Thunder-Trunk Resurrection, 1986 Olds 442 Restomod

[dmp-86-442]

Hello, my name is Dan. I have owned this 1986 Olds 442 since 1988. This picture was taken the weekend after I bought it.



See the New Car Introduction thread for more background.

I took some pictures today to capture the current condition:



Overall, the topside sheetmetal is in good condition, no major rust. The driver side rear signal housing (painted portion) is broken. Two flat tires.



There is one minor dent just on the passenger rear quarter, just in front of the side running light (a driveway back-up incident with a motorhome).



The interior is in pretty good condition. The driver seat chrome hinge cover is broken, as is part of the console on the passenger side. The headliner cloth has lost adhesion from the fiberboard backing.

Despite the major enhancements made to the audio system, great effort was made to retain all original interior components including the factory AM/FM Cassette deck. It was fully functional in 1999, and integrated into the aftermarket audio system. The wired CD changer/FM tuner control is sitting in the driver seat. The door speaker (black box) isn't a well integrated component, and I had intended to custom fabricate an enclosure into the door panels. But they sound good and were at the bottom of the priority list when I stopped working on the car.



Otherwise the interior is in pretty good shape. One minor blemish on the rear seat cushion.



The only other visible interior element of the audio system is the rear speaker deck. It is a large single piece that has enclosures built below the visible surface for the mid-range drivers. Much of the original sheetmetal structure has been cut out and the rear deck has been bolted in place. The deck is now an integral part of the structure for the surrounding area. I had begun a snap on grill cover with acoustically transparent speaker fabric, but never finished it.



The engine bay looks pretty sad. The engine was built on a 1972 SBC 350 block with 4 bolt mains, RV cam, high pressure oil pump, Edlebrock intake/4BBL carb/Air Cleaner, Chevy Mechanical Advance distributor, Accel HEI Coil, Hooker Headers with heat wrap. I used AC hoses and tubing from a Pontiac Grand Prix to reposition the Olds AC compressor to the Chevy mounting position.

Note the dual alternators, one dedicated to the audio system. The EGR charcol canister was removed and the location left of the clutch fan is used to house a second battery for the audio system. The entire audio system is electricly isolated from the rest of the car.

Mice shreaded ALL of the factory fiberglass hood insulation, and had built one big huge colony in the engine bay. Every crevise had been packed with the shreaded fiberglass. When I opened the hood in 2003 to move the car from TX to AL, about a dozen adult mice were living in the bay, and a batch of new babies. Much of the wiring connected directly to the engine had the insulation eaten up, they really seamed to like the red silicone ignition wires.

You can also see the coil of factory wiring from the original engine. Had always wanted to surgically remove the unneed wires, but now I am glad that I never touched it. The original wiring harness is largely intact, with the exception of the rodent-stipped wires.



Here is the reason the car is nick-named Thunder-Trunk. The amplifiers have been re-purposed in other vehicles for the time being, but all of the wiring is still in place. The amps were mounted verically on the panel in the center of the photo. The driveshaft is being stored in the trunk because the car has been towed from state to state. You can see the tow bar brackets on the front bumper on the second picture.



The panel where the amplifers were mounted tilts forward 90 degrees, and all the audio electronics are mounted on the back side of the panel. The components from right to left:

1. Monster Cable high amperage power block/fuses
2. Sony CD changer control/FM tuner
3. Audio Controls 4 channel parametric equalizer
4. ADS Subwoofer Control/Analog-Digital converter
5. Sony 4 channel cross-over

At the far left is the Sony 10 disk CD changer. Also, the sub-woofer encloser houses (2) 10" sub-woofers.



There is a hinged panel that opens to reveal terminal blocks, relays and fuses that provide the power control and isolation between the audio system and the car's electrical system. This results in absolutely clean power for the audio, no resistor noise, hum, cross-talk, etc.



My next priority will be to spend some time crawling around the underside of the car to assess if any corrosion has taken hold. It has been so long since I've taken a good look. It was pretty clean about 4 years ago, but some surface rust had begun.

[montessaj]

All red x's?

[dmp-86-442]

Moved the pictures to flikr, red X's should be fixed.

[jackfrost]

cool project. I though I had posted on your other thread, but it's not there anymore!

anyway, I'm also a software guy w/ an 86 442. my project link is in my signature.

looking forward to seeing updates on this one.

[dmp-86-442]

cool project. I though I had posted on your other thread, but it's not there anymore!

anyway, I'm also a software guy w/ an 86 442. my project link is in my signature.

looking forward to seeing updates on this one.

Thanks Dave, I am familiar with your project. You are doing some terrific work, and your project has inspired me to finally move forward on this one. Keep in touch.

[dmp-86-442]

I haven't been able to spend any time with the car because of a large house repair project that was already in progress. I am hanging the car project in front of myself as an incentive to push through and finish the house project.

But I have been able to spend some time during the week doing some research. One area that I have I am encouraged about are the wheels. I really like the wheels that Streetsmart Classics developed for 83hurstguy. They are exactly the concept I had in my head. billet/alloy version of the classic Olds SSIII wheels. I know they will be expensive, but compared to other wheels that I am considering, the difference would be worth it. The wheels/tires, stance and paint are the most significant exterior elements, so this kind of investment is worth it in my opinion.

I have been so inspired by the Streetsmart wheels that I did a little PaintShop Pro study of 18" - 19" wheels with what is about a 3" body drop. The tires are probably 40-45 series, fronts in the 235-245 range, and rears 285-305.

Here is the reworked image, yeah its a little rough, but its enough for me to fill the blanks in my mind at this point:


Here is the original 1988 Photo for comparison:


I have been working on an "Master Plan" to describe what I want in the end, and to formulate a sequence of phases to get there. The phases should be scoped so that they:

• Can be completed in a manageable timeframe and budget
• Leave the car in usable condition at the end of each phase
• Establish a foundation to build on for successive phases
• Avoid rework or replacement of items completed in previous phases
• Concretely moves the project forward to the "End State"

I have gone the route of diving neck deep into a car project and ending up with a car disassembled for years, with no end in sight. That isn't going to happen again. So I will draft these up and post them in my next update. I look forward to any thoughts you might have.