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Curmudgeon
Curmudgeon MegaDork
10/28/14 8:04 a.m.

I'd leave it just as it is unless you do plan to tow. If you do, then a trans cooler is a great idea along with fresh fluid and filter regularly, even though it's not as beefy as the 700-4R the 200-4R will last OK. Desmog it (1980's smog technology was strangling) by losing the catalyst and optimizing the engine tune. Then drive on.

Worth a quick look for 307 info: http://tlentz.oldsgmail.com/more_power.html

Will the headliner help with anything except cosmetics? No? Then don't worry about it. It's a $900 transportation device, not a show car. Put that $200 or so toward something else.

volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse Dork
10/28/14 6:45 p.m.

Curmudgeon speaks much truth.

Kenny_McCormic
Kenny_McCormic PowerDork
10/28/14 7:04 p.m.

Yeah, desmogging(air pump, cat, advance timing, correct timing advance vac source, simplify vacuum lines etc. leave EGR if functional, bring evap system back to old draft tube style) stuff from that era really does wake it up.

volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse Dork
10/28/14 8:31 p.m.

With the spread bore carb and OD trans, it really ought to make high teens on the highway for fuel economy. Which isn't terrible, considering it has 3 times the engine displacement and weighs twice as much as a Honda Fit.

Wally
Wally GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
10/28/14 11:45 p.m.

My father could eek twenty out of his 87 if he was careful.

MailmAn
MailmAn New Reader
10/30/14 6:05 a.m.

Well, Tuesday after work I stopped over to meet this guy, we talked a bit, checked out the car, and he even let me take it for a test drive down the road a few miles to be sure I liked the wagon enough that I wanted to buy it. I said I needed transportation and this seemed to work fine for now (even if it leaks oil). So, we went back, he went inside his apartment, came back with a clear, unsigned title and a bill of sale form it looked like he downloaded off the Internet. We filled out paperwork, I gave him cash for the Olds, and he gave me the keys and now I'm the "proud" new owner of an old wagon.

Yesterday morning, I drove up to the DMV at 8am to register it. I have to say, while I was surprised at how many people were there right when they opened, it was still a good time to show up at the DMV to get in and out quickly. I had my registration and plates in hand and was out of there before 8:30, so I was only about 45 minutes late for work. After work yesterday, I drove over to the prior owner's apartment again and threw the plates on it and drove it home.

I noted a list of things that need immediate attention on the car though:

1) Rearview mirror fell off and needs to be reattached.

2) Driver's side door mirror is the wrong one and sits too low to see anything behind you and can't really be adjusted since it hits the door. It looks like it was supposed to have a mirror that is adjustable from inside without lowering the window, but someone broke it off and just slapped on the first mirror they could find at a junkyard that wasn't even for the car.

3) Figure out why the interior lights don't work. May just need bulbs. The front interior light was held in by the headliner, so I'll have to find a way to wire it up there. For now it is in the glove box.

4) Properly secure the spare tire in the back. While I was driving it, you could hear the tire rattling around in its compartment because it is just loose in there. I hope they didn't lose the mounting bracket for it or anything...

5) The engine needs a GOOD proper tune-up. I know those 80's 307 V8's weren't all that powerful, but this thing is about as doggy as can be! It was raining pretty good yesterday when I went to pick it up and I tried to floor the car at a light to see if I could break the rear tires loose in the rain and it couldn't even do that! The acceleration in that thing is glacially slow. I know it is a station wagon, but I should still think that the 0-60 time should be sometime before next week...

6) Figure out if I can easily fix the oil leak. I brought 2 quarts of oil with me to top it off before I drove it home since the valve train sounded pretty rattly on it when I test drove it Tuesday. It was at least a quart low and the engine still sounded like it had a tick in it when I was driving it home. (It could have even been a pin-hole exhaust leak though.) But after running the engine for only a few minutes, you can already smell burning oil, meaning it is leaking pretty quickly.

7) Try to figure out how to fix the driver's arm rest on the door. Looks like someone had disassembled the door at some point to try and fix the power locks (yes, it does have power locks, but they don't work...). However, they lost some screws it looks like that hold the arm rest on, so it is just loose and wobbly right now.

Other than that and the missing headliner, it looks like it should be a half-way decent ride for now. It sure beats paying for a rental car week after week! I'll probably start a separate thread for the wagon once I get some time to take better pictures of it.

The_Jed
The_Jed UltraDork
10/30/14 8:06 a.m.

Looks like you have the 5a heads, larger ports than the later castings. Baseline numbers are 140hp and 255 lb/ft.

After stripping off the needless smog junk, a set of higher ratio gears (3.73 vs 2.73) will go a long way toward making the barge accelerate more quickly. I think you may have 3.23:1 gears now.

Does your car have an aluminum or cast iron intake?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Oldsmobile-Olds-307-350-403-455-RV-Torque-Camshaft-Cam-Lifter-CL-Kit-68-84-/170656061030

volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse Dork
10/30/14 8:32 a.m.

Interior lights: I have always liked the interior dome light setup from 70's and 80's Fords. It has the center dome light and a pair of reading lights on each side. Grab one from the junkyard and wire it in.

Oil leak- check the valve covers first. Those tend to leak bad on pretty much every American pushrod V8. Buy a set of the best valve cover gaskets you can find, something like the Moroso rubber ones like I put on the 383 in my Town and Country wagon. Make sure the valve cover gasket mating surface is nice and flat- pound it down with a hammer if it's warped. Get it nice and straight and then torque the valve cover bolts with a socket driver. DON"T make them over tight. Retorque after a few heat cycles.

Check the oil pan bolts, too- they should be snug, not loose, but again, don't crank them down too hard. Changing the pan gasket might be tough if the front crossmember is under the engine.

Change the oil and filter at first opportunity. I like 15W-40 diesel oil in the 2.5 gallon jug from Tractor Supply, and Wix filters from Rock Auto.

Make sure the ATF is topped off. If it's anything other than nice and red and fluid-smelling, have it changed. DON"T have it flushed- just drop the pan, change the filter, reinstall the pan with a new gasket, and put in new fluid to the full mark when hot and idling.

Might be able to find a "correct" mirror on ebay. Interior mirror is an easy fix with a glue kit from the auto parts store. Make sure you clean the entire windshield on the inside. I like rubbing alcohol for this.

Put some slightly larger diameter screws in the arm rest.

You can do all this this weekend and be ready to rock and roll for Monday morning for under $100. Also, make sure you run the tires up to 35 psi all around or whatever the maximum pressure listed is.

MailmAn
MailmAn New Reader
10/31/14 10:03 a.m.
volvoclearinghouse wrote: Interior lights: I have always liked the interior dome light setup from 70's and 80's Fords. It has the center dome light and a pair of reading lights on each side. Grab one from the junkyard and wire it in.

How about this light I found on eBay?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331359529183

It is pretty much what you described above, but it is even a factory light for this car as well! The price seemed decent for a used dome lamp, especially considering what THIS one is going for:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261641798336

volvoclearinghouse wrote: Might be able to find a "correct" mirror on ebay.

And I did!! (For not all THAT much money either... I wouldn't exactly say I got it "cheap", but it should do the job and look factory.):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181170920133

So, I guess I am off to a good start already finding stuff for this wagon. Still can't find a correct headliner on eBay for it, but I will keep an eye out for one. Not in any real hurry for that. Having working mirrors on the car is more important than a headliner. Safety > Cosmetics.

volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse Dork
10/31/14 10:25 a.m.

Yeah, headliner would be last on my list. You could always get creative and use a roll of bamboo or something "custom".

The dome light looks like what I was talking about. Wouldn't surprise me if Ford and GM bought them from the same supplier. ;-)

MailmAn
MailmAn New Reader
10/31/14 10:47 a.m.
volvoclearinghouse wrote: Yeah, headliner would be last on my list. You could always get creative and use a roll of bamboo or something "custom".

I don't think bamboo comes on a roll. They are long sticks if I'm not mistaken...

volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse Dork
10/31/14 12:00 p.m.

Here, let me google that for you...

Stop being contrarian for everything you don't know and listen to people that are trying to help you.

MailmAn
MailmAn New Reader
10/31/14 1:21 p.m.

Yeah, so? That is just a bundle of bamboo sticks. Not like a roll of cloth made from bamboo somehow.

Plus, how is that helpful exactly?

Now THIS might look good in my wagon... what do you think?

Not bad, right?

TRoglodyte
TRoglodyte SuperDork
10/31/14 7:43 p.m.

Needs more MOhair. OldsMObile

tuna55
tuna55 UltimaDork
11/1/14 7:23 a.m.

My kids were bickering recently and I wondered if they would ever get along. Then I remembered this thread and laughed.

moparman76_69
moparman76_69 SuperDork
11/1/14 9:04 a.m.
MailmAn wrote: Now THIS might look good in my wagon... what do you think? Not bad, right?

I like that a lot.

volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse Dork
11/3/14 7:26 a.m.

I like it, too. Go for it. It's not like an '83 Oldsmobile station wagon will ever be worth anything as a cherry original vehicle, anyway.

BTW, bamboo does come in rolls, stitched together. A buddy of mine did the headliner in his Colony Park wagon like that.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/open-classifieds/as-long-as-im-clearing-house1978-mercury-colony-park/82930/page1/

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