A long time...

[R_CK_R]

After the longest two months of my Life, yesterday finally my car arrived
It came directly from California to Germany
I was so excited that when I saw the trailer my hands and knees began to shake...
Unfortunately, it was a little bit late when the car arrived and I couldn´t took pictures in the dark. So I took some pics the day after.

I tried a little bit around and noted that i have some things to do at the car this winter. I drove a little bit today and when I stopped at a red light and pushed the brake pedal, after some seconds the pedal "fell" in and the car began to roll. So something is leaky in the brake system Also the Radio and the speedo (incl. the backlights) are not working yet.
Maybe some of you can help me with this issues. Also the high beam and the Autronic Eye are not working...

Here i got some pics of the car and me

 

[42chevy]

Very nice car! Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[R_CK_R]

Very nice car! Keep us posted on your progress.

I hope I get the Autronic Eye and rest which isn´t working yet to run before winter. And that´s all i want to do with the car... I love the rusty hood and the matt look of the paint

 

[Snake Farm]

Wow, that is one sweet looking Olds! I can imagine the anticipation with the two month wait and having never seen the car in person. I think it was discussed in the other thread but that steering wheel is a high dollar item.
As for the brakes, do they come right back if you pump the pedal a couple times? If you don't find any fluid leaks, like drips on the ground or wet backing plates (indicating a wheel cylinder leak) then the problem may be that the master cylinder is bypassing, meaning the fluid is escaping back around the piston and losing pressure to the wheel cylinders. A quick rebuild of the master should fix it.

Also, I don't mean to pry but what does it cost to have a car shipped from Cali to Germany

Congrats on the Olds and have fun with it!

 

[earthman]

Congratulations. Sweet old car. Some rare options too.

 

[Dirtyrat]

Definitely a cool ride, congrats!

 

[R_CK_R]

Wow, that is one sweet looking Olds! I can imagine the anticipation with the two month wait and having never seen the car in person. I think it was discussed in the other thread but that steering wheel is a high dollar item.
As for the brakes, do they come right back if you pump the pedal a couple times? If you don't find any fluid leaks, like drips on the ground or wet backing plates (indicating a wheel cylinder leak) then the problem may be that the master cylinder is bypassing, meaning the fluid is escaping back around the piston and losing pressure to the wheel cylinders. A quick rebuild of the master should fix it.

Also, I don't mean to pry but what does it cost to have a car shipped from Cali to Germany

Congrats on the Olds and have fun with it!

yes, if i pump the pedal some times then the brakes work again. I also thought about the master cylinder and found a repair kit for small money at ebay.

I love the steering wheel! And the clock is working very well

I think the shipping cost including the taxes and fee and the price of the car are cheaper than buying such a car in Germany... Especially there is no car like mine in Germany

 

[R_CK_R]

I also got a little Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32elle-NWOU&feature=youtu.be

 

[donsrods]

Hehe, sounds good. You have rappin' pipes there. I agree with Snake Farm, probably your master cylinder is losing it's seal internally. I have never had much luck with rebuild kits, but try that route first. Just make sure the bore is not pitted and worn.

The rest of the issues are minor, but that brake thing is not good, so please do not drive it until you get it fixed. Those single cylinder master cylinders will fail in an instant and you have no back up as you would with a dual cylinder model.

Nice car I like it.

Don

 

[Torch]

I had a 1958 ford 1-ton truck with a single piston master cylinder

When I rebuilt the brake system, I crafted new steel brake lines.
My brake lines were rusty
Also... I had changed my axles because the stock axles had 6 lug wheels same as military
I could not find brake parts so I changed to 1966 1 ton brakes.
The change to different brakes required a re engineer of the lines. that was the other reason I replaced them all

Since the brake cylinders at the wheels and the master cylinder both had pitting from corrosion I replaced all 4 wheel cylinders and the 1 master cylinder with new

Since the corrosion is caused by the standard brake fluid absorbing moisture from the atmosphere I decided to use Silicone brake fluid.
it is more expensive but does not allow moisture into the system and prevents corrosion.

silicone brake fluid is not compatible with standard brake fluid.
But you can change an old system over by replacing the rubber brake lines and replacing or rebuilding the cylinders and flushing the lines out with brake cleaner then blowing them out with air

One issue I had with the silicon was that if I let the truck sit for a week or more some of the fluid would leak past the new cylinder in my hydraulic clutch
Not so much in the brakes but a little

I think it was because the cylinders were not "new" but had been bored over size by the rebuilder to remove the corrosion pitts and get a smooth finish

There is a company called "stainless steel brakes" that used to take original brake cylinders and bore them out then re-line them with stainless bushings and hone them to the correct dimension. I don;t know if they still do that or if they have changed to selling only new disc brake parts.

There is a mate on ebay who's company is called "scarebird"
Scarebird manufactures laser cut and cadmium plated brackets and parts to convert older vehicles to modern disc brakes using cheap off the shelf components from existing modern cars.
Scarebird is the cheapest way to go for doing a disc brake conversion. I like the idea of using easy to get non custom parts like rotors and calipers on his custom brackets.

One project I envision I would like to build someday is to build a replica of a Zundapp 750 using an old goldwing for parts

 

[Willowbilly3]

Love those Oldsmobiles!! Nice car.
How much are those clock steering wheels worth? I know where there's one in a junkyard.

 

[21willys]

What part of Germany are you in? I have a friend in Germany that is also a car nut. He often visits the states.

Nice ride, hope you get it lined out so you can enjoy it!

 

[R_CK_R]

What part of Germany are you in? I have a friend in Germany that is also a car nut. He often visits the states.

Nice ride, hope you get it lined out so you can enjoy it!

I live in the south, near Stuttgart

The rest of the issues are minor, but that brake thing is not good, so please do not drive it until you get it fixed.
Don

I won't drive like that. First time I drove it, I almost hit another car at a red light, because my car started to roll forward and I didn't recognize it... The girl in the little VW Golf in front of me looked very scared, can't imagine why [S Maybe because she only saw a hood and a rocket in her mirror^^

 

[R_CK_R]

Oh, I forgot...

Can anybody of you tell me some sites where I can look for parts to order?
Are there any experiences with RockAuto? I've heared many different oppinions about them. But they have a lot of parts for my car...

 

[Torch]

Oh, I forgot...

Can anybody of you tell me some sites where I can look for parts to order?
Are there any experiences with RockAuto? I've heared many different oppinions about them. But they have a lot of parts for my car...

rock auto appears to me to be the cheapest. I haven't ordered from them yet but will
NAP northern auto parts is 100% legit and has overstock on sale on ebay
i've bought gastanks from "tanks to pans" and I ordered cnc pre bent brake and fuel lines from a company once for a 1990 f350 and they only cos $200 in stainless for the whole truck but I can't remember the name

 

[R_CK_R]

so, today i looked under my car to find out why the brakes won´t work.
I must say the car looks very good for 60 yrs old...

I made some pics. I think its the main cylinder and the "wet" parts on the front brakes are from some grease I think...

 

[R_CK_R]

Can anybody tell me if a "normal" dimmer switch is also working with the Autronic Eye? I think my switch is broken, cause if you want to switch between lower and upper beam, the switch just clicks and the light is flickering but nothing really happens... also the redlight in the speedo for upper beam is flickering, so I think the switch just doesn´t stay in upper postition...

 

[donsrods]

The master cylinder looks suspect to me. I don't think that is grease as much as it is brake fluid. It just has that look to me, like it has been leaking.

Don

 

[Dirtyrat]

I agree with don, looks like brake fluid leaking...

Also I have ordered multiple times from Rock Auto, always great experiences with them.

 

[R_CK_R]

okay. but the brake drums are dry... if you look at the brake hoses, they look very new... maybe the wet parts are from the change...

I just ordered a repair kit for the master cylinder yesterday. I think even if its not the cause of the brake problem if its new, its new...

The master cylinder also was the only part which was really wet with some drops on it...