1966 OLDS 442

Update your progress on your various car projects.

Moderators: MostMint, wxo, Fred32v, Basement Paul, ttamrettus

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TheRookie
Posts: 288
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2005 4:01 pm
Location: Charlotte

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by TheRookie »

Well, any time I talk about going EFI on the GTO, someone always mentions I'll get better mileage. Which for a car that will only cruise around on weekends, I don't really care. But hey, good for the environment I guess :)
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

Saturday I spent some time working on the 442. The goal was to get the water pump and harmonic balancer
changed and, with the coolant out of the car, switch the gauges the next time I had time. I drained the coolant
and took the radiator out. The water pump came off easily and so did the harmonic balancer. Things were going
pretty well until I went to put the balancer on and it was the wrong one. Turns out that Summit listed it for
Pontiac and Oldsmobile 400's and it won't go on an Olds. I called Summit and I can ship it back to them (even
though I painted it and the box) without a problem and they'll give me credit for it, less shipping. The real issue
is getting a new balancer. They said they'd be able to ship in Mid-May. I'm not wanting to wait that long. I really
thought that the harmonic balancer was my vibration issue, but the water pump nose bearing was going bad
and, when you grabbed the front and wiggled, there was movement. I'm guessing that any bearing bad at 3500
rpms will cause a vibration. That fact, coupled with the fact that I've never had a harmonic balancer go bad
in all of my years of driving, made me pretty confident that I could bolt the old one back in. The balancer came
off very easily, so IF it is bad, I should be able to change it pretty easily with the front of the motor together.
I have the water pump on the car now and the balancer. I removed the spacer between the pump pulley and
fan ( the spacer that made it so you HAD to pull the radiator to get the fan off!! -- 1/8" between the fan blades
and the radiator ) and installed short studs that I purchased when I was going to put TireSmoker's 7 blade fan
on my 69 Chevy truck. I'm going to go with the 7 blader over my current 5 blade, so I put his fan on my clutch
and we will be good to go. Here's a pic of the bad water pump with the super long studs in it. I'll hopefully
make some more headway this afternoon.
waterpump.jpg


GM
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

More progress made. Today Fred32v stopped to drop off a portion of my birthday present. He showed up with
a rusty bumper jack ( minus the base )from a 66 convertible. He bought it on Ebay, and I was watching that
jack and, if I didn't get the right parts at Carlisle, I was going to buy it. When I got back from Carlisle, it was
sold... To Fred! Bonus! I bought a jack and base at the meat, so now we can make one good jack out of the
two. That's another project for down the road a bit. While I had Fred there, and while I was looking at the horns
which are behind the radiator and impossible to get to with the radiator in, I adjusted the horn sound. They
sound a thousand times better, and way louder than before. Nice free upgrade! I also got the front of the motor
back together and got the radiator in and bolted up. I started on the gauge install. The old gauges are out and
the new ones half in. Fortunately, the gauges, even though they are different brands, use the same brackets
and lights, so not musch fabrication is required to get them in. It's a bit tight under the dash, and there's a
big chrome stick sticking out of the floor where it would be best to lay, but I'll deal with it. I have about
2 or 3 more hours and this project will be buttoned up.

GM
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

I had a few hours tonight and some real nice weather so I went to put a couple hours
in. I finished mounting the gauges, hooking them up ( oil, water & volts ) on the dash
side and in the engine compartment. I just have to add coolant, vacuum out some debris
from in the interior, lower it off of the jacks, and take it for a spin. We are supposed to
have a couple days worth of rain, but I should be able to make some more headway on
the weekend.

GM
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

Yesterday was a good day. After a quick run to the parts store for some parts I got to work
with the intention of starting and driving the 442. I added coolant & replaced the connector
on the positive cable to the battery because the lead end cracked. They now make "non-lead"
top post connectors, which I purchased as well as the plastic things that cover the post so
you can't accidentally arc on the post. ( I know they never had those things in the 60's, but
they are a functional safety add-on ) They gave me a reason to check the connections on the
cables to the block and battery. All's good. It took a while to get the car started, but a few shots
of ether and it started and idled. Having drained a bunch of coolant out, it took a bit of time for
the water temp gauge to react, but it finally did. So, all the gauges work, and the rest of the work
I did was tested as well. As I was getting ready to pull out of the garage, I noticed a large puddle
of gasoline on the floor under the rear of the car, which turned out to be loose hoses from the tank
to the steel fuel lines. I never tampered with them, so I'm assuming the previous owner never
tightened them up. Easy fix. I drove it for about 7 miles and the rear end makes zero noise and
55 mph is about 2200 rpm, which is so much more enjoyable while driving. I still have to get the
offset speedo adapter, the straight one I purchased won't clear the cross member. I'll get on ordering
one soon. The gps tells speed nicely and the speedo is slow by a bit, but at least it's drivable.
Next on the list is to re-check the coolant level and put the dwell meter on it. It also has a ton of
winter dust on it, so a bath is a must.

GM
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wxo
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Location: Raleigh, NC

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by wxo »

This is the best part of being a hot rodder. Fixing, improving and then the TEST DRIVE where everything works as expected is the reason we do what we do. :D
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

wxo wrote:This is the best part of being a hot rodder. Fixing, improving and then the TEST DRIVE where everything works as expected is the reason we do what we do. :D
So... the test drive hasn't proven to be perfect. On the way back, I sucked some garbage into the needle
and seat area and the car wouldn't idle at all. I was able to clean it up and get it running again, but it took
me a couple of hour to finish. I also had to re-do the linkage for the reverse switch. I discovered that the
linkage was just a bit too short and popped out of the switch. After studying a pic on EBay, I noticed that
my linkage was not the same as the trans pictured on the site, so I made a linkage out of some 1/8" rod I
bought at Home Depot. The hardest part of the job was the constant getting up and down to see if the
lights were on where I put the switch lever. I got it, but I feel like I did a thousand sit ups! It's done for good
I hope! Now, I still need to do a final tune on it. Setting the dwell, final timing and setting the idle air screws ( that were
way backed out ) have to be done still. I'll wait til Fred is around to help out with that stuff. In the meantime,
there's still stuff I can tinker with. Fred32v and Arlene16v hooked me up with some sweet floor mats ( they
don't photo well -- I tried! ) that are rubber reproductions of the factory correct mats. I got those installed
tonight and, while I was cleaning out the interior prior to their install, I switched the seatbelts around. The
install guy put the left one on the right and vice versa. They worked ok, but when you'd put the belt over
your lap, the belt twisted and made me nuts. Five minutes with the ratchet cured the issue. More to come!

GM
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

We got out to try the tuning yesterday. The big issue that we are having here is that the
car idle is extremely inconsistent. One second it's perfect, then the next second it stalls.
We double checked to make sure that the timing is correct, we set the dwell and adjusted
the idle air screws. With the vacuum advance connected, this thing is all over the place, so
we are assuming there's some issue with the vacuum canister. There's an adjustable one on
the way now. It was $17.00 delivered to my door. Also ordered was a heavy duty fan clutch.
Mine is working correctly, but the heavy duty clutch will slip less and allow for better cooling.
I'm trying to not have to put a fan shroud on it. Unless it had A/C the 442's didn't have a shroud.
Therefore, a used one is crazy money. A reproduction shroud is crappy quality. I have an aluminum
radiator in the car, so I'd most likely have to hack on it to make it fit. I'll try this fan clutch to
see if we can keep it cooler. It never goes over 200 at idle, but I'd like it to be cooler. Anyway,
that stuff is the next chapter.
With time left to tinker, I went to work putting my jack together. It went perfectly! The
jack post and base are a Carlisle find, they are Chevy parts. The hook was from an Ebay parts jack
that was from a 66 Cutlass. That jack had no base. I opted for the Chevy jack which is a bit more
substantial but in very nice condition. It was about two inches too long, so I took my torch to it to
make it the correct length. With the jack post to the correct length, I was able to get all of the parts
wire wheeled, sanded and painted. I did this earlier in the day so they had time to dry before I put
it in the trunk at 8:30 pm. I used Dupli-Color satin black and Rust-o-leum aluminum for the finish
coats. Both of those paints are quick dryers, and were perfectly dry when installed. I bought some
foam pipe insulation to wrap the jack in to protect the floor of the trunk. They sell thin rubber sleeves
for this application, but I wanted a bit more clearance between the jack and the trunk floor. It all
went together super nice. When I think of all the effort that I went through to just get a spare tire
and jack it makes me laugh. It feels like a major project has been accomplished!
spare tire.jpg
442 jack.jpg
GM
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

The speedometer adapter that I purchased was a straight style and it won't clear the
cross member. I need an offset style. So last night, I went for a 20 mile ride down the
freeway to log mileage on the odometer vs. the mile markers. I ended up with 8.4 miles
on the odometer vs. 10 actual. I've emailed the adapter company. The temperature was
in the middle 70's when I hit the highway. Going 65 - 70 mph the car was very steady at
180* and 2975 rpm's is 70 mph. The only bogus thing about the trip is that the car stalls
whenever it comes to a stop. I was beginning to think vacuum canister on the distributor
as the problem, but now I'm thinking carb rebuild. Parts are ordered for that. We're
getting there.

GM
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by Basement Paul »

Tri-power fuel injection...

http://fitechefi.com/products/39610/

http://autotrendefi.com/efi-2g.html

I like the second one better.

-BP
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TheRookie
Posts: 288
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2005 4:01 pm
Location: Charlotte

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by TheRookie »

I think that second one is something like $7K. Ouch, but looks amazing.
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

Those are sweet! I'll stick with what I've got going, but I'm impressed at how they
figured those out. In reality, there are plenty of Chevy aftermarket tri-power intakes
out there to drop those on. There might actually be a market for those.... although they
are a bit pricey.

GM
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

I started on the pile of new parts that were on the bench this weekend. Sunday, I bolted on a new heavy
duty fan clutch ( part # from a 66 Toronado ). Good thing I did this, as the old clutch was starting to come
apart and leak. You could also push in on it and feel some bearings grinding. I also installed and a new harmonic
balancer. After having to tap tap tap the new balancer on, and re-assembling, I fired the car up and set the timing.
It ran like crap and I was not pleased, so I pushed the car in the corner in disgust, and decided I needed to regroup.
Fred had some time Monday afternoon, so he came over AFTER I rebuilt the center carb and bolted it back on the car.
He and I discussed the issues that I was having, and we decided that a trip to Paul Carson's for a minor consultation
was in order. After explaining my stalling issue to him and a short conversation about the new harmonic balancer,
we headed back home. What Paul discussed with us was that the ( and we knew this but didn't think about it, duh )
timing mark should be on 0 at top dead center. Obvious. We pulled the #1 plug out and put a screwdriver in the
hole to find top dead center. At that point, the new harmonic balancer was about 12 degrees off! Unreal. So we
pulled it off ( which was a chore because of the tap tap tap scenario described above ) and re-installed the old one.
The old one was dead on 0, proving that it was still good. ( I read that balancers would sometimes fail when old
and get out of center and vibrate. ) After firing it up and setting the timing ( which is proving to be a real chore with
this distributor and we don't quite know why yet ) we took the car for a couple of test runs. The good news is that
the stalling issue is gone and the vibrations are too. The bad news is that it's dieseling when it shuts down. I'm hoping
that the final timing will help cure some of this. We are struggling to set the timing because the car will overheat when
it idles too long in the summer-like heat we have this weekend. We do a minor adjustment and the distributor is SO
sensitive that we need a lot of time to do the work. We will have to go at it another day or at night when it is a bit
cooler out. I leave this long weekend feeling a lot better knowing that I've cured that idle issue and the vibration deal.
I'll keep on forging forward.

GM
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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

I decided to pull the distributor out to change the vacuum advance dash pot. When I got in there, I
noticed that the gear on the end of the distributor was only being held on by half of a roll pin. I'm
feeling pretty lucky that the portion of the pin that was left didn't give up, I don't want to think
about what it would've taken to get that gear out of the motor. Anyhow, after re-assembling the
distributor, I promptly put it in 180* out, so it wouldn't run. Fred came over last night and we took
it from the top. After some fiddling around and three test runs, I think we have the timing dialed in
pretty well. The adjustable vacuum advance, at the adjustment level I have it at now, is not doing
anything, but you can't adjust it in the motor, because the allen wrench required to adjust it hits the
firewall when you put it in. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do about that one quite yet, but I'll
figure something out. It runs so well now that I'm almost afraid to touch it again, We shall see. I
did get a fan shroud in the mail yesterday that needs to be painted and installed. When that goes
in, so will a 160* thermostat.

GM
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Fred32v
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Location: Munson, OH. retired

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by Fred32v »

I thought about it, there is no reason the Vacuum canister has to be where it is. Loosen up the distributor
and turn it where the vacuum canister is totally accessible, then put the rotor pointed to the new #1 position
and reset the timing (Without the vacuum hooked up) and now you can adjust the vacuum as much as you wish.
We can do that any evening. Grins.
Fred32v
GMC Canyon Crew Cab Short Box 4x4 V6!
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