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Congratulations having a numbers matching VC. I believe 1970 began the first year Oldsmobile produced the 455 in metallic blue up through & including 1976.
They Match!! I am excited. Thanks for the gouge on where to find the Engine and Tranny VINs. Very Helpful.
r/jb
Kinda looks like a "double strike"
[img alt="This one was really clear (after I pulled the Alternator and the Power Steering pump bracket!)
What color did they paint the engines on the 70 455s? "]https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/classicoldsmobile.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/70_oldsvc_enginevin_bc3195c7405bc1b6b901bd26a32dce 1b1d005e01.jpg[/img] This one was really clear (after I pulled the Alternator and the Power Steering pump bracket!) What color did they paint the engines on the 70 455's?
Last edited by Hollyerjb; Feb 16, 2025 at 02:04 PM.
Reason: Adding Engine picture
Just discovered this thread. Good looking car. When you pull back the carpet, you may find the handle is still there. The single action gate only folded down, it did not open like a door. Your gate is a dual action gate. Post some pics of the passenger side door jam area (gate and body). There should be a pin on the body and a latch on the door. That latch functions whether the gate is opened like a door or folded down, so it should still be there.
Boy I sure hoe that all the pieces are still there! That is a "later this week" task for me to remove the upholstery to see what is still there. Thanks.
The fact that you have the cable is puzzling. And your picture shows the tailgate swinging.
I should have realized that, because your initial post said the drop handle wasn't present. But I guess that took a while to register with me.
Post a picture of the center top of the tailgate (where the drop handle should be).
The only tailgate that swings is the C28.
Maybe we can figure it out.
I am just realizing what you said here...."The only tailgate that swing is the C28".....What I am realizing is that on my car, they "removed" the capability of the baseline 'drop down' tailgate and left the swing open capability. I really need to get the upholstery off the inside of the gate, and look at what mechanisms and latches are left internal to the tailgate....try to figure this out. Maybe all I need are the drop down linkages?
Congratulations having a numbers matching VC. I believe 1970 began the first year Oldsmobile produced the 455 in metallic blue up through & including 1976.
Thanks! and I see the blue on the block and heads, which makes me think it has never been out of the car.
p.s. I have ordered a PIM through eBay. Hoping it arrives soon.
Actually: I just looked, it is an Assembly Manual not a PIM that I got off eBay.
A simple point. PIM = Oldsmobile Product Information Manual = GM Oldsmobile official name. You will see Oldsmobile Product Information Manual typed on each page. You will not see Oldsmobile Factory Assembly Manual typed anywhere on any page. Oldsmobile Product Information Manuals were not written, collated and bound as GM Oldsmobile books during any particular model year. They did change the GM 'official' name of the singe page documents on a couple of occasions throughout the GM Oldsmobile lifetime - none were referred to as a Factory Assembly Manual (FAM). The PIM is an assembled compendium of pages which, as you might imagine, came down from GM Oldsmobile engineering draft documents, to testing documents, to finally production documents. Each document (e.g. page) required review, validation & quality control before they were officially 'released' to manufacturing & assembly line production. There was significant time, effort, expense involved in validating these documents throughout the GM engineering design, manufacturing, production & assembly of each vehicle. At the beginning, middle and end of each model year production of these pages were subject to change (as you'll note on select pages some items were deleted, updated, etc.). Many of the pages contain part numbers & as you can imagine, over the lifetime of any GM model year vehicle those part numbers, locations, etc. could change throughout the model year - requiring updates/editions to each page. By the end of a model year production, you had a compendium of official GM Product Information pages w/ the most up-to-date information describing the assembly of the model vehicle. Let's face it, alternators, manifolds, carburetors, axles, brakes, valves, hoses, radiators, etc. could all change for many various reasons - not the least of which could/might be GM contracts w/ select vendors who manufactured/produced those components for GM. At one point, a book was created never having been officially listed as a Factory Assembly Manual (FAM). The FAM simply became common nomenclature for this manual and the "manual" (if you will) never actually existed; but, instead became a compendium of Product Information Manual "pages".
If you bought a FAM you likely bought a PIM.
Last edited by Vintage Chief; Feb 20, 2025 at 10:52 AM.
Just discovered this thread. Good looking car. When you pull back the carpet, you may find the handle is still there. The single action gate only folded down, it did not open like a door. Your gate is a dual action gate. Post some pics of the passenger side door jam area (gate and body). There should be a pin on the body and a latch on the door. That latch functions whether the gate is opened like a door or folded down, so it should still be there.
I think it was removed (at some point). Since I see "green" paint under the upholstery I am guessing this one has been replaced. It looks like most everything I need to make it go back to a Dual action (adding back the "drop down" feature) is still there. Everything except the center handle and internal release mechanism (not sure if they are cables like the swing gate release, or push/pull rods). All the hinges and car-side fittings/attachments are there. Hoping the PIM has some good pics when it arrives. Finding stuff on the tail gate system seems difficult at best.
Here is a parts breakdown of the dual action parts:
Looks like you are missing 23, 24, 39, 41, and 43 along with their various clips like 22 and 42.
Tom, Thanks for the exploded view!! I am hoping the various manuals are in when I get back home Thursday nite. This helps a lot in what to be looking for in the interum.
To clarify/reiterate, the tailgate assembly is detailed in the FBSM. I realize this can be overwhelming - you got this.
Would you know if the El Camino is an A body? I font many el Camino tail gate parts on eBay.
It appears that google thinks it is an A Body....so the parts might be compatible....unless the tailgate is more like a pickup truck tailgate. The pics and the diagram Tom passed make them look "similar" in design though not quite the same
Last edited by Hollyerjb; Feb 25, 2025 at 10:44 AM.
Reason: adding info
Would you know if the El Camino is an A body? I font many el Camino tail gate parts on eBay.
It appears that google thinks it is an A Body....so the parts might be compatible....unless the tailgate is more like a pickup truck tailgate. The pics and the diagram Tom passed make them look "similar" in design though not quite the same
No worries Norm. I am slowly finding parts on eBay that look to be the right ones. If they were compatible, it would be awesome as there seem to be lots of El Camino latching parts. If I find a set cheap enough (or someone takes one my offer) It is worth buying a set to see if I can adapt them in the interim.
El Caminos do not have a dual action gave, so the El Camino tailgate will not have any of the parts you are missing. The center latch handle and mechanism on a fold down only gate and dual action gate are made up of totally different parts unfortunately. You will need to find parts from a 68-72 a-body wagon (chevelle, skylark, lemans, cutlass, sport wagon, vista cruiser) dual action gate.
El Caminos do not have a dual action gave, so the El Camino tailgate will not have any of the parts you are missing. The center latch handle and mechanism on a fold down only gate and dual action gate are made up of totally different parts unfortunately. You will need to find parts from a 68-72 a-body wagon (chevelle, skylark, lemans, cutlass, sport wagon, vista cruiser) dual action gate.
Great input thanks!! The El Camino only opens down right? Those are the parts I am missing.....the open down parts. I have all the open like a gate parts. But perhaps the center latch mechanisms and clips if not the various rod lengths are the same. So far I have found the release handle (NOS) and a couple of the rods (also NOS) but an struggling to find a number of the components. I continue to look for the Chev/Sky/Cutlas cruiser and vista cruiser parts. There is one tailgate on ebay that appears to have all the parts intact....but it is pretty pricy and corroded through in various places. Not sure I want to give into that yet.
The "open down" parts in a single action (fold down only) gate are not the same as the "open down" parts in a dual action gate. The center pivot/ latch, handle, and rods are all totally different. The dual action gate center handle (fold down handle) pulls out which in turn pushes down on a rod that actuates a central pivot. The pivot pulls on the rods that go out to the side latch mechanisims. The rods have forged ends with a slot that slides in the central pivot. This provides the slack needed for the other handle (swing out handle) to operate the passenger side upper latch without releasing the driver side upper latch. The single action gate (fold down only) center handle rotates the central pivot directly like a door handle mechanism. The single action rods simply have bent ends and clip directly into the central pivot with no slack.
Last edited by Loaded68W34; Feb 25, 2025 at 02:56 PM.
Assume this is an aftermarket transmission temperature sender that someone installed into the transmission pan?
Good to have for those balmy Texas summers!
Assume this is an aftermarket transmission temperature sender that someone installed into the transmission pan?
Good to have for those balmy Texas summers!
It is after market.....There is an aftermarket gauge cluster in the cockpit. Have not figured out exactly what I am doing with it yet.
The "open down" parts in a single action (fold down only) gate are not the same as the "open down" parts in a dual action gate. The center pivot/ latch, handle, and rods are all totally different. The dual action gate center handle (fold down handle) pulls out which in turn pushes down on a rod that actuates a central pivot. The pivot pulls on the rods that go out to the side latch mechanisims. The rods have forged ends with a slot that slides in the central pivot. This provides the slack needed for the other handle (swing out handle) to operate the passenger side upper latch without releasing the driver side upper latch. The single action gate (fold down only) center handle rotates the central pivot directly like a door handle mechanism. The single action rods simply have bent ends and clip directly into the central pivot with no slack.
Thanks for that info. I have been looking at the various parts in the exploded view piecing them together in my mind for actuation. It is good to know that when they went Dual Action, they did not keep the same fold down parts....so I will need to look more carefully at the parts lists. (slowly building the case for having to purchase a whole tailgate to make it all come together....ugh)
How about photos of the passenger side door jam area?
Tom, sorry for the delay, I did not see this request. I dont actually have a picture of the stbd side tail gate jam, but I have this one of the end of the gate and the step. I Aft Step Gate side Aft Step End of the Gate
will take some of the jam next time I am home. r/jb
