I just got this from my friend Bob Campbell. Bob is a very knowledgable guy and was previously the 54 Olds Tech Advisor for Olds Club of America. He included a picture and I will try and figure out how to send it. Sherman is his 54 Olds.
Glenn, I have heard that the PS is in the way when dropping in a 455, or
even for dual exhaust with a 324. A friend of mine (Fish) in New Zealand is
putting a huge dual turbo 455 engine in a '54 98 and says the stock PS gear
isn't a problem. I don't know why it wouldn't be??? The guy could e-mail
Fish and chat about the project. It probably would be benificial to both of
them. Fish is a really nice guy.
petroject2@petroject.co.nz
As for Sherman's PS conversion, I used an early '70's Cutlass steering box,
which requires positioning on the frame and drilling a couple of new holes
to match. One hole lines up OK. The 4th hole above the frame raill can be
used by welding a piece of tubing (pipe) to the frame and running a bolt
through it. You have to use a 1956 - 1958 steering arm because the Cutlass
steering shaft has a larger spline but you still need the ball end to
connect to the '54 / '55 drag link. You have to cut the shaft on the
column and install a rag joint. The collumn mast jaclet requires shortening
a bit and a support bearing installed on the bottom end. It's not a
terrible job but you need some good skills and knowledge. See attached
photo.
In 1956 Olds went to the late bolt pattern as is used on the Cutlasses.
I hope this helps. BC