ME & MY === 1958 Buick, 1958 Buick, 1958 Buick and……..

With poor pictures and little detailed conversation I learned a good lesson. "You're just never too old to learn."

I have had many, many years of good luck purchasing parts for my Buick's and just figure there has to be one or two that don't meet expectations......

Unfortunately, pot metal parts do not fair any better in sunny dry climates. I have often felt they seemed to be even worse.

I had few unpitted parts on my cars while living in SoCal.

With today's temps up in the low 50's and most of the snow melted decided to venture behind the garage and get to the Limited.

What a difference a month makes!

Because she is basically being scrapped I decided to start at the back and had to pull out the rear seat that I'd put there.

Not really a tough decision to make on what to do here.

My Dad drove this car two years daily before he gave it to me (in 1971) and one of his fixes was to put screen in the spare tire well with some bondo and it's still there! Sadly the metal around it is.... not doing as well.

So, with tin snips in hand I started cutting the trunk out piece by piece.

It really wasn't too difficult and after awhile it looked like this.

I have this crazy idea to save the rear quarters and mount them on the insides of my one garages with the original (not great condition) tail lights and trim but..... time will tell there.

I wanted to jack up the body/car to aide in the cutting down the road but look at that differential! Seems the cement blocks I had put under the brake drums sank in the ground to the point the axle is still frozen there!

This was therefore the end of my day for now.

Anyone need a trunk lid for a 1958 Buick Limited 2dr model specific?

One last shot / comment;

Another of Dad's fixes was to pop rivet galvanized metal in the truck pan and put grease under it before pop riveting. The grease is hard but still there......

Now off to the junk yard Monday!

So with the snow all gone it is now the rain that is the complaint (naturally).

Stole a few hours today after having to put in 13 hrs Sunday to catch up on contract work and managed to get the rear end of the Limited out of the ground.....Should make it a bit easier to cut those quarters off and possibly save for mounting on the wall. Will see what the next weekend brings.

Man is it in tough shape! I realized that the frame from the springs back is NON-EXISTENT!

Managed a couple of hours tonight and have started to change the landscape of my backyard.....

Will be saving the stainless trim but the fender is pretty much gone.

Will be saving this for the garage wall (maybe with the rear quarters).

Surprisingly I only broke three bolts getting things off so far.

Looks like you're making good progress. Pretty soon there won't be anything but a little rust in that corner. LOL

Not really sure about it being 'progress' John.... but I will take it as a word of encouragement.

If nothing else it is keeping the home fires quiet but still burning (and that's good ).

Once the total removal work is completed I hope to get on to the one inside the garage.....

Sad to say but... it's only been 20 years since this one has seen the light of day compared to the other one that spent most of it's life out and exposed.....

...Surprisingly I only broke three bolts getting things off so far.

Do you mean to say that there were still some bolts left in all that rust? Given a little time, that car would have become landscaping and returned back to nature.

Do you mean to say that there were still some bolts left in all that rust? Given a little time, that car would have become landscaping and returned back to nature.

You are 100% right on there DJ! LOL

My thinking was, don't worry about it since I have her twin sister under cover inside and with taking things apart back then meant where to put those loose parts? That is starting to come true now and while most of the car is as you say "returning back to nature" there is still going to be things that I have to find room for till I get the other one going like; doors, differential, trunk lid, interior parts (front seat for sure), etc....

I have the complete dash out and it has found a spot on a shelf over my small work area inside and not sure how much more I can put up in the rafters before I need an engineers report.

I wish I was beyond this parting out phase and getting to the putting together phase but will just keep plugging along.

So, to use John's term this will be a 'progress' report.

Since the rain/storms went north of us in Michigan spent the afternoon on the Limited.

The first effort was to cut out as low as I could, the garbage tree that just wouldn't die, between the car and my shed. It took a bit of contortion to get in there and work carefully with the electric chain saw.

Four bolts and the hood was off. It will be headed to the scrap dealer Wednesday.

Now gone and without fear of the hood folding in half while on the car, access to the passenger side inner fender was much easier. (running into a few bolts now that are breaking...)

Decided to check out the heater core next.

On first look it seems to be in good shape but..... will have it checked out later to be sure.

Nice not to have to lay on the ground, reaching up and clear off rust in my face!!!!

Started on a few bolts on the driver side fender but decided to call it quits for now.

Since it has been more seasonable temps lately, decided to fire up the BBQ and the fire pit to have coffee outside after dinner. The landscape she is a changin' .....

Where the heck are the aluminum drums??

The heater core looks like it has some corrosion on it. I have had no less than 5 of these in my hands that look good, but never pass the test...all from 58's. I've had two of them recored at about $200-250 each.

I was wondering if someone was going to comment about the drums. Kinda figured Adam that it would be a '58 Buick guy and having had two you obviously know what should be on them.

After Dad got the car (1969) he had to do the brakes and it also needed the right side muffler, tail pipe and rear resonator to get him going. Those drums were put on by the shop and I had them turned once during my driving of her.

Being my very first car and having been around those antique cars in my signature some of which have mechanical brakes, I just plain didn't know if there was any difference in braking with aluminum finned drums on or not. After getting the Special about a year later and because she didn't have aluminum drums, being a bit lighter car, just figured that was the difference. You also have to realize that around my part of the country it is as flat as a mill pond for about 200 miles so never had to keep the foot on the brake for down hill grades and experience the reported brake fade.

My other Limited and Roadmaster both have aluminum drums and I have a third set with bearings that measured out fine so I'm not in need right now. If you look back at post #67 you can just see under my flathead motor the aluminum drums on my good Limited.

Good to know about the cost of a new heater core should I need one. I see what you see there but not going to discard it with the really rotten metal just yet.

HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF (once again in April) :eek:.......

Dashing through the snow........I feel your pain Doug!

Due to cleaning up decided to swing by and take the hood and some loose metal to the scraper.......

Talk about a slow process!

DOUG, scrapping the black Limited may seem like a slow, sad process but it's essential, to allow you to focus on the cars on which you'll eventually be working. Keep picking away at it but be critical about what parts you save. Ask yourself, "Is this part good enough to put on a finished car, without massive rework?" If not, put it in the scrap pile.

I'm starting a cleanup myself, so I'll be chanting this same question to myself as I decide Save or Toss.

ROB, totally agree with everything you have said and doing the marking / labeling process as I go on the keeper stuff. It is kinda' bitter sweet for now knowing that when this is finally finished I can concentrate on either the Special or the twin sister Limited next. Both have their financial issues in order to get on the road so will have to determine which is the more affordable before proceeding.

Progress however on the dismantling has slowed to a snail's pace as the 'life roller coaster' is at maximum right now and trying to hang on:(. Not only is this the start of my busy season but I have been dealing with Mom not being able to drive due to recent health issues and me driving her to umpteen Doctor's appointments......

On the bright side, tomorrow Dad will be celebrating his 90th Birthday! Planning on having them over for the late afternoon and BBQ which they enjoy. One of my sister's is coming up from Gatlinburg with her daughter and her friend (who has never been outside the US or seen what the Great Lakes are like) so should be a nice couple of days for all.

Not sure I want Dad to see the Limited but..... if you think I have posted sentimental pics and stories here, I know he will top me there! Definitely nothing wrong with his mind at his age, just the physical that's slowly failing.

There is another issue I have to deal with too but will post pics when I catch something.....:eek:

Today was a fun day as we celebrated Dad's 90th Birthday!

The weather was a bit cool and windy for this time of year but managed a walk out back after a few pictures around the Whippet which I brought home and he saw the old Limited and the state she is in. It wasn't too big a surprise as I have talked about what is going on but as expected, once he took it all in, many stories and experiences he had came flooding back. (most of these I have heard more than once before but it was his day and let him go the distance respectfully )

Really a sentimental moment to find us together not only at the beginning of this cars adventures for me but now at the ending too.

Soooo lucky to still have him with us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD.

A very cool day you had!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUR DAD TOO!!!!

Hope you get the "new" Limited together for many more years of experiences with your dad.

A very cool day you had!

Yes sir we sure did. Thanks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUR DAD TOO!!!!

Hope you get the "new" Limited together for many more years of experiences with your dad.

Thanks John. As I have been letting Mom read the postings to Dad, will pass on your birthday wishes.

Will sure hope there is time to have a few experiences with the other Limited....

That would be just spectacular!

Fathers Day came a day early for me this year.

With work being in full swing this time of year for me not much gets done on the Buick's but.... once again my son gave me a reason to stir up my passion for the cars. Since he will be graduating from University this August and looks like he has a job (connected with doing his Masters), yesterday we went out to get what is his first car that has been off the road while in school for almost five years. It is a 1991 Mustang (sorry, not a Buick) which kinda fits as he might be going to Ford's for work.

The smile on his face on the way home was the best Fathers Day gift I could have ever received! :cool:

Since three of my '58 Buick's are MY first cars, a Buick or not, I know he gets what 'your first car thing' means.

Naturally, while he was going over his car to check things out before we headed home (about 30 miles), I spent a bit of time over at the Roadmaster.

My spring purchase of a trunk emblem was disappointing and brought it with me, along with some polish, to see what the emblem on the car was going to look like cleaned up.

With very little effort it is clear that with more careful cleaning, the one on the car is in better overall condition, especially with not being pitted on the top (most visible part).

I could have spent the whole day cleaning off the many years of dust and planning on how to get her back on the road but..... right now reality says that I just have to be patient a little bit longer.

Still, it was great quality time with my son and our cars!

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TOO!

Thanks David for the comment on my thread (58's). I can see why you have an interest!

Sorry I can't help with a spare lens, maybe someone can help.

When you say yours is sun baked, do you mean it is just really dull and won't polish up or has the checking lines going on?

If it is just really dull you might try using one of those lens polishing kits offered and see what that does or get a can of clear coat and give it a coating or two. I had some luck doing that on a set of fender mounted plastic turn signal lenses on my 52 Ford truck.

There should be some used ones out there somewhere. If I'm correct the Century, Super and Roadmaster use the same lens. The Limited and the Special are different.

Good luck.

Not much has been going on with the Limited or any of the other 58's but I might have to get my but in gear with one as my oldest son came over to show his mother & me something. It seems that he has purchased an engagement ring for his girl friend and it is some ring! We are truly happy for them!

The date hasn't been set right now but plans are for the spring of 2016. I gather from his questioning me on what it would take to get the Special back on the road that he would like to use it for the Wedding car :cool: so .... guess I have about a year to make that happen since 2015 is right around the corner! :eek:

It's a great motivator for me and would be in heaven if this can happen! I did not use it for my wedding as the forecast was for rain the day before and ALL DAY the day of the wedding (which it did). Will have to see how all this plays out but really excited.

I do have my work cut out for me. Let's see; new battery, new complete brake job, find and assemble new exhaust system, Oh Ya - that pesky leaking torque tube seal.....

Doug,

CONGRATULATIONS! That is fantastic news! Nothing like a wedding looming in the future to get your rear in gear to make the project reality! I'm happy for your son and your family. All of those items that you have listed on the punch list are weekend jobs, nothing more than that. Heck, with the mild winter we are predicted to have (hahaha) you can probably get all that done before the first major snowstorm...

Appreciate the congrats Jim!

Oh Ya, the list is but a smaaall effort (LOL) but it is motivation for sure to get things done!

I don't have the torque ball seal so my first order of business is to source one and get it on hand. Not sure if I will attempt it myself or pull the complete trany out and have it gone over completely. I'm still going to have to get her up high enough to accomplish that anyway as I don't have a lift so will see which way I'm going to go.

While I'm no stranger to dirt under the fingernails it has been awhile since I tried anything that major.

It was no SMARTIN treatment but made me happy at the time and served me well for 28 years after that which both my sons had many dependable rides.

Oh by the way, this is the engine out of the parts car Limited because it ran so well and... it was there, the car had rust issues then and not as much money as I'd have liked so it became the donor ...

Time to get going again!

Hey Doug!

Let me know when you are looking like doing that torque ball stuff. I can give you a hand and also help you set up the car w/o a lift, on jack stands that will allow you to get enought room under the car to do the job. Out of town now, but will post some pic's of what I did so you can get a flavor of how w/o a lift.

Nice that you have those donor cars for parts like this - ENGINE THAT RUNS!!. Keep up the faith, man!

Hey Jim THANKS for the offer! Any help at all is greatly appreciated!

Can't recall if you posted pictures on your thread about Frame on Restoration of your other car or not? If you want to post them here or email me or send me a PM that would be Super. I know, it's really more like Special. lol

Just a bit about the Limited engine,

When Dad got the car it had about 85,000 miles on it and it ran great for two years driving 60 highway miles each way five days a week to work giving him about 17 mpg. I'll have to look but believe it was just about to turn over 100,000 miles when I started to drive her and figure I put about 45,000 miles on it before I did the transplant into the Special.

This was the last mile I drove the Limited but with the comfort in knowing I had her twin sister sitting in the barn to recreate the experience some day........

Here she is after engine removal.

Engine in 'driver condition' waiting for a good cleaning before putting into the Special!

When everything was up and running, I took the Special in for a complete tune up.

They even went as far as doing a compression check and even with those kind of miles the cylinders were about 110lbs except for one at 95, not that you would know it. All I did was put on new valve cover gaskets, changed the intake from four barrel to two barrel with new intake gaskets, new water pump & gasket and a new pan gasket after I cleaned it out. Of course everything was painted then including the engine bay.

It needs to be done again for sure but I'm more interested in getting things road worth for now.

For the last few days I've been pondering the effort involved with the Special and today I spent the better part of the day locating the parts I have on hand to do the brakes, exhaust and sort through my carb kits knowing it most likely needs to be freshened up. I'm likely going to order the torque ball kit from Dave Edwards once I figure out PayPal .... then decide after the holidays if I'm going to attempt it myself or just take out the whole trany and get it completely gone through.

Since I have been working on a 1927/28 Whippet motor lately I needed to cleanup around the floor and decided it was a good excuse to go at the one side throwing out stuff that I have been side stepping and none essential things taking up space on a few shelves.

Hate to show you what it looked like before! :eek:

I now have a place for the riders and once they are out of the way will uncover the Special next .....

And so it continues.....

With the riders out of the way for the winter the Special has her room mate back.

Lots to clean up and sort out yet but it is a start.

Looking good there, Doug! Leave a little room to work, though!

Looking good there, Doug! Leave a little room to work, though!

LOL

That is the intent before anything serious begins. Made one trip to the recycle already.

Just to let you know I received those pictures this am. THANKS!

Question: Just how high did those jack stands raise the car off the floor?

The last couple of days have been occupied continuing with the cleanup around the Buick.

While it is looking better I found myself the first day doing the 'move it from here to over there thing'. I was so frustrated with my effort I quit, went home, poured myself a drink and put a plan on paper to avoid doing that again!:mad:

At this point I'm here.

Jim, I have a little more room to work now.

Managed to clear things up around the back too and had some clean cardboard to put under her.

I know the passenger door hasn't been opened in a long time so worked it with some PB Blaster and it stopped squeaking.

From the looks of the front right wheel and all the gunk on the backing plate it's possible this wheel cylinder might have let go.

The rear wheel cylinder looks better but I have all new cylinders, brake shoes, spring kits and drums from Kanter waiting for me to get at them.

I have more to do yet with the cleanup on the other side and in the very front so have a plan in mind and will keep plugging along.

Looks like progress Doug. Hope you can get er all done in time.

Looks like progress Doug. Hope you can get er all done in time.

I DO TOO JOHN!

After having had a celebration dinner with my son and my future daughter-in-law (man that feels good to say) they stated that the wedding plans are being backed up to September and maybe early October of 2016.

Looks like I received a 6 month extension on the deadline and while that helps some, it does not diminish the work I have ahead of me. It will not be a restoration like the car really deserves (short of a Lottery win) but with some tastefully placed streamers, pompom's and maybe a sign should be presentable (dare I say SPECIAL) for them.

I know having her back on the road will be a proud moment for me and my wife!

This shot was taken at the end of the driveway at my Mom & Dad's about 1 1/2 years before Dave was born (Que the song .... Memories :cool:).

Saturday's plan is to spend the day in the garage to clean up some more and unwrap the new floor jack my wife bought for me!

Just two notes as a side bar on that picture Doug. First off I am liking the Estate wagon in the foreground. A Special vintage for me. And second, how can you be waving so nonchalantly while your parents neighbor appears to be performing CPR on someone on the lawn behind you ? LOL

Hey John,

Regarding Dad's Wagon:

I was at doing contact work at a Ford Dealership and over heard the Sales Manager talking to someone about having just taken it in on trade. It was a 1977 Buick and he wanted to move it off the lot to someone they used for that purpose for around $800.00. I looked it over quickly, called Dad to say get over here, do you want something to tow the antiques? It served him well for a long time, so much so that when the body and wood graining finally went he found another one. That lasted about two years with some minor issues to which he found an Oldsmobile that had originally had the diesel option then converted to a gas engine with a crate motor.

Needless to say they were perfect tow vehicles and great highway cars.

As to the CPR?:

Not sure what is going on there. Funny caption though. I do know he likes to take care of his lawn but never really noticed before. I do know he seriously wants to buy my '52 Ford truck if I ever want to sell it.

Thanks for following.