Latest on the '62 Olds Dynamic 88 wagon

That page is pretty cool, is there a similar page for the 63 models?

 

Not that I am aware; I know Paul at one time contemplated a 1961 Oldsmobile page; will have to check with him to see what the status of that is.

 

Took advantage of the sunny, 80-degree day to pretty much finish up on the outside of the wagon, and getting ready for some interior work to be done.

The center hood spear was put back on the wagon yesterday, and today the lettering at the front edge of the hood was back in place, looking bold and beautiful!

Talk about setting off the engine compartment! New hood insulation ordered from Fusick Automotive was installed today; Jim had re-painted the bracket that holds the insulation in place. And yes, that yellow is correct--right up through the 1963 model year.

Details make the difference--new hood edge guards were installed on each side today; often these get brittle and worn over time. Again, Fusick Automotive has most all of our Oldsmobile needs...



Put the manual antenna back on; I cleaned up the chrome base and gasket, and put on the new rubber nut (again, from Fusick's). Now, we can listen to AM radio in all its glory! For the record, I do have a Sirius/XM "boom box" that I plug into the lighter--gotta have my '50s channel (and, of course, the Elvis Channel, on Sirius 19!)

The wagon will be down at Hearn's Precision Automotive in Navarre for some minor work and being given the once-over for the trip to Spring Carlisle; this week's project will be for Jim to refurbish the interior panels on the other three doors (he completed one yesterday, which was posted)

 

darn Elvis....she looks great

 

I remember the yellow hood insulation on our 63 F85 wagon as a kid. Looking real good there Elvis!

 

Wagon has been down at Hearn's Precision Automotive in Navarre, Ohio all week, having some things done for the Spring Carlisle Trip; picking up Saturday. After a short hiatus, Impala Jim is back at it, and has the driver's front door panel completed.

Looking much better than what we had on there before, with the new heat-imbossed vinyl applied to the lower portion of the door below the chrome strip above the beltline. The darker top vinyl and cream-colored center applique are original and have been cleaned up.

Rear panel cardboard, with holes for the main window and vent window cranks, and the door handle. Jim insulated these on the inside as well. Mentioned previously the boards and door edge brackets were ordered from Ciadella Interiors in Arizona; they are for '61-'64 Chevy four-door sedans, which have the same door design as the Olds and other GM marques of that era.

Jim also put some belt weatherstrip "fuzzies" along the top edge of the panels; the kit for '61-'62 Chevrolet four-door sedans was ordered from Restoration Specialties in Windber, PA, near Johnstown. Same deal here, in that the less-popular designs of many items are not remanufactured for many makes and models. So, the restorer has to use his or her noggin to figure out what may be available that would do the trick just the same. If you're a GM guy, you have to think Chevy when it comes to cross-referencing.

 

Looking good Elvis, I know we can count on you for full report and pics on wagons at Carlisle?

 

A couple more pieces inserted into the final puzzle, so to speak, of the Olds Wagon this morning; had the vent glass windows put in today at Canton Glass, Inc., a local business in the Hall Of Fame City since 1949.

The new vent windows are in; they look much better than the delaminated vent windows that had been on the car. It rained this morning when I picked up the car from Hearn's Precision Automotive (good thing I got that wiper motor put back in!); you may notice some drops on the front windshield trim on the first picture.

Next pic is of the old driver's side vent window, removed from the chrome housing. These vents seemed to delaminate over many decades, as you can see on the edges of the window. The little touches mean a lot, so I'm glad we got this taken care of.

Andy "Chops" Morris, the proprietor of Canton Glass, and like Impala Jim, the proud owner of a white '60 Impala, though the one Chops has is a coupe, and sports a 348 c.i. engine, with factory air conditioning. (Jim got the original white acrylic lacquer paint for his convertible from Chops, and used much of what was left over on the wagon).

In the fourth picture, Chops is showing Jim and I (behind the camera) the special vent-window tool (which is at least 40 years old) that both removes and installs these vent windows.

Finally, Jim can be seen removing the excess channel rubber from the passenger-side vent window.

Not bad for a cold and rainy day in NE Ohio; tomorrow, putting in the inside door panels, now that the wagon is back at Impala Jim's, as we head into the homestretch for Spring Carlisle.

 

Cool beans Elvis. Lessee, Hall of Fame city would be ..........Cleveland?

 

Well, have to go a little further south on I-77; while it is true that Cleveland has the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame (glad it's close by, though my personal choice would have been Memphis--surprised?), I was referring to Canton, which is where the Pro Football Hall Of Fame is located...

 

Oh ok, fergot abt that one for a minute. Thanks.

 

OK, as spring reverts back into near-wintry conditions in NE Ohio for the time being, not as much accomplished today as had been hoped. But, some progress was made; mainly, the installation of the first of the door panels, on the rear passenger door, which had been the very worst one by far.

Jim had spent time before today prepping all of the doors while the panels were off, making sure that they was coated inside to prevent rust, while also ensuring that drip holes were in place so that any accumulated moisture would have a place to exit.

Then, the window itself was removed so as to allow for the installation of the window channel rubber that adheres to the outside edge of the door; the rear windows on these wagons only go down halfway, due to the dogleg of the bottom of the door in front of the rear wheels.

Then, the panel was affixed to the door, followed by the re-attachment of the arm rest (which includes an ash tray on the rear handles), the window crank, and the door handle.

Another minor item fixed was replacement of the reverse light bulb on the driver's side (sorry, no pictures!), and a picture of the front of the wagon with the newly-painted cowl, and wipers that now work without issue, as a result of the original wiper motor being re-installed. It had temporarily been used in the Starfire, but that two-speed motor has been repaired and is back in that car.

 

While Impala Jim was putting on the door panels, I saw this little faded piece of paper hiding underneath the center tunnel that is created behind the back seat when it is folded down to expand the cargo area. Just a blank order form, likely from the Oldsmobile assembly line in Lansing 50+ years ago. But then, when I turned it over...

...I found this handwriting on the back of the form. Right away, I recognized these numbers...

...this is the Fisher Body Plate, which on all General Motors Cars (with the possible exception of Cadillac), indicates information about the car, such as the model, the sequence that it rolled down the assembly line, the paint and interior trim codes, and what options the vehicle was to be equipped with. That piece of paper I found in essence was a mini "build sheet", which is a terrific piece of documentation to have from an old automobile.

Here is the reverse of the order form (wonder why they didn't just put the info down on the front?), and the Fisher Plate, with many of those same numbers. The wagon was the 1013th Dynamic 88 body assembled in Lansing; 3235 is the model number for the two-seat D88 Fiesta Wagon; 394 is the trim code for the Fawn (light brown) interior, and the other codes are back-up lamps (F); soft-ray tinted wi...ndshield glass (I 3); a foam-padded front seat cushion (K 1), and the electric tailgate rear window (U 9). On the Fisher Plate only, the C-C code indicates the wagon has a Provincial White body, and also the roof is in the same color (C is the paint code for each). Don't know what the 8 refers, to on the back of the sheet...

Two more interior door panels were installed, along with the new window channel rubber, by Impala Jim; one more to go, along with some interior assembly of other items Jim has refubished in recent weeks, and then we load up the wagon with swap meet goodies, and head down the road to Spring Carlisle!

 

That is too cool! I love finding stuff like that in old cars!

 

Looks good man!