Technical Picked up a 53 Olds Rocket 303

So I made a marathon trip to pick up a runner. An older gentleman decided to rip the heart and soul out of his 53 Olds 88. This is one of the 53's that had the dynaflo trans. I guess he hated the way the dynaflow shifted and decided if he was going to pull the motor and trans that he'd rather just put a Chevy crate motor and trans in it than spend the money to adapt a modern trans to his 303.

Anyway the car was immaculate. Motor is a super clean 4 bbl and apparently only about 3K miles on the rebuild. Anyway I'm hoping to get some time to get it on a stand and fired up soon.

I didn't get the trans or the bellhousing. The guy had just had the dynaflow rebuilt and is looking for a buyer on that.

Only concern I have at this point is what to do about a trans if I end up keeping this motor. Am I totally screwed for adapting a stick trans to this thing? If I am... What's the path of least resistance to put an auto trans behind it? I had really bad luck finding a good Hydra-Matic the last time I looked for one to mate with my 324.

 

Josh, pull the flywheel off so we can get a good look at the back of the crank.

 

Will do! I'll post some other pics as well. Thanks, Walt!

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...o-end-all-other-posts-lasalle-related.149650/

 

Swapping crankshaft may be part of path of least resistance regardless of which transmission you choose, unless of course you come across another dynaflow

 

I was afraid of that.

 

Thanks Paul. I was afraid of that.

I think the smart thing at this point before I do anything else is to rig up my test stand ( finally ) based on the diagram and pics that Walt sent me ages ago, and establish that she is in fact a runner. No reason to believe otherwise at this point, but first things first, right?

It would be just my luck to pick a one year only oddball motor to go rescue! A quick look at ebay for cranks and the only one that pops up is the one I got!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1953-only-O...m53e2a9945f:m:mqmUzKEKtH_zX5kVRn7Ok6Q&vxp=mtr

 

Why not use the fresh dynaflow.... Keeps things simple.

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Everything I've read about the dynaflow is negative. He wanted way more money than I had to spend on it anyway. I drove about 2000 miles round trip in less than 48 hours. I'm too saddle sore and short on time/money to go back for it at this point. The price at $800 seemed right being that it's a runner with a fresh starter, water pump, fuel pump, etc. with so few miles on the rebuild.

 

Only negative to me is when in drive, they take off in drive. Makes the car sluggish. Take off in low with foot down far enough for convertor to go into high stall.... It takes off good! Had one in my 55 Buick. In the long run... Probably should have gotten it if for nothing else but offer it to someone that needs a fresh one.

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I had low mile rebuilt one a few years ago,
'traded it for some parts I thought I needed that turned out to be junk.

 

be sure to disguise Olds with Chevy valve covers - Ha!

 

They offered V8 Oldsmobiles with 3 speed manual transmission right thru the fifties. It may be possible to find a bellhousing, clutch and flywheel and adapt a 5 speed or even an original 3 speed if you prefer.

The only reason to change the crank is if it is not machined for a pilot bushing but there are ways around that. One common fix on later engines is to use a ball bearing that fits into a spider that bolts onto the flywheel bolts.

They also made adapters to put that engine on a Ford transmission. A very popular swap at one time, the adapters still show up on the used market from time to time.

That engine with a manual trans would make a great nostalgia hot rod engine. But, only about 150HP with the 4 barrel. On the other hand, not enough power to scatter a Ford trans if you are careful so that is good.

 

greybeard360, good info on the driving characteristics, but like I said, he was long on price and I was short on funds so there's no way it would have gone home with me either way. I'm happy to pass on his contact info to anyone that might need it. Only issue is that he's a Minnesota snowbird living north of Tucson until May 2nd when he'll head east til next winter. The trans will stay in AZ until then.

Thanks Rusty. I'm familiar with some of this having recently finished rebuilding a 37 Buick / Olds Selector hybrid 3 speed for my 324 project a few months back. Very interesting about the ball bearing spider setup.

If I have to, like Paul said, the path of least resistance on this may be to find a 303 or 324 crank. Pretty sure they are the same thing as one of the 324's I had a few years ago had a 303 crank in it according to the machinist's books. I'd rather not go that route if this can be adapted but I won't know that until I can figure if this crank's snout is the right size for an Old's flywheel. I'm not going to pull the flex plate until after I get it up on a stand and running. Best rough measurement I can get on the snout is 3 3/16".

 

Trying hard to remember how we did this, but I think we used a pilot bushing from a Ford 360 that had a large od, and might have cut the input shaft off. The crank was not drilled for a pilot bushing, but the Ford on fit on the large opening for the convertor

 

This is great information. Thanks s55mercury66. When you say you 'cut the input shaft off' are you talking about part of the Ford pilot bushing or the trans?

 

It has been 38 years ago or more, so dont take what this as gospel, just something to check into. There is a large O.D. pilot bushing out there, made of bronze or brass, and I am pretty sure it comes from a Ford truck with a 360 engine. It has been so long ago that I can't remember the specifics, but I am pretty sure we had to cut off the input shaft so it would not bottom out against the crankshaft. You might get the I.D. where the converter goes, and see if you can find a bushing that will fit. If nothing else, you could have one made, but I believe you will probably have to cut the end off on the input shaft. We were so young and inexperienced that I didn't know for years what had been done. We thought it was strange when we went to get a new bushing, and it was nothing like the one that was in the bad motor. We pulled that one out and installed it in the replacement engine.

 

Thinking a bit, we did not have to cut the input, but I believe it had already been done. Going off topic, we did cut one on a Mopar 4-speed to put the 1965 trans against a 1972 Plymouth engine. By the way, are you a NAPCO owner?

 

If you are trying to go with a dual range hydramatic, you might have difficulty. Not sure, but the crankshaft that you show in your pic is for dynaflow. The hydramatic flywheel may not bolt up/fit to this crankshaft. If you have a hollander cross reference manual, you may want to check and see if the crankshaft is different.

 

The majority of the '53 Olds 88's had the dual range Hydramatic trans. I had a '53 Super 88 with the dual range Hydro from 1954 until 1957, had to sell the car when I went over seas with the US Army.
The early Dyna Flows were terrible transmissions..
I am building a '49 88 2dr fst back, I discarded the 303 and hydro in favor of a '78 Olds 403 with a 2004R trans. The engine/trans upgrade is over three hundred pounds lighter.. The 2004R trans is a multi bolt pattern trans that will fit any GM engine and is the same size a the TH350 trans..

 

Do you mean 300 lbs lighter? I have a '49 Olds engine and it is one HEAVY Mofo. It's as hard to handle and move around the shop as an early Chrysler Hemi.

 

I'm going this route (maybe) http://www.forwhatyouneed.com/transmission adapters, conversion.htm

 

@s55mercury66 thanks for all the info. I think this may help me out a bunch. I certainly hope it's not a matter of chopping an input shaft so I'll do a bunch of measuring before hand. Yes, I am a NAPCO owner. I have a 55 1st series Chevy 3600. That's the 'AD' or Advance Design in AD_NAPCO. Also a 56 GMC deluxe cab 100 short bed as well. My HAMB friendly rig is the 39 GMC short bed pickup that had the Olds running gear put in around 59 or 60.

@blucar I'm frankly not sure what I'm going to do with this motor. All this information is really helpful though. I appreciate it a bunch.

The real deal on this motor is that it was meant to be a bandaid to a potential losing situation I may be in. I've got a crap load of money in my 324 build with the 37 Buick / Selector trans build and the motor is not a runner yet. Let's just say there are time and money issues that need solutions I don't have at the moment to make it a runner. I may need to get liquid in the short term on this truck in order to help out with a down payment on a house, because, well the wife and kids won't tolerate living in a 39 GMC cab. So, this motor being a good clean runner at $800 plus fuel and a long drive was a way for me to sell my truck with a running motor, and not lose my shirt on what I've spent on the above mentioned 324 running gear. In other words I'd rather lose a little than lose a lot. We all know it's damn hard to make your money back on a project that's your own vs. one you strategically intend to turn for a profit from the get go.
If things work out and I don't have to get liquid on the truck, it will probably color my decision on what to do with this motor a bunch.
By the way, I was born and raised in Ojai, so Ventura is my second home. My wife and I had a neat little house on South Evergreen a few years back. My grandfather is in his 90's now and still lives off of Saticoy Avenue near Foothill. I miss it down there!

@d2_willys Once I get the motor up on a stand and running I'm going to make some decisions. I'll probably pull the flex plate / flywheel and do some detailed measurements and see what's what. I'm not sure if my Hollanders will cover this motor or not. I have the sneaking suspicion that the most practical solution will be to find a good replacement crank. I just hate like hell to open up a perfectly good running motor that's probably been balanced and replace a crank. Anyway, I'll figure out how to burn that bridge when I come to it. Yes I said burn. It seems lately that I usually don't get a chance to figure out how to cross them before they catch fire.

 

AD_NAPCO, I too am a NAPCO owner. Mine is also a 3/4 ton, but it's a '59. Good luck on the '39, will be watching to see how it works out for you.

 

Napco,
Made a slight mistake when I said that the 303/hydro combo was (three pounds) heavier than the 403/2004R. I have now corrected the mistake to three hundred pounds. I did a lot of research on Olds engines before I settled on the '77-78 403. Most of the Olds guys are hung up on the 455 which is a big block engine, very difficult to install into the earlier cars. The 403 engines were also used in the GMC Motor Homes in '77-78. The W30 dual exhaust manifolds will fit the 403 engine which makes for a neat exhaust system.
I have a '38 GMC T-14, 1/2 ton,. I put a Chevy 292 6 cylinder with a 2004R trans and a GM 10 bolt rear end in the truck.. I'm gonna change the front axle to a rack pinion IFS and disk brakes.
The '53 Olds Super 88's were incredible cars. I lived in Nevada the first two years that I had mine. All my buddies were buying tri-five Chevy's at the time, my Olds would run off and hide from the Chevy's. No speed limit in Nevada at the time.
When we went on our Honey-moon in Feb 56 we were headed to Reno. My wife awoke from a nap, she glanced at the speedometer, it was sitting on 110, she almost wet her pants. I drove that '53 nonstop twice across the U.S. , stopping only for fuel and eats, before I sold it in '57.

 

Yes, it makes all the sense in the world not to rip apart the engine. The dynaflow crankshaft has at least a decent size bore in the end of crank. Assuming that the outside flange is the same as a typical Olds rocket, then a simple adapter may be all you need for early hydramatic or stick transmission pilot shaft. I will try and measure a 371 Olds crank I have in storage. Hopefully yours has the same crank flange diameter.

 

dug into my spare engine and parts pile,
the '53 Dynaflow Olds engine's crankshaft appears to be dimensionally the same as a typical crankshaft at the flywheel end with the exception of the chamfer and larger bore in the end.
flywheel bolts up the same with 145 tooth ring gear in same location.
you should be able to have a bronze bearing turned to fit the opening and your transmission input shaft.

pix:
top: '53 Dynaflow crank
middle: Shiefer fly on left Dynaflow on right
bottom: '54 crankshaft drilled for pilot bearing with bearing removed

 

@Paul, thank you so much for taking the time to check this out for me! I really appreciate it. This is great new. Having a bushing made is a MUCH easier solution than finding a new crank. Now I just gotta get some time and get this motor fired up!

THANKS AGAIN!!

 

No sweat,
keep us posted on how it turns out