Dean O' Banion

Hello, all!

As an introduction I enjoy most all things antique *especially* big old Oldsmobiles...the Ninety-Eight is my favorite car of all time. I'm set up to buy one pretty soon, a 1964 two-door with no rust and 40K miles. The one reservation I have is about the transmission...I've heard mixed reviews on the Slim-Jim, but the one on this car was rebuilt recently and drove fine when I test drove it, my dad also test drove and didn't percieve any problems, and the owner remarked on the smoothness of the ride as well. A couple of freinds have early '60s oldsmobiles with the same transmissions (and F85 equivalents) and none have ever had problems.

My verdict is that if the transmission is basically new and works well now and I take good care of it, I should be all set. However, if this transmission (even in good shape) is a severe reason not to buy a car, I may have to painfully reconsider. The car is going for 3200 and is all original, in good shape (with some good new parts like exhaust and carburetor and some hoses/brake lines), the engine runs great, and there is absolutely no rust at all. I'm pretty excited about the car of my dreams and I'm thinking I'll go for it, and any wise input on the subject would be appreciated.

In any case, I'm glad to be a part of the Olds community and look forward to learning a lot while I'm here and enjoying the company of like minds.

-Mack

Bluevista

Go get it.
The tranny should be okay, just rebuilt and sure sounds like you thoroughly checked it out and you even got other trans owner testimonies.
I wouldn't let it stop me from buying my dream car, they lasted a long time driven hard every day.
If there is some major inherent flaw I've never heard of it, plus somebody will correct me and let you know soon if there is.

The low miles, only 40K?, 2 door and rust free body is the part I like.
The Land Yacht Club eligibility is a bonus.

2blu442

Welcome to the site Mack

X2 on the go for it!

It sounds like a nice car at a good price. Even if you have to do some work to it down the road, like replace the transmission, your description sounds like it would still be a good deal. If the test drive felt good I wouldn't be afraid of it. My 2 cents! John

Dean O' Banion

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys! By the way, since you mentioned it, inclusion into the exclusive and hifalutin Land Yachts Club was always one of my motives! Just something about the ride in one of those big cars, unlike anything else...

delmontcrusier

welcome to the site.I know what you mean about big cars it was somthing else when i bought my 67 olds delmont the room in those older car beats the heck out of these new tin cans and they have style.I think you will have a great time with it.The guys (and gals) in here are great and quite helpful as you can tell we are a friendly bunch and that is always a plus

citcapp

I also am a fan of the big Oldsmobiles. Buy it and enjoy it thats my motto. Sounds like a fair price as well.

Oldsguy

Glad to have you with us Mack. Buy it!

jaunty75

Your concern about the transmission is unnecessary, as others have mentioned. There are a lot of Oldsmobiles of that era with this transmission on the road, and we're not hearing of an inordinate amount of problems with them. Based on your description of the car, it's probably valued at somewhere around $5000 to $7000, so at $3200, it's a steal. But buy it before somebody else does, and then don't even THINK about logging back on here again until you're ready to post pictures!

66ninetyeightls

Go buy it. The more people we can get driving land yachts the more likely the parts manufacturers are to start producing parts for these things.

delmontcrusier

lol rite that would be nice as parts are fun to find now

Dean O' Banion

Sorry to post right away without pucs...but I got the car today! I'm loving it! The 394 with Dual flowmasters just sounds outta this world. It's a good solid car, I'm gonna replace the brake booster before I start driving, other than that I'm all set. The extreme power steering is one of my favorite parts, "steer with a finger" as they say...It's got some dings and dents and little interior imperfections, but that just shows the car's history in my eyes. After all, I'm a senior in high school and I have to say buying a good car with all my own money that I saved up feels really good, unlike those spoiled punks who I go to school with who get 15-50K dollar cars for free from their parents just for getting a license...
I talked the guy down from 3200 to an even 3K and its in my driveway right now. I think it looks really sharp, with the two doors, red interior and whitewalls, also the previous owner put in blue dots on the little metal ring light in the tail-light assembly, the way they go in looks almost factory, and I love that really cool purple glow they give off. I'm also gonna figure out that autotronic eye thing, because it would be nice for my high-beams to dim themselves.
Sorry to get you guys worked up and not show pics, but I'll take some tomorrow.
So about this land-yachts club...how does the initiation thing work?
-Mack

delmontcrusier

lol well you have the car right so in the technical you are alreaddy in.Though olds64 is our resident land yacht club preshe will be the initator.

jaunty75

Oh, I don't know about that! I heard that there's a LENGTHY application to be filled out requiring multiple references and extensive documentation of your experience in driving vehicles so wide that they spill over into the adjacent lane and so long that they require someone in back to steer the rear wheels.

This was a common thing to do back in the '50s to spice up the look of the car. The entire taillight would look purple. (I'm not sure they were legal in every state.)

Check this out:

http://www.marketworks.com/StoreFron...624&i=98393396

Jamesbo

Welcome aboard

Post some pics when ya get a chance.

Olds64

Welcome to the site. We look forward to seeing pictures. You mentioned that your Olds has dual flow masters, does it have a dual exhaust manifold on the driver's side? If so then that is quite a find. I've only seen one 1964 Oldsmobile 394 with a driver's side dual exhaust manifold and this was many years ago. They are quite hard to find.

citcapp

Congrats on your first car bought with your own money. That alone should make you proud and buying an Olds is a bonus. Lets see those pictures

Dean O' Banion

Oh, great, I'm already filling out college apps and now I've got this on my plate... My grandparents had a 1972 Newport, maybe they could be my sponsor for the land yacht club!

Dean O' Banion

Okay, here's a link for some pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/DeanOBan...eat=directlink

I don't know about the manifold. It's too dark to check now, but I'll look at it later, it would be cool if I had the rare one! All I know is that the car sounds awesome.
I'm also trying to post a youtube video of the car running, but I'm having a hard time.

66ninetyeightls

Looks pretty good. Now its time to enjoy it. I have had mine for a month & a half & only driven it once. I still am having a great time working on it though.

Dean O' Banion

Okay:
Go to youtube and just type in "herbalpertandthetjb" just like that, no spaces or caps. One or two videos will show up, my video is the one about the Olds 98 naturally. Apart from hearing the engine you can also see the glow from my blue dots (I know, I have a back-up lamp out).

Dean O' Banion

Oh yeah, I forgot...I wanna put a continental tire kit on this baby. Anybody know how much it costs/where I can get one/how difficult the project is?

Dean O' Banion

Yeah, everything's good but I'm gonna put a new booster on before I do any road driving, then my only problem will be gas money! I'll be enjoying it alright...

grandma'sH/O

Enjoyed the youtube vid. Flowmasters sound nice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7I2Vqv0lmw

Olds64

We have a few members with continental kits on their Olds.

citcapp

Conney kits are cool. You'll have to browse the net to find manufactures.

jaunty75

But that's not the American way!!! You have to buy things with SOMEONE ELSE'S money!!! This kid's education has obviously failed him!!!

wolfman98

glad to see such a young Olds 98 enthusiast , hopefully you will stay one for a long time to come. I have a continental kit on my 69 convertible but no good pic of it yet. there are a few different ones you can get depending on how much money and work you want to do. There are some that give you the look but don't store a tire and they are cheaper and easier to put on , it's all in what you want.

1ATony

Welcome to the site.I'd go for it.

Dean O' Banion

Wolfman, at this rate, I will be an olds 98 fan for a long time to come! I love the car so much I just sit in it and listen to it idle for a little while, which has me chomping at the bit to fix the booster and start driving!
Also, Jaunty forgot to mention the other part of the "American way" these days...not only buying cars with other people's money, but also buying plastic "ricer" Asian cars so we can give Korea and Japan more of our money...
The place I was going to buy a booster from (165 bucks) doens't have them anymore, so I found a place that will rebuild one for 145 bucks, which is doable for me, I have some money left over. It looks like he does a nice job, check him out at www.brakeboosters.com.
I will probably go this way, because it would be nice to have a really good booster that I never have to worry about again. However, if there's a better deal somewhere else, I'd appreciate if someone would let me know. Also, while I like to fiddle with mechanics as far as tune-up/engine stuff goes, I think I'll have my mechanic replace the booster, I would hate to mess up and find my mistake the hard way on the street some day.
A friend mentioned a junkyard for boosters, but since the rest of the brake system is so nice (new lines) it would be a shame to put a 2nd rate booster on.

Olds64

Did you check Kanter, Fusicks, and RockAuto for your brake booster? They are good sources for parts. If you can tune a car and turn a wrench you should be able to replace a brake booster.

jaunty75

Yeah, but isn't it kind of, if it doesn't store a tire, what's the point?

I mean, aren't they called "continental" kits because they mimic the look first offered by the Lincoln Continental many years ago, with the elongated bumper to hold the spare tire? Both stylish AND functional?

citcapp

The fake conney kits look like s*%t. Real on nothing is the way to go. Your car is great looking, with or without it's still cool

Olds64

I wouldn't want to put a fake continental kit on my car. I might put one on my car if I owned a late 50s Olds.

wolfman98

That is a good point but this is one "option" that was offered to someone who may not want to spend a lot of money and be able to install it himself easier. I would rather have a functional continental kit but the cost is something that I can't afford right now. To make room for the "real" kit don't most bumpers have to be extended? I have not looked into it very much so I am not sure of everything out there. Any good sites to find some of these kits that may strap on. I know that one of the problems I have is the gas filler being in the rear of the car.

Dean O' Banion

Thanks for all the kind words! As for the exhaust manifold...
I don't know, I'm not an expert (yet) so how can I tell? What do I look for? That would be cool if I have the rare one!
Anyway, I finally got the brake booster off (NOT a fun job, at 6 foot 185 pounds I don't fit under the dash well) and sent it out to be rebuilt.
In the meantime, I would like to find a nice cover for the front seat. The back seat is fine, but the front is looking a little ragged. I would like to find a factory-type cover for it with the pleats and stuff so it'll look original.
Does anybody know where I can get one?

Olds64

You can check for the driver's side dual exhaust manifold by just looking at the exhaust manifold. It either exits down and has a cross over tube that goes under the engine to the passenger's side manifold or it exits back and goes along the driver's side of the car to exit at the bumper. Essentially it is the difference between "true" dual exhaust or "branching" the duals at the tailshaft of the transmission.

As far as seat covers go... if you want OEM fabric then you will have to buy the fabric from SMS and have an interior shop stich you new seat covers. This will be very expensive! If you don't care about originality you could buy from Kanter or this company:

http://www.automotiveinteriors.com/

I've never ordered from Auto Interiors before but nearly did. They have numerous products, decent prices and multiple colors and patterns. I spoke with one of their associates many times and almost bought a set of seat covers. Instead I had a local shop do my interior in broadcloth and tweed. I was impressed with the work I had done. It cost me about $1100 for the local shop to do my front and back seats, package tray, and all 4 door panels. The Auto Interiors would be cheaper but might not fight "tightly" without some modification or stuffing.

Dean O' Banion

Thanks for the link.
I'll have to check more closely, but it seems to me like the driver's side exhaust and the passenger's side exhaust manifolds both end in their own separate pipes and both go straight back to their own sides of the bumper.
I looked at a 1963 98 with the 394 a while ago and it had the single exhaust with the crossover pipe, so I guess mine is true dual exhaust.

Dean O' Banion

There's something else I'm wondering about...I always heard the early 60's hydramatics were three speeds, but reading my 1963 Oldsmobile Shop Book tells me it's a four speed. What's the deal? My car is a '64, did they change to three speed in 1964, or do I have a four speed?

rougebeats

That would depend on who you ask. I say its a 3 spd, but technically it is a 4 spd. I have the slim jim in my 64 dynamic 88 convertible and it shifts great. Dont be concerned by a harder shift from 1-2, that is pretty normal from my research. I havent put a lot of miles on my car, but it is consistant every time I drive it. Great car you got there!
p.s- Keep your car real, dont put a fakey conti kit on it.
jus my $0.02

Dean O' Banion

Thanks for clearing that up!