slodat's '63 Olds F-85

[slodat]

I bought a '63 F85 the other day. It runs and drives, pretty well for the most part. Needs to be cosmetically restored. The funky auto transmission is actually shifting fine and working thus far.

 

I plan to do a very nice resto-mod style updated interior. I'm liking the 215 aluminum V8 and plan to keep it. The transmission will get swapped out for something more reliable. Thinking about using one of D&D Fabrications 700R4 conversion setups or swapping to a manual. I'd like to keep an auto.. hmm

 

I'm going to figure out a front disc brake swap soon. The brakes will need work and discs are a no brainer upgrade. I found a set of '61 Tempest 5 lug hubs, which would make the scarebird disc brake/5 lug swap pretty easy. Leaning this direction for the brakes. Not certain on the rear to get 5 lug just yet.

 

Anyway, here it is

 

[datto510]

Gangster!

[]2eDeYe]

Nice...I really miss my 68 :(

[78kingcab]

when you left yesterday it was sounding pretty cool, and ya its gangter :cool:

[qwik510]

Nice looking Olds. I used to have a 63 F85 too. I pulled the 215 out of it and installed it in a 510. Great motor. Small, compact, lightweight! Being all aluminum, it was well ahead of its time. If GM hadn't sold the rights to that engine to Rover, we might all be driving a variation of that engine today. It is only 3.5 liters but you can build it into a 5.0 with the use of the 1964 Buick 300 heads(the heads were only made of aluminum for one year so they are pretty rare) and a Buick 300 crank. Dan at D & D is a 215 Guru. He can let you know all you need to know.

 

Keep us updated on the build.

[MikeRL411]

Transmission?

Toss the 700 and install a TH350.

[slodat]

Transmission?

Toss the 700 and install a TH350.

 

Not following you. It has a roto-hydramatic 240 transmission. It's an odd, finicky duck with no parts support. I want to keep it automatic. If I'm swapping to a newer style auto, I may as well get an overdrive gear at the same time.

[DISLEXICDIME]

man that thing sounds sweet when you get on it !

[datzenmike]

Does that auto go Park D L R by any chance?

[slodat]

man that thing sounds sweet when you get on it !

 

 

The sound of the car is REALLY growing on me. I drove it a lot the past three days and I really love the car!

 

Does that auto go Park D L R by any chance?

P ark

N eutral

D rive

S uper

L ow

R everse

 

I put bulbs in the rear sail panel courtesy lights. They simply worked. Things really were made a lot better 40+ years ago!

 

 

[fastdadd]

nice find on that....the 700r4 is a good cruiser trans little better fuel mileage but they dont like to be beat on

[datzenmike]

The 215 was GM's first engine to achieve 1 hp per cu in. (turbo of course)

[slodat]

nice find on that....the 700r4 is a good cruiser trans little better fuel mileage but they dont like to be beat on

 

This isn't a car that will get beat on. It's for cruising ;)

[freb_mc]

love it!!! so how many on here have a '63 gm vehicle now?

 

btw f-85's are bad ass, i love the look, i was gonna get a '65 till my dad gave me his '63 belair, kinda wish i would have bought it anyway

[mklotz70]

Just chiming in to be subscribed :) Sweet ride! :)

[slodat]

Thus far I've read all I can find online about what's out there for the car. It's a really uncommon model. Not a lot of them out there. Nearly zero aftermarket support. Some things cross over to other GM models of the same vintage. The more I drive it, I'm leaving the stock drivetrain alone until there's an issue. I will keep the 215 for the long haul. When the time comes for a tranny swap, we shall see what I do. I love the auto. The idea of rapping out the little V8 while shifting a five speed also sounds fun. The key here is the car is just plain fun.

 

I'm thinking of painting it a flat, dark navy blue for now and putting all of the trim back on after that...

[qwik510]

Thus far I've read all I can find online about what's out there for the car. It's a really uncommon model. Not a lot of them out there. Nearly zero aftermarket support. Some things cross over to other GM models of the same vintage. The more I drive it, I'm leaving the stock drivetrain alone until there's an issue. I will keep the 215 for the long haul. When the time comes for a tranny swap, we shall see what I do. I love the auto. The idea of rapping out the little V8 while shifting a five speed also sounds fun. The key here is the car is just plain fun.

 

I'm thinking of painting it a flat, dark navy blue for now and putting all of the trim back on after that...

 

I used a World Class T-5 behind my 215 in the dime. You need to find a 215 4 speed bell housing to bolt it to. That motor is very torquey for a small displacement V8.

[City Hunter]

Great car man, fun to drive in. Makes me feel gangster. Next summer should be fun when we get our rides rollin for the shows.

[fisch]

Fun car indeed! There is something neat about the 60-63 american cars. They were transitioning out of the big fin 50's and into the more... boxy late 60's, and for these few years they were making some interesting body designs indeed! The 1962 Dodge Dart being one of the most interesting.

[datzenmike]

I think the 6 and 8 bell were the same. You definitely will need a BOP (Buick/Olds/Pontiac) bellhousing. The Chev won't work.

[slodat]

Great car man, fun to drive in. Makes me feel gangster. Next summer should be fun when we get our rides rollin for the shows.

It's a lot of fun to drive. Keeping it a drivable project as much as possible will keep me motivated on it.

 

 

I think the 6 and 8 bell were the same. You definitely will need a BOP (Buick/Olds/Pontiac) bellhousing. The Chev won't work.

 

Actually the aluminum 215 v8 has a unique bell housing pattern. BOP doesn't fit. D&D Fabrications make a bell housing that fits just about any manual transmission. They also make a few auto adapters. I'll be converting it to a Chevy 60 degree V6 (S10, Camero, etc) 700R4.

[DatDoug]

The cool factor on this car is very hi :cool: It just looks so smooth & clean. Skirts + hubcaps + Oldsmobile = BADASS :D

[goes2fast]

It's a lot of fun to drive. Keeping it a drivable project as much as possible will keep me motivated on it.

 

 

 

 

Actually the aluminum 215 v8 has a unique bell housing pattern. BOP doesn't fit. D&D Fabrications make a bell housing that fits just about any manual transmission. They also make a few auto adapters. I'll be converting it to a Chevy 60 degree V6 (S10, Camero, etc) 700R4.

 

Just ran across this thread, one of my all time favorite cars, although I prefer the hardtop version. One of my buddies had a Jetfire (the turbo version) in high school, and I've loved them ever since. The way to go with the auto is a 200R4, it's smaller, lighter, and has both the BOP and Chevy bolt patterns. It was originally developed for the Buick Grand National, so will handle anything the 215 can dish out, and the parts are available to make it handle 800 + hp. If you ever need to rebuild the 215, you use a Buick 350 crank to make a 300 out of it, you have been getting some misinformation. Also it was not the first engine to make 1 hp per ci. that was the 57 Chevy fuelie 283, which with the 098 solid lifter cam, which I have in my 57, only with a single 4v carb. The 2004R is based on the TH350 while the 700R4 is based on the TH400 which uses more hp to turn it, is heavier, and bigger, so may not fit in your car without major surgery to the tunnel, and the ratios in the 2004R are better suited to the smaller 215. If you guys have questions about 50s and 60s GM and Ford cars, I'm your guy, I've been playing with these cars all my life, and know them very well. I only owned one Mopar, from that era, and it was such a P.O.S. I swore I would never buy another one, so the only Chrysler products I know anything about are Jeeps, and then only wranglers and cherokees. Keep up with the posts, anything built in the US in the 50s and 60s was great stuff, after 72, US cars were junk til in the 90s they started to improve, but it's been a slow trip getting up to the quality of the imports. With a few exceptions they still have a ways to go, just wish they would come up with some rear wheel drive performance cars that are affordable, like we had in the 60s. I hope this helps with your future planning, and if you need some help finding parts, my neighbor just restored a 69 cutlass and know where to find Olds and Buick parts. :cool:

[slodat]

This car was not made in a true hard top. The 2 door had a post, like mine does.

[goes2fast]

This car was not made in a true hard top. The 2 door had a post, like mine does.

 

My friends Starfire was a hardtop, I don't remember if it was a 62 or 63?