Buicknutty
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Posts posted by Buicknutty
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On 3/29/2024 at 1:50 PM, sebastienbuick said:
You did a good job on this beautiful Buick
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The rust can be repaired and your Buick is in good condition 
Some people use the phrase " car for a parts " and I don't like that phrase, I like American cars, and I like to see people saved, they're beautiful cars that make us dream all over the world !
Thanks you very much Sebastian!
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On 3/30/2024 at 9:57 AM, EmTee said:
I went through this same ordeal with my Riviera. Finally, after 3 incorrect gaskets I punted and went with Permatex gasketmaker with no paper gasket. Glad I did - worked great. If you do what I did, apply the sealer bead, let the cover stand for 5~10 minutes and then install the cover with bolts evenly finger tight. I let mine stand overnight, then tightened the cover in a criss-cross pattern. No leaks!
Thanks! I ended up doing something similar, though I made one up out of sheet material and bolted it up with the barest amount of sealant.
Strange how the mistakes for the parts are happening.
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Once again progress is being made, albeit slowly and with hiccups. The steering is all back together, torqued to spec and pinned as required. New springs and shocks installed also.
One wee thing which drove me crazy was finding the new tie rod ends I'd bought last year. I carefully put them on the shelf unit designated for Wildcat parts, but now couldn't find them. My son to the rescue. He carefully went through each and every box and container till he found them, in a Nissan brake pad box, which had my name in it. The seller shipped it to me in that box. My confusion stemmed from the fact I do have a Nissan (300ZX) that I did a brake upgrade on, and my daughter has a Nissan which I did a recent brake job on too.
Silly me I guess.
I received the other axle shaft for the rear axle from my friend who pressed the new bearing on for me. So it's back in place too.
So here's the next hiccup. What I thought would be simple, the diff cover gasket seems not to be. The local parts stores asked if it's an 8.75 or a 9.375 ring gear, though the shop manual makes no reference to this, that I can find.
The ring gear seems to be just under 9 in, so we ordered that one, but it was wrong, so they got the larger one in for me and it's still wrong. The other local parts stores seem to be the same thing, as do Rock Auto.
I've verified that it's the correct axle on the car.
Any thoughts or comments on this?
Also I finished painting the underside of the trunk now and we are in the process of re installing the replacement stabilizer bars with new bushings installed. One of the originals was bent and they were all very rusty so I was able to get to replacements from Bud's in Oklahoma. Unfortunately they no longer want to ship to Canada so my good friend here John D agreed to have them shipped to his place then forwarded to me. Convoluted but it works.
So right off of the bat today the rest of the rear suspension is going back on, new springs, shock and stab bars. Everything has been cleaned and painted satin black. However, due to the amount of rust there's pits almost everywhere, which we are just living with.
Once again this brings the thought that perhaps this should have been a parts car for a better one. However we are where we are and at least this semi rare car is being saved. According to the production numbers I've found there were less than 3,600 made. Just a drop in the bucket in '68.
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On 3/23/2024 at 7:36 AM, JohnD1956 said:
Did you have to replace your fuel pump too? I will keep that in mind. I am afraid to think about the age on my fuel pump.
My fuel pump was rebuilt about 20 years ago now, still working!
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On 2/11/2024 at 7:11 AM, JohnD1956 said:
I had the 56 wiper motor rebuilt by Fickens wiper service, on Long Island, NY. It worked faithfully on the hills in PA while going home from the Morgantown meet. Some of those hills were miles long and gradual, some were short and steep. They worked regardless. I haven't messed with the washer system, yet.
That's what I did on mine and they work very well now, again. As long as the vacuum booster side of the fuel pump is working properly though.
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We are chugging along, and have the front brakes back together now and are put one of the axle shafts back in tonight. In Between doing a bit of sanding of the high build and a few other odds and ends on the car.
When I pulled the diff cover off tonight there wasn't much oil left in it, but we did loose a bunch changing the pinion seal a couple of weeks ago. What was left had almost turned to grease! The good news is there's very little metallic sediment and the gears have a bit of normal wear, nothing out of the ordinary.
Keith
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Well work does progress on a near daily basis though I don't always post. I finally did locate some correct u joint straps for the car, as pictured. These fit perfectly without modification, so now the driveshaft it properly secured, again!
Then I picked up the restored dash pad a few days ago and it looks great!
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You truly have come a long way on the project and in a Good Way it's nice that the small things are what needs to be attended to since the big stuff is done!
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They look like the correct ones! The ones I need are for the rear most u-joint. This car (the '68 Wildcat) has the two piece driveshaft and the '69Electra has a single.
I know you are a long way away, but where did you find them?
Also you mentioned about modifying the straps or joints, what did you have to do?
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So of late I'm into a wrong parts dilemma. First off are the axle bearings. I'd ordered them and a few other things recently from "That Big Online Parts Place" which usually has given good service, but this time the rear axle bearings are incorrect. The ones out of the car are 3.25 in outside dia, the one's I received are 3.062 in (3 1/16). In doing some online searching the same Timken number RW508 comes up from multiple sources as the correct bearing for the car, but it's not.
Perhaps there was a mistake made then everyone copies everyone else, that I don't know.
The inside dia is the same for both, so that's correct but they won't work and I'm not about the make a sleeve to fit the wrong size in there.
I've also verified the rear axle is the correct one and matches the build sheet, a 3.07 standard diff.
Then after some calls a friend came to the rescue with some old books which state 68-70 Full Buicks take a the 3.25 dia one. Fortunately I was able to find a pair of NORS ones and hope to have them by the weekend.
Then the latest issue are the u-joint strap kits. The pinion seal needed changing, no question, though the rear u-joint is still good, but the nuts on the retaining straps were so badly rusted that was no saving them. My local parts place had a listing and even had them in stock, and there's an issue there too. They are correct for dia of cups on the joint, but the bolt spacing is too wide and will not bolt up to the yoke. Once again after a bit of online searching it looks like the same MOOG part is available from multiple sources and says it is correct, which it isn't.
So I'm still stuck for a u-joint strap retainer right now. However you folks who have more experience with these cars than I do what are your comments about the axle bearings?
Keith
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On 3/8/2024 at 3:45 PM, sebastienbuick said:
The Buick will soon be ready for painting !
Rust in the trunk could also be water condensation over time ?Yes, that could be a possibility.
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On 3/8/2024 at 12:04 AM, 195354 said:
Looking good hope this is this the last of the rust repair for you. I am sure you are ready to see the convertible out and about
My father-in-law was a Body man back in the day he used plenty of brass when making repairs. Faster than torch welding he always said. Late in his carrer they started using Mig welders. He worked flat rate and the items that he talked about was the invention of plastic body fillers and mig welders. I wish I would have spent more time with him and leaned some of his trade
Steve
There always seems to be things we never thought to ask one's parents, and such. I know I have a number of similar regrets. My Dad and I got along great but I do still miss some of his insights and knowledge.
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This corner was the last part of the trunk lid to repair. I have no idea why this corner rusted out, perhaps water leakage from the "Wildcat" letters which sat towards the outer edge? No idea, but it really doesn't matter as it was rusted way back when then a repair was brazed in.
I could not get a decent shape using only a single piece of steel, so I made it in two. An extra weld but it seems to be pretty close. As you can see the upper section also took a wee bit of persuasion from the torch to get it into the right shape. I'm sure some out there could have done a better, smoother job than I.
Then ground down, sandblasted to get the indents clean and ready for filler.
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Here's an update on some recent work!
It was time to remove the old exhaust system I don't know how old it was, but it's from pre 1985 when my friend bought the car. As you can see I'd patched it and such just to keep it together for the time being. We have a complete dual repro system from Waldron's to go on soon.
I just can't believe how restrictive this one must be, anyway the old girl will breathe a little better now!
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Folks, Thanks for the responses. The left hand mirror is the remote control type, mechanical of course. To the best of my knowledge the right hand mirror which was adjustable from inside the car did not become available till later on, not sure when.
The prices I saw for a '68 right hand mirror alone was close to $150 US, which will nearly be doubled by the time I get it in my paws here. The left hand is remote control and is in good condition too, not perfect, but very nice. Though by the time I get the nice (I hope!) base/clear on it perhaps it will look a bit tired.
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Folks, I'll post this here just in case. Would anyone have a right hand door mirror for this car, the '68 Wildcat, in good condition that they are willing to sell me?
Thanks.
Keith
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That looks like it's for a small series one, for a Special or Super.
Keith
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8 minutes ago, sebastienbuick said:
Okay , good luck
, your Buick will be very beautiful once finished
Thank you! I certainly hope so after all this time, money and hard work!
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On 3/3/2024 at 11:54 PM, 195354 said:
I have been following this project you're getting closer for sure. Rust repair is time consuming but it looks like you have this on the run now. I look forward to the next post.
Steve
Thanks Steve! I'm getting very anxious to get some colour on it!
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8 hours ago, sebastienbuick said:
Are you the one going to paint the car ? Or is it a garage/body painter who will paint it ?
I am going to paint the car myself. I've done a few cars and hopefully it will turn out good. Patience and careful work I've found is the key for me.
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4 hours ago, sebastienbuick said:
superb work !
Thank you very much, soon we will be at the critical point where it's time to lay the colour on it.
I'm planning to do base clear, and the base is all now water based which I've never sprayed before.
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Here is some more progress, I sprayed high build primer on the left quarter panel, hood and the inside of the trunk lid. The topside of the trunk needs a bit more work first, no pics of that right now!
After all the messing around it's nice to see everything the same colour! I'm sure the quarter will need some additional block sanding though before a guide coat.
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Thanks for the info John. None of my info has anything about that mirror light though I found out a bit more online, and my son found a repro one.
The car this came off of wasn't a highly optioned car, manual A/C, but AM radio, no power windows either, and I think it was the mid line trim level but it did have cruise control.
My Electra is curious for the options it doesn't have, as it's the top trim level with most of the options, auto A/C, AM/FM, power everything, but no cruise, and just a couple of other things missing.
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We have been going through some of the boxes of parts I've collected for it over the last 12 years or so and I found this accessory mirror that I'd totally forgot about. In 2015 a friend and I stripped out a '68 Electra 4 door, he wanted some stuff and I took most of the rest, and this came off of this car.
I can find out very little about it, except for an ebay listing for the same thing.
Right now there is no continuity through it, so it won't work, but it has what appears to be a small light in the bottom along with the switch.
So have any of you folks seen this item before, and what do you know about it?
Thanks!
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My Wife's 1968 Wildcat convt
in Me and My Buick
Posted
That does look like the correct one, thanks.
This is a part I never thought I'd have this kind of issue getting, but there you go.
Keith