graytoad

We have had a super productive 2 weeks. Yesterday we got the turbo on. No one told us that bolting on the turbo/getting at some of those bolts would nearly cause a divorce as well as trying to figure out where everything connected to. The factory must have had some special tools or hired people based on how small their hands were. We survived…[Read more]

I see yours is kind of green. Mine is beige/grey.
I would think that you should be able to get a rubber grommet to do the job: even if you had to do some altering. There are also those grommet plugs that have a solid top for ‘plugging a hole’ that you could cut to suit the pipe. Obviously due to the angle of the pipe entering this factory…[Read more]

Things are moving forward well with the Jetfire. Engine and transmission, drive shaft, heater box & rad in so Steve decided to fill the rad when he discovered it was pouring out the side of the block. Turns out there should have been a drain plug installed by our engine builder that was not, nor was it pointed out that we needed to do that!
I…[Read more]

TRF back up bottle Lid Stencil – awaiting classifieds posting, I though I would include here too.
When shipped new your Jetfire included an under the hood ‘back up bottle’ of Turbo Rocket Fluid – should your pressure tank run dry. The lid of the bottle had ‘Turbo Rocket Fluid’ printed on the cap but if it was lost the replacement caps were plai…[Read more]

TRF Tank ‘Red Button’ – thought I would post here too
I spent many weeks working with a leading ‘3D print’ production company to recreate the ‘red button’ that goes on the top of the TRF fluid tank pressure relief cap. As the original, the button sits slightly higher than the cap when sealed and pops up prominently at 7 psi. They are color m…[Read more]

My thoughts on the hub cap color as well Greg: the same translucent red as the F85 logo. Your caps look gorgeous!

wow Eric, that is phenomenal!

Any luck on your question elsewhere? Maybe you should check with the new face book group 1961-1963 Oldsmobile F-85/Cutlass/Jetfire as this really more Jetfire specific here. Good luck!

You certainly are making lots of headway lately: Great work Eric!

I just saw your post. I was wondering about waterless antifreeze and any possible issues. We had our heater core redone bu Fusicks: I better check with them about that now! Heater cores seem to be my enemy. Every car we have restored – if we did not do the heater core too: sure as shooting the darn thing would start leaking a year or so…[Read more]

Apparently not all cars came with seatbelts so I have posted mine here. Note: ‘factory correct’ have the soft rubbery vinyl sleeve at the bottom to cover the connectors to avoid rattling. They mount to heavy duty forged eye bolts. If you look at the picture, top right you will see that there are two plates that swing to open to catch the eye bolt.…[Read more]

We haven’t touched the motor since unloading it, likely be next week. We started some other jobs before heading south: we are installing a Vintage Air system in our 61 Fiesta wagon which was only half done when we left. That is a big job, everything has to be custom fit and there are no ‘direct instructions’ of fitting the unit to our actual car…[Read more]

I still have lots to catch up in posting on this forum, however I must fast forward to today – BECAUSE . . . .

TODAY we finally picked up my engine from D&D Aluminum V8 in Michigan. It is just shy of one year since we dropped it off to Mark. He was booked ahead by a few months but we were travelling to Florida for the winter so he had plenty…[Read more]

hummmm

The hood and the tops of the fenders were repainted in the early 70’s due to a minor altercation with a truck and a guard rail. I am fairly sure the passenger side fender was replaced as the holes in that fender lip are way bigger than the other fenders and all have speed nuts on the back. Anyway, this is what cracked lacquer paint looks like with…[Read more]

I am having some trouble posting on this forum. Can some one here explain why when I clicked on the ‘insert into content’ option on my photos – the photos did not insert? After clicking that command, the photo ‘file name’ appeared in the document above, everything seemed to be cool: however after posting – none of the photos inserted in the…[Read more]

We have been diligently working away on this car for the last year but all the while I have been waiting for the day that my son would take it away to bring out the best in the paint. Brandon has some amazing skills when it comes to paint restoration

[blockquote]BBCode you used is not allowed.[/blockquote]
. . . . reminds me of our trip back…[Read more]

I need to get back at posting here.
The front bumper, passenger side was bent slightly. Steve had dealt with tweaked bumpers before and was sure he could fix this ‘nearly new’. I was skeptical and worried he would make it worse. Trust in your husband Sandy! He jerry rigged a gadget using bar-stock, vice grips, a pry bar, a block of wood and…[Read more]

We also sanded and prepped the inside of the hood for painting. I sprayed the exposed metal and surface rusted area with rust encapsulator too, that product is what makes the exposed metal look black. I was surprised how the original paint was not adhered to the metal very well, lots of it just sanded right off with barely a stroke or two of the…[Read more]

wow, way too long since I last posted. I have been working on a number of niggling issues in the interior.
My sun visors had some bad stains from 50+ years of having a red cardboard document pocket clipped to it. Managed to clean off 95% of the staining. The stitching thread was rotting with age so I re-stitched them both. The headliner cleaned…[Read more]