.99 7/27/2010


They are also good to talk to is you have questions. I dealt with Ron 813-251-2356 X 7022.


I also bought a condenser for my 1970 Pontiac Bonneville. It is outwardly the same as the Cutlass, but with different (and correct) mounting brackets.

Macadoo

Thanks Brown, I really appreciate it. I'm thinking I could try using the old condenser and if it's not good enough I can replace it later. Especially since I'm also looking at replacing the evaporator. Thanks for the part numbers.

MDchanic

Rob has a nice post on recalibrating your own POA valve. Costs nothing.

- Eric

Macadoo

Oh yeah? I'll be checking that one out fer sher. Thanks Eric.

Macadoo

Anyone know the name of this thread. I've been searching all Rob's threads with no luck.

Lady72nRob71

I cannot find it either. I know I had one with some pictures and better details, here it is in a nutshell.
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...2-cutlass.html
I will keep looking.

MDchanic

I've been looking, too, and haven't been able to find it.

Damn VBulletin refuses to search the string "POA."

Mysterious.

- Eric

mrolds69

It's very hard to search on these forums! Always search with Google when you can only remember tidbits. Google lady72nrob71 poa, I saw stuff but I'm not good at linking.

Alex72cutty

Good Thread Rob!! I'm working on my underhood resto.

Macadoo

Thanks guys. Still trying to decide which was to go. I may just go with R12 and have a shop do the actual charging.