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That extra port for the auto trans vacuum modulator is missing on the manual shift cars - pretty sure you can use a duplicate of the port on the back of the carb there for 4 speed application.
Last week I went out to get my favorite car ever washed. This car has Ludicrous mode and is stupid fast
I stopped by the upholstery shop. They had sent me a bill for some work so I wanted to see what was done. Unfortunately, a lot of it was work you can't really see much progress on. Just fabbing new door panels
Reconditioning seat frames and springs
And a bulk of the time has been rewiring the car from the previous hack job.
I will be bringing them an entire parts car in 2 days for them to strip the entire interior of what they may need, and I will bring the rest home for future use. The parts car is a Northeast car and the frame literally cracked in half towing it home to VA. It's done.
In some sad news, if you guys ever saw my station wagon build thread:
My good friend Otto that did all the chassis, engine, and wiring work on the car is losing his battle with Leukemia after a courageous 2 year battle. He is at the point where he has accepted his fate, and is liquidating his assets while he still can. This means I was able to purchase his 2005 Pontiac GTO. He purchased this car new, and did a bunch of upgrades to it over the years. The upgrades include:
Magnusson TVS1900 Supercharger
Roller rockers and beehive springs
2" Primary headers and full exhaust
Full Pedders suspension
Custom gauge package
GMM Shifter
Kenne Bell Boost-a-Pump
Among other things. This car has 14,100 miles and is in immaculate condition. I am the new caretaker of this awesome car. Bittersweet, but worth it. I got the appropriate paperwork so I can have his license plates transferred to me, and kept on the car. He even built an amazing Factory 5 Ford Roadster. Not the best pic but thought it was cool with the sun coming through
Thats all for now. Will update with convertible updates as they happen.
I went to the shop last week and had a stern talk with them. They had a bunch of issues (multiple deaths in the family, health issues etc) that delayed work on my car. I told them I will need to see some work very soon. They apologized and got on it right away.
Door panels being made
Seats are being built
These tan pieces were missing. I figured I was SOL on finding a pair. A Pontiac buddy of mine had a pair from a 66 Bonneville. They will work perfectly. The ashtrays are too small but the panel can be cut for my ashtrays to fit
Fun fact: my 4 speed console is actually a 3 speed console! I guess the 3 speed manual was the "free" transmission that all cars came with. An automatic of 4 speed were extra cost. If you decided to get a 4 speed, they would drill the console and install this plate.
After inspecting the chrome and stainless trim inside the car (and there is a lot of it) we are sending it out to. It really is going to set the car off, fresh bright chrome against the brand new white leather.
All new weatherstripping has been ordered from Steele Rubber. Chrome and stainless should be back in a couple months.
Door panels are done, just waiting for the chrome and stainless which should be back in 5 to 6 weeks. I found out that Dans Polishing in Tennessee is doing the brightwork. Check out their site, they do AMAZING work
...Last week I went out to get my favorite car ever...
You're likely to retract that claim, once the Starfire's finished.
If I had seen this thread earlier, I would have asked why you didn't just upgrade it to a Quadrajet and manifold and get that remaining horsepower added on in '66. If you're just interested in restoring it (well, I guess one can forget doing that, now that it's equipped with the four-speed), then that would spoil it, in this case.
Is the air conditioning original or has it been retro-fitted. I've always wondered why anyone would order this option on a convertible
Is the air conditioning original or has it been retro-fitted. I've always wondered why anyone would order this option on a convertible
Having owned several convertibles , I can tell you this .
Driving around town at 30 MPH with the top down is fun .
But , driving at 70 MPH on a long trip on the highway , the sun and wind will beat you to death . Especially if you are in the back seat .
That's when you put the top and windows up and turn on the A/C .
That car is so sweet. I had a 65 Starfire 4 spd Hardtop in 1973. I was just a 17 yr old kid. I wrote Oldsmobile and got a actual reply from, I believe, Helen Early about the # of 4spd Starfires there were and I believe the 120 some # was correct. I didn't keep that letter or the car. I bought it for $125.00 needing a clutch but still drivable. Sold it for about the same when clutch went out completely.... Ahh well......
My girlfriend had a beautiful red 66 Starfire and several times she "borrowed" my red 69 bench seat 4-speed 442 and her and her girlfriends went out cruising. I did not MIND at all cruising in the Starfire...in fact the Starfire was quicker on a street drag over my 69 long stroke 400. That car could not get out of it's own way...
I followed the thread but am still a bit confused. Should a fact 4 speed Starfire have 2L and M20 on the tag or not? I do not see either on the tag pic justintime posted.
Mr Thompson I ended up buying that white starfire convertible you’re talking about. It was white, correct? That gentleman passed away and I bought the car from his widow and shipped it to Ohio where I’m restoring it. I know this because it was in Forbestown CA and needed the front script (and a lot more frankly). I’ll be done sometime this summer. I’ll share pics.
I followed the thread but am still a bit confused. Should a fact 4 speed Starfire have 2L and M20 on the tag or not? I do not see either on the tag pic justintime posted.
As I have done more research and spoke with more "experts" on these cars, it seems that 2L was NOT mandatory on the firewall plate. It all boiled down to where the car was assembled. Some plants put a 2L and some plants put nothing!
As I have done more research and spoke with more "experts" on these cars, it seems that 2L was NOT mandatory on the firewall plate. It all boiled down to where the car was assembled. Some plants put a 2L and some plants put nothing!
While I can't say that I know the details on the "2L" code, it is well known that the various assembly plants were not consistent in the use of the cowl tag codes. It's well documented that Fremont did not use the 4V or 5V codes that designate the 442 option, for example. It would not surprise me to find a similar story for other ACC codes. Of course, some plants like Lansing DID use the codes, so (as an example) if one had an alleged 4spd car from Lansing that does not have the 2L code, it probably wasn't factory built that way.
Great car! I've always liked the full-sized cars especially with a manual transmission. Very rare and unusual to see. There is a dark blue 1963 or 64 Buick Wildcat in my area that has a 4-speed. I see it all the time at some of my local shows. I've also seen a 1969 Impala SS 427 with a 4-speed. Also, dark blue.
Stopped by the upholstery shop Friday to drop off a payment, and put my eyes on all the stainless trim I had professionally polished. Holy **** does it look amazing!
Time for an update! Interior is 99% done! The car is currently at another shop to finish the rest of the mechanical and restoration work.
Dug out a good set of "N93" option wheel covers. These covers are common, and they bolt on to a specific steel wheel. The steel wheels are impossible to find, and sometimes cost $1000 per wheel if you are lucky enough to find some. Going off of a message board post from 2001, I contacted a guy that had multiple sets. He was amazed I found his post, and I was amazed he still had 1 set left! They were not perfect, but workable.
Before
After-ish. needs a little more polishing
Dash is out, prepared to go back in
The Dash has been reconditioned. All the trim polished, and the dash repainted
Sourcing this 1965 Air Conditioning specific air box was a real bitch
I probably have the nicest 1965 Starfire floor mats on the planet at this point. These mats are sewn into the carpet. Finding these mats is near impossible. Out of 6 total parts cars, I had only 2 good mats. I reached out to all my Olds buddies and was able to score 2 more mats. Again, these are 1965 specific. The stainless trim is always beat to ***** or missing. I have to admit, this whole car is a pain in the *** to restore.
This is the first time the car has been washed in about 30 years. It has a decent shine to it. After I have my buddy work his paint correction magic, it will look even better. Its currently a 20 footer, hoping to make it a 10 footer lol
And here we go....a finished interior!!
If you read back, when the car arrived at the upholstery shop, it was running like ****. After the upholstery shop replaced all the vacuum lines in the car, it runs like a top now!
The current shop is going to:
- straighten the rear bumper, possibly rechrome it
-new clutch and bellhousing
-undercoat the bottom of the car
-splatter paint the trunk to look factory
-install the N93 wheels
-remove red painted tailpipes and have them chromed back to stock
Looking good. Do you have a sleeve of some kind on your shifter arm?
So, the shifter in the car was very rusty. The upholstery shop bead blasted the rust and put a primer on it.
I have another rechromed shifter handle to install, but it requires new linkages to be installed, and that is outside the scope of the upholstery shops work. so, they did this just to keep it looking a little better than it was
Checked out the car the other week. Lots of progress. This shop has installed a new Dual master cylinder (because safety) as well as a new, proper, 4 speed brake booster. Notice how the booster is spaced off the firewall to clear the clutch linkages? This booster is real hard to find, and apparently some redneck place in West by God Virginia had one. No clue how they tracked it down, but kudos to them. They ran all new hard brake lines to all the wheels, and replaced the rear pinion seal as well.
Also,
They installed a new clutch, and the proper bellhousing I sourced off ebay. The clutch only had 3 loose bolts installed in it, and the bellhousing had a window cut in the bottom of it. Not sure why, but it needed to be fixed the right way.
It appears I have a valve cover leak. The chrome ones will be replaced with OEM, and the oil leak will be solved.
Resto shop is still chipping away at my list, slow and steady. Not much to take photos of, but I did score some new wheels! These are option code N93 wheels. The steel wheels are extremely hard to find, and have 8 holes in them. 5 to mount to the car, and 3 to mount the magnesium cap to the wheel, then the spinner snaps in place. Back in the day most people threw these away in favor of chrome torq thrust or similar wheels. Finding one wheel is impossible. Finding a complete set of 5 is a miracle. Finding wheels, caps, and spinners all in 9/10 original condition is unheard of, but I did it. I could not find anything on Google, so tried DuckDuckGo and found some results. I found some pictures in an OLD thread from 2001, emailed the dude, and 2 days later he replied and said he forgot all about them. He took some recent photos and shared them with me and on another site as well. This instantly got attention from some other buyers. The only reason I ended up with them is I was willing to go against my better judgement and send him postal money orders as he did not have paypal. I used to buy everything with money orders in the early 2000s before I had paypal so I figured why the hell not. Here is what I received.
Tail pipes had the red paint stripped off and polished back to OEM finish. console is fully assembled. Temporary steering wheel installed minus horn button, and just look at that glorious door panel
yes sir! I was told the car would be "ready" to go for the 2021 olds nationals in nashville but I would need to bring the car back to get the AC working. I think I will just leave the car at the shop until its done, and attend the nationals without a car. I will debut it in 2022 depending where the nationals are held
I think you're right in doing that , no sense rushing toward a deadline . Especially if you want things " just right " .
I thought I was going to have my '63 done for Nashville too .
But seeing that it presently needs front sheetmetal , doors , trunk lid , and complete interior except seats , I'm sure that it will be 2022 .
Maybe I'll see you there ( wherever ) .
so I think I have located a seat core with all the power seat pieces I would need, but the wiring is long gone. Any ideas where I might find the proper pigtails, and wiring diagrams to put this in my car?
He is at the point where he has accepted his fate, and is liquidating his assets while he still can. This means I was able to purchase his 2005 Pontiac GTO. He purchased this car new, and did a bunch of upgrades to it over the years. The upgrades include:
You're likely to retract that claim, once the Starfire's finished.
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