Thanks For Having Me
June 1st, 2009, 11:48 AM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Syracuse, NY
Posts: 14
Thanks For Having Me
Well, were to start. I was born and raised in the Detroit, Michigan area. My grandfather, father, one brother, and myself have worked for Ford Motor Company either at some point or up until they closed the plants we worked at (Wixom plant, and Michigan Truck plant.)
Unfortunately, I found out after my grandfather passed away that he designed the first EGR valve which was crimped together, the same style used to this day, instead of the riveted style. My father still has the original model his father made mounted on a piece of wood. I know very little about my grandfather’s auto habits because I wasn’t smart enough to ask him any intelligent questions before he passed away just about five years ago. I miss him so.
My father is the greatest man I will ever know. A tool & die maker of some 40 plus years and so skilled at what he does I’m left scratching my head like a dumbass half the time. I couldn’t start to tell you all the stories I’ve heard about him running cars down into Detroit even before he was old enough to have a license. He drag raced the tanks of the time and DJ’ed the school dances. Yet all of this comes from a man as mild as it gets. Even tempered and fair. In all of my 36 years I have NEVER heard this man swear or take the Lord’s name in vain. If you ever need a piece of precision machine work done, he’s your man! No doubt about it.
Now that you know a little of who has made me the man I am today. I’ve owned more cars than I care to think about and have worked on every one of them either by choice or, most times, by necessity. Everything I know about cars was either from talking to my dad or beating knuckles against greasy steel. I love working on cars, so long as it’s not the one I need to go to work in the morning. The older I get, the older the cars I like to work on. I hope in the near future to obtain a mid to late 50’s Ford or Chevy pick-up and make it into one badass truck much like the ones in the CarToons comics I loved to read as a kid. It’s either that or a 1977 or 1978 Trans Am. I owned a 1979 T/A as a teen and loved that car. I didn’t like the front nose or tail end as much as my brother’s ’77 though.
I just picked up a mid 1950’s Oldsmobile Rocket with trans and now I’m on the hunt to find out as much as I can about it and make the decision as to keep it, or sell it and use the money toward finishing the 455 Olds I have. I will use the search engine to see what I can find.
The numbers I’ve been able to get up to this point are (Engine/trans is still in one piece):
Trans: 8615013 8 – 26
Heads: No external numbers I can find. Under the rocker cover, held on with two bolts thru the top, on the top left corner: GF 236 There are more in the top right corner but I can’t get them clean enough to read them yet.
Block: On the back of the block over the torque converter area reads: CFD 257 maybe CFO 257.
There’s also a large 6 and the number 563922.
Left side exhaust manifold: CM563295 LH
4 – Barrel Intake #: 563966
Thank you for having me.
Karl
Unfortunately, I found out after my grandfather passed away that he designed the first EGR valve which was crimped together, the same style used to this day, instead of the riveted style. My father still has the original model his father made mounted on a piece of wood. I know very little about my grandfather’s auto habits because I wasn’t smart enough to ask him any intelligent questions before he passed away just about five years ago. I miss him so.
My father is the greatest man I will ever know. A tool & die maker of some 40 plus years and so skilled at what he does I’m left scratching my head like a dumbass half the time. I couldn’t start to tell you all the stories I’ve heard about him running cars down into Detroit even before he was old enough to have a license. He drag raced the tanks of the time and DJ’ed the school dances. Yet all of this comes from a man as mild as it gets. Even tempered and fair. In all of my 36 years I have NEVER heard this man swear or take the Lord’s name in vain. If you ever need a piece of precision machine work done, he’s your man! No doubt about it.
Now that you know a little of who has made me the man I am today. I’ve owned more cars than I care to think about and have worked on every one of them either by choice or, most times, by necessity. Everything I know about cars was either from talking to my dad or beating knuckles against greasy steel. I love working on cars, so long as it’s not the one I need to go to work in the morning. The older I get, the older the cars I like to work on. I hope in the near future to obtain a mid to late 50’s Ford or Chevy pick-up and make it into one badass truck much like the ones in the CarToons comics I loved to read as a kid. It’s either that or a 1977 or 1978 Trans Am. I owned a 1979 T/A as a teen and loved that car. I didn’t like the front nose or tail end as much as my brother’s ’77 though.
I just picked up a mid 1950’s Oldsmobile Rocket with trans and now I’m on the hunt to find out as much as I can about it and make the decision as to keep it, or sell it and use the money toward finishing the 455 Olds I have. I will use the search engine to see what I can find.
The numbers I’ve been able to get up to this point are (Engine/trans is still in one piece):
Trans: 8615013 8 – 26
Heads: No external numbers I can find. Under the rocker cover, held on with two bolts thru the top, on the top left corner: GF 236 There are more in the top right corner but I can’t get them clean enough to read them yet.
Block: On the back of the block over the torque converter area reads: CFD 257 maybe CFO 257.
There’s also a large 6 and the number 563922.
Left side exhaust manifold: CM563295 LH
4 – Barrel Intake #: 563966
Thank you for having me.
Karl
June 1st, 2009, 12:17 PM
#2
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 17,614
Welcome
Welcome aboard.
Probably about 50 years ago I read an article that was titled something like.
"So you want to work on your car"
First take a wood rasp and rub briskly and firmly over all you knuckles then immerse both hands into a bucket of kerosene.
Probably about 50 years ago I read an article that was titled something like.
"So you want to work on your car"
First take a wood rasp and rub briskly and firmly over all you knuckles then immerse both hands into a bucket of kerosene.
June 1st, 2009, 05:35 PM
#4
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Rathdrum, Idano
Posts: 9,127
Welcome to the site Karl, from your story of your grandfather and your dad sounds like you have some big shoes to fill. Hang on someone with the books to check the numbers you gave will help fill in the pieces of information your looking for
June 2nd, 2009, 04:17 AM
#5
Past Administrator
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Rural Waxahachie Texas
Posts: 10,010
Karl,
Thanks so much for the nice introduction. I think you are a most fortunate person to have such a skilled father with such a rich and humble character. About your grandfather's contribution to automotive design, I have an ex brother-in-law who retired from the Ford plant here in Kansas City who also invented an item that is not in regular use in the industry. I think this may happen more than we are aware of. The ingenuity of the American worker to make work smarter not harder is the driving factor. Regardless, if you stay with an Oldsmobile vehicle or just the engine (the 455 is for your TA isn't it?) we welcome you to CO and hope to be hearing more from you.
Thanks so much for the nice introduction. I think you are a most fortunate person to have such a skilled father with such a rich and humble character. About your grandfather's contribution to automotive design, I have an ex brother-in-law who retired from the Ford plant here in Kansas City who also invented an item that is not in regular use in the industry. I think this may happen more than we are aware of. The ingenuity of the American worker to make work smarter not harder is the driving factor. Regardless, if you stay with an Oldsmobile vehicle or just the engine (the 455 is for your TA isn't it?) we welcome you to CO and hope to be hearing more from you.
June 2nd, 2009, 10:29 AM
#6
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Syracuse, NY
Posts: 14
Karl,
Thanks so much for the nice introduction. I think you are a most fortunate person to have such a skilled father with such a rich and humble character. About your grandfather's contribution to automotive design, I have an ex brother-in-law who retired from the Ford plant here in Kansas City who also invented an item that is not in regular use in the industry. I think this may happen more than we are aware of. The ingenuity of the American worker to make work smarter not harder is the driving factor. Regardless, if you stay with an Oldsmobile vehicle or just the engine (the 455 is for your TA isn't it?) we welcome you to CO and hope to be hearing more from you.
Thanks so much for the nice introduction. I think you are a most fortunate person to have such a skilled father with such a rich and humble character. About your grandfather's contribution to automotive design, I have an ex brother-in-law who retired from the Ford plant here in Kansas City who also invented an item that is not in regular use in the industry. I think this may happen more than we are aware of. The ingenuity of the American worker to make work smarter not harder is the driving factor. Regardless, if you stay with an Oldsmobile vehicle or just the engine (the 455 is for your TA isn't it?) we welcome you to CO and hope to be hearing more from you.
The 455 is meant for a 1978 Trans Am if I can ever find a shell out there to put it in. All I want is a shell with maybe a decent interior in it and no drive train other than a rear axel. Problem is I'm not flush with cash and everyone wants a mint for these things anymore. I saw a complete car the other day which was not even close to being perfect and they wanted nearly $20k for the car!!!
Concerning the '50's Olds engine. I just looked at the heads again and noticed they do have a large ( 7 ) on them and I can't beleive I didn't see that right away! It blended in with the rust I...maybe...
Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and I hope to learn a lot more about both of the Olds engines I have. I'll post something about both engines and see what turns up.
I'll leave you with this thought. I have a 2006 Dodge Magnum SXT with a 3.5 V6. I belong to the Magnum Owner's Club and through out this idea and nearly lost my head in the resulting backlash but let's see what you all think.
I am tinkering with the idea of ripping out the original drive train and either putting the 455 in there or really going all out and putting a Viper V10 in there.
Comments?...
Karl
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ThyPlumber
General Discussion
4
April 27th, 2009 12:55 AM
BOOMVADA
Bravada
1
October 21st, 2006 01:59 PM
