Hi All
I have recently received a 53 Oldsmobile Super 88 convertible. I know nothing about classic cars. I would like to use the car as my daily driver but in its current condition that’s impossible. I have three step kids, two of which are special needs and run my own business, both of which take up all of my time. I need to make this car as close to 100% reliable as I can with little to NO maintenance as I can get. I can’t be getting tune ups etc all the time. I would also really like to make it a torque monster too if we can to waste some young guys off the line. What I know is that it has a 1965 Olds 425 engine code # 386525 the head casting code is # 38382. I have no idea about the transmission other than it is auto and could not pull the skin off a rice pudding. It drops oil, runs but doesn’t hold revs and stalls out constantly. It has power steering and a/c but will need power brakes. So my question is can I keep it Olds and get what I need by rebuilding engine and adding EFI and transmission or is it easier to just put n LS engine in her. Many thanks for your time.

 

With all due respect, you don't need a '53 Olds, you need a late-model Toyota.

 

Sad to say, the easiest thing to do might be to LS swap it. That's why everyone does it. It won't be cheap though.

Making a classic car a reliable daily driver is hard to do, especially if your automotive knowledge ends at changing the oil and a tire.

 

Welcome to the site, lets see it.

 

It is ridiculous to try to use a car this old and with none of the safety features of today's cars as a daily driver, especially to transport kids around. It has no seat belts, unless they've been added. It has only a single-reservoir brake system, drum brakes all around, 6-volt electrics, no airbags, no side-guard protection in the door, no padded dash, no crash-absorbing steering column, no anti-lock brakes, the list goes on longer than my arm. In 1953, this car was as modern as anything, and we drove them, including transporting our children around, because that's all there was. There's is much more and better available today.

The best thing you could do for yourself AND for the hobby is sell the car and buy something modern and practical. Don't mess it up trying to make it more modern. You'll just ruin it. Let somebody who will treat it as a collector car and preserve it as is have it.

 

Hey thank you for the warm welcome! I kind of inherited her and am looking for information to make her reliable and get the power out of her I know is there without the need to change much. I’m not sure what’s holding her back; whether it’s the carb, intake, trans, differential or a combination. I’m also interested to know if adding an EFI system or whatever else I can would help with reliability and lowering maintenance? Thanks!

 

Actually I have one.
Is there something wrong with trying to make a car more reliable?

 

OK let me clear this up for you. This would be MY daily driver NOT my kids. I have a Toyota that I use to ferry them around. I just want to enjoy this car to go back and forth to work. I only live a few miles away from home. Thanks.

 

Of course not. No one has ever said otherwise. But this was not the premise of your initial post.

Fine. You didn't say this, initially, either. You initial post implied the opposite. And if you're not going to be transporting the kids around in it, etc, what was the point of even mentioning them?

 

Maybe you should read it again. The premise is that I am time poor, I have 30 minutes a day driving to and from work to myself, so I am simply trying to make the car reliable and get the torque out of the 425 that I know is there.

 

I did read it again. Someone who wants to "create a torque monster to waste some young guys off the line" hardly comes across as poor. All of the things you would need to do to the car to make it reliable and to be able to waste young guys off the line would not be at all cheap.

For someone who has little money to spend (i.e., a poor person), your cheapest approach is to sell the car and buy a 5 or 10 year old late model used car in reasonable condition.

 

Like a Toyota, for instance?

 

I think you made an uninformed purchase. You are not likely going to improve reliability if you have no time or knowledge of the car. You have no clue what exactly comprises this car. The maintenance and repairs that you have listed so far is going to take a fair amount of money to fix. With a competent mechanic and money this could be very reliable.

 

He said "time poor" not poor. Those are two very different things. The fact that he does not have time to build the car himself, does not mean he does not have the money to have the car built.

 

Missed that. Thank you.

If the kids aren't riding in the car every day and he's got money to burn, go for it.

 

There was a time when these cars were daily drivers, with enough cash to catch up on maintenance there is no reason they can't be again.

 

Sure you can make literally anything a daily driver. Will many of them be practical and trouble free and make sense. No way. I had a 54 convertible. It had power steering, power brakes and radial tires. It also had 4-wheel drum brakes. I would have never considered it for a daily driver. I had a fairly good commute when I was working through the heart of Dallas. I would not even take it to work for one day in the crazy traffic. Even when I took that car out, I was very careful and somewhat nervous. It would not bother me to use my 75 Cutlass for a daily driver if I was still working. The suspension is better (the 54 didn't even have ball joints) and it has disk brakes on the front. Way different car than the 54. That is my opinion which with the current rate of inflation is now worth maybe a nickel.

 

I agree!

 

Me too.

 

Cool car. Don't listen to the negativity. Keep it fix it up and drive it as much as you can. Like we all do with these beasts. They're a blast. Make sure you have AAA Premier

 

I don't think any of us were being negative. We were just being honest. If we were negative, our posts would be deleted. Good point on the AAA.

 

Didn't mean to imply that. Most everybody I know, friends family acquaintances think I'm nuts to own these cars. I cpuld have Audis, Mercedes etc. But prefer these

 

Nice car

 

Very nice car. Good color combination too.

 

Very nice car! It should already be a torque monster with an Olds 425 in it. If it isn't you need to find out what's wrong. If you don't have the ability to do so find a mechanic that knows old cars and have him diagnose it. It may only need a tune up. If the engine is OK it can be as reliable and maintenance free as a modern one, replace the points ignition with an electronic system and if you want to go a step further replace the carb with an EFI, although I wouldn't bother as once carbs are properly set up the require very little attention.
If the engine and or trans are shot then you need to reevaluate your options, but first you have to find the reason for the lack of power.

 

Welcome aboard! You should be able to drive your classic Oldsmobile wherever and whenever you wish. If it has a transplanted 425 engine, it probably has a matching three speed "switch pitch" TurboHydromatic 400 transmission behind it; another possible transmission would be the less favorable two speed Jetaway. My guess is that the switch pitch feature, which is electrically controlled, in the transmission's torque converter is probably not properly connected.

 

Unlikely, as the two-speed Jetaway was never supplied behind the 425 from the factory, and that being the case, i don't know why anybody would ever go to the effort of retrofitting one in a custom build.

 

BangScreech, ya never know who might do what! Just sayin what's possible. The smaller size of the Jetaway may be a factor there.