I came across this on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/62-Ol...item1c1c14eab2

what do you guys think? I always liked the 61 and 62 Starfires. I don't know a whole lot about them other than they are hard to restore if they need work. But it looks like a cool car to me. Any advice?

 

"Fresh repaint"s make me nervous.

- Eric

 

Yeah I was thinking that too...maybe hiding some bondo or worse. I am not looking for anything show quality. I just want something like a nice driver. I wish I could see it in person, but it is around 9 hours away from me. The price seems kind of low too.. but I don't know if it is because the resto was low quality, or it is just reflecting the current old car market.

 

I asked him some questions. He said car was orig. from California, and has single exhaust. Had a pvc valve but removed it and put on a breather tube. I know that even back then California had some weird smog laws (my 56 chevy had some kind of primitive "smog device" that had tubes hooked from the exhaust mainfold that went into the valve cover and air cleaner). Would it be hard to make it dual exhaust?

 

A Starfire with single exhaust? Would not be at all difficult to put it back if you know a good pipe bender.

$8g is reasonable for a car that needs the work he says this one needs, but I tend to float in real-world Starfire circles, not speculator and investor Starfire circles- which to my consternation have tried to put Starfire pricing into the same orbit as 442.

My own opinion is that if someone spent the money for Steve's side panels, odds are they didn't half-*** the rest of it. Body looks good in the pics, but really should be inspected in person.

Concur on the CA emissions- you can see the tube nipple on the aircleaner snout. The chrome road draft tube is correct for 62, but I'd try to figure a way to reinstall the PCV, mainly because 394's are known for blowby and with a functioning PCV system you wouldn't have that blowby vapor all over.

 

Would it be hard to reinstall the PVC? I need to look at more pictures with one that has all that gear on there. He said he would trailer it to ohio for me at 1.50 a mile, which doesn't seem that bad.

He said the body wasn't rusty, and whatever small issues there were, he patched with metal. He also replaced the pass. door. The only problem areas, not mentioned in the ad were the radio stopped working, and the clock doesn't work.

I appreciate the info so far everyone. Seems like the kind of car that I am looking for. Maybe I can sell it later sometime and get a 65 Pontiac Bonneville or GP. Any other thoughts?

 

I have been watching that one it doesnt seem to have a reserve.sounds like all the big dollar items have been done and a presentable driver the only thing I didnt like in his description was The car runs and drives great, but because it has sat for so long, I would think that it would not be a good idea to try to drive it for very long distances.

If you can buy this in the $10K range it still sounds like a good buy. I would email or call him and ask about the frt end, and how the trans shifts and what the glass looks like. good hunting

 

He says he has no reserve. Well, if $8K is the minimum bid, then he does have a reserve,doesn't he? The not take any long drives troubles me. The pics do not look like the engine compartment has been detailed to me. Nor does the carpeting look new. The passenger door was replaced? Why? Was there a wreck?

I tend to agree that $10K or less is a good deal, on the face of it. However, before I would shell out that kind of money, I would invest $500-$600 in a professional inspection, so I knew exactly what it was I was buying/getting. It is money well spent! I used, and recommend, Automobile Inspections LLC for this purpose. http://www.automobileinspections.com/

 

He sent me a ton of additional pictures. I asked if the wipers and stuff like that worked. For some reason the radio, wipers, and clock don't work. He suspects that the wiper switch is bad. The tranny shifts fine. He has a 62 Starfire vert that he restored and knows his way around these things. From what I understand, he was going to use the coupe as a donor car, but decided not to since it was too nice to part out (which I can understand, I have been in that situation myself).

I am still on the fence with this one. While it is a nice looking car that is driver quality (which is what I was looking for anyway), it isn't the color I would really want. Starfires, IMO, look great red, black, or blue...since it makes all the trim pop. But we will see. There is a 66 Lemans close by that I may check out for around the same price and looks just as nice. It would be a great car to drop a 428 in with a 4 sp Still undecided.. I would still like to find my 65 Bonneville.

 

Clock not working? on a 49 year old car? Unthinkable!

Radio is a tube unit and can be repaired if you can find someone to work on it. Otherwise, convert it to modern guts.

Wiper could be switch, motor or fuse, or something as simple as a ground.

When he says "long distance" does he mean 50 miles or 500 miles? I wouldn't trust any of mine on a 500 mile trip anymore, simply because they haven't been driven much the last 5 years.

Garnet over white is an unusual, albeit plain, color combo, but Starfires wear color top over white body well. Personally, I'd want a Starfire in one of the more flamboyant metallic colors since the cars themselves are flamboyant and flashy. Garnet, black and Royal are about all you see anymore; maybe a Wedgwood once in a very long while. Can't remember the last Sunset, Heather (sadly discontinued early in the year and replaced with Chariot Red which makes them look like a fire chief's car) or Pacific 62 I saw.

 

Thats all mine was-a loose ground wire- Hooked and works perfect..

I did not know of any Starfires without dual exhaust and the drivers side manifold for the dual is almost impossible to find...

Good luck with your purchase if you decide...

How does our Starfire look in Saddlewood Brown???

 

Yeah, I think over the years...about 98% of old car clocks do not work.. that isn't a big deal to me. I think he means more like 500 miles. I wouldn't drive an old car on a very long trip since, well they are old cars. It needs a headliner, which the material is included. I guess nothing is missing on the car. I do wish the color was something other than white..since none of the trim really pops. I guess if i kept the car long enough I could always paint it. So we will see.. I do like it though. I always thought Starfires were cool cars.

 

Never seen a brown one before! That is cool. I think white just makes all the trim blend in a bit too much.

As I understand it, the mainifolds are there and everything. The one exhaust pipe rear of the header pipe just crosses over so there is just a single exhaust. I noticed in your 394 rebuild album that your air cleaner is similar to the one on the Starfire I am looking at. Did some places require the PVC valve set up besides California??

 

From what I understand, the pcv valve setup on the passenger side valve cover was just for the engine to be able to recirculate engine vapor from the engine back thru the fresh air of the air cleaner. I have seen hoses used and metal tubes used, but all do the same thing. Usually a vacuum line is run from manifold vacuum to the valve cover to get the pcv valve to open-close.

Will post more pics as we install engine this weekend...

 

Cool I would love to see more pictures

 

61-62 use the same manifolds for both single and dual exhaust. 63-64 are the ones that have their own specific LH piece.

Saddle Mist is a striking exterior color, but saddle tan interiors never did much for me. Only one I ever really though looked right was the one in my dad's 68 ElCamino, which was Ash Gold with black VT and saddle gut. I think that's because the EC interior was smaller and not quite so much tan to look at. A car or especially wagon with acres and acres of tan gut is a little "overpowering" shall we say.

 

Price sure seems right. I agree on the color combo. It would be okay for an 88 but not a Starfire. The 62 Starfire is one of my favorite cars. If I had one, it would have to be black. I don't think anybody mentioned this car is not air conditioned. That would definitely affect the marketability of the car in Texas and other warm states.

 

[quote=rocketraider;287044]61-62 use the same manifolds for both single and dual exhaust. 63-64 are the ones that have their own specific LH piece.



[quote]...

Thanks for the clarification...

 

I have a white starfire (a 63) and the aluminum trim pops out better than a colour car iMHO. This is because of how the light reflects on the trim, it sometimes is a dark stripe making it pop out, then next instance it is bright shiny aluminum still contrasts real good. White is a great colour for a Starfire, especially when the sun is out. And also not so common as that red that you see on most 62's. Great colour combo on this one, but this guy made the mistake not shooting it in the bright sun.

 

I am still on the fence with this one... the only real "fear" I have is the slim jim tranny...which is why I kind of avoided 63 pontiac GPs too..I think the white would grow on me after awhile. But I never planned on driving any old car hard. I will let you guys know if I pull the trigger or not.

 

What is all this negative vibes on the slim jim tranny? I certainly have no problems with mine. It does what it is supposed to do, connect the engine to the rear-end quite well, albeit not as smooth as on some cars.

If you do not want the slim jim, then you cannot have the '62 SF. I would not let the presence of a slim jim hold me back.

 

Well, someone grabbed it for 8,500,- wonder if it was Viper?
On the slimjim subject, I am currently finishing the TH400 (Ross adapter)conversion on my 63. But it's definetly no weekend job!

 

Nope...got outbid in the last 10 seconds by 15 bucks or so

About the slim jim.. it isn't just the olds.. it is also 63 Pontiac GPs. A lot of owners of the GPs didn't like the slim jim for some reason. I never owned a car with one so I don't know either way. I just heard the TH 400 was a better tranny over all. I guess it is also hard to find parts and ppl who know how to work on the slim jim now a days. But what do I know

 

The Pontiacs have the advantage that any flavor BOPCad Turbo HydraMatic will bolt right up to their engine block. Buddy has a 64 GP that was converted to a 200-4R probably 20 years ago.

I always found it odd that Pontiac used SJ only in the short wheelbase cars, while Bonneville/Star Chief got the old four-speed Controlled Coupling HydraMatic that Olds last used in 1960. Cadillac also stuck with it thru 1964. Olds being Olds, went with SJ across the line-up.

Slim Jims are great when they work, not so much when they don't. Biggest thing is finding someone who understands them and does not fear them based on their name.

 

We have a 700r4 conversion on our 63 Starfire convertible. The major problem that we have ran into is getting the tv cable adjusted properly with a Rochestor 4GC. We recently had it rebuilt and are putting pack together this weekend. The transmission conversion was already installed in the engine when we bought it....makes driving down the highway economical and even has a lower first gear..
Good luck with your installation...let us know

 

The radio in 62 was transistor, not tubes. The clocks can often be made to run again by dressing the winding solenoid contacts with a points file.

 

I kind of hope the deal falls though so I can buy it heheh. The seller said that he would email me either way.

 

I stand corrected on the 1962 radio. Should have checked the Delco Radio service book before posting such inaccurate information.

 

Dave,
The lack of replacement and service parts is the thing that gives me the *******.... I'm sure if they're set up right and maintained, they last a long time.

 

If lack of replacement and service parts gives you the *******, then perhaps a '62 Starfire is not the ideal vehicle for you.

May I interest you in a nice Accura?

- Eric

 

The guy who ended up buying that Starfire on ebay after paying for it decided that he wanted to get another car..so I am in the process of buying the car off of him. He never had it shipped so it is still in Maryland. From what I understand, he wanted to buy a Ford Galaxie or something and he had a hard time trying to find a shipper to ship the car from Maryland to California. I guess he buys a couple cars or so a year, then turns around and sells them. I talked to the owner who put the car up on ebay, and he will bring the car down to Ohio for a fee (which isn't bad really). So I guess I am almost the owner of a 62 Starfire..I am sure I will have a ton of questions here soon

 

Thats great news and I think that you will enjoy the car to as most of the work has been done.
Steve

 

Anyone know a shop that could redo the front seats in Ohio??

 

We shall all be interested in your impressions once you do have the car in your driveway. Do give us a full report, hopefully with pics. Enjoy!

 

I will. I won't have the car until the end of July/top of August..but when I get it I will let everyone know for sure

 

If I had my other choice, I would get a 62 Starfire as the body aluminum side panels really shout out...63 looks fine with the correct color. White does it no justice...

 

I have to agree that red, black, or blue looks a lot better on a 62... BUT, on the other hand, you don't see white very often, and it is the orig color to this car. It was one of the cars that the olds dealer repainted red since they sold better back when these cars were new. I will see how long I keep it until I find something else.

 

I had my seats re-done about 7 years ago by a guy named Jeff Ellwood in the New Philadelphia/Dover area, about 20 miles south of Canton. He went by the name of J.E. Enterprises, and was a protege' of the late Joe (mental block--was it Jim? Forgive me) Roll, who did concourse-quality restorations for Pebble Beach type vehicles. Jeff used some old skins I had has a pattern, and was big into the stitching, piping, and other detail to an impressive degree. I used the red tinted leather and maroon vinyl (what Olds called Morroceen) obtained from SMS in Canby, Oregon, which was a perfect match to the color swatch in the '62 Olds dealer cloth and fabric selector.

I would have to find Jeff's number; again this was several years ago; may be easier doing a whitepages.com search, or something to that effect. You can e-mail me at mcibulas@neo.rr.com should you have any questions, or need me to find Jeff's number. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the info.if I googled him and found the place in Dover. That would be perfect since my wife's family doesn't live too far away from there. Maybe he can do my headliner too. I appreciate the info!! I think my car should be here around Aug 8th or the weekend after. I have been trying to locate some parts that I know I need, such as the fuel filter housing. Right now it has rubber from the fuel pump to an inline filter, then to the carb. But so far, I can't locate an original/repop fuel filter housing. Anyone have a idea where to find one?

 

Viper- join one or all of these: the Oldsmobile Club of America, the AACA, and the National Antique Oldsmobile Club. You will find that the "Starfire Mafia" is active in all of them and more than willing to help another Starfire owner with advice and parts. Three of us have already been in this thread and there are a few more who I'm sure will be part of us soon!

Mike- welcome aboard. There's a lot of Starfire traffic here too, with some familiar names. You've already seen me, Dave and John D from other boards.