Rocket331

Body and paint are done and the rebuilt 324 is bolted back in place. I think the next step should be glass installation, then making it run. Here are a few pictures taken along the way.

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White sealer.

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Polar white added at bottom.

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Masked for Blue.

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Spraying Blue on the body.

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White unmasked and sprayed with clear.

Rocket331

Picking up where we left off...

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Doors and deck lid added.

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Rebuilt engine bolted back in.

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Rolled outdoors for a breath of fresh air!

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Front sheet metal going back together.

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Fenders!

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And here's where we're at as of this post.

davesdelta

I love it !!! Great pics.

Olds Dad

Subscribed!!

Tedd Thompson

looking Good......Tedd

Highwayman

Ditto.

car_designer

Looking great.

jensenracing77

very nice. the older i get the older the cars are i like. as a teen i liked the 70-72 then in my 20s i started liking the early 60s and now in my 30s i find myself liking the 50s more and more. i am looking forward to seeing it finished.

Rocket331

I've been busy reattaching trinkets, mouldings, latches, etc. This is the tedious part. Silly me; I should have been cleaning and polishing parts while the car was dismantled. But, no! I have to wait until it's time for reassembly. Clean, polish, install. Clean, polish, install... Each part added makes it look so much better!

redoldsman

Man that thing looks great. Where did you find your rear qtr moldings that separate the color?

Rocket331

We went without the lower ones; just did a little pinstripe treatment. If we find a pair later on, hopefully, we can add them without too much difficulty.

Every little piece makes it look better and better...

Rocket331

What a difference a couple bumpers makes! Also added taillights, fender skirts, headlights. Tomorrow, glass installation.

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redoldsman

I see you went with the correct white wheels. What an outstanding job. I see the Texas antique plate but notice you are in MN. Just curious.

Rocket331

Dad's car. He lives in TX. I live in MN. Dad will be back this spring to see the finished product. (Oh, wait... they're never finished.)

am99888

I remember when I had to maintain the family fleet. Now it is the kid's turn to help me.....but how's that workin? I'm still payin. Hmmm.

Rocket331

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I figured I'd thrown in an engine photo just to be different!

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Next photos will be of glass installation... Tune in tomorrow!

am99888

Ah ha, where is the choke heat tube?
Dang, that's lookin pretty. Makes an old man proud.

Rocket331

It's still on the workbench. But, so is the air cleaner.

Rocket331

The windshield and related trim was installed. I had pros come in and set the glass. They made it look pretty easy. I got a bit nervous as the guy on the outside slapped the glass from time to time to help the rubber seat properly. It took just moments; not hours like I've heard people say. Now, the stainless... That should've been so easy!

Getting started...

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SLAP!

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Pull the rope gently...

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Oooo! Pretty!

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Lookin' GOOD!

Rocket331

I'm kind of at a standstill for now. Lot's of work to do in the next few weeks! Waiting for some miscellaneous parts. Had the gas tank refurbished and lined. Just waiting for a pick up screen to install in the tank and can get the tank put back in. Then, hopefully we'll bring the Rocket to life. I had it running for about 30 seconds one evening, but got crud stuck in the needle & seat in the carburetor and flooded it horribly. Cleaned up the mess and everything's ready to go again as soon as that darned tank goes back in.

Nothing happening on the interior. SMS still has not provided the third of three materials needed for the seats. Only been waiting since October! It'll all come together eventually. Patience is a virtue... though highly overrated!

lsutigers93

It didn't look all that bad to begin with but WOW!! Beautiful car!!

redoldsman

Is your Dad going to bring the car back to Texas and what part of Texas is he in?

Rocket331

Yes. We're going to chase around Minnesota this summer and he'll bring it down to the Rio Grande Valley in the fall.

Rocket331

I was playing around with the engine trying to get it to run. Started it up for the first time and soon there was gas all over the place. The carburetor flooded. Uncertain why, I pulled the carb off the engine. Another freshly rebuilt carburetor sat on the bench, so I put that one on. It was more correct for the car anyway. Fired up the engine again. It ran beautifully for about 30 seconds and gas started pouring out of the carb again.

Now I'm thinking I need professional help. (with the carburetor...) So, I brought it to a trusted carb guy. He looked it all over, checked adjustments, cleaned a little crud out of the needle & seat, charged me $100 and sent me home. I reinstalled the carb. Flooded after 20-30 seconds. Ugh!

So, I removed the carburetor once again and took it apart myself. I don't generally delve into carburetors for personal reasons, but at this point, I figured I couldn't do any harm. I checked everything over, measured float adjustment, made sure floats were sealed, and for kicks I set the float level 1/8" lower than specs. I reinstalled the carb, started the engine and it works just fine. It was a long way to go, but we made it!

I can hardly wait to take it for a drive. It's been raining steady the past two days. I haven't put the side glass in yet, so I decided driving it in the rain would be no fun. By Memorial Day, maybe we'll have windows! And, upholstery shop on Tuesday for headliner and windlace! Hope to be one of the 11,000 cars at Back to the 50s in St. Paul, June 22-24. So, we have some work ahead of us these next few weeks!

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Rocket331

Finally! I got to take the Rocket out for a short shakedown drive. It seems everything functions fine, but a few adjustments are still in order. I guess that's why it's necessary to test drive them a little.

These are about the first pictures I've been able to get outside of the garage. I'm starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere.

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Rocket331

Finally! The seat fabric arrived yesterday and the Olds was delivered to the upholstery shop this morning. We're gonna git'r dun yet!

Rocket331

Dang! The old 4-Jet has posed some problems. We had two different carburetors; both of them overhauled. Both flooded and neither would would work right. Finally, after swapping out the carbs several times, we put the old needles and seats back in one of them and gave it a try. It turns out our whole issue was inferior replacement parts.

So, after a couple months messing with the darn carburetor, we have the Rocket running smooooth!

Here's a video I whipped up. The sound quality isn't great, but you'll get the idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKg6b...=youtube_gdata

Two seats and four mouldings to go!

Rocket331

LOOK! Seats!

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Cruised around today! It was great! Nice ride!

Rocket331

Our goal last fall was to have the car ready for MSRA's 39th Annual Back to the 50s Weekend. We made it! This weekend was great! Just us and 12,000 other classics, rods, and customs gathered together at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds for the biggest event of its kind in the world!

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Rocket331

One more video... Before and after shots. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twNIYDTaUng

Tedd Thompson

Great job, beautiful car, love everything about the restoration except maybe the lack of contrast between your wheels and whitewalls. To me it makes the whitewall flow in to wheel making it to large for a mid 50 era car, not trying to net pick just a observation which may have been your personal choice....Tedd

Rocket331

I know what you mean, Tedd. I debated that and considered doing the wheels in blue, but all the old pictures I saw showed the wheels matched the lower color. So, that's the way we went. Thanks for the comments!

redoldsman

I agree with Tedd. I remember you and I discussing the blue or white wheels Rocket331. I did the wheels blue on the 54 and think they look great and am glad I did it. I know they are not correct but it is just a matter of preference. Man your Dad's car looks great and you got it done in a hurry. When is it going to come to Texas?

oldcutlass

It turned out beautiful, you make your daddy proud!!!

Rocket331

Some folks take years to restore a car. We put ours on the fast track and attempted to complete it in about 6 months. We had our issues along the way, most of which were rectified in reasonably short order. Dad logged a couple thousand miles this summer and entered the Olds in a few shows. He had plans to take the car back to Texas with him to show it off to all of his friends and neighbors. But, it wasn't to be. I feel bad.

Dad struck out for Texas this morning. I'm sure he was feeling frustrated, disappointed, and a little dejected as he took off for the first leg of his 1500 mile trip while the Olds sits in my garage here in Minnesota without the back glass.

The rear window has been the bane of this restoration. It's been in and out of the car four times using three different rubber channels and in one round, lots of sealant. None of the rubber fits right and every time, we end up with leaks. The first leaks were discovered when the newly upholstered rear seat, for which we waited 8 months for the correct material, was soaked and stained from water infiltration. The last go 'round, we tried a different brand of channel and it turned out to be the wrong one for the car. We have tried different combinations of sealants as denoted in the original shop manual and/or the rubber manufacturer's instructions, to no avail.

But, we'll forge ahead, receptive to any useful tips the lot of you may have to offer. I want to get this window issue resolved, so I can put the interior back together and personally deliver the car to Dad in the Rio Grande Valley within the next few weeks... The sooner the better, so we can all sleep at night.

Charlie Jones

Hi. very nice job on the "make-over" !
I'm doing the same with a 63 Dynamic 88 Holiday 2dr. There's a link at the bottom of the page.
I have a question, how do you get such nice big photos in your posts?
I'm not too computer saavy.
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...storation.html

Rocket331

In early December, I struck out on a 1523 mile journey from Minnesota to southern Texas, to deliver the Olds to my Dad. It was snowing when I awoke that morning. There was about two inches of heavy wet snow on the ground and it was still coming down. I checked the radar on TV and online, which showed a wide open spot in the system centered around I-35. I took that as a sign that I'd better get rolling.

With the Olds securely tucked into its enclosed trailer and all hooked up to go, I tossed some things in a duffle, kissed the bride goodbye and headed out. The first 40 miles were pretty nasty, but from there things went pretty well. I made it to Oklahoma on Day One. Day Two brought a dusting of snow to Oklahoma City and the Arbuckle Mountains. Traffic kept rolling until I came to the Arbuckle region where, along with hundreds of other motorists, I had to sit and wait for more than an hour while crews de-iced the highway and removed several trucks that weren't able to make it up the hills. Beyond that, it was pretty smooth sailing the rest of the way to the Rio Grande Valley.

It's never easy to tell if Dad is excited, but I think he was happy the car finally arrived. Over the next few days, we drove it to the cafe a couple times. Mostly, it sat parked in the driveway in front of the house. Friends, neighbors, and strangers stopped in and looked it over; impressed with what they saw. It felt pretty good.

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Unfortunately, I'm still employed back in Minnesota, so I headed home one very short week later. Back in Minnesota, I'm dreaming about next summer and getting the Olds back here for the show season again.

redoldsman

Car looks really great. What a trip you made. You had to be very nervous with that weather. If you or your Dad ever have the car anywhere close to Dallas, please let me know. We could do some nice photo ops. I have a friend in Denver that has the same car in a hardtop. The three of them lined up would be a sight to see. Hope you had a safe trip home.

Rocket331

I could scream! Doggone rear window still leaks. Soaked the back seat again. What a let down!

Olds Dad

Not sure if you've been down this path yet, but there are rubber drain tubes that direct the water from the rear window (and windshield too) to the rear quarter area (inside the rear side panels) and out to the ground. These windows all leak - always did - which is why they have a drain trough all around the rear package shelf area (indentation into the sheet metal) and it terminates with a rubber tube on both sides that drains the troughs. Mine were dry rotted and broken and causing a great deal of water problems...replaced them (all over ebay - suprisingly not in Fusick catalog) and all is well - water still gets in, but it goes out where it's supposed to.