I pulled the engine and transmission out of my '56 olds 88. It's got the 324 Rocket v8. After putting it all back together this spring I had a major coolant leak coming from one of the heads. Took them back off and took them to a machine shop. They identified three major cracks that are not fixable. So, now the hunt for new heads began. After talking with Tony at Ross Racing he said that the '56 had its own year heads and there aren't others that are interchangeable. I'm thinking about buying a new pair from him but that will cost about $2500.

So the question is... Do I just do an engine swap to something a bit newer that has more interchangeable parts? It's a restoration project but I don't care about keeping everything original. I just want it to be able to drive reliably.

Any help, advice, opinions, or links to other forums that would help would be amazing! I'd like to keep it carbureted and preferably under $2,500. I've never done a swap before so IDK if that price is even reasonable. Thank you in advance!

 

Is the rest of the engine in good condition ? If it is a stock engine you need to talk to people that work on stock cylinder heads, not just "racing" heads. Find out for sure which heads are on the engine.

You mentioned "engine swap" and "$2500" in the same sentence. Not trying to be funny but I would think you might start in the $12K range ? Probably a lot more considering the transmission will most likely also have to be swapped.

Get your heads from the machine shop and post some pictures here including where the cracks are.

 

For what its worth, try posting a "Parts Wanted" on here. Those 1956 heads are not scarce, so someone has a good one. Get it crack checked before doing any work on it. What # head is it ?

 

If the head is "freeze" cracked, the block needs to be looked at too.

 

I once did a head gasket on a "throw away" 80's Cavalier or something. I had head checked at local parts store machine shop, he said it was cracked, so went to local salvage yard and bought used head- took to shop and he said was cracked- OK, took back to yard and got another, shop again said this one also was cracked, OK. Took back to yard and he gave me another- yep it was "cracked" too.... Sooo... I put together with 3rd cracked head- ran fine until sold . Check with a old Olds guy, it may just be the nature of the beast....

 

The "number" of the head is cast on the top of the center exhaust port,
A 1956 engine will have #10 heads.

Besides placing a parts wanted ad here, you might also try posting one on the H.A.M.B. (It's a traditional hot-rodding forum)

 

If you do have #10 heads, here's one;
Cylinder Head 8-324 Fits 1955 OLDSMOBILE EIGHTY EIGHT 1280546 | eBay
I don't know why they say 1955?

 

Sorry for the delay in replying. I do have #10 heads. Attached are the photos of the cracks in the one head. Also, tracked down someone local that is selling an engine and jetaway trans. Mine is a hydramatic. Any opinions on which one is better? Might just swap it all out...

 

How do you tell if it was freeze cracked?

 

Those cracks are not "freeze cracks".
They look like they were caused by overheating.
Possibly by a stuck heat riser valve.
The Hydra-Matic is preferrable to the Jetaway.
You would probably be best off to buy that engine and use the heads

 

Thats exactly what I was thinking!

 

What is the guy asking for the engine ? A pair of "crack checked" heads might be your cheapest solution.

 

$500 for the whole setup cause he's sick of it sitting in his shop. He said it ran and had no leaks when he pulled it. He ended up upgrading to something, I can't remember what. Said he compression tested it and it was good. Only thing he said from the test is that it possibly needs new rings and bearings.

 

That is a fair price. You still need to get the heads "crack checked" and a valve job. You will have a spare short block that could be rebuilt later if you needed it.

 

Not really, the crankshafts are different, Hydra-Matic vs. Jetaway..