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I'm a new member to the Oldsmobile family. About a week ago I purchased a 1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 2 door. The car had been sitting in a back yard for about 23 years. The car is mostly complete with only a little rust on the floors and some in the tire wheel well. I've not started the car yet as I'm letting the cylinders soak with oil. I have turned the engine over by hand. One thing I've noticed about this car is that parts seem to be very hard to find. I previously restored a 1957 2 door Chevy 210 and, by comparison, parts for that car are all over the place.
Any ways, I look forward to searching this site and all the future advice and guidance this group has to offer.
Welcome to the site. I previously owned a 54. The 57 is one of my favorites. I also have a 57 Chevy 210 two door sedan that I have not restored and may never get to. As you know, you can literally build a 57 Chevy from scratch if you have the money. They are like Model A's used to be. Not the case with a 57 Olds. You can find most of the mechanical parts but body and trim parts are a different story. Evilbay becomes your friend. Good luck with you car and we would love to see some pictures.
Welcome to Classic Oldsmobile. We would all love to see pictures. 57's are very unique in many ways. Personally I love a 57 Oldsmobile over any other 1957 GM. There are a lot of helpful people here. Post wanted ads and ask questions if you feel the need.
Thanks for the warm welcome. Attached are some pictures of my new project. The first one is where I found the car. It had been sitting in this spot for about 23 years. The car also seems to have been customized because it has bucket seats in the front and back with a center console and floor shifter.
Welcome. What engine is in it? The floor shifter looks like it may not be for a jet a-way transmission. What are your plans on getting it going? Have you turned it over and checked to see if it is stuck or not? Inquisitive minds are drooling over your car....Tedd
So any of you 57 fans chime in. Was this an optional interior? If that isn't factory someone did a hell of a job. Obviously the headrests date it later. Is that an Oldsmobile interior? So cool. Four buckets.
Love your car. Please post more and more. What a beautiful car. I Love 57 Oldsmobile's. Two door black car??? 🥵
Last edited by no1oldsfan; Sep 13, 2023 at 11:03 PM.
Just an update. I have tried turning the engine over by hand and it turns fine. I've been soaking the rings/pistons to make sure all goes well on the first start. In looking at the engine I'm a bit confused as everything I've read said the 1957 Oldsmobile came with either a 4 barrel carb or the J2 (triple 2 barrel carb) option. However, my car has a 2 barrel Rochester carb on it. The valve covers also do not look like other 1957 Oldsmobile valve covers. I'm including some pictures and hoping you wise group of people can help me figure out if this is the original engine or a replacement and if so, which engine. Based on the dust and dirt it has been in the car for a very long time. Thanks again.
Driver side engine Driver side engine and exhaust Front of engine 2 barrel Rochester carb Passenger side of engine Passenger side of carb Rear of engine
Even though not original,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,those bucket seats look pretty cool. That engine looks like it could be a 59-60 Olds 394 and probably a later trans. Just my guess.
That looks exactly like my engine. Same valve covers, head bolts and studs by the front. Was there any advantage to replacing the 371 with the 394? Was a 2 barrel stock on the 394? I noticed the car has cherry bomb/glass pack mufflers and traction bars so I'm assuming the original owner was making it faster.
That looks exactly like my engine. Same valve covers, head bolts and studs by the front. Was there any advantage to replacing the 371 with the 394? Was a 2 barrel stock on the 394? I noticed the car has cherry bomb/glass pack mufflers and traction bars so I'm assuming the original owner was making it faster.
Thanks so much for the information!!
I believe you could get either a 2 barrel or 4 barrel at the time. Perhaps the original 371 was tired or who ever owned it back then, thought a 394 for a little more power would be good. I have two 57's and both have the original 371's. One has a 4 barrel and one is a J2. I am not a 100 point purist, but did want to keep the 371's. Good luck with yours. Looks like a good start.
Finally got the motor to turn over today with the starter. Also got the headlights, tail lights, horn and interior lights to work. It's lots of work but so much fun.
The one issue is I'm having is the ignition key not getting power to the starter or the coil. When I turn the ignition key I see a drop in the voltage but nothing happens. I have to use a remote ignition starter to jump the car. Any ideas what to check first? Electrical gremlins has always been my biggest challenge.
I've also attached a picture of my other 57'. It's a Chevy 210 with a 350 and 4 speed. All done except for a fancy paint job....but I like my cars a little rough around the edges so I will probably leave it as is.
Finally got the Oldsmobile with the 394 to fire up briefly this weekend. Had to jump the coil since the ignition key is not turning the starter yet but was able to get the engine to fire briefly on starting fluid. Tried hooking up a fuel pump to the carb but it clearly needs a rebuild as it was leaking badly. Also lost spark and had to adjust the points. Then it puttered briefly and lost spark again. Need to test the coil. But at least it's progress!!
What would be the most likely car this engine would have came out of? Someone on this forum (Charlie I believe) said it was a high compression 1963 394 engine. If it has a slim jim transmission, would the 1963 Oldsmobile 88 be the most likely car it came out of? Makes it easier when I need to search for parts if I can identify a car the engine came from.
What would be the most likely car this engine would have came out of? Someone on this forum (Charlie I believe) said it was a high compression 1963 394 engine. If it has a slim jim transmission, would the 1963 Oldsmobile 88 be the most likely car it came out of? Makes it easier when I need to search for parts if I can identify a car the engine came from.
Thanks again for everyone's help.
You got that exactly right.
1963 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88.
Good news. I was able to get the engine to turn over with the ignition key (first time). Previously I was using a remote start button on the starter/solenoid. Turns out there is a button under the dash. I was wondering what the button was and finally decided to push and hold the button while I turned the ignition key. To my surprise the engine spun over. It's actually a fancy looking button in chrome. It's not hidden at all so I'm wondering if maybe the prior owner put it in to bypass the neutral safety switch due to moving the shifter to a console? Well, regardless of why, I'm super happy that I no longer need to figure this out. Next will be a carb rebuild so I can actually get the engine running (it does fire on starting fluid).
Thanks again for all the help.
Last edited by WikedOldsmoileSupe88; Sep 20, 2023 at 06:34 AM.
Reason: Add picture
Got some more work done to the car. Decided to remove the valve covers and inspect the valve train. It was pretty gummed up in there. I cleaned everything and lubed all the lifters/rockers etc. Then had to give the valve covers a good repaint with new gaskets. Also installed a new air filter, rebuilt the carb, new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, points, condenser, coil and some related wiring. Also got an oil change, new coolant hoses, heater bypass hose, fuel line/filter and a new belt. Hopefully tomorrow will be the first real start/run....fingers crossed!!!
The original owner parked the car in that spot in the first picture I posted about 23 years ago. It sat there until the original owner passed away about 8 years ago. His wife then let it continue to sit there until she passed away about 6 months ago. The person who inherited the estate decided to sell the car (along with several other cars) and did not know much about the condition of the car.
On Friday night I tried to get the car to fire but kept getting no spark. I adjusted the points several times but it's SO hard to see everything given the location of the distributor. I finally gave up and ordered a Pertronix Ignition system for it. Installed that Saturday night (Amazon is super fast with shipping) and the car fired up!!! Sounds great and runs smooth. I had rebuilt the carb but it was leaking everywhere so need to sort that out. I also noticed that the old fuel pump was actually pumping fuel so decided to drain out everything with an electric pump.
Also, I pulled the rear drums off each wheel (WOW....were the drums hard to get off after sitting for so long). Turns out I need new wheel cylinders and brake lines....but that was too be expected.
Side note, I learned something new. I bought some used parts over the weekend and realized that the trunk lid for a 4 door sedan is shorter than the trunk lid for a 2 door. Never even occurred to me to measure it.
Last edited by WikedOldsmoileSupe88; Sep 25, 2023 at 08:29 AM.
Reason: Correction
Side note, I learned something new. I bought some used parts over the weekend and realized that the trunk lid for a 4 door sedan is shorter than the trunk lid for a 2 door. Never even occurred to me to measure it.
Not only that, but 88 differed from 98. And convertibles differed from hardtop coupes which differed from sedans.
In total, the Olds parts book lists six different trunk lids for '57 Olds.
Wow...I will need to measure everything before I find another trunk.
I did flush out the radiator and engine today. Turns out the water inlet into the timing cover/water pump housing has eroded away basically all the way up to the housing. Not sure if a new rubber hose and clamp around there will seal it. I'm wondering if I clean it out good...would JB Weld work to build up the metal? It's only a seam about 1/4" missing and the neck is very strong. I'm thinking that sounds like a possible solution since finding a 63/64 timing cover seems to be a real challenge.
Wow...I will need to measure everything before I find another trunk.
I did flush out the radiator and engine today. Turns out the water inlet into the timing cover/water pump housing has eroded away basically all the way up to the housing. Not sure if a new rubber hose and clamp around there will seal it. I'm wondering if I clean it out good...would JB Weld work to build up the metal? It's only a seam about 1/4" missing and the neck is very strong. I'm thinking that sounds like a possible solution since finding a 63/64 timing cover seems to be a real challenge.
I have had success using JB Weld steel putty for build up of eroded areas on both aluminum intake manifold and cast iron cylinder head around the water ports (gasket surface) where it had been leaking previously. Good luck!
Cool project..those look like 66 GTO bucket seats to me..engine probably needs freshened up but still a neat old car..Love the 57 Olds..love the old school sun tach mounted on the left too. Console looks like a big car early 60’s Ford, like galaxy of something?. Car definitely has a kool factor
Thanks for the comments. I'm enjoying the car so far. Having a hard time deciding whether I should put all the stock emblems back on it or leave it smooth. I did buy all the used emblems over the weekend but have not convinced myself to drill new holes in the welded up hood and trunk to add the emblems. I'm sure it will look good with them.
Also, I know Charlie Jones mentioned in another thread that there were 6 different trunks available for the 57' Olds. I'm curious if the hoods are all the same? If anyone knows, please let me know.
Thanks for the comments. I'm enjoying the car so far. Having a hard time deciding whether I should put all the stock emblems back on it or leave it smooth. I did buy all the used emblems over the weekend but have not convinced myself to drill new holes in the welded up hood and trunk to add the emblems. I'm sure it will look good with them.
Also, I know Charlie Jones mentioned in another thread that there were 6 different trunks available for the 57' Olds. I'm curious if the hoods are all the same? If anyone knows, please let me know.
Thanks again!!
Hoods are all the same. Deck lids,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,not so much, as Charlie stated.
Got the car to start up and idle today. Turn of the key and the 394 Oldsmobile fires up!!! Running on the original fuel pump.... Sounds great with the cherry bomb mufflers. Does need a new radiator and a freeze plug in the block (behind the oil filter) and one in the passenger head at the front changed. Transmission worked and shifted into gear and wheels turned. It's been a GREAT day!!! Such a feeling of accomplishment given where it was one month ago.
Thanks to everyone here for all your help on this project!!
If the soft plugs are starting to fail, might as well do them all, they are all on the same time clock.... Tedd
Very true....but it's such a headache. If the motor where out I would do them for sure but I'm eager to take the car for a drive!!! Will probably just change these 2 and cross my fingers!!!
Very true....but it's such a headache. If the motor where out I would do them for sure but I'm eager to take the car for a drive!!! Will probably just change these 2 and cross my fingers!!!
Thats fine, just pack a bottle of extra strength Tylenol in the glove box for repeated headaches, you'll be just fine 25 miles from home.
Thats fine, just pack a bottle of extra strength Tylenol in the glove box for repeated headaches, you'll be just fine 25 miles from home.
Tried today to remove those old freeze plugs.....WOW...what a pain they are. None will "pop" out. Plus, access to these are so limited it's a real challenge to work on them. I've only attacked the leaking plugs. Sure wish the engine were out of the car as that would be much easier. Each plug just breaks the center out and I'm left trying to get the ring out.
Well, today was a new day and new attempts. Turns out using a large socket and not a punch/screw driver was the key to success. A few hard hits on the extension and socket popped that freeze plug right out!!!
Makes me feel accomplished and ready to tackle the other 5...haha!!!
