Since joining this forum; finally my 55 is now in the garage and is in rolling condition so the engine work can begin. Since the heads had been pulled by the previous owner and the car put under a cover for sometime I was concerned about the engine being stuck. Put "secret sauce" in the cylinders for a couple of days and was able to turn the flywheel yesterday. Found that the previous owner had pulled bolts from the lower fly wheel cover and starter motor as well as the 32 Torus bolts and all but one bolt to the front motor mount. I want to pull the engine and transmission together so I need to replace these bolts for safety purposes. Any tips for pulling the engine/transmission would be appreciated.

 

Remove the grille, radiator core support, etc. You won't have to lift the engine/tranny so high and can keep them reasonably level. Don't over extend your engine hoist or it'll get tipsy with all that cast iron dangling from it. Keep lots of floor dry handy!

 

Thanks for the tip Rocket331.

 

Just about ready to pull the engine and trans. So far the hardest job was pulling the front bumper by myself. Since the heads are off I am going to have to set my lift points with shorter 7/16 Grade 8 head bolts. Going to sandwich the chain with 7/16 washers. Things take a little longer when you are a one man band.

 

I hope you're planning to remove the rest of the core support and grille braces, too!

 

Forgot to mention that I am pulling support and braces just before I lift the engine.

 

Unless you wanted to remove the bumper for some other reason you don't have to remove it to pull the motor and transmission. the engine should slide or rise up and out if the radiator and it's supports have been removed. Sometimes you will have to make an adjustment to the lift to engine attachment points before the engine will tip to the correct angle and rise out, depends on the type of removal equipment you are using but you will see this as you progress it's pretty straight forward from this point on....Tedd

 

Thanks Tedd, I have had good luck with the engine tilter that is one my lift. Also have a transmission attachment for my floor jack. Just need my son to give the old man some help getting it out.

 

It is definitely nice to have an extra pair of helping hands! Scott, I also noticed the cold shut repair links on your leveling apparatus. I would replace those with some good clevis links. The label on most cold shut packages states rather clearly "not suitable for overhead lifting."

 

Thanks for the tip Rocket331. Been dealing with the last owners mistakes from trying to pull the engine himself. Found bolts missing from the bell housing and transmission mounting. All but two of the Torus bolts are missing. Just waiting for some free time from my son (work and my grandchildren take up most of his time right Now).

 

I might have the proper torus bolts if you need them. I'll have to dig through my spare parts box to be sure.

 

BEST OF Luck w/ your project! (You're an inspiration to the rest of us on here!!) MEAN looking '55 too!! I enjoy seeing 'em just like yours every bit as much as a FULLY-Restored one; moreso even!

 

Thanks rocket331. If you find some let me know what you want for them and the shipping. I thought building my Ford flathead V8 was expensive but this one is going to take some time and money but it keeps me out of the bars.

 

I don't believe the Torus bolts are anything special other than perhaps #8 in hardness. You probably could find them at most any fastener store or good automotive supply and save yourself the freight.

I never could figure out why they used so many of those bolts on the torus, if you add up the shear value it's like trying to shear a seven inch bolt.Gross over kill.....Tedd

 

Thanks for the info Tedd. Can I remove the two bolts on the Torus cover before pulling the engine and trans together? Want to set the trans on heavy duty dolly and separate the engine without too much hassle.

 

I would leave those two bolts in till the transmission and engine are where you are going to work on them. I wouldn't think that the lack of bolts would put a strain on much, most of the weight would be supported on the pilot shaft but it would hold everything tight till you have it in a supported position... Tedd

 

They'll have to come out before separating the engine and transmission. They aren't really doing much at this point. Take them out whenever it's easiest.

After removing the rear motor mounts, put your motor mount bolts back in if you're removing engine and trans as a single unit.

 

Finally got the engine and trans out yesterday with help from my son. Was able to separate hydramatic (remembering that this does not have a torque converter) from engine without too much trouble. One thing that concerns me is the bolting of the engine stand to the upper engine bellhousiing. Will the four bolts in the upper bellhousing hold the engine without breaking? As you can see in the pictures I have the lower pan installed for an even bolt distribution. The old Ford flatheads would sometimes break if bolted the same way. Any tips would be appreciated

 

It'll be easier to push the Olds around now; it doesn't weigh so much! The '40 Ford looks good!

 

Thanks Rocket331, the 40 Ford was my grandfathers and I had a flathead built to replace the SBC that was in it (flathead build beyond my skill level). Will the upper bellhousing bolts hold the engine so I can pull the lower cover?

 

Just FYI, if you separate the engine from the transmission, there is a thin paper gasket that will need to be replaced. If not, you will have a major trans fluid leak. You might be able to use silicone in place of the paper gasket, but I never used it back when I was working on these older models. Others may know more about this.
stetzie

 

I'm trying to remember if I had the flywheel cover off or on when it was on the stand (it was 13 years ago) but I don't think you would shear 4 harden grade 8 bolts if they are balanced correctly and all taking equal strain. I had to exchange my cheepie engine stand for a better one though. I though the Chi-com one felt as though it was unstable and going to tip, had no problems with SBC engines with that same stand, those Olds engines are heavy....Tedd

 

My engine builder had ours on a stand with four bolts into the upper casting. I still had the lower cover at home.

Not that you're anywhere near this point, but with regard to the torus gasket, they are available from Fusick and other sources. Per the shop manual, you are to use petroleum jelly to hold the gasket in place during reassembly. No sealant necessary.

 

Got the oil pan and front cover off today. Found a piece of piston skirt in the bottom of the pan, lucky it didn't jam up engine sometime in the past. Pulled all the lifters out in order ( probably just replace them later on) but the cam won't come out. Hope to have the block to the machinist no later than Thursday.

 

Got the block and crank over to the machinist today. Now just have to sit back and see if I have a builder or a boat anchor.

 

Waiting for my machinist to get back from vacation to hear about condition of block after magnafluxing and measuring. I am looking at Egge rebuild parts and have a question. They offer piston pin bushings and when the pistons were removed I noticed that there were not any bushings. Can my rods be machined for bushings?

 

Sorry for not getting back on the progress but here goes. Got the block back from the machinist, had to go .040 on the cylinder bore and the the crank cleaned up at .010. Rods were cleaned up aligned along with new bushings and the new Egge pistons mounted. Had the cam reground an installed new cam bearings. Saving some money for the main bearing and rod bearings along with new gasket set. Also purchased new timing chain and gears. Next will be the heads and the rocker arm assemblies being remanufactured. No pictures yet but will take plenty during assembly procedure.

 

About the lifters, Often SBC lifters are used instead of original Olds lifters same barrel length and diameter but if you measure the inside drain hole( I don't know the proper term) they are different and this will change your valve geometry. Not as much lift on the push rod, some get away with this with no adaption ,some use a little longer push rod , some let the lifter pump up and get to listen to lifter clatter for a few seconds which drives me crazy. You might check with Ross Racing and see if they have original styled lifters, this would eliminate a lot of potential problems down the road. Just a thought....Tedd

 

Thanks Tedd for the information. I am also going to check with Egge to see where they get their lifters. I'll also give Ross Racing a call and see what they recommend. Not interested in mixing SBC lifters into my Olds.

 

Often they come in a rebuild kit un marked but I know of two instances that people had problems and had to find original stock to fix it.

You can find SBC Chevy lifters for around a buck, Olds are probably 10 times that so that's the reason they push Chevy lifters.....Tedd

 

I still have the stock Olds lifters that came with the engine. I wonder if it would be worth it to have them rebuilt?

 

Kinda rule of thumb if you replace the cam you should replace the lifters but I know back in my high school days we swapped cams and reused the the old lifters, but that was high school and we had no money and were putting our junk cars together with what ever we could find. On a new build I would try and put it together so it will last. On my car I put it back as good as I can then drive it as though it was a new car, 1500 -2000 mile trips are not uncommon. I would check with your machine shop or Kevin at Ross Racing before making that decision Just my thoughts...Tedd

 

Have all parts that need balanced being done right now, hopefully pick up next week. Had to have harmonic balancer rebuilt as well as both rocker arm assemblies with new rockers and shafts. What lifters and push rods can I use for oiling the rocker arms. Next thing to do is have the hydramatic transmission rebuilt after engine is assembled.

 

Found a shop that will rebuild my transmission for about a 1000.00 with soft parts, bands or major parts will be extra. They have been around about 40 years and only rebuild transmissions and rearends.

 

Subscribed!

 

Sorry I have not been on the forum in a while but I broke my elbow and developed A-Fib while in the hospital along with some internal bleeding. Finally got my cast off and going thru rehab. At least I got the frame painted and the engine rebuilt along with the transmission and reinstalled before the accident. Now have to wait to finish the rehab.