Buicknutty

My choice would be #4, the '41 46SSE, followed by the #3, the original 46S. Hard to say for sure, though without seeing each one, but that's my opinion. Keep us posted! Keith

Could you post a picture of the position that the weight was in before it broke? It would help someone here to tell you the position it was in. From what you said it sounds like it was open, but I'm not sure. If it is stuck closed, it will heat up the manifold, like "Oldwood" mentioned, also it will cause the exhaust valves to run too hot and burn out. The ones on my '41 seemed to be completely stuck as well. I had the manifold off during the rebuild, and I sandblasted the surface to remove rust and scale, soaked the shafts with the same PB blaster, tried another couple of types, heated the casting, and applied ice the the shaft, all to no avail. Mine were stuck about halfway open, and I just bent the valve itself to the open position. Keith

It would be truly awesome vehicle when done. I hope you take it and get'er done! I have seen a couple of these over the years, but have never had the chance to ride in one though. Keep us posted! Keith

I need a an underseat heater core for 1941 Roadmaster, preferably one that has been tested, but will consider any. I think that these cores are common through '47 or '48, but perhaps someone that knows more can let me know. I live in Canada, so shipping would be to the Toronto, Ontario, area. Thanks for looking! Keith

Sounds fair by Canadian prices. I have a '56 Roadmaster 2Dr. hardtop, that I've owned for over 30 years! Keith

Actually though this car looks nice I too generally prefer them in red or green, but I'd still buy it if I could! Keith

Love that car!! I'm kind of have split feelings on the A/C, it's nice to have, but not stock though. Wouldn't stop me from buying it though! Keith

My guess is that it will hold up fine, John. Keith

Easiest to check is for power to the the brake switch, don't know which side is "hot", but one side will have power, the other won't, unless pressure is applied. That'll tell you if you have power to the switch. If you do, likely it's the switch, but try to have someone press on the brakes and see if you get power to the other side. Also, I think that you have to have the ignition "on", for power to be to the brake lights, but I cannot be sure about this. If no power to the switch, work back. A wiring diagram helps a lot, hopefully you will have a shop manual, if not try to get one. My guess is on the switch, as I've had them give trouble from time to time. On my '56 I have to change it every few years. If/when you have to change it it unscrews, but have the new one beside you ready to go right away, this way you can minimize the air into the system. Doing this, I've usually been fortunate to be able just bleed the fronts, and the pedal comes back nice and hard. Keith

I will be interested to see it as comes back together. Thanks for posting the pics. Keith

Nice work, John. I've found that good body work is mainly a matter of time and patience, lots of sanding out, reapply, sand, etc., etc. Before I got into welding as much as now, I did a similar (non-welded) repair on the lower part of my '56 in 1996, and it has held up fine. When I do a complete repaint on it I'll cut it out and mig a proper patch in, but in the meantime it does just fine. Keith

Sounds like a nice car, post some pictures when you can. I love driving around in these great old cars! Lots of good advice on this forum! Keith

John; Looks quite good compared to our Wildcat! I concur that a quarter that good is a candidate for repair, not replacement. Keith

Cool car Mike! Wish I had the means to get it! I've always loved these early '50's Roadmaster hardtops. Hope someone picks it up. Keith

Turned the heat on in garage this morning to hopefully get some bits back together on my '41 McLaughlin Buick coupe, got some work done, but then other stuff got in the way, and I didn't get as much done as I hoped! As usual!! Getting very cold tonight, so I'm going to work on some of the interior parts in the basement tomorrow rather than heat the garage. Keith

One of the strangest Hitchcock films every, still scary after all these years! I think that there was a Goldie Hawn film from the early 70's were a '56 Roadmaster gets wrecked. Not sure of the name of it though. Keith

I have a Canadian (McLaughlin) built 1941 Roadmaster coupe, same as a US 76S. Nearly back on the road after a very long hiatus. Keith

It would be a nice car for someone!

Nice work John! My friend who used to do the work on my '56's A/C was nearly paranoid about breaking something. He actually told me that in the old days they never worried about something breaking, as there was always another on the shelf, and that way he got to charge the customer for another part too! Keith

Looks nice, keep up the good work! Keith

I don't too much about Riv's, but have worked on the mid-fifties nailheads for many years. So hopefully my thoughts will be of use to you! On my '56 322, the rad outlet/inlet is right to left, like you have suggested. My car is away for the winter, so I can't check, but is a different model anyway. How did the overheating start, gradually, or all of a sudden? Have you have the car for long? Also, how long does it take to overheat? Is it driveable, does it run cooler on the highway, or in the city? The rad change makes me wonder if something is piped wrong? Could the water pump be wrong, or have damaged impellers? Is the block clean? A low mileage engine could have a lot of crud in the water jackets. I had tough one to figure some years ago, and it was a partial blockage in the timing chain cover, at the top where it goes into the water manifold, right below the themostat. Hope this helps! Keith

John, A friend of mine is a retired mechanic, who specialized in A/C. He was originally from Arizona, and took his apprenticeship at a GM dealership there in the late '50's and early '60's, told me that there was a retrofit kit available from GM to fit the A-6 compressor to the older systems that came with an A-5, like my '56. The brackets are different, but the fittings will match up apparently, so this might be a possibility. Not for a show car, of course, but for a driver it could a good solution, rather than to try to get a repair for the A-5, and this work get rid of the clutch bearing that always gives trouble on the older compressor too. Keith

John, working A/C is nice to have! Our Wildcat doesn't have it, but as you know the '56 does. After 20+ years of generally trouble free service, I've a myriad of problems with it. I now have a bunch of new stuff and hope to have it going again sometime. I hate making predictions, as I'm always wrong! Good thing I'm not in the fortune telling business! Keith

Nice looking car, lots of good advice so far. One thing is that there are of repro parts available for the "A" body cars, like your Skylark, which shares many components with its' GM sisters, like the Cutlas and others. So if you need floorpans and such, they will be available from a few sources. Keep us posted on your progress! Keith

It is indeed a 455, according to the engine number it is from a '70 Riv. The poor girl is a bit of a mongrel, with the wrong engine, and the wrong seats. The 455 we're keeping, but we found a '68 Wildcat parts car, and have got the seats out of it, and will be re-upholstered with correct material. The goal is to make it a nice driver, we're not trying to make it show quality, though I want it to look good when done. Actually, I think that the car looks better in the pictures than it does in real life, though it is coming along. I'll try to post some of the results of the more recent work later in the weekend. Keith