Projects 1947 Olds Aero Coupe Build Thread

Super nice! I wish I had your money and Russ's talent.

 

Thanks for following our build, now we know where waldo is!

 

C-10 CST Russ has talent no question but as to my money.........

 

Yesterday I had a few hours to work on the Olds and managed to finish making the special fasteners that hold the extension panels onto the doors. I don't know what the proper name for them is so I just call them "pontoons". The lower rocker extensions that fit under the pontoons were located and installed then adjusted so the door could open without scraping them. Next the pontoons themself were bolted in place. The doors need to be finished before the front fenders are installed so you can reach the bolts from the front.

Special Fasteners

Lower Rocker Extension

"Pontoons" & Trunk Lid Installed

 

I went out to Russ Long's to work on the Old's but got sidetracked by the parts I needed to remove from the 88 Corvette to use on the 57 Corvette I'm building. There must be 2000 miles of wiring on one of the newer Corvettes and I needed to get it all out of the way to remove the computer. I purchased a Painless wire kit but still needed the original ECU.

Since the wife and I are leaving Friday for a 2 week trip to celebrate our 50th anniversary I won't be working on it for a while.

 

We survived the vacation and I was able to put in a few hours on the car today. The Mopar tail lights that came with the car just never looked correct so they were replaced by a nice set of original Oldsmobile lights that we found on Ebay. The trunk latch was replaced with an electric unit from a late Model Ford and as a bonus it has the emergency release that glows in the dark.. We also installed the dash and steering column then connected the steering linkage so the car could be moved around when we take it to the body shop later.

Olds Tail Lights

Steering Linkage

 

The rear bumper was removed from the protective plastic wrap and assembled so it could be installed on the car to check the fit. Several adjustments needed to be done so it was good to do that before the car is painted.



The front fenders were also installed as they needed to be adjusted and trimmed to fit around the upper control arms.

 

Great progress so far, have you photos of the inner fender mods to suit your IFS, just curious as to what needs to be done to mine when the time comes after I recovery from shoulder surgery? Wish my progress was as fast as yours! Those extensions you refer to are simply front fender 'Door caps'. The tapered piece underneath that bolts to the sill is a sill (door cap) extension. As no ribbed rubbers for sills and extensions are reproduced, I bought generic lengths from the local auto restoration shop Also being so far away I bought an OEM Master parts catalog to assist with sourcing parts as Ozzie (Holden) bodies are different to US (Fisher) bodies.

Those clamps that secure the caps to the door have anti-squeek (rubber) pads underneath them that compress when tightened. The bolts should be self tapping..

Is that gravel shield on the floor off the car as it differs from those on mine? 2 on front under grill and single on rear

 

I put the fenders in place and just used my cut-off wheel to provide the needed clearance for the upper a arm on the left side. I will clean it up and form a flange around the portion I cut so it looks better. The fender will need to be removed again to do that. The other side unbolted so it will be easy to cut and form the opening on it.
I wasn't sure what to do about the sill rubber but that sounds like it should work so I will look for some of that rubber.
The gravel shield that is in front is one I brought down thinking it was for the rear but it didn't fit so I thought it might be for the front but it don't fit that either. I do have a couple other pieces that might be the correct ones for the front and I am starting to think that other one is not for this car.
Door Caps is much better than Pontoons as a description. Thanks!

 

This is NOS rear gravel tray that I picked up. Mine was pretty banged up with quite a few fatigue cracks. I'll still keep it as a spare and use the new one. This is what it should look like .

 

That's what mine looks like for the rear but it is also banged up. I straightened it up and bolted it in place but would love to find a better one like yours.
I am suddenly not able to post pictures since I bought a new computer. I thought I had it figured out but I see they are gone again.

 

I think I have the problem corrected with the pictures as I guess you can't just copy and paste like I was doing.

 

Sorry for the long pause but we took the family to retrace our honeymoon trip for our 50th year anniversary and other things also slowed down progress.
The hood was installed and adjusted to the fenders but after putting the grille on it is plain that the whole thing needs to slide straight back about 1/2 inch. That sound simple but it is at the end of its adjustment so something will have to be modified.

The front bumper was also installed and adjusted. The brackets needed to be re-bent a little to allow even gaps on both sides. We also made new filler strips between the fenders and bumper as none seem to be available.
The left parking light lens was broken and a NOS one was located on EBay but it was very expensive. When you have the only one available you can get whatever price you want.

 

My oh my.....this is looking good ! Great work. Neat car.

 

In order to adjust the hood we had to remove the front fenders and the hood springs then adjust the hood to the tops of the doors and the cowl. We then adjusted the fenders to the hood, it's still not perfect but the gaps are a lot closer than they were.
We wanted to put a peak line in the hood to replace the center trim strip so that area was ground clean and round rod was tacked in place. It will be welded solid and worked to form a nice line.

 

Just wanted to update this thread a little. The work is progressing slowly as the front fenders and hood are still going through the bodywork phase. The aluminum radiator that came with the car was too tall so it was replaced with one that fits the opening better. The transmission lines were made up and installed and the rest of the stuff under the car was completed except for the exhaust.
I also had to move shops so that took a lot of my spare time but now the car is much closer to my work so I can get over and work on it much easier.

 

Great car. I love the fauxmobile on that car.

 

In order to vent the oil fumes some method of installing a PCV system needed to be devised so a set of breathers was modified to hold a PCV valve on one side and the other side was used for the oil fill and also allows a good cross ventilation flow. A stock old Oldsmobile oil filled air cleaner top was used with the aftermarket lower plate and fitted with a paper air filter. The end result gives me a feeling of looking at a stock old school engine rather than the more modern look of chrome and aluminum.


PCV System


Oil Filler / Breather

 

Very nice - I love these Olds/Ponchos !

 

Nothing done that I can post a picture of but the engine runs and I have driven it around the lot several times. I set it up so it starts and runs from the key and the steering and brakes work. It drives nice with the coil over shocks and the steering and brakes feel good except there is too much pedal travel.
Tomorrow it will be transported to Performance Exhaust to finish the exhaust system and set the front end alignment so when it is at the body shop they can move it around easily.
The engine start went well with just a small fuel leak from a fitting on the return line which could have been bad since it was close to the open exhaust header. The only other problem was a leak from the pressure hose for the power steering. I had that hose made up but it was the lower part that leaks and that was part of the new hose purchased for the 88 Thunderbird rack.

 

After the car was running I wanted to set the alignment and get the exhaust system installed so I had it towed to Performance Exhaust here in Pacific, WA where Eric and his crew did a great job.
While it was on the rack I snapped a picture of the bottom of the car. The floor pan looks very blue in the picture but it is just reflecting the flash as it is a dark blue that looks just about as black as the frame. We ran the tailpipes under the rear end as the triangulated 4 bar system takes up a lot of the available room on top. I ran this same set up on the 1955 Buick and it worked perfect.


Bottom View before Exhaust

Bottom View After Exhaust

Rear View

 

Great project! Keep them pics coming.

 

The hood has been worked on a little at a time to keep it from warping and the front radiator panel has been reshaped to fit better and control the air flow through the radiator.

Starting To Weld Hood Peak

Too Tall Radiator Panel

Radiator Panel Reshaped

Lower Profile Radiator Panel

Better Air Flow
The radiator panel still needs a little finish work but it looks much better and will control the air to flow through the radiator rather than over the top.

 

In order to install the windshield the channel was cleaned, primed and painted. I want to be able to drive the car in primer but don't want to have to take the windshield back out when it is finally painted.

Windshield Channel Painted

 

Tahoma Glass cut the windshields from lightly tinted gray glass and installed them along with the trim that I had previously polished. All new rubber seals were purchased from Steel Rubber Products.


New Windshields

 

If you need a rear gravel shield, there is a nos on E-*** right now. Great progress on the old 76

 

Thanks I have the rear panel but may try for the NOS piece also. I just made a new front gravel shield out of flat steel and it seems to be OK.

 

Very nice build, keep it up!

 

Thanks! I like the look of your Olds also.

 

I have been working on the Chrysler letter car and the Corvette while waiting for the rear glass but it finally arrived. It was a special order as I wanted it to be tinted light grey like the windshield. The rear window area was cleaned and painted then Tahoma Glass installed the window and trim.

Rear Window Area Painted

Rear Window Installed