Thankyou for making this forum available.

I am slowly getting this car up and running.

So looking forward to any help and advice.

So far I have:
sourced and installed a water pump, changed all the window rubbers, mitigated the minor rust areas, sourced headlight rims - took forever, installed the rear bumperettes that I am sure are not stock, installed the gas tank, replenished the oil in the front and rear suspension, installed radiator hoses, had the grille welded and I polished before getting it and the door handles rechromed, had the wheel cylinders rebuilt, installed new brake hoses and started the 12 volt conversion.

 

Welcome.
Be forewarned we like pictures here.
My specific expertise doesn't go back quite that far but cumulatively there has to be at least 10,000 years of combined automotive knowledge here so ask away, and did I mention pictures?

 

Welcome !

 

Welcome aboard, did someone say we needed pictures yet..... Lost in the fifties ..Tedd

 

Ok. I’m not convinced iPads are good for this...let me do a test

This is the water pump I got from the states. I had to make the backing plate and gasket.

 

OK . That worked so here are photos when I first bought the car.

 

I take it that you 're in Australia .
Looks like a Holden body .

 

Correct Charlie,

Officially a “Holden’s Olds 6 Coupe” looks like it was number 169 off the production line.

Wood body frame with the big hole in the roof!!

 

Welcome to the site and very cool project. Thanks for sharing pictures.

 

I have a F35 Sports Coupe I restored 40 years ago. I do most of my own work and have a lot of experience with this year. If you have any questions I maybe able to help. I left mine 6 volts and it has never been a problem. Some people run 8 volt batteries so the starter will crank faster, I don't know if this has any adverse effect on any other components. I personally don't see any advantage in switching it to 12 volts, just my personal opinion.

 

Very cool!

 

X2 here .
Switching a collector car over to 12 volts creates more problems than it solves .
Do you operate the car in sub zero weather ?

 

Thanks for the offer, much appreciated.

There are plenty of threads already in the universe about 6v and 12v.

 

Thanks for the offer, much appreciated.

 

Yes many opinions about 6v and 12v.

 

Welcome to the forums! I love the car and the effort you must be putting into it! I am really, really warming up to the '30s cars. A dangerous and slippery slope, but they are just so damn classy and elegant.

 

Certainly I am not suggesting it but that thing would make one heck of a street rod. It would need to be Olds powered of course.

 

Hmmm, I live in the street rod capital of Australia, so it wouldn’t take much.

I have a disc brake front end that fits very, very well.

 

I love the looks of that car, Welcome!

 

Then I say, buck the trend, really stand out at the car show and go all original, back to factory.

 

It is your car so do what pleases you. The more I look at it the more convinced I am as to what I would do. Those suicide doors are awesome.

 

Do you have any pictures from the back? I am curious what it looks like with the side view the fender looks like it goes past the back of the body. Stock or rodded its a head turner.


it

 

Ignore the stance, the car is on stands and the wheel not fitted and the boot \ trunk is not fully closed.

Tis is the rear side view. Is the what you were asking about? The rear window opens.

Des

 

Like the two piece bumper for trunk access.

 

I did some image searching last night for the rear end shot like this one for a '35 and couldn't find any. This body type is unique to Australian production so there aren't a lot left I suspect. Most I did find that were at least Oldsmobiles (Chevrolet was offered as a Sloper too) were modified. '35 was only the second year of production of Olds bodies in Australia, so sales were still ramping up I imagine. It would seem that an all original restored '35 Olds Sloper like this would be pretty unique and be of historical interest. I recall correctly, Australian production of Oldsmobiles ended in '39 and after that the whole car was imported as a knock down kit, so largely the same as the cars in the states.

 

Hey Des,
welcome to the forum. Sounds like we may not be that far apart- I'm guessing you must be in the Castlemaine area (I'm in Melbourne). I'm going to take a good guess here but I think I sighted your '35 north of Brisbane in a collection about 30 years ago it was in great condition then with another '36 Sloper nearby. I'm restoring a '35 Olds F.35 Holden Body Roadster myself so would be good to catch up some time. Can probably help with a lot of detail on the Slopers having collected Aussie Olds literature for 45+ years. You'll also find a bit of info here at a site my brother & I run on Aussie Olds stuff http://www.oldsmobileinaustralia.info/35hist.html
Touch base anytime if I can help at all. Cheers Rohan Russell

 

There you go! The greatest value of an enthusiast site like this is information and connections. Well done.

This is such a unique and lovely body style that I hope that if I ever get down to Australia I can seek out and see one in person.

 

Daiv8or we'd welcome any Olds enthusiast for a ride in Aus if you made it here. The steering wheel might be on the other side but you'll get use to it. The Olds Club National Meet here is coming up in April so thats always a good event to get to. This link will take you to some on my pics from the last few.
​​​​​​ ​​​​​​

 

Nice meet! Lots of good looking cars. Love the Slopers. I have driven a fair bit on the left side in both RHD and LHD cars. I adjust pretty easily. The only weirdness was the RHD car with a manual shift I had in England. That took a bit of training my left arm for that duty.

 

I am not sure the bumperettes are correct for this model.

All rear photos I have seen for F35 show a single rear bar across the back.

But there are also differences with tail lights. Mine has a single and the US models have two.

So not sure what the variations are for the Australian models at production or what has changed on the car subsequently.

 

Thanks for reaching out Russell - I would really like to catch up and you guessed the residence correctly.

Looking at that photo I reckon you are correct about that being the car I have. The service sticker on the drivers vent window is the give away and I bought it from Brisbane, Queensland.

I assume that is the Australian brochure. If so it confirms my suspicion that my twin rear bumpers are not stock.

When the car was for sale, there were two vehicles in the garage. I got the bumperettes but no brackets.

Can you let me know the best way to get in touch and thanks again for your valuable information.

Des

 

On US Oldsmobiles the left side tail light was standard equipment, the right side was an option. The six cylinder model tail light was painted, the eight cylinder was chrome with a reflector in the tail light lens, while the six cylinder lens was plain. Most of the 6 cylinder guys have put 8 cylinder tail lights on their cars because of the better look.

 

F35 rear brake / tail/ number plate light on drivers side for Australian car

I assume this is the stock rear light set up for the Australian F35. Single drivers side only.. You can see the remnants of what I believe is and Oldsmobile metal badge name between the light and the number plate.

 

In the US that is a 35 Pontiac possibly other years tail light. It is flipped over on the US Pontiacs. They have become very hard to find because of the unique shape.

 

Hi Des,
I’ll send you a PM with my contact details shortly and we can’t arrange a chat.
You are correct about the bumperette’s these aren’t correct for your car (they were introduced in ‘36 in Australia. The ‘35 uses a single bar like on the front. The tail light is the same as other Aussie ‘35s (which is actually an American ‘35 Pontiac tail lamp). Won’t surprise me if there has been a mix up of parts with the ‘35 & ‘36 Slopers that were together after they were initially sold and then partially pulled apart. This is my baby that is 1/2 done . Cheers Rohan

 

Thanks Rohan

I sent you a PM.

I have seen that photo elsewhere - must be on google searches.

 

Yes, that photo does appear in most Google searches. I've got it on my Flickr photo group and it gets picked up there. It has progressed a lot but I've been off the project for a few years but about to get back into it again next year. Got your PM and will touch base on the weekend if your around.

 

Hi Des,
That 35 Sloper originally belonged to my Grandfather and its nice to see it has found a good home.
Originally the car had a single piece rear bumper.
Happy to chat further if you want to know anything about it.

Looking forward to seeing its restoration progress.

Cheers

 

Wow, that’s great. I can see a few things from the photos - the cracked passenger vent window and the non working passenger wiper. I am getting a 3D print done for the wiper bezel this week. Those photos are obviously taken before it went into storage - no patina.
Yes the car has the 36 rear bumper - not original, It was incorrectly advertised as a 36. I have tried to find a rear bar and irons with no luck. There were 2 cars sold out of one shed and I am hoping to track down the other buyer to see if they have the 35 rear bar.
I know it is a Queensland built car and there is a service sticker on the vent window but it is damaged. It must be from a red dirt area - I often get fine dust in my eyes when working under the car.
I would like to know more about it. I was told there was a lady owner and it was traded in and bought by 2 brothers who collected cars. The original paint was maroon.
The good news is that it is running and everything works.
Thanks very much for contacting me,
Des

 

The 2 brothers who bought the car were my Grandfather and my Great Uncle, they bought it off the original owner.

Those photos were taken back in about 2008 just before it went off to one of my relatives. The 36 you mention it being sold with was also my Grandfathers and unfortunately the relative that got them both was more interested in money so they were pulled apart and sold.

My Grandfather purchased the car off the son of the original owner in the late 70s. At that stage it had been repainted the cream colour. The 36 is still in Qld and is fully restored. I have spoke with the man who restored it and I know he got a lot of 35 parts with his car.

I'll send you a PM tomorrow with some more information about the car and some details regarding the 36.

This was the last time I saw the 2 cars together