Projects My Dale Velzy/Sam Conrad Roadster Build Thread

That was a bunch of intense work Bob. Lots of things to not overlook. Great detail and pics. So nice to see this coming together. I could set there and look at that hot rod for quite a while sipping on my favorite brew! One of my favorite builds on here.

 

I usually watch your posts, but I missed this one until this morning; great build and superior workmanship. The only issue I can find is that the changes you made are well engineered and the fit and finish so top shelf that it's not "period". I'm more than OK with that ; function over form ,especially if it's hidden.

 

I try to stick with what Sam, Dick and Tex (or me in the early '60s) would have done for the most part, but some things, like the brake cross shaft need to be the best design/workmanship I know how to do. With the car fully assembled, it won't be seen. Most of it is straight out of the old '50s-'60s magazines.

 

With the short block off the engine stand and mounted in the chassis I could finally put the heads on. But first some paint. Quite a bit of masking. I was a little concerned that the new cans of paint I bought might not match the stuff I painted a while back. I did recoat the block with the newer stuff but the timing cover came out a little lighter. Everything got four coats, a tack coat and three color coats.


I had washed the greasy head bolts but they needed some time on the wire wheel. Damn, there’s a lot of head bolts. Finally, got them installed.


Check out the chrome head bolts. I know, pretty show car-y, but I’ve always wanted to do that.

Unfortunately, my beautiful chrome valve covers have a problem, the plating on the inside is flaking off. The outside is fine. I scrubbed the inside with steel wool and stainless brushes but I can’t run them as they are. I’ll take them back to the plater and see what he says. But for now, after a good scrubbing, I put a coat of grease on the inside surfaces to make sure no contaminates get in my new engine. I have a nice set of Edelbrock finned aluminum ones but they need a good cleaning and touch up buffing. Besides, Sam ran this type on his car, so I’m partial to them.

 

KILLER PICS, Bob. Bet you are excited to see it coming together. Like the chrome head bolts!

 

Exceptional detail/build, appreciate the updates.

 

Tape up the outside of the valve cover really well, and sand blast the loose chrome off the inside. If it doesn’t blast off it shouldn’t come off when it’s all oily either.

 

That’s the cure that I thought would work best. Unfortunately my sandblaster hasn’t worked in years. I’m going to take them back to the chrome shop, they have a bead blaster and maybe, since I paid him so much lately, Mike will blast them for free. I had two sets plated and both are peeling inside.

 

I’m going to go down to LA for a week or so. Check on the house, work on my buddy’s flathead and hopefully going to the GNRS. It’s hard to leave when I’m actually making progress on my stuff.

 

Back from LA and back on the projects. I brought the Olds starter back with me, I had taken it down to LA to fire up the other Olds engine that I picked up last year. It worked fine but needed a good cleaning and painting. It cleaned up nice.


I rounded up some stainless fasteners that approximated the stock stuff and bolted it in.


If I ever have to pull that starter, I'm gonna need an 11/16" crow's foot. With the body and firewall installed there will be very little access to the upper nut.

 

I also brought back the Rochester 4 Jet that I got from Walt (Vtwhead). I had rebuilt it and used it to start up the other Olds. I mounted it on my spare 4 bbl manifold. I'll use this carb/manifold and the refurbished stock distributor to do the initial start-up and break-in on this engine.
I have the DuCoil and 6x2 intake for the final version, but I don't want to fight that fight at break-in.

 

Looking nice Bob! What is the hole in the front of the valley cover for?

 

I'm a little behind on this thread. I guess the hole is for an aftermarket breather. Maybe a Moon?
That valley cover won't work with a stock intake so I needed to get out the stock one I had chromed.
Well, now I am confused. The manifold hits the stock valley cover too!


This engine had a two-barrel manifold on it when I got it, and it was all together except for a few accessories. I do have a bunch of stray Olds parts but no other valley covers. I bought this manifold off of eBay years ago, now I'm wondering if it's really a '56 as advertised. I've haven't tried to bolt it onto anything until now. Arrgh....

 

Some little issues have been popping up as I try to move forward. I'm re-thinking using the adjustable rockers that I have. With the hydraulic cam, they aren't really needed, and they limit my choice of valve covers. I didn't remember why I used them in the first place, so I dug out the stock rockers and they all have been cleaned, resurfaced and are ready to be re-bushed but one has been resurfaced way too many times and is much thinner at the valve tip. We didn't have a replacement at the time, so we just went with the new adjustables. So, I think I'll buy two more rocker shafts and set up a set of stock rockers. Then I should be able to use stock pushrods too.

 

A million little details....
Originally, I had planned to use the Hildebrant starter switch-over adapter and that meant an oil filter block-off plate and a remote filter. But I didn't like the adapter with the upside-down starter and with the stock stuff the starter cleared the steering box (barely) because of the way I did the steering box mount.
I realized that I didn't have an oil filter setup ready to install so I started looking at my options. I have a later model adapter for the spin-on filters, (easy to clean and polish) but I decided to go with the older canister type to keep the older vibe going. That meant more cleaning and some elbow grease (finger grease?) to make it look pretty. I ordered an intake manifold polishing kit to try to get into the nooks and crannies, but it was useless. First cut....


It's not installed for good yet, I'm just fitting the bolts and I'm going to do a little more work on it. I just wanted to see if the black canister was going to look ok or if I needed to take it to the chrome shop.
I like it as it is, it balances nicely with the black starter on the other side. I wish I had the AC Delco decal for it.

Creeping forward day by day.

 

Intake is a 56 Bob but you need the 56 valley cover with the indent in it. 56 was the first year for the new valley cover and the lower heat riser runner. My memory is not what it used to be so I looked over on the Olds site and Charlie Jones ( in my opinion he is an expert on the Olds stuff) said this responding to a similar post which cleared my memory banks
The manifold you bought is a 1956.
They changed the exhaust crossover in 1956 and it protrudes deeper down.
As a consequence, the block top cover was re-designed with a depression in it.
Your engine is either a 1954 or 55.
You will need to get either a 54 or 55 manifold or a 1956 top cover.
The 1959 cover is wider because the block deck height increased in 1957 with the 371.
_Intake Manifold Issue Olds 324 - ClassicOldsmobile.com_________________

 

Thanks Walt. I need to scrounge around in my stuff and see if I can find the ‘56 cover. It won’t matter if it’s not pretty, I’ll only need it during the break-in since I plan to run the Drag Star 6x2 intake or an Offy 2x4 as a back up. It’s gotta be around here somewhere?
So it’s a ‘56-‘58 only valley cover, earlier ones don’t have the recess and later ones are wider. Learn something new everyday. I couldn’t find my intake manifold casting number on the sites I looked at, I began to wonder if it might be ‘57-‘58.

 

Any developments Bob?

 

Yeah not much progress on the roadster, my Stude pickup kinda took up most of my shop time lately. But, I just got the Stude back together AND, big and, I got the plates and registration for it today!! Finally! So the Stude joins the fleet of useable vehicles and I can get back to work on the roadster and stuff.