im putting a 455 olds engine in a 1956 olds car...is there anyone out there that has done this? what i need is info on what i need to buy to make the transition from the 56 to the new 455 engine.. just list the parts electric and mechanical i need and how to do it and if i can use the original wiring harness thats in my 56 by splicing and directing the wiring to the new places..if you have pictures of the stuff you did it would be great...thanks shane
If the 455 is a points ignition, then the wiring is the same as the 56 has, just wire it. Yet your question leads to more questions: HEI?? Did you mean how to wire the alternator, if your using that?? And how much experience do you have wiring cars?? There are some of us to whom this is an afternoon's work, and others whom could not do this with a thousand YouTube videos to confuse them. Cosmo
someone asked if i was gonna use a HEI? i didnt know what that meant..so never mind about that cuz i dont know either..and my experience on wiring is none..i wont probibly be doing it myself but i would like to be educated.. right now i would burn down the car with my knowlege... one thing as far a knowlege i need is knowing what parts and things i would need to order...
Motor mounts are totally different you'll need to change the transmission also unless you can find an adapter. It is not a hard swap but if it's your first one it will be a lot of trial and error.
We don't know what year your 455 is. How about two more pics... show the distributor cap, then we know if it's points dist, or if HEI dist. show the back/side of alternator to show where the plug-in terminals are. That tells if it is a built in regulator, or if it needs an external regulator. Also, there were two different Auto transmissions used in 1956 Olds. The base model 88 had a shifter with NO park position. That one would need some modding to work with a TH400 or whatever you have on the 455. The 1956 Super-88 and 98 had a shifter that has Park, that would be easier than the other.
this is the 455..it was in a boat for 3 months which brings up another question i know on boat motors they useally have adifferent cam...is there any way to tell if it had one put in it without tearing it all apart? and as of looks i will need a water pump a flex plate a power steering pump fan blade and a adapter for when i mount the 700 r4 trans...anything else im missing? and without being where its at at my father inlaws in vegas i cant look at the code..im pretty sure its a 72
It looks like the heads are G heads from what I can see in the pics, which if they are original to the block would make it a 1971 engine.
i know one is a g but the other is another letter... i dont know which one being im not down there... so somewhere in its life on head got switched out
Not uncommon in boats for some reason they seem to overheat them and crack heads. But to your original question wiring the engine to your 56 shouldn't be a big problem. Even if you want to use an HEI (High Energy Ignition in GM lingo). An HEI distributor needs to have 12volts wired directly to it not the reduced voltage from a points ignition system. It is not a difficult job to convert. As for bracket's standard pieces from an Olds engine will work for alternator and power steering. You'll have plenty of room in the front to run a mechanical fan and shroud or if you like you can run an electric fan and shroud.
thanks..im logging all this info into my head...i have waited 3 and a half years for this day...and now its coming fast..im bring the engine home from vegas in a week and start to assemble the missing parts...
At least you're keeping the car ALL Olds!!! A 1956 442! It looks like you have a Mallory, POINTS style distributor, and probably an older alternator, as opposed to an internally regulated one. Do an E-Bay search for "Engine Swapping"; there are several books about what is involved with engine swaps. It'll help you out with motor mounts/mounting, electrical, etc. The issue of swapping a "boat engine" is that sometimes boat engines are reverse rotation. Camshaft, starter, and those sorts of things would need to be changed out, but I don't think your engine is reverse rotation. Keep us all posted on your project. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Mismatched Olds heads will work together but be aware the "J" head, also known as the smog head, has smaller valves than all the others so doesn't flow as well. Avoid if possible
thanks everyone for the info...gumbler i do know the other one is not a j head because when i looked at it 6 months ago i remember it not being it just because i remember reading someone saying j stands for junk head..
The ignition on the 455 is the same style as the 56 so you won't need to do anything but remove the small wire from the + side of the coil on the 56 engine and attach it to the + side of the 455's coil. In fact, you can re-use the 56's coil if you want to....either way as the 56's coil and the 455 coil should be the same thing. Starter wiring should be the same also.....just remove from the 56's starter and attach to the 455 starter the same way. The alternator wiring will be different if you use an alternator as the 56 Olds used a generator with a separate regulator. You'll have to let us know if you plan to use the 56s generator/regulator or an alternator and which alternator...photos will help. Plan to use the alternator in the photos?
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