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Hello all
New here, this is my second Olds 88, first one was in the early 80s. I acquired this one from a friend/tenant, he had it since 87 and finally realized he would not do anything with it, told me when i asked about it he was going to have it towed and scrapped ! he got it out of the garage before last winter to store his newer convert. inside, so it was outside under a tarp. Told him I would buy it and give him more then scrap price! couldn't bare to see something like this scrapped. He did start it regularly, said the fuel line was rusted and leaking, #1 plug fowls out, and trans oil pan leaks, has old quarter panel and rocker repair, old repaint 30 plus years old, but not bad overall for a MI car, he always had it garaged, Going to fix all the little things figure out the #1 cyl. problem and drive it, shows 37 K on clock,he said its turned over. Has a K engine code 455, any input or advice appreciated! Survivor, PO had since 87 Body tag Block number different plugs 1 fowled G heads Original engine decent interior Tops been replaced by PO
About advice on the fowling plug..do a compression test or better yet a leakdown test. Could be rings, valves, valve seals, intake gasket.
We will help you diagnose it instead of tearing it down if that is how you'd like to do it. At 139k I would suggest a timing chain replacement after seeing what the compression is like.
The fouled plug may be something as simple as a bad spark plug wire . A compression test will tell .
A fairly solid , running , convertible for little more than scrap price . Is a real bargain . Cherish it .
Yes, just spent a 100 bucks a t Rock auto, got a lot of stuff, plugs and wire one of them, got R45S plugs that was the one plug that was in #1 the other 7 were R46SX I think those are for HEI, idk, seems to be a lot of plug options for it, they all had good color tho, so ordered what was listed for a K 455, water pump is newer as is newer silicone around intake manifold, so some of it may have been addressed, PO said he had some leaks fixed, VC gaskets R&R also, see some non stock bolts!
R46 sx and R46sz are for your car w/HEI. ( one was .080 and the other was .060 gap) I think they came out with HEI and used the .080 plug for a while then went to the .060 plug for the new cars and as a replacement on the cars that started out with the .080. The R45s is one heat range cooler which isn't what you want if you are fouling out. Also if I remember correctly the R45s is for the older Olds V-8's with points ignition and gapped at .035 or .040 or so. I used to have a newer HEI in my 71 Cutlass and I used R46 sz. Later on I went back to points style and my 350 called for R46s but couldn't get them and the newer replacement # was R45s, which is cooler but seems OK. Have you ever heard of "auto foulers"? They are little extenders that screw on to the plugs and they then screw into the head keeping the plug out of the oil and let the car run longer before fouling out the plug. I used them in a old Dodge Van back in the day. If that plug keeps fouling out and you want to drive it around as is for a while they might work for you. Ask a old school auto store and they will know.
Believe I have points, haven't opened the cap yet to see, waiting for parts, what makes it HEI ? just a module in the distributor correct? My son has a Pertronixs in his IH Scout just replaced it last year. Kind of like points myself, don't leave you stranded,unless you carry around another 100$ part. Yes,know about anti fowler got to get it running and "cleaned out" on the highway,maybe a quick trip to Harrison,via Lansing!
'G' heads mean its a '71. If a compression check comes back OK then pull the heads and do a valve job. I'd install a factory 4bbl cam. lifters and a new timing chain.
Then go to a muffler shop and install duals with some quiet mufflers. Flowmasters or Racepros wouldn't be appropriate. Just make it safe and dependable with service to the brakes, steering, tires, shocks etc. When everything is working like its supposed to it'll be plenty enjoyable to drive. Resist the urge to hotrod it. It's a cruiser.
Motor runs afik, it was made in 71 titled as a 72, going to get it running with new tune up parts, then a compression check, don't believe we need to rebuild yet, It just hasn't been on the road in several years.
Motor runs afik, it was made in 71 titled as a 72, going to get it running with new tune up parts, then a compression check, don't believe we need to rebuild yet, It just hasn't been on the road in several years.
If it was built in August 1971 or after, its a 1972. The 1971's were built til about June of 1971.
Yes, Ga, I'm still learning,din't know the little A was relevant,Yea he was going to have it towed, my thoughts exactly,I couldn't bare to see it scrapped,my wife wasn't happy, I have lots of A.C. VWs. Being complete and a ready to run figured it would be easy and fun to drive this summer, my oldest wants to take it with him back to Detroit and cruise around!
Well got it running,seems fine, had to add antifreeze and trans fluid, down about 2 qts, but knew it had a trans pan leak from PO. added some Swepco, trans 20 wt I had for my IH Scout project,, and it now moves! a couple laps around the drive, cleaning the interior now, son got me some starbrite vinyl cleaner works well, going to change the rear dif fluid next, need some courtesy lenses for the rear seat area qtr., pulled rear seats out to clean, got to weld in some patches on floor, and maybe a carpet set, red squirrels lived in it a while! did some damage, chewed a wire going back to convertible top control I believe, had to fix that after seeing some sparks when I moved the wires, could have been a fire on that issue! also what is the large canister behind rear seat back in the middle? guessing it is a carbon canister for emissions? see tubes going up there from bottom, got to check out fuel line leak also, that's a poor design also, line traps dirt and debris above it leading to corrosion. Top works fine, cycled it a couple times and lubed all the joints, as do all the lights except under hood light, looks like every thing is original except the Kenwood stereo, and wear parts of course, even some kind of RF shield around the points in the distributor, post some more pics later on.
Convertible equipment and canister
What ! No one been back here on their convertible? lol The canister seems hollow I guessed it as a gas tank vent/filter
Thanks, that's what I figured,saw all the tubes coming up from the bottom around the tank, Got to track down a fuel leak, suspect a rusted fuel line,PO said it was driver side so maybe the non fuel return line, going to put some fuel in tank and see for sure, running on a gas can now, just to make it run without possible tank crap getting in carb filter, think I'll get a large metal fuel filter to put in front of pump
I posted in parts wanted for a donor piece of floor metal, what year range and body style's fit my 72? I assume convertible body's somewhat different?
Thanks
Floor pans should be the same for all '71 thru '76 " B " bodies ( 88's ) . Being a convertible shouldn't make a difference .
Also , other '71 thru '76 GM " B " bodies , Chevy Impala . Pontiac Catalina , Buick LeSabre , should be the same .
Update, rear end serviced, 12 bolt /12 bolt 2.73 gears, no metal chunks found! Trans pan wasn't so cooperative, most of the bolts seized, hours to work them out, then re-tap, broke 2 off, got them out and will helicoil those, will drill then ream with Q size reamer for proper size, new serrated flange head locking bolts for both covers. Waiting on new gas tank now, stupid bent up flanges hold all the dirt and water, both sides had thru holes after sh*t removal, but PO said it had a leak! 9 3/8 ring gear 2.73 ratio 12 bolt 12 bolt ring factory marks Stubborn TH400 pan bolts Extracting the remaining threads Drilled out,
Well after you get new tank you know you won't be battling with rust in your gas. Too bad the bolts broke off in the trans. Never had that happen-usually all oily and well lubricated, I guess that's the difference with a car that's been sitting years. Looks like you're coming right along!!
Yea, gas tank was only a 5 gallon as is, then only if you took corners slow! New bolts should be good for a while,zinc plated, dissimilar metals and moisture are never a good mix, water gets i to the thru hole bolts on trans,rusts the ends I guess, some bolts were loose others way to tight, new bolts are grade 5,rather have them strip threads then break.
Well that's a bummer. I've seen other threads about if other tanks will work.. Put a separate thread with a title about tanks on the site and more will see it.
June 4th, 2020 | 07:19 AM
