Station
The 1972 442 Vista Cruiser.
There wasn't one. There should have been one, but there wasn't. So the next best thing is to MAKE one.
Since my last entries were over a year ago and I've done a SHIT TON of work to that car since, I might as well write about it!
Well, in September 2013, the car was running really bad and after rebuilding the 2 barrel carb without any change in the way it ran, we Ryan and I did a compression test on all 8 cylinders. The driver's side bay of the V8 showed good compression, but to make absolutely sure, we did all 8. Sure enough, when we got to the very last #8 cylinder, the compression dropped significantly. Bad news. After what is called a leak-down test, we determined that there was something wrong with one of the valves, and we'd have to yank the heads.
Well around that time, I had been thinking about beefing the engine up some with an aluminum intake, 4-barrel Edelbrock carburater and header exhaust. So..... we yanked the engine.
And immediately discovered that the exhaust valve on the #8 cylider was burned out, thus allowing gasses and fuel/air mix to excape and enter at will. So I had to have head work done.
While the engine was out, I cleaned it up real good, we inspected the pistons, oil pump, timing chain and all that. And while I waited for the heads to be machined and for the parts like the intake and the carb to come in, I cleaned the hell out of that engine block. When everything finally arrived and was in order and ready to be put back together, we went ahead and put the engine back together and I painted it.
Gold. That is the original factory color.
We then put the engine back in a couple days before Crusin' the coast, and tried to fire it up, but it wouldn't run correctly and was knocking and shit. Ryan then called his friend's dad over (who worked on Olds for many years at a dealership) and he eventually pointed out that we had the timing WAY off. Ryan had instructed me to make sure the distributer timing was zero degrees before TDC when it needed to be at LEAST 12, and because the ignition is actually electronic instead of points, the timing truly needed to be advanced a bit higher to about 16 degrees before TDC. Once we did that, it fired right up and ran like a champ! Well, until recently, that is. But that's another issue.
That weekend, I drove the Vista Cruiser with it's beefed up engine and open headers to the muffler shop to have them braze up my exhaust and the next day, it was off to Cruisin' the coast!... Just as everyone was leaving. Lol. Ah well. I had both wagons. Scott drove The Destroyer and I drove the Vista Cruiser with what's her face.. It was a good time, though.
Since that rebuilt I've done other major stuff with it too.
-I got a kick ass stamped metal decal for the air cleaner on ebay for like, $25 that has the "Oldsmobile Rocket 350" logo on it. I had originally bought a sticker that cost me like 10 bones, but the stamped metal ring is FAR superior and looks WAY better.
-A guy on the Classic Oldsmobile forum sold me a pair of bumper guards for $40 shipped.
-I bought brand new repro 442 grilles with the numbers on ebay. The 442 grilles are silver and sit back further in the front of the car than regular cutlass grilles
-I also bought new repro headlight housings and stone shield. The stonesheild is the center piece that fills in the bumper between the grilles and holds them in place.
-When I got all that shit in, right around the time the car started dicking up on me in Sept of THIS year, (fuckin almost exactly a year after we rebuilt the bitch), and after I painted the housings and stoneshield, I removed the bumper and installed the grilles, bumper guards (which look BAD ASS), housings and stoneshield along eith a brand new rocket emblem. Since I did that, the front of the car is, essentially a 442 now, and unfortunately, I have yet to drive it as a 442.
-I bought a dash clock that works on ebay for $45!!
In 1972, the 442 was pretty much just an option and appearance package. The MAIN detail of which were the grilles and the badges identifying it as a 442. For all intents and purposes, just the grilles make my Vista Cruiser a 442, but with the added aluminum intake, 4 barrel carb and double headers, it IS A MOTHER FUCKING 442 VISTA CRUISER! HOOOO-RAH!
Next up:
-Outside Air Induction (OAI) hood. That's gonna run me about 700 bones, but that's the hood that REALLY makes a 442 stand out. Not all 442's had OAI. Mine will though. That's a hood with 2 scoops running the length of the hood.
-Upholster the rear interior area. Mario covered that shit in vinyl take and it looks like SHIT. I removed all of it fromt he panel door area and discovered that the vinyl underneath is not salvageable and so I will have to buy a bunch of vinyl and just redo it all. It really shouldn't be too damn hard and my only obstacle is to find the right color and then remove all the panels from the back and cut and glue the vinyl and then done.
Those are the two main things I want to do to the car before the final alteration:
A paint job. If I don't keep it the off-white that it is now, Im thinking of going with copper.
Yes, copper. Damn, that looks sooooo good. I'm keeping the woodgrain, too. And although most 442's have the OAI scoop portion of the hood painted a different color than the car, I'm going to keep the entire hood the same color as the car. I think it's gonna look bad ass and THEN....
And THEN..... I will have no doubt whatsoever about entering that baby into car shows.
All that... ALL of that can conceivably be done by the beginning of 2016. I can do the upholster and then with my tax refund in 2016, get the car painted.
Station.
That's it's name. Getting a personalized plate for it, too.
Oh! Round about labor day in 2013, shortly after I stopped writing in this journal, I also spray painted The Destroyer. It looks about 1000% better than it did, but already, it is started to chip and fade. So.... I'll have to get it painted as well.
Well... that's it for now.
End Transmission.
There wasn't one. There should have been one, but there wasn't. So the next best thing is to MAKE one.
Since my last entries were over a year ago and I've done a SHIT TON of work to that car since, I might as well write about it!
Well, in September 2013, the car was running really bad and after rebuilding the 2 barrel carb without any change in the way it ran, we Ryan and I did a compression test on all 8 cylinders. The driver's side bay of the V8 showed good compression, but to make absolutely sure, we did all 8. Sure enough, when we got to the very last #8 cylinder, the compression dropped significantly. Bad news. After what is called a leak-down test, we determined that there was something wrong with one of the valves, and we'd have to yank the heads.
Well around that time, I had been thinking about beefing the engine up some with an aluminum intake, 4-barrel Edelbrock carburater and header exhaust. So..... we yanked the engine.
And immediately discovered that the exhaust valve on the #8 cylider was burned out, thus allowing gasses and fuel/air mix to excape and enter at will. So I had to have head work done.
While the engine was out, I cleaned it up real good, we inspected the pistons, oil pump, timing chain and all that. And while I waited for the heads to be machined and for the parts like the intake and the carb to come in, I cleaned the hell out of that engine block. When everything finally arrived and was in order and ready to be put back together, we went ahead and put the engine back together and I painted it.
Gold. That is the original factory color.
We then put the engine back in a couple days before Crusin' the coast, and tried to fire it up, but it wouldn't run correctly and was knocking and shit. Ryan then called his friend's dad over (who worked on Olds for many years at a dealership) and he eventually pointed out that we had the timing WAY off. Ryan had instructed me to make sure the distributer timing was zero degrees before TDC when it needed to be at LEAST 12, and because the ignition is actually electronic instead of points, the timing truly needed to be advanced a bit higher to about 16 degrees before TDC. Once we did that, it fired right up and ran like a champ! Well, until recently, that is. But that's another issue.
That weekend, I drove the Vista Cruiser with it's beefed up engine and open headers to the muffler shop to have them braze up my exhaust and the next day, it was off to Cruisin' the coast!... Just as everyone was leaving. Lol. Ah well. I had both wagons. Scott drove The Destroyer and I drove the Vista Cruiser with what's her face.. It was a good time, though.
Since that rebuilt I've done other major stuff with it too.
-I got a kick ass stamped metal decal for the air cleaner on ebay for like, $25 that has the "Oldsmobile Rocket 350" logo on it. I had originally bought a sticker that cost me like 10 bones, but the stamped metal ring is FAR superior and looks WAY better.
-A guy on the Classic Oldsmobile forum sold me a pair of bumper guards for $40 shipped.
-I bought brand new repro 442 grilles with the numbers on ebay. The 442 grilles are silver and sit back further in the front of the car than regular cutlass grilles
-I also bought new repro headlight housings and stone shield. The stonesheild is the center piece that fills in the bumper between the grilles and holds them in place.
-When I got all that shit in, right around the time the car started dicking up on me in Sept of THIS year, (fuckin almost exactly a year after we rebuilt the bitch), and after I painted the housings and stoneshield, I removed the bumper and installed the grilles, bumper guards (which look BAD ASS), housings and stoneshield along eith a brand new rocket emblem. Since I did that, the front of the car is, essentially a 442 now, and unfortunately, I have yet to drive it as a 442.
-I bought a dash clock that works on ebay for $45!!
In 1972, the 442 was pretty much just an option and appearance package. The MAIN detail of which were the grilles and the badges identifying it as a 442. For all intents and purposes, just the grilles make my Vista Cruiser a 442, but with the added aluminum intake, 4 barrel carb and double headers, it IS A MOTHER FUCKING 442 VISTA CRUISER! HOOOO-RAH!
Next up:
-Outside Air Induction (OAI) hood. That's gonna run me about 700 bones, but that's the hood that REALLY makes a 442 stand out. Not all 442's had OAI. Mine will though. That's a hood with 2 scoops running the length of the hood.
-Upholster the rear interior area. Mario covered that shit in vinyl take and it looks like SHIT. I removed all of it fromt he panel door area and discovered that the vinyl underneath is not salvageable and so I will have to buy a bunch of vinyl and just redo it all. It really shouldn't be too damn hard and my only obstacle is to find the right color and then remove all the panels from the back and cut and glue the vinyl and then done.
Those are the two main things I want to do to the car before the final alteration:
A paint job. If I don't keep it the off-white that it is now, Im thinking of going with copper.
Yes, copper. Damn, that looks sooooo good. I'm keeping the woodgrain, too. And although most 442's have the OAI scoop portion of the hood painted a different color than the car, I'm going to keep the entire hood the same color as the car. I think it's gonna look bad ass and THEN....
And THEN..... I will have no doubt whatsoever about entering that baby into car shows.
All that... ALL of that can conceivably be done by the beginning of 2016. I can do the upholster and then with my tax refund in 2016, get the car painted.
Station.
That's it's name. Getting a personalized plate for it, too.
Oh! Round about labor day in 2013, shortly after I stopped writing in this journal, I also spray painted The Destroyer. It looks about 1000% better than it did, but already, it is started to chip and fade. So.... I'll have to get it painted as well.
Well... that's it for now.
End Transmission.