Classic American – September 2019

Belo sbuilt
’ 5 ear.

Shift quadrant is below speedo.

Colour co-ordination extends

to the boot!

324cuin Rocket V8.

Good

points

It’sthe excellent

overall condition of

this Olds which is so

impressive. Whoever

views it won’tbe

disappointed. The

original specification

cross-ply tyres have

beenreplaced in

favour ofaset of

brand new 225/70-

R15 BF Goodrich

Silvertown whitewall

radials, which is

awise move to

optimise overall

handling qualities.

In anutsh ell, it would

be difficult to spend

any moremoney on

this car.Justabout

everything has been

replaced,rebuilt,

refurbished and

retrimmed, so no

concerns about the

running gear,body/

paintwork/brightwork

or the interior.All

you need to do is

simply add fuel, drive

and enjoy!

Bad points

Therearen’tany

real bad points with

this Olds, just a

few minor niggles,

and it’sdefinitely

apotential award

winner.Ifyou look

very closely,there

areafew miniscule

blemishes on the

paintwork, notably

the odd chip here

and there. For some

reason the steering

column wasn’t

painted when the

rest of the interior

was repainted. The

white paint has

slightly yellowed

compared to that

of the dash, but it’s

not really an issue.

Both front quarter-

light windows show

atiny amount of

delamination. Ideally,

the new cross-ply

spareshoul dbe

replaced with a

radial tyre.

SPECIFICATION

Engine:324cu in 5315cc V8

Power:230bhp@4400rpm

Torque:340ft-lb@2400rpm

Transmission:Hydramatic

Jetaway four-speed automatic

MoT:Exempt

Mileage:54,546

Time to test the brakes. They work

well, pulling the car up inastraight

line, requiringafirmish shove when

you want to stop inahurry.The

power-steering is light and nicely

balanced. Plenty of restorative work

has takenplace on the underpinnings

and the car handles just likea1956 Olds should, with

alittle wallow when pushing hard around corners and

with an absence of any annoying squeaksor rattles.

Everything works too, notably the speedometer and

ffuueellggaauuggee;;tthheerreeiissnnoorraaddiioofifitttteeddttootthhiissccaarr,bbuuttiitt

doeshaveafrontwing-mountedaerial.ThisOldsisa

delightfullyrestoredexample,withgreatat io to

detail,thatdrivesbeautifully