Roadmaster75

There is a small paragraph in the 1973 Buick shop manual for 455 equipped cars that calls out “clip on flex plate weights” . These were specified to help solve customer complaints of vibration or roughness NOT attributed to belts, pulleys, accessories, etc. Weights were to be clipped on the flex plate in various locations until the roughness was eliminated or minimized. Perhaps a similar procedure existed for later model nailhead cars.....? I’ll try to find the paragraph today........

Another stellar endeavor, Adam! Home run, my Friend! Mike

Heed Old Tanks admonition........ If the Old gasket got petrified and stuck in the groove of the housing..... then you put a nice new gasket on the canister........you get a gusher! Happened to me in 1965 on my 55 Special.......what a mess .....but hey, I was 17!

What year and model? I think you’ll be good for short , low speed shuttling of your Buick. Let our Buick experts chime in, but....... back in the 60s I was always using used, questionable batteries for my beautiful Laurel Mist 58 Special coupe....... due to lack of funds! Many times I enlisted friends to push start me! set it in neutral, get ‘er up to about 25 mph, then drop it into drive.......vrooom! Fired right up. This worked due to the Dynaflow having a rear pump and at that speed , had enough ummmph thru the trans to spin the engine. however, I don’t know if damage might occur towing longer distances, or at higher speeds. I suspect that it would be inadvisable in that scenario.....

Been where you’re at a few times! I believe you’ve answered your own question, tho..... ”Driver” being the operative word. Consider forgoing Or delaying cosmetic, bling, or comfort related items at this point. And spend tight dollars on driver related necessities. Your crank is exposed and you are so very close to a well executed ring and bearing job if the bores are in reasonably good shape. Maybe clean up the head and check for any questionable valves and seats. Worst case.....maybe a valve job. In the old car world.......not a lot of tight budget dollars to breathe “driver” life back into the car.

A really good TIG man with correct stainless filler alloy could make short work of those holes. careful grinding/filing followed by polishing will finish the repair.

4 for a 1950......... 🤪 let the debate begin! Lol

Check ARP........ Quality race car stuff. Used them on my 455 Riviera builds. Guessing they’ll have a listing for it.

Regarding “NOS” parts.......... When I first started attending swap meets in the early 70s, there were LOTS of NOS parts for 30s, 40s, early50s Buick’s as well as other Marques. Mostly die cast molding, emblems, trim stuff (in original boxes). And, lots of sheet metal. I knew of a couple guys who took trailers across the countryside buying old parts inventories from Buick dealers. I recall seeing the original brown wrapping paper on much of the sheet metal. I personally bought some of this stuff in 1973/74 for a 48 Super I was doing. I can tell you firsthand that NOS does not mean a perfect quality part! Most of what I saw would have been considered rejects in today’s quality control. Die cast chrome and trim stuff was the worst.... usually bad plating or thin plating. I bought 2 NOS rear fenders for my Super. They looked ok when I took them out of the wrappers........ but, wow, they needed a lot of help in order to fit! Luckily, my dad (who worked as a sheet metal craftsman on TUCKER prototypes) took them for a couple of days and worked them over. He said aging dies turned out the junk usually destined for wreck repairs at the dealer body shops. So, my view is ........ don’t get too enamored with NOS parts...... be wary.

Dynaflow was standard issue; unless someone ordered it with a Flight-Pitch Dynaflow. (Doubtful) Thats a wholly different animal and will require a large Flight-Pitch supplemental manual in addition to your standard shop manual. Dynaflows are unique to Buick with exception for a brief flirtation from Cadillac and Oldsmobile when the HydraMatic plant burned down in 53 or 54.....I believe. Also, Chevy/GMC used them in special chassis applications in 50s. all this from the deep recesses of my fading memory .......😳

Check out Lokar too they make an adjustable column shift kit, so you can set it up with correct detents and travel Required for new trans. well made

Great thread and nice work getting her running........ I’ve some good luck over the years waking up engines that have not run in decades. If you still have an irksome tick or tap..... drain that warm up oil, change filter (inspect the can and filter for metallic stuff). Refill with 4 qt.s of lighter weight oil and one quart of either Marvel Mystery oil or an engine cleaning solvent like Rislone. Get it up to operating temperature and vary the rpms up and down for a good amount of time. Shut it off let the oil drain back into pan, then do it again. Then drain that concoction and refill with your favorite oil. Some times a bit of solvent with lighter oil can free up sticky lifters ; even tho it was low mileage....... 12 years of sitting can cause those microscopic orifices in lifters clog up a bit. Im certainly no advocate of “repairs in a can” but this has worked for me on several long dead project cars over the years. One particularly irksome Studebaker V8 gave up the fight after I used 4 qts. of 10 weight mixed with........ready for this one qt. of Liquid Wrench. After getting it good and hot and winging it a few times.......settled right in . my 2 cents...... Great work!,

Another cool project, Adam....... I know it’ll look great after your personal touch! I am about to do a large panel replacement on my truck and have decided to use a state of the art panel bond adhesive. It seems this material has really gone mainstream: both for new manufacturers and repair shops. Wondering if you've thought about trying it on any of your restoration projects? Mike

CarbKing brings up a good point on Pertronix............ Never used their stuff , so I’m NOT a hater, but, Having spent a bunch of time at the Cadillac forums as well.......... a lot of stories over there that take a dim view of the reliability..... even many of the advocates are carrying a set of points in the glove box to avoid the hook. Cant wait to hear about the progress on this problem...... the older I get the more perverse pleasure I get from trying to shoot trouble thru an iPad.....!

Sounds like the prime suspect remains the carb. But, it may be helpful to attach a mechanics grade vacuum gauge on a long hose and have it in the cockpit while replicating the symptoms you’ve described. Ported and non-ported vacuum should be checked as part of the vacuum exercise; incl. vacuum advance function. Bet this is in the Riviera shop manual....? Vacuum advance mechanisms can bind and cause the bogging you describe at higher rpms and load. Im assuming your rebuilder/mechanic would have done so.....? Ive had a love /hate relationship with 4GCs for YEARs! For ex., I Learned many years ago about the many variations for accelerator pumps on Buicks. Stir in the advent of neoprene pump skirts (one size fits all 🤣...... not on Buicks) instead of the correct Rochester leather cups and you got problems. I finally reluctantly bagged my 4GCs and replaced with model correct Carter AFB on my 58 Roadmaster. Trouble free for 30 years after that. You may want to acquire one that is correct or close to correct for your 401..... and try it. The following is an editorial comment: Im to the point that my next Buick project will be a Holley Sniper Fuel injection system that fits under the stock air cleaner and integrates the MSD ignition control with their billet distributor. I love the old stuff.........but, parts quality,availability, and expertise is becoming a limiting factor in enjoying the old cars....... In the end I just wanna drive the wheels off ‘em and not get caught out by failing points,condensers, carb parts, coils, etc. etc. my 2 cents😜

Sounds like the joints inside the torque tube. Slide the assembly out from the back of the dynaflow and replace the joints.

Love your car.........! I got the same treatment from “chevy guys” that hated my installation of a Stage 1 455 in my 51 half ton panel truck..... Then won Best Chevy Truck award at a large show...... go figure.

As Old Tank stated...... you need to attach a good mechanics oil pressure gauge to your new rebuild. Old instruments, old sending units/tubes, etc can fluctuate greatly; esp.after the handling during the rebuild. Do this, and you can properly correlate the actual pressure with the 64 year old instrument.

Edwin, You've displayed great work and tenacity so far in this exercise.......,but First Born nailed the issue here. Your personal motivations to be in the old car hobby with THIS car require some thought and decisions at this point. If your objective is to resurrect THIS car as your personal challenge....then the $4500 for a rebuild will pale in comparison to the money required to replace the brakes, wiring, glass work, interior, trans, sUspension parts, radiator, body parts, etc. etc. Many of us have taken fugitives from boneyards and restored them.......Great personal satisfaction, but the word “underwater” comes to mind in reviewing the realities of economics and the car’s value. If this is your intention, then this group will help you get it done, but, be advised........many thousands will need to be spent just to make this car move under it’s own power down the highway. If, however, you specifically want a 1951 Super 4 door to enjoy , and work on , and go to shows and cruises with...... then you will be better served by finding one that is running and in fairly good cosmetic condition for WAY less than the cost of rebuilding your engine and trans. Please, don’t take offense, but, in this scenario the car you have is a parts car at best. Guessing you could find a presentable, mechanically sound 4 door Super for well under $10,0000. Repowering it with a modern drive train will still require all the above restoration costs. My advice is to pause, reflect, and choose a path before pulling the trigger on the engine work. We’ll be rooting for you whichever direction you take!

Certainly flush that system.........But, Before you start throwing parts at the gauge reading......... Buy a laser guided infra-red thermometer. This allows you to take alot of readings at key cooling system components and cylinder head locations, and top/bottom/ side to side on the radiator. Do this when the gauge reads normal......then, do same when it reads hot ..... Many times ancient gauges, tubes, and fittings cause erratic or erroneous temp readings; and even new gauges can give less than accurate readings. $25 for a decent infrared thermometer. I always throw mine in the old Im driving at the moment. My 2 cents.....

Love your work, Adam...... Looks beautiful !

Some years ago I was coating the frame of my 49 Willys-Overland Jeepster with POR-15. I used a small sponge and latex gloves and went after the job in earnest....... I had a formal black tie charity event that evening. After completing the messy job I went to peel off the gloves and to my horror found that the fingers had disintegrated and the POR-15 was already drying and hardening. Solvents, abrasives, acetone, reducer only marginally effective on the parts still drying...... Sat on my hands all night ........ the label says “Only time will take it off”. Boy are they right! Took about two weeks to start coming off. Beware!

50% actetone and 50% ATF.......... Tried.it and now-a believer! Hot wrench for the big stuff....

Feeling your pain, Pete........ Some time ago I saw a 69 Mustang that looked great but had been put back together after repairing a hard hit in the rear end. The doors/fenders were all out of whack. There was a telltale ripple in the roof and rear pillar that the owner just couldnt attend to. It was literally bent in the middle..... The shop that he took it to for evaluation sent the car to a specialty shop with a state of the art chassis/body jig with huge computerized hydraulics in it. After getting the factory dimensions entered.......it ammazingly pulled the body back into alignment....wrinkles gone, doors fit,etc.. Just a little touch up paintwork afterwards..... Yes, it was a unitized body, but, Just wondering if one of those shops could reasonably work a little of that magic on the Wildcat for you as a last resort? Just a thought. Hang in there .......

Great shots and wonderful find, Adam! I put new original spec springs in my 58 Roadmaster and it sat up a bit upon installation. (Eaton-Detroit Spring) However, they they settled in to correct ride height after driving a couple hundred miles. Maybe, PO put new ones in....? Glad you made it run silently.......nothing like a well tuned Buick , idling in the driveway......and all you really notice is the gentle whine of the DynaFlow......