Well, heck! Last time I ran into that was with a 76 Mercedes I used to have. That's what I get for getting in a hurry. Time to take it easy.
Yup, that did it. Like magic. Guess who's really annoyed that he has to press in a new stud for no good reason? Now, time to start cleaning off 50 years of grease build up and gunk. At least it's flaking off in big chunks.
Yep, to me that's the best part, cleaning off everything. It's always a good feeling to pull off all that grime to find fresh paint and chrome. It's kinda like finding buried treasure.
So, while doing some more cleaning on the car I decided that I really should verify that it is what it should be. Originally, this car was equipped with the Rocket 303. The guy I bought it from swears it's the original, numbers matching motor. But I'm doubting it. The first tip came when it didn't have a 4bbl. It should have one. Then, I did some more digging and found this stamped on the head: From the research I've done, that's the head stamp from a '55 324. Number on the intake: Overall photo of the motor: I'm still trying to find the ID number on the block so I can nail it down, but it would be a great find.
Nice to see another '53 98. I also just acquired one. If you haven't joined the ClassicOldsmobile.com forum yet I strongly recommend it. Here's a few pics of my project. I'm looking forward to your progress.
That's a great looking Olds. I have joined the ClassicOldsmobile.com forum as well. I've been told I have at least one of the fender skirts . . . and I'll find out if that's true when I finally get the trunk open. The lock mechanism has been getting it's daily baptism in PB Blaster. Some day it will open.
The casting number should be in the back on the bellhousing. There is a reference guide in the tech section of classicoldsmobile's website. You certainly have 55' heads, I'm suspicious that you have a 324 in there, which would be kind of cool. Good luck with your ride
the valve covers on that motor are '55 units, so I would say given you have the '8' heads that someone has swapped in a '55 motor at some point in time.
Today, I continued with tear down and discovery. One of the things not working on the car is the brake lights / turn signals. After pulling the rear seat I think I found out why:
My big job right now is just cleaning out the rat / mouse / squirrel leavings. I even found a box of rat poison somebody thoughtfully put in there. There's a ton of nuts and droppings that need to come out. I see several showers and lots of soap in my near future.
Be sure to wear a mask. The rat droppings and other stuff can be very hazardous to your health like in Hantavirus that can kill you and usually does. I would clean that out and then hit it with some bleach and water if it were me.
Yup, I'm getting the seats out so I can get out the wrecked carpet, etc. Trying to vacuum and clean it as much as I can on the way. Once everything is out I'm going to hit it all with bleach.
When I let go of my old project to move on to the Olds, I had a pile of spare parts laying around. I worked out a trade of an Edelbrock intake for this Weiand. When the Olds is up and going this will make a fun addition. I have a pair of Carter AFB 625 carbs to sit on top . . .
Finally finished pulling the seats and carpet remnants today. I knew the floors were going to be bad, and I wasn't disappointed. Everything from the trans tunnel out 6" or so is OK. But the rest is gone. Oddly enough, the outer rockers aren't too bad either. Now, I need to find floors and rockers, make inner rockers and fab up floor supporting structure. At least the structure of the seats was still fine. I'm looking forward to getting all of that out to an upholstery shop. The only problem I have there now is the rear arm rest. It's frozen, but I'm hoping enough doses of PB Blaster will free it up.
It's like magic . . . come to work and new rockers show up. Just need to find some time to get them cut in.
I don't have pictures of what's happening now, but will be starting a new thread to cover my new build. Pictures to come . . . After continuing to tear down the Olds I discovered just how bad it was. Not only does it need all of the floors, trunk pan, inner & outer rockers, inner wheel wells, both rear fenders, both bumpers and some serious door surgery, the windshield and rear window channels are just about nonexistent. And the cowl is rotted. After lots of agonizing, I've decided it just isn't worth trying to bring this one back. Not when you can find these out west in solid shape. Years of sitting in a barn and then under a maple tree really did gut this poor Olds. So, I'm going to part some of it out, and then use the heart for my Model A build. I have a good engine, trans, and rear end. Not to mention dash, instrument cluster and seat frame. This is the perfect set of parts for a traditional build with a Rocket power plant. And, in the end, I only gave $1k for the car so I'm still ahead.
The Jalopy Journal
