dfree

Good news and bad news. The good news is the A/C system blows the coldest air ever...on my feet.

The bad news is I need to replace the vacuum system hoses and I'm stuck. How can I find out what other cars in the GM line shared ac systems. Reading the forums here, I found a reference to docrebuild.com. My system has a nine port vacuum switch behind the control head. 71-75 Corvette seems to have a similar system.

Another issue, my cutlass has removable T-tops. The ultraviolet from the sun has degraded the plastic running from door jam to roof. Where can I find replacement parts? Is there a particular dealer that specializes in older cars?

Thanks for any help. I have the original service manuals.

Dan

1978 Olds Cutlass Supreme Brougham
260 CID V-8
California Car

Oldsguy

My daily driver ('99 Buick) has a similar problem except the manifold is under the dash and behind the glove box area which makes it kind of a pain to get to. For a daily driver I live with cold feet. Welcome to CO.

Jamesbo

Welcome aboard

I'm gonna let the a/c experts chime in.

Lady72nRob71

If just replacing hoses, just do them one at a time to avoid getting them in the wrong places.
Did you find one of the vacuum servos to be bad, too?

Olds64

You say the plastic on your T-top roof is damaged. Do you mean the rubber weather stripping or the plastic part of the headliner? If you need weather stripping then you can get it from places like Soffseal and Steel Rubber.

If an interior plastic piece is bad then you will have to find a parts car or repair the piece you have (if possible).

dfree

Hello Olds64,

The T-Top is in pristine condition. There are plastic pillers inside which run from the carpet/door jamb up the side to the top under the roof. Pictures attached. They are disintegrating not sure I can fix them.

Lady72nRob71,

on the front right wheel well under the hood, there is a vacuum accumulator. It looks like Sputnik. Vacuum is active there. A small hose
runs through the firewall which connects to a plastic bundle going to the back of the control head. There is a nine port valve assembley which shifts the vacuum to open the air outlets. I've ordered a replacement from Rock Auto.

Thanks for the replys.

Dan

Oldsguy

I think you are going to have to find a donor car for those B pillar covers. You may even have to settle for a different color and try to dye/paint them to match. This is the one of the joys of owning an Oldsmobile, less aftermarket support than the mainstream brands.

Lady72nRob71

Looks like you need new ones for sure. Finding some used ones would be the only easy way. They do not need to be perfect though. If the plastic is just discolored with minimal scratches and gouging, then repainting/dying them will help a lot. Very good cleaning and an adhesion promoter will be needed.
I repainted some nasty seatbelt retactor covers and they came out almost new looking.

jeffreyalman

hi and welcome - look around the RF wheel for a tennis-ball sized black plastic sphere. It is a vac reservoir that has plastic vac lines attached that may be mistaken for white wires

there should be 2 of them attached to that ball

at least that was my problem with all the air on the floor

Olds64

Those plastic B pillar covers look pretty torn up.

I have lower B pillar covers made out of the same material in my 71 98 (they only go up the door since I have a hardtop). I was able to sand them and paint them with Krylon Fusion paint. It worked great!

Maybe you could get plastic covers from a Chevy Malibu or Monte Carlo...

dfree

Thanks Jeffreyalman,
I traced back from the vacuum canister, found the remains of the white vac lines broken and degraded just four or five inches from firewall. Not long enough to reach. Not enough space to repair. Service manual says I need to replace Electical Harness and Vacuum Grommet. Have no idea where to find this. Wish there was reference to turn names from service manual into part numbers!

Thanks for your help and photo.

Dan