fuxl

Hi everybody,

I bought my car a little over a year ago in North Eastern Maryland. It's a 1956 Olds Holiday Sedan.
The guy told me that he was the second owner, and that he got it from a doctor or attorney from New Jersey (or New York). Other than that I know that the original owners initials are LAW, backed by the Rocket Circle emblem.

Here is the Body Style Panel of the car:
Body_Plate_zps7b1e9a9f.jpg

For color it lists charcoal, with is close to todays paint on the car, but I think I can see traces of red paint coming through.

Here are some pics of the car:
26D6DD47-9BB4-4823-B1E1-A06845E012A2-4180-000003C6A6906FEB_zps56bf484a.jpg

dcda1073.jpg

I was hoping to maybe be able to find out some history on the car, talk to the original owner and get some pictures from throughout it's life.

I also tried to get in touch with the "Oldsmobile Club of America", becasue the car had a club tag topper when I got it, but didn't get a response so far.

I'd appreciate and help or leads.
Thanks, Martin

jaunty75

Nice car. I doubt you'll have much luck tracing its history. After 57 years, it's likely that the original owner is dead if you assume that a typical Oldsmobile buyer in the 1950s was a bank vice-president or doctor or someone like that in his 40s or 50s. What the person you bought if from told you about the prior owner fits.

If the person who bought this car was 20 years old at the time, which is VERY unlikely as Oldsmobiles were not entry-level, low-priced cars, he'd be 77 now. If he was 40, which is much more likely, he's 97 now and very likely gone to his final reward.

The OCA probably won't be of any help, either. What you found probably just indicates that one of the prior owners was an OCA member. I don't know if the OCA can correlate a car with a member, at least down to the level of the VIN.

Did the guy you bought if from tell you how long he owned the car? If it was, say, a year or two, and he bought it from the original owner or the original owner's family or estate, then you might have some luck locating these people. But if he bought it from the original owner in 1980, it's unlikely you'll find them after all these years.

It's more likely that not that the OCA membership was due to the guy you bought it from, and you already know his name. If the guy you bought it from bought if from the original owner before 1971, then the OCA thing is most certainly due to him as the OCA was founded in 1971.

fuxl

Thanks for your response, jaunty.
I do agree with everything you are saying. That's why I figured, if want to have any chance, I need to start right now.

With the OCA I really was hoping to get a name based on the initials and location.
But then again I don't even know if they would give out the name, even if they knew who it was.

I did take a picture of the previous owners title, and it says that he got (registered) it in his name in February 2007. So that wouldn't be too long ago.

I also tried to get in touch with him again, but didn't have any luck.
Realistically this is a long shot, but I still wanted to give it a try.

Any other options, you guys could think about?
Thanks, Martin

oldcutlass

Beautiful car, yeah it's tuff to find info on Oldsmobiles.

Ozzie

It looks like a nice car. It deserves garage storage and good care.
Here's a bit more information, about the Body & Style Number Plate, some of which you already know:
Under Style No, the 56 is for 1956. The 3639 is the Fisher Body Style number. It is for the Holiday Sedan in the 88 series. (The Olds code letters for this body in the 88 series is HS.)
Under Body No, the BL identifies which plant assembled the body. (BL = Linden).
Under Paint No, 52 = Charcoal. For this color, the Rinshed-Mason number is L22A059 and the DuPont number is 2270-H.
There should be a serial number for the car on the left body pillar post. It should begin with 567. (Again the 56 is for 1956; the 7 is for the 88 series.) Next there should be a letter for the final assembly plant. If it is an L, then final assembly also was done at the facility in Linden (NJ). In those days Oldsmobile had 8 plants for final assembly. The last digits are squential beginning with 1001. This part will be unique for your car.
There are also serial numbers on the engine and the transmission if it is a Hydramatic; (none on the synchromesh).
As has been mentioned, getting the original ownership details may be difficult. They may be in some state's archive somewhere, but if you can't get it by going backwards from the person you bought the car from, it may be difficult.
Here's another possibility if you have the original owner's manual. In 1955 (the one I have) on the first page of the manual, there is a place for the original owner's name and address, a complete listing of the vehicle's code numbers, the name and address of the dealer who sold the car and the date of the sale. This information was usually completed by the dealer before delivery to the purchaser.

fuxl

Thanks Ozzie, for the info.
YES, it is stored in my garage, but I like to drive it a lot. It is my summer daily driver.

Unfortunately I do not have the original owners manual. There goes another chance...
Would you guys think that the color it is right now is the "Charcoal" from back then?
I mean to me it looks black, but the paint is definitely old. So even if it's not stock, it's been painted a ling time ago.

Another strange thing I noticed.
It is a standard 88. But it has the Jetaway transmission in it. Looking at the engine, it has #8 heads, which means they are from 1955. And the engine number is really hard to read, between the head and the exhaust, but it seems like it's not right for 1956 either.
So I'm wondering if the engine has been changed at some point, or what else is going on here.

Here is another pic:
IMG_3216-Version2_zps6f688d19.jpg

And this is what I've been working on, to replace the leaking engine that's in there right now:
null_zpsf6f3de1a.jpg

4speed455

The red that is starting to show through the pant is quite possibly the factory primer. I had a 1957 super 88 with original paint and it had a lot of the red primer showing through.

Ozzie

I don't have a good feeling for the look of "Charcoal". There was also a "Black" in 1956. It was number 10. There was no "Charcoal" in 1955, and I don't have a paint chip chart for 1956 to compare the two. The '55 I have is a black + white. It has always had inside storage and the paint is the original.
The 1956 shop manual says that they used the Jetaway on the Super 88 and 98 models with the 88 getting the same Hydramatic as from 1955. The tag on the one from 1955 begins with R55, while the Jetaway from 1956 begins with 056.
You're right about the head numbers. The ones from 1956 should be #10. There was a slight difference in exhaust valve size and compression between '55 & '56. If you can get to read the engine serial number, the 1955 should be V400001 and up while the 1956 should be V1,000,001 and up. I have no knowledge if they carried over any 1955 engines into early 1956 production. You might also check the distributor. It changed in 1956 to the newer "window" type. Also, both the 2 bbl. & 4bbl. carburetors changed between 1955 & 1956. If it has the tag on it, the number would be another clue.
Thanks for the great images. That engine on the stand looks nice. Your biggest challenge with it might be keeping the carburetors synchonized.

fuxl

It has the '56 2bbl carb on it. but if somebody changes the heads on the car, it wouldn't be that hard to change the intake also.
Getting the linkage working is a whole different ball game.
That's why I'm thinking, if they changed the whole engine to a '55, they'd still use the '56 intake and carb in order not to have to mess with the linkage.
Good call on the distributor, I'll check on that!

And here is a link, if you want to hear the engine running:
http://vimeo.com/68008339

Ozzie

You may be right about the linkage matter on the '56.
The one on the stand looks good and sounds good. And the gauges seem to be in the right places also. You must have done a good job on it.

fuxl

Contacted the Maryland DMV, and the response I got was not really encouraging.
They only way I'd get something out of them would be to hire a private investigator.
So I think I'm at a stand still here...

Tedd Thompson

If the transmission is from a 55 I would leave it in there as the slant pan hydro is much stronger than the Jetaway ( though the shift points can be a little rougher). Also as I remember you can't switch intakes from a 55 to a 56 without messing with it so it will set flat on the heads, you can go the other way around without a problem though......Just a few thoughts ....Tedd

fuxl

The transmission isn't from '55. Just the heads are confirmed to be from '55 so far.
And since the tranny is a Jetaway, I'll continue to use it, since it's got a "park" position.
Deck height changed in '57, so the only difference between '55 and '56 intakes is the port sizes.

Tedd Thompson

True to a point, If an engine (324) is equipped with # 10 heads you need to use the valley pan from a 56 or put a dent in a 55 valley pan so it will fit flat on the heads other wise the valley pan will not seal and will ride high. Trust me on this ....Tedd

fuxl

The valley pan doesn't sit on the heads, but on the block.
The reason there is a different valley pan for 1956 is because of the heat riser in the intake, it's lower than the older ones, that's why the '56 valley pan has a bump in it.