Garbled

I just wanted to drop in and say hi to everyone. I am the proud new owner of a "restomodded" 1968 Cutlass. It may or may not be a real 442, but that is a discussion for a later post. Pics attached.

She is a class winner at the 1/4 mile, so the engine compartment is a million miles from stock. Having no A/C in Texas really sucks!

I had a 1971 Cutlass S when I was in high school, and it seems to have gotten into my blood. When I saw her, I couldn't resist.

I have been reading the posts and we seem to have a bunch of very knowledgeable people around here. I look forward to learning a lot about Oldsmobiles from you folks.

2blu442

Congrats on the new toy and welcome to the site! Good looking car, are you new to Oldsmobiles? John

citcapp

Looking foward to more pictures, the story about how you found her (assuming its a she) and the spec's of the engine and running gear. We are just a tad nosey, hope you don't mind

Aron Nance

Hey, Garbled, glad to have you with us on CO! I'm sorta' partial to those '68's, for some reason! Where are you located in Texas? Lots of Oldsmobile Clubs scattered around the Great State. When you are on site, and have some time, go to "Announcements", then scroll down to "2009 Texas Zone Show" for information on our October 16-18 judged Zone Show at the Marriott north of Ft Worth. Also, click on "Car Corral for State Fair of Texas" for information of our annual Olds Club display there on September 16th, all day. Once again, WELCOME! Just curious. I haven't heard the term "garbled" since I was in the USAF in 1960-64, and I was a teletype/crypto repairman (36350) in Karmuersel, Turkey, and incoming transmission's would not be readable (but that's another whole different story).
Aron

Jamesbo

Welcome aboard

Post your vin and more pics pronto

Oldsguy

Welcome to CO, very nice looking car.

Garbled

Ask and you shall receive... more pictures!

History as I know it:

I found the car on Cars.com. It was located in the showroom of Furlong GM in Northfield, Minnesota (picture of it in the showroom attached). They had owned the car for 2 years (along with the convertible in the background which they sold for $40K) and the owner of the dealership would come around once ever few weeks and take it for a spin.

The engine is reported to be 480 horsepower and has 1000 miles on it, hard ones I am sure, as I found the previous owners racing slips (and his business card) in the center console. I will be giving him a call soon with lots of questions. Fill her up with 105 octane and she will run a 13.9 second quarter mile. Will running 93 octane cause any problems?

In the trunk I found a big cardboard display covered in pictures of the original car, the restoration, and the final result. The car was originally Ivory? with an Ivy Gold? interior. I will scan and post that picture tomorrow.

The engine is not numbers matching, per the dealership, and I haven't checked out any of the other tags on the vehicle yet. I will be contacting the engine builder to get any information he has on the motor.

It has a turbo 350 3 speed automatic transmission with a B&M slap shifter. 2800 RPM stall converter is installed as well.

There are a few problems with her, but nothing major, yet:
- Small oil leak, seems to be the front of the driver's side valve cover, hopefully an easy fix.
- Minor paint issues (rock chips from rear tires and on front edge of hood)
- Two small cracks in the hood at the front corners of the hood grills.
- A few minor dings here and there, but that is to be expected, when it sat in a showroom for two years with a million people touching it. From 10 feet she looks great, from 5 feet pretty good, any closer and the defects become noticeable.
- Drivers door interior handle has excessive travel to open the door, but that should be another easy fix.
- Windshield wiper **** just "spins" on the post. Seems to be missing a little metal clip or something.
- Dash chrome stripes are worn off.
- I am not a fan of the grey non-stock cloth and vinyl interior and center console with aftermarket racing gauges, but it is all in real good shape. Long term I hope to install an all black stock interior.
- Air conditioning system was removed and blower fan dosen't work, or may not even exist. I really want to put A/C back in it, being in Texas.

The car was an original A/C car, as the hood has the real vented 3rd grill, the A/C controls on the interior, and the opening in the firewall for the A/C unit to mount. The hole is covered with a red painted plate bearing the name of the company that built the engine, S & S Racing

All I have done, as of yet, is wash the car and vacuum out the interior, and drive it around. I have only had it a few weeks.

The VIN is 34477 8Z120670

Any tips you guys have for discovering more info on the car or fixing the problems is greatly appreciated.

gearheads78

Welcome...you need to make sure you make it to the zone show mentioned above. I am pretty close to Allen so I am sure we will bump in to each other if you get you car out and about.

PS looks like a nice car

68Tom

Hey, welcome Garbled. Nice to see another '68 on the boards. We're collecting quite a few here as of late. And it's a Sports Coupe as well. Very cool. Don't mess with the aluminum trim around the door window frames. It's impossible to find. Trust me, I've been looking....

Seeing as I've been restoring a '68 for the last year, let's see if I can help here.

It all depends on the engine compression. If it's above 10.5 to 1, you might have some issues.

Check the trim tag on the firewall. If it was a Willow Gold interior, it should 734 (buckets) or 744 (bench) in the TR#. I think this is correct--hopefuly someone with a trim tag book can confirm. As for the exterior paint, if it was an all ivory car, the trim code will be T T, for upper and lower ivory paint.

The Parts Place (www.thepartsplaceinc.com ) now reproduces the '68 windshield wiper **** and headlight ****.

If you want to fix it properly, you'll have to remove the dash and sent it out to be plastic chromed. However, I found that the Dupont Chrome Pen that you can get at a paint supply store works quite well. Just be careful when using it. You can make a mess really quickly.

As I stated above, you can check your trim tag to find what was originally you car--bench or bucket.

Here's some '68 buckets on eBay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1968-...Q5fAccessories

I have a '68 bench seat if you're interested.

Also, most anything you'll find will most likely need to be reupholstered. If so, definitely go with Legendary Auto Interiors (http://www.legendaryautointeriors.com/ ). The PUI interiors (what most every other place sells) is not a very good reproduction. Legendary often runs 10-25% off sales, so if you keep your eye out, you'll get a very good deal.

These are the original brackets and compressor you need for your car.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Here's an evap box. Any 68-72 GM A-body evaporator and box will work.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/68-69...Q5fAccessories

After that, you'll need your hoses (you can get the on eBay or through The Parts Place (not cheap--over $300 for all 3). Then, if you don't have it still, you'll need your dash A/C ducting. Hopefully it's still in the car, as it's not easy to find.

All in all, I primarily used The Parts Place and Fusick for repro parts. Ron's Classic Cutlass is an incredible source for parts. He knows a ton about our cars, and usually has what you need.

Anyway, hope this helps a bit.

Tom

68Tom

One edit above: your trim code on the cowl (not firewall) tag should be 944 (not 744) if the car had a willow gold interior. Also, you could only get willow gold with strato bucket seats. No bench.

Garbled

Wow 68Tom! Thanks for all the good info!

Edit: I am bookmarking this post for significant future reference!

Garbled

Here are the pictures that were on the board I found in the trunk. I don't have a color scanner, so I snapped pics of them with the camera, hence the lil red dot on them.

I feel like an archaeologist digging in to the past of this car.

I heard that there was a program with GM where I could send in my VIN number and for $50 they would provide me copies of the records they have on my car. Is this true?

68Tom

You can do this for a Pontiac (PHS) or if you have a Canadian Chevrolet. No such services exist for Oldsmobile, sadly. Seeing as your original interior is gone, the best you can hope for in finding a build sheet is on top of your gas tank. However, I think most of us here can attest that more often than not, there wasn't one placed there.

So, basically, unless you can locate the original owner of the car, chances are, you're at the end of your limit in research.

The fact you have photos of how it looked originally is good, however.

Oh, I also have an original rear seat, if you need one. Ironically, it's the original color of your car's interior.

You might be able to pick this console up for cheap, as well.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/autom...Q5fAccessories

olds442111

Seems like its a real 442 to me

Garbled

Do you know anything about this place? Sounds like they may be helpful?

The Oldsmobile History Center has been relocated from its location in Lansing, Michigan to a new and larger facility in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
All GM Division History Centers will be relocated to this one location and identified as the GM Heritage Center. This consolidation will provide more uniform and informative information to enthusiasts interested in researching all GM Division products.

http://www.oldsclub.org/histcntr.htm

68Tom

nope
http://www.gm.com/corporate/about/he...hive/index.jsp

jturkey69

I personally love the interior that is in it now, as its nice and mild, no uncomfortable racing seats, and flows very well. I would love to know more info on the seats, if the rears are matching and stock recover, or from a different car all together. The console is also done very tastefully, it also could have been worse. I have a 71 S, and we are going to make a nice driver with a few updates in the interior, brakes, exterior dept.

Garbled

The rear seats match the front apolstery, but whether the 3 seats are factory original and just recovered, I do not know. The front seats have buttons that push in to lean them forward, if that helps.

Lots of houndstooth cloth where factory door panels, pillar covers, arm rests, and seat backs should be. I attached some more photos for you to see.

Garbled

That is not good news! I have a missing pillar trim.

I have never seen a piece of it for sale, but I have only been looking for a couple months.

jturkey69

wow, very nicely done without going over the top..I love it!.