Arkas

Hey everyone,
because of the positive feedback I decided to start a project thread

My introduction posts contain most of the progress on the car to this date, so feel free to look at them here:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...gs-europe.html

Today we managed to drill all of the 4 broken bolt-threads out of the cylindre heads. Excessive use of anti-rust-oil helped quite a bit...

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As soon as the motor-sealing kit arrives I'll start on putting the engine back together, just have to get some copper-spray and cleaning stuff first.

Apart from that there wasn't much progress this weekend
As I have to write my mechanic midterm exam tomorrow I had to get back inside and get some learning done :P

-Michael

Arkas

Not dead yet...

Got a little update for you.

Spent the last couple of weeks working on the old 303. Now it has new lifters and gaskets. Also replaced the broken headbolts and got it some chrome & paint plus some basic stuff like wires, distributor cap/rotor, plugs , oil/filter etc.

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Fired right up, and without the nasty muffler it really sounds way better

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuDb...ature=youtu.be

See ya

redoldsman

Welcome to the site. I love the Oldsmobiles from the 50's. I am not seeing any oil on the rockers while the engine is running. Be sure you are getting oil up there. The engine sounds great. If you ever decide you want one of the strange air cleaners that goes on the back of the carb on teh 49's and 50's, I have one. It needs a little work because it actually blew off the carb when the car backfired through the carb (another story). I can probably fix it. I know shipping to Germany would probably be a killer though. Good luck with your car. 50's are very nice cars.

Arkas

Thanks,
I know it is hard to see in the video but they sure are getting oil. Had them pre oiled before the start up. The oil gauge shows 30 (psi i guess?) and oil reaches the rocker shaft (the driver side seems to be getting a little more, but maybe it is just imagination)

I still have the original oil air cleaner , in pretty good shape too. But for the moment i got the paper filter.

redoldsman

Cool. The oil is probably clean enough it doesn't show in the video. Those original air cleaners and the carb for that matter are a pain.

Arkas

I somehow like the look of the old rochester carbs, especially with some vintage manifold and a 2x2 setup+some vintage air cleaners. But these cost a fortune and with my loan at the moment I can't afford performance/speed parts, definitely on the list as I got some more money, though.

Arkas

Gonna whipe the dust off this thread...

Quick update here. Didnt have much time posting about the project. Had plenty to do.

Bodywork is pretty much finished. All the holes are closed and the trunk is rebuilt.

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Engine runs fine, just needs some minor stuff like setting the ignition right and getting the radiator fixed (small leak somewhere..)

I faced a major problem as the transmission was working pretty badly (gears slipping, burned oil) so I had to pull the Hydramatic to get it rebuilt. Was pretty expensive with the tight budget I have but hey...in the end you got to spin the wheels somehow. The driveshaft was also refurbished and the differential got new oil (Burned differential oil is the absolute worst smell on cars...)

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The last couple of weeks were painting the interior and putting everything back in there (Seats, carpet etc.) and messing with the wiring as we are converting it to 12v.

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While we are at it everything will be redone, I dont trust these 60 year old cloth isolated wires...
Gas tank is also cleaned and rebuilt including a new fuel sending unit.

Plans are to have the car registered in summer to visit a couple of events.
As the laws to pass inspection in germany are very harsh (safety-wise..) I will concentrate on the mechanical and electrical parts of the build, not so much the looks. Get some cheap paint on the already horrible paintjob, hoping the chrome will hide the worst and fix this part in the future.

I know pictures are the main part everyone watches these threads. Most of my pictures are uploaded under:

https://www.getpatina.com/vehicles/ss0g5m1tZj

as some kind of online project diary... Feel free to browse.

Ok, so much for the "quick" update See you

oldcutlass

It's coming along nicely, love the pictures.

Erik Andersen

Hi Arkas
I have just bought a 1950 88 Coupe for restoration and modification and found your project. How has the car been going? Any tips?
Cheers
Erik