RoadShark Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 (edited) The trunk was a moldy, smelly mess - so I tore out all the cardboard and cloth. Some rust, but not too bad. Oh yeah - GoJo is good for removing that gooey, tar-stuff from the metal. I assume that's the rear defrost motor. It's not clear to me how those ventilation ducts work, even after reading the Fisher manual. I bet it'll be more obvious when I take the seat and door panels out. I'm going to hold off on that right now. The car runs and drives again, so I'm just going to drive it around until the snow hits. Gotta do stuff to get ready for winter now too. The garage is semi-heated, so I'll be able to do some stuff this winter like a shift-kit for the trans, reupholster the rear seat, carpet, and maybe the front disc conversion. Edited October 12, 2015 by RoadShark (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 In '67 you could order disk brakes as an option. If you can find a donor car, there would be no "conversion", you'd just be upgrading to a factory option. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 The rubber tubes are just drain pipes from the rear cowl. The RR defroster is a simple fan motor that draws air from the passenger compartment and blows it back on the rear window. When I drove 67s daily many years ago I did not have one of these as an option so don't know how effective they were. Man your trunk looks clean. Solid car!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 (edited) Any help decoding the tag would be appreciated. I have electric windows, electric antenna, AM/FM, head rests, electric front seat, but I don't think it reclines, and it looks like rear defrost. 02C - Built 3rd week of Feb 1967 628-K - black cloth and vinyl strato bench W - Tinted windshield only (as opposed to tinted all the way around) X - Power Windows Y - 6-way power bench seat 2R - Rear Seat speaker 3B - Rear window defroster 5P - Sending you a PM PP - Platinum Mist no vinyl top Some options did not require Fisher body to make special provisions therefore do not show on the tag such as AM/FM radio. The seats with cloth inserts are much more comfortable especially with no A/C on a warm day. I like the look of all vinyl better but always throw a large towel on the seat for long drives as you may sweat even with A/C on all vinyl. Awesome you have the recliner! A properly serviced 4 drum brake system on these cars is very good and you may not get as much benefit from discs as you may expect unless you like to drive aggressively. The big Buick front brakes with aluminum drums were some of the best to ever come out of Detroit. I had a 67 with factory discs and didn't notice much difference if at all under normal conditions. Thanks for the pics. Edited October 12, 2015 by JZRIV (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest taongisurvivor Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Can you take some pics of the emergency brake cable connections from where it comes out of the frame next to the rear differential back to the brake drum??? I want to make sure I get all of the connections and brackets re-installed correctly. It's the brackets bolted to the frame and the connection clips and the locations of the folded u-guides that I am most concerned about. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 In '67 you could order disk brakes as an option. If you can find a donor car, there would be no "conversion", you'd just be upgrading to a factory option. EdI've never read anything good about the factory disc brakes. I was considering the Scarebird conversion that uses the '71-'76 Riviera discs. Master Power Brakes makes a complete kit too, but it uses the A-body sized discs - a little small if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 A properly serviced 4 drum brake system on these cars is very good and you may not get as much benefit from discs as you may expect unless you like to drive aggressively. The big Buick front brakes with aluminum drums were some of the best to ever come out of Detroit. I had a 67 with factory discs and didn't notice much difference if at all under normal conditions.Thanks for the pics.Thanks for decoding the plate! The drums do seem to do a good job, and I haven't even tuned up the fronts yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 Can you take some pics of the emergency brake cable connections from where it comes out of the frame next to the rear differential back to the brake drum??? I want to make sure I get all of the connections and brackets re-installed correctly. It's the brackets bolted to the frame and the connection clips and the locations of the folded u-guides that I am most concerned about. Thanks!The car is off the lift now, so I did the best I could. In the 2nd picture, you're looking at the forward side of the control arm mounting point on the frame. There's a little clip that goes into the upper hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 Got the headers back from Direct Coating in Concord, NH. They look good. They'll make the rest of the engine look bad! Not sure when I'll have the chance to put these - and the new steering box - on. It'll probably depend on how bad the winter is this year. Also got my body mount kit from Classic Buicks. I may be able to get the six in the rear of the car changed out soon. We'll see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Thread resurrection. I made some progress on the car and I'm trying to stay motivated so I can have it road-worthy enough to drive to the Hemmings event in NY in September. I got the six rear body mounts out. Didn't break any bolts which is the best Christmas present ever. The replacement set was close to being correct, but a couple were too tall and had to be cut. Feels good having new rubber back there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 The interior smells like mouse pretty bad. Make that really bad. No amount of airing has made a dent. I think the guy who bought and sold this thing put some sort of spray in there that made it even worse. The carpet, and seat covers are going to have to go anyway, so this may help. I pulled the back seat. Got rid of a couple mouse nests. I was hoping to drop it at an upholstery shop with the new cover, but I haven't tracked down a shop yet. Got new seat belts too. Of course, with the seat out, it's an opportunity to lube the window tracks and clean in there. Also, the floor is intact but rusty so that will need to be treated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Time to take care of the cracked manifolds. This has to be done. They keep getting worse with every thermal cycle. Out comes the engine. It's difficult to resist the temptation to rebuild the engine and go wild in the engine bay, but I have two other projects going now, and I just want this one on the road so I can cruise around. Incremental restoration/upgrade is the goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 (edited) As usual, one thing leads to another... The flywheel is bent. Trust me - it was more obvious than the picture shows. Oh well, a new one doesn't cost that much. The starter was packed with mouse house. I'm not sure what caused the bent flywheel, but I thought I'd replace it anyway. The v8buick guys suggested a later model LT1 unit. Edited January 8, 2017 by RoadShark spelling (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 So the starter is three-post not four since it's not designed for points ignition. Might as well get the HEI now - I can always continue to use it when the engine gets rebuilt later. Headers are on and I've tidied-up the wires since this pic. Might as well get new motor mounts. Oops, that's not as easy as it sounds. No one I could find makes Riv mounts. Re-vulcanizing or NOS is $$$. I got these from NAPA (602-1149) for $10.99 each plus shipping. I think they're A-body. I had to have my brother weld some nuts on. They aren't optimal but they worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Can't miss the opportunity to replace the front seal on the transmission while the engine is out. Beware - a lot of places list the wrong part number. Rock Auto actually lists a wrong one and a right one. The wrong one is under "converter seal" and the correct one under "fluid coupling seal". Also - what in the wide, wide, world of sports is this in the back of the crank? That does not look factory and I wonder what they were trying to do with it. Any ideas? I took that the heck out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 The steering on this car is "vague" to say the least. Might as well do the box and pump now. I got new Lares stock replacements. In retrospect, I might have gone for a quicker ratio, but didn't know they were available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Once again - there's things you can resist doing with the engine out. I was worried that there might be another mouse residence in the heater box, and it had some rust, so out it came. No mouse, but does anyone know if these colored stickers/tape behind the fan are factory? I can't believe I didn't take any pics of the painted and re-installed heater box. I'll have to get that at the next opportunity. Engine is back in. Doing the brake lines while the exhaust is out. Then it's time to install the 2.5" TA performance pipes and see how it sounds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 My you have been busy. Yes those stickers are factory! So were the A-body motor mounts the same as far as lining up and positioning other than having to weld nuts on? No idea on the crank mod. Hate to say it but are you going to pull the timing cover? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 No - I didn't pull the timing cover. I've read about the timing chains. I'm going to drive it easy this summer. If I pulled the cover, I would have put the TA cover on. At that point, I might as well rebuild. I left the block-to-mount bolts loose when dropping the engine back in, and tightened them after. It took a little doing to get everything happy, but all the bolts went in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 So the mounts you bought were for a 67 A-body with 400 engine? What brand were they? I bet its going to sound awesome with the headers and TA exhaust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 NAPA lists them as '67 Riv, but I doubt that's the real application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Installing a new timing set would be a snap with the engine out. I'd also drop the pan and just clean & inspect. No need to go further if it was running well when pulled. I consider the timing chan a 'maintenance item'. I'm going to replace mine during the winter. I pulled the distributor last weekend so that I could try the HF bore scope my daughter and son-in-law gave me for Christmas. I could clearly see the nylon-clad aluminum cam gear and chain. The nylon on mine (what I could see) looked OK, but after 50 years and 90K miles it's time to replace before trouble begins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted January 9, 2017 Author Share Posted January 9, 2017 Oil pressure is low and I'm betting the compression is too. I barely had time to do what you see above. The daily driver needed work so I can do my 3-state commute and make money to buy Buick parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Hmmmm, yeah -- that's how it begins, that slippery slope, right? But -- given your oil pressure observation, I'd skip the timing chain and really consider dropping the oil pan instead. You might just find some crud in the pickup screen and even if not, I'd sleep better knowing the bottom end is clean. Next, I'd pull the oil pump and check for wear/scoring. A pump R&R might be all you need. An engine with low compression will still get you home, but low oil pressure at the wrong time can ruin your day in a hurry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 It's been years since I owned a Buick with a big block in it but if I remember correctly, the oil pump is bolted onto the bottom of the front cover. If you're going to pull the pump, you might as well pull the front cover at the same time. ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadShark Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 Boy - I'd love to do all of that, but there's no time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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