Vintage Chief

Double-check the length (distance) of the push rod from (between) the booster into the MC. You might be a tad too long and you're already inserted too far 'into' the MC than necessary?

EDIT: IOW, if you're too far inserted into the MC (from the push-rod contained w/in the booster), the push-rod inside the MC will not return to it's normal position - thereby applying too much pressure on the MC push-rod. There should be about 1/16" free play between the MC & Booster.

cdrod

Norm:
How would I adjust this if it is too tight?

Rodney

Vintage Chief

Depending on the type of booster/MC combo you have. Are they of the same manufacturer?

Anyways - on some pairs (MC/Booster) you can slip a tool between the MC & Booster & make the adjustment. On others, you would need to remove the MC and you'll see the push-rod inside the Booster. You then turn the Booster push-rod in toward the Booster. When you do the initial installation, the one thing you generally always want to account for is the 1/16" play should be there before you fasten down the MC. There are several (numerous?) YouTube videos on making the adjustment. "IF" you have the tool, or can get a wrench in between the MC & Booster, you might get away with loosening the MC, getting a wrench between the MC & Booster and drawing the Booster push-rod back into the Booster. I'll see what I can find on YouTube.

Vintage Chief

Well, there's a plethora of videos out there - take your pick.



https://www.google.com/search?source...60.ePzge3NJOd0

This guy actually does a decent job of "explaining" the situation. Several of the others you'll have to noodle through them.

Vintage Chief

Here's one I remember seeing quite some time ago. It's a good one for understanding the setup of the push rod.

cdrod

Norm:
Thanks for the info on the M/C-booster clearance. I checked my pedal play, there is a very distinct "connection" at approximately 3/8" of pedal travel where the pedal gets harder to push. I read thru the links you posted, and checked out the Tuff Stuff website to see if they had any tech tips for installing this M/C-booster combo since they were ordered as a set. Some of their boosters have an adjustable pushrod into the M/C; unfortunately, my part number is not one of the adjustable ones but I think I'm OK based on pedal travel and resistance.

Rodney

cdrod

I spent the weekend cleaning and restoring the shifter and plotting how to mount it to the new floor pan in the correct location. I also replaced the detent plate to allow the extra gear location to shift the overdrive TH200-4r transmission. Here's some pics:


This is where I started, rusty and broken.


This is the end result after sand blasting, polishing & painting.


The spring inside the shifter handle had completely disintegrated so I made a run to the hardware store to find a suitable replacement.


This is the new shift detent plate that came as part of a kit from Shiftworks to allow the extra gear for the TH200-4r. Without the new detent plate, the transmission could not shift into first gear.


Here's a comparison of the factory TH350 plate and the new TH200-4r plate.


You can see the extra notch for the three lower gears + overdrive.


I need to mount the shifter and the rear console support, but the dents in the replacement floor pan don't seem to line up properly. I'll need to figure out a way to mount it in the correct location.

Mjnorris

You should be very proud of what you’ve accomplished! I’ve horse a convertible 442 and in the middle of tearing the back apart for a nic3 stereo setup.... your answer is just what I needed to see,so thanks. If not to late please post pics of the back set up for the sub as well as anything else stereo related and I can’t wait so thanks in advance. Mark W30 convertible 442 is in awe. Awe the best. Mark

croberts

455 Stock

Loving My 1972 Viking Blue 442, Not a W30, 455, TH400, AC/AM/FM/

Mjnorris

How can you not love it, especially on a day like today. I’m just up the road in Austin so 70 and not a cloud was a day in the drop..top.. please pos5 the stereo set up if you get a chance. I just ordered the stereo kick panels and the 8 track is out for service so when it’s back I need to do speakers with you4 help. Thanks. Mark

cdrod

Mark:
I've planned a fairly elaborate stereo system for this car which includes a Pioneer head unit, an 8" JL Audio subwoofer, Alpine or Morel 2-way door speakers and a center speaker in the stock dash location as well as a pair of JL Audio tweeters in the dash near the A-pillars. As my car is a convertible and good bass response will be difficult to achieve (especially with the top down), I'm also going to experiment with some bass shakers mounted to the front bucket seats for bass you can feel.
Here's some pics and a schematic of the proposed system:


This is the block diagram for the audio system. I've attached a larger version in the attachments at the end of this post.


This is the JL Audio 8-channel amp which will be mounted in the trunk.


This is the JL Audio 8" sub that will be mounted in the space between the back seat and the convertible top well.


I drilled 1.5" holes in the dash near the A-pillars to mount a pair of .5" tweeters at each corner. This could not be done with the windshield in place.


Here's pic of the trial fitting of the tweeter.

Mjnorris

Hi Rod, this is why this sight is the best!. Thanks so much for taking the time for me and my stereo issues as you have saved me lots of time and money. Especially like the tweeter placement as with all else. I’ll send you pictures of my progress in the weeks to come and I hope to meet you and see your amazing talent put to your project in the future as I get to Houston several times a year. All the best! Mark

craftybop

Found this awesome thread because ran into same issue on gap between bearing and retainer plate. What are the spacer measurements (ID, OD and thickness) please? Thanks!!

cdrod

craftybop:
The spacer is 1/2" thick, OD=3", ID=2 1/8". I also beveled the inside diameter (not shown in the pics) on the outer side of the spacer that faces the bearing retainer. The Blazer backing plate is 3/8" thick and there is also a 1/4" spacer to center the rotor in the caliper; hence the 1/2" bearing spacer thickness.

craftybop

Awesome! Thank you so much!

cdrod

OK, it's been quite some time since I posted any real progress pics of my project. With the Covid-19 shutdown I had some extra time on my hands to jump back into the the project. I took advantage of this time to install a new American Autowire electrical harness. With the harness installed I had the minimum circuits needed to start the engine and fire it up for the very first time. The engine build was started in back 2015 and finished in 2016 so it was will great anticipation that I turned the key. It was very satisfying to hear it run and there were no leaks in the fuel lines. I installed an FiTech EFI system with an in-tank fuel pump module so the fuel line from the tank to the throttle body is pressurized to 58psi.

I had problems getting the torque convertor to mate with the crank which required me to pull the trans back out of the car. It was a strange combination of the things; the torque convertor hub had a large burr on it so it would not seat properly into the crankshaft hub and the there was rust inside the crank hub that I had to clean out. Finally got everything to fit properly . . . but there was too much space between the flexplate an the torque convertor. When I bolted them together, I pulled the torque convertor too far out of the trans and broke the pump stator -see pic below. So I had to pull the transmission . . . again . . . with much cursing and grumbling to repair the pump and the front bushing The moral of this story is (for anyone following along) dry fit everything prior to final assembly and check your clearances. I had 1/4" of space between the flexplate and convertor: 1/16"-1/8" is recommended.

While the trans was out I swapped out the 41" long TV cable that the trans builder supplied for a shorter one that I didn't have to loop around the engine bay. It was easily 10-12" too long! I'm using a quadrajet throttle bracket from an '88 Monte Carlo, so I ordered a TV cable for this application and it fit like a glove. The biggest milestone from these past 3 months is the car finally moves under it's own power - even if it's just up and down the driveway. I still need to adjust the TV cable for proper line pressures, so I bought an inexpensive pressure gauge set from Amazon that reads to 500psi and has all the necessary fittings to connect to the pressure port on the trans. This is on my agenda for this weekend. It would be fun to drive it around the block once just for the thrill - even without doors and fenders!

While I was waiting for trans parts and TV cables to arrive I did a little sheet metal repairs to the LH door. There was some rust thru in the usual places, so I cut out the rusty metal and fabb'd some small patch pieces and welded them in with the MIG. I also installed the exhaust system, which also involve much cursing, grumbling and some IcyHot (the day after). I installed a pypes 2-1/2" system which was fairly straight forward. I wish the head pipes forward of the mufflers could be tucked up a little better and the tailpipes are routed differently than the stock pipes so there is not much clearance between the rear tires and the shocks but I'll worked the kinks out when I install the rear bumper and exhaust trumpets.

Next on my list is to strip the doors and front fenders to bare metal and spray them with SPI epoxy primer before hanging them. Then on to the rear quarter skins and what looks to be a million tack welds to get them installed. Here's some pics.

Rodney


Broken transmission pump stator


Driver side door patch



Tacked in the patch


After grinding down the welds.

cdrod

I ordered specialty license plates for the car about a month ago. I picked these up from the County Assessors office on Friday morning. Should alleviate the "nice Chevelle" comments we all seem to get the well meaning but less informed general public. Now I just gotta finish this project so I can start driving it!!!

Rodney

TripDeuces

Nice work on those patches

cdrod

Thanks Trip.
I've been making small advances over the past 12 months, I need to post some progress pics to keep this thread up to date. The summer is sooo hot here in Texas; it's nearly unbearable to work in this heat. Over the past 6 months I've repaired, stripped, epoxy primed and hung the LH door, repaired the RH door (trying to get some motivation this weekend to strip the old paint & filler off the RH door), I forgot to drill the power accessory hole in the LH door shell so had to take it back off the car and drill this hole, did some hammer & dolly work on the LH fender (I need to sand blast some surface rust behind the rear brace and epoxy prime the back side) and I'm also putting the finishing touches on my custom, G-body power window set-up with "one-touch" up & down feature (I can't terminate the window switch and motor harnesses until I hang both doors).

The body shop I want to use for paint work can take my car in November So I'm diligently working toward reassembling all the body panels in the next 2 months I had major sticker shock when getting quotes for the paint work . I haven't painted a car in 30 years, it's a more expensive endeavor these days. I didn't budget nearly enough to paint this car and can't afford to pay body shop labor rates to hang doors and fenders when I can do these tasks in my garage.

Rodney

Loaded68W34

I like the plates.

cdrod

I recently switched my auto insurance company, and I asked about the insurance coverage for the contents of my garage. When I told the lady that I was restoring an old car and asked to increase the contents coverage, she told me the car would not be covered if I had a loss!! Jezz Louise, I've been building this car for nearly 9 years and all this time I thought it would be covered as long as it was in my garage. Needless to say, I got on the phone and got some quotes to insure the Olds. I went with Hagerty Insurance as they had the lowest premium and the fewest restrictions on using the car. These are the pics I sent to Hagerty to start the new policy.

Rodney


Still working on the front light harness. Using the update wiring kit from American Autowire.


The quarters are just clamped on with vise grips and C-clamps.


Never mind the ratchet strap that's holding the core support up - LOL.


I really like these 18" wheels, I even managed to get the SSI center caps to fit.
I'm not sure I like the skinny sidewalls though, running 45 series in front and 40 series in the rear.
I think a 50 series would give it less of the "rubber band" tires look.

cdrod

We've had unusually good weather here the past week. In Houston we get quite a lot of rain and have afternoon thunderstorms most days. I've been waiting for a good weather window to start stripping the doors to bare metal. I had done the LH door a few months back (sorry no pics) so this weekend I stripped the RH door. I found a few rusty spots that I was able to plug weld with the MIG, and I treated the inside of the door with a rust converter product and a liberal coating of 3M rubberized undercoating to help with road noise and seal off the nooks & grannies that tend to collect water and cause rust thru. I also drilled the doors and A-pillars for power accessory boots.

I've hung the LH door (which is really difficult to do by yourself) but I'm pretty happy with the gaps. I do have one question for the guys that have walked this road before me. Should I leave more gap at the rear of the door (where it meets the striker bolt)? I currently have about 1/8" of an inch. It's been a long time since I disassembled the car and I'm not sure how big this gap should be. Here's some pics.

Rodney


Passenger door stripped to bare metal.


I just followed the dimples in the door shell to drill the accessory boot holes.


Drivers side door back where it belongs, looking less like a shell and more like a car!


The bottom gap is a little tighter at the rear, but the striker bolts are not installed so the door is unsupported at the back.


This is the gap that concerns me. It is currently about 1/8" between the trailing edge of the door and the jamb. I feel like it should be bigger but really like the tight fit that I have right now.

dc2x4drvr

The gap looks too tight from here..

oddball

I'm surprised Hagerty covered it! When I called around a few years ago no one wanted to cover an in-progress car.
That door gap is, IMO, really good. You certainly can't go any tighter until that dent in the quarter is pulled out and the leading edge straightened. Anything tighter is hard to keep working reliably. Those doors are heavy and as beefy as the hinges are, they're still not beefy enough.
The striker only holds the door closed - it should not support the door vertically. It's 100% on the hinges. You put the striker in last and only use it to set the depth of the door when closed (and weatherstrip installed)

cdrod

A few weeks ago, i decided to take a little break from the bodywork and focus on some electrical stuff (which I enjoy the most). I wanted this car to have some modern creature comforts such as power windows, door locks, trunk release USB jacks, etc.) I already purchased 2 Directed 535T window modules that will control the front and rear windows and will add one-touch up & down function (which should be very convenient in a convertible). I bought some bulk wire and started laying out the wiring harnesses for the window switches and motors. The DEI window modules require reversible motors and will not work with the original 2-winding motors that came in the car from the factory. I already fabbed up some adapters to allow the use of late-model motors from G-body cars. This also means the factory switches are incompatible as well. After a little research I found that early 80's Buick wagons use a similar 4-gang switch that looks alot like the 70's era switch but has the extra contacts for the reversing-type motors. Next up was the door locks.

I wanted keyless entry with a slim key FOB. Several companies make these in kit form with the key FOBs and the door lock actuators, but for just little more $$ I bought a simple Viper alarm system that will provide some security as well as the keyless entry. There is also an optional GPS module that will allow me to arm & disarm from my iPhone and provide tracking if the car is stolen or towed. I will use the aux channels to "pop" the trunk and roll-down the windows from the key FOB. Some of these features require relays for control; 2 relays for the door lock/unlock, 1 relay for the trunk release, and another for the dome light control. So I bought a nifty little 6-relay module from Delcity.com that mounted nicely in LH kick panel cavity and then routed all the wiring to the alarm module. In addition to the 3 alarm relays, I added 1 relay for an AC inverter that I plan to mount in the trunk and will hardwire an outlet somewhere in the back seat area and another relay for future seat heaters, with 1 relay space leftover for some other future thing that I haven't thought of just yet. Here's some pics.

Rodney


The alarm and door lock actuators.



This is the DEI 535 window control module.



Here is all the window wiring laid out on the floor. Not shown is the rear window motor harness and the DEI control module.



Here is a pic of the relay box that I mounted in the LH kick panel. I fabbed up a small "L" bracket that screwed to the cowl support on the right side and attached the left side with a screw from the front. This uses micro relays that are about 1/2 the size of the "normal" square automotive relays.

dc2x4drvr

Very well thought out, you’re a pro on auto electrical, no scotchloks here

cdrod

Yes sir, only soldered joints and heat shrink!

cdrod

My project for this weekend was the front fenders. I sprayed some rust converter into the space between the outer metal and the inner brace that runs along the trailing edge inside the fender but was uncomfortable with the effectiveness of this approach. I have to say that Classicoldsmobile.com is an invaluable resource. After searching a few threads for front fender repairs I came across Scappie's frame off thread; I quickly realized it would be best to remove the inner fender braces to clean up any hidden rust. I was planning to do lower fender patches anyway so removing the braces didn't seem like that much more work. Boy was I surprised by what I found lurking inside my "pretty good" fenders when I removed the braces!

The amount of rust sandwiched between the fender and brace was significant. I wire wheeled the loose rust, then soaked each end of the brace in a 4 gallon bucket of EvapoRust (that stuff is practically magic!) followed by more wire brushing, and more Evaporust soaking. Eventually the braces were mostly clean of rust with a few pin-hole rust thru areas. I used a copper backer plate and the MIG welder to plug these holes and strengthen the brace. Next weekend I'll fit the lower fender patches! Here's some pics:

Rodney


Drilling out the spot welds to remove the fender brace.



So much rusty metal lurking behind the brace.






Fortunately the braces were not rusted away completely, but there were several rust thru holes where the bottom section is spot welded to the vertical piece. I cleaned up the metal used the MIG welder to plug these holes.



Here is the brace after multiple rounds of wire wheeling and Evaporust soaking. I used a rust converter primer followed up with industrial grade Rustoleum rattle can paint. I'll weld these back into place after patching the lower fenders.



My project for next weekend! Splice in these patch panels and reattach the braces.

dc2x4drvr

Your work is great, I remember Olds restorations from years back, for the most part the work wasn’t close to what you and several others are accomplishing,
Rocket on!

cdrod

Thanks for the compliments. I've been working on this project far longer than I expected so your comments really bolster my momentum. I've lost steam a few times over the years but lately I'm a man with a mission to get this thing finished. I selected a body shop to paint the car and they have told me they can start on it in November so I have a long list of things to finish by November: MIG weld both rear quarter skins, hang the RH door, fix both front fenders and bolt them on, install the hood & deck lid and then set the gaps on all the body panels. The passenger door is already stripped and primed with epoxy primer just need to hang it, I should finish the front fender repairs next weekend, so that leaves the rear quarter skins, and installing the hood and deck lid to finish up the body assembly.

I have a small radiator leak that I need to fix before going to the body shop. I think it's leaking at the pet **** drain, but need to pull it to see what's going on and replace it. I would also like to tweak the FiTech EFI tune some more to help it idle & start better. I have to crack the throttle a little to get it started and the idle quality will deteriorate until it stalls. Not sure what the problem is here, so I need to read up EFI tuning and take another stab at it.

Rodney

Phoenix8990

WOW, pretty amazing job you have done! I just discovered this thread and and totally impressed. You and Scrappie have set the bar pretty darn high. You might want to see if he will paint it for you. He has a nice spray booth and got great results. It looks like you'll have it done in time to take your daughter to he HS graduation, maybe let her drive! The level of detail and modifications/upgrades you have made is amazing. I have learned a lot form your post. Thanks so much for posting your thread. I can't wait to see the finished car.
Steve

cdrod

I worked on the left front fender this weekend. I had previously removed the inner fender brace to clean up the rust and paint the inner brace. The fender had some deep pits at the bottom (the usual places) from the rust that went through the sheetmetal. I tried plug welding these holes but the surrounding metal was too thin and I just kept blowing through with the MIG welder. I had purchased a pair of fender bottom patch panels, so I gave up on the plug welding approach and did a patch instead.

The curve of the wheel opening was slightly "off" on the patch panel and the edges were not very crisp; overall a pretty mediocre stamping when compared to the original sheetmetal. I decided to keep the leading edge of the wheel opening to preserve this shape and this also provided a good reference point to align the patch. The curve of the patch panel was a bit different than the original metal so it was difficult to get the 2 pieces of metal aligned well for welding. On the whole, I'm satisfied with the repair but I think I'll try a slightly different technique when I patch the passenger side fender. Here's some pics of the process and the final result.

Rodney



This is the driver side fender so the wheel opening is on the left side of the pice. The patch panel had a definite "hook" that didn't track with the original sheetmetal.



I preserved the wheel opening metal to avoid the "hook" in the patch panel and to use as a guide for aligning the patch. This is the piece I removed.



This is the back side of the fender (without the brace) after welding in the patch panel. I sprayed the spot weld locations with weld-thru primer, these are copper colored .





I used a special spot weld drill bit that is very flat with a small centering tip. This bit makes it possible to drill through only the top layer of metal leaving only a small divot in the bottom layer of metal.



I used the divot marks from the spot weld drill bit to help realign the brace to the the outer fender. I then plug welded the holes where the factory had a spot weld. I need to go over these with a grinder to smooth them little.



The finished product.



The welds are good but the panels were not completely flush so the tack welds are not as smooth as I would have liked. I used magnets to hold the two pieces together for welding, but the magnets were not strong enough to keep the panels flush. I plan to use clamps when I do the passenger side to hold the metal in proper alignment during the welding. I think a little filler will smooth this over just fine.

akspeedy

thats a nice repair, good job keep it up!

cdrod

I finished repairing the left front fender and started fitting on the car last night and the door-fender gap isn't to my liking. The fender doesn't fit tightly to the rocker panel at the bottom and the gap is very large at the top. I have the plastic inner fenders already bolted to the frame so I'm going to loosen these bolts to see if I can push the fender closer to the rocker but this won't fix the upper gap.
If the door-fender gap is larger at the top, should I raised the radiator support with shims?? I installed new radiator support hardware and reused the original shim packs, but there is plenty of adjustment left to add more shims. Any advice is welcome.

cdrod

I'm having a hell of a time getting the doors and fenders to fit properly! I managed to get the LH side to fit pretty well, but the gaps are larger than I'd like at slightly bigger than the specs in the assembly manual. I can't move the LH fender back any farther as I'm at the end of the mounting hole that bolts to the "A" pillar. I'm going to remove the fender (one more time) and open up the mounting hole to see if I can close up the front gap and maybe move the door back to close up the rear gap. One thing that concerns me is the brass shims that all convertibles have at the rear door jamb are about 1/8" apart. The replacement shim kits only come with a single, thin shim which is not enough to close the gap.

Yesterday I started working on the RH door and fender. With about 10 hours of "fitment-time" under my belt from working the LH side, I felt very confident that the RH side would go together more quickly . . . Boy was I WRONG! The trailing edge contour of the RH door doesn't match the quarter panel at all; the door is much flatter where the quarter panel at the jamb has more of a curve. I've also run out of adjustment on the door side of the hinges; I need to push the door in towards the body at the upper hinge but the bolts are at the end of their range.

The quarters are original to the car (a Lansing-built convertible), but the fenders are from an Arlington-built Supreme, and the doors are unknown; kind of a Frankenstein build - LOL. I know these cars were not computer-built like today, but could the different assembly plants have enough deviations to cause all these fitment problems? I did notice that the Lansing-built fenders only had tabs at the mounting locations for the plastic inner fenders, whereas the Arlington fenders have a full 1" lip that runs the entire length of the wheel opening. Here are some pics.

Rodney



Original, Lansing-built fender has mounting tabs.



The Arlington-built fender has a full 1" wide lip.



Rear door gap is about 5/16" at the top and 1/4" at the bottom. The door jamb doesn't seem to track the door edge very well. The gap between the door and the rocker is consistent from front to back so if I tilt the door to better fit the jamb the bottom gap would be larger at the front.



Door jamb shims are 1/8" apart, they should be touching to be effective. This is the LH side, quarter panel is on the LH side, the door is the RH side in the pic.

Phoenix8990

Interesting that the fenders would be different, possibly there different years? Good luck on the gaps, that stuff can be hard to get perfect.

Steve

cdrod

I ran into a little issue with the lower fender patches I purchased: the RH side is incomplete, the bottom part that "folds" under and bolts to the cowl is much shorter than the factory fender and has some areas that are so short they would be visible. The LH patch did not have these stamping issues. I've looked around for alternative patch panels but so far every source I've found is selling the same poorly stamped part. So I took a little break from the fenders while I contemplated my options. In the mean time I restored the fender supports that mount the front fenders to the radiator core support. I know my restoration techniques are not "factory" correct in appearance but this is close enough for my project and I used stainless steel hardware so they should get all rusty & crusty like the originals.

I also worked out speaker locations for the back seat that don't look like a complete afterthought. Most convertibles I've seen with aftermarket rear speakers have 3-1/2" or 4" speakers mounted in the upper piston covers or down low in the arm rests where they are closer to your butt than to your ears. I've decided to put the power window switches in the rear armrests instead of the factory location; ditching the ashtrays in the back seat (I wouldn't let anyone smoke in my car anyway!). This cleared a spot to put some small speakers in the door cards where the window switches or cranks would have been. I selected some 2-1/2" full-range speakers from the Part-Express.com website that are rated for 20w RMS/40w peak. There will be an 8" subwoofer right behind the back seat, so I can HP the little speakers around 200 Hz to allow them to handle more power. I fabricated some mounting adapters out of 1/4" polypropylene and bought some chrome grilles that will be mounted in the door card. I'm installing new quarter panel skins and the old sheet metal has been removed; this made measuring and testing fitting much easier.

Thanks for looking,
Rodney

Here are some pics

THE FRONT FENDER SUPPORTS:

One of the crusty front fender supports.


This is the old rubber piece that bolts to the bottom of the fender. I bought some 1/4" thick, Neoprene rubber and made replacements.


This is the finished product: I drilled out the factory rivets to remove the old rubber piece, then bead blasted the metal arms and painted them with Rustoleum industrial grade rattle can spray paint. The new rubber inserts are 1/4" Neoprene rubber and the hardware is stainless steel.

THE REAR SPEAKER ADAPTERS:

The adapter is shaped to fit tightly into the trapezoid shape where the window cranks would normally be.


I have to cut out some metal to allow clearance for the speaker magnet.


This is the adapter plate made form polypropylene plastic.


The 2-1/2" speaker will screw to the plastic adapter.

These are the chrome trimmed speaker grilles that I will mount into the interior panel. I'm waiting to cut the hole in the panel until I reassemble the interior; this will give me the opportunity to "tweak" the placement for an even fit around the speaker.

cdrod

When I started to work on patching the RH fender bottom I discovered the patch panel was poorly stamped and the lower section that tucks under and bolts to the cowl tapered such that one end of the patch panel was significantly smaller than the other end. So I took a break from the fender patching while I tried to find a better patch panel. I shifted my focus to a new project; retrofitting a modern rearview mirror to fit the stock mirror mount. At 12" wide, I always thought the stock Olds rearview mirror was larger than it needed to be, especially in a convertible with the rather small rear window. I also wanted to switch the built-in map light to come on with the other courtesy lights since the convertible doesn't have a dome light.

I found a NOS GM mirror from an '03 Alero that is 10-1/2" wide, has 2 map lights that can be individually switched on-off and can turn on with the door jamb switches as a dome light. The Alero mirror is designed to mount to the windshield, so it would take some modifications to make it fit the stock bracket and mount to the windshield header in the 442 convertible. The Alero mirror has 2 ball-socket joints at the end of a 1-1/2" arm. My idea was to cut off the arm and cut down the ball to fit the '72 convertible mirror arm. One thing that I didn't consider before cutting up the new mirror: my modification eliminated the pivot point at the mirror so the arm must swing to the passenger side of the car in order to angle the mirror enough to see out the rear window. If I were to do this again I would cut the ball section on the back of the new mirror slightly at an angle so the mounting arm would be more straight. Here's a few pics of the modification.

This is the RH patch panel that didn't fit so well. You can see how the patch panel tapers and becomes more narrow at the rear. That's the original sheetmetal clamped behind for comparison. I moved on the mirror project while I searched for a better patch panel.


So I moved on to my rearview mirror project.


I first had to cut off the windshield mount and the ball-socket arm.




I then cut down the "ball" to be more of a disc to fit into the original mounting arm that mounts to the windshield header.


Here is the finished product: back side view


Front side view.

TripDeuces

Nice

oddball

That patch is impressively poor.

Good job on the mirror! I retrofitted a Rostra mirror with compass and homelink. No lights though. Took the mount shoe out of a repop mirror and grafted it into the back case of the Rostra.
Sadly, that Rostra mirror is discontinued.