My dad bought this car in 1969 for $100. Now that may not seem amazing in itself but the story goes that a wealthy widow would take this 1955 Olds to get regular service where my dad worked. The last time she took it in she put $500 of parts/labor....then a few weeks later sold it to my dad because she liked him. He pulled the original 324 to get it rebuilt several years later and "lost" the engine, engine builder went outta business...got a donor 88 holiday and pulled 324 out of that. Car sat for many years in the garage. Sister got engaged and I got my ass in gear to get the car road worthy so I could drive her and husband to be on their wedding day in the car... Present day; I am pulling the rebuilt motor(rebuilt in 1995) because bottom end is making noise.....What I have done so far...lowered it(2 inches in front 3 inches in back), shaved rear handles, and now in process of removing rocket engine, today I removed the "100" bolts off torus cover. I'm doing this solo so it will be slow going.....
Forgot to mention....any constructive advice and pointers welcome. I'll be leaning on your expertise and experience. Thanks in advance..
well, you asked. seems like you are going in the wrong direction. lowering it that much and shaving the doors? and it isn't even a running/driving car? sorry to be blunt, but I love 55 Oldsmobiles and really don't like them messed with. Just my opinion.
On the other side of the coin, I like 55 Olds, and I like to mess with them! So, I guess you're on the right track, new motor, get it running. Next is to get it driving. Safely! Check the brakes, tires, suspension. Then check wiring, and all lights, turn signals, etc. Once you're on the road, then you can do more if you like. Olds look pretty good, so even just nosed, decked and shaved is a good option. If you want to do more, they take a lot of other car parts pretty readily. I think they even look good chopped, though it's a pretty big job, and you have the wraparound windshield to deal with. I did mine 33 years ago, when I was in my 20's. Drove it all over the Eastern half of the US, 160,000 miles, wore it out, now it needs a rebuild! Marks Cars 001 by chopolds posted May 19, 2014 at 3:17 PM ]
tHANKS For the input guys!!! Its refreshing to hear input even if it sounds like whining...... I am going to pull the pan to really make sure I need to pull the beast 324 out, on another site its been suggested that I pull both engine and trans out.....hmmm I dont know. What do you think?
My brother had a 56 Holiday and I pulled the engine from the trans and rebuilt it that way. But a year or so later the trans started acting up so we had to pull it out. My suggestion is if it's in the finances pull them together and take a close look at them both. Might save you time and money in the long run.
I daily drive a 55 olds. I ran with the 324 for many years but it was tired and then the trans started to act up. so they both came out and a later olds went in. one improvement I would suggest if your serious on driving it and more to the point stopping it, is get rid of the tredle vac master/booster setup. at best they work ok. If you want to know what I did, then shoot me a pm and I will send you some photos of the setup. its not difficult, but it's not 100% bolt in either. good to see another olds making a comeback.
Oh I also meant to say that , your olds looks to be in really nice condition. How about some more photos of the car in total.
I miss my 55 2 door. Had a 54 Pontiac grille that looked good in it. There's a good tech thread about replacing the M/C with a modern one, but I can't remember the guy's screen name. He had 2 door sedan that got hit in the rear a couple of years ago.
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