Oldsmobile 1962

Intro
Links
Reference
Tools
Information Sought By Dave
1962 - The Year
Stuff in the Shed
Car Barn

This page will be the official repository of miscellaneous stuff.  To guys who revere it, and their mates who revile it, you all know what "stuff" is.

To the uninitiated, "stuff" is anything of most assuredly very remote value which you might possibly have a use for in the next decade or two!  In other words, it is too valuable to throw out, as you just might need it some day.

What will be stashed here may be Oldsmobile related.  Then again, it may not.  One thing is certain, however, this pile of stuff will continue to grow.  So do feel free to  rummage through it occassionally.

LET'S GET STARTED WITH SOME LINKS

OldsD88@gmail.com  <==  How to contact me directly

http://GDYNets.WebNG.com  Dave's Den is a website I created to deal with a myriad of subjects, in addition to Oldsmobiles.  They include:

• United States Marine Corps
• M14-M1/A-1 Assault Rifle
• Gary, Indiana - The "Steel City"
• U.S. Steel Corp., Gary Works
• The Murder of Gary Police Lt. George Yaros
• Jackie Wilson - singer extraordinaire - known as "Mr. Excitement"
  

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/oldsfan/MySite/62oldspage.html   This is probably the most comprehensive site around for 62 Olds data that you can actually use.

http://www.outrightolds.com/   Without a doubt one of the most impressive Olsdmobile sites on the web.  Do check it out!

http://www.teds-olds.com/   A nice 62  Olds web site.

http://www.droldmobile.com   A site for the 1958 Olds aficianado.

http://www.hollanderinterchange.net/   The definitive source for parts interchange info.

http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com  A just fantastic source of info/pubs for classic cars.

http://www.newagemetal.com/pages/Oldsmobile/index.html  You want/need Rochester Carb data, here it is!

http://wiki.gmnext.com/wiki/index.php/Oldsmobile  GM Heritage Center info on/for Oldsmobiles

The GM Heritage Center Oldsmobile Search Index Page

http://www.hubcaps-n-wheels.com/hubcaps.html  EMail- blackburnhubs@alltell.net
You want quality, they sell quality.  It ain't cheap, but they are good folk!

http://www.fusick.com/   If you have an Olds, any Olds, you have or will have to get to know Fusick's (parts supplier).

http://www.usapartssupply.ocm/   Another supplier of classic Olds parts.  Reasonably priced and shipped quick.

http://www.kemcooil.com/   Supplier of TEL additive.

http://www.unitedlubes.com/   Supplier of 20W detergent motor oil

http://www.oldcarblog.com  A blog relating to the hobby from the Old Car Manual Project folks




All Olds fanatics must have this book.  Buy, beg, borrow or steal it!  It has a veritable wealth of data, figs, and history.















TOOLS of the TRADE

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what this gem is?
CLUE:  It does attach to a ratchet wrench


  If you do not have it, you want it!  This one just happens to be a Mohawk A-7.  It has a 7,000 lb. capacity, 1,750 lb. per arm.  When purchased new, they carry a 5 yr. warranty.  I purchased my used.  So, I did not have to pay new prices.  You can check Mohawk out at http://www.mohawklifts.com/a7.php.


QUESTIONS IN SEARCH OF ANSWERS -

1 -  Does anyone out there know for certain, whether the rear seat speaker grille on the Dynamic 88, when it has no rear speaker (like mine-see pics in photo gallery) is supposed to have an Olds emblem on it?  Yes, I know Starfires do have an emblem, and I have seen 98's with an emblem.  However, I have not been able to track down the facts on this for a Dynamic 88 without a rear speaker?

2 -  There used to be a service that would (for a fee) search state DMV records and write a report on how many of a particular year/make/model of vehicle are registered.  It appears he is no longer in operation.  Does anyone know of a similar service?  If so, I'd appreciate it if you would provide me with the necessary contact information.

SEND ANSWERS TO:  OldsD88@gmail.com



 

Pat Brown defeats former V. P. Richard M. Nixon for CA governor.
James Meredith, with federal protection resisters at Ol' Miss.
Johnny Carson fist hosts "The Tonight Show," taking over from Jack Paar.
Telstar satellite is launched.
Tab-Top can is invented.
Sean Connery debuts as Agent 007, James Bond.
Lt. Col. John Glenn (USMC) becoe the 1st American to orbit earth.
Sam Walton open his 1st Wal-Mart in Rogers, AK
Dave Yaros is issued a driver's license by the State of Indiana.
U2 pilot, Gary Francis Powers, shot down overflying the Soviet Union, is relesed in exhange for East German spy Rudolf Abel (Yes, there was an East Germany, and it was filled with Commies!).
The 1st color television show is broadcast, "The Jetsons."
The modem is intorduced by Bell Labs.
The felt tipped pen is invented.
Seattle hosts the 21st Century World's Fair ( Elvis is booked for the event).
The New York Yankees win the Baseball World Series Chamionship..
Graham Hill wins the World Drivers' Chamionship.
Our President is John F. Kennedy.
Marylin Monroe sings  "Happy Birthday" to JFK at Madison Square Guarden.
Miss Monroe commits suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills.
America and the Soviet Union face off in the Cuban Missle Crisis.
The NY Mets, and the Houston Colts (Astros) begin playing major league baseball.
The 1st sugar free drink, Diet-Rite Cola, hits the supermarket shelves.
TV viewers spend the most time watching the "Beverly Hillbillies" and "Gunsmoke."








"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" by Neil Sedaka

On a related note (Ha!):
Chuck Berry begins serving a 3 yr. sentence in the federal pen for violation of the Mann Act.
Don & Phil Everly appear on the Ed Sullivan Show, singing "Crying in the Rain, in their U.S.M.C. dress blues (Ooh Rah!) .

The latest "stuff" to end up in the shed is the PC 7424.  What is a PC7424 you ask?  It is a Porter-Cable® dual action polisher.  This is what it looks like:

 Some may call it a buffer.  As I learned in my research, buffer is a misnomer.  Buffers are far more powerful and rotate only in a single direction.  The power of a buffer is precisely what makes it dangerous in the hands of the inexeperienced user.  Take my word for it, you do not want to gain that needed experience on your prized possession!  This particular buffer ranges in price from $95 to $249, depending on where it is purchased and what accessories come with it.  Mine, as the pic shows, came from Coastal Tool (www.coastaltool.com) at a cost of $115.  That price included a 6 inch weight and a 6 inch hook & loop pad.  In addition to being dual action, it is also variable speed.  The tool weighs 6 lbs., so it is not back breaker to use.

Now, it is time to delve into the world of finish chemistry.  I had no idea it was so complicated.  One needs to understand the difference between polishes and waxes, glazes, sealers, wax, silcone vs. acrylic, etc.  Learning I am, believe me.  If anyone perusing this has helpful info or tips, do contact me.  Hopefully, come next spring, I will have a deep, lustrous finish that requires sunglasses to view.  We shall see?

With the show season over, it is time for those winter projects.  One project will definitely entail the use of the PC7424.  The other, major, project is to remove the front and back seats and install new carpeting. Later -

PC7424 UPDATE: 

I put the polisher to work this spring (2008).  The Zimmartinolds got the full treatment by me.  "Full treatment" in this case involves a 6-step process:

Step 1 - Wash car

Step 2 - Wash car, again!

Step 3 - Clay the enitre car.
I have to acknowledge, I was more than amazed at the results of claying the car.  By the time I was done with this step, the surface was so slippery I had trouble keeping the clay on the car.  The finish also began to look clearer/cleaner to me?

Step 4 - Polish car.
No, this is not the same as waxing a car.  This is the first step in which the PC7424 was used.  The chemical is a paint cleaner only.  It contains no wax.  It was applied with a MED pad.

Step 5 - Glaze the finish.
This step uses a FINE pad.  It gives the finish both depth and a wet look.

Step 6 - Seal the finish.
Again, a FINE pad is required for this step.  It is akin to waxing, but in my case a high tech, non-wax product was used.  It is supposed to last at least a year, and the sealer takes 24 hrs. to begin to harden and become impervious to the elements.

All the chemicals I used were Meguiar^TM products.  The highest speed setting I used on the polisher was 3, out of a possible 6.  The entire process spanned a period of 3 weekends.  Each step in the process took less time than the previous.  The longest step was claying the car.  But, you only get out of the project what is put in, so time spent here is both critical and well worth the effort.  The last step, sealing the finish, probably took only about one-half hour.

The result of all this is a shine to die for.  I state "the truth, and nothing but the whole truth" when I say one may now use the car to shave!  Needless to say, yours truly was very pleased with the outcome, and more than happy with the purchase of the PC7424.  I highly recommend it to any serious "old car buff(er)" - pun intended.

While displaying the "Zimmartinolds" at a show on  22 July 2007 we somehow managed to add another ride to our collection.  The only Oldsmobile connection is that this car did come from the factory with an Oldsmobile engine; a 307 c.i. (5.0 L), V8, 4 bbl with all of 140 H.P.  How could they cram so little horsepower inside 307 cubic inches?  A marvel of engineering, to be sure!

It is a 1985 Buick Riviera - Convertible.  It is 1 of 400 ever manufactured!  The color is Firemist Red (they only came in red or white) with a deep burgandy interior.  The covertible top is white.



It is so new to me, that I know next to nothing about it yet, except the Mrs. liked it, and wanted it.  As it was either this or a '63 Corvair (?), I bit the bullet and sealed the deal.

More to follow, later, I am sure . . .

17 Aug 2007-
The Rivi has returned from its "shakedown cruise."  Actually, it was a 13 day/3,511.1 mile vacation trip to the east coast.  The car performed fine, sort of.  The cruise control [actually the over powerful (?) 140 HP engine] simply cannot hold a set speed on anything but a flat/level road.  That is my only complaint with regard to this ride.

We averaged 19.13 MPG.  The highest MPG was 24.58, the lowest was 12.89.  Gas prices ran from a high of $2.999/g to a low of 2.399/g.  That was in Elyria, OH.  The avg. cost/g was 2.602.  The total cost per mile for the entire trip was $.14265.

The only bad thing about the trip was we managed to destroy the Rt. Front Rotor.  The front brakes were more than barking on the drive home on the last day.  A new Rt. Front Rotor and front pads were installed immediately. 

Where did we go?  Where didn't we?  We were in Buffalo, NY, Niagra Falls, Albany, NY, Stamford, CT, Newport, RI, Hyannis and Boston, MA, and Burlington and Bennington, VT.  Bennington is the home of the Hemmings Motor News empire.

We also passed through Geneva, OH.  What is significant about that?  Geneva, OH is the birthplace of R. E. Olds!
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Well, as of late April of 2008, the Rivi is history.  It has been permanently removed from the Yaros Car Barn.  Jean determined she did not like the car, and was not going to be comfortable driving it.  Dave, not real happy with this turn of events did determine to make the best of bad situation.  The car was put up for auction on eBay^TM.  In typical eBay^TM fashion, bidding was slow at first, but hectic in the waning minutes.  Believe it or not, the Rivi sold within 7 days, and at decent price which netted us a slight profit!  The buyer, who shall go unnamed, is a U.S. Federal District Court Judge in Illinois.



THE RIVI IS GONE, LONG LIVE THE CORVAIR!

Did someone say Corvair?  Yes, that is right, Corvair.  Wait one, I think I uttered the word Corvair, above, in reference to the purchase of the Rivi:  "the Mrs. liked it, and wanted it.  As it was either this or a '63 Corvair (?), I bit the bullet and sealed the deal."

Within a few short days of saying goodbye to the Rivi, we welcomed a Corvair to the vacant stall of the Yaros Car Barn in early May.  A Corvair was Jean's very first car, many a year ago.  Consequently, she retains a fondness for this wonder of GM engineering (read what you want into the term "wonder of GM engineering").  Strange as it may sound, this ride came to us via, guess where, eBay^TM!

This is a 1963 Corvair Monza, convertible with a 4-speed manual transmission.  It is all of 145 cu. in. and 102 h.p.!  The odometer shows 83,335 miles.  It also has a manually operated top!  I know absolutely nothing about Corvairs, or air cooled engines, but am learning.  I had to ask around about lift pad placements in order to be able to raise the car in the air on the lift without damaging it.  The combination engine/differential/transmission is like nothing I have ever laid eyes on, and these old eyes have checked out many an oddball car in their day; afterall, I have owned an AMC Gremlin and a Ford Pinto in my time!

At any rate, we are learning about her with every passing day.  Here is what she looks like: