Oldsmobile Mail List Server Toronado Mail List Server Hurst Oldsmobile Club of America Oldsmobile Club of America (OCA) OCA Chapters Oldsmobile, Division of General Motors Oldsmobile Enthusiast World Wide Web Pages Other National Oldsmobile Clubs GM Historical Services (Canada) Oldsmobile History Center RE Olds Transportation Museum

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Oldsmobile Mail List Server

A forum for your questions and information about Oldsmobiles. Emphasis on, but not limited to, V-8 powered Oldsmobiles.

To subscribe to the list server use your email program to send a message to [email protected]. In the email message body, leave the subject blank and include only the words "subscribe oldsmobile", or "subscribe oldsmobile-digest" for the digest version.

Be prepared to receive around 100 messages per day!!! The alternative is digest delivery (one 60KB collection of messages at a time - about three every two days).

Once you have subscribed, send all of your Olds related questions and comments to [email protected].

You may post messages to the list readers, seeking parts, advice, etc., or supplying the same. Your email will be distributed to all of the other list subscribers.

Basically your messages should read like a conversation would sound. Shouting at someone or agressively arguing a point would not be acceptable in a conversation with someone you do not know, and the same holds true for the list. We encourage polite debate, not in-your-face put-downs.

Post no pictures, and please limit non Olds material. Read the list welcome message thoroughly. Everyone on the list is pretty polite, and much nicer than most Usenet news groups. Enjoy!

I suggest subscribing to the digest version unless you like getting 100 or more individual posts per day, including the weekend.

Take a look at the FAQ and the digest archives first. Chances are the information is contained in one of these forms, but don't hesitate to post to the mail list.

Digests from day one of the mail list are available in archive form at http://www.calcon.net/~easton.

Toronado Mail List Server

A forum specifically for questions and information on Toronados.

To subscribe to the list server use your email program to send a message to [email protected]. In the email message body, leave the subject blank and include only the words "subscribe toro", or "subscribe toro-digest" for the digest version (about one collection of messages a day).

Once you have subscribed, send all of your Toronado related questions and comments to [email protected].

You may post your own notice to the list readers, seeking parts, advice, etc., or supplying the same. Your email will be distributed to all of the other list subscribers. Digest delivery of messages is also available.

Basically your messages should read like a conversation would sound. Shouting at someone or agressively arguing a point would not be acceptable in a conversation with someone you do not know, and the same holds true for the list. We encourage polite debate, not in-your-face put-downs.

Take a look at the FAQ and the digest archives first. Chances are the information is contained in one of these forms, but don't hesitate to post to the mail list.

For more information, visit the Toro List FAQ, Web Site, and searchable archive at http://www.toronado.org.

Hurst Oldsmobile Club of America

To join the H/OCA, send your name, address, phone, what year car(s) you have, and $25 to:
Hurst/Olds Club of America
455 131st Ave.
Wayland, MI 49348

The web site is at http://www.HurstOlds.com. Jon Wessel, the club director, is on the Olds mail list.

Oldsmobile Club of America (OCA)

Journey with Olds is the publication of the Oldsmobile Club of America, and the membership info is as follows from the 3/96 issue (class is mail class): One Year's Membership (U.S. only) - 3rd class: $30 One Year's Membership (U.S. only) - 1st class: $40 Two Year's Membership (U.S. only) - 3rd class: $55 Two Year's Membership (U.S. only) - 1st class: $70 One Year's Membership (Canada & Mexico only) - 1st class: $42 Two Year's Membership (Canada & Mexico only) - 1st class: $75 One Year's Membership (overseas): $60 Associate Membership: $5

OCA offices: 517-663-1811, fax: 517-663-1820.

"Ownership of an Oldsmobile is NOT required to join the club. Any year or type of Oldsmobile is welcome in our ranks. This is the largest exclusive Oldsmobile club in the world. We have nearly 6,400 members and we date back to 1971."

"Please allow several weeks for processing. Please remit U.S. funds only. No checks in Canadian Dollars or foreign currency."

Send to: OCA, P. O. Box 80318, Lansing, MI 48908-0318.

In the application they ask for your name, address, city, state, zip, phone number, list of Oldsmobiles currently owned, and other OCA chapters you may be affiliated with.

A 1st-class membership in the Olds Club of America, gets you 1st-class delivery of the monthly newsletter Journey With Olds, with ads, tech articles, etc. If you get 3rd class delivery, the good parts are all gone by the time you get the newsletter. The newsletter will not be forwarded with 3rd class delivery, say if you move and forget to change your address. You also get 25 free words of advertising each month, and subsequent words are only 15c each. One of the most useful ads for a parts seeker is the "Parts Wanted" ad. There are also sub-chapters of the OCA, specializing in say H/O's, W-cars, etc.

The official web site (as of 12:01 am 3/22/1998) is at http://www.oldsclub.org.

OCA Chapters

OCA Olds Cutlass Coupes The forgotten five years of Cutlass, 1973 - 1977, getting some respect. A chapter of OCA.

OCA Toronado Chapter and Toronado Mail List FAQ Tons of relavent, needed and interesting information from Toro owners and aficionados.

Oldsmobile, Division of General Motors

Oldsmobile Motorsports 920 Townsend St., MS 1045 Lansing MI 48921 800-442-OLDS (6537) 517-885-1651

They have a very nice, and one of the best web sites at www.oldsmobile.com.
Heidi Magyar, in Public Relations, checks e-mail at [email protected]

Oldsmobile Enthusiast World Wide Web Pages

Byrceman's Olds Page A truly excellent WWW page dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of Oldsmobiles everywhere.

Check out the "Oldsmobile Parts Sources" page for a list of after market suppliers of all products for your Oldsmobile. "Technical Pages" provides reference on models, engines and rebuilding. The "Related Entities" page provides information on joining the Oldsmobile Club of America and other organizations.

Other pages available are "Road Tests and Evaluations", "Oddities and Innovations", "Oldsified Ads", "Collectibles, Books and Literature", "Art and Images", and the "Oldsmobile Owners Registry". Don't leave without "doing" the R.E. Olds Museum virtual tour!

'68 Hurst/Olds Offramp
Lots of 1968 H/O information.

1969 Hurst/Olds Home Page
Lots of 1969 H/O information.

1975 Hurst Olds Page
Lots of 1975 H/O information.

GM G-Body Page
1978 to 1988 GM G-body cars.

Other National Oldsmobile Clubs

442 Registry
1000 South 19th Street
Arlington, VA 22202-1612

Curved Dash Oldsmobile Club
3455 Florida Avenue N.
Minneapolis, MN 55427
(612) 533-4280

National Antique Oldsmobile Club, Inc.
11730 Moffit Lane
Manassas, VA 22111-3122
Email address for Clay Mollman, the newsletter editor is: [email protected]

Starfire/Jetstar 1 Chapter
2657 April Dawn Way
Gambrills,MD 21054

1975-80 Oldsmobile Starfire and other GM H07 bodied cars:
The H07 Registry (Starfire Registry)
PO Box 2653
Mission Viejo, CA 92690

The H07 Registry was created in 1995 to create a communications network for enthusiast-owners of H07 bodied cars. Announcements for the registry appear in the OCA Journey With Olds and various other publications.

GM Historical Services (Canada)

General Motors Of Canada Ltd.
Atn/ Vintage Vehicle Services (dept. 163-005)
1908, Colonel Sam Drive
Oshawa, Ontario
L1H 8P7
Canada
1-800-263-3777
(Mon-Fri 8-5 EST)

They can only trace back cars that have been originally sold in Canada, but it does not matter were the car was originally built. For instance, my 1970 4-4-2 was built in Fremont, California but was sold at a Dealership in Vancouver, B.C. Therefore if the car was built in the U.S. and it was sold in the U.S. and then brought up to Canada at a later date, they will not be able to trace it and give you any information on the car.

The cost is $42.80 total. You give them your VIN and they research and send you a sheet with the trim codes, paint codes, top, Production Plant, Shipping Date, Model Number, Engine size and HP and Dealer that it was sold at. You also get all the options that were ORIGINALLY on the car with a description of each.

You also get a 30 page AMA Specifications book on your car from that model year. It has everything that you could possibly imagine (eg. exhaust valve material, length, head diameter, angle of seat, stem diameter, stem to guide clearence, lift etc. This is just the exhaust valve section! Every part of the car is in this technical sheet. (ie. Upper Compression Ring - Cast Iron with Crowned and Molybdenum Plated O.D., Width: 0.0770-0.0780, Gap: 0.013-0.023).

You also get a 67 page Vintage Vehicle Restoration Guide that has hundreds of addresses, phone numbers and a short description of what they sell. The table of contents is: Introduction, General Motors - How it all Began, In Canada - The Early Years, A General Motors Family Album, Important GM Dates, Some General Information, A Word about Shop Manuals, GM Restoration Parts Licensing Program, Car Clubs, Services (34 pages of parts places and services with descriptions of what they specialize in), and Literature.

[ Thanks to Greg Beaulieu for this information ]

Oldsmobile History Center

The very first thing every classic Olds owner must do is WRITE to the Olds History Center to obtain some original documentation for their car. There is a $15 research fee.

http://www.oldsmobileheritage.com/history.html Oldsmobile History Center
920 Townsend St.
Lansing, MI 48921
Mail Stop: 489-111-040

The History Center can also provide, for cars built from 1977 on, a copy of the original selling invoice for your car. This will tell you the dealer from which the car was originally purchased, and what options were on the car when it left the factory.

You will also want to check out the Oldsmobile/Gm Heritage Center at http://www.oldsmobileheritage.com 414 E. Michigan Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933
(517) 482-0717
FAX (517) 485-6937

[ Thanks to Randy Geisel for this information. ]

RE Olds Transportation Museum

240 Museum Drive Lansing, MI 48912 Hours: Monday - Saturday: 10 - 5pm Sunday: Noon - 5pm Closed most major holidays. E-mail at [email protected]

A small virtual tour can be found on Bryceman's Olds Web Site. At the museum you will find items like one of the original four 1897 Olds, a Curved Dash Olds, the Aerotech research vehicle (current land speed record holder), '66 Toronado #1 (2 '66's), Aurora #1, '49 Rocket OHV, '68 Hurst #1 (only 4 speed), 455 Hemi, 455 4 valve, 455 DOHC, 455 Turbo, and among other things, a humongous cast-iron engine from the 1920's. Among the approximate 40 cars and trucks are REO's and Oldsmobiles. Worth the trip to Lansing in central Michigan.

[ Thanks to Chris Witt, Mike Turley for this information ]

Bowling Automotic Programs Web Site

A good collection of automotive math and program to perform the calculations can be found at http://sura1.jlab.org/~grippo/auto.html. Do a net search if this link is old.

Grand National Web Site

A lot of stuff that's applicable to the later model Cutlass'. Computer error codes, tranny tips, suspension modifications, etc. Among them I found detailed instructions on how to remove, repair, and replace the power antenna on my '84 H/O (including GM part numbers for the repair kit), tips for traction, how to install a headliner, heater core, tranny removal, replacing the lockup converter with a non-lockup, and lots of other stuff. If you have a G-body, go check it out at http://www.gnttype.org/index.html. Do a net search if this link is old.

Books

The best commercially available info sources are a book called 442 by the Numbers published by SuperCars, Ultd. of Portland, OR, and Joe Mondello's Technical Reference Manual. The former is about $15, covers 442 [only] from '64 to '72 mainly, has VIN decoding, casting number applications, correct number listings for carbs, distributors, differentials, etc. A "best buy" for the beginner, many photos.

The Mondello booklet is about $25, covers more components, but lacks a bit in composition and editing. No VIN decoding is offered, but the casting number parts identification is much more extensive, and in addition to the 442 items, small blocks and ordinary engines are covered as well. More technical information, such as head displacement volume, is listed.

Available from Mondello Performance, Inc. Get it for even more details on Oldsmobile engines 1964 - 1994, excluding the 394.

Magazine Reference Articles

Date      Magazine        Page   Title          
   1977   PHR Eng Annual    44   Buildup of '74 455
 9/1979   HR                71   Street modifications for Olds 403
 2/1980   HR                     Building the Olds 260/350/403 engine
 5/1980   HR                59   Olds update
 4/1981   CC                58   Building the 330 Olds V-8
 1/1981   HR                71   Building a competition 455 Olds
10/1984   HR                48   'Junkyard Dog' - lo-budget BB Part 1
11/1984   HR                45       "      "   - Part 2
 7/1985   CD                     Comparing '84 442, MC SS, GN
Fall'85   Muscle Cars       54   Building the Olds 455 (Mondello)
   1986   PHR Eng Annual    52   Olds 455 short block modifications
 3/1986   HR                54   The Olds V-8 (alternative engines)
10/1986   CC                     Beefing up the 200-R4 trans
10/1986   HR               104   Olds adjustable valvetrain - stock pts
   1987   PHR Eng Annual    20   403 Olds buildup
 3/1987   HR                85   Keith Black/Olds DRCE block and heads
 4/1987   HR               112   Olds Quad 4 modification Variances
 8/1987   CC                     1G Street Machine - Ultimate Handling Tricks
                                 for GM G-body (Spicer Engineering "Darth
                                 Vader" car)
 8/1987   PHR                    Cutlass 482 SS/GT K Sportsman  - Part1
 9/1987   PHR               76   "       "     "   "     "     - Part 2
11/1987   PHR                    Goodbye to the 442 Olds
 4/1988   CC                     1964-74 Olds 442 - The Rocket's Red Glare
 2/1989   CA                     1964-84 Oldsmobile 442: Anti-Boredom Machine
 4/1989   Hot Street Cars   14   Build a 495 Olds
 7/1989   PHR               66   Olds 495 from a 350 diesel block
 2/1990   SS                28   1990 Olds Calais S/S car
 6/1990   CC                82   PS/A '87 Cutlass
 6/1990   PHR               46   Mondello builds the 307 SB
 7/1990   PHR               80   The Mondello 455 buildup
 7/1991   PHR               80   Stroker SBs: 440 SB Olds
 8/1991   CC                92   '78-'88 swaps: brakes, strg boxes, etc
 2/1991   PHR               51   68 Olds in GTO (11.50 ET)
 3/1992   CC                42   New Olds block ('Rocket' SB Chev)
 9/1992   PHR                    Totally Stroked - Mondello Strikes Again
                                 with a 486 or 493 Olds Giant
 1/1993   HR               100   '72 Cutlass 455 (11.92ET/112mph)
 2/1993   PMR&P                  442 Production Figures
 2/1993   PMR&P                  Rocket Science, Hot W-30 Engine Rebuild
 2/1996   CA                     1954-56 Olds: Sneaked Styling (Cover)
12/1996   CA                     The Slimmer, Trimmer Oldsmobiles of 1961-64 

Note:

	CA - Collectible Automobile		CC - Car Craft
	CD - Car & Driver		HR - Hot Rod
	PMR&P - Petersen's Musclecar Restoration & Performance		PHR - Popular Hot Rodding
	S/S - Super Stock & Drag Illustrated

[ Thanks to Brad Nicholson, others for this information ]

Manuals

Shop manuals and the like are widely available. Be aware that for some years the chassis manual consisted of a multi (eg. five) volume set. Most years are two manuals: chassis (shop) and body (all GM bodies for that year). There are several automobile literature vendors who advertise in Hemmings and the various Olds club publications. Try 1-800-BUY-A-BOOK. First thing I'd recommend for anyone new to the old-car hobby is to pick up a copy of Hemmings Motor News at your local newsstand. It has advertisements from just about everyone in the busines, for just about anything to do with automobiles and trucks.

Bob Johnson's Auto Literature at 800-334-0688. Walter Miller of Syracuse NY. Dragich Auto Literature of Minneapolis, MN. Ken McGee of Goderich, Ontario, Canada. These guys tend to have both NOS and used original manuals, along with some reprints, and they carry them for just about every car ever made (or they can find them for you).

For Olds-specific stuff, there's Al and Bill Sandy at 609-858-0248, members of OCA. You will also find most literature at local swap meets for a little less money.

Glossary

[ Thanks to Bob Barry, Steve Ochs, [email protected] for this information ]

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Table of Contents • Index • Acknowledgements

History • Engines • Blocks • Heads • Cranks • Intakes • Exhaust • Pistons
Transmissions • Diffs • Brakes • Suspension • Steering • Cams • Carbs • Interchange
Best BB • Best SB • 260 • 303 • 307 • 324 • 330 • 350 • 371 • 394 • 400 • 403 • 425 • 455 • Diesel
Rebuilding • Buildup • Swap • Restore • Option Codes • Wheels • Ignition • Comp Ratio
The W's • The H/O's • The 442's • Toronado • 88 / 98 / Starfire • Cutlass • Jetfire • Wagons
Basic Tech • How To • Miscell • All Vehicles • Additional Information

 Rocketeers have navigated these pages (since April 10, 2000).

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