Pat0366

Need to replace two spring steel clips on left front lower door hinge of my 53 Special. The clips are the same no matter front or back door or upper or lower hinge. These clips are probably common to other models/years. Would gladly pay for entire hinge if necessary. Clips need to be free of cracks and corrosion. I haven't found that reproduction clips are available. If they are I would appreciate knowing the source. Thanks in advance for help finding these hens teeth. Pat

I made a new gasket for the cover on my transmission. When I removed the old gasket it looked like a sealant was applied between the cover and the gasket. it didn't appear as though any sealant was applied between the top of the transmission and the gasket. This cover was removed years ago when I took the transmission to be inspected. At that time I was replacing the clutch. How would this have been done at the factory? Has anyone ever replaced the gasket for the top cover on their manual transmission? Please share your experience with me if you have. I hope to get some good advice because once this transmission is reinstalled i would dread having to pull it again to address a top cover leak. Thank you Buick nation! Patrick BCA #45771

Thanks for the info Al. That certainly narrows my search. Now to find one. Pat

I'm looking for a rear seat bottom for my 4dr Special. I gave a perfect one to the auto body shop that did the body and paint work on my car so that they could use it for placement when they were drilling holes for seat belt installation. Somehow when they moved from their old shop to their brand new state of the art facility it got thrown away. How that happens is beyond me. The owner of the shop apologized but the onus is on me to find another one. The seat bottom is probably common to other years and may also be the same as a Super. The rear seat in a 2dr Special may be different. If anyone can confirm what is compatible so that I can broaden my search I'd appreciate it. I've had many ups and downs over the course of this restoration but this was the most bizarre. The shop primarily does collision work but would take in one restoration from time to time. It was not at all common for them to have car seats hanging around so I would think that it .would have caused someone to ask what the seat was for before throwing it away. Guess I was wrong. The lesson learned for me is, in the future, to use a shop that specializes in restoration work who understands the the importance of being stewards of the antique parts placed in their care. Thanks all! Pat Meenan BCA #45771

Gentlemen, as I had already polished my body data plate as sweet as I could I went out to my garage to take a picture of the one on my parts car. I will concur with Al that the plates on my Specials were held on with screws not rivets. I don't remember a lick of paint on the plate on my grandfather's car and from what I can tell there is not a trace of paint or over spray on the plate on my parts car. Both of my cars came off the assembly line at the GM plant in Framingham, Massachusetts. Wouldn't think that both of these plates had been removed sometime in the past and had the paint removed. Maybe at that plant the plates were put on after the car was painted. As the saying goes, stranger things have happened, or maybe there just wasn't consistency between assembly plants. Just think that before the internet the sharing of this kind of information was probably very rare. Maybe it happened at car meets or club meetings. Thank you Bob and Al for keeping the information flowing. Pat

Here are some pictures of my painted dash. The car is supposed to be delivered to my house tomorrow. The reassembly process will begin soon and continue over the next several months. If all goes according to plan I will be back on the road in 2018. Pat BCA #45771

There's an expression you hear every once in a while that says: All's well that ends well. My body/paint shop took full responsibility for the mistake, if you could call it that, and told me they would make it right. Fortunately I have a parts car. The area behind the glove box door, what I would call the dash panel/glove box frame, was in pristine condition having never been exposed to sunlight in the car's 64 years. They took their paint scanning device to my house. In order to get a good scan the device needs a flat surface with and area of about two square inches. This allows the device to seat properly so that all natural and artificial light is blocked out. As luck would have it, they were able to use the area behind the glove box hinge on the underside of the dash to make three successful scans. Their computer takes the average of the three scans and comes up with a match. They mixed up two samples, once per the computer recommendation and one that they had tweaked and then sprayed two panels for me. I took them home and had five people compare them beside the dash panel. The consensus was that the computer scan was the closest match. It was the sample that I had already chosen as the best match. Saturday morning (11/11/17) the dash panel was stripped and in the afternoon I was called to come down to give my approval. I took my son with me who worked in the paint department at The Home Depot for six years. We were very pleased with the final result. There are a bunch of variables that have to be taken into consideration when trying to match paint that was applied at the factory 64 years ago. The paint used by my shop for the dash panel is a water based product. I'm told that water based paints are a two part system and must have a clear coat over them for protection otherwise they will degrade from UV exposure and general cleaning/polishing. How spray guns are set determine whether there is orange peel in the paint and the glossiness of the clear coat. Other factors (mixing, gun distance, speed, etc.) that experienced painters know also contribute to the final product. The official Buick color for the dash panel in 1953 was Petrel Grey Metallic. It was also described as Light Gray. I've had my grandfather's car since I was 15 years old and I'm now 61. I always thought the dash panel had a green tint to it. The computer assigned the color name GREEN MIST METALLIC to the paint match. Regardless of what the color is called I'm very happy with the final outcome; color, texture & sheen. Sweet Potato you were right on with your comment on the slight green cast. Your dash looks sweet! If I had gotten your reply sooner I would have gone with your selection. Thank you to all for chiming in. Pat BCA #45771

Just went to see my newly painted dash at the body shop and what a surprise I got. They painted the lower panel in the primer color of the back side of the glove box door. Really disappointed after giving them the DuPont Code number (202-55944) that Al (1953Mack) had provided me. The color is described as Light Grey or Petrel Gray Metallic. Said their supplier couldn't cross reference the code so they decided to match what I had given them. I gave them my original glove box door which I had already meticulously stripped the FACE paint from. What they matched was the base coat/primer on the back side which all glove box doors were probably sprayed. It almost looks like battle ship gray....rather dark I would have to say. Has anyone had their 53 Special lower dash panel painted? If so, can you please give me the name of the supplier you used and maybe a current paint code number that can be referenced. I was really looking forward to the dash with it's instruments installed being the final touch on my restoration. Hopefully it can still happen. If someone has a "survivor" glove box door I would like to buy it in case I need to use it for color matching. Would appreciate your help if you have one lying around the garage. Pat BCA #45771

Looking for the cover that conceals the lower hinge on the B pillar. Mine has significant rust. Could have one made but would like to avoid that route if possible. Also open to buying the right side if available. Mine is stamped on the face with the number 957. The right side is stamped 956. I've attached a picture for reference.

The roof on my grandfather's 1953 Special was white. I'm not sure if it came from the factory like that but I want to have it repainted in the same shade. Can someone please confirm that the correct color for 1953 is 53-74 Majestic White. If there is a paint code number available for me to buy the correct color I'd appreciate having that also. The face of the dash around the gauges and the glove box door are a color that I can't identify. I think it is the same on all 53 Specials. Need to know this color and the code number too. Thanks in advance for your help which I'm confident will be spot on! Pat BCA #45771

The body work on my Special has taken much longer than I anticipated but is finally coming down the home stretch. My 4 door should be in primer in a couple of weeks. The shop doing the work has asked if I could get some pictures of the rear door jam area, specifically the area where the bump for the rear wheel is. They're looking for the detail of where the seams of the rear fender and wheel bump meet. One of the shop workers was overly generous with the application of some plastic body filler in this area and they want to see what an unmolested jam (not sure if "jam" is the correct term) looks like. Are spot welds visible? How defined is the meeting of the outer and inner panels? If someone could take a few pictures and E-Mail them to me I'd sure appreciate it. My E-Mail address is in the new BCA directory or if you private message me I'll give it to you. Thanks in Advance! Patrick Greenville, RI BCA #45771

Gravel shields are bolted just behind the bumper on the corners of the rear fenders. Mine have significant rust with holes in some spots. Looking for both left and right shields. Hope someone might have a pair sitting on a shelf or still mounted on a parts car. Minor surface rust acceptable. Could possibly be interchangeable with other years and models. Attempted to attach pictures. With any luck it worked. Pat BCA #45771

Joe, Your drawing was a great help! The hole for the rear rocker trim retainer is a blind hole. With the drawing you provided I was able to determine the general location of the hole for my 53 Special (41D). It also gave me the part numbers for the retainers and the specification for the screws that hold the trim on. That's makes life a lot easier. My sincere thanks to you and all of the other BCA members who go out of their way to help whenever a request for information is made. Pat

The restoration of my grandfather's Buick is coming along. This forum has been very helpful with all of my previous queries. I have a couple more that I'm sure someone has the answer to. 1.) Is there a torque spec for the chassis bolts? 2.) Rocker Trim Clips are circular/concave discs. One of my rockers was replaced and had no Clip holes in it and the other was finished and primed blocking all holes. Is there a factory drawing that shows the hole locations? If not, can someone post a picture that shows the hole locations? Thank you in advance Buick nation! Patrick BCA #45771

Hello out there Buick nation. I purchased a new fuel line and want to install it while my body is off the frame. The clips were removed from the frame before it was sent out for sand blasting. Some things shouldn't be left to memory and the orientation of the 3 clips that go on top of the frame (2 on frame mounts) now escapes me. Do the clip openings face inwards or outwards? It may not make a difference but if this is documented anywhere I'd appreciate someone posting the correct placement of the clips. Thanks in advance. Patrick

I just put new pins in my 53 41D. In order to have the maximum amount of alignment adjustment afterwards, I recommend that you center the knuckle support between the upper control arm before installing the pins. Once the knuckle support is centered begin turning the pin until it is dead center in the upper control arm. Eyeballing dead center is sufficient. I used a wooden wedge to center mine. If I had to do it again I would have made two simple wooden shims to keep the knuckle support centered while I was turning the pin in. The kit I used was NOS. A day after I did the install the NOS rubber seals showed signs of cracking. By the end of the week the seals were practically falling off. Oh well.....not undoing all that work just to replace the seals. Haven't given much thought as to how I might be able to keep those areas free of the accumulation of sand/dirt/grime. Might not be a big problem as after this frame off restoration the car will never see snow again and hopefully not much rain either. Open to suggestions. Hope my suggestion helps you. Good luck! Pat

Need your help again Buick Nation. Does anyone know of a source for the extra thick flat washers needed to re-install a car body to the chassis? If I can't find the correct washers I may attempt to have the original ones stripped, tumbled and re-plated but would rather avoid doing this as some of mine are quite pitted. The body mounting bolts are 7/16" diameter. The washers have a 1-5/8" OD and a 1/2" ID. I have not been able to find any flat washers locally that are close to these dimensions and extra thick besides. As always, your help would be much appreciated. Pat

Thanks again Al. Although I made it a point to introduce the owners of both shops at the start of the project there was no discussion between them regarding removal of the body from the frame. I have looked at all of the mounting hardware and note that 6 of the mounting bolts have conical tips that I'm thinking mount in dead zero threaded holes. If this turns out to be the case the task may be made easier. In any event we'll go slow and steady to get them reunited. No painting is going to be done until hood, trunk, fenders and doors have been installed and gaps are satisfactory. At that point I'll make sure that all bolts are torqued per your recommendation. Al, this is second or third time you have answered my forum posts on a variety of topics. I truly appreciate the time you have spent providing great detail on my inquiries. It would be safe to bet that as my restoration progresses I will be needing more advice/information. With your help and the help of others on the forum I'm confident that I'll have my grandfather's car back on the road soon.......a relative term. It was last driven by me in 1975 so what's another 6 or 12 months. Pat

Al, Thanks for the additional info. The Steele pad with a 1-1/8" locating collar has a 7/8" locating diameter (ID) for the steel sleeve. Their pad with 1" locating collar has a 3/4" locating diameter (ID) for the steel sleeve. By my measurement the steel sleeves have a 3/4" OD. In your opinion would it be better to have the interference fit on the locating collar on the frame or where the steel sleeve inserts in the pad? May be splitting hairs but mounting the body back on the frame is a one time thing.....once in my lifetime anyway. Looking forward to receiving your advice Pat

Hello out there Buick nation, Once again I solicit your great knowledge. I am about to reunite my 4Dr body with its chassis. There are body mounts at about the back wheels (upper trunk area) that I need help identifying the pads. The part number from the mold looks like it may be 1342087. The sixth digit is difficult to see clearly. It could also be 1342037. Could someone confirm the correct part number and perhaps give me the dimensions. I want to order 2 pads from Steele but the dimensions on the two I see in their catalog are slightly different than mine. Also, if someone has a chassis/body assembly diagram that would be helpful. My body was removed by my metal working shop but is being mounted by the shop that's doing final prep and painting. As there are a few different types of pad/fastener combinations I want to avoid the guess work if possible. Thank you in advance as I know someone on the forum who has already crossed this bridge a time or two before will surely be able to help. Pat

I had the 2 front shocks rebuilt. The cost was $215.00 each. Shipping charges to return them to me were additional. Apple seems to be the go to company for hydraulic shock rebuilding. Pat

Felix, I had the front shocks for my 1953 Special rebuilt at Apple Hydraulics last month. Turn around was about one week. I used the local UPS Store for shipping. Freight charges were $30.06 from Rhode Island. Pat

I recently got a puller (on loan) from Advance Auto Parts. It was a nice unit. They bill your credit card and then issue a full credit when you return the tool. Other chain automotive stores may have a similar loan policy. Check'em out. You'll be able to get the steering wheel off in a jiffy. Without a puller your chances, as the saying goes, are slim and none. Pat

I'm pretty sure the glove box is keyed to match the ignition. Take that your locksmith and you should be all set. Pat

I'm looking for a left side lower control arm. The part number on the part is B1323003. There is another number on the arm GM B367. That "B" could be a number 8. I've learned through BCA member 29388 that this part fits 1946-52 Super & Special, and 1953 All. If anyone has one lying around I'd like to purchase it. Thanks Pat