Diesel899

Hello everyone. I have a 1956 Olds 88 4 door, a Father Son project (me being the son). We have owned this car for almost 20 years. It's funny how life gets in the way and very little gets done with our projects. My dad is now getting up in years so I've been pushing him to get the car back together. If something were to happen to him I would never know what parts were where or even what they go to. A few years ago He finally admitted the reason he hasn't been working on it, he misplaced a couple of parts. I am not sure what they are. It attaches somewhere near the spindle and maybe the steering knuckle. He has the drivers side but needs the passenger side, bolts, spacers and all. Is it just some sort of dust cover? Any help with what it is and where I might find a replacement would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Jeff.

milners32

I might have what you are looking for, as soon as it quits raining here I will get out and see whats in my parts "warehouse".

Diesel899

Thank you I really appreciate it.

Tedd Thompson

Diesel899, the odyssey of my 55 started much the same way, took almost 20 years from the time my dad and I found it till I took it to get our first burger in it. Wish I had a few of those years back so we could have enjoyed it longer together. Oh yes ,welcome to Classic Olds.

milners32

I found two complete backing plates that include new springs, wheel cylinders, rubber hose and shoes. the plates have the dust shield you need as well as the spacers.
My only problem is I need to let them go as a set. If you are interested I have taken two pics and can send them if needed.

spiderjason

Welcome to the forum!!! Hope you find time to get it done!!

Diesel899

Mr Milner if you could send the pics and a price I would appreciate it. Here are a couple of pics of the air cleaner that I restored and had pin stripped. I think it came out pretty good.

Diesel899

A couple of pics of the car as it sits right now. It's a little cluttered but we do have plenty of room in the barn. We just have to move the tractors out of the other side.

milners32

This is what I have, both left and right.
I would like to get $50 each for them, let me know what you think.

cobalt

good to see another working on a 4door olds...it will be nice to see your progress..i will be doing mine at the same time too..maybe we can share info we find as we go..good luck on your build

Highwayman

Diesel, from the pictures your car looks to be black and white under the dirt. That would be the same color combination as my 56 4 door post.


What color is your interior and is it a regular 88 or a Super 88? My interior is gray.

Diesel899

Highwayman, yes (very dirty) black and white. Although if I remember correctly the original owner said the the colors were reversed. I can't remember the color of the interior, but it seems to me like it was gray or at least grayish. I will be going over this weekend to do some work on it and take some pics of the interior and the door tag if possible. By the way it is just an 88 not a Super.

I forgot to mention in earlier posts that we bought the car from the original owners Son. The original owner had passed away a few years earlier and he was selling it to settle the estate. It had 48000 miles on it and was parked away in a barn in Alabama. A friend of my Dads retired and moved down to Alabama. Thats how we found out about it. Easter weekend 1993 we drove down from Michigan to look at the car. We ended up driving it home. I drove it the whole way never letting my Dad have any fun. It never gave us any issues except for the vacuum wipers being a little slow when I hit rain in Ohio. Good thing my dad brought some Rain-X. I drove it that summer almost everyday. It's been parked since then.

Highwayman

Thanks for the reply Diesel. I've been looking at a lot pictures over the last couple of weeks and when I saw what looked like a twin for my car it got my curiosity up.


BTW, the tag on the door jam is just the VIN number. The trim tag I posted a picture of is on the passenger side of the cowl.

Diesel899

It is a super 88. I just found out how to decode the cowl tag. Color is White and Charcoal. I still haven't found out what trim 381 is though. The carpet has an aqua tint to it and the seats have a slight green tint as well.

Front suspension is apart and motor is removed for detailing and paint. Is the block, valve covers, and intake all the same color? Does Eastwood carry that color?

Highwayman

So they ain't identical. You have charcoal and I have black.


Trim code 381.


I searched this forum and then did a Google search. I found a post on another forum that I'll edit and quote with a link if you want to read more. What I take from it is 38 is for Super 88 and the last digit is the color code.

http://forums.aaca.org/f136/help-dec...tml#post703879


Now both of us have 381 and mine has looked gray to me since I was old enough to know what gray was. And I even passed those color blind tests so I don't know what to say about the green or aqua appearance. Most colors are a blend of several base colors that could include green and blue. Artificial lighting can play tricks on the eyes and the camera.


I looked in my Eastwood catalog and I didn't see any Olds green engine paint, just blue and gold. They have some John Deere green that would look spiffy. As best I know the block, intake and valve covers are all the same. The color is gone from the intake on mine. You probably have a better sample on yours than I have. But I do have a picture to share.

Diesel899

The picture does help! I wasn't sure if the Olds and Rocket were yellow or not. I'm not sure if I'll keep with the green engine or not. I might do something a little different with it. I'm not exactly sure what yet, but I'm sure something will come to me.

One more Question I have is about the exhaust manifolds. Is there another set for dual exhaust cars. I never paid any attention to it till we started taking things apart. The drivers side comes out the front, around the front of the engine and connects to the passenger side manifold which exits to the rear. Of course dual exhausts was in the plans but I'm not sure if the drivers side will work, if there is enough room to have pipes bent.

Tedd Thompson

Diesel899, welcome aboard.

There shouldn't be any problem with duals on a 56, they could be ordered with them. You will have to block off the passenger side crossover pipe then run each exhaust separate, it's tight but most any muffler shop can do it . As far as the green on your motor, it is available if you choose to go that way, just use the search forum ,it's come up before, or have your local paint store match it up for you along with a hardener. The yellow lettering on the valve covers is a perfect match using One Shot lettering enamel #130-L primrose yellow. Best of luck with your project....Tedd

Olds Dad

this might be helpful as well

http://www.ebay.com/itm/250796701688...84.m1423.l2649

Highwayman

I don't remember much about when Dad did away with the duels and installed the crossover. I was more the age of “stay out of the way” and not yet to “fetch me a wrench.”


Tedd is right that most muffler shops can just bend a new pipe to fit whatever you have. The one I've used before uses a pipe with a heavier wall and a larger diameter. The bends don't have the shrinkage that store bough pipes have. I think it's a better deal than using aftermarket replacement exhaust parts.


Tedd is also right about tight quarters. My shop manual says to remove the L.H. exhaust pipe to first disconnect the pitman arm from the pitman shaft.

Diesel899

Is there any parts that will interchange between the '57, 371 J-2 motor, and the '56 324. I found a six pack with carbs for a decent price and was wondering if it would work.

Olds Dad

From other people asking the same question, I understand that the deck heights are different and that a spacer is required to make that interchange work. Don't know the details as to how to go about it though. In short, it's not a bolt-on exchange.

Tedd Thompson

Don't think so,taller deck height. The 371 is wider at the bottom of the manifold, may bolt up but the ports would be misaligned.On the other hand most anything can be jerry rigged with a mill and a grinder and lots of time....Tedd

Tedd Thompson

Gorden you beat me to it..... Good morning....Tedd

TOM'S OLDS WAGON

Looking for engine paint and other goodies go to fusick.com Catalog #540.

Diesel899

Finally got back to my Dads to do some work. Engine is out. Fenders and inner fenders are off. Engine partially disassembled for cleaning and painting. Front suspension on passenger side is going back together (Thanks Milner). Part of the frame has been painted. Still hoping to have it on the road by June.

golds56

thats a lot to do in a short time.are your headlights round bezel or oblong? i am looking for a pattern to make fender to bucket seals and need a old oblong seal to make it from.They are not available anywhere.

Diesel899

Sorry, I've been away for a while. I'll be going to my Dads tomorrow to work on the car, I'll check on the the bucket seals.
June is my target date to have the car on the road not, be on the road and be perfect. I just want to drive for now it's been to long.
I was at the Detroit Autorama last weekend. I saw an Olds motor (324, 371 not sure) on a stand with aluminum heads. I never had a chance to ask any questions there, so I'll ask here. Any idea who makes them. How much and where can I get some? Also Golds56 Where did you get a tri-power intake?

OLD SKL 69

Nice looking project and welcome to CO!

Tedd Thompson

Try Ross racing, they make aluminum heads for a 324 also other speed equipment. Try 330-544-4466 or just google ross racing, nothing cheep but great quality......Tedd

golds56

Deisel i made gaskets already,but i have the round 8.5" gaskets and bezel seals from steele still and will sell them to someone here for cost ,I got them from usa parts so you can see the cost and shipping will be about 6 bucks from me and about 17 from anyone else.
The motors you saw were from ross racing ,i posted a few pics in the "whos going to autorama"thread I was at the show saturday also.One was a 371 and one was a 324.
The tri power i got from an employees brother about 7 yrs ago,it was put on a shelf in thier dads barn about 35 yrs ago and the brother inherited the farm.He was a pontiac tri power nut (had 5 setups in his kitchen,no wife obviously)he sold it to me for 400.00 and greg from gregs cylinder heads built my motor and machined the intale to fit my head angle.

Diesel899

It's been a while since I've given an update. My Dad and I were taking our time and some things got taken apart that I originally had not planned to do right away. Work was progressing slowly but things were getting done. The front suspension was totally rebuilt, the frame from the firewall forward was blasted and coated with pore-15. The engine was in the process of getting rebuilt, parts of the interior were getting updated, trim pieces were polished and reinstalled. All the effort,time, and money spent all came to nothing on Wednesday about noon. My Dad's barn where we worked on the car and bonded burnt to the ground. Everything is gone tools, compressor, welder, you get the picture. Of course the biggest loss is the Olds and 2 of his tractors. He had a beautiful 8n with a Ford 302 in it, scariest tractor you would ever want to drive but awesome to hear and see. Luckily no one was injured and the fire was contained to the barn. It will be difficult starting over, and I'm hoping I can talk him into another project car.
I just wanted to thank everyone who helped me, giving advice, helping me find parts and selling parts that you had "lying around". Without you the car would have never made it as far as it did. I just wish I could have seen it to completion, and taken a cruise with my Dad in it!

golds56

Oh dude that just plain sucks!I hope you can keep that father son thing going,mabey a larger pole barn for starters.There are some nice cars out there that need you guys to keep them alive and in good working order so the rest of the world wont forget the days of our parents youth and the labor and energy put into them.These cars are the beginings of the numerous upgrades that give us the cars of today.Glen

64Rocket

Wow, what a lost. Sorry to hear and see that.
What was the cause of the fire ? Was nobody was home at the time to catch the fire in time to save the barn ?

So sorry for your lost.

Gene

Olds Dad

Wow - I'm so sorry - that is a huge fear of mine - I won't even use the grinder in the garage for that fear. Hope insurance helps you out some.

Highwayman

Diesel, about all I can offer is that sucks. Ironically, just before I read your post I saw this;


https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums/parts-sale/54222-1956-88-parting.html

cobalt

thats is just sickening...sorry for your loss...and all us that would have enjoyed seeing another on the road and restored..

TOM'S OLDS WAGON

Bummer, keep the faith. 56 Olds' rule! Maybe you are destined to upgrade to a hardtop (better investment of time and money). The memories are priceless.

Diesel899

The root cause of the fire was a power surge. The power line feeding the house was actually on fire. So the surge comes down that wire into the main circuit panel in the house, hits the first breaker which feeds the barn, down into the barn and arcs at that panel catching it on fire. The surge protector in the house for my Mom's computer was fried along with the electrical on the sauna in the basement. I guess they are really lucky the whole house didn't go up also.
I am still trying to talk my Dad into another project. He's pretty depressed right now, but I think in time he'll get to where he's ready. First we've got to settle with the insurance company. Coming up with an inventory of what was lost is going to take a while. If you don't have pictures of everything in your garage/workspace, it might be a good idea to do so. Makes it easier to remember what you have. Makes it easier for the insurance company also.
I want to thank everyone for your encouraging words. It really makes it easier to deal with the situation. Thank you, Jeff

hotrodj54

sorry to hear man,my condolences. good luck, hope fully you guys get your selves a new project......john