Projects New Project: 1953 Oldsmobile

That is one fine Olds, always loved the look of the 50s Olds but unfortunately never had one. See if you can find an Olds forum on line and they will have lots of info on your valve train noise. I remember that the Olds all tended to have that issue and the fix is most likely not that costly to repair. My guess is there is no reason for an engine rebuild
Do a compression check and that will give you a good indication of the true condition of the engine.
Good luck with your new car and enjoy the Ride



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Still looking good...I've got that same steering wheel but in black. I havent even driven mine in a couple months, so damn hot right now. Good luck with your recovery...

 

Finally got around to lowering the back end to match the front. It looks so much better to me.







On another note, and have been daily driving this thing for about a solid month with no issues. I'm probably pushing my luck with the lifter noise, but I can't afford the rebuild right now. Figure I might as well enjoy it till it blows up.


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Put a little auto trans fluid in the engine oil. The high detergent of the trans fluid will clean the lifters and quiet them down. That's what we did back in the 60's.

 

Looking good with the lowering blocks.

 

much better than the rake you started with

 

Thanks all!

One more quick post. I finally figured out the steering wheel thing. Just need to find a horn button for it. Or make one, but that's work...


Also cleaned up the chrome and crappy fake white walls. The tires on the car are good, so I can't justify new whites yet. I might pick up some new portawalls for now.



And finally, I built a little center console for it. Nothing fancy, but now I can listed to some music and set my drink down.




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Good-looking car!

 

steering wheel looks great. horn buttons are around on the net. I needed one for my project. paid as much for it as you did for the wheel. Most have the bowtie on them. Impala won't work as they are a bit larger and the legs are horizontal.

 

Anyone know if this horn button would work? Around he same year as my wheel and looks like it might match.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/OLDSMOBILE-HO...%3A69ad61ff15e0abc320821fb1fff53614%7Ciid%3A3


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ask for the measurements and I can compare to mine. The feet look right and it is from a 64 so you might get lucky

 

I blew up the pic of the bottom and it has three legs.....you need the button with two to fit right. Here is a pic of mine


notice that the feet do not protrude like in the Olds unit.

 

Gotcha, thanks for the picture. I really want to run an Olds center, but may not have much of a choice. I wonder how hard it would be to force fit an Olds one.


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Stance does look better; however, I suggest you take a second look at the new "scrub line". You want to be sure
nothing hangs below the bottom of the wheel in the event of a flat tire. It appears that the lower shock mount
and longer U-bolts are well below. At least cut off the excess threads of the bolts.

 

The feet on those horn buttons are held on with a small rivet. I will take a pic of the one I have for reference and post it for you.

 

Did you read the ten or so posts that mentioned valve train noise is a common issue with Olds engines, and all it requires is inspection and replacement of the rocker arms and rocker stands? It's a 3 hour job in the garage. No rebuild needed.

Great looking Olds btw. Looks so much better lowered.

 

I pulled my button off and discovered that someone had JB Welded the clips on which would indicate that you may be able to do the same thing with the Olds unit if it is the correct diameter for the horn ring. Here are some pics


Hope this helps you out.

 

I have seen a few threads about that. I'll have to look into it. Thanks!


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That'll be a huge help. Thanks!



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Neat car. Keep pecking away at the issues. Is it still leaking oil? Listen to the Olds guys about those rockers.

 

Yeah, still leaking pretty bad. I got the main leak from the intake fixed, so I can at least go cruising locally. But after a few days there's a huge oil slick in my garage. I just top off the oil every week for now.


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Horn shmorn...you need to fix those clickity rockers. I found a brand new set of 16 rockers, pedestals, everything for less than 160 bucks with free shipping for your 455. It'll run better, sound quiet and you won't EVEN be talking of blowing it up. Summit has 'em.
I've seen guys run those worn rockers 'till the aluminum rocker pedestals broke in half...don't be one of those guys.

 

And find that oil leak. It is most likely the oil pan, rear main, rocker arm covers, or back of the intake. Don't let it sneak up on you and ruin that engine.

 

Sadly, I've never done rocker arms before. My engine experience is pretty limited. Ripped a few apart, never put one back together. If it's something a beginner can do, I'll order the rockers next week. I can't afford to pay someone to do it right now.


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Basic stuff really...time to get your hands greasy!

 

So, been reading up on it. Looks pretty easy, but I was hoping for some clarification...

Do I have to replace the push rods at the same time?

Also, as long as there's no load on the valve springs, it's pretty much just unbolt, replace, and torque down, correct?

Does it need to be done two rockets at a time? (Intake and exhaust)

Thanks as always.


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Story time!

Not that interesting, but mildly funny. Got home the other day and saw a large oil spill around the passenger tire. Worked on it today assuming it was the brake cylinder. Got the car jacked up, and everything was coated in oil, leaf springs, rear end, everything.

I start by checking the lines, which are dry, and so are the drums. I follow the fluid to the top of the tire, which didn't make any sense... and then it hit me. I popped the trunk to find an oil can spilled all over.

I like an easy fix.

Anyway, could still use some confirmation on my last post about the rocker arms. I'd appreciate any information you guys can give.

Thanks.


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should not present much of an issue. do you have a motor manual for that 455 olds engine. it would give you the specs on the lash. You could do one cyl at a time. Pull the plugs, roll the engine around till the cyl is on it's comp stroke and the cam is on the bottom of the base circle (opposite the cam lobe), put some assembly lube on the tip of the rocker arms,replace the rockers, set the lash, go to the next cyl etc.
Warm up the engine and adjust like in this video

Should get you going.
Notice in the video that they have a set of valve covers with the tops cut open. This helps control the oil from getting all over everything.

 

So, minor update. Sprung a bad coolant leak, so I had a friend take care of a bunch of things. Front main seal, all the water pump gaskets, and the rocker arms.

Unfortunately, the engine tick is still there and as loud as ever. I can't justify doing the lifters because my friend isn't convinced that's the noise. I think a rebuild is the best option, but I just don't have the money right now. Hell, I had to sell off my truck because medical bills are getting the better of me. But, fortunately the Olds is doing well enough to be daily driven.


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So, I've been getting ready for the Round Up for the last month. I've gone through and done a bunch of work. In the last month, I have replace the fuel pump, cleaned the fuel lines, swapped the air and fuel filter, replaced the intake gasket (again), fixed the rear brakes, replaced the front rotors and pads, changed out the wheel bearings on all four corners, and repainted the wheels.

So get this... a few months ago I was asking about the rocker arms because of the engine noise I had. I have been chasing this noise for over a year. I've been told that it could be anything from lifters to the fuel pump.

It was none of that. When I pulled the intake off, I found a little block off plate for the intake in the heads on both sides. It was freaking rattling. I threw some RTV on it, and now everything is quiet.

I hate posts without pictures, so I'll try to get a few up later.