Beemon

If it's like the 50s radios with the wax capacitors, then just open the radio up, make a list of the capacitors you need to buy, and then replace them one by one. Resistors and plastic mica capacitors hardly need to be serviced. If it's the transistors, you might be scratching your head. I think you'll be fine without a schematic if you work through it one by one.

How did that happen? Temperature change maybe? I had mine off for quite a while with no change in material.

Ken, the distributor is drop in, I've been driving it with the new distributor for the last two days. Here's some pics, with the rubber expansion plug installed and that God awful air cleaner. I'm working on a way to fit the original.

Thanks for the replies guys. I've got a lot of reading to do. In terms of vacuum advance, the part number was VC680 from NAPA. I did some looking and this is the correct vacuum can. The limiter on the can is a rubber bushing that goes over the hooked end, it's about 1/8" thick. I checked ignition timing with initial set to 0 and the can hooked to full manifold and it was between 12-14"Hg. In terms of cam, I'm really hoping that I can get this all together by the 11th of august, which is just a little over 2 months. The machinist said he would have the short block honed, ringed and seated in about an hour, but it depends on how quick I get everything to him. I would also like to find some better pistons, but if time is against me I'll stick with the poor pistons and stock cam (if it is stock). In terms of timing chains, what would be my odds if I went after one is those aluminum 401 covers? Likewise, is their any negatives to installing a 5 vane AC water pump vs the stock 3 vane? Wednesday is the date we dig in, it's been set in stone.

Got a little bit ahead of myself yesterday, but I took to refurbishing the 401 distributor. It was outright about $100 for cap, rotor, points, condenser and vac can. The guy at the counter tried to sell me cheap unipoints, but I'd rather them be separate so I don't have to junk the whole pile if one or the other goes bad. Also the cap was "NOS" from probably 20 years ago, still made in the good ol' USA. The road draft tube had to come off for the vac can to sit right in the original slot, so I plugged it with a rubber pipe plug (the screw in kind). The machinist I'm going to told me it was probably best to run the PCV system to alleviate any crankcase vapors, so I don't need the road draft tube anymore. I have to go back to the yard with the 401s to get the correct valley cover so it looks nice, they only want $14 for it. Also wanted to mention that the weights and springs out of the 56 distributor translater over to the 401 distributor no problem, so now I have a late model distributor that has been recurved to a stock distributor. I didn't measure the advance cam that the springs attach to, but it looks pretty close to the original one from the 56. Obviously no performance boost, but price wise I would do it again. $15 for a vacuum advance vs $90? Also for some reason around here they stopped selling the distributor rotor for the 56 distributor, unless you put in $25 for special order. Caps are still here, but also pretty pricey. Setting the dwell was also really nice, too. No more bumping the starter or trying to gap it properly. Also playing with the alternator bracket and thinking about ways to mount the vacuum pump. I think I've got it down, bolt on to outer hole, then make a T or L bracket to go off the other two holes on the pump. On the T or L, I'm going to get LH and RH heim joints with some all thread welded to a nut so I can set the adjustment up top. The alternator adjustment arm also needs some fixing, since it's been opened up a little towards the end. A few blows with the hammer should fix that up. I also went out today to the classic yard to pick up some things. I've been trying to get this timing cover off a 57 for three weeks now and finally got a puller to remove the harmonic balancer. I ran out of time today because I never wake up early enough, but next week it comes home with me for $50. The water pump mounting flange is still flat and true, as I expect for a cast iron timing cover. I really wanted to go with the TA Performance $300 timing cover, but this is now a budget build since there's only 2 months left before I leave for Washington State. If I do end up getting the TA Performance aluminum cover, NAPA still sells the 401/425 water pump, which has the same pulley snout as the 56, but is 5 vanes instead of 3. And for $50, which may be worth it if they're still making them new vs my stock 56 pump.

It' looks like there's chipping around the edge of the first piston, too.

A word of caution about the Roadmaster brake shoes - they don't make replacements for them over the counter with the correct metal shoe. So if you go that route, you need some original shoes to be sent off to be relined. Disc brakes have their place, though. They are expensive to set up (mostly the cost of the kit), you won't see any real gains performance wise, but all the parts are readily available cheap over the counter. Drum breaks are self energizing, which does two things: 1. stops you faster, 2. heats up faster without a vent to atmosphere. Drums also put pressure to the circumference of the wheel, where discs clamp down at different radii, making them less effective the closer they get to the hub. Discs directly vent to atmosphere, though, so while you may stop the same as drums, you can stop more often without brake fade. You also don't have to spend a lot of money to send the pads to be relined and can buy the best pads over the counter. I did a thread a while while back that compared the cost of the disc kit to refurbishing your drum setup. I think the discs still came in under when you factor in shoes being sent out for relining, spring kits are $20+ these days, front wheel cylinders are $20+ these days, new drums if you can't find old ones are $120+ each, plus the regrind since they come oblonged sometimes. Even new wheel bearings are cheaply made and just as expensive, though you can probably repack the original ones and be on your way.

Ben, still waiting on that video! Glad it's back on the road now.

I drove my Buick to the local drive in tonight, the last one before she goes under the knife. No pictures of my Buick, but there was a 53 Skylark with a McCulloch Supercharger... The install looked really clean, some people were even commenting that it may have been installed like that, but I don't think so. Still, wouldn't mind this type of mod myself Also found out today I'm the only one in the valley with a 56 2DR HT Century.

Are they the type with the nipple on the bottom of it? If so, the way I did them on the 56 was just some spit and I pushed and twisted with the palm of my hand until it fully seated. Pressing them in with the frame of the car works just as good, I bet.

It's probably a rat rod by now...

I wonder why they needed 6 different rifles? Also really like the hood scoop. The 1956 is the only 50s Buick I know of that had a functional scoop.

"Are you going or not?" "I guess" "If you go, don't complain later" "I won't" Always complains later

Thanks for the kind words, I may not know it all but the some things I do know I always try to contribute. Also not an old timer

Ed was referencing the other ad. Too bad it's not a 331, though personally I would go for a DeSoto 330 HEMI

Personally I like to give myself a gallon or two of reserve. The gauge rarely ever goes below half full, but it's that little buffer that can go a long ways in a pinch.

It has been my displeasure to trust self proclaimed "experts" when it comes to restoration. It's unfortunate how your experiences have been, just remember it doesn't hurt to always double check the experts! Glad Ruby is back on the road! Looking forward to some beautiful island pictures!

Nice steering wheel cover! Wish I had one to hide the cracks.

The only thing that threads into a 56 Radiator is the Dynaflow cooler lines. Do you mean the water pump?

Not for very much longer. I found a 64 and 65 in a regular salvage yard so the distributor was only $20 and each arm assembly was $20 as well (alternator bracket was $7, I've seen them for much more online). The set on the left I would say is a core but the set on the right was extremely clean, the engine still had a heavy coat of paint like it had been totaled in the last 10 years.

Drop the tank and inspect/replace the sending unit. It may be seized full. Also the tank was grounded by the tank straps. Run a ground wire from the sender to the frame for an extra ground. That's the easy stuff. If you still have issue, then it's the gauge itself and you'll have to pull the dash.

Willie, thanks for the info. The build sheet doesn't have a camshaft bill in it so I'm going to assume it's stock for now. When we pull, I'll do a rough measurement and see what I come up with. Russ has this on his website for the 56 solid lifter cam: 212 duration @ .050, valve lift .420 lift and 111 LSA .015 valve lash. That's pretty close to what's in that excell file.

I've secured cover for the car so we can tear into it starting either end of this week or next week for sure. I've been looking for camshaft specifics, but can't seem to find any in the shop manual. Does anyone know what the camshaft specs are for a stock 1956? The only thing I can find is specs for a solid lifter cam in 1956, which I guess could work for a cut if needed, but would like to know stock.

So some good news and bad news. The good news: I met with the machinist today, he's a retired Boeing engineer who builds mostly high performance engines for the local Pacific Raceway teams. He says he wants to see the short block to mic out the pistons in the bore and check for proper valve clearance. He said he won't do any work unless he can physically see it. He will hone the bore to 200 grit and then install Chevy 327 chromoly rings. He also wants to see the cylinder heads, too, to check valve clearance both in the guide and at the seat/rocker. He said most likely I should start looking for new heads, though, but will hold judgement until it comes time. He also told me to do a leakdown test. Lastly, he demanded I bring him the shop manual so we can go over checking clearances. And he wants me to be there when he does it all. For honing and re-ringing the block he wants $270 and if I come up with some unmolested 56 322 heads, he wants $400 for them combined to do the total valve job. The bad news: His work at Boeing was mostly clearance checking, bearings and machining. He is fairly certain that from what I've told him about the water jacket design, that the heads will eventually fail. He said even though we can check the grind, fix and slap the heads back together for $100, that he would feel much more comfortable with clean, original heads. The two 56s near me don't have heads and the largest classic car yard in Washington doesn't have heads. There are some heads on Ebay right now for $250, but would like to find something closer, since shipping is $180...

Doug, if the jets and rods changed between 57, 58 and 59, it should be pretty easy to figure out. Buick is the only carburetor that has the starter switch, so that already cuts you out of the flock.