oldsguybry

LOL , That's funny , and I don't say that to poke fun . You really made my day ! ..... BTW is Dorothy and Toto in there ? You'll get the hang of the pics , just hit rotation icon thingy at the bottom of your picture folder if your using a digital camara before you post it .

BTW - Very nice building!

69442C

If repairing this car is your life long dream, then by all means forge ahead. My comments weren't meant to discourage the enthusiasm you have to do such a project but rather to point out that economically it doesn't make sense. I don't know your skills level but you may want to take a honest look at what you are able to do and what you would need to be able to do to achieve a satisfactory outcome on this car. Some of us have been in a similar situation in the past and what we learned from being there was to never do it again. Just trying to share that so you can decide if you want to dive in or not. If you think you'll keep the car forever, then the money is not all that important as long as you can afford to do this. But I do think $20K is very conservative. My guess is you better double that number. Your best bet would be to find another shell and maybe a hardtop shell can be used if you use the post out of the existing body. Post doors are harder to come by so again, you might need a hardtop/conv door and you cut the entire lower half off and graft it onto your post doors. Frames are not too hard to find if you need another one. Might be a good idea to shop online and make a list of what you think you would need. And then add up those prices. I think you'll see how quickly this can add up.

Now....if you wanted to bring that garage of yours down to my house and leave it here, maybe we could find a way to get that car of yours looking a little better.
Brian

My1968oldscoupe

Took some more pictures. If this doesn't work

marzgtp1

Go for it I've worst cars on here that have been restored .

My1968oldscoupe

Omg. Pictures are not working for me

My1968oldscoupe

Wow!!! Finally sorry about that,all that

allyolds68

I have under $20k into mine. I paid $2k for the car and it came with virtually all the replacement body panels or patch panels but no motor or tranny. I found a complete 68 Cutlass convertible parts car for $500. My motor was $4100 including the $500 I paid for a 455 core. I found the tranny for free but had to rebuild it so I was into it for less than $500. Paint was $6500. That adds up to $13,600 and I easily spent another $5k on incidentals. I did EVERTHING except the motor and paint myself. I spent three years replacing rust and welding new steel in. I financed much of by buying and selling parts so my out of pocket was much less than $20k but I don't count that.

The point is if you have more time than money you find a way to make things work. You get the best deals on virtually everything because you know a great deal when you see one and don't buy something because you have to have it to get the job done. Even if you practically re-body it it's still your car. I have one original piece of my 68 cutlass supreme that I rolled end over end in high school on my 68 442. It's the original upper fender bracket that attaches the top of the fender to the cowl. I found a crushed fender behind my parents shed that was from a previous accident I had with that car and used it on my 442 just to have it there.

allyolds68

That's not a garage, it's a house

j/k. That's a great garage

sammy

Good stuff! A friend of mine did the same as you have done....He loves it!
Some days in the winter he will not even bother getting out of his PJ's to go to work!
What are you going to do with outside?siding, brick?
Congrats on posting pic!
Keep the forum updated on your progress/decisions...tons of knowledge and help on here

Ted
You do live above, right?

My1968oldscoupe

Thanks for the inspiration everyone. Nice to know that there are people out
There thinking the same thing. Sure it needs a lot but I don't really care!!. She turns 50 yrs old in 6 yrs and that's my due date. I know it's going to be costly , but over 6 yrs?i think the guys on this site that are probably profesionals and cannot understand and why the are saying , trash ,garbage. Anything can be done and I believe I can do it. Always wanted a project like this ans I think I am going to peruse it

My1968oldscoupe

Probably board and batten on the exterior of shop. By the way I live just outside of cooling wood Ontario Canada.

My1968oldscoupe

Sorry. Collingwood Ontario canada

sammy

My first house was in Thornbury.....
We still have property up on the mountain between Feversham and Ravenna
Know the area pretty well

Ted

My1968oldscoupe

To.aiioy . 4,000 sqft. 2,000 per floor. Everyone I talked to said their shops
We're too small so 40 x50 seemed like a good idea. Put I floor heat in and 200
Amp service. Did the work myself so saved at least 100gs.

MDchanic

Surprised to see you're living in Ontario - I would have thought Australia or NZ from the pictures.




Nice garage.
- Eric

My1968oldscoupe

You still come up this way.?

My1968oldscoupe

I am about 15min from feversham

sammy

Yup, every chance I get! My heart is still up there if the truth were to told

Ted

My1968oldscoupe

We moved up here 10 yrs ago from a duplex in cowed. Now my nearest neighbour is approx 3 miles away..... Nice

sammy

You would be a tru mountain man if you know where Kolapore is...

My1968oldscoupe

Do you own all those cars on your post?

My1968oldscoupe

True man man? 2sleds,2tractors quads etc. kolapore is 10 min from here. Grey rd.2 .mountain enough

sammy

Yup, then some
72 Cutlass S-work in progress
2 1984 RX 7's
1 1985 ". "
1988 Toyota Supra Turbo
1988 Porche 944
1989 Nissan Maxima
2003 Subaru Baja
2007 Mazda 3...........

It is my hobby.....My favorite has always been the 70 Cutlass Supreme!

Ted

sammy

Ya, that will do

My1968oldscoupe

You have a porsche in the mix too?. I have 1984 944. 4cyl. Not much bottom end but had her up to 260 Km last summer going up my road. Amazing!!!. The trees on each side of the road looked like green paint streaks. And to answer the question about living above shop, no. 12' ceilings on main floor and 8' on second floor. Right now top floor is wide open. No walls no nothing. Be a while before anything happens up there

My1968oldscoupe

Unless the wife gives me the boot.

Allan R

Well I have to say, You do have a knack for posting pics.

I think you may have misinterpreted some of the guys comments as negative criticism. Not so. What they are saying in a collective voice of experience is this may not be the road to travel unless you just want to drive the shyte out of the car. Not a single one of us wants to send an Olds to the boneyard, but we also know where judgement gets cloudy with sentiment and pride on stuff like this.

Sorry, I can't help it. That's just funny. Suggestion: try inverting the pic in your picture manager or browser before using the "manage attachments". Looks like a huge shop when I turned my monitor upside down. How many sq ft is that? Looks around 2500 and 10 ft ceiling? That's impressive!

Well, you bit off a mouthful there pardner. Yes, 20K is a lot of money and even when you stretch it out over 6 yrs it's still 20K for a max 10K car. Not being disrespectful, but IMO you need a plan. You also need to do what you suggested - rip the body off and see what your real launch point or trash point may be. Unless you're the kind of guy who wants to build the car from the ground up I honestly don't see where this is going to take you.

I have experience with rust - same as Ted (sammy) Both of us have had cars with serious cancer. My silly sentimental attachment to one car ended up costing me over 12K in rust repairs and each time it was done right with new metal. Once it starts, it just never stops.

One thing the other fellas didn't mention - the prices they quoted are US costs. Up here in Canada the costs are substantially higher for almost everything. I'm on your side with wanting a project. Lets see what happens when you pop the body off the frame. If it's a + you're lucky. If its a -, well it's a parts car.

My1968oldscoupe

Yeah, I apologize. I know they r trying to explain to me that their are cheaper and better results available. I do appreciate the professionalism you guys bring to the table. Took me a year and a half to build shop. 12' ceilings on the main floor and 8' upstairs. 4,000 sq ft in total. Put infloor heat in and dying to get into a car project. Sending pictures with my iPad and if I flip it 180 degrees , seems to work

sammy

Yup, the Porsche is a lot of fun, and you are right, at higher speeds is where it likes to be!
Do you have any history on the f85.....that can be pretty cool!

Ted

My1968oldscoupe

I tried to find out some history on the f85 but didn't get very far. Tried google on numerous different ways even tried Oldsmobile. All I know is that one person owned it and parked it in 1986 and it sat in the sand till I found it. Just noticed the tail light sticking out of the bush and then asked the owner if I could look.

Allan R

Ok, here's something to ponder. Look at your VIN and Cowl tag. If the VIN has 1 in the plant identification slot - it was built in Oshawa. You can confirm that by looking at the Cowl tag. IF it is a Canadian built car, GM Historical services (headed by George Zapora) can provide you with info about when the car was built, where it was delivered and what options it had when built. It's a nice little package portfolio that is ONLY AVAILABLE for cars produced in Canada or exported from US plants to Canada for the market here. Of course there's a fee....depends on what you end up deciding on the car.

An example of the VIN and cowl tag of a 68 Cutlass I recently viewed at my buddy's shop:




BTW, your car may have a similar VIN as it is known as a 'Post' car (all the side windows surrounded by frame). This particular one is a clone with lots of incorrect parts and paint colors added by the P.O.

My1968oldscoupe

The vin # is3327781117217. It does still have the Made in Canada rubber emblem under the right drivers side hood

Allan R

That's pretty amazing. Your car was made only about a month and a half after the one I posted.
The breakdown on the VIN for your car goes like this:
3 - Oldsmobile
32 - f85 (also known as the 'model series') The 32 also identifies the car was built with a V8 engine
77 - Club coupe *also commonly referred to as 'post' coupe
8 - model year (1968)
1 - production plant *Oshawa*
172217 - plant sequential number; not related to Fisher body number. Some people call these last 6 numbers the 'vin derivative' as it should match parts on your engine, transmission and frame.

My1968oldscoupe

Thanks for the info about how to find some history of my f85. I have been trying everything to find the information you just suggested.as far as where , when and who on this vehicle. Nice to have that portfolio just out of plain curiosity.

My1968oldscoupe

Just got your post after I sent you one saying thanks. That is awesome, 44yrs later and they were almost built at the same time.

Allan R

Here is a link to the vintage vehicle form you would need to fill out. Their fees have gone up a fair bit since I got my documentation. Still it's not that unreasonable if you elect to sink a lot of money (which I don't recommend) into that car.
http://www.vintagevehicleservices.co...ertificate.pdf

I contacted George and got the info on my car. It was built in Lansing but delivered to Golden Mile Chev Olds (now Golden Mile Chev) in ONT. It was then bought by Gorrie Leasing and my Dad bought it as a lease return almost 2 years later. Having documentation on the car really helps establish a certain amount of provenance.

My1968oldscoupe

Hey bulldog. You mentioned a guy in Hamilton who might have a frame? Would you have any more info on this piece . Thanks