Beemon

Do not try to adopt later year drums without shaving the lip off your backing plates. It was an embarrassing experience for me, would not recommend it.

Okay so under protest, I dropped the car off at the 'family' shop under recommendation from my father. They were supposed to make sure brakes front to back were set up correctly and leak free (I already knew they were, parents...). While the car was in, I asked them to check continuity because I just could not find a multimeter and I'm already having to pay for the shop fee to have them remove my drums and put them back on without touching anything else. Turns out at some point my vacuum advance stopped working. Anytime the butterflies are opened, it causes a vacuum leak through the diaphragm and creates a really lean condition off idle, this is where the stumble is more than likely coming from. I've also learned that there is some type of short in part due to my heater fan motor. They couldn't duplicate it when I was there to pick up the car and told me to see an electrical specialist because they don't do electricity of that magnitude (basically just plug wires and coils). They also tightened the brake shoes way too tight. I had to drive home on the freeway and I kept smelling this awful burning smell, only to get home, jack a wheel off the ground and have it barely turnable (was always told a half revolution, that's where I had it before and the car stopped fine). I think they also advanced my timing and richened the carburetor to compensate for the vacuum advance failure, but I haven't checked timing yet. I don't want to do anymore troubleshooting until I have replaced the vacuum advance. I'm not keen on buying a NOS vacuum advance as the rubber will most likely be the same condition as mine - brittle and develop a hole again. The only place I can seem to find that sells them is Kanter, with a $45 deposit and a $85 price tag, Fusick at $79, and Bob's at $102. Has anyone had any experience with these vendors? I'm assuming they're all rebuilt units with modern diaphragms. The other alternative is to find a later nailhead distributor and curve it to the 56, but I'd rather not. Also thanks again for all the support guys!

If I remember correctly, the older, smaller Nailheads don't have machined surfaces where the seals fit so using the rubber style seals don't seat very well. In any case, my rear seal was replaced during rebuild with a rope seal and it leaked like crazy. I stopped being cheap and bought the Valvoline VR-1 racing oil with high zinc formula and the leak went away. There was a thread a while ago discussing different oils to use and I think it's really interesting that the more synthetic you go, the more these old engines tend to weep.

Since you've already taken your torque ball apart, it might be best to get the new torque ball retainer that has the rubber on the retainer instead of the torque ball. Would be a shame to put it all back together come to find out the torque ball is leaking because tolerances were changed during disassembly.

Everywhere you go is going to be about the same price. I haven't done it yet, but you could probably match one up with a Moog spring. Just measure the thickness of the spring, diameter, etc. and then plug the numbers into the Moog universal parts catalog. This is what I was originally going to do but then I ran into other expenses...

Here's the seal

Would be a good starting place for a vintage tri-power setup!

In my experience dealing with over the counter parts distributors, always try to find the part number online - either thru their website or RockAuto - find the part interchange, write it down and then go talk to them. I can't tell you how many times I've been frustrated trying to deal with people who aren't ASE certified and giving me advice and wrong parts. And this isn't even with my Buick, it's all three of the cars I've worked on and drive (02 Jeep Liberty, 08 Saab 9-3). "Windshield wipers? Is that 4 cylinders or 6?" Haha, found the picture...

If you look closely at reassembly, the cover pushes the diaphragm down so tension is not on those parts. You have nothing to worry about.

For the life of me I cannot find my multimeter. I did however go for a night drive tonight (admittedly to the local Taco Bell... that stuff will kill you) and when I pulled into the driveway, I was a little bit curious. I revved the engine first, with heavy bogging at idle in Park, and the headlights flickered noticeably. However, when I eased into the throttle, the headlights didn't flicker at all. So at this point I can safely assume that it's most likely an electrical issue. Would the ignition system draw that much power on acceleration to dim the headlights or should I look into replacing the generator in the near future or both? I'm still looking for my multimeter to check coil resistance and continuity, but I think I can safely sideline the carburetor for right now.

How hard is this to do without a drill press? Probably an idiot question, but I don't have access to any type of shop. Timing is already advanced an initial 2 degrees. In my defense, I did run the car two weeks on ethanol free premium with no visible difference in performance.

Accelerator pump is working as intended. I was really hoping it wasn't the carburetor. It's really hard especially in Seattle traffic to just get up and go when you need to. I've leaned it out a bit a couple days ago and like you said it's not as bad but the car still tends to bog under initial load. I'm going to check spark color and continuity when I'm off work today but I did use my timing light to see if all 8 plugs were firing and they were so I don't think I have a continuity issue. I'll check the rotor cap for wear or arcing too. I guess I'll also check and see if I can find a wcfb carburetor, too. I know of one for a 55 locally.

I do not think it is the carburetor at this point because the first one behaved the same way as this one. Spark plug wires, cap and rotor are a year old. Points and condenser, coil and resistor were replaced this year when I took the pertronix out. Spark plugs replaced two days ago. Generator was rebuilt and tested last year, battery was bought last year and I had it tested last month. Distributer is wired to the negative terminal of the coil, power from switch to positive. Forgive me for my ignorance as I've just figured out the car was missing a beat, or had a misfire, which couldn't be heard until the new exhaust was put in. It's on the driver side tail pipe but it's subtle and didn't go away with spark plug replacement. I don't ever remember it misfiring with the pertronix, but then the only issue I had with the pertronix was the idle hunting and surging from the voltage drop of the voltage regulator. The pertronix used a hot coil, and now I'm using a napa oem coil. Everything seems to be working, I just have lower than normal vacuum and my old plugs were wet on the threads. I'll check voltage to the system later when I'm not at work. The hesitation off idle I've heard could be relaTed to ignition and a weak coil.

They're vacuum operated secondaries, the engine has to pull those butterflies down under load.

Pertronix was removed and replaced with points. Dwell is at 29. Timing is set to the 7 1/2* mark. Carburetor is a Rochester 4GC. Spark plug is AC Delco R43S. I've made a mistake and should have just started a new thread, but this is the thread where I discussed carburetor float levels and setting dwell.

I'm starting to think this is an ignition problem. After checking the shop manual it said if issues cannot be resolved by adjusting carburetor screws and there are no leaks and ignition is advanced to specs then there is an issue with the ignition system. I pulled spark plugs to check and replace and they looked fine except the fact that the threads were somewhat wet. Before pulling the plugs, opening the throttle slowly there is a formation of black smoke the higher the rpms, but nothing at idle. If I put my foot into the throttle, it bogs but if I ease into it, the car runs fine. I'm not an expert but this tells me that there is too much fuel in the combustion chamber and it's flooding the engine a little. The low vacuum tells me that it's not capable of burning all the fuel despite carburetor adjusted for maximum vacuum with three different vacuum gauges. Accelerator pump is working fine. There isnt a clog in the idle circuits because both circuits die out the more lean I turn them in. The fact that the black smoke is present at higher rpms and unnoticeable at idle tells me to eliminate the idle circuits as the culprit. All ignition parts are from napa. Something is telling me the stock coil is not putting out enough juice. I was told to go to hotter plugs first since they're cheaper. Am I on the right track here? Am I safe to guess that the engine cannot burn fuel quick enough the more I dump in on quick acceleration but is capable of burning fuel at a marginal pace? Should I try eliminating the resistor first?

Wow 5 months later and I have an update... sorry for the rez but I thought this would be better than starting a new topic, in case someone was using the search feature. I had a new exhaust system put in last Saturday and boy did it make a difference. My base idle was 600 before going in and after it raised it to 800 RPM. Before it would be a real hassle to have the car idle at 450 RPM but now it sits there just fine. Driveability is greatly increased and the vacuum gauge never drops to zero under load. I still can't raise idle vacuum above 15-16 inches Hg. Timing set at the 7 1/2* mark on the balancer, Dwell reads 29. I did find out that the vacuum pump had developed a leak and was sucking oil back into the intake, which wetted a few spark plugs and caused a very lean mixture with a nasty billow of blue smoke and an intermittent idle miss. This however did not affect vacuum readings at all. When I started this thread, I was using my original carburetor. I'm duplicating effects with the second carburetor I rebuilt myself so I'm going to assume the engine likes the 15-16 inches Hg, which is a bit unsettling since everywhere seems to point to 18-21. But as NTX had said earlier, the vacuum gauge is more of a diagnostic tool than anything else. The hand on the gauge wavers ever so slightly between +/- .5 inches, but remains fairly steady. After changing spark plugs, there is a faint popping noise coming from the driver side exhaust. Aside from that, there is greater performance now vs the old plugs. Just to be sure, I wanted to follow up. I'm hoping this is 'normal'. I've disconnected the power brakes, windshield wipers and hot air tube (fairly certain this vacuum is pulled from below throttle plate) and also stuck my finger over the starter switch vent and the vacuum raised from 15 to ~16. I checked the torque on the intake manifold to heads, carburetor base to intake and everything is within spec. Sprayed starting fluid and water around base of gaskets and obtained no increase in RPM. Sprayed the choke spring to choke assembly gasket, choke assembly to carb gasket, gasket bowl to gasket base gasket and no increase in RPM. I checked to make sure the line to the vacuum advance was pulling vacuum, capped it off and still no increase in vacuum. I haven't checked compression in the cylinders but I was bored .030 and the engine now has 2000 miles on it. I even tried ethanol free premium but noticed no difference to ethanol. I'm ready to put the first carburetor back on the car for a rebuild test and move on to the dual carb setup I've been wanting to play with, but I want to make sure this sounds right before getting too far ahead.

Russ Martin has a few on his website. Look under " Mid 1955 and 1956 all heat riser plate and gasket, replaces rusted out original under intake manifold, comes with SS bolts.. 25.00 "

The stock MC should be about 1" from the floor when the shoes are properly adjusted and the pedal is held in the applied position. This was about 3-4 clicks for me on the shoe adjuster. There is an adjusting pin for the hanging brake pedal, but it's only there to align the pushrod. You just kind of spin it until the pushrod moves freely on the MC. If you pedal comes back up without assistance, then you're in good shape. As for your parking brake, there is an adjustment nut on the equalizer to tighten it. Make sure you adjust your shoes first, and then play with the parking brake. I adjusted mine with a helper in the car. What I did was tighten it until the pedal under the dash started to move, and then un-tightened it until the pedal returned to it's un-applied position, or until the jewel light went off. There should also be a pedal return spring that is attached to the equalizer and differential carrier. Hope this helps!

I don't have one, that's why I was asking. Guess I should invest in a parts book. My cord and plastic gears are fine. I've inspected the motor and there doesn't seem to be any type of corrosion or damage, I just haven't had time to test it. The mast is what's really messed up and the few I've seen also have a bent mast, usually in the center section like mine. The aftermarket ones they sell fall right out of the fender hole without reusing the original rubber gasket. I'm thinking at this point it might just be better to reinstall the old antenna, working or not, and then put a hidden antenna under the dash. I just like to have everything working as it should.

Old-Tank gave some great advice in post #37. Ideally you want to either reuse the original shoes that are riveted or buy some new shoes that are riveted and then find yourself a brake specialist and have better materials arced and riveted to your shoe. NAPA and O'Reilly only sells bonded. I personally have not had an issue with them, but then I also have not driven the car with better shoes. I believe Autozone supposedly sells the riveted shoes, so if you need a pair quick, I would check there. I can't comment on their quality but the idea is to have them relined anyways. Lastly, there was an extensive thread done in the Modified board about a conversion and the gentlemen working on his brakes could not find a decent substitute to the stock master cylinder. There's a lot of technical done. In my personal experience, there is no safety gains going from a single to a dual master cylinder - the safety is only as good as the upkeep. In short, my 02 Jeep Liberty had stock rubber hoses on the front wheels and I had a wild animal jump out in front of me last year (so the lines are over 10 years old). The car stopped but I lost all brakes due to blowing one of the lines in the front, contrary to belief that you will still have brakes in the event of failure in one of the lines. That's what sold me on the stock MC

Does anyone have some information of the interchange of these power antenna units across the years and if they were used on other GM cars? I'm looking to get my power antenna working but the mast is extremely dirty and the center section is bent. The motor also does not come on, but I haven't determined yet if it is a switch continuity problem or not. Buicks aren't very common up where I'm at but I've come across two 57, two 56, four 55s and a 54 in the local yards. I'll be checking out another place here shortly before I broaden my search to 5 hour drives. As of right now I'm using one of those Made in China antennas and it's just not cutting it for me.

I find this very interesting. My grandfather stands firm his youngest son (my uncle) shaved the heads on the 322. But if that were the case, according to this article, there would be interference. I have yet to hammer a piston with a valve so maybe he never did it but I guess I would never really know without putting them on a bone stock engine (mine was bored .030 over). I also find it interesting that they have a hi-power intake manifold gasket. I presume it blocks off the heat riser?

While the idea is great, and I've seen these types of mods done before, going to a new system like this is really a waste of time. Ask me how I know.

Please refer to post #2