Beemon

Pretty nice Plymouth there ... err... 54 Buick

Doing some driveline work, too, I see.

Good read guys. I figured if at some point this rear end doesn't work out and I'm forced to go a slightly different route, it would definitely be a LSD open drive mod with a more modern transmission. I suppose it's just the way things go. Parts get more and more scarce to the point where classic cars turn into Cuban cars. Anyways, I'm having some difficulty aligning the driveshaft the the tailshaft of the Dynaflow. I have a 4" bolt going through the driveshaft into the tailshaft flange and I have one dowel pin on the opposite side. Should have thought about leveling the car out on stands before starting... I've got a jack under the diff, a jack under the driveshaft, and since the drive shaft wants to gravitate towards the driver side of the car, I'm thinking maybe a ratcheting strap on the passenger side. My time ran out and the rains came so I'm getting wet tomorrow. At some point the tailshaft on the Dynaflow got stuck in an upwards position, so I had to loosen the torque ball retainer until there was a slight drip to get it to flex. Maybe not enough shims? It moved freely afterwards, like it was just dry and needed some wetting. The diff is free floating suspended only by the jack and the coil springs and the wheels are off the ground. I'm so close, I feel if I can get the third pin or bolt to line up on the driveshaft/tailshaft bolt holes, I'll have enough triangulation to get it in there.

Can we get pictures, too, please?

If the rear brakes are covered in oil and fluid, you should consider replacing the wheel seals and backing plate gaskets.

Just wanted to chime in: we got it out, swapped diff carriers and got the rear back under the car. At about 8 PM it started raining Friday and we called it quits. As it sits, the coils are mounted but the axle still needs to mate to the Dynaflow. Before, I ran Royal Purple 75W-90 and it didn't leak at all except at the backing plate, but that was because when they did the rear end, they used the old gaskets. I just found out about it yesterday, too, and I've been driving the car probably 7 months like that now. Not a huge leak as the diff case was still full to the plug, but it ruined the shoes so now I'm into a full rear brake overhaul. There wasn't any fluid in the torque tube and the front seal looked good so I didn't replace it. It probably took us a good half hour to figure out that if you flip the rear axle upside down, there's a good flat spot to pound the torque tube off the carrier... lol. This time I opted for Mobil 1 75W-90 Synthetic and I'll see how that goes. While a lot of people don't regard the Amsoil test papers as proof of quality oils, there are several affidavits supplied that show if they were to be challenged and found guilty of forgery, they could be sued. I was surprised to see that the RP wasn't that great of an oil, but upon closer inspection, Amsoil didn't rig their numbers to put their competetor in last place, they just used arbitrary tests that have nothing to do with differential wear to get them lower scores. Interesting enough, the Mobil 1 oil Synthetic was just as good as the Amsoil product to a degree, with the Castrol LSD conventional being the best dino oil. They didn't have the Castrol oil on the shelf so I went with the Mobil 1 synthetic. Also I suckered in a colleague to help. He said "hey that sounds pretty cool I think I would enjoy working on old cars." Couldn't have been more wrong. Today was rainy. Tomorrow I plan on mating the two up, then re-attaching all the small stuff. I bought some 5" 3/8 bolts and I cut the heads off them because it was cheaper than buying 2 feet of round stock. I'm going to use them as pegs and screw them in to the Dynaflow so I can properly guide the driveline in. I'm really excited to drive down the road and the only sound the car makes is vroom noises.

I'm reviving this thread because I'm hoping to tackle this over the weekend if the weather permits. We're back in the 50s again and I want to have the rear end in before the 26th of March, where the car will make its first pilgrimage over Snoqualmie pass on the 5 hour trip to Pullman, WA (Basically driving from Seattle to the Idaho border). This is what I have to work with. The driveway is actually pretty level for never been grated since the house has been in the family ('91). The lowest point on the car aft the axel is the exhaust at 9 inches off the ground. The frame is approximately 6 inches so I'm going to only need to lift it 4 inches to pull the rear out with the tires off. A buddy is coming over to pull it out while I lay on a yoga mat to catch the driveline on my stomach before it hits anything. I feel like this is some really ugly backyard mechanic stuff so please feel free to chime in before you look me up in an obituary lol. Also I would like to hear some oil preferences. I know we discussed weights before, but should I go synthetic or conventional? Synthetics range between 75W-90 to 70W-140 and conventional fluids are usually 80W-90 and 80W-140. Found some interesting articles about Amsoil with affidavits to confirm a truthful, undoctored test, but it sounds too good to be true. I've also been told Royal Purple and Redline diff fluids, but in the Amsoil tests they're usually dead last.

I used machine screws for my radiator shroud since it was already off the car when I started... has worked so far, probably not the right way to do it though.

Looks like the cat is bringing the masters a gift.

I'm surprised, I could only find Group 27 batteries at NAPA. Do you have a part # by chance?

I'm surprised, I could only find Group 27 batteries at NAPA. Do you have a part # by chance?

Ddiaz, if you have a Carquest or Advance Auto Parts around, they have them readily available. Last year I ran the 27 as well, but the battery was never secured properly since it didn't fit the hold down. It never shifted too much but it was enough for me to replace it.

Where can I get one of those?

My grandfather's first car was a Red and Black 1953 Roadmaster. I bring it up because before my grandma died, he had a picture of himself standing like this next to his Roadmaster (except he was wearing Army fatigues). I'll have to look for it, but a lot of photos went missing after my grandmother passed in 2010 and the vultures ransacked the house while he mourned.

It's always the shipping costs that are the worst...

Bunchabuix, Thanks for replying. I went on Fusick today to check for the center emblem and found that they are now selling repros of the tissue box, so I solved my own mystery. Thanks for the help!

I have an original tissue dispenser box but it was broken before I got to the car and the mounting bracket is long gone. Are these the same as the tri-5 Chevy's? There's a ton of them on Ebay, including repros. The box and chrome are still in decent condition with really light rust. The center emblem needs to be replaced, but those are available I've found. Just trying to get the small things off the list before I disappear into the country side this August.

Is this going to be popping up in the Buy/Sell section any time soon?

Dangit Matt, I've been looking for 3.36 rear end gears out of a 56 Buick Century for over a year now and just settled a couple months back on a 3.23 rear out of a Buick Special. How do the gears look? Did you get a chance to open them up?

If you want some extra lift, you could always throw some 60's aluminum rockers in there, too.

Works pretty good for not getting it recored or flushed. Sometimes I have to roll down the window while it's on full blast just to survive the commute from the college in 36 degrees lol.

Not the weekend yet but I got the Buick out for a thaw.

I didn't have to go to work today, nor did I want to - I'm under the weather the Buick is snowed in and I've been driving it daily. My student debt for the quarter is paid off and I got accepted to the university of my choice so just waiting it out until transfer time in August. So I would consider it a blessing, others would call me mad.

We were blessed with 8 inches today.

Not to get off topic here, but if there is any type of low speed discharge, you may want to get that looked at. The average discharge speed should be roughly 27mph, according to doctors... I don't know how different a 38 Buick VR would be to a 56 VR, but on the 56 it has two screws to take the cover off. Inside should be three windings with contact points that you can manually bend and adjust per the shop manual (if there is one).