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Got the drag link rebuilt and the tie rods replaced, new muffler that will hopefully be quieter, and an oil change.
I have ordered 5 new tires (the spare is an ancient bias-ply), but will need one new rim to replace the one with stretched lug holes. In the mean time, the bad rim will be the spare.
Last night I started replacing the lug studs, I knocked them out of the rear axle with a sledge after a ball-joint remover failed to budge them. I tried getting the new studs in, but I have about 1/8-1/4" of each one before they are properly bottomed, but I can't pull them any further in. I'm debating between getting a more powerful impact gun, or pulling the axle and driving them in with an air hammer.
I also replaced the oil-bath element with a WIX 42088 paper filter to make life easier. Found the wingnut rod was stripped, when I went to replace it I discovered it is some weird size between 1/4 and 5/16" and was stripped from having a 1/4" wingnut forced onto it. Replaced it with a 1/4"x20 rod, which catches the threads in the carb, but wobbles a bit. Why the heck did Olds use a unique thread size for this part?
I'm 90% sure that tweener size between the 1/4 and 5/16 thread is a 12-20. I know this because I just had this problem with my exterior molding mounts. As I was taking them off I was destroying the threads in attempt to get the nuts off. I thought I'll just re-dye my threads so I went down to the hardware store and spent 30 mins screwing around trying to figure out what size they were. Bigger than a 1/4 and smaller than a 5/16...the entire store only had one small box of these 12-20 nuts that fit perfectly on one of the threads I did not destroy.
The carb is supposed to have a 1/4" stud. Nothing was metric on an Olds in 1956. Somebody has probably overtightened it at some point.
12-20 isn't a metric thread. A 1/4 nut did not fit on the rod that was in the cab. And a 1/4 rod wobbles in the threads of the carb where the original was solid. So what was in there was definitely slightly larger than 1/4, i checked the rod against all the common sae and metic size on my thread check and it definitely wasn't 1/4. I did the same at the store and it didn't fit 1/4 there either.
So either someone drilled and tapped the carb out to an off size and made a rod to match' or it wasn't ever 1/4.
12-20 isn't a metric thread. A 1/4 nut did not fit on the rod that was in the cab. And a 1/4 rod wobbles in the threads of the carb where the original was solid. So what was in there was definitely slightly larger than 1/4, i checked the rod against all the common sae and metic size on my thread check and it definitely wasn't 1/4. I did the same at the store and it didn't fit 1/4 there either.
So either someone drilled and tapped the carb out to an off size and made a rod to match' or it wasn't ever 1/4.
12-20 is not very common to my knowledge, and you're also right, it's not metric. If you can get a 5/16 rod you might be able to run a 12-20 dye down it and make your own rod. I'm going to check my carb today to confirm this, do you have the 4 barrel Rochester carb?
Hmmm I'm sure mine is 1/4- 20. I made it up with ready thread and a wing nut off a ww2 wood cartridge box. The wing nut on those boxes are flatter and less likely to dent your hood from the inside is why I remember....Tedd
Got to take the Olds out today an took the first real drive since driving it home in Dec. It needs an alignment as the front end isn't quite right, but it is much tighter than before all the work, so that is a win. I noticed more clanks and bangs around the car, but that could just be that the new mufflers are quiet enough I can finally hear that. Definitely happy to finally really get to enjoy it.
I've been pondering how toy install 3-point seat belts in the Olds. It being a hardtop and my desire to keep a more traditional look has made this more complicated than it might otherwise be.
A friend came over and we got all the plastidip ( thought it was bedliner before) off both sides of the car. Still have most of the roof & trunk to do, but major progress was made. This stuff is slowing down getting any bodywork done.
Decided other interior options weren't working, so my partner and I are teaching ourselves upholstery sewing. She knows clothes sewing and quilting, and I helped my mom quilt when i was younger, but this has a hell of a learning curve. We're getting somewhere though...
I finally figured out the color scheme for the '56 Oldsmobile. It' be Grove Green & Mint like the pic, but with a very dark green pearl for the roof. This color combo was a '55 only Olds color scheme. I've been looking high and low for a color combo I liked, and turns out I just had to go one year earlier.
I finally figured out the color scheme for the '56 Oldsmobile. It' be Grove Green & Mint like the pic, but with a very dark green pearl for the roof. This color combo was a '55 only Olds color scheme. I've been looking high and low for a color combo I liked, and turns out I just had to go one year earlier.
Roof Color:
Thats a nice color combo. My Dad had a 55 with the darker/lighter colors reversed. I think the top should be the lighter color, but its your car. I think the dark green is a metallic color and sparkled in the daylight.
Last edited by OLDSter Ralph; May 2, 2021 at 09:06 AM.
Rear seat bottom for the '56 Olds is *finally* done. Took a lot of trial and error, we learned a lot, and we got it done. It has a few minor mistakes, but I'm just as proud of them because it shows we did it ourselves. Now we just need to do the rest of the interior.
