1966 OLDS 442

Update your progress on your various car projects.

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GMJohnny
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Location: Auburn Twp, Oh

Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

Productive weekend this weekend! I checked back on Tiresmoke and on June 13th I installed the
adjustable vacuum advance canister on the 442 and it wasn't adjustable because the firewall got in
the way. Finally ( due to a wedding shower that consumed 6 weeks worth of my free time ) I was
able to adjust the distributor so that my vacuum advance canister could be adjsuted. I tried a couple
of times to have the canister adjusted in the middle of the adjustment and it wouldn't work at all.
I got sick of fiddling around and adjusted the screw so it got max vacuum and the idle went up 300 rpms.
Success! We adjusted the idle down to normal and took it for a spin. What a huge difference! It idles so nice,
cruises better and slow shifts way smoother. It also doesn't diesel at shut down. This was a drivability upgrade
that was LOOONNNNGG overdue.

GM
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Fred32v
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by Fred32v »

The plate looks awesome.
With the new found vacuum that 442 sure runs SSSMMMOOOOOOTTTTTTHHHHHH!
Fred32v
GMC Canyon Crew Cab Short Box 4x4 V6!
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wxo
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by wxo »

GMJohnny wrote: I have about 5 hours in making it look like it does now. It took about 250,000 taps with punches, chisels & hammers to convert the 6 into a C and make the 1946 into 1966. Then it took many coats of white paint to cover the red embossed letters on the plate. It isn't perfect, but it looks pretty good and going by a 60 mph nobody will know that I made the plate myself.
GM
Hey GM, great work on that license plate! It seems that you and Racin Jacin must have learned that skill together somewhere. :mrgreen:

Also, making the effort to get that vacuum advance adjusted appears to have made a giant leap in the driveability of that super Oldsmobile. You have made a lot of progress in getting that car where you can really enjoy it. I hope it's a keeper for you.
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

WXO,

At this point in time, I can't see getting rid of the 442. The real deal there is that I know
how I work. I don't think that I'm able to hold on to a car for 10 years. I'm good with that
though. I've never regretted selling a car and never felt like I have to have any of them
back. I enjoy the hunt for the car, fixing it up, and making it how I want it. Once that all
gets done, I enjoy it for some finite amount of time and then sell because I get bored not
doing anything to the car that's new. This car might be different. We'll see. It's funny, I
happened to mention to Fred on Sunday that I'm going to make this 442 a good car for
somebody someday. ( If I sell the car, I won't sell the license plate! )

GM
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

I had a small vacation which started on Thursday. I had slated the 442 for a front end alignment on
Friday. Paul Carson took the car to his work with him on his way in. On his way in, he called and told
me that the generator light came on and the volt gauge was reading 12 volts. I told him to keep going,
there's nothiing but the points running off of the battery, I knew it would make it to his shop. It did.
When he put the car on the alignment rack he noticed that the center link is bad. I haven't rolled under
the car to see how bad it is yet, but the new center link is on its way here. I drove the car back with
the generator light off, but the gauge still read only 12 volts. When I got home, I whacked the voltage regulator
with a wooden hammer handle and cleaned the contacts with WD-40 and it starting charging. Not wanting
to rely on my repair forever, I ordered a new regulator also. The parts will be here this week. I did
drive the car several times this weeked and the temps outside were in the high 80's and low 90's. I got
stuck in some church traffic for about 20 minutes. The coolant temperature never went over 175. Wonderful!
I'm not sure if vacuumadvance has bearing on coolant temperature, but the compilation of things I've done this
summer has me really feeling confident in this thing in hot temps. My "new to me" timing light should be here
this week and, once here, I will do a final setting of the timing. As always, so much to do....


GM
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TireSmoker
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by TireSmoker »

GMJohnny wrote:I had a small vacation which started on Thursday. I had slated the 442 for a front end alignment on
Friday. Paul Carson took the car to his work with him on his way in. On his way in, he called and told
me that the generator light came on and the volt gauge was reading 12 volts. I told him to keep going,
there's nothiing but the points running off of the battery, I knew it would make it to his shop. It did.
When he put the car on the alignment rack he noticed that the center link is bad. I haven't rolled under
the car to see how bad it is yet, but the new center link is on its way here. I drove the car back with
the generator light off, but the gauge still read only 12 volts. When I got home, I whacked the voltage regulator
with a wooden hammer handle and cleaned the contacts with WD-40 and it starting charging. Not wanting
to rely on my repair forever, I ordered a new regulator also. The parts will be here this week. I did
drive the car several times this weeked and the temps outside were in the high 80's and low 90's. I got
stuck in some church traffic for about 20 minutes. The coolant temperature never went over 175. Wonderful!
I'm not sure if vacuumadvance has bearing on coolant temperature, but the compilation of things I've done this
summer has me really feeling confident in this thing in hot temps. My "new to me" timing light should be here
this week and, once here, I will do a final setting of the timing. As always, so much to do....


GM
From the stuff I've read, vac adv does indeed help the engine run cooler.

-Dave
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

"From the stuff I've read, vac adv does indeed help the engine run cooler."
After seeing this, I read up a bunch on overheating and vacuum advance. Turns out
it's a thing! Who knew? Anyhow, my timing light showed up in the mail. It is in
great shape and works. I didn't do any fooling around with the motor because it
was raining like crazy this weekend. I'll wait to try to get another final check on
timing until the weather rebounds. While I'm waiting for the dry to come back, I
changed the center link. I'm not at all convinced it was even bad, but the new one
is epoxy coated and has grease fittings on it, the other one was non-greasable. The
replacement took me about an hour, it wasn't horrible. I'll try to schedule a front
end alignment this week. With the wheels up in the air, you can really tell that it
needs one.

GM
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

I had a little bit of time yesterday to fool with the timing, finally! I was able to bump it
up to 11 degrees. It wasn't anywhere near pinging, but I don't want to push it. I put the
weakest springs I had in the advance curve and the combo performs well. I still have a
bit of a surge when driving under 2,000 rpms, which the paperwork that came with vacuum
advance indicates that is able to be adjusted out. It isn't a big deal if I can't get it to go
away, the car performs really well. It goes in Monday for the front end alignment. After
that I should be ready to take it to the track to see what it'll turn.

GM
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Racin'Jacin
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by Racin'Jacin »

GM, Stellar job on the license plate!!!!!
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

Racin'Jacin wrote:GM, Stellar job on the license plate!!!!!
Thanks, Jacin'! If I go to prison, I'll have one plate on my resume!

GM
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

The surging while not under load was making me crazy. I did a couple of things today to help. First of all, I
adjusted the vacuum advance canister. It's a pretty slick option. I also feel, after reading up on the internet,
that my spring combo was too weak on my advance curve. I went to a medium strength spring and I bumped
the timing back one degree. It seems pretty good, but I'll drive it a few times. If I feel like it isn't good enough,
I'll adjust the canister another turn or so. It seems like it's taking forever to get this right, but it's worth it. I
think the motor is ready for track day.

GM
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

Front end alignment was done yesterday. Fortunately I live very close to my mechanic friend
who drove the car to his work and did the alignment. I could tell the alignment was bad, especially
after the new center link was installed. Here is the computer printout of before and after the
alignment. I think I just saved myself a tenth or two in the quarter after seeing how far out the
alignment really was. I'm going to have to put the front tires on the back now to true them up
a bit!! It's pretty obvious which is "before" and which is "after".
front end alignment2.jpg
front end alignment1.jpg


GM
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MostMint
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by MostMint »

most all of this can be done with a smart phone and tape measure. No fancy printouts though :lol:
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

This was taken from the internet regarding the factory 1966 442 quarter mile times:

"Car Life tested an L69 4-4-2 with four-speed transmission and obtained a 0–60 time of 6.3 seconds and a quarter mile of 14.8 seconds at 97 mph (156 km/h).[5] Motor Trend's similar test car ran 0–60 in 7.2 seconds, with a quarter mile time of 15.2 seconds at 96.6 mph (155.5 km/h). "

We track tested the 442 tonight. I'm very pleased with my 14.37 best at @ 98.32. 60' time of 2.225. This was the
best of my three runs. If I cared to make this car go as fast as it could, a pinion snubber, long tube headers and
a three grand hole shot would get it in the thirteens I'm pretty confident. I'm not doing that. This was just a
test to see what it was capable of doing so I had a number. More than likely the last time it will see the track.

Also, the front end alignment is WONDERFUL! It tracks perfectly down the road, steers way easier and is
still smoother yet. Better and better every time out!

GM
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1966 OLDS 442

Post by GMJohnny »

Today I changed the front springs on the 442. I always thought that the front end sat up too high.
I bought new springs for $80.00 delivered to my house. I purchased Moog springs for a 1966 Cutlass
without air conditioning. The total job took me about two and a half hours, which included about
20 minutes of trying to figure out what the best plan of attack was. I was able to change the springs
without a spring compressor, which was pretty cool. It was pretty painless all in all. The new springs
only dropped the front end about 5/8", but I figure they will drop a bit over the winter and when I
start driving it again. It does look better. I also lowered the rear air shocks a few pounds to help as
well. The chrome trim over the wheel is now about 27 3/8" from the floor. Next up is a distributor
rebuild ( I bought the correct part number distributor ) which will hopefully happen before the
snow flies.


GM
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