442dreamer

Hello, I've been a fan of all things 442 for quite some time now. For the longest time I liked Chevelles and Camaro's, but with the help of my dad who owned a 65 442 convertible, I have matured into an Oldsmobile man!
So I've been looking for a solid restoration car, a 1972 Cutlass S, for quite some time now and I think I finally have found one. The only thing keeping it off the road is something with the driveshaft (I'm not sure what it is, the mechanic who I talked to about it was kinda confusing me, it's something with the u-joints). So here's my question....we have my great-grandfather's 1970 Olds 98 sitting in our backyard with a perfectly good driveshaft, is it possible to simply transplant this onto the 72 cutlass? Would they line up? I'm a novice at all this and from looking around the forums I see there's some pretty knowledgeable folks around. So any help would be greatly appreciated!

cutlassgal

Welcome to our site! Some of the knowledgable guys will chime in eventually and answer your question!

joe_padavano

Not even close. There's probably a foot difference in length. Your driveshaft is simply a steel tube with universal joints at the ends. The U-joints are easily replaceable. The only other potential problem is that the automatic cars used a driveshaft made of two concentric tubes with rubber between them to absorb shock during shifts. Sometimes the rubber deteriorates. At worst, a driveshaft shop can make up a one-piece replacement, but my money is on a simple U-joint replacement. Get both front and back U-joints replaced at the same time, even if only one is bad.

442dreamer

Haha not even close huh? I don't know too much about these cars yet, but I have learned not too much comes easy. Anyway, thanks for the info and the welcoming to the board!

citcapp

Sounds like the deal your looking for, you should be able to negotiate a good price because the car has problems

72 Olds Supreme

Welcome to CO! What part of VA do you live in?

Oldsguy

Welcome to CO, like Joe said, U joints aren't that hard to replaced. Good luck.

442dreamer

I live in Smithfield in the Hampton Roads region. The supposed "Ham capital of the world" as some people call it

Aron Nance

Welcome to CO, 442Dreamer! You've come to the right place to learn and interact.

rocketraider

Aight den. Another Vajenyan. Good to have you here.

For those who have never been thru the Smithfield/Surry area of Virginia, the whole area smells like cured country ham. Drives me wild when I drive thru there. After we stopped raising hogs for meat ourselves, my Mama was partial to an Edwards ham.

Exactly as Mr. Sloan intended it.

bkeese

The tell tale sign of u-joints is when you coast the vibration goes away. The vibration will be bad on either accelleration or back winding the engine (using the engine to slow you down).

A press makes the job easier, but I have a 6" x 1/2" Craftsman extension that I can't use for sockets any more because it has beat out so many u-joints. Just amke sure that you support the end you are beating out with a larger socket for it to press into.

Should only take about an hour and you'll be ready to roll.

442dreamer

Yeah if the wind is right you can definitely smell that ham curing at my house in Smithfield!

And I went and checked out the car today, it's got a lot more problems than just the u-joints. About from the doors back it was one bad bondo job. Inside the trunk rust was real bad too. All the glass needed replacing and rust was around the rear window too. So overall a little too much for a young novice with not a lot of cash. So as of now I'm still just 442dreamer!

P.S. If anyone's got any 68-72 2-door cutlass or even 442's w/o an engine or transmission, but everything else is in pretty good shape, I am all ears! We have a 1970 Olds 98 with a running 455 and th400 in it, and I would love to transplant that drivetrain into something an A-body Olds.

442dreamer

Plus, finding a car w/o a drivetrain I'm figuring is gonna be cheaper, and as a poor college boy, cheap would be nice

bkeese

442Dreamer,
How poor is poor. I have a project car, but is going to cost ya about $5000. It is a 1970 Rallye 350 F85 post with auto on the tree and bench seat. It runs and it has original paint from the doors back and not bad rust, but not rust free either. Yea it's got headers and an Offy intake, but it is all their except the OAI air cleaner.
Any interest?

442dreamer

Oh gosh I'd love to say yes, but right now my budget is around 2500, so yeah I know it's gonna be hard to find something that is cheap and not too over my head project wise. Sounds like a cool ride though

rocketraider

Somebody had one in the local shopper paper here last week but I think it was up around $5000 too. I'll keep an eye out up here if ya don't mind driving a couple hours.

Does it have to be a 72? 70-72 are the easiest to find reproduction parts for, but a 68-69 is nice too. What about that Ninety Eight? what kinda shape is it in? If it's a coupe, it's a damn stylish ride even for a young buck.

Just curious young'un- where you going to school?

442dreamer

I go to William & Mary and I haven't met one person here who even knows what a 442 is...sad but true.

And as for that Olds 98 it could use a lot of work, needs all new glass, interior, a lot of rust in the fenders and quarters. But your right it would be a cool ride, its a luxury edition 4-door sedan, definitely a looooooong car. But it's going to take a lot of time and money to get it going again and I think I'd rather put that into something a little bit more muscle car-ish.

That 455 runs great though!

rocketraider

I bet they know what Jetta VR6 and Saab 9000 are though!

You'll find the same situation on most modern college campuses- we're talking about cars that haven't been built for 35+ years and the parents have probably forgotten about these cars too. There was a kid from Richmond here at Averett several years back who had a 64 Cutlass convertible and he was well aware of what he had.

Contact the Eastern Virginia Olds Club http://www.oldsclub.com/chapters.htm...UTHEAST%20ZONE and see if anyone there has a suitable project car. I checked the one in the shopper paper again and it is a 69, and if it's the car I think it is, it is overpriced at $5000.

Someone here will have or know someone who has what you're looking for. Stick with us and we'll make sure you learn about them.

Quick trivia question- what 1970s arty rock group mentioned William and Mary in one of their songs? Hint- they referenced their name from a William Burroughs novel...

442dreamer

Steely Dan of course from the song "My Old School"! Like my feelings toward older cars, I also love older music, Led Zeppelin, the Stones, Hendrix, CCR and Grateful Dead.

And is there a better late night driving song than "Radar Love"?!! I sure don't know of any

And yeah there are plenty of BMWs, saabs, Hondas, and Volkswagens around here, its about what everyone drives or wants to drive, there are barely any mustangs!

rocketraider

Young'un, I like you! When everyone here was turning up Lynyrd Skynyrd, I had SD, King Crimson, and Mott the Hoople blasting.

This week's shopper has a 67 Cutlass for $1500. No idea what bodystyle, what condition it's in or if I have ever seen it. The phone number didn't ring any bells.

442dreamer

Hmm.....sounds like my kind of price. So what is this "shopper" you speak of?

rocketraider

Local weekly classifieds shopper paper- the "Piedmont Shopper". Covers Danville & Pittsylvania County VA and Caswell County NC.

http://piedmontshopper.com/index.php/classifieds/ then scroll down almost to the bottom and you'll see the 67 Cutlass ad. If it doesn't take you directly to the "auto cars" section, expand the AUTO menu and the "auto cars" should be in that.

You might find something interesting on Craigslist in your area too. 'Course you might meet some "interesting" people thru these shopper papers and CL too.

CEOJOE

Hey I have a current project car its a 72 4dr original gold 350 cutlass im the second owner. Has only 73xxx miles on it when i first bought it the car didnt run so I be workin on it myself "I'm only 21". I currently installed HEI distributor, plug and wires and she runs great cause I tuned her myself to feel and hear. Almost forgot it was a muscule car cause it was old. live in norfolk area

442dreamer

Hey man that's awesome! I'm glad to finally see another "youngin" 21 year old around tidewater who actually likes old cars too. Did you just recently get that car because if I'm not mistaken I thought I saw that one on craigslist a couple weeks back?

CEOJOE

Naw thats my car on craigslist I got big plans for car just Regular life priorities makin it hard to me to be on car as much as i want to be... Rather see get right or get a good home or shop. All i do from time to time is work on it and speed it around the corner. tuned it smooth dont like loud roaring got it to a smooth hush but she pullin past new cars....