Why I love my 56 Olds Super 88 2 door sedan, its uniqueness check the production numbers for a super 88 2 door sedan some time they are a fraction ( only 5400 I believe) compared to 88 2 door sedans and hard tops, I'm usually confident that if I show up to a cruise in I'm going to be the only 56 super 88 sedan, I'm not bragging or snubbing I'm just damn lucky !! when I found her I didn't know !!.
This is where the hate part comes in good luck finding some of the interior and exterior trim pieces as they are not always interchangeable with 88 trim.
Now I have owned her about 5 years now and for the first time she's needing a little love just replaced the starter ( see previous post)
now I'm addressing some trans leaks. I'm not much for getting up and down from under anymore so I'm having it done lucky for me the Jetaway shifts just fine and the leaks are external, I found a honest trans shop willing to do it says he can get the soft parts and seals but of course he says good thing it shifts fine cause he aint going in to that Jetaway !! he's familiar with them and says he has the ability but hard parts are the problem, wait time and expense.
Now one thing I'm noticing when searching parts is 56's are like red headed step children they get skipped over, a lot of catalogs skip over them go from 54-55 and then right to 57 , 56 seems to be odd man out some times . I'm searching for shocks now and can find frt for 55 but not 56 I noticed that 55's have double spindle mount (top and bottom ) I know for a fact mine are spindle on top bottom is two bolt t- bar. I guess I'm paying the price for having the uniqueness I love.
After shocks wide white radials may be on the horizon I have Coker classic wide whites on there now but there bias ply and I hate them.
As usual feel free to chime in !! I always look forward to feed back !!! P/S I restored a 64 Chevy I could damn near buy what I needed at Circle K !!! that was nice !!! but at cruise night I was just another 64.

 

Try Diamond Back for tires and Fatsco for transmission parts.

 

Here are 2 specialty salvage yards that you might be able to find parts at:

https://www.dvap.com/

http://www.ctcautoranch.com/

 

As for shocks, I took mine from my '55 down to Napa Auto parts. great people there. Anyway, put the shock on the counter, and said, I need a couple of these. They can find something that will fit. I ended up with, I think shocks for a '68 Camaro were the same.

I just went through the transmission thing too. Good luck with it.

 

Thanks for the help gents !!! as usual someone here willing to lend a helping hand. I checked the links for tires, trans parts and salvage yards all good info !! when I checked the salvage yard photo's it's apparent that 56 Olds trim pieces are highly sought after as those vehicles were almost completely void of their trim and hardware !!!!
As far as the shocks go I considered doing the same thing, as long as the compressed and extended dimensions and mounts are the same it could be for a Edsel
and if it works it works !!
I'll keep ya posted on my progress.

 

https://musclenmoreauto.ca

1956 Oldsmobile Super 88 For parts - auto parts - by owner - vehicle automotive sale - craigslist

 

Update,
Frustration continues, while some issues have been resolved and required parts have been sourced for what ever reason frt shocks remains a issue, for some reason 56 Olds remains a red headed step child on frt shocks and the strange thing is that rear shocks are readily available ( go figure) when I do find a listing the illustration shows incorrect bottom mounts. The guy at local Napa store was helpful and said he would try a side by side comparison for match up but did not stock the ones that may be a match.
Here's what I decided to do. After some research I discovered that a 1956 Buick Special has a near identical front suspension incorporating the same king pin set up ( as opposed to ball joints ) frt suspension and in photos and illustrations the same frt shock set up with correct mountings. Parts Geek has a set of Gabriel's readily available no problem !! so I think I will order the 56 Buick Gabriel's from Parts Geek
any opinions from the vintage Olds crowd always welcome.

 

Hello Solly

Rock Auto definitely is Not a panacea of all parts, but according to your description, 56 Buick Special, front Gabriels 82087 top spindle, bottom 2 bolt t-bar, are available and could be a possibility in addition to Parts Geek Gabriels (probably same part#). Collapsed and Extended lengths provided. Also avail on AMAZON - Sold and Ships by AMAZON. Easier return if not compatible. Physical match up always best. Hope this helps.

 

Update,
Shock mystery solved !! Well my ego got in the way (a little) and I figured surely I would not need the 56 Olds shop manual for something as basic as a shock !!
but upon review of the manual I noticed something , originally the lower shock mounts bolted to a bracket which in turn bolts to the underside of the lower control arm !! somewhere down the line a previous owner discarded the bracket and went with the Buick T-bar style mount shock eliminating the bracket all together !! I'm fine with that. The illustrations I was seeing were correct with the eyelet/bushing lower mount if the bracket was still there, LIVE AND LEARN. I am a Amazon Prime member and will reference the part # provided. as mentioned Amazon returns never a problem.
As usual thanks for the help one and all !!