56 olds rocket 88

cigarsmoker · July 8th, 2009

Hi Guys,
I am new to the forum and have been browsing for information and i have some questions that I hope someone can help me with. I am looking at a 56 olds rocket 88 that has no reverse. I know it has park so that makes it a hydramatic? I am looking for a source for technical information. The trans has no reverse and I remember reading somewhere that this could be caused by a internal linkage problem. I am also looking for an application chart. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank You
john

pete324rock · July 8th, 2009

just a quick reply...if it has a "p" for park,then it is a jetaway hydramatic and the earlier models,reverse was park. Are you saying that it easily takes off from a start thru all the gears and shifts normally but no reverse? I have a flow chart somewhere about that ,if that is the case. Fluid level is critical so double check.

cigarsmoker · July 14th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by pete324rock

just a quick reply...if it has a "p" for park,then it is a jetaway hydramatic and the earlier models,reverse was park. Are you saying that it easily takes off from a start thru all the gears and shifts normally but no reverse? I have a flow chart somewhere about that ,if that is the case. Fluid level is critical so double check.

Thanks for the quick reply.
The sale fell through. i am looking for a 56 olds holiday.

pete324rock · July 14th, 2009

Thats funny,today I am working on a '56 holiday. Let me give you a hint when buying...pay attention to the gaps around the doors and how well they line up, even where the chrome sits in the door frame. I have exhausted myself this morning fitting the drivers door that I had off to repair the rocker. There are so many adjustments, front, back, up, down, the door catch, ...drive ya mad! I looked at a picture of an olds that has been copied in print many times and I swear I see the top of the fender by the door is raised just a little bit. God perfection is tough! Anyways ,the door closes and latches by itself with only a slight motion..oh and I replaced the door bushings and all related. Good luck!

OldsDoug · July 14th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by pete324rock

Thats funny,today I am working on a '56 holiday. Let me give you a hint when buying...pay attention to the gaps around the doors and how well they line up, even where the chrome sits in the door frame. I have exhausted myself this morning fitting the drivers door that I had off to repair the rocker. There are so many adjustments, front, back, up, down, the door catch, ...drive ya mad! I looked at a picture of an olds that has been copied in print many times and I swear I see the top of the fender by the door is raised just a little bit. God perfection is tough! Anyways ,the door closes and latches by itself with only a slight motion..oh and I replaced the door bushings and all related. Good luck!

Interesting post - a buddy of mine went through a similar mess with a '70 Chevy Malibu 4-door sedan - this is the beauty of mass production, the right rear door was basically not the same shape as the opening in the body! He finally just split all the differences and it looked OK - at least as good as from the factory... remember that these cars were designed and built as transportation and often you will see stuff like this. Now the Olds part of the story, a friend is redoing a '55 Super 88 4-door sedan that was his grandfather's. In 1960, Grandaddy was driving the Olds in rural VA when he was sideswiped by a truck carrying cinder blocks. He lost his left arm in the accident, but the car was put back together. One of the doors (front, I think) was replaced, the other was either repaired or not damaged... I don't remember the details now (as Chuck tells them). Anyway, I think a Chevrolet dealer there did the repair (not sure on that either) but they did a damn nice job... the windshield post was bent, etc... no pix unfortunately... but now Chuck is having a helluva time getting the driver's side doors to line up properly. My big question is how well did they line up when the car was new, and how well after the wreck... I think he has them pretty good now, but he's still bellyaching about it...

pete324rock · July 16th, 2009

Nice post Doug, thanks for that! It is the small details that the technical manuals never talk about, that I wish were documented somewhere. For instance, when I attemped to take the drivers door off, one of the huge Phillips screws on the hinge assembly wouldn't budge and I didn't have an impact driver handy,not sure if it would have helped,having used one in the past. Vise grips to the back, ruining the threads was the second act with little room and no grip. Failing that, I took to drilling the screw and part way thru the head, the body turned , so I got lucky. A local dealer had identical screws, nickel plated but near 2 bucks each,so I bought all 4 he had! Everything else screwed out nicely and got a good coat of anti-seize on reassembly. I suppose it is the regular course of action but a newbie would be in despair since I was reluctant to use the drill on a screw I may not easily find a replacement for.
Funny too, I found the remains of a rubber gromment and hose used to drain water sitting in the crap behind the kick panel area and I thought they were only used in the back window area (and a perfect rust spot). I couldn't seem to feel where it should go with my hand up inside near the windshield area so will have to tend to it another day. Anyways, I do wonder how many 1956 oldsmobile are still in existence...does anyone have a ballpark figure? A couple thousand maybe?

Brad Hoke · July 20th, 2009

There were two Hydra-Matics offered for 1956. What you have is the Jetaway version which was introduced for the '56 models. I suggest you try to acquire the forty-page manual "1956 Oldsmobile Hydra-Matic Trainng Program - Theory of Operation." I think it will answer most of your questions. BHH