Beemon

No doubt! I'm parked on campus and we scoped out our classes. A good 15 minute walk from the dorm up hill, no parking. I think the only real driving I'll be doing is to the local Wally World and occasional barn adventure at 2 am. By the way, the Mr. Gasket gasket is the right throttle bore, wrong spacing. So I got some gasket material. Good thing I brought my ball peen hammer. On a side note, I may have a job lined up for weekends and off days at a mom and pop auto parts store. Their old boy who knew classics quit recently and I just happen to roll into town in a 56 Buick. Bringing the car has already paid off!

Might be time to invest in a locking cap if people are swiping gas caps. That's just really petty, the balls on the guy to do something like that surrounded by people.

Ride was smooth. I made sure to triple lube the suspension before leaving. No squeaks except for the metal to metal trim pieces at the door jam (screws keep coming loose). I achieved approximately 17.5 MPG from Seattle to Yakima, where I refueled. When I got into town, I didn't realize how hilly the terrain was, and the car started vapor locking on me going up and down the hills after the five and a half hour drive. At one point, loss of power was so great it almost bogged going up a large grade hill and the only reason I survived was because of Low gear. Of course, all these issues went away after I unloaded the cargo and let the car sit overnight. I haven't had an issue since, though the car is running a little rich at 2500 elevation. Good thing I brought my tool box, vacuum gauges, timing light and tachometer! Also only burned through a quart of oil, but I blame the leaky rear main and probably the PCV system for that. Now that I'm here, I'm probably going to revert a lot of the stuff. I'm really finicky about this type of stuff, and should probably not listen to my father, whom goaded me into installing the alternator, Edelbrock, etc. before leaving. He was one of those guys who hot rodded in the 70s and threw out the q-jets and thermoquads and replaced them with the Carter comp series, bought the big MSD box and other go fast parts. Newer is better he says. Still not convinced. Also tore at the WCFB today in the men's restroom here on the 11th floor with nothing but compressed air and water. Kept at it until I didn't see any more particulates. My buddy boiled water in his coffee pot for me to douse the carb with, seemed to work pretty good in the sink... resident hall advisor had walked in on us, asking what we were doing. We told him it was a science experiment and he walked off. Air horn gasket still looks good, no signs of shrinking and all the holes still line up so I sprayed it with some WD-40 to moisten it up and tightened down the screws. The floats were still ok, used a 3/16" drill bit to check float height and a 7/16" bit to check float drop. Go to reach for my WCFB gasket in my tool box and - oops! Left it at home! That's okay, after doing some research, Mr. Gasket #57 is 1 7/16" square bore, which is what I measured on the bottom of the WCFB. O'Reilly here in town has them in stock, so I'll just end up tracing out the carb base with an exacto knife and then use a hole punch for the stud holes.

Finally got settled in at the dorm with computer and internet setup. Here are some pics of the journey. My girlfriend thought the Antique Fruits was pretty funny. I think she said something along the lines of "who would want to eat old fruit?" oops

That radiator overflow tube is looking good! How did you go about the underside?

Doug, I get a of those up here. There is a local illegal street race group and you can always tell who they are because their exhaust is made from a Folger's can. The brake light switch and brackets must have cost me no more than $10, so not expensive at all. The best part is that it's not permanent and can be reverted at any time. If you're planning on driving it, I highly recommend changing over. Better to be safe in the presence of modern day motorists than sorry on your way out. Thanks everyone for the kind words. Tonight is my last night so it's a little "emotional" for some in the family. When we head out tomorrow, I'll be sure to take many pictures of the drive. I wish I had a spare of everything for the trip, kind of why I swapped every vintage part out. It's not that I don't trust them, but on the long haul I'd rather have stuff I can replace at the counter than 61 year old stuff that could fatigue at any time. Regardless, I'm taking the generator, air cleaner and WCFB with me along with all the other stuff I removed. I don't know what's over there in terms of service stations yet, but I might end up putting the good looking stuff back on. Just to keep me busy or something.

Keith, thanks for sharing. The more I share my story, I hear a lot of "stopped running in the late 70s" type stories. It's a shame the car went to the scrapper. When I was given the car back in 2010, my mother was furious. She wanted it sent to the scrapper and was angry at my grandfather for even offering it to me. I got a lot of "you'll lose interest" or "it's not worth anything" and my favorite "it won't even be worth half as much as what it'll cost to restore". Yet here I am, 7 years later. 5 years of saving to get the car to the state patrol, and 2 years of enjoyment (for the most part). With all the money I've spent, I probably could have gotten a decent used car. But I like what I have, rust and all. The day I die is the day I say goodbye.

Thanks John, I'm going to need it! Finally marked off everything on my list of things to do. I picked up a Group 31 battery from NAPA yesterday. I kept hearing this rattling noise over speed bumps... turns out it was he Group 27 battery... I even made my own wire leads, so now it looks all purdy. I was also pulled over yesterday, the officer told me my brake lights were out. It was partially true. I guess with the hydraulic switch only turns the brake lights on if the pedal is to the metal. I didn't get a ticket because I could prove they worked, just not very well... so I got this plastic button switch and fastened it to the steering column using U bolts and a 90 degree piece of steel. I just popped the leads out of the old switch connecter, ran them through the firewall at the power antenna, and plugged it in. Works with the slightest touch of the brake pedal now! Lastly, I put the electric wipers on. If there's one thing I remember from orientation back in March, it's that I'm glad I was one of few on the highway going up and down the mountain passes. I think I've talked about the conversion before, but the washer jar lid is off of a 1956 Packard/Cadillac/Lincoln, take your pick.

Ttotired, I've read the reviews on the command center, "what you pay for is what you get" applies. Edelbrock has their own sump, which is pretty pricey, but there have been no reported issues with it.

You're right, I have tried Willie's trick before so I'm no stranger to the operation. Whichever way I go, I leave Monday so definitely no time for anything now.

Twice: the first time was initial rebuild and the second time was when I replaced it.

Oh, I forgot about that... but wasn't it off a 55?

Custom fit bracket, rag joint and fittings I believe.

It's the original cam I pulled out of my gouged engine block.

I have both adapters, the Edelbrock adapper is far superior, believe me. Those cheap aluminum adapters are really shallow and the transition from big port to little port is really sharp. The Edelbrock adapter is a gradual change, and it's dual plenum design is not restrictive at all. Look up Vicky Blue's steering box thread. He uses a CPP steering box to replace his box after he found out it was unsaveable. I believe the term was "anyone who fixes this for you is robbing you." I can relate.

Here you go, guys. Better than the Melling SBC-3 cam.

Willie, couldn't resist... Took the Carter off, pulled it apart and found fine granules of while powder in the passages. I thought I had gotten it clean but I guess not... the Rochester carbs I had professionally dipped, however I can't afford that so close to school so I put the Edelbrock back on. Pinging gone. I used Edelbrock 1106 adapter to mate the 1406 to the manifold. It's from their flathead line and comes with everything you need, so you don't have to drill your own holes or deal with those cheap adapters from Speedway. The only issue I see from the design is that it's a dual plane, but the manifold isn't, so there is most likely turbulence at the opening. Regardless, I haven't had any driveability issues. I also stopped at the local speed shop outlet store, Warehouse West, and they fixed me up with a chrome air cleaner I really like. It goes well with the valve covers and was priced right. Among other things, I adjusted brakes front to back 12 clicks after tight. I also adjusted the parking brake, it was a bit loose for some reason (probably me). I also pulled the generator off and put the alternator back on. It uses a 4.75" spacer on a thru bolt to keep it snug against the generator bracket. I used a 2 v belt pulley to align the pulley with the water pump. Lastly, the exciter circuit was wired to the ignition switch with a diode to keep current from back feeding through the ignition switch. I took the road draft tube off again and added the PCV system, as well as replacing the old distributor with my 65 distributor. I knew I said I was going to keep this engine stock, but I have a feeling I'll be better off with this setup while at the university in the middle of no where. Just a gut feeling I had last night when contemplating the drive. Out of necessity, I'll be putting the electric wipers back on "just in case". I don't want to get caught going over the mountain pass at 65MPH while raining/snowing on the way back home for the holidays and have the wipers stop most of the way up the pass like it did during orientation. I also replaced the seal beams with some Delta conversion headlights. It replaces the seal beam with a H4 bulb housing. The cut pattern is phenomenal. It's much like a modern headlight, where it diffuses light on the driver side down and diffuses light on the passenger side outwards, so it doesn't blind the person in front of you. The beam is much more crisp, I highly recommend them to anyone who uses their car as a driver. Lastly, I did the oil change today. Nothing out of the ordinary. I think I do have a rear main leak. It looked like oil pan, so I torqued them down to spec but the leak is persistent. When I get over there, my first priority is getting in line with the local auto shop boys and hopefully we can get the motor out to do a bottom up inspection (remove crank, replace seal. The leak isn't terrible, definitely not as bad as 8 gouged cylinders sucking up all my oil... that's for sure. Anyways, pictures as follows! All that's left now is the wipers, brake fluid flush and power steering flush. When I get the money, I'm definitely going to purchase a CPP steering box. The play in this one is awful for having it "professionally" rebuilt. Maybe even replace the pump, too, since it seems to create red dust from the front seal.

I have no idea why, but you cannot buy in-tank fuel pumps for carburetors. Fuel injection pumps are pretty iffy at best. I called Airtex and they said not to submerge, so I guess you'd have to go with a really expensive fuel injection pump that you buy over the counter for a modern V8, and then the accompanying expensive fuel pressure regulator since most regulators are in the tank, then find a way to decrease pressure to 5 psi. Looks like another "decent idea in theory, way too much work to get right" type deal from me, again.

How does a family car stay below 30,000 miles? I'm always curious about mileage. I mean the service tag on my door pillar only goes to 60,000 miles, and the odometer just happens to be about that, does that mean I could sell my car as a 60,000 mile original car?

There is space for trailers, but if serious, I would book at least 4 months in advance.

There is definitely some great landscape here. My only complain about the camping trip was the BC wildfires that dropped the haze on the horizon. Kind of gave the sky an eerie glow, but would have much preferred to see the other side of the lake in detail with a real sunset!

Potlatch State Park, the view of the lake was a vista point for Lake Cushman. We were dissatisfied with the beaches at the state park, so we drove 30 minutes to the lake We were not disappointed with that choice at all! We took three cars, but mine was the only one that comfortably seated 6.

Just got back yesterday!

Took the Buick for a shake down run camping this weekend. We went West instead of East over the mountains and found ourselves near the edge of the peninsula around Hood Canal. The beaches were a let down, so we took a leisurely drive to Lake Cushman in the only car that seats 6, and there was time for vanity photos. Buick in the front, gang in the rear. While we were out, we had stopped at a gas station and someone offered me $7000 for the car. I laughed, the next time this car goes up for sale is probably in 70 years. This one was at camp. It was a pretty fun weekend excursion before going to college after this week. Time is running down my summer clock fast. Aside from a few bouts of vapor lock, the car performed flawlessly. My WCFB is still running a little lean, enough to get barely noticeable pinging under load... timing is at 5 degrees BTDC. I've never had this issue with the 4GC. Starting to think it's the cheap rebuild kit? Maybe not enough pump shot on the accelerator pumps (replacement was a little bit shorter) or there's a small obstruction in the main metering system. The pinging only occurs under load, so fuel is being restricted somewhere... It's too close to school, so the Edelbrock 1406 will most likely go back on before I leave. And because I have chrome valve covers, I gotta find a chrome air cleaner to match now! I've also added an electric fuel pump and regulator to the shopping list before leaving, but will most likely forego those additions. I've started a thread in modified about making a fuel cell out of my old Luber-Finer canister, looking for some input on that as well. The college is located in an area where it will be nearly as hot as our short lived heat wave, so vapor lock may be a common issue over there.

I've been teasing this idea now since I've experienced some vapor lock. This fuel pump I had gotten a while ago has the same thread pitch as the pilot hole for my old Luber-Finer 200S. I'm a bit skeptical about this setup, however. First, would an inline pump be okay submersed in gasoline? I also want to put a pressure regulator on it, would that also be okay submersed in gasoline? They look like sealed units... I can't find any pump that's not for EFI that would be in tank pumps. The whole idea behind this is that the Luber-Finer canister is filled with gasoline by the mechanical pump and restricted with a needle and seat, and then the electric pump picks up from the bottom of the canister and feeds fuel to the carburetor. I would then drill three holes into the cap - two for the wire leads and one for a vent. The needle and seat would restrict fuel from reaching the top rim. Maybe I'm just being foolish here, but I've wanted to go to some type of fuel injection down the road and this would set up that swap pretty nicely. Thoughts, opinions?