Beemon
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Posts posted by Beemon
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Haha I more so meant mesh size 👀
I drove the car from home to Ellensburg, up to Wenatchee, and then over to Monroe and back down to Kent. Overall about the same trip distance to Spokane.
Engine temps looked good and ranged from 160 up to 190. I'm not a huge fan of this range because it used to never float like that. In Ellensburg at idle it refused to come down. Ambient air temp was about 84. Driving up to Wenatchee saw a very steep elevation climb. At 60 it was most comfortable at 180, and was up to 190 by the time I got to the top of the pass, then dropped again on the way down to 160.
In Wenatchee I bought Seafoam, Lucas oil stabilizer, and Prestone radiator flush. Seafoam in the gas tank, Lucas in the crank, and Prestone in the radiator. The Seafoam helped alleviate some rough idle and onset vapor lock, and the Lucas helped boost my idle pressure to where I would like it (going to be doing an oil change soon).
As for the Prestone,I figured despite the bottles instructions, I dumped it in with the antifreeze. I figured I'm not the first guy to do this... there wasn't an immediate difference until I was 30 minutes out of town and the temps suddenly dropped without change in speed or ambient temperature, so there must have been a blockage at some point. Temp was good the rest of the way home except doing down Steven's Pass where it dropped in excess below 130, indicating the thermostat must be blocked open. Not the worst problem to have... I'm going to run it through next weekend and see if I can get erratic temperatures again before I decide if I want to pull it. July will be in the 90s so not sure if 84 is the best representation of a test but I figure I can do a trip to Vantage to see if I'll be in trouble.
In the mean time, I'm going to try and pull the headlight switch and see if I can figure out the dash lights not working anymore. Most likely the rheostat... and see if I can fix my power antenna... and install my missing fasteners.
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Not to get too far off topic, but I hope to look for everyone who's coming
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Do you have a preference in pantyhose?
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2 hours ago, Ben Bruce aka First Born said:
Hello, young man. Been awhile. Attending the Buick National in Spokane in July?
Ben
Hopefully
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So I think I found an obvious problem. After convincing my mother to use her kitchen tools with car parts, I set up a stove pot and thermostat and dropped my "160" T-stat in the pot.
It opened at 190 and closed at 170. I filmed it but my mom tripped over a dog bowl and dropped the F 💣.
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There was a company that had commissioned bilstein to make limited runs for 50s cars, our Buicks included. Can't help the folks with lever shocks, but you can get some really nice fonts.
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So an update because I haven't been able to work on the car in a very long time. I got the radiator out today and back flushed it for funsies. I got a ton of nasty stuff out of the top after I flushed and shook. I did this about 4 times before stuff stopped coming out of the radiator. I'm still on the fence about getting it rodded out, since the new price is $500. Here's a small portion of the larger group of junk that came out.
My gut feeling says this is freeze plugs, hooray. Most of the chunks disintegrated under finger pressure. I am still debating getting a 40 gpm pump. For now I think I might put it back in and go for a ride tomorrow. Otherwise the car is driving great for the 2 hours I had it out. It magically leaked 3 qts of ATF in the storage unit so I'm pretty sure the front pump seal is bad since it was wet in the bellhousing... I'm hoping I can make it another year as I'm planning to be a home owner by the end of this year or early next year.
In regards to the car in general, after the accident I feel embarrassed to call this my car. Between the speed bolts the shop used to the lack of bolts in general, I'm just generally disappointed in myself. It doesn't feel like my car anymore, and I'm sad that the antenna - my favorite feature and repair - was broken by the shop. Over the next couple weeks I'm going to completely tear apart the front end and put it back together. They even lost the L bracket that holds up the battery tray, and the front driver fender is held on by the bolts that run up the top.
Having really stepped into my career, I'm drafting up a very professionally spicy review for the shop.
Anyways here's the car the night I brought her home. Going to perform an oil change and further ponder my radiator situation.
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Hey John, Willie mentioned to make sure the ground is good between the generator and the voltage regulator. In your generator picture, it looked like the ground wire connector is missing insulation and has exposed copper.
My new VR I got back in the day came with a ground wire to the fender, might be good to do this as well since the body is isolated with rubber grommets to keep it from shaking apart.
Not ideal, but if problem persists you could always remove the cover before going for a drive. Just make sure your test equipment is plastic before you hit it.
It's been a while since I adjusted mine, but it's all based on spring pressure and magnetism. You might have something stuck holding it open, or the coil windings might not have the oomph to pull it away from the contacts.
Hopefully your new one solves the problem!
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3 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:
I adapted a 1970's GM electric choke to a '56 Olds 4GC I had once. I ran my choke power from the resistor terminal shared by the ignition primary lead to the distributor. Worked fine.
This is how I did it, the oil pressure switch is just something fancy but not required. Just don't leave the key on.
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So flip the car upside down and hook up a 2 hp pump... lol
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Buy an electric choke for an Edelbrock, then remove and flip the spring to reinstall 180 degrees out. Make sure to install choke tang inside the folded over end of the spring so it pulls off correctly. If you want it to work well, you can buy a two prong oil pressure switch from a late 70s or 80s Chev pickup truck and then run a line from the hot side of your ballast resistor and the other to the choke.
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Definitely worth giving a shot. I can drive small distances and the car cools as expected, just a little hot. I drive longer than 20 mins and the radiator can't keep up. Thermostat is working. Ken I did test the fan clutch and it would not lock up with a heat gun. Would love to try it again with a new clutch.
I can give flushing bottom up a go, any psi preferences?
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On 6/30/2022 at 11:17 AM, Mudbone said:
Be sure the core has the correct amount of rows for your model. I learned the hard way..........
What happened?
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After 5 years of daily driving my Buick with reproduction replacement rear drums, they need to be turned - good sized step after 5 years leads me to believe they aren't as hard as the old ones, or I shouldn't drive so fast.
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Bump. Still hunting.
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On 6/26/2022 at 2:21 PM, Kosage Chavis said:
Got this in the mail yesterday...a generator for AC equipped Buicks. Compliments of Mr Lamar. Figured it would be good to have one for backup or for parts.
I have found that these generators are basically the same as all long style generators. The only major structural difference is the ends and the pulley. Some units have bearings on both ends, some have only on the front, but usually the armature, field windings, and associated internal hardware is exactly the same. Additionally, the only thing that makes the generator output more amps is the voltage regulator.
Always good to have two, though!
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It's definitely the radiator. There are big chunks stuck in the top. It looks like I won't be driving it this year either, at least not until I can get it cleaned out.
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I'm pretty sure the dash lights are wired in series and grounded through the socket. If one loses ground on the branch (or a bad bulb) then the whole branch goes out. I am currently facing this issue on my 56 and have been practicing my Egyptian hieroglyphics.
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You need to verify the speaker impedance. I want to say it should be 8-10 ohms. Aftermarket speakers are usually 4 ohms or less and can blow your factory radio. There used to be a vendor that sold new speakers with better components but I believe the owner died. If it's a relatively standard speaker size, you might get lucky and find some at a junkyard. Most oem applications I believe are still 8-10 ohms.
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If you rebuild the master cylinder, check the bore for pitting. Some companies can resleeve the cylinder with corrosion resistant materials. It is manual brakes correct?
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Sorry Lamar, just saw this post. Been away from my PC. I'm mostly after just the medallion. My surround is pretty ugly, so I would be interested to see the surround.
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On 4/19/2022 at 5:58 PM, JohnD1956 said:
or the headlight switch is rotated to its end position.
It's supposed to do that? My gauge lights are the brightest at the end position, but my dome light has never come on. I've always had to use the map light switch.
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I have a spare Dynaflow I've been holding onto for parts. It was out of a 56 Roadmaster. I put the engine in my car when the motor went out after a rebuild and I could not get the guy the keep the Dynaflow. If you want it, you can have it for the cost of freight. My mother will be greatly appreciative.
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Good afternoon all,
After my car was implicated in a front end collision, the repair shop replaced my front emblem with one from a Special, and threw away the Century medallion.
This is what I'm after. Any condition, just need the center piece, but a nice used surround is always welcome.
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55 buick motor mount replacement
in Buick - Post War
Posted
If you pull the distributor, carb, and hang the fan shroud on the fan, you can lift the engine with a hoist. I found this out when I left 1 bolt in the bellhousing.