Daiv8or

Hi folks!

I'm not new to car forums at all, so I get it. Use the search function!! However, I did as a nonmember and so I have now joined. Not all the answers are there.

I am now seriously considering buying my ideal car for my later years and situation. I have lusted for a '62 Olds F85 convertible for YEARS! Recently, one has come up for sale with a 4 SPEED and I feel like I need to act now and not wait until I am ready to buy another car.

Of course, I have questions as part of my due diligence.

I am by no means new to vintage cars and have owned and restored many in earlier years. My daily drivers for about a decade were made in the '50s or '60s, so I get all the pitfalls an problems with owning a piece of history. I do all my own work and have been wrenching since I was about 7. However for the last few decades I have been all about airplanes and not as much vintage cars. I still love my plane, but I need to reconnect with my vintage wheels obsession.

I hope to learn a lot and maybe even contribute and give back.

Dave

1969w3155

Welcome aboard. if you buy the '62, post pics.

joe_padavano

Welcome. Be aware that the 61-63 cars have limited popularity and thus limited support in terms of reproduction and replacement parts. You aren't going to be able to order much from catalogs.

oldcutlass

Welcome to the site, good luck in your quest.

Daiv8or

I figured as much. The car I'm looking at is nearly 100% complete and doesn't need much. It's not a restoration project. Having said that, how hard is it to get all the mechanical parts and things I will need to keep it running? Is rebuilding the engine, or transmission a big issue? I've been down this road before in the past. Some of my oddball daily drivers were a '53 ***** Aero Ace, '59 AMC Metropolitan, '62 Dodge Lancer 770, '72 Honda NA600 and not so much a daily driver, but also a '47 Crosley CC sedan. I expect ownership of the Olds to be more like the ******, where mechanical parts are available, but that's about it. I've also had the experience of more "main stream" vintage cars with lots of repo parts and support. I don't expect that here. I am hoping that mechanicals aren't too tough.

Judging by the pictures, if I do buy the car, I will be looking for the factory radio, the jack and all the parts included in the jacking kit as they seem to be missing.

2blu442

As you can see under his signature line, Joe has a couple 1962's. Another member who has a lot of experience with these is jensenracing77 If you haven't found this thread you might enjoy reading through it.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ration-123432/

And this one:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...rebuild-44999/

Daiv8or

Thanks so much for the links! I had not seen those. I did read through somebody's restoration of a '63 Jetfire and that was pretty epic. The '62 4 speed thread finally showed me what I was looking for, a picture of the shift lever in a '62. The good news is, it looks as though the shifter in the '62 I'm looking at is correct! Yea!

don71

Welcome to the site! Hope you find what you're looking for. I for one, wouldn't mind seeing photos of your other cars and even the airplanes.

Cutlass Fan

What engine does the F85 have, is it the 215 aluminum v8?

Daiv8or

Yes and that's exactly what I want. I do wish it were the 185 HP Cutlass version and I suspect it is the 155 HP version, but that can be rectified if necessary.

Cutlass Fan

Most parts (both stock and performance) for the engine should be available, since the basic engine was used by Land rover for years. I can remember lusting over the 62 f85 v8 4speed when they came out, and I was only 12 lol.