1966 olds dynamic 88 daily driver/ cruiser

[hiroshima1320]

Ok, i picked up a 66 olds dynamic 88 4 door sedan last week. Runnin, driving, nearly complete, virtually rust free, 425 2 barrel, th400. $2500, plus tax. No big grandiose plans, just a ton of small stuff and a few subtle changes. A little body work, some paint, a little updating, complete suspension overhaul and disc brake swap, and most likely an overdrive transmission. First things first, turn signal switch, wiper switch, maybe a 1 wire alternator conversion...

[hiroshima1320]

And yes, the awful wheels will be gone. Just have to find something nice to fill the wheel wells... suggestions?

[hiroshima1320]

Ok, nix the 1 wire alternator idea. After a little research, they dont charge as well as a 3 wire set up. Also, any ideas on what to do with the hood? The scoop is flapping in the wind, and there is a large hole cut in the hood, but the trim that runs up the center is intact... maybe weld in a big staggered louvered panel? Theyre $200 on ebay...

[Scott Liggett]

Who said one wires dont charge ascwell as three wire alternatos? Mine work great.

[milner351]

MAD electric link posted here recently shows the pro / con of one wire vs. 3 wire.

Hood repair could be tricky - anyway to bond some studs to the current scoop to secure it better?

[JOES66FURY]

New hood? or weld in a piece and get it louvered. The scoop dont wook with the big 4 door IMO....

Wheels, I would go steelies and some fat whites...Chrome lug nuts with bullet centers. Shave the door hanldes...MAybe one color body with a flaked roof....

you can see where my minds been lately.....

[hiroshima1320]

The scoop already has studs bonded to it with what looks like jb stick or the like, and it's cracked. Temporarily, i may zip a couple sheet metal screws through the lip of the scoop and into the hood. I am thinking of buying a large, louvered piece of 20ga and welding it in. I would prefer to tig weld it, hopefully i can rent or borrow a good tig welder. The reason I am straying away from the 1 wire alternator is the way they are regulated, with the voltage drop not being compensated for.

[yellomalibu]

That was my first car... well, mine was a Delta rather than a Dynamic, but close enough.
I wanted to put Cragar SS wheels on mine - but that was the late 80's. Your car, put the wheels you like on it.

When my center link wore out (1990) I couldn't get a replacement. There were two options, a TRW and a Saginaw (if memory serves). The shop that eventually "found one" and installed it (Sears in Jax, NC) put the wrong one on and the nut that held the center link to the pittman arm came off - I came real close to catastrophe.

Enjoy your boat!

[hiroshima1320]

I have a kind of strange question. If i bought a t56 transmission, say from an lt1 camaro, could i use an off the shelf bop engine to chevy trans adapter and run a custom pilot bushing, which i believe someone makes, because some of the other options create the same issue... The .50 overdrive and close ratios between 1st and 4th make a lot of sense to me...

[Deaf Bob]

BOP bell housing .. No need for adaptors.. I have 3.. Fit the 300 Buick, 500 cad, and 455 Buick that I know for sure of.. ..runs 3 and 4 speed saginaw,and muncies Those I have tried.. For the 500 caddy, I had a flywheel drilled and a pilot bushing made.. Everything else is off the shelf..

[hiroshima1320]

The t56 wont bolt up to a regular 4 speed bellhousing without an adapter there. Mcleod sells one for $250+. They mention or sell a pilot bushing to compensate for the added thickness of the adapter, which bolts between a 4 speed bell and the t56 tranny. Summit and jegs sell adapters that bolt to the back of a bop engine block and allow you to bolt a chevy transmission to that adapter. They cost about $60. The only thing i could think of to worry about is if the splines of the trans input shaft were long enough for the clutch to engage, and the clutch itself, seeing that you're adding space between where it actuates. A hydraulic tob would probably solve that, though you would need an ls trans instead of an lt one.

[Deaf Bob]

Which is why I answered as I did.. I have no experience with the t-56..
Would think it'd be beneficial if everything would just bolt up?

[hiroshima1320]

Im a cheapskate by necessity, I'm just trying to figure the most economical way to get a good overdrive trans in this thing. Ive run a t56 twice before, once behind a 350, the other behind an ls1. Both in japanese cars. I really dont want to spend 600 on a bellhousing from McLeod or QuickTime, if i could make it work for under $100. If i go automatic, i can put a mildly built th200 4r in it fo around $1000. I'd like to stay under $1500 for the t56, and after i source a good used trand, bell, clutch, flywheel, some sort of release mechanism, and pedals, plus driveshaft modifications, it would be closer to $2000.

[yellomalibu]

What rear end gear do you have? My Olds had a 2.73... which is a good highway gear without an overdrive. I actually got better gas mileage at 70 than I did at 55, presumably from the engine being at a more efficient rpm. The 425 does make good low end torque, but 1500 rpm at 80? Bogging the engine forces you to step into the gas pedal harder, which may lead to worse fuel mileage than you'd get without the overdrive.

Run some numbers through this calculator to help come up with a rear gear ratio or perhaps to help you pick a tranny with a different o.d. ratio.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/multirpmcalc.html

[hiroshima1320]

Using a t 56 with a .50 6th gear, with the current tire sizes, i would be at 1300rpm at 70. The rear end is 3.23. Using a 200 4r auto with a .67 overdrive I would be at 1750 at 70mph. Torque is 430 at 2400rpm, horsepower is 300 at 4400 rpm. Just based from that, i believe the engine would be happier with the .67.