Chase392

Just bumping this to let you guys know I'm still here... I check in from time to time... but no new progress...

Looking good marc1122! Please take lots of photos during disassembly and let us know about any problems you encounter on the way. IIRC your engine is the same vintage as mine. If you could take me some good pics with basic measurements of the forward cylinder coolant pipe and the compression release lever on the side of the engine I would be very grateful Thanks

Hey guys, I guess it is long since time to give an update on my progress. I wish I could post pics of the engine setting in a totally re-vamped frame but sadly that is not the case. Last year I was laid off from my mediocre job after losing my excellent job two years before that in a corporate buy-out. Finding decent work in my profession has been near impossible and its looking like I'm going to have to change careers entirely. To add even more fun to the mix, my significant other has served me with papers that among other things... states she no longer wants to be my "riding mechanic". Sadly the Speedster has to go on the back burner for a while.... but I'm determined to hang on to my project and see it through to the end. I"ll still be lurking on here, trying to gather parts when the funds allow and brainstorming ideas for the future build.

Its about 30 mins away, But well worth it in exchange for not tripping over parts or having to move my Challenger outside to do any work.

Hi Alan, Do you have any more pics of the engine stand? I'm still trying to get ideas for a stand for my Seagrave.

Hello Marc, Do you have any pics of your Seagrave T-head take apart? If you did I'd love to see them.

Not much lately.... but I'm still here Still waiting to get moved over into the shop... and still soaking stuck valves on the T-head.

Fortunately parents new home and my Father's shop were spared as well... but they were worried sick as they were unable to check on it for 3-4 days due to high water, cell phone service became very spotty and they finally got in contact with their new neighbors who were also high and dry. In preparation for their move they rented a storage building that did get about 8" of flood water in it. They lost a few pieces of furniture, some books (including their high school year books), computers, my Father's brand new Mig Welder, etc. but we were able to salvage most of the contents. We spent a couple of days pulling parts for his 1970 Challenger out of boxes so they could dry. I don't have any good pics of our neighborhood as the flood water came up in the middle of the night and receded quickly the next morning. Our house sits in between two "lakes" (a fancy Texas name for retention ponds) that saved our neighborhood and scared us all beyond belief. I've attached some photos, both of these lakes completely filled and spilled into the street... in the space of about 6 hours. The shadow in the front yard is about how close the water got to the house. I was down the street at a friend's house watching the boxing match when the storm hit. By the time we all realized how fast the water was rising I had to walk through almost knee deep water to my truck (which is fortunately tall) to drive home. I'd guess the water is at least 15 feet below the tops of the lakes, by the time it stopped raining on the first night each house was surrounded by a small island with about 6 vertical inches before water came in the house. At that time every street in every direction for at least 4-5 blocks was underwater. The water in our neighborhood drained quickly but the surrounding streets did not, and with the ground saturated every time it rained hard for the next 4 days the lakes rose rapidly but never overflowed again.... but it was 4 long days and sleepless nights. The only water we got in our house was torrential rain through our fireplace flue.... which got a little bit of the carpet wet and ruined the MDF behind the wood paneling on our fireplace. I pulled off the paneling and pulled up the carpet to help dry it while I wait for the stampedes to slow down at the building supply stores. I'll fix this myself vs. filing a claim on my insurance.

Haven't updated things in a while, Probably won't be much exciting stuff going on with my speedster the next month or so. As you guys can see from my location, our area just got devastated by Hurricane Harvey. We got 52" of rain in 3 days, almost half of it was 1 night in a 4 hour period. My house... and my Speedster project and Challenger.... were spared by inches. Many people were not so lucky.

Nice score My T-head is a 1929 as well.

Hi Alan, Not much new to report unfortunately.... I've been spending the summer working on getting my garage cleaned out so I can get the inside finished (its bare studs right now). Working in 100 degree heat has slowed things to a crawl. I'm excitedly counting down the days that I can move the chassis components to my father's new shop and the end of next month. Things should pick up again when I can do that.

Thank you for the replies guys, Armed with a bit more knowledge I've done a bit more searching, I'm definitely most partial to the 1955 bodystyle with the round portholes in the fenders. I did notice some cars have 3, and some have 4? What is the significance of that? I've had enough project cars over the years that hopefully I'm old enough and wise enough now to buy with my head and not my heart... I've had too many incomplete rust buckets over the years. There is a '55 Century (Riviera I believe) 2-door hardtop fairly close to me that is a decent price... but the floors are shot and the tail lamp pockets inside the qtrs are rusted out... that and the missing bumpers ($$$) meaning I'm going to be smart and let that one go. I'm wanting to do a mild custom so it may be a bit of a challenge to find one.... don't want to get one that is too nice.

Hi guys, Lately I've been thinking (always dangerous) that I really could use a 50's project car to nicely balance the 100 year spread in my other two fun cars. Never one to go mainstream I've increasingly looked at Nailhead Buicks thinking that might be the car for me. Style-wise I must say I'm quite fond of the 55-57 cars, but the various models and trim lines have me stumped, can you guys shed a little light on this for me? I am correct that there are 4 models: Special, Super, Century and Roadmaster, and that the Riviera is trim line on the models? I am also correct that there are two wheelbases? Are there two platforms (an example being GM B and C-bodys) or are they the same basic platform, meaning suspension interchanges, etc? Do Buicks have any mechanical interchange with 50's GM cars or are they pretty much unique to Buick? I've been reading up on Dynaflows and Torque Tubes so I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one.... Are 55-57s all the same "generation"? Will mechanical parts interchange? Besides the obvious floor, rocker rust, any other trouble spots to look out for? Old Buicks seem to pop up fairly often in my area for sale... the dismal swamp (aka SE Texas). Not in huge rush to find one just want to be armed with the knowledge with the time comes. Thanks in advance

I worked at Toyota bodyshop for 6 years.... Since you have already eliminated the two most common sources of water leaks (plugged A/C drain and Sunroof drains) I would seriously be looking around the windshield if has been replaced during the life of the vehicle (very likely at this point), I have seen some brutal glass installs before.... glass guys so careless they actually cut open the a-pillars removing the old glass.... Chances are the windshield is going to have to come out to really check though. My second guess would be water entry around the roof rack if you have one. Some Toyotas have the rack bolted though the roof.... you have to access the bolts by dropping the headliner. I don't recall if Rav4's are this way.

Can't really comment on the 70's, But I don't think the proceeding decades were much better. My grandfather worked at a Ford dealership in the late 50's.... he told me plenty of stories when I was young. Cars with no oil in the engines, no oil in the rear diffs, brakes leaking (he said they were usually on top of the hauler so they ruined the paint jobs on the cars below them), etc. While he worked there he bought a brand new Ford... not sure which model. Driving it home he heard an intermittent rattle.... drove him crazy for a few days trying to diagnose it on the drive to and from work. He finally traced it to one of the rear doors, pulled the trim panel and found an wrench inside the door. I think I still have the wrench in my toolbox.... Same car... shortly after delivery my grandmother complained the carpet was lumpy on the passenger side. He didn't ride on that side and told her under no uncertain terms she was crazy... but she persisted and one weekend he pulled and seat and pulled up the carpet to find the mummified remains of a sandwich. In the 60's his brand new '65 Impala SS snapped the crank in less than 5,000 miles.... although being a 4-speed car owned by an avid street racer... he might of had something to do with that one