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Hey Everybody,
I have inherited my grandmother’s 1955 Oldsmobile 88 Holiday. My Grandfather bought it for her new! My plan is to do a full restoration on it! Here are some pics of the car. Here it is day I got her home! Front end torn apart.. motor/tranny pulled off to machine shop for rebuild Chassis pretty dirt Chassis pressure washed Chassis washed, degreased, sanded, etched, primed, painted. Close up of front end rebuilt! Onto the brakes next...
I moved your thread to the projects section as the newbie section is not for this plus most don't read them. I also edited your title. Welcome to the site, nice honor to your grandmother.
Let me be the first to invite you over to the Vintage Forum. You'll find it in the upper left corner with a few clicks (Forums>Vehicle Lineup>Vintage Oldsmobiles). A lot of mid fifties knowledge and great people hang out over there.
Where in Massachusetts are you located? I'm in Maynard, 25 miles west of Boston, next to Concord.
We look forward to seeing your progress in restoring your family treasure.
What a fantastic project! You have such a great, quality car to start with too! Your grandmother took very good care of the 88 and now you carry on. I love it.
Nice job so far .
Isn't putting it together kind of like assembling a giant model car ? Like a 1 to 1 scale .
Very detailed too .
I couldn’t agree more Charlie! Thanks to everyone for the nice kind words.. I am really enjoying this project and being able to include my son and pops makes it even more special.
Have you determined if you're going to respray the body (it looked like it was in such good condition in the first pic)? If so, will you use the same color?
Yes I will be respraying the body. Vehicle needs rockers, and there is quite a bit of rust around rear window. May go two tone but will keep the original green somewhere on the body.
When I was much younger, I was offered my grandmother's 1950 Desoto four door sedan that was bought new by my great grandfather. I had memories riding in it and playing in it, but I didn't care much for it in my youth, so I passed. The car needed a lot of cosmetic work, but was a very solid and functional car and I have regretted that decision to this day. So does the rest of my family. We all wish my grandma's "Betsy" was still with us.
Good job doing what I as a teenager chose not to do.
When I was much younger, I was offered my grandmother's 1950 Desoto four door sedan that was bought new by my great grandfather. I had memories riding in it and playing in it, but I didn't care much for it in my youth, so I passed. The car needed a lot of cosmetic work, but was a very solid and functional car and I have regretted that decision to this day. So does the rest of my family. We all wish my grandma's "Betsy" was still with us.
Good job doing what I as a teenager chose not to do.
Little update..
got the rear brakes done! Before... After... new shoes, wheel cylinder, springs, clips and adjuster! After... new shoes, wheel cylinder, springs, clips and adjuster!
Baby got some new treads!! Front bearings packed with fresh grease. Brake lines on order.. Got both the windshield and rear window out! Had some extra help getting the job done! Rear window channel has some rot but front looks great.
Little update... I recently stripped the body of all the stainless trim and started the painful task of fixing the ding/imperfections. There has been lots and lots of sanding. I did get a chance to run the new brake lines and fuel line as well.
Great progress! Where did you purchase the brake and fuel lines?
Went with InLine and had them recreate the original brake/fuel lines. It was well worth it as each line came pre bent and to the original specifications.
Stopped by the machine shop and the crank is done! Some images of the engine being rebuilt too Coming out of the oven! Yikes lots of sludge in here Being glass bead blasted! All shiny and smooth!!
Tranny before going out for rebuild! Picked up the rebuilt tranny...like new! Got back some bits sent out for rechroming Got the body back on the chassis.. next step... off to metal fabricator for some repairs!!
I see you had it hot dipped. Are you a mechanic? If not be sure to check the oil galley plugs behind /inside the distributor hole as quite often they aren't replaced if the shop did the tear down and they expect you to know this, Often missed issue Just a thought..... Tedd
Tedd,
Thanks for pointing the plugs out. I will gladly accept any advice/info along this journey. I am not a mechanic by trade but it is my hobby. I enjoy working on cars. Thanks to everyone on this thread for the kind words and advice.
Will
I did it with my buddy. Do you have experience with these?
I do not. My experience with rear ends amounts to just changing the oil in them, removing them, taking them to a rear end shop and then re-installing them. The reason I asked was, I'm looking for a rear end shop that is comfortable with vintage rear ends. I'd like to hand the one I have now off to someone and pay them to inspect it, look it over, change the bearings, change the seals and then maybe even clean it up and paint, but that just bonus. The rear end I have is an obsolete rare bird and most shops won't deal with it.
I do not. My experience with rear ends amounts to just changing the oil in them, removing them, taking them to a rear end shop and then re-installing them. The reason I asked was, I'm looking for a rear end shop that is comfortable with vintage rear ends. I'd like to hand the one I have now off to someone and pay them to inspect it, look it over, change the bearings, change the seals and then maybe even clean it up and paint, but that just bonus. The rear end I have is an obsolete rare bird and most shops won't deal with it.
There two things I do when I take work , that I cannot do , to a shop .
1. I look for an old , long established , shop , Hopefully with people experienced with working on this stuff .
2. I leave my copy of the Oldsmobile shop manual , " just in case you need any specs " .
