Wasnt even tight 100% on me, going to war with too small tools. Tomorrow to set the preload without haste.
Called quits for today, whole day on cold concrete floor. Sauna heating up. Beer at hand. Today started with the rear on the floor at the front of the car. Installed the rear to control arms. Was as **** job as i remembered to get all line up while joggling the rear at narrow jack-stand. Then installed brakes completetly to rear, backing plates, drums, brake lines, adjusted shoes close to drums. The clip for center brake-hose through "crossmember" was a total /¤%##!/(")#(()#" to get installed on spot, who the ¤&## designed it. TrueTrac has pretty clever system for c-clip axles, you install the c-clips, then pull the axles with clips inside "spider gear" ( lets call it so atleast), which prohibits totally the c-clips getting off, and then you put a spacer between axles so they cant move inside again to free the c-clips. Good thing to be a hoarder, i originally installed that same TrueTrac to Cutlass with bolt-in axles 4 years ago???, but still remembered what and where that spacer was for c-clip axles. New springs, new air-shocks, new air-lines. Tomorrow to bleed the brakes, lower the car back to wheels at last, and tighten the control arm bolts. The front-most emergency-brake cable is also due to change. Next up is either fun and relaxing job = changing both electric window motors to drivers side. I quess i do something relaxing for next like this. Or we have on the option list also the job to drop the drive-shaft and change u-joints to new ones ( greasable SKF-joints), change the speedo gear and tv-cable from trans, or change the throttle-cable, install the new carburettor and fix fuel line, build easy EVAP-system from parts i bought, diagnose and hopefully fix the auto-level system ( better get it working since i bought air-shocks just for that reason..). So, before all of those little jobs are done, i quess i have no problems to figure out what to do on free time, and then its spring already. And at last, Merry Christmas to everyone already!
Slightly offtopic. Also Nokia company car, modelyear 1980. Preserved aswell. Full size GM's and Mopars were here often the choice for an CEO car until the demise of them, so mid 80's approx. Well, why im posting this, it shows the same lift handle at trunk as i do. Interestingly enough. I still say its not factory due to lack of partnumber, and the installment is poor even by GM standards, self tapping screws through the trunk seam where the sheat-metal is folded over itself. Maybe the company who sold these here installed them? And twin antennaes, wow.. Plus those mudflaps, id def want ones with Buick reading on them. Meanwhile doing some clean jobs. Building the linkages/ bracketry to utilise stock throttle cable and tv-cable. Throttle is okay now, measured on car aswell. Modified Holley bracket. TV-cable linkage to carb on testing phase. Neat to have extra manifold to plan it beforehand and then just bolt to the car. First i thought to replace the rear power-window wiring on door, pulled a little and it snapped in from where it goes through the pillar to door. Things escalate quickly, need to fix it a little farther down. Goes to bottom of the list for this winter.
Got the carburettor linkages/ bracketry sorted out. Part-numbers making this work with 4175-style holley, #08555c , are #Sonnax AS4-04K and #Sonnax AS6-01. Both the bracket and the geometry-correction linkage need modifying on Oldsmobile engine with stock intake. The bracketry holding throttle and tv-cable, needs cutting at bottom, otherwise it hits the #5 runner. Plenty of material to remove. Then you need to file the tv-cables "assembly hole" locating "tab" to otherside, to turn the tv-cable so that the press-button allowing the adjustment in cable faces towards carburettor, other side around it hits the intake bolt between the 5th and 7th runner. Then you need to cut off the tang designed to hold the bracketry at place, since its not meant for 4175-style baseplate. Cut it off, file a little, and add a spring pin to a hole already at your Holley, next to intake bolt hole. File the bracketry so that it locks to spring pin. Picture showing the spring pin. Theres already a hole for it on base-plate. Aswell showing the modified bracket. From here the bracket would hit the #5 runner. Ill file it a little more, but basically shows what and where. Also showing the tv-cable facing the press-button for adjustment facing towards carburettor to clear intake bolt. The TV-cable correction bracket needs modifying also, since its really not meant for 4175-style linkage, despite being Holley-specific linkage. What you need to do, is to file and press the tv-cable pin off, and install a nut-and screw style tv-cable pin "wrong way around", so it locates the cable behind the bracket, not in front of. Also need to file the bottom a little, so it doesnt touch the EGR-valve casting. Also, there is no place to bolt the corrector-linkage to existing 4175 linkage other than the throttle-cable pin, which happens to be on same place related to axis, as on other holleys, so you can use it this as registry. You need to carefully measure where the second, missing hole will be drilled on the corrector-linkage. I used a spare carburettor needle-seat cut and filed to length as a spacer between the linkages. How it looks. Pardon for loose cables. Starting position for TV-cable is relatively straight. Also shows how the tv-cable is between two brackets. It doesnt scrub on them, its nice fit between. And the ending position for TV-cable is same as the starting position, and the pull is 1.400" as per Sonnax ( measured with tight cable). Little cleaning of filings, some paint to brackets, and its ready to be bolted down to car. You need to do zero modifying to the carb itself, which is great bonus to save it on unaltered condition. Throttle per earlier post is also verified to have full travel, and have the pedal "up" at idle when stock throttle-cable is utilised, and have full throttle applied before the pedal is resting at the floor. So far so good with "bolt-on Q-jet replacement"
Hmhph. Was overhauling the front, that mistake turned out to cost $700 after p(h)ostage and taxes, waiting for parts again. May i add, that the parts cost was exactly 40.03% of the total price. So 60% = $420, went to p(h)ostage and taxes. Yeah baby.. Passenger front caliber was full of water. Rotor at .02" from minimum thickness per manufacturer, pads at "half-life". Also someone had smashed the dust shield to resemble potato field, no repos as i searched, need to source nice looking one at summer. One "funny" notice was that somebody had took the grease cup out and changed new greases there, but the bearings and rotor had old grease which was really black sludge anymore. Makes you ask "why"??? Drivers side then, it had new brake hose, stuck caliber, destroyed rotor and pads worn to rivets. That really gave me no other change, than to rebuild the brake system. I left the control arms and bushings to next winter tought, as per original plan. So now im waiting new hoses, calibers, pads, rotors, bearings and misc stuff. Meanwhile got the cruise control servo connected to carb too, and fabricated a dual-snorkel air cleaner just to do something fun meanwhile, its blasted now and waits painting. Welded, not riveted. Working auto-thermacs at both snorkels. Diagnosed the level-ride system some. Now the pump runs and makes pressure. Start of some kind.
At morning neither of those windows worked. New motor to front, easy fix to rear, so ill use my other new motor to passenger front, since the drivers window is so much faster with new motor. Now to tear passenger side doors aswell to clean and re-lube those aswell.
Finally its back on four wheels. Dont note the garage which looks to be aftermath of tornado. So eventually i got all 4 doors done, windows work beautifully now when all cleaned up and regreased. New motors at front doors, and one used, working example now as an spare. Fixed the wiring aswell. Cleaning up front brakes escalated. They were worn at limit, and on drivers side the caliper was also stucked. So in goes: New brake hoses, new bearings, seals, rotors, calipers, pads, and even grease cups. While we were at it, i cleaned and painted the prop-shaft aswell, and put back together with new greasable SKF joints. It starts to finally be kind of done for the winter, minor things left, and done not mentioned here, like for example blasting the filler door mechanism and painting it, that kind of stuff. I did calculate all receipts together. Just a tad over $4000 went this winter for the car. Freight, which has skyrocketed past year, were 1/3rd of that price, and 1/4th was taxes. So, money spend to actual parts, was under half of the total amount. Makes you wonder..
Nice touch and work on the dual snorkel air cleaner.. This car is going drive smooth with all the new bushings Even more when you do the fronts..
Old front shocks were "nice". I gave up, atleast for now, with the level ride, and changed rear shocks to regulars aswell. It actually sits really nice now with all new springs and shocks all around ( previous owner had changed front springs, but not shocks... ). I delivered front seat-belts to repair, since they were ripped a bit. Go figure, they had seat-belt material matching the original material by 98%. Told them not to hurry, so i dont have them back yet. Also noted, when doing little cleaning up, and minor things, that i have all the wiring on the car left to control transmissions lock-up converter, but since the ECM has been removed god knows when, there actually hasnt been working lock-up I bought a simple kit by American Autowire, which just locks up at 4th, should work good enough. Tomorrow i think ill install it. Spring is close, hope it comes soon, i want to drive this again.
Meanwhile.. Removing some extra-wiring just from engine-bay.. Doubled driving lights and the added headlight-washer.. Of course installed by cutting onto original wires by splicing them.. Some people should be prohibited to do any electrical work..
New front seat-belts installed. Colour is really nice match. Old ones were ripped, thats why i changed them. Wiring is once again per diagram at engine bay, and everything works. American AutoWire lock-up kit for th200-4r installed, and many minor things done. Installed temporarily AEM Uego wideband to see how my new Holley Q-jet replacement behaves, but so far at starts hot and cold, throttle response, steady idle etc, that carb feels good. Ready for summer to come. Counting kids aswell.
Nice big Buick! The 307 Olds is a good engine, its smooth and quiet, BUT ITS A TURD Drop in an Olds 350 or 403
Thanks. Now that ive driven a bit with it, it actually seems to have gained "50hp" with gear change ( 2.78->3.23), and new carburettor. Contradicting what ive said previously, i think i keep it as 307, just refresh when the time comes. Pleased to say everything works nicely, even the cruise control. Got my daughter ( 2.5 years) from daycare today with Buick, she was sold. Only thing she could repeat was " big car, big car" Next up is some carb tuning, runs a little rich.
Some funny projects meanwhile. As i have dual batteries as in diesel, the charcoal canister from EVAP-system dont fit where it should. And some time at its life, someone had came to conclusion, that its best to just shut the tank vent-line with a short hose and a bolt. I just vented it to athmosphere, taking the bolt out and adding longer hose. Since ive came this far, i wanted also to get rid of the fuel smell on garage and outside aswell. Funny, i remember when i was about 20, we were all torning apart anything even loosely connected to emissions on pursue to gain more horsepower.. 10 years later, and im installing those very same items back.. Im becoming an old goat Anyways, onto the topic. Idea wasnt mine, i just monkied factory location from mid-90's Caprice. The bracket; welded, painted and protected. Installs behind the front bumber, using the bottom bolts supporting the bumber bracket. Then just pull the hoses. This is simple system with a charcoal canister with just inlet and outlet, separate vacuum-actuated purge solenoid on ported vacuum-line, and its purged to pcv-line via t-junction. Since i didnt find correctly sized t-junction for sale, i had to make one. Some random hose fittings / fuel banjo, grinder, a file, hydraulic press, and chemical metal as bondo, later: Its drying up there past the night, and at morning i can splice and connect it to my pcv-line, and fuel smell is gone
Been driving and enjoying my car for now. Holleys q-jet replacement works beautifully, and starts too. Needs a little tweaking to get it leaner, especially secondaries. And it rides so smooth, next winter new door seals and it should be whisper quiet. As i said earlier, it felt like it gained 50hp from rear-end ratio swap and working carburettor. It now has enough power to drive effortlessly at everyday traffic. When i bought this it was a real slug. By the way, the rear-end gears turned out to be whisper-quiet on accel and decel, so that job got to finish. Speedo is inside 1kmh compared to gps. Need to remember that.. And since i cant help myself: Super-rare Oldsmobile RA IV-heads.. 7A swirl-port heads. Got them free, and ive located free A5 intake to go with it. Then i need horseshoe-shaped pistons to go with them, sealed power sells new ones. So, engine is dripping oil, and looking underneath, its been sealed with RTV here and there I hate that stuff.. Not sure if next winter or the one after, but same time i pull the engine to re-seal it, im going to convert it to swirl-port. More torque down low. Swirl-port headed peaked at 2600rpm on torque department, while conventional-headed peaks at 3200rpm, while making 5ft/lbs less. And with 3.23 gears and TH200-4R, its just what doctor ordered for cruiser. But hey, yesterday i surprised kids, and got them from daycare with Buick. They were very excited, as were their friends. Perfect family car.
