Hello, I have recently bought a ‘55 Olds 88 and in need of any help I can get. It is basically a shell with no interior, drivetrain, fuel system, etc. I would like to put in a newer drive train (70s or 80s) and am looking for advice on motor mounts. Any resources you guys know of would be greatly appreciated.
At least you have all the trim, the lip piece on the hood in particular is coveted. Your parts source for olds specific pieces will be www.fusick.com. You could look up Kanter for suspension rebuild parts too. I think 2" dropped spindles are still available also. There are disc brake conversions available, a quick search here threw up scarebird and discbrakemike. Probably worth a read up as one guy was having trouble with one kit. If you want to stay with an olds drivetrain you could look for a later 371 or 394 rocket or skip up to a later 455 engine. I am not aware of any "bolt in" engine mount kits (other than for the stock engine) so you might need to break out the welder.
The rear glass may be a tall order, you can do the homework on that. Try Auto City Classic, Metro Auto Glass, Sanders Repro Glass and there are more out there. You can join a forum and that will be a big help to source parts. Sanders had the windshield for my car. https://www.sandersreproglass.com/
Many of the Olds have basterdized with a small block Chevy . Olds motors are expensive if you have nothing to start with. A 350 Olds could be sourced cheap if you can find a yard that doesn't crush everything. A 500 Caddy would be my choice.
Here is a thread on fitting a 455 and T400 into a 55 Olds 88. This is my sons and he has other threads on various jobs carried out on the Olds. It's his daily driver so all jobs have to be well planned.
Since this a traditional forum, asking for advice on a later model drivetrain is ill advised. Stick with the same family of engines that came in it.
You are right man Those cars are so cool with original drivetrain I have a 1953 and a 1956 olds 98 They are great to drive with the floating Thing I really like my boats on the road
Thing with Oldsmobile and Buick’s is, when you go away from stock or even from the engines offers by those companies the car looses quite a bit of value. sounds like you want to build a fun cruiser. I would see if you can find a 307 olds and trans out of a 70’s or 80’s Cadillac and stuff that in. These cars can be had for cheap and you end up with everything you need to do the swap. welding in engine mounts, fabricating a cross member for the trans and a new drive shaft will be in order. Not overly difficult. But will take some planning and patience to get done. neat looking car. getting a “period correct “ olds engine built and a transmission will cost big bucks. If your going for a 100 point resto or period correct cruiser it’s the way to go and you will get a car worth big bucks in the end. A fun cruiser and not caring what it’s worth when your done then go the other way. Entirely up to you. I had a 55 Buick that I wanted to improve, but after looking at prices, a stock restored on was always worth more then one that was modified, so I decided to sell it and buy something else.
What model is that ? Hollander #'s are 1090 and 1092 - the 1092 is most popular. Says 1954 to 1956 2 and 4 door Buick or Olds....good luck with it !
Sorry but I forgot to post the link to post #6 so here it is. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...mobile-dual-mc-brake-and-booster-swap.991789/
Betcha a 55/56 Buick rear glass would fit. Also a 4 door sedan. Buy my short block. The Olds engine and Hydro kill. I had a 55 sedan and loved it.
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