Roadmaster75

Wrap the bucket in Christmas lights (non LED) and accelerate the process….? mike

Al's right …..! A guy on the Chevy "Stovebolt" forum that I belong to, got a nasty fungal or virus sickness from old Chevy upholstery! Hopefully, Buicks are of higher caliber & won't transmit such bugs!! mike

Hi Brian, Don't know if your car is a judged show car & originality is paramount, but, if not.. perhaps a wholesale upgrade to an aftermarket piece like the "Painless" wiring products….? I've wired 4 cars with these so far & they go in nice and easy. Pre-terminated wiring at the box with modern blade fuses; and no bulkhead connector/blade worries. I think it would be easily adaptable to the 58 & you'd have every circuit properly protected. Once it was in…who would know (unless you went all the way with an internally regulated alternator!) Labor wise I'd bet it would take less time to put one in than splicing in pieces of an old one. I keep thinking that even if you find a used harness …it's still 55 years old as are the connectors, etc. just a thought anyway. mike

Mustang ll might be a bit too light duty under a 55 Buick … Keep in mind that a Mustang ll was about 2850 in weight. A frame stub swap with a late model car or midsize truck might be better. I understand that a late model Crown Vic/Mercury Marquis is getting more popular as a solution for larger vehicle like your Buick . I believe they use a crossmember type of set up like a Mustang ll, but are larger and more heavy duty. I'm sure the boneyards are full of them too. (well, not since cash for clunkers maybe!) As for the rear end….. check Speedway and others… you can get a custom width Ford 9 inch with axles for under 800 bucks now. You just have to weld on your own spring perches and shock mounts,etc mike

I wouldn't have sent a 59 windshield across town in cardboard…let alone to Italy! WHat were they thinking? I believe he owes you a new, properly packed replacement. HE should bear the tedium of filing an insurance claim if he feels he has a case…but, in the meantime he owes you! Maybe once it's explained to him that the LARGE BCA membership here in the USA has been following your concours quality restoration …. and, that many of those members belong to LOTS of other marque car clubs that also have forums like this…. he'll get the message... mike

I have a ("Feb. 1976" build date) 455 Buick from an Electra for sale. Complete Carb to Pan; including rebuilt carb & HEI. All machine work professionally done. Standard bore. .010 ground crank. Complete valve job & new stock cam/lifters. All the preferred oiling mods have been done including the timing cover seal, rear main, and oil pump thrust kit. Install as is or I will sell long block only. $2950 complete or $2500 for the long block. email for contact info. mike

Well Done, David! Just to be clear … what material are the vanes actually made from? Was it some sort of Phenolic laminate? What do you think would be a good substitute? Maybe it's in some previous post…? Glad to hear that your Roadie pump was in such good shape, too …. mike

Lawrence This is a knotty problem on these 57-58 cars, as several here will attest….. You're probably seeing blue smoke emanate from the exhaust, too? Plug the wiper vacuum lines and it will stop. This happened to me in the same fashion except 25 years ago ….! At the time I didn't even realize there was a vacuum pump inside the oil pan! This was a 31,000 mile Roadmaster 75. I wrongly assumed at the time that I had big valve train problems & promptly (and impetuously !) yanked the heads off a perfectly fine motor & did a complete valve job…. Put it all back together and it smoked worse!!!! I'm confident that the " BuickMan " will chime in here on this topic. I shipped an NOS AC Delco oil/vacuum pump off to him last year ….. and, he is kindly researching the possibility of alternative re-build strategies for these vacuum pumps. Personally, I did not have the guts to tear into a brand new RARE pump! And, after my negative and embarrassing incident I vowed to go electric!! In my opinion…the one of the worst technical decisions Buick ever made!

Here's what I would try …. Don't trust the existing pump …. who knows what pieces were used... To eliminate the issue of worn or distorted timing housing - to - pump problems; get the machined plate kit ( there is a very delicate little gasket in there..so take care with it!)from T/A Performance or Summit Racing as well as the pump upgrade/rebuild kits. Lastly, get the pressure regulator kit they sell. Based on pump spring selection and regulator adjustment …. Pack the whole rebuilt assembly with Vaseline and fire it with 5W30; 20W50 is way too much for this motor. You should be able to build excellent oil pressure. All the above is pretty cheap. All this is assuming there are NO blockages or maladies in the block passages themselves.

A real "Stunner" Pete! I'd just carefully de-grease the engine compartment so it's clean ... no abrasives ,etc... no paint... What a car! mike

John & Evan You have entered the conundrum we all get to in the old car hobby.....! I agree with my colleagues above.... my 2 cents follows: 1.) fix the floors, rockers, etc with available correct patch panels. These will stiffen up the structure, too & if you sell it ... you'll have one important job the prospective buyer doesn't have to do. As stated these are not a lot of money .. A stick shift Super deserves to repaired with the correct pieces! 2.) do some cosmetic patching of the other crusty, blighted areas like lower fenders, wheel wells, You can use metal if you have the tools, but fiberglass and Evercoat can do wonders for a temporary fix for not a lot of dough. 3.) Get it running and stopping reliably; replace the entire brake system, incl. lines. New tires, shocks, and, then service what's needed on the front end steering/suspension components . 4.) Get all the gauges working & identify any wires that may cause a short due to bad insulation & cover or replace them. 5.) If you don't have a shop manual.... get one off of eBay! 6.) Take the seats out and "de-stink" them & cover them with some inexpensive seat covers then re-install over a nice new carpet set (over your newly repaired floor!) All of the above would yield a very desirable, marketable Buick for NOT a lot of money. AND, you guys get to enjoy driving it and having fun with it until that day comes to sell her. The next owner can pop for the $50,000 rotisserie restoration , OR, keep on improving it as a driver. mike

I have, on occasion, just removed the two wires to the carb switch and firmly touched them together to start the car; this was when the ball/vacuum switch on the carb failed. If it fires/engages the starter after doing this you've got a bad switch. IF so, Just wire in a monetary contact switch until you fix it or get a replacement. mike

Tom Forgive my blaspheming .... but, I have a fresh 455 Buick that would look right sweet in that beauty!!!! Cool project! mike

Bill I'm thinking a Rochester 2GC would be a candidate for your swap. Readily available, easy to rebuild, and they are now available on the aftermarket ...Summit sells a 350CFM version & there are many used or rebuilts on eBay. You might have to look into an adapter if needed. mike

Scott After wire brushing/sanding/grinding or what ever "mechanical" means I may be using I always clean or wipe down the metal with a commercial "metal-prep". These are usually some dilution of phosphoric acid. Any thing advertised as metal prep for body work should be fine. The conventional wisdom is to then encapsulate your metalwork with a coat of primer designed to go UNDER your filler. Personally, I have applied filler to bare prepared metal as well as primered metal. I have had no adverse consequences going straight onto bare metal ... as long as it's perfectly clean. But , hey ... I'm a non-conformist anyway! You must be ,too ...... since you are going with acrylic lacquer! I take it you are experienced with the lacquer...? If not, be prepared for much wet sanding and compounding. I have given up on lacquer after my first (successful!) base coat/clear coat experience some years ago. I used PPG top quality base/clear paints and materials for a race car back in the 90's and up to that point had only sprayed conventional lacquers and enamels with a Binks No. 7 gun. I was hooked! The clear went on so well that I didn't even bother to cut and buff it! mike

Scott, You're right ...lots of opinions on this topic, but here's MY take on it. The days of the old pink Bondo from a can are long gone as far as viable auto repair fillers. I'm NOT saying that lead can't have some uses in some cases like major panel joints ( roof to quarter, A pillar joints, etc.. ), but even then, the lead is being used for a cosmetic filler. It is not being used for strengthening the actual joint connection; which has already been welded. I have all my Dad's leading tools and I can still do it ... but the fact is I don't use them anymore because the new materials are just better and easier to work with. Back in the day the shops used oxy/acetylene brazing to repair; then lead up the joint. Today you are probably using a mig or tig to do the repair, grind it smooth, and skim it with the appropriate material. (Ever notice an old car with a blister or bubble right at a body seam or previous old school repair? That's the top coats reacting to old tinning/flux material that didn't get completely out of the repaired joint.) There are various grades of filler systems out today that should be useful in your restoration. My preference on my stuff is EverCoat products. For the really nasty, wrinkly, areas in places prone to rust like rockers, fender bottoms, windshield frames, etc I use their toughest stuff that is interlaced with fiberglass. This particular one is waterproof. I used it on a 49 Willys for rockers and a badly crushed rear quarter hit. That was 13 years ago and there have been no cracks or evidence of repair. They have lighter grades of fillers for skimming and glazing compounds for lighter, more cosmetic repairs just before top coating. My 2 cents mike

You gotta be getting downright giddy, Dan! All the best on the final details and shakedown cruise. Kudos to the shop that is busting its butt to finish the car for you.... As you know progress doesn't always proceed like this at some places! mike

Completely rebuilt 76 455. Has all oiling upgrades including pump thrust plate, TA Perf. front and rear main and timing cover seal upgrades. New cam, rings, bearings, Standard bore with standard pistons. Align bored, magna fluxed, complete valve job. All machining and cleaning professionally done. Long block only - $2500 firm With stock intake, exhaust manifolds & rebuilt HEI - $2900. Have correct Rebuilt QuadraJet for this motor along with pulleys, brackets etc. Email or Call Mike at 630-567-2507 for details. Located northern Illinois. Will deliver within 300 miles for gas money.

May the "Start Up Gods" be with you tomorrow, Dan! We'll all be waiting eagerly to here of the outcome! Awesome job on your stewardship of this beautiful car! mike

Erik, Texas John is correct in recommending a thorough "poking around" on that oil pressure sending orifice. I would recommend that you buy a complete oil pump rebuild kit & the thrust plate upgrade for the new pump to ride on. Pack it with Vaseline when re-installing to ensure instant priming. Optionally, you can choose to install an adjustable regulator on the pump. I did this on several 455's and believe me ... they work! I had to dial it down from 70 lbs. at 1200 rpm to 50lbs! And that was with 10W30. Contrary to what you'd initially think ... 50 weight is working against you. These motors need quicker circulation (to get flow to the back of the cam) .. not high viscosity to operate correctly. Put 5W30 back in it when you do the rebuild & I bet you see improvement. mike

Welcome, Morg Ditto on what FirstBorn said; plus taking a simple points file to the the contacts in the regulator can do wonders sometimes .... esp. if she's been sitting a lot. Bullet proof grounding is Always a necessity, too! Lastly, a thorough inspection/cleaning of all electrical connections has the side benefit of enlightening you on how all this stuff works! Have fun! mike

Pete Is it the photo, my eyes, or, is that crossmember looking bent in the upward position by about an inch or so....? From the photo it almost looks like the thing was rolled over a boulder..... Doesn't look symmetric to me either ... kinda bent to one side If it's not bent, Could it be upside down?? Thereby, dropping the trans down at least an inch? Mike

There are several vendors that do "quartz" movement conversions on old car clocks. Might be a better option than finding parts to repair. Check Hemmings, etc

Pete, It seems like a strange situation all right... Based on the data you gave... I think that a good fab shop should be able to bend up a new tunnel, then cut and fit it so it clears the chassis (and rear seat without issue; and should not take more than a day or so. On the other hand, adding a metal section joint might be a slightly faster route by using the top you cut off; riveting in the sectioned piece in (top and bottom) till it fits right; then weld it up. Either way, since the tunnel is a major structural element to the body it'll be important to use a continuous weld ... not just rosettes or tacks. It does make you wonder if the shop just installed the auto trans pan too low or if stick shift cars were so rare that they just modified as needed on the assembly line.... got any pics? mike

Seems to me that if someone is in the BUSINESS of re-building something as critical as a brake master cylinder; Then some modicum of "quality control" or bench testing should be done before shipping to some unsuspecting soul to entrust their life with......... I'd call them and firmly advise that they WILL make it right, FedEx it overnight in both directions, and this time make sure it works! my 2 cents... mike