Fisrt Olds....1960
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2
Fisrt Olds....1960
Hey all, glad to have found this forum! I recently (last Sunday) picked up my first Oldsmobile I've ever owned, a 1960 Ninety-Eight SportSedan. It's pretty rough, but I got a good deal on it, or at least I think so
. I traded my beat up, but still daily driver, 1961 VW Bug for it, straight across! It has the 394, 4v Rochester, the PO said the trans was rebuilt before it was parked (12 years ago) but he parked it because it would shift out of low gear... Only major bummer is that there was a major rat infestation at some point, and the afermath runs pretty deep. I have already found an under-dash to rear wiring harness from an 88 4dr HT to replace it with, and that should be fine for now since the windows and seat are the only two ciruits that werent effected (lucky or what?) This last week has mostly been spent cleaning it out, of cousre taking all the propper safety precautions when dealing with mice, or as close as I can anyways
... A friend of mine is rebuilding the carb for me, and this weekend I'll be dropping and cleaning the gas tank, running new fuel line, all that noise. I also got some pretty nice white walls for cheap, swapped to 15" wheels, and painted them Garnet red to match the roof. Only bad rust on the car is the rear floors, and a few bubbles on the rockers... My immediate plan is to clean it up real good, get it running nice, throw some covers on the seats, buff out that old lacquer and use it for my daily driver!
olds2.jpg
olds1.jpg
. I traded my beat up, but still daily driver, 1961 VW Bug for it, straight across! It has the 394, 4v Rochester, the PO said the trans was rebuilt before it was parked (12 years ago) but he parked it because it would shift out of low gear... Only major bummer is that there was a major rat infestation at some point, and the afermath runs pretty deep. I have already found an under-dash to rear wiring harness from an 88 4dr HT to replace it with, and that should be fine for now since the windows and seat are the only two ciruits that werent effected (lucky or what?) This last week has mostly been spent cleaning it out, of cousre taking all the propper safety precautions when dealing with mice, or as close as I can anyways... A friend of mine is rebuilding the carb for me, and this weekend I'll be dropping and cleaning the gas tank, running new fuel line, all that noise. I also got some pretty nice white walls for cheap, swapped to 15" wheels, and painted them Garnet red to match the roof. Only bad rust on the car is the rear floors, and a few bubbles on the rockers... My immediate plan is to clean it up real good, get it running nice, throw some covers on the seats, buff out that old lacquer and use it for my daily driver! olds2.jpg
olds1.jpg
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 7,743
From: Forest Ranch Ca.
Looks good to me but before you dump any big money on look good stuff get that transmission checked out! Slim Jims are a problematic transmission at best and are expensive and hard to find anyone to work on them. I personally have a bad taste in my mouth when the word Slim Jim comes up and it sounds like yours may have already been messed up in it's previous life.That transmission is probably the only reason I haven't bought a 63 holiday that I've always wanted again... Sorry I didn't mean to rain on your parade, just a warning from someone who has been there done that.....Lost in the fifties ...Tedd
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,142
Looks good to me but before you dump any big money on look good stuff get that transmission checked out! Slim Jims are a problematic transmission at best and are expensive and hard to find anyone to work on them. I personally have a bad taste in my mouth when the word Slim Jim comes up and it sounds like yours may have already been messed up in it's previous life.
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 18,195
From: Edmond, OK
I wasn't sure if the Slim Jim was available in 60. I had one in my 64 98. They are a POS transmission. It would still be a good idea to have the transmission in your car checked, especially if the previous owner had to have it rebuilt. Welcome to the site.
Moderator
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 18,195
From: Edmond, OK
Gene may be correct. The Slim Jim in my 64 98 had a manual throttle valve connecting the carburetor and the transmission. The setting is CRITICAL. I don't know if they used a similar manual throttle valve in 60 though.
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