BUILD THREAD Project Olds Cool (Recognition!!)

Rktpwrd

Builder of Cool Shjt
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Actually the first time ive ever seen an impact screwdriver like that.

It works great Josh. I picked it up at Princess Auto (our version of Harbour Freight) last year when I was having trouble getting a stubborn door latch screw out of the passenger’s side door.

It didn’t help on the door (I ended up having to weld a nut on the screw head and twisting it out that way), but I worked like a charm on this mirror screw. Good thing too, because there’s no way in hell you could get down inside the mirror base to weld anything on one of those screws. They’re simply too deep.
I’ve never owned an impact screwdriver before that, but the first time it does what it’s supposed to, it’s paid for itself IMO.
 
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Rktpwrd

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interestingly, I had my D/S mirror out a couple weekends ago, and changed it out for my Regal mirror. surprisingly, (read:sarcasticly) the base is different as far as height and bolt center... are you taking the mirror assy and cable completely out? if so did you have to disassemble the adjust knob? I couldn't fit mine through the hole in the base.

Darin, I’ve found through experience that you gotta be careful with which mirrors you’re trying to use.
I can’t vouch for the Regals, but on the Cutlass the 78-80 cars use a completely different base than the 81-88 cars. The earlier years have a taller base that sits flat on the angled but flat section of the door, where as the later years are actually shorter and straddle the bodyline.

As well, as you noted, the stud spacing is also different between the two. Scott was kind enough to send me a set of the later model mirrors last year, but despite my best attempts it’s simply not possible to interchange the two. Even the angle that the mirror base sits on the door at is different.

Donovan,

If you wouldn't mind detailing how to work on those mirrors, it would be very helpful. The Driver's side mirror on my car doesn't hold its adjustment. Close the door, time to adjust. I've been on this forum for four years or so and haven't come across a thread on how to work on those mirrors.

Ok, no pressure as it looks like everyone wants to know the same thing, but here goes!

First of all, I’m going to take the easy way out and not disassemble the joystick and cables assembly when I paint this mirror.
I had every intention to when I first pulled it apart, but after careful evaluation, I’m not convinced it’s going to be possible without breaking something.
Let me show you why:

Each cable attaches to the joystick and terminates at the very top here where the scribe is pointing:

CC29EB4D-2A4E-4241-ACE7-7CD8D12D29D6.jpeg


Think about the brake cables on a bicycle. You know that little nubby at the end of the cable right by the calipers? That’s exactly what these little guys are like, just a much smaller version. It would appear that when they’re assembled, the cables slide vertically through a pot metal piece and the nubbies sit down inside a recess for each one.
This is what keeps them located.

From there, the cables pass through a flange of sorts, where they’re crimped onto the cable sheaths:

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To keep tension on the cables, a spring is used down inside the assembly below the flange, as seen here:

F2284AAC-AAB4-4564-9828-C37BA077231B.jpeg


This is just an educated guess, but what I suspect is happening when the mirrors won’t “hold” their adjustment anymore is that the crimp on a particular cable is no longer holding it in its original location. This is visible as a cable that seems to have excess length in it between the flange and the top collar.

The joystick assembly from my original mirror for example. Note how this cable sits flat and tight with no apparent excess slack ?

932E94FA-1271-4C50-AD00-567D1B107FC4.jpeg


Now on the exact same assembly, just rolled over a bit to highlight the difference. This cable has too much slack in it, and has even kinked a bit because the extra has nowhere to go:

655F44EC-F0EA-4132-A6D2-3F3201F353D1.jpeg


It should be noted too, that these observations were made with the joystick centered in its travel, so it’s not like what we’re seeing above is because of it being off to one side.

The trouble is, there doesn’t seem to be a way to hold and support the assembly without the use of some sort of special jig. One would be needed to hold it firmly so that the spring could be compressed to start disassembly to get the nubbies out of their recesses.

So for me at least, rather than potentially opening a can of worms that I might not be able to put back, I’m going to choose to leave it assembled and mask off the cables and joystick. For those unfamiliar with why it would even be necessary to disassemble one of these, it’s because of this:

5576321F-00C1-4F9F-9380-05F95B97BD52.jpeg


As Darin noted above, the hole in the base of the mirror is not big enough to pass the joystick assembly through. They were likely painted first, the cables passed through the base, and then the joystick put together afterwards. Fine for a one-time assembly, but definitely not user friendly if you’ve gotta take it apart to refinish or repair anything.

Speaking along the lines of disassembly, it’s also impossible to remove the actual mirrored glass section on driver’s side mirrors until the cables are disconnected and pulled through the housing. In the FSM, the only way to do it is if the mirrored glass part is broken or missing, because the screws that attach it are only accessible behind it.

Hopefully this has shed some light on how these things are put together, and why not a lot can be done with them (unless you’re feeling lucky and really brave!)
Of course, your results may vary, best of luck to anyone that wants to attempt it.

As an interesting aside, it would appear that the widest point of the joystick assembly is just under 3/4’s of an inch...

0FB851D8-2900-4E6D-BEFE-D75645E39C79.jpeg


...which would leave approximately 1/8” either side to the screw holes if a guy wanted to open up the hole in the base big enough for the joystick to pass through:

C70B5655-0527-4A83-9D96-327227D95989.jpeg


This could be done by drilling a series of small holes at the desired diameter and breaking out the pieces until he had enough room to get in there with a die grinder and clean up the rest. I may experiment with this on the original mirror.

Food for thought, but unfortunately this won’t help with floppy mirrors or ones that won’t hold their setting.
 
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1evilregal

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I may tear into my old one, as it's getting slightly floppy, and when I did the roof repair, I kinda forgot to protect the mirror... lots of welding pits that started to rust now, makes the glass completely usless.

the mirror base from the regal actually has the right bolt pattern (I didn't have to re-drill any holes), and has the right angle, but the offset is different, meaning the bolts sit higher on the door inside the base than the original mirror. the base also is shorter by about 1/2" (13mm for you metric guys! :sneaky:).... besisdes that, they aren't original to the regal, mine originally had the boxed chrome ones, being a no-thrills car (looks like the only option mine had was a/c and am/fm radio.....).
 
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Rktpwrd

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Finally gained some traction on Olds Cool this week/weekend.

After dozens of hours monotonously sanding and stripping away layers of old paint and primer, I finally got the last of it done mid-week.

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Yesterday after cleaning, condensing and rearranging the shed to make room for a new piece of equipment I have coming, I enlisted the help of a “voluntold” to get the hood put back on again.

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Because I was a bit pressed for time, once the hood was physically on, I left the actual alignment till today. Getting out there this morning, I was relieved to see that I had drilled alignment holes in the hinges and inner structure of the hood, this always makes putting it back exactly where it came off so much easier.

I keep some old broken 3/32” drill bits for exactly this purpose:

4BE380FD-620C-42E5-B884-758E1E3D2C59.jpeg


Although the hood went back on exactly where it was, unfortunately I had forgotten that the passenger side hinge wasn’t in the same place on the fender because all that came apart for paint after the hood came off.
I adjusted it a bit, it’s close enough for now to do what I need.

5B3DC85B-2FA7-4972-9697-0D77F17D6203.jpeg


Then it was down to business in earnest. The hood got a cleaning with wax and grease remover, another once over with 80 grit on the DA to get any missed spots, then another cleaning. Then a careful evaluation of the damaged areas, then some surface prep with 36 and 40 grit.

E315502E-3670-41B7-ABBB-69AC77607EE0.jpeg


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From there it was just simple “cave ‘n pave” stuff. The filler work went smoothly, one coat of filler and putty each on the worst areas, and blocked perfectly flat and straight. Not even any pinholes to contend with.

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And done! This hood is finally and officially ready for masking, epoxy and high build primers. I love it when things go like they’re supposed to!

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D.
 
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Tony1968

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Yes. Amazing. I wish I knew about drilling alignment holes. Learning all the time here!
 
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Rktpwrd

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Tony1968

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Ok I have to ask.... why the body filler before epoxy? I thought it was best to spray then do body work? I've got a ton of body work ahead of me and I'm trying to learn but I feel clue less at times...
 
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Rktpwrd

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Ok I have to ask.... why the body filler before epoxy? I thought it was best to spray then do body work? I've got a ton of body work ahead of me and I'm trying to learn but I feel clue less at times...

Meh, don’t sweat it. No one knows it all, and the purpose of a forum is to be able to ask questions and (hopefully) get answers.

There are a couple hard and fast rules in bodywork that must be followed, but when it comes to other things there’s sometimes room for interpretation and personal preference. I’m an old school guy myself, and prefer doing things the old school way.

I was always taught that body filler always goes on bare metal, no exceptions. However I know that it’s become perfectly acceptable to apply it over PROPERLY sanded and prepped epoxy primer as well. The reason I personally don’t do this is I’ve had instances in the past where the epoxy doesn’t have a good “bite” into the substrate. Whether this was because of old product or some other reason is another matter.

If you were to apply filler over epoxy that had issues like that, your filler would lift along with the epoxy. Probably the reason for being taught to only apply it to bare metal. With the price of materials and the labor involved, to me it’s an easy rule to abide by. And with it comes the piece of mind that particular scenario is not a possibility. It’s always gonna stay exactly where you put it.

I would never take anything away or discount anyone that wants to put it over top of epoxy, it’s just not how I prefer to do it. One of those aforementioned personal preference things.

Some of it depends also on your location and ambient weather conditions. Guys in extremely humid or coastal areas pretty much need to get anything bare metal protected as soon as possible or the thing will flash rust within the hour. I don’t have those conditions to contend with thankfully, but some might. And if they’re comfortable with applying filler over properly prepped epoxy, then that’s what they need to do for where they are.
 
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axisg

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Jul 17, 2007
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Again, absolutely love this car. Right down to the pattern of the fabric on the seats it brings me back to 1990 and reminds me of my '80 calais only sooo much nicer than my S. Ont shitbox
 
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