Just scooped up what I believe is a 1956 324 olds rocket with #10 heads. A bit rusty and it’s stuck but it was the right price. I know little about them but knew what it was but it was so cheap I couldn’t pass it up. Anything specific to look for in terms of issues? Any common areas the blocks may crack that I should inspect?
Sure looks like a '56 from the heads. There is a block number on the left side just under the head on a flat boss that you can find by removing the exhaust manifold. That will tell you specifically. I had a 56 324 i bought out of CT painted black. They had it running for a bit enough to say the valve train was noisy That block was split right down both sides front to back just under the heads which was not noticeable until I removed the black paint so look it over real good. That block could be bored out to accept 371 pistons taking it out to 4 inch giving you a 345ci engine if necessary. Always good to sonic check the wall thickness. Mine is a 54 block punched to 4.
I would not even look at the block serial number. Measure diameter of cam journals. If 2" it is a 56 block. Why did they go to the larger 2" journals? My guess is so they could have a higher lift cam with decent size lobes to minimize wear. Greg White
Sorry for the post and run! Here’s some numbers off it but also seen in the pics I posted: rear pad of engine: -567405 -10 stamped right above the block number - CFO 293 Heads show a big 10 stamped water pump : 555717 Intake : 587980 (could be wrong, it’s needs to be cleaned off)
I started with a '58 371, which, with a healthy bore, brought me closer to the actual size of the engine I was recreating. The original was a 303, which was stroked and ended up at about 380. Carbs were close to the original, and the cam was a re-grind by Ak Miller and Ed Iskenderian. The engine was balanced by Al Blazic, which I suspect contributed to it's longevity. I ran this mill very hard for 12 years at vintage races, and never had any serious issues. Needless to say, I can't say enough good things about the old "Rocket" V8's.....
Hey Barbarian, the manifold is a W04D Weiand (say WHY-AND), same as the original on the 303. Ak made adaptors and mounted 4 97's in 2 pairs, back to back. Made for an interesting linkage setup.... AT AK's suggestion, I used 48's as they are bigger than 97's. It ran great with all 4 working at the same time, but then again, it wasn't made for driving around town.... When we moved to Idaho, I donated the critter to the NHRA Museum in Pomona.
@vtwhead is correct, the best way to ascertain what year engine you have is by the number on the deck surface. The #10 heads are dated to 1956, but could be used interchangeably with other year engines. Unlike Chevrolets that stayed largely consistent in design, the early Olds V8s were constantly being changed. The numbers for the 324s would be: 1954--V1001 TO V355083 1955--V400001 TO V983275 1956--A001001 TO A385513 That's particularly important due to the fact that in '56 they went to larger cam journals than the earlier iterations, as correctly mentioned here. But also, lifter bore size increased from .842" to .921". The #10 heads for 1956 are the best ones to have for the 324, and take different valves than the earlier 324s.
The Jalopy Journal
