ctrumbly

Hi Jerry,

I see this post is kind of old but I am also working on my olds and would love to see other folks projects as well as maybe get some pointers.

Im Chris, I live in the Denver, Co. area and I am building a 46 series 76. It currently has a 327/350 combo in it but I am wanting a big block olds. What Im wrenching on at the moment is the brake system. Wondering if anybody has used the 46-48 fleetline disc brake conversion kit for the front end?

Sporty45

Let me know how you make out. He is associated with a guy in NH that I have been trying to get some parts from, but doesn't seem to be answering emails now. Frustrating, as I think he has what I need I hope the guy I sent you the link for answers his!

Sporty45

Welcome Chris. There is plenty to see and learn here, and a bunch of very helpful people. Good luck with the brake system. I'm sure there is someone here that can help.

47OldsWy

Thanks for the heads up I went ahead and called for a quicker response, apparently that is a website for 2 people and I have to talk to "Fred". I guess I'll wait and see if I get a call back.



Jerry, do the series 60 not work because they are shorter, I don't see a difference in pictures, maybe I'm missing something?

47 Convertible

I'm going by what Hollanders Interchange Manual says but I also know the 60, 70 and 90 Series each had their own wheel base with the 70 series about five inches longer in wheelbase than the 60 series. Since the hoods also do not interchange between 60 and 70 series I'm guessing the difference was longer sheet metal ahead of the cowl. The trim piece that fits on the side of the front fender also looks the same but the 70 series is about an inch longer than the 60 series.
Jerry

47OldsWy

Ok I was guessing it was due to length, good to know cause I would have invested in the wrong parts. Definitely need to order that book today. Thanks Jerry

Sporty45

That's what I was afraid of. Fred is the guy I had dealt with in the beginning, but he NEVER has returned a call, and has now stopped answering emails! Extremely frustrating. This guy has a lot of old cars in his yard, but apparently is in no hurry to sell anything. He is only a couple hours from me, and I have been outside his fence and called him, but he wouldn't answer, so I ended up leaving.

Hope you have better luck than me!

Dennis

47 Convertible

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I hope the Oldsmobiles pictured weren't the ones he intended to get those front fenders from. Calling those NOS would be tantamount to fraud. They might be repairable used but NOS? No way. Hopefully he does have NOS in a dry building somewhere.

Lots of rust on most of the cars.
Jerry

Sporty45

Yup, and he seems to be OK with letting them keep getting rustier!

Dennis

47OldsWy

So I got a call back, the fenders are NOS according to the guy. They are buried inside and he said it would take him a couple days to get them out. Then he will send pictures and measurements.
I did notice a lot of the cars were rusty, glad these parts are inside, but still have to see what condition since they are "buried".

Sporty45

Well I'll be damned! I wonder why he never returned my calls? Good luck, hope they fit your car.

ncolz

Hi Chris -
I'm just north of you in Loveland & am working a 46, 66 coupe. My front-end solution was a fat-man, so can't help on the brakes. Best of luck and keep us posted on what you find.

Cheers,
Glen

Sporty45

Have you heard back from Fred yet? I still haven't gotten a response from him so I guess I will be calling someone else

47OldsWy

I lucked out and I am dealing with Butch now, the fenders are in his warehouse/ shop. I have talked to him twice. He said he was hoping to get the fenders out this weekend with some help and will call on Monday to arrange payment/ shipping. Sorry you are having no luck. Thanks for the good lead.


What are you looking for?

Sporty45

Does he know if they are going to fit your car?

I am looking for a dashboard for mine. Fred had told me a while ago he was getting a 47 in, but he never got back to me. I emailed him and asked if he got it yet, but he didn't answer. Maybe next time you speak with Butch you could ask him to look into it for me? I would much rather get it from someone local to avoid shipping costs, but will do what I gotta do!

Dennis

47OldsWy

Butch is going to measure them and send me pictures after he gets them pulled out. I am going to purchase them either way - I think it will be easier to lengthen the fenders if they are too short than try and straighten what is currently on my car.


I will ask Butch if he has a dash. Are you looking for the full metal dash or the instrument cluster?


Jenni

47 Convertible

Good luck. Hope he has 70 series fenders for you. If they are 60 series save your 70 series to make the panels for stretching the length. Much easier than trying to form from flat sheet metal particularly around wheel openings and the peak at the top of the fender. If his are 90 series it might be easier to shorten but in any event I'd study the fenders carefully to determine where the length difference is and use the center of your wheel opening as the point from which you make measurements.
Jerry

Sporty45

The whole thing, including all the gauges, would be great, but I will settle for just the steel dash and piece it together when I can

Dennis

47OldsWy

image.jpg

Got my Hollander today. Went with the 23rd edition cause it covers 42-56. I wanted to make it sure it covers the other cars my Husband and I are working on: 1950 Buick special and 1955 Super 88 Holiday.
Looks like it's gonna be helpful for finding parts

47 Convertible

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Great move on your part. I originally got my 16th Edition because I had a 36 Chevy project before I got the 47 Olds. You are right that the 23rd Edition is probably a better fit for our cars.

For me the Hollanders and some reproduction Olds manuals are as indispensable at my tools. For example my passenger door on the 47 convertible was too far gone to be practical to repair but a session with my Hollanders revealed that a Pontiac convertible door would fit and I found one of those before I found another Olds door. I still had to use the Olds fender extension but it fit OK on the Pontiac door.
Jerry

47OldsWy

Well good and bad news for me, and bad news for you. Turns out both fenders are Right fenders but one has the same measurements I got, so it must be a 70series. So sad there was no Left because I needed that one the most. So this was with Butch. By the way he does not have a dash - he tries to stay with cars/ parts older than 1935.


So now on to the bad news, I have to try and talk with Fred. I will contact him and use Butch to help if I need and maybe we will have luck. Here's goes nothing....








Jenni

Sporty45

Hi Jenni,

Did you get pics of the fenders? Are they both in good shape? I'm curious to know what a ~70 year old NOS fender looks like! Good luck dealing with Fred. Why is it you have to deal with him now? And thanks for checking on the dash for me. BTW, did you see the measurements I came up with on my car? About 2" difference from yours!

Dennis

47OldsWy

Hey Dennis


So Butch does not do pictures apparently, not really sure what to think about that. I am going to negotiate on the price due to not being able to see the fender before it ships. I have contacted Fred so hopefully I have better luck, I need Fred because he may have the left fender I need, also looking for some 1950 Buick parts maybe he will have them.


Ill post pics after I get the fender.


I did see the measurements, 60 series must be smaller all the way around. It does look like Fred has two cars at least that may work for you, did Fred ever tell what series he had?

Sporty45

Jenni, the last thing he told me was that he had a 47 coming in. Then he just stopped answering emails! I honestly don't know what to make of the guy I hate to keep asking him. I was kind of hoping that you would let him know that I was the one that told you about his place, and maybe he would at least let me know what he has that I could use.

Dennis

47OldsWy

So I emailed Fred last night, and got a response this morning. You were correct he does not answer the phone. Butch told me he is "sick" and hasn't been doing much lately. I forgot to put 2 door in the email, so his response was just asking that question.....but at least he responded. Ill mention your name and see if he still has the dash. Lets hope he is back in business.

Sporty45

I appreciate you asking, Jenni. Maybe something will work out!

Dennis

Sporty45

Any news Jenni? Has your fender shipped? I'm still not hearing anything from Fred, are you?

Dennis

Sporty45

I guess not

47OldsWy

Uuugghhh....no response now from Fred. Fred and I sent emails back and forth a couple times, then nothing. I guess its time to quit waiting on Fred and have Butch get that fender in the mail. Butch was going to get with Fred and ship everything together, maybe Butch will call Fred?

Sporty45

Sigh, that is what I figured you say. As much as I hate to give up on the guy, being that he is local to me, I guess it's time to move on. Oh well, at least you got a fender out of the deal!

47OldsWy

Butch just called me, I have to send him money and then he will stick that fender on a bus, the closest bus station is 3 hrs away so he broke me a deal on that fender. At least I have one of the 2 I need. Bummer about Fred, but I am tenacious and ill keep calling and emailing. Thanks again for the lead on one good fender

Sporty45

My pleasure! Glad to see you got at least one fender out of this, and maybe Fred will get better and start answering his calls and emails.

47OldsWy

Dennis - I hope so, we'll keep our fingers crossed.




That Fender is being put on a bus; anyone ever received a part by bus? If so is there anything specific I need to ask for from the shipper? That is besides the obvious bus#, tracking#, pick up location.


Also, I have decided to not run the stock L-8 and go for a 455 Olds. Is there anyone that is still running stock engine/ trans that is in need of parts? I do not know if it runs but everything is there. It has the hydromatic and I am doing away with it as well. Please let me know if you need/ want anything.

47 Convertible

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I've shipped several fenders, hoods and other large parts via Greyhound bus freight with never a glitch. You just have to be OK with going to the nearest bus depot that accepts freight and with knowing your part goes on a space available basis. The last thing I sent was a pair of rear fenders to Michigan. It was supposed to be four days and actually took seven but they got there in good shape as I used two of the small size heavy duty wardrobe boxes from U-Haul store. Nearest bus depot to the buyer was about 30 miles away but that small inconvenience was more palatable than truck freight rates. I gave up on Fastenal which used to take shipments very reasonably on their trucks going between their locations. Their cost got to be excessive.

I bet your L8 with the hydramatic goes quickly. If not here then on the HAMB, CL or ebay.

I know I'm not the only one to put a 455 in a 47 but it was a bit of a tight squeeze due to width. Its in and running without chopping up any of the inner fenders or firewall. My 47 has a MII type front suspension and there were very close fits getting crank pulley clearance and rack and pinion clearance sufficient to be able to change belts when needed. Plenty of setback for puller type electric fan. I went with Ford Taurus type that is complete with factory shroud and fits our vertical radiators nearly perfect.

I have 1/2 in. between HEI distributor and firewall and had to do a lot of head scratching and do-overs to get the steering shaft in between frame, motor mount and Sanderson Shorty headers. In the end it went in OK. Gotta say I love the sound of my 455/461 and the lope of the cam. It is not ready to hit the road yet. Next summer.
Keep on posting and share plenty of photos of your build,
Jerry

47OldsWy

Jerry - that's good to know. I have to drive 3 hours to the nearest bus station, but you are correct it still beats the other prices I was quoted.


I think the with the 78 series I will have a little more room in the engine bay for my 455, but we will see when the times comes to drop it in.


Right now I am waiting on a different block. As I was disassembling my first one I discovered the block is cracked on both sides at the middle freeze plugs.

47OldsWy

Holy Cow!!!! Fred sent me an email!! Fred's wrecker broke, he is getting it fixed and is going to move some cars to dig out 2 Olds. Maybe we are still in business.

47 Convertible

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A bummer about the block. Sounds like the freeze plugs didn't do their job. Too corroded to pop out?

You likely have a couple of more inches of length to squeeze in the BBO but don't know about the width as front and rear "tread width" are shown as the same on both 66 and 76 series at 58 inches on front and 61.5 in. on the rear. http://classiccardatabase.com/specs....47&model=27657.

My fitment issues had more to do with width than length. Not a big deal as it is about medium on the difficulty scale to shoehorn that BBO into the '47. I think a lot depends on the front suspension you choose.

Three hours to the nearest bus depot for freight! Wow, even for Wyoming that's a bit of a drive. I happen to be a big fan of Wyoming and like the remoteness including the vast expanses of sage going across the southern part of the State. I like to get off the freeways and take the older two lane state highways. You don't have to go to Yellowstone or the Teton to find great scenery.
Jerry

47OldsWy

I got this engine for free from a friend, the engine was in a derby car and apparently got too hot a few times. But found another block for free, just means a little more machine work than I planned.


For the front I have decided to go with a "gasser style" front suspension, have only seen this on one 47' Olds Woody and liked the look. I have been pre-warned by my husband about poor cornering, head shake, and the old truck feel. But as long as we get the caster correct it should eliminate the head shake issue.


Still trying to decide what I want to do for rear suspension.

47 Convertible

re. the rear suspension. You might just stick with the Olds rear end. It is pretty low geared. I think about 4.2:1 but if you use an automatic overdrive like 700R4 you could get highway speeds. Olds rear ends are very strong and were preferred over the Ford 9 inch at one time. The trailing arm and coil spring setup was ahead of its time and plenty good for today. I've seen a number of posts on CO on this subject affirming the Olds rear end is plenty strong for modern V8s.

Properly set up a straight axle front end (Gasser Style) will drive OK but you would never mistake it for an independent front suspension. There is quite a bit of stuff on the Internet about setting up solid axle cars to drive well. Some seems kind of complicated to me and involves steering geometry which is not all that intuitive. Lots of others have figured it out and you will too.
Best of luck,
Jerry

Sporty45

Wow, that is a very good sign! Hope to hear something soon