Hey Loudmouth, I typically favor factory stock wheels and tires but I came across this pic of a Custom Cruiser with woodgrain and with a great set of custom wheels. This pic is starting to open my mind on what I like.

Chris

 

I might consider this for the mirrors as finding something better new or used has been without success so far.

As far as the door handles, I plan to use them as is. The swirling is there, but it shows up more in the photos due to the flash than you can actually see when you're just looking at them. These are still eons better than what's on the car now, and I don't want to get hung up on trying make something perfect when it's already very good.

 

looks pretty cool. 18" rims im guessing? I wouldn't go above 15s.
wish mine was a woodgrain


got to have a look at mine on the highway today (missus drove kids after I picked up my work hack). looks great on the road!

 

All four "new" door handles are now installed and looking good. But, like almost anything else whenever I work on a car, the process did not go 100% smoothly.

It turns out that there are minor differences in these handles. Specifically, the two replacement front door handles would not open the doors until I removed the button/plunger portion on each old one and swapped it in to the replacement handle. I held them up side by side, and the plungers on the old ones are maybe 1/16 inch longer than the plungers on the replacements. That might seem like a small difference, and I noted it before installing the new handle but figured it wouldn't be a problem, but it turned out to make all the difference in the world. The replacement left front, as I noted earlier, is from a '74 Delta 88 while the replacement right front is from a '74 Buick LeSabre.

The two rear door handles went in without a hitch and work fine.


Before and after photos are below.


Left front before




left front after





left rear before




left rear after




right front before




right front after




right rear before




right rear after





Also, did you notice one other tiny difference? It's in the new right front handle, and there's a gap between the top part of the handle and the door. I've circled it in the photo below. It turns out, again, that this is a subtle difference between the old and the new. On the old handle, the upper part curves outward slightly and fills that gap. On the new handle, the upper part of the handle does not curve outward. The bolts are fully tight, so the gap can't be closed by really really tightening them. This handle is the one from the '74 Buick, and I've decided that the gap is minor and I'll live with it.

 

They look much better than the original ones. I'm surprised the original owner didn't have them scheduled for replacement when the car was repainted. Judging from some of the tape/paint lines I doubt the handles were taken off for the respray though.(LF and LR originals show good examples)

 

Also, in other news on this car for those keeping score, I had to replace the water pump. I just finished that yesterday. A coolant leak sprung up, and it appeared to be coming from directly under the water pump, so I figured that was the culprit.

I have replaced a water pump once before, that on a '64 Jetstar 88 I owned back in the '90s, and, like everything else, it never goes completely smoothly, and I also learn some interesting things.


First, I was surprised at how easily and how cheaply a new one could be gotten. $30, no core charge. I got it from Autozone, their Duralast brand. Before anyone starts yelling at me for not buying Delco or whatever, I've had good luck with Duralast-branded things over the years, and it does come with a lifetime warranty. So fingers are crossed. Also, the old one is apparently iron while the new one is aluminum and much lighter. I ought to see a 2 or 3 mpg increase at least!


Second, I was surprised at what a pain in the behind it was getting the old one off. Yes, we all know there are 1.5 million bolts, and the service manual makes it sound simple when step 2 simply says "remove bolts," but I was surprised at how difficult it was to get at a couple of them, and I was surprised to find find at least three different sized bolts. So I was constantly changing socket or wrench sizes. A job that I thought might take a half hour ended up taking about two hours.

The new one went on very quickly, though, and, so far, things are nice and dry. It's funny how you keep peeking under the front of the car for days after the job was completed to see if the anything dares leak!


Yes, I know, we've all seen water pumps, but what's a story without photos? Below are before and after. For the before photo, it's an older photo that I took but not specifically of the water pump, so it's at the bottom of the photo. The new one is obvious because it's not dirty yet.







Remember that I have all of the service records on this car since it was new as I acquired all of those from the original owner's family when I got it. It turns out that the water pump I replaced was the car's third one, so it's now on its fourth.

The original water pump was replaced on June 15, 1976 at 28,000 miles. The second was replaced on June 10, 1982 at 64,680 miles, and the third was replaced December 13, 1996 at 100,722 miles. The car now has 109,000 miles on it, so the third pump lasted only 9,000 miles, but it was 17 years old. With any luck, this one will last a while.

 

Not sure about removal of the old ones when repainted. As far as the prior owner not replacing them, that surprised me, too, as he had the bumpers rechromed. Maybe replacements were part of his plan, and he never got to them before he took ill.

 

Jaunty: You really own a beautiful, unusual Oldsmobile station wagon, regal in all its glory! The upgrades do her, and you , justice. Has to be a great, great road car, regardless of the MPG figures.
Aron

 

Appears you also installed a new fan clutch. The PO's seems to have painted the engine VC's non Olds blue, time for some cosmetic work in the engine compartment?

 

Thanks, Aron, for the kind words. Yes, I did replace the fan clutch late last summer. I'm the one responsible for the color of the valve covers. I know they're not perfect Olds blue. I bought "GM blue" from the auto parts store and used that. Yes, the engine compartment could be cleaned up. One of these days.

 

Yep, I just made up that word.


To resurrect an old thread, a few days ago I came across an ebay auction for an NOS driver's side rearview mirror, so I went for it. I just installed it today, and it is gorgeous (or, "marv-tastic"). Below are before and after photos.

It cost $100 plus about $11 shipping, but it was well worth it as the unit is, as I say, NOS. Still in the original box with all of the original installation hardware, including a new inside escutcheon, escutcheon backing plate, screws, instructions, and the two little clips that go inside the door and properly route the cable around the window. I've always been missing those clips, so while the old mirror cable would stay out of the way well enough with a little coaxing, it was never quite satisfactory. Now the mirror looks and works like new.


Before:




After. The only downside is that it is impossible to get a photo that doesn't show all the junk in my garage in the reflection. At least I got myself out of the way.





Before:




After:




New escutcheon:




The box. I'm keeping it as it has the old mirror, which is still quite functional, contained within. Plus, it's a little piece of history itself.





Instruction sheet with a nice diagram. It was especially helpful in showing where to put those two clips. They make all the difference.






Now all I need is the passenger side mirror!

 

Very nice Dan! Looks infinitely better than the old one. Hmm, maybe for now you could do the black on the RS mirror so it appears less worn?

 

Thanks. As far as the passenger side, I may do this, but it wouldn't do much for the pitting. I may just hold out for a replacement.

 

good score the little upgrades like the mirror and door handles really make a difference you notice everytime in the car !!!

 

Absolutely correct! Thanks.

 

For sure, I was only suggesting the black inlays might make the mirror less noticeable with the pitting. The eye is usually drawn to the contrast of objects, and if the contrast is 'pitting', that's what folks will see first. BUT, if they see your NOS mirror first and glance to the other side? They'll see what they 'think' is another similar one. Keep looking for that other elusive mirror! I'm thinking the RS one is going to be a bit harder to find.

 

Looks good dan. my left side/drivers side mirror just hangs down. ive gotta take it apart and see if I can fix. would've come in handy while my left cargo glass area covered in black plastic these past 2 months. lol.

 

I'd be glad to send you my old one, no charge (except maybe a few bucks for shipping). It still works fine. If it's better than what you have and you could make use of it, that would be great.

 

Mighty generous of you dan! I'll have a closer look at mine when its back from mechanic and get back to you on here

 

Glad to help out. Let me know.

 

I did a little checking just now. To ship this 2 lb, 1 ounce box from the U.S. to Australia via "First Class International," which looks to be about the cheapest way to send, would cost US $26.00.

 

Gee, now if I could get some of the other shippers in the US to use that option it would be nice. Most of them use Priority International for here and it ends up costing 3x what the part is worth, plus customs and fuel surcharge etc. Nice to see at least one guy who's helping the cause here. That's a great rate to Oz.

 

Actually, I found shipping method a few dollars cheaper. But there were no promises about when it would arrive, if it did at all, and I couldn't be sure I could find a big enough container.

 

Now THAT is funny! I prefer the cheaper slower Air Mail myself but have to limit the size considerably


Just so long as it isn't the surprise package you always have to wait forever for....