I bought this car a while back, and thought I'd see if the old 324 had any life in it. It's amazing what a little starting fluid and a points file can accomplish. This engine will find it's way into my 2 door Olds. Here's a video I put together: <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/41633874" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p>Starting the olds for the first time from mr s on Vimeo.</p> I did a pretty minimal amount of stuff to get it going, it's really cool how many old engines just want to come to life again.
A lot of it I'm going to save/use for parts on the 2 door. It's hard to see in these two pics, but both cars are VERY rough. The front clip on the 4 door is better than the clip on the 2 door (but I'll keep both, because there aren't really any being made right now, so having spares is important) so I'll use it... neither car has a usable interior. Basically, both cars have no floors and plenty of rust issues. I'm restoring the 2 door. I'm not scrapping the 4 door, but once I'm done using it for parts, it will be so incomlete and rusty that it will likely always be a parts car. I do have a wild idea to cut the 4 door down to '54 Thunderbird proportions...if that's even possible, sectioning it a tad, and make it a topless 2 door (but shorter and lower) Olds. Basically, I'd love to use the 4 door as a platform to duplicate the proportions of the '54 F88 concept, but with less corvette styling...keep it more olds. Sounds crazy? Yea, it is...
Let me test my memory here. In '54 and '55, if the "88" was in script, it was a standard 88; if it was a circular casting with "88" inscribed in it, it was a Super 88, which should have a 4 BBL. Or am I all wet here?
The first (yellow car, which is what is in the video) is a regular 88, 4 door. The second car (red 2 door holiday hardtop) has the 88 in a circle on the fender...I don't know what the difference is, but since this is the HAMB, I'm willing to bet someone on here does! When I bought the red car, the owner told me it had a 455 under the hood. When I actually got to the car, I lifted the hood and discovered it has a ultra high comp 394, best guess (based on the casting numbers) from 1962. The 394 is what I ultimately want to run, but it needs a complete rebuild (doesn't run at all...needs pistons etc...), so when I had the chance to buy the yellow 4 door, with a motor that I could rotate by hand, I jumped at the chance. Turned out to be a good move, since the engine was very easy to get running.
The third number in your VIN will tell you...a "547XXX" is a "Plain" 88, a "548XXX" is a "Super" 88 Love the '54s
I really dig the styling too. I'm certain that the 4 door is a regular 88. I don't recall on the Holiday though.
I love videos like that, thanks. It's amazing how often you can get those old engines to run without much trouble. Tom
yea, I should've taken some bets. When I checked the fluids, they looked decent (no water in the oil was a good sign) so between that and the motor turning easily by hand, I figured it wanted to live.
First was just the normal look at the dipstick carefully. It didn't have any signs of moisture being cooked (residue on the dipstick above the oil line can indicate burned up condensate, I've read). Secondly, I removed the drain plug and collected a little oil in a clear container, and no water came out (water/antifreeze will separate from the oil fairly quickly, or will make the oil look milky, or have little bubbles). I have also heard that you can take some oil and squish it between two plates of glass to inspect for water in the oil. Given that the water would go to the bottom of the pan in an engine that's sat for a long time, the method of swiping the dipstick on glass slides and checking for water never really seemed like it was reliable to me, but it could very well work. I've always used the check the bottom (pull the drain plug and remove a pint or two pints of oil) method, ever since knowing that the water would make it's way down there.
good. i thought you may have just pulled and looked at the stick, like i have seen guys tell me "it sat for years and the oil was as clean as could be" and of course we know all the sh*t had settled to the bottom good luck with it. are you planning on freshening it up while you have it out?
I don't think I'll take it apart (if it aint broke...) since it sounds really good (at least at idle, I didn't rev it). Even slid right into gear when I moved the shifter (didn't try to drive it, since the brakes are gone). If I tear into a motor, it'll be the 394 that I have. The 394 needs new pistons, rings, bearing, etc...but, it is an ultra high comp motor (which, I guess if I'm buying new pistons doesn't mean too much now-did the ultra high comp have a different cam than the other 394s?) and the power difference between the 324 and 394 is huge. I did pick up a tri power intake and some carbs to rebuild, so I will be at least doing carbs, intake, and headers for the 324. I don't plan on abusing it, just want to bump up the power a tad, and I think that a tri power rocket motor looks awesome!
The Jalopy Journal
