55 Olds 88 Rocket engine ideas

[goingnutz]

I recently bought a 55 Olds 88 4 door sedan. This is my first old car, my first rod. I am pretty much a novice so  I'm turning to you for help. As an engineer I am good a picking up on new ideas and I am not bad with the wrench either.

Here's what I have. 324 ci rocket V8. Hydramatic trans. 4-barrel Rochester carb. Seems like everything is pretty original. Runs okay, the rear main seal leaks like a seive, and I think the front seal does too.

I would like to keep the Rocket and get rid of the Hydramatic and put in a TH350 or 400 trans. I also have an interest in redoing the carb and intake or possibly putting a EFI on it. I think the old V8 is a good starting point and I am sure that I can squeeze more HP and torque out of it than the stock 188hp. Of course anything I do would include a total teardown and rebuild, maybe overboring the cylinders, etc, etc.

Does anyone know much about the 55 Rocket block? Is it the same as a Chevy? There are tons and tons of small block Chevy (SBC) parts available but very few Olds. I'm sure it would be easier to get a crate SBC and start from scratch. But I am sort of nostalgic and would like to keep the Rocket. Everyone has an SBC, you even see them in Fords sometimes. I'd like to steer away from the SBC if possible. Does anyone know any resources for compatible 55 Rocket parts? Although I am somewhat nostalgic I would like to put on new performance parts when possible.

Any ideas guys?

Thanks

[OFOF]

I definately recommend staying with the Olds motor.  There is nothing in common between any of the GM engines of that era.  If you do decide to go to a more modern engine I recommend the 455 Olds with a TH400 or TH700R4 Trans.  I have a 1956 Olds that runs quite well and would hate to see a SBC in any of the GM cars other than a Chev.  The SBC is a great motor, I run one in my '34, but I think that you have the right idea of maintaining brand loyalty.  There are several companies that carry parts and speed equipment for the Olds.  Egge Machine has all of the engine rebuild parts for it.  I'd do some searching on the web for speed equipment.  E-bay always has a load of old stuff although it is a little pricy at times.  Good luck!
Don.

[Crafty]

The block is totally different to a SBC so no dice there.
If you need stock rebuild parts look at //www.fusick.com they do a whole stack of stuff and you can download the catalog.
Egge also does engine rebuild parts.
Very few places do any performance stuff for them, you see inlet manifolds on ebay every so often..
Not 100% sure but I think tanson do a bellhousing so you can bolt up a TH350.
All 55 engines were 202hp as far as I know..

If all this works out too expensive but you want to keep in brand I believe the J2 engine ( 371ci, '57 or '58 onwards is a reasonably easy swap ).

I think fatman does dropped spindles for them and I have seen posts on the web for using 70s olds stuff to do a disc brake conversion.