Butch Schultz 61' Fleetmaster 409 4-speed

[oldskydog]

If nobody's changed the voltage regulator, one of the easiest ways to tell a W engine car is the bottom hole on the VR had a rubber grommet with a tit on it instead of a screw. Should be no thread marks in the bottom VR hole on the radiator support. Also the wiring is different. The hot wire from the battery to the VR should be a 10 guage on the W and a 12 on the 283 if I recall correctly. I think the starter wiring from the firewall had a connector inline on the W engine and the 283 did not.

 

[tripower]

Plus I think theirs was a fawn interior???

I thought all the Biscayne's had grey interior?

 

[real61ss]

I thought all the Biscayne's had grey interior?

As I understand my information, the Biscayne's were available with grey, green or blue interiors, and the painted metal areas matched the fabric color but the Fleetmaster interiors were all gray fabric and black painted areas regardless of the exterior color. There was also a Biscayne Utility Sedan that had gray fabric with dark grey painted areas regardless of exterior color.

 

[tripower]

Thanks Tommy... Grey, Green or Blue.

 

[real61ss]

But....it seems I do remember the Jenkins car having fawn interior.

 

[Rickys61]

 

[Rickys61]

The wiring is a tough one to go on cuz none of it is original on the front. I put the resistor on when I replaced the wiring.... But I didn't drill the hole. It looks like a factory hole and it seemed like it was in about the right spot. I'm sure it's the wrong resistor, but it works for now. I also put in a different core support because of the holes that were cut in it so that rules out using the voltage regulator. The thing that has me nearly 100% convinced it was a factory 3x2 are the holes for the coil bracket. When I got the repop bracket, it fit perfectly. The holes lined up perfect with the curve on the firewall..
Thanks,
Rick

 

[409fanatic]

Ricky: Fun learning about your car. Sounds like you might have one of the old racers. Never give up. You just might get a surpise phone call some day. I see your style number matches the first part of your Vin # as well but Tommy is right. Glenn and I were playing around with his 6 cyl and his was a V-8 on the trim tag and a 6 on the door vin#. I never paid much attention to what was going around me. Just what I seen on ours I thought was the gospel on all. Fun learning all this stuff. Wished I had in my earlier years. Thanks Tommy.
I see that the subect of interriors came up. There is a place in portland Ore called SMS Fabric. It just so happened that had a book on the Fleetmaster. It told of the colors, a picture of the interior and how it was to be sewn. Glad they had that for I tore all the interior out to replace with one racing seat 35 years ago and much to no ones surpise my memory is not that good. . But the Fleetmaster has 3 colors, Black, dark grey and a light grey. The back of the two seats on top down to the shoulder is to be black. Then the rest of the two seats from the shoulders down and the whole bottom of the cushion you sit on is light grey. The sides of the seats you see when you open the doors are a dark grey. The material is just plain jane with no design unlike the Biscaynes. As Mickey put it "it's nice but boring" The book also showed the door panels as just plain ole card board ( dark grey) like the side of the seats. Had a pressed stich design and SMS did a great job on those for I did have the old ones to compare. No arm rests were in the Fleetmasters with only just one sunvisor. But the sunvisor is a ligtht camel color, like OK lets just throw this one in. I recomend SMS if you have questions on your car. They had a bolt of the original Fleetmaster material form the 60's for ours anyway. The upholster said it was hard to sew and stiff but he got it done and it looks good. Butch

 

[Rickys61]

Thanks Butch for your interest, doesn't seem to be a lot of cars like ours around, that's why when I see one like yours I really start asking about it. You never know... Like you say... Might get a phone call or see someone at a show or something. I'd love to see some more pics of yours once its complete.

 

[tripower]

OK lets just throw this one in. I recomend SMS if you have questions on your car. Butch

Butch,
I am using SMS for the Fabric on my 57 Buick. http://www.smsautofabrics.com/

 

[real61ss]

Rick,
Well, if those two holes where the coil bracket mounts appear to be original then that pretty much narrows the original motor down to either a 280 or 350 horse. The resistor in your picture is mounted where it should be but you said you don't know if it was originaly there. That hole would be there either way because that's where the wiper motor ground strap mounts. I'm supprised that you car has the two speed wipers, I would have expected to see a single speed wiper motor but then you can never tell, my '61 SS has single speed wipers. I'm not sure if the 280 motor would have had a resistor, I don't think they did but I'm not certain. They were listed as being on high performance motors, I do know that my original 348/305 did have a resistor but the 305 was considered a high performance motor whereas the 280 was not considered high performance. Anyway, it's fun talking about this stuff.

 

[Last 60]

Lonnie.. That was what I first thought too about 10 years ago when I started piddling with this thing. But I got that theory shot down when I found out it was built too late... They were racing theirs way before mine was built.. Plus I think theirs was a fawn interior???

Well...........CRAP

Lonnie

 

[Rickys61]

Yea Tommy, That is a whole other puzzle I have for this car.....Like I said before, the guy I got it from said it had heater block off plates in 1978 when he got it.... If someone bought a car with no heater, why would they get 2 speed wipers with washers???? I know when I took the wiper motor out to get rebuilt, it was the first time it was ever out of the car.... the clutch head screws in the cowl were buried in that factory dum- dum goo.... almost couldn't find the screws!!!

 

[Rickys61]

Well...........CRAP

Lonnie

I know Lonnie..... At first I thought that would be cool, I think it would have been a burden took...... I don't have the resources to give a car like that it's due justice...

 

[409fanatic]

Very interesting on the winshield wiper motors. As cheap as the Fleetmasters were ours came with a 2 speed wiper. One sunvisor and a 2 speed wiper and ordered for racing. GM must of thought that if you were caught in a down pour out on the track you could at least keep your windows clear so you could see the finished line.
And yes Dan I really like SMS too. They were the first ones that recognized and had a book on what we had. Very nice and very helpful. They do not cover the seats but sell the material or at least when we bought the stuff from them but did furnish the package tray and door panels. Big place with scads of material. Butch

 

[tripower]

Very interesting on the winshield wiper motors. As cheap as the Fleetmasters were ours came with a 2 speed wiper. One sunvisor and a 2 speed wiper and ordered for racing. GM must of thought that if you were caught in a down pour out on the track you could at least keep your windows clear so you could see the finished line.
And yes Dan I really like SMS too. They were the first ones that recognized and had a book on what we had. Very nice and very helpful. They do not cover the seats but sell the material or at least when we bought the stuff from them but did furnish the package tray and door panels. Big place with scads of material. Butch

Yeah, I am going to go down there and pick out the bolt that I want for my project.

 

[409fanatic]

Dan. You might want to wait till after Christmas. I can see bolts, carbs, chromed bumpers and a whole host of presents coming. And wishing everyone is going to have a great Christmas this year.

 

[409fanatic]

Rick, what are your plans for your 61? Is it a daily driver or on just occasions? Be nice if you could get all the history on it. With the wheel wells cut out and it was a factory heater delete it might have been a lot of places. If only it could talk. Butch

 

[Rickys61]

Butch, I plan on eventually redoing it... I just haven't been in a place in my life where I can do it and do it right. For now, I'm gonna keep driving and enjoying it as it is. Over the years I've been collecting pieces for it as I can. I've got a NOS 962 block that's dated Nov 61 with no stamp on it that I plan on building for it with some 1147 heads dated Jan. 61 . I know their not in the ideal timeframe, but it's the best I've been able to find in my prprice range

 

[409fanatic]

Rick. You are doing just fine. Life does have an expiration date and there is always a hindsight so keep that in mind. I was a UPS truck driver and started that way late in life so we started buying real old cheap run down houses and restoring them and selling them so maybe we would have a chance of retiring some day. Well that day has come but looking back I never played with that car one iota since 1988. Just roll it from one side of the garage to the other or if we moved, push it on a trailer and off the trailer and then start rolling it around from one side of the garage or the other again. I always ran a cross ram 409 in it so it wasn't the best streetable thing you could think and that all gooed up by not starting it or driving it. But looking back I could of even put a small block it or something and played with it. After 3o some years of having the car and two or three years on the net a fellow named Glenn called and said it use to be his and gave us the history on the car then things really changed. I bought the car 37 years ago for 500 dollars just to race and race we did but I knew nothing about restoring a car. Well that got into a horse of a different color and led us down a path of unknown. Thanks to Glenn and his son Mickey and help from our son Chad it all came together along with help from a few others. But what a trip of the unknown. Old wheels they use to give away to old bellhousings one would make flower pots out of got to what my wife calls it a national debt car. We found out they do not pay you to get rid of those parts anymore. But so glad we are doing it for the old 9 iron but just take it slow and enjoy the car. Do a few burnouts, get a couple exciting tickets you can tell your grand kids about, race it, or just play with it and drive it. They are really cool cars Rick. I put a few miles on ours but 1/4 mile at a time and then nothing and it just sit. Enjoy the story on your car and I have a sneaky feeling if you could look behind those headlights far enough it has a quite a story to tell. Butch