Nice personal touches on this, I like the 68 taillights the best over the 69's, although the 69's are somewhat similar to my 73 Hurst/Olds I owned when I was 18-19. I was a chevy guy so I painted the engine chevy orange lol (damn teenagers) I made many trips from the Virginia coast back to Missouri in that car, was a great road car with those swivel buckets. I had ordered the bottom of the page cam, high compression pistons and some head work, thing actually ran pretty good. Once while back in Missouri at my mom's I showed my brother (who also owned a 73) how good of a burnout it would do, then went a couple blocks down to the gas station. Cop pulls in and says I shouldn't have stopped for gas because he couldn't clearly see what left all the smoke, but now he knew. I got a "speed exhibition" ticket on that one, later on back in Virginia I lost my license for 6 months for a 113 in a 55, I used to like to burry the 120 speedo then let off and let it coast back down to 55. I had a lot of fun with that big ol Olds
Cool olds. They are torque monsters. Mine left the chassis dyno with 650 foot pounds. Street tires don’t have a chance. It used to have exhaust dumps but a blown head gasket warped the crap out of them so I removed them. I’ve owned a few 396 chevelles. They were fun but that damn olds would own em. a Tesla plaid would leave me on its wake with my tires smoking but the olds would get the ladies.
I actually considered a 455 Olds or Buick for my 57 pickup project, because of the torque capability, but in the end an intake manifold I owned dictated what engine. Speaking of intakes I did end up with an Edelbrock intake and Holley on that H/O, last I seen of it a guy on base was trying to put the 455 in his 77-78 trans-am. I'm still a closet cutlass (68-72) guy, really like the 70-72 quarters with the bulge.
Still waiting for my damn master cylinder. So more detailing. Keeping the under side painted not only looks tidy but protects it from the elements. Like hot rubber and oil. when I was racing it I would soften the rear QA1s that I installed to replace the coils. The result was nice weight transfer but I also rubbed the paint off my driveline in one place. I fixed it. That master needs to get here. I’m losing it. swap meet tomorrow! I need a change of pace.
Whine and ye shall receive. It was on my porch a few minutes ago. And it bleeds this time without squirting Dot3 all over my floor. Woo hoo!
That red caliper peeking through that wheel is kinda like hint of a cute chicks g string showing when she bends down.
When I was painting the under car I noticed the lower edge of the rockers needed attention. so… The white fender stripes just faded off before, now they are crisp. a little sanding, primer, base/clear and some new fender bolts/washers. I’m thinking it’s ready to come off the lift. A month waiting for the master cylinder to arrive. Oh, another one arrived today I guess I have a spare? Performance Online. Buy somewhere else!
Brakes all done, inside detailed, top side hand waxed. Fired it up and the carb leaked all over the place. Kit time. While removing it I applied a bit too much elbow grease to what I thought was a stick fitting. Replace the fuel bowl or trust it? Anyone have a demon fuel bowl? Looks like it’s ready for Santa to visit.
I don't have a Demon bowl, but you could put gaskets in it, and while on the bench fill the bowl from the vent tube. If it doesn't leak, good to go. If it leaks, time to look for a replacement. I've bought from these guys a number of times - highly recommend. https://allcarbs.com/product/primary-demon-fuel-bowl/
On the “bright” side I did get orange high beans too replaced the yellow ones. Now they match the parking light color. it’s the little things.
I thought I had another BG off my old Camaro (that carb was built on a Monday I swear!). It would come in handy about now. I removed it and stuck a Holley on it. This one on my Olds is money. Been on there a long time. Horrid gas mileage but that doesn't keep me up at night. That is one bitch on these demons is there just is not enough room to get a line wrench on those fittings. That's how I broke it. Open end fits better but you risk turning them. Try to do something right and you get bit.
Regular Holley fuel bowls will bolt on that carb also... Just make sure you re adjust the accelerator pump levers...
Your 442 is a beauty and your attention to details knocks one´s socks off. Once I grow up I wanna have my cars as tidy as yours!
It will be a couple days before I see the carb kit so I figure get to cleaning this pig. And no, I’m not going to polish the carb…other than the metering blocks And the raised letters on the bowls. That’s tedious work! I have issues. I did discover it is a 750 not a 825. This is an early Barry Grant Demon before Holley bought them. There is little to identify what you have. But I called Holley and a tech said there’s a single number by the rear air horn. Some are 6,7,8…for 650, 750, 825. Add that little trinket to your swap meet parts knowledge. It may come in handy.
Well the carb kit got canceled as they are out of stock. Found it at summit, should be here in a couple days. In the meantime I have the bowls a cursory polish. I left natural areas and polished others. Cool look I think. I hope it runs a good as it looks. I also got a jet kit from 70-80. It has 81’s up front now. I found an O2 tail pipe sniffer at a good price so I’ll see if I can dial this pig back without giving up too much. Would you leave the 88’s in back or pull those down as well?
That is good advice. I need a starting place while it is apart. I was wondering if there is a rule of thumb in separation between primary and secondary jets. Right now it is 7 sizes.
One more project before summer on the Olds. This likely occurred during drag racing but the engine wants to break free of her mounts. So much so that it has caved in one of the right side header tubes against the upper control arm. I inspected the motor mounts and they are fine, it's just 650 foot pounds of torque trying to rip the rubber mounts apart. For a solution I return to my F body roots and the GM factory recall repair in 68-69 Camaros. I had an old cable from a big block 69 I can use but I will have to fabricate the header mount obviously for the Olds mill. Basically, it is a one-piece cable, padded and wrapped around the driver's side upper control arm and connected to a bracket that uses the 2nd and 3rd exhaust manifold bolts via a clevis pin and cotter. This is an image I ripped off the interwebs. You can see the cable loops around the pin, entering through a slot in the bottom of the bracket, the cable then wraps around the control arm. It needs to be beefy enough to restrain the engine without breaking under duress. And here is the GM recall repair instruction for the dealer with a handy schematic drawing. It was a recall as the Camaros would torque over and pin the throttle, soiling owners' pants and staining the houndstooth seats. This will keep that right header from banging the control arm and look like a GM fix. The bracket will require some fab work but I'm up for it while I await more parts to be delivered.
She's a beauty! '68 was my favorite Cutlass a guy up the street has a 70 rag with aw-30 motor and 68 rag in his garage there is so much stuff piled on it all you can see is the grill when his garage door is up. The 70 is in the driveway I've seen it move twice since we bought our house in June '98 that's a great color too!
I only have seen them on those first gen Camaros, I didn't know they all got the fix. You would think there would be more of them on the market. I only found one cable on ebay. Wasn't spendy, could have built one but 10 bucks isn't going to kill my budget.
68 was kind of a one year only, and I like that about it. I have sold off my other muscle cars but the Olds rides so nice in comparison. I live a couple miles from the pacific, I drove my 69 Camaro out there and wanted to sell it and take the bus home. 69 Mach 1, better seats but you felt every pothole and there is a lot of potholes on the west coast. Most expensive gas, worse roads...go figure. Anyway, the Olds drinks the most gas getting there but it's comfy, top up or top down. Great old car. Well, not old, not in HAMBspeak anyway.
Come to think of it I have seen them on Novas but all the BB Chevelles I have had never had one. Of course, I bought the cars well used and they were likely tossed during engine R&Rs. And it is not something you go looking for under the hood at a car show. Learn something new everyday. I am excited to see what it will be tomorrow.
My '65 mustang broke the motor mount doing a brake stand and had mechanical linkage. It had a 271 /289 in it . Pinned the pedal to the floor ! I shut the key off then went and changed my underwear! Scares the Bejeusus out of ya that's for sure. Tied it down the same way .
Still got 3 in my toolbox! lol I got a sister and niece in Port Townsend my niece is a boat builder at one of the yards there
The Jalopy Journal
