1951 4dr Super project

[chevy_dude97]

I ended up drilling the stuck bolt in the exhaust, I could not e-z out it even after I drilled most of the bolts core out. I figure I will try to tap it the original size if that does not work I will re-tap all 3 and use new hardware. I also got to stop drilling the intake so the cracks do not get any bigger, I figure if I can find some cast machine screws I can cold stitch it. Until then the holes only go into the riser part of the exhaust and will not effect the vacuum. I also got a layer of paint on them both.

I may have painted the riser the wrong color however. I painted it the same as the intake and thinking about it it may have been cast only. Anyone help me out there?

I will post up pics shortly as I have this week off and will get on the car asap.

[shadetree77]

As far as I know it's supposed to look like this...

[chevy_dude97]

As far as I know it's supposed to look like this...

That's what I thought since the exhaust flows through it. Oh well, I will end up re-coating it in a couple days the correct color.

I did however receive another box of hardware from cars and have everything done to put the motor back together minus I have not grown a pair big enuff to try and tackle that broke off stud in the head........... I'm thinking it is going to take a bit to do and I don't really want to try and drill it out. I think I may just wait until I have the head off for cleaning and rebuilding down the road.(since I have seen so many pics with the same break)

[chevy_dude97]

So I got them both painted, I drilled and tapped the exhaust back to stock.(easier than thought) I also had to drill and re-tap one of the intake studs as when I was removing a bent one it snapped right off. I mocked it up to check clearances and snapped a couple pics. You can see where I had to stop drill the crack in one photo.

[shadetree77]

Looking good man. Glad you got that bolt taken care of. My Dad and I have decided that detailing and painting the engine bay will be our next project. Have you put your valve cover stickers on yet? I was just wondering how hard that was going to be. I recently ran across this seller on EBAY that has a stick on pattern for the valve cover that allows you to actually paint the logo on there. I think I might try it. You can check it out at the link below. Let me know how the stickers go.

41 42 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 Buick Valvecover Lettering Masking | eBay

[chevy_dude97]

Have you put your valve cover stickers on yet?

I have not yet placed the stickers, I am very picky and don't think I will use the stickers for the vlv covers, thanks for the link to a stencil.
Till this point I hadent even thought of using a stencil. Makes alot of sense I believe the filter info was stenciled on.(that was the only part that still was legible as far as decals on my ride) It appeared to be the same color as the lid and was definitely painted on. And thanks for the kind words.

[chevy_dude97]

Slow going this weekend as I don't even have a shop buddy. After mocking up the exhaust I noticed that the #2/3 exhaust area of the head was a little out of tolerances to be fit with no gaskets, come to think of it all the places the exhaust/riser/intake where a bit warped. I went through my gasket set(complete) and noticed there was no riser to intake gasket. So I used some gear lube and graphite hopefully this works as I used a hand file to try and plane the sides flat. There was no way I was going to do that to the head and I figure when I remove the head for the stud and possibly to put hardened vlvs ect I will have it plained as well. So I used the other gaskets exhaust/intake and the exhaust/riser. I noticed you cannot use the factory studs and washers when using the gaskets unless you do not screw the studs all the way in. Bummer part is even after I got the gaskets on and bolted everything per the shop manual there was a slight play in the gasket @ the #2/3 exhaust. So I cut a paper gasket to slip in that area and there no longer is a gap.( I hope this holds) I guess this is the main reason for the leak when I purchased it.

[chevy_dude97]

Well, after the long weekend I can say I got a few things done to the beast. All of the intake/exhaust is on with hardware.
Bad news is she did not want to start after the couple month slumber. All I got out of her was a stumble and pop out of the carb. ( I figured it was a little advanced)
But then after that there was nothing. not even a stumble.....
Thing is I did not move the distributor and the only thing I did was shorten the plug wires for a more custom fit.(not so messy/less interference)
Anyway I trouble shot it down to distributor before I could mess any thing else up. I have good power to the coil, and good spark off of the coil. I just don't get spark out, I looked at the points and they seem fine and high voltage is present. the only thing I can think of is the rotor it appears to be pretty warn I cleaned up the contacts to no avail. I think I will purchase the tune up kit off of cars, plug wires included.

Can anyone give me a brief summary for gaping the points ect....? The manual gets pretty in depth and seems to always refer to out dated and unavailable tools.
Oh and I didn't pay enuff attention to which wire the external condenser on the coil links with, I guessed the positive as I recall having one on my old chevelle before switching to an digital/electronic timing set up.

[shadetree77]

Mine did something similar one time. Check the wires inside the distributor. Here's a picture. One of mine was frayed on the bottom where I could not see it and it was making contact with the metal plate. As a result, the car would not start. Took me hours to figure that one out! You are correct about the condenser lead. It connects to the POSITIVE on the coil.

As for pointers on the points, I don't know if your manual is the same as mine but if you go to the section concerning the points it begins telling you how to do it with a "dial indicator" tool. Like you, I don't own one of these things. Anyway, in my manual if you look right below that section it also tells you how to do it with a simple feeler gauge (purchased at any auto parts store). It says to only use the feeler gauge to check the gap on a NEW set of points so it looks like you at least need to buy a new set of points. Go ahead and buy two sets and throw one in your glove box. Points are notorious for going bad at inconvenient times and it's always good to have a spare ready to go on the side of the road. Anyway, if your manual does not have the paragraph on using the feeler gauge let me know and I'll type it out here for you. I would just copy and paste but the PDF I have is secured and it will not let me simply copy and paste. But I will type it up for you if you need it.

Also, If it DOES have that section and you just need a slightly better explanation let me know and I'll try to help you out there too. GOOD LUCK!

[avgwarhawk]

Nice restoration project.

[chevy_dude97]

Thanks for the kind words guys, and the insight. I did more trouble shooting today..... since I was getting a good steady spark coming off the coil I don't think it was the points, I was just not getting spark through the cap/rotor... well turns out I think it may have been the coil wire. Not super sure as I was doing quite a lot in the trouble shooting. Last thing I was doing was checking spark gap on the #1 wire and got zapped as it fired right up. So that is good news she starts up faster. Now hopefully I get some quality time on her to finish the drivers side fender cleaning and paint.

[chevy_dude97]

Got to work on the buick today. Pulled her out of the garage and was able to get the inner fender well prepped and painted. Put on a new cable for the hood release and installed the hood. I know it Doesn't sound like much but to get to that point took all my effort cleaning up my garage. You never think how much stuff you can pile up when you don't move your car. I shall post pics up shortly of progress.

[chevy_dude97]

Some pics of progress this weekend

[shadetree77]

Looking good! That third picture is what mine looks like! Unbelievable amounts of greasy concrete-like buildup on those parts. Hopefully, that will change soon on yours as well as mine! Keep at it man!

[chevy_dude97]

Looking good! That third picture is what mine looks like! Unbelievable amounts of greasy concrete-like buildup on those parts. Hopefully, that will change soon on yours as well as mine! Keep at it man!

Thank you sir.
I have found the most efficient way I have found on removing this gunk is standard screw drivers and wire brushes of all sizes, with a drop cloth under to catch all that gunk. I tried my pressure washer first on the other side to realize I had a driveway to clean up causing more labor for me, not to mention it didn't even get it all off I still had to use screw drivers and wire brushes in the end....

[chevy_dude97]

Snapped a couple of pics of progress this week. I managed to get the fender back on and aligned properly. Now I just need to mask and paint the couple items that are not so nice looking, yet leaving a few items in original condition.

[shadetree77]

Seeing those pictures is psyching me up for my underhood resto! I ordered the degreaser, engine paint, and manifold paint yesterday. Did you ever decide what to do about the valve cover lettering? I was going to order one of those mask stickers I showed you above so I could paint mine on. Right before I hit the "Buy It Now" button I got to thinking. How are you supposed to scuff the shiny paint on the valve cover to allow the paint you use for the letters to stick well? In my experience, putting fresh paint on top of shiny paint doesn't work out well in the long run. You almost always have adhesion problems down the road. So I contacted the seller and this is the message I got back:

"Hi, thanks for your interest! If your valve cover paint is fairly new you should not need to scuff it in order for the lettering paint to stick. I haven't had any problems with the paint used for the lettering having problems sticking well even with valve covers that have been painted for a long time. I hope this helps. If you have any other questions please feel free to get in touch with me. Thanks again, Bruce"

Hmmmm. I just don't know if the lettering paint would stick in the long run. I don't want the paint peeling off of the letters in 1000 miles or less. What do you think about it?

[chevy_dude97]

Shadetree; I figured if I color sand the whole cover while it is off to make it perfectly smooth(as you will notice even with sponge brushes there may be imperfections) I will then add on the paint for the decals(atleast they will not yellow over the years) Then do a final "high temp" clear over the whole thing. Im not going to bother doing this untill the paint is good and cured. As I noticed alot of thinner burning off the last couple of runs with the car pulling it in and out. I have had very good success with that high temp clear made for headers. I painted some ceramics a while ago and they could not be shinier still to this day.

Now the REAL DEBATE will be in color choice for the lettering.

Also what do you think clean off the carbs dirt/grime and clear over the goldish patina or strip it clean and hope one of those "carb paint in a can" looks good. I like a few components that tell of a long road life considering how well alot has aged.

[JohnD1956]

C.D.97, Just want to say you are doing a fantastic job on this car. I sure envy you and Robert ( Shadetree77) for being able to work on your cars at this time of the year. You both are very comitted and it is fun to watch the dual progress of two cars so close in nature. I sure hope I run into both of you at a meet sometime.

Thanks for the progress reports and keeping the dream alive for at least this one Buick fellow.

[shadetree77]

Sounds like a plan to me. I'll probably do something similar. I've never used a high temp clear. To be quite honest I didn't even know they made such a thing. I'll have to get some. I agree about the stickers yellowing. I've looked at a lot of engine pix on the net and they almost always have that yellowed background on the valve cover sticker. Those stickers just can't hold up to the heat over time. I'm going to be driving mine a LOT too so I want the lettering to hold up and look good. On the lettering color, I've been thinking about that too. I considered ordering one of the stickers just to have a color reference. The stickers aren't that much and I'll have to place an order for all of the other underhood decals at some point so I think I'll just throw one of those in the cart too. Should be able to use it to find a similar color at an auto parts store or elsewhere.

On the carb, I would just clean it and clear it. I haven't heard good things about those carb. paints. Others may have actual experience with them but I have heard that they don't last that long. They are gasoline "resistant" not gasoline "proof" so if you get a good amount of fuel on it somehow I've heard that it will flake. My carb had absolutely ZERO gold color on it when I re-built it. At the time I didn't know about the carb. paints so I just put it back together as is. Works for me.

John, no problem buddy! Glad to be of assistance in "keeping the dream alive"! I hope we run into each other at some point too. You going to South Bend next year? I agree, it is cool to watch a car similar to mine being worked on at the same time. It sure does help to be able to compare notes. As for the weather, I'm amazed it's held out this long. This has to be the mildest winter I've experienced here in the entire 15 or so years I've lived in Georgia. I'm beginning to wonder if we'll have a winter this year. Temps. have reached the mid 60's to low 70's here every other day. Let's hope it holds out. I work on my car outside so if the cold weather hits, I'm going to be sitting on the sideline for awhile.

[JohnD1956]

Robert, I have reservations for South Bend. Lord willing I'll be there.

[chevy_dude97]

John, I'm not sure how to compare tenacity for winter work... lol Here on Ford Island us "shade trees" are glad for a pop-up canopy and a garage, to keep the winter sun off our backs...
I think the only hamper I have in a proficient completion is the time alloted by the wife and my 3 spawn hahaha


Thinking back to the "shop helper" talk I think I found mine.

[49_buick_super]

Thinking back to the "shop helper" talk I think I found mine.


Hey, Dad- their hands are clean. What gives?

[chevy_dude97]

Haha yeah "mommy" frowns on "dirty" hands

Well I got some more time with her today, I got the headlamps reconnected and operating and I took her for a test drive..... and she misses a couple while underload. (currently troubleshooting)
I also got the rear seat belts installed, really simple and didn't require much, 2 drill bits and a tape measure.
Found a few more things to add to the todo list, the dome light only works with back doors, and the dash lights are intermittent to say the least. (do they make new rheostats??)
Also an update on the paint durability...... the first few times I started her up I had a bit of smoke off.... to be expected right? ok... but 2 months of curing, and about 10-15 minimum runs for curing should be enuff....
lets just say the exhaust paint didn't make it 2 miles. It completely dulled and started to flake in some spots. oh well.... at least the intake and engine paint is still holding out. I may just bead blast the exhaust when the gasket gives and give her a nice high temp clear.

Oh and the other thing on the todo list is to find out if the rear doors are supposed to hold open like the fronts or not. Mine do not.

[avgwarhawk]

Misfire under load usually indicates a bad sparkplug wire. Check that your firing pattern is correct as well.