original driveshaft has been replaced.

Not.

We didn't think so either. 2-piece driveshafts with the rubber slip joint looks very lo-po and generic (non-factory) to us, from another A-body division. So, time to Get a new one made.

Dennis

I may have an extra Dennis, can check for you.

Looks like another great project Dennis, with most of the hard to find stuff there! So any idea if '70 Grand Prix 455 car driveshaft would be the same? If Chris can't come up with one I should still have the GP one! Sold the rear to another member years back, but still have that driveshaft somewhere?

Lyn.

Chris & Lyn, Thanks for the offers. I'll let both of you know, but I have to check both Dan's and my stashes first. I jumped the gun by saying I need a new one made...in reality, we may have an A-body shaft lying around as well.

Lyn, the GP has a 118" wheelbase vs, the 112" for the A-body, so the GP driveshaft is longer. Thanks anyways!

Dennis

The GP driveshaft is the same, right down to color bands.GP engine sets way back. The rubber isolated driveshafts, first ever ran across them were short ones out of '69 Birds. For some reason Olds started using them a lot around '71-72. Have pulled them out of quite a few Cutlass I was parting. My bet, the rubber isolated driveshaft you have Dennis has to have come out of a longer wheelbase Abody, then was shortened on one end

Roger, Thanks for the schooling on the GP driveshaft length being the same as the A-body. I forgot about the engine setback with the deeeep fan extension on the radiator shroud.

Dan recently bought a true survivor 1970 F-85 Olds with 39k miles and 100% original. It is a factory 310 hp 350/TH350/3.23 high altitude gear car. It is totally rust free high dessert car (SW Colorado). The paint is tired but the interior is mint (Olds version of Bermuda blue with optional blue vinyl guts), the point is it has the same rubber isolated driveshaft and has the correct stripe code colors for Olds. Soooo, I'm thinking it may have come from another F85/Cutlass. I wonder if Buick Skylarks had the same shaft....?

Dennis

Wouldn't the manual trans (especially with a 455 HO/M-22) car been equipped with the rear fram reinforcements like on the GTO's?

Dennis

BTW, the pictures in my previous post are of the Ames repops we installed on my 70 Lemans. There aren't any on the GT-37 right now and not sure there ever were.

Also appears the M-13 may not be the original trans. No date VIN on the pad and the casting dates are B, D, & E of '70 which is probably too early.

Any thoughts?

Dennis

Here is another '71 M-13 for comparison...

Dennis

I could check the M13 from mine - see what the date range is on it.

As far as VIN stamped on transmission. My old Fremont built M-22 didn't have that stamped?

Chris, That would be interesting to know. It very well may be since the were infrequently installed/ordered, that there was extra '70 casting M-13's to use up. Strage that it doesn't have a VIN or the stamping below the side cover.

Here is another from a '73. VIN: 23A157783

Dennis

The case stamped number is H3A02B, Correction VIN is 23A157788

Dennis

Texted pics to Dan - no VIN on my trans either. :noidea:

Nice to see my old car getting some attention again. Was not doing anyone any good stashed in the corner of my shop.

I'll do my best to shed some light on any mysteries uncovered in this thread, but I owned that car for a LONG time and had a lot of engines in and out of it. I can tell you the trans was the one in the car when I bought it in 88, and I always wondered about the missing VIN. I find it unlikely that the original owner blew up the M-13 and then replaced it with another. Possible, but does not add up to me. And as far as I know, thats the driveshaft that was in the car from 88 as well. I did a lot of cross breeding of parts among my fleet back when I was a kid, but that was my only car with the Chevy rear end yoke, so I think it was always in that one.

I'll be following this thread with interest.

That car was my inspiration car...
I think I even PMed Mike about buying it....if I remember it wasn't for sale.
Of course it was after I finished the one I did buy.

Now maybe my car is the inspiration?

Mike (455HOGT37), Welcome to the party! Any an all back story and input will be very welcome. I'm sure any stories you have about the cars street life when you were driving it will be 'must reads'. Fortunately, I have a few 71 455HO A-bodies nearby to compare with.

Mike (Judge273), Yep, your car is the flipped inspiration, but I can't take it to that level perfection dollar-wise. My goal is to make everything work, replace any missing pieces, including the a/c, clean the interior (I'll probably install a nicer cash pad and formula wheel with original less cracked & sun baked replacements. I might even remove the existing hand-made eyebrow stripes with troops and somehow patina them the match the paint (spray on a flat clear?). Anyway, those are the ideas Can and I have been discussing. They could change the further we get into it.

Dennis