Welcome to the Olds forums ! I had a '55 Olds Super 88 Holiday 4 door hardtop just like yours. I owned it from 1965 to 1970 . If the motor is stock, it's a 324 CID , rated at 202 hp. with the 4 barrel carburetor. Most came with the hydramatic transmission, a 4 speed unit.
As for the fuel pump, a rebuilt stock unit would be nice, since it has a vacuum booster built in to help provide vacuum to the vacuum operated windshield wipers. When you accelerate, the engine manifold vacuum is too low to operate the wipers without the booster unit.
There's a really nice mildly customized 55 Olds that I've seen in a couple of magazines, and it's also featured on the cover of a Stray Cats record album. It has a flame paint job, and is sharp looking.
The 1955 model was actually the fastest accelerating Olds up to the 1959 models with the 394 engine. I was reading through some old magazine tests, and although the 324 was enlarged to 371 and finally 394, the 1956, 57, and 58 cars were heavier, and had numerically lower rear axle ratios, and consequently were not as fast as the 55. The only exceptions were the J2 models of 57 and 58, which came with three two barrel carbs and a special cam .
Good luck with your project !
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