8/3 Reply to Billk: I aprreciate your comments. See below reply to Olds64.


8/3 Reply:

Thank you Olds64 for your reply. Additional information as follows: The vehicle has purportedly been through a frame up restoration. My thought is that putting a new engine in the car not only gets me more power, but eliminates breakdowns substantially (tranny, electrical (now 12 volt), suspension would be remaining areas of likely breakdown).

I want to preserve this piece of art but have confidence to drive it around town daily. I will also need to add air conditioning.

With this additional information, could you share your thoughts on my original questions?




Original post. 8/2

I’m interested in this vehicle but it only has a 303 CI V8 engine with 135 hp. I want this to be a daily driver. I would want at least 250 hp. I don’t know if the transmission would require any changes. I cannot do the work myself.

What size and brand crate motor should I consider putting in his car?


What would the all in cost be for this project?

Many thanks.

Curt
Charleston, SC

 

If you can't do any of the work yourself then; realistically, you shouldn't even consider daily driving a car over 70 years old.

For awhile, I was daily driving my 96 Oldsmobile 98. After a back-to-back radiator failure, rack & pinion failure and upper intake manifold failure I realized there's a reason they're called project cars.

If your determined to drive this Olds as much as you can be prepared to spend well over $25k getting her road worthy. Good luck.👍

 

If you are really serious about this your best bet is going to be a Small Block Chevy engine and transmission combination. I would try to find a donor vehicle so you can get all of the hundreds of brackets etc that you will need to do the job.

That being said . . . those cars were used as daily drivers just the way they were when they were new. No reason to not do the same thing now as long as everything is in good mechanical shape. My Grandfather had a 49 Buick and it was driven from Boston to Washington DC many times over its life. He had it until at least the mid to late 1960's when I started driving.

Like Jesse said, if you cant do the work yourself I would expect to easily have 25K in the project, which might be fine for you

 

Depending on where you are driving the car every day, it most likely is a bad idea to use a 49 Olds as a daily driver. Keep in mind this car has a very antique suspension. It has king pins and bushings instead of ball joints and the drum brakes are not up to driving in heavy traffic. There is no power steering or brakes. And it is a 74-year-old car. When this car was new everybody drove similar cars and traffic conditions were very different. I had a 54 Super 88 and it had power steering and power brakes on it plus radial tires. When I did drive it in heavy traffic, it made me very nervous.

 

Even though the car has been through a frame-off restoration, there's no reason to think that a SBC engine or LS engine that you swapped would be more reliable. The comments about lack of power brakes, Armstrong steering and a kingpin suspension are valid observations.

 

But all that said and considered, if the vehicle under discussion has already been the recipient of a quality frame-off restoration, do you really want to butcher a classic?

Perhaps you should consider a late-model Mustang or Camaro as a driver and leave this one in factory condition for pleasure driving only.

 

Thank you all for your input. I hope this reply can be seen by all.

I don’t want to own two cars or just drive the ‘49 occasionally. I may need a bigger budget.

With needing to add A/C, seatbelts, disc brakes and a new engine / tranny and pay MV taxes, I would probably be in for low $60’s and still have the suspension risks. I will think more about it.

 

I have been building hot rods, and custom cars for over 40 years now, and I gave up trying to use an old car as a daily driver back in the late 80's. Just too much worrying, aggravation, and working on it in my "free time". And the unexpected breakdowns!
When discussing upgrading an old car to modern suspension, steering and brakes, with a customer, I ask them how far and how fast, as well as how often, they are going to drive the car. And be honest!. If it's just out for ice cream, or local car shows, and cruise nights, or short jaunts to work, occasionally, leave the stock parts. If you plan of driving over 100 miles, often, at highway speeds, then you should consider upgrading. I drove my basically stock (driveline-wise), 55 Olds all over the country to custom car shows. Only had one or 2 incidents over that time period (20 years). But getting older, I would like to upgrade at least the brakes next time I fix it up. My new 56 Olds already has modern suspension, PS, PDB, and AC.
Another factor, esp. since you can't do the work yourself, is cost + finding a reliable, conscientious shop to do the upgrades. I see a LOT of poorly engineered upgrades, subframe swaps, and other atrocities, done by unqualified persons. Good work isn't cheap, and cheap work isn't good!

 

Would a later Olds 371 be close to a bolt-in period correct engine with more power? For originality, it would look correct. Both electronic ignition and fuel injection could be discreetly added.

 

The cars I have searched the most are 1956 Chevys and Fords. I like the styling and noticed that 55/56 seemed to be the years that horsepower went up, 12 volt electrical was standard and power items were common (brakes, steering, windows).

The styling on the 49 is great, but all of the comments here have changed my thoughts about the 49 as a daily driver.

Is a 56 considered “modern” in your view and therefore a better place to focus my search for a daily driver?

Curt

 

Later 60's with AC, PS, dual brake master cylinder reservoirs and parts availability etc. would be my choice. With a daily driver off the shelf parts availability is a big factor.

 

Be aware that drilling holes in the floor and bolting seat belts into the car is a dangerous risk. Seat belt anchor points were engineered to take the added stress of the seat belt fastener in a collision. If you have to add them for a motor vehicle inspection make sure you add gussets to the floor where they're mounted. I don't think Oldsmobile had seat belts until the 60s.

IMHO, no. Don't forget that any Oldsmobile you buy is going to have little aftermarket support unless it's a 68-72 Cutlass. The 65-76 Oldsmobile V8s and transmissions ave more support than the ones pre-65.