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Just bought (well, still in the process - no pics yet) this car and it's gonna need some work. Had a 68 442 when I was in high school 30 some years ago, but then life happened, and I haven't had a project car since. Back then, I knew everything about cars. Of course, I knew everything about everything back then too, or so I thought... So now I'm looking forward to remembering what I thought I knew then, and catching up on some of the stuff I missed in the last 30 years.
Just bought (well, still in the process - no pics yet) this car and it's gonna need some work.
Welcome. The 65-70 full size cars are not well supported by the aftermarket as they are not popular to restore. Even some normal replacement mechanical parts (brake drums, suspension and steering parts, even the unique wheel-driven speedo cable) are nearly unavailable. Be wary of a car that may "need some work" - understand what is and isn't readily available. In some cases you may need to search for a long time to find replacement parts. This is not to discourage you, but make this purchase with your eyes open and be fully informed. Contrary to popular belief, most Impala parts DO NOT work on these cars.
Thanks for the welcome. Picked it up yesterday and managed to drive it about 15 miles to home. My son has never been into cars, but he loved this one when he saw it. Enough that he offered to clean out the garage so we can work on it. Gotta love it!
Yeah, it looks better in the pics than it does in real life... But it runs (needs a good tune) and has a nice ride - steering is good, brakes are nice and even, if a bit weak - all the lights work, top mechanism works well (needs new fabric tho).
Anyone have experience adding rear seatbelts on one of these? I was hoping they were just lost under the seat, but it looks like it never had them. I doubt my wife will let the kids ride in it without them...
You shouldn't add a seat belt by just drilling a hole and fastening the belt to the floor. The floor or pillar may not be strong enough to support the stress of a seat belt during a collision. You can add gussets to overcome this though. I'm not sure if Olds offered optional rear belts in 68, if so there may be factory mounting points already in the floor.
I'm not sure if Olds offered optional rear belts in 68, if so there may be factory mounting points already in the floor.
Rear seat belts (three of them) were standard equipment on the '68 Delmont 88. If they're not there now, they've been removed, but the mounting points are likely still there as those can't be removed without cutting them out of the floor, and why would anyone do that. My guess is that the OP just has to buy some new belts and install them with correct-size seat belt bolts.
I haven't done business with either of these places but I did buy some lap belts from Auto Loc to replace the ones in the front of my 71 98. They're worthless.
I thought you could get OE ones from Fusick or Kanter, but I guess not...
So now I'm looking forward to remembering what I thought I knew then, and catching up on some of the stuff I missed in the last 30 years.
