heidigirl

did you install fresh hoses when the engine was rebuilt? many years ago, a friend had an overheating problem attributable to one of the hoses collapsing at anything over idle speed.

maybe i'm picking nits here. anti seize compound is appropriate, but i would stay away from using oil as a lubricant on the plug threads. not that a drop is significant, but over an extended period of time it could 'coke', causing the opposite of your intentions, making removal more difficult, rather than easier. i have always thought that radio static was a function of resistance in the plug wires, not the plugs themselves. if one type of plug generates resistance and another does not, what is the difference in their respective designs?

arp has this size in their on-line catalog. industrial threaded products (itp) in santa fe springs, calif. might have them also. i think they are a wholesaler and would probably direct you to a retail store.

i know its not the year you are after, but there is a lovely 57 on ebay right now

a disc drum combo requires 2-10 psi check valves to hold the calipers and shoes off of their respective mates, but my immediate impression is trapped air in the system. did the booster and master cylinder come from the same donor as the rotors and calipers? what about the underdash linkage-booster to pedal? there must have been a proportioning assembly of some kind on the donor. i don't believe an adjustable prop valve is the solution to your problem.

listen to the running engine with a stethoscope. you may be able to isolate the location of the strange noises you heard, the last time you drove the car.

is it possible that one or more teeth on your oil pump is broken?

second photo is the 'certificate of authenticity'

the air cleaner, mounting, and the fuel line are very small issues to overcome. i have installed an edelbrock 600 on my 324 and i am satisfied with the results--to a point. the kickdown feature remains mia and i'm looking for a solution without resorting to changing out the linkage from the pedal forward. so, my question is more than academic. i would appreciate your input.

the edelbrock is designed to use a pull cable and the oldsmobile has push rod linkage. if your intention is to retain the stock linkage, i would be very much interested in learning how you will retain the kickdown feature.

we know that dot3 and dot4 fluid eats paint, is hydroscopic, and has a lower boiling point than dot5 fluid, but be careful. dot5 has its own set of peculiarities. among them is: slight compression under high temperature, significant expansion at altitude, and worst of all, absorbing itself into epr seals, softening the rubber components in our brake systems.

using the search feature on this forum will yield a lot of separate threads. most of the results won't be appropriate to your question, but many good ideas have been posted. you might find something useful for your application.

actually, i'm giving some consideration to a neoprene seal manufactured by bop engineering. it isn't made for a 324 cu in engine so i know i've got some research and 'garage engineering' ahead of me. lotsa measuring for sure. if anybody has thoughts on this idea, i would appreciate your input.

I've never had a successful experience with Mister Pete. To be sure, the tool works extremely well for what it is designed to do, ie removing and installing the rope seal in the block. The challenge lies with finishing the rope ends once it is in place. By definition, you are on your back in a confined space. Now you get to work with a razor blade in one hand and protect the journal from being scratched with the other. Not fun. For what little bit of spotting you appear to have, I would apply the 'sneaky' money towards a drip pan. When you absolutely, positively can't stand seeing the oil drips any longer, pull the engine and replace the seal from a standing position. I'm surprised no one has yet to respond to this thread and would very much like to read other people's thoughts on this topic.

i went through this broken antenna problem several years ago. parts guy at the dealer wanted to sell me a complete unit, but i gave him a part number of the piece i needed and held out for just the cord and top mast. he finally gave it up and it was less than $20.00. if you can get that bump out of the drive cord it will work, but, because it has been shortened in the repair process, it will not have full extension. alas, the only legitimate repair is to replace the cord.

has anybody had ACTUAL real world experience with this seal? what are your thoughts?

just curious. how is your unstuck project coming along? i think we would all like to know of your progress.

henry is right. i finessed mid 80's el dorado to my 56 with just a bit of work. its possible your potential swap could be a true bolt on. don't forget the vacuum booster/master cylinder combo and the proportioning valve.

if you want to drop it just a couple inches, you could simply cut one coil. you will not notice any difference in the ride characteristics with the removal of just one coil. don't use a torch--you'll lose the temper in the spring. use a saw or abrasive wheel. the rubber insulators are more than likely wasted, but a chev/gmc pickup piece fits the coil diameter perfectly. some of the rubber needs to be trimmed, but its easy enough to do. sorry, but i forgot what year truck the insulators came from.

you might contact memory lane junkyard in sun valley calif. they deal only in old cars. though, it could be that your car is a bit too new for them.

You can get your own rockers rebuilt. Rocker Arm Specialist in Anderson, Calif. did mine several years ago at a reasonable cost. They are the only name I know, but there must be other firms doing this work.

PS: the vaccuum booster is actuated through a slave cylinder

posted 10-12-2004 11:58 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- here's a couple posts i have made to other forums on the subject. the car is a 1956 holiday. 1) The main ingredient to fitting disc brakes (imho)is the caliper mounting bracket. You can pull your spindles and ship them to one of the after market brake vendors who will fabricate and assemble a complete package. The kit comes back to you as a relatively simple bolt on, but it can be rather large money. Secondly, Classic Performance Products sells a caliper mounting bracket assembly for the 47-54 Chevy pickup that will bolt to your spindles. the rest of the pieces can be picked up ala carte as required, junkyard or new. 2) there are a number of vendors making complete disc brake kits available for our cars, but this is what i did: the mounting bracket kit came from classic performance products and is actually designed for the 47-54 chevy pickup. there is an aluminum spacer that needs to be bored out to fit the spindle, but other than that, everything bolts up. at full lock, i had clearance issues with some of the linkage, so i mounted my calipers to the front of the spindle centerline. the calipers are junkyard dogs i pulled off of a late 70's chevrolet sedan and refreshed with kits. if you go this route, tear them apart at the junkyard so you can inspect the cylinder bores. any surface corrosion that can be cleaned up with emery cloth will be ok, but if they are pitted, leave um. don't use camaro/firebird calipers because they will not bolt to the bracket and they are undersized for your car. i bought new 11 inch rotors from pep boys, but junkyard will be ok if there is enough material remaining and you have them refaced. there was interference between the rotors and linkage that i resolved by chamfering the id of the hat section on the rotors and grinding material from the linkage pieces, but my experience suggests to clearance only the stationary parts and leave the rotors alone. eventually, you or somebody else may want to replace the rotors and you've got the clearance issue again. size matters. disc brakes require more fluid capacity than drums and the vaccuum booster should be sized to the weight of the car-not underhood space. in both cases, bigger is better, although i probably could have gotten away with a bit smaller booster. the master cylinder/vaccuum booster and proportioning valve was purchased new as an assembled unit which i mounted in the trunk. why?? it's a big eleven inch diameter double diaphragm goober that would have stretched 14 inches from the firewall. the number three sparkplug is at 16 inches. probably would have had to cut a hole in the hood to close it. esthetically, i just didn't want to mess up the underhood appearance. driving comfort would have been compromised through the loss of a fresh air duct, and of course, ease (maybe) of installation. I didn't have to cut up the firewall, play with pedal geometry nor was i upside down, on my back underneath the dash. i paid more for this piece than all of the other components combined, but i'm pretty certain i would use this approach again. because the booster generates so much power (over 1500 psi), the brakes have the feel of any modern car. i don't have true redundancy in the system from the pedal to the master cylinder, but the line lies inside the frame rail. if it got ruptured for any reason, i gotta figure the car is already toast. I've got discs in the rear too (late 80's el dorado), but i really question the increase in performance they offer. it's more bling and ego than anything else, but i confess, they do make a statement behind spoke mags. this is not a saturday afternoon project, but the payoff in driving comfort and your trust in bringing the car to a halt is well worth the effort. i promise, you will drive the car in a completely different manner with disc brakes. i don't have any pictures of my own, but classic performance has a good photo tech article on their web site. [color:\\"blue\\"]

there is a complete front kit on ebay under '1955 oldsmobile' that is running right now. $820.00. i think you might lose the drivers side air vent though. i did front and back for just a bit more money and kept the vent.

weren't these holes intended to be used in conjunction with an engine support stand whenever the front cover had to be removed?