TexRiv_63

Welcome aboard, that is a very nice car - love the three window coupes. Everyone here will be interested in your efforts to get it going.

Nice car, where are you located?

Dean, I just sent you a private message.

The owner failed his audition for Hoarders, now he has to sell for a lot of money to pay the rent before his stuff gets sold on Storage Wars...

Not sure about Packard, but my 28 Pierce had two ports with rotating levers on the oil pan. One was mounted low at the back and was used to drain out the oil, the second was mounted higher up on the side and was used to check oil level. With it open you added oil until it came out, then closed it.

BJM, thanks for your comments. I was surprised how a little buffing, touchup. and detailing made this car pop. I've gotten a couple of nibbles but less response than I expected. The good side is that I'm now driving it more, showing it off with for sale signs in the windows. I missed a couple of local car shows due to rain but hope to take it out to one on Saturday.

BTT

They are Oldsmobile, not sure of the year.

Photoshop also works in black and white...

Looking great!

Doug, You can also try Olsen's Gaskets at Olson's Gaskets . I have used them for many cars and they are top-notch.

My 63 Riviera had the front anchor mounts built into the floor pans and filled with rubber plugs and sealer. The rear seat mounting points were nothing more than dimples in the sheet metal showing you where to drill the hole....

DJ, I'm pretty sure 1956 was the first year seatbelts were offered in Fords and I bet they were pretty rare, so OEM will be expensive if you can find it. Do you have a factory shop manual? Hopefully it would show the anchor installation and may show what the belts looked like. Later cars had the anchors included in the floor pans but they may not have done that as early as 56. If they were the generic aircraft style try Ssnake - Oyl at Ssnake Oyl Products , I got belts for my 63 Riviera there and was pleased with the quality and color choices available.

My 57 Premiere is for sale, please see my thread in the main Buy/Sell forum for details. Price is $12,500. E-mail me at derjr2@tx.rr.com for a fact sheet, call me at 972-540-2429 with any questions.

BTT - here are some additional exterior photos:

Wayne, You can leave that car with me down here in Texas for the next four months and I'll keep it loosened up. I'll even come and get it and you don't have to pay me anything!

We have finally had a little moderation to the heat here in the Dallas area wth some welcome rain. I took my Olds for a ride yesterday and took the Lincoln out today with the For Sale signs in the windows. We are now lucky enough to have two different Saturday morning "cars and coffee" groups in our immediate area so I see a lot of older cars then. However I almost never see cars older than the 80's on the street as regular drivers.

The latest update on the accident that started all this - the woman who backed into my wife's car has not responded to her insurance company to give a statement after multiple attempts to contact her. We have kicked it back to our insurance company so we can proceed with repairs and they will go after her. Her "don't give a sh-t" attitude about the accident obviously reflects her attitude about everything. Although the insurance is in her husband's name so it may be him driving the boat. My wife joked that they are probably in the Witness Protection Program and have been moved to another state by now!

And here are some underhood photos:

Very nice!

That's a great looking car!

I've followed your thread from the beginning, very interesting and well documented. Thanks for sharing!

That looks like a solid rubber tire from a truck.

Welcome to the forum! I owned a 1932 Cadillac 370B for a few years. While my car was never fully sorted out, I was always impressed at how well it drove for its age. When running correctly the engine is amazingly smooth and moves the very heavy car easily, the synchronized gearbox shifts smoothly, and the vacuum-assisted mechanical brakes feel quite modern. I had a 1928 Pierce Arrow at the same time and it was amazing how much more modern and civilized the Cadillac felt, the auto industry made great strides in four years. All this said, West's comparison to driving a truck is right on, these Cads are enormous and very heavy, but handling something like that is very satisfying. Now the other side of the coin. These are 80 year old vehicles and the V-12 versions are very rare and fairly complex. If you really want to use one as a driver you either need to buy one that has been mechanically restored or be prepared to spend a lot of money having it done. As mentioned, parts are very hard to find and ridiculously costly when found. Very few people today are actively collecting and working on these cars compared to newer iron so finding shops with experience is difficult. You will need deep pockets to buy and maintain one of these as a driver, that is what I wanted to do with my 32 but in the end could not afford to keep it up and wound up selling. I hope you can pull it off and wish you luck!

Absolutely correct per the one my father bought new. Ford red paint should be commonly available. The engine in the video is the right color but has a 57 intake and air cleaner with a newer Holley, the 55 4-barrel would have been the old Holley teapot.