The 'other' 60's turbo car: Olds F85 Jetfire!

[miniman82]

I turned in all the stuff I have to a turbo shop, in the hopes that they can make 2 good ones out of all the cores. Most of them were rusted together trapping the turbine wheel in its housing, and I'm not really confident that they will be able to get them apart. Even if they do a replacement carbon seal is not available, which means the carbon seal plate will have to be machined to take a slightly different one from gpopshop. This is what happens when you take on projects that are so special, I'm going through the same thing with a Shorrock supercharger right now. Someone left out a locking nut at some point and since getting a whitworth fine thread here in the states is near impossible, I'm having one made at a local machine shop.

[jensenracing77]

The guy will not sell just the parts but a guy in Minnesota has all the parts required to rebuild the turbo/carburetor/fluid metering system. He rebuilds them as a service. Not cheep but is the only guy in the world with the parts to do it. I can get you in contact with him if you want. He is also on Jetfire.com and advertises there. Most of the turbos are like yours now. they are stuck. Here is a picture of the system after he is done with them.

[cad-kid]

That looks like a plumbers dream

[miniman82]

If I needed a complete system repaired I would have called him already, but I just need the turbo itself fixed. The turbo shop I sent the stuff to is very knowledgable, I think they will be able to help.

[jensenracing77]

What are your plans with it? I have been watching the turbo jets on youtube and thought that would be an awesome project.

If you have any parts you don't need after you are done i would very much be interested in the left overs. I am looking for the fluid metering parts. it is the brass body in front of the carburetor. There is a float inside it and are hard to find because they can brake easy on removal.

[flat6_musik]

Wow, that turbo/carb setup really looks complicated with that fluid injection......much more complicated than I imagined, especially for that era. Does anyone know what the 0-60 times and 1/4 mile times were for these cars??

[bbodie52]

To read the entire article, follow this link...
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1962-1963 ... etfire.htm

1962-1963 Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire

by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide

Critics deemed the ­Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire "an elegant and comfortable high-performance car of medium size."
1962-1963 Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire Performance

After road testing an Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire prototype, Car and Driver magazine reported that in terms of top speed and acceleration, "the latest Oldsmobile offers sports-car performance in a deluxe compact car." Testers declared that "the power gain in mid-range torque characteristics is its most striking advance."

This made the Jetfire "a more practical traffic car" than one with a bolt-on supercharger, which was available on the aftermarket in 1962.

Despite the hefty performance increase, Oldsmobile made no significant alterations to the Jetfire's chassis or suspension. Handling, therefore, was no better than in a regular Cutlass. Oldsmobile even used 6.50 × 13 tires, rather than the 15-inchers available on the Buick Special and Pontiac Tempest (though 15s were listed as an option).

Due to effortless power steering, Car and Driver noted, it "takes quite a while to become familiar with the slow response, and precision maneuvers can only be undertaken at low speeds." With coil springs all around, the "suspension is definitely soft," though body roll "was not excessive under any conditions" and the 9.5-inch-diameter drum brakes delivered instant response.

No sound suggested the presence of a blower, as would be the case with a supercharger. "The whole unit is completely silent," Car and Driver observed. "The engine itself is one of the smoothest and least obtrusive medium-sized power plants on the market, even without the turbocharger." Engineers "also succeeded in eliminating vibration, and the entire power and drive train feels very well balanced."

With Hydra-Matic, this early Jetfire accelerated to 30 mph in 3.9 seconds, reached 60 mph in 9.2 seconds, and took 32.8 seconds to hit 100. Dashing through the standing quarter-mile required 17.5 seconds.

Gas mileage was deemed comparable to a Cutlass with four-barrel carburetion, though "under hard driving the consumption is bound to rise." At cruising speeds, Car and Driver suggested, "fuel economy may be better, because of the improved fuel atomization and mixture distribution with the whirling impeller." Premium fuel was recommended.

Summing up its test of a prototype, Car and Driver declared the Jetfire "not only the most radical design from an American factory in many years; it is an elegant and comfortable high-performance car of medium size."

The Jetfire's handling, however, was another story. In the next section, find out what handling faults reviewers noted.

[sam60]

Just found this while looking around..... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jetfire- ... v4exp=true Cool Cars!

I had a '63 Holiday 88 (if I remember the name right) in high school. Big time rust bucket but a hell of a good running car. I sold it to a buddy for $50 to use it in a demolition derby at Sunset Speedway in Omaha...probably around 1978.

[cdyoung]

It's interesting the company is Air Research. They also produce auxillary power units (APU's) for the old KC-135 Stratankers. There wer two companies producing these APU's, one being Air Research and the other company was Solar.

Just an interesting tidbit of information