Beemon

I have seen a 53 pulley and pump, they are indeed different. There's a 53 Roadmaster with complete engine from pan to carb (WCFB) at the classic junkyard, at least the last time I was there. I can look again this weekend if you're interested @g-g-g0

There is bad everywhere, but this hobby is something else. The only crooks i've come across have been in the classic car hobby. I feel like this hobby attracts a lot of people with skills looking to take advantage of others. I mean just cars in general. Those stereotypes of mechanics taking advantage of people are just multiplied in the classic car hobby.

I would try and match the gasket to what you removed originally. That's a hard call without knowing which one is correct but I would go with the taller one personally given how these carbs are known to have a lean bog off idle. Having that power valve come in earlier might help alleviate that issue.

I'd be interested in the 2347s but I didn't see a price? Been looking for a matched pair for a while. Is it complete?

That seems very negligent to me. Obviously they were not interested in keeping my things and lied about it so i'm not surprised they would lose all my bolts.

Is stealing bolts a common thing for restoration shops? Most of the nuts and bolts that were used to hold the front end together, specifically the flange head bolts, have all been swapped out with standard bolts.

Hopefully this can be welded back together. I don't see why not but we'll see.

The rest of the antenna is fine, I just need to re-glue the nylon end back into the antenna and re-feed the nylon cable. I just can't believe a shop suggested by Hagerty conducts itself this way.

Does this picture look right to you? Guess I will be sifting through the junkyard to find original hood bolts that have mysteriously disappeared. I went and talked to the shop today to get my stuff, since we had an agreement to hold my things until the week of Thanksgiving (break) and they have all mysteriously disappeared. This is why I hate this hobby.

Interesting to see how it looks on the dash!

Those are authentic holes in the headliner

I hope its just lifter tick! That does not sound ideal at all. I can't remember, did you open the engine up prior to this?

I have never seen that before, do you have a part number? If you are looking to be correct, the line between the frame and pump was a braided steel cable to most likely help control pulsation below the pump. It would just be a rubber line between the two. The 54-56 Buicks I believe are all the same and are what avgwarhawk posted. However, if you want a glass bowl setup look at the 57-59 configurations. I put a glass bowl on my daily 56 from a 58 and run rubber lines from the pump to it and then to the carb. It works really well and I can use a modern paper filter in the glass bowl housing. I prefer this over the pancake filter because its just a sintered brass mesh and its 50's filtration. With the 58 setup I get (allegedly) modern filtration with the paper filter and I can see just like a cheap filter when it starts to get gunked up, if ever. Some do not prefer them because they have hulk hands and break the glass somehow. I have had zero issues and while I was driving my Buick daily, I was putting almost 4000 miles on it a year.

If the tube to the choke is missing, its probably broken off from the hole in the manifold. I have never gotten those to work right on any of my applications so I just bought an Edelbrock electric choke, flipped the spring internally so it opens the correct way, and have had zero issues since. I think you can buy electric chokes for the WCFB off of Ebay that already have the spring flipped. Others seem to not like them but I have never had an issue with them.. Filter 6255 from NAPA will go in the stock air cleaner housing if you want to go paper.

I call BS. Having driven thousands of miles across the state now in my car, in town and on the highway, I have never had an issue with the Dynaflow. Not keeping up, not reaching 100. It is obviously a sign of the times, but it is still a venerable transmission.

Do a search in the Post War forums for steering box conversions. Some have used a 2004 Jeep Cherokee box with success and others have used the Tri-5 Chevy box from CPP with success using a 55 pitman arm. I heard the rack kits for Tri-5 Chevies are pretty close, almost that the frame width is very similar and its a matter of re-drilling holes. The issue with rack kits is that the rack tie rod end needs to go through the arc travel that matches the steering knuckle on the upright. The issue is that Buicks have very long bottom trailing arms, which makes it difficult to match the arc. Any route you go that modifies or removes the drag link should consider changing the steering knuckle geometry. This is a pretty good, surface level read. DO NOT buy the steering kit from eBay. If you need evidence as to why, I will supply images but just take my word on it that you will have wasted your money on sub-par manufacturing that isn't even with correct dimensions.

Exhaust manifolds are 10-15 ft lbs. Lock washers should be okay IF you use a washer between the lock washer and the manifold, to allow it to flex without binding from the lock washer. The washer will act the same as if french locks were on there in regards to manifold movement. The only issue is that the spring lock could lose temper over time from heat cycling, especially if they're cheap lock washers. People say you shouldn't use gaskets, but my manifolds were warped and I couldn't afford to have them planed. They have not cracked yet, but I also make sure they are not over torqued. I was told they would crack immediately but they haven't and I daily drove my car for the last 4 years. Not saying they won't, but the french locks weren't on there when I got the engine so who knows how long they've gone improper.

Sometime, and in the case of my switch, the slider block that controls the headlights and park lights will corrode. You need to disassemble the switch and clean the contacts in there so they are nice and shiny copper again. Be careful not to lose the tension spring. It is a PITA to put back together.

These cars come from the factory with residual pressure valves installed since the master cylinder is generally the lowest point in the system. It might be enough to cause a restriction. Check it with your foot to confirm its not a clogged brake line.

I might take you up on that. I only had a day with it, but I'll be heading back for the weekend of the 11th so start digging into things hopefully, if not then Thanksgiving week.

I went home for the weekend to see my wife and make an appearance at a Halloween party. Of course my real motive was to see the Buick... If you recall, my antenna is was inoperable after the car came out of the restoration shop. I didn't really have much time to look the car over since I picked it up and left for school on the same day. After taking a second look, all I can really say is that I'm disappointed. To start, I examined the antenna. The leads were ripped out of the switch when removed, and the aluminum coil for the nylon cable to go into has been broken off. I think the motor is still operable, but I am beyond disappointed, especially with how rare a working original power antenna is. I'm hoping, because I did not have time to remove it, that the damage is repairable. I can resolder, crimp, whatever wires back together, but the nylon cable is ripped out of the bottom of the antenna mast (after I had already JB welded it back together). Then I started looking. They installed the starter relay with self tapping screws into the inner fender and not where it was originally bolted down. They also did not put the bottom bolt through the inner fender to the outer fender behind the wheel. The bolts they used to fasten the outer fender to the body at the bottom were also loose. Then all the bolts that went to the inner fender that was replaced were also loose. It is a rushed mess altogether. I feel I am partially responsible given the short time frame, but they did assure me it would be done to the best of their ability. I honestly cannot wait to be in industry after this final semester to start building my own garage. I am like a broken record at this point, but I literally cannot find any honest professionals around. Its like a curse. Even when I do research and look at prior work. Maybe my expectations are too high? I am grateful the car is done, but the "premiums" that came after the insurance company paid out didn't sit right with me either. I don't know if you can see this, but the skinny part if you follow the loop is the actual nylon cable exposed. The thicker part is the aluminum coil that is supposed to be attached to the motor top. Also unrelated but here's the light show coming from my Generator. Looks like I'll be moving towards an alternator full time since I can't keep buying these things. I don't understand why I burn through these so quickly, I follow the shop manual to a T when adjusting the voltage regulator and its outputting the correct amount. All I can think of is foreign contaminant since they didn't really cover the engine bay when they did their work - its covered in dust and other crap.

Check your switch to see if it's opening and closing the circuit. Im not familiar with your motor but it probably has some type of coordinator circuit that runs the wipers when you hit the washer switch. If the switch opens and closes, you might have to split the case of the motor and inspect to see what's in there. Could be as simple as writing a diode, or a broken spring.

By the look of things, Buick probably won't be around much longer anyways. Only 9000 units sold? That's actually really sad. I wish this crossover fad would die off, because its seeing a huge decline in sedan sales across the board, but... its what is selling right now.

On my original 322, the balancer had a hairline crack going down the inside. Make sure you inspect it if you plan to reuse. If you get a new one, you'll have to have it balanced with the crank and flywheel.

I would really like to figure that mystery out one day with the old Rochester carbs. Everyone on the internet seems to rebuild them "wrong". It was really night and day when I put the WCFB on. 55 carbs are more plentiful than the 56 carb, maybe keep an ear out for one? I guarantee it will make your driving experience more pleasurable without that bog.