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therios

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  1. On Saturday, May 4, I took out my '63 Electra 225 and pretty much repeated the drive I took with my '57 Roadmaster a few weeks earlier in April. (The Roadmaster photos were posted in this thread a few weeks ago.) The day started out pretty cold, so I drove up to Wisconsin with the top up. By mid-day with the sun shining, it was warm enough to put the top down.

     

    Ike

     

    The photos below were taken near the boat launch in Williams Bay, WI, on Lake Geneva.

     

    2019_05-04 - Electra 225 at Williams Bay WI -1.jpg

    2019_05-04 - Electra 225 at Williams Bay WI -2.jpg

    • Like 10
  2. I got my '57 Roadmaster out of storage a couple weekends ago and drove it only a little at the time. I took it out for a long drive this past Saturday, knowing that we were going to be hit by an April snowstorm on Sunday. I drove from my home in north suburban Chicago north to Pleasant Prairie, WI, and after getting gas at Costco, I drove west to Lake Geneva, WI, Williams Bay, WI, and Fontana-on-Geneva-Lake, WI, before driving back home. It was a 146 mile drive. The weather on Saturday was a beautiful, and the car drove beautifully, too. I'll be getting the '63 Electra 225 out of storage next weekend, and I hope to be able to repeat this drive in that car -- with the top down if it's going to be warm enough.

     

    Ike

     

    My route and some photos along the way.

    Photo 1 was taken at the Sedge Meadow Forest Preserve in Wadsworth, IL.

    Photo 2 was taken near the boat launch in Williams Bay, WI, on Lake Geneva.

    Photo 3 was taken at the west end of Lake Geneva, in Fontana-on-Geneva-Lake, WI.

     

    1718883473_Saturday2019_04-13drive.thumb.PNG.ffc3fc03ee92ac2e390ed7b72fbd1a7f.PNG

    2103905315_2019_04-13-RoadmasteratSedgeMeadowForestPreserveWadsworthIL.thumb.jpg.5448b9e5a4ce95ee9ef2e5434102f768.jpg54609016_2019_04-13-RoadmasteratWilliamsBayWI.thumb.jpg.5fa8bd2b9388f190453ba57032881f12.jpg1303466340_2019_04-13-RoadmasteratFontana-on-Genava-LakeWI.thumb.jpg.d3b546e0cd7a9836d9ceda89d6838459.jpg

     

     

     

    • Like 10
  3. 42 minutes ago, Centurion said:

    Amazing 1/6-scale 1954 Buick Skylarks, hand-crafted by a Texas architect who builds these on the side.  He spends $1,800 on the chrome-plating for each car.

     

    The models are priced at $12,000 each.

     

    32014331020_7e878dfec0_b.jpg

     

     

     

    So... not only can I not afford to own an actual full-size 1954 Buick Skylark, I can't afford to buy a 1/6-scale model of one! <sigh> :(

     

    • Like 5
  4. I stumbled across this interesting article online today. This 'Buick guy' has a GS California model that few people knew existed (photos)

    Lots of photos -- not just of the GS.

     

    -c8a596b71882890e.JPG

     

    From the article:

    "[Dan] Williams, of Baldwinsville, N.Y., definitely is the Buick guy. He's owned a 1967 Buick GS that he restored and realized he had turned it into a trailer queen. In other words, it was too good to drive. That car won a bunch of important awards and when it could go no further he sold it.

     

    Now he has an unusual 1967 Buick GS California, a low production two-door coupe that most people interested in old cars had no idea existed.

     

    The story is this: During the mid-1960s Buick dealers in California were clamoring for something they could call their own, a car to sell that buyers couldn't get at Chevy, Pontiac or Oldsmobile dealers. General Motors agreed and made 1,577 versions of the Buick GS California, a so-called thin-pillar coupe that entered life as a plain Jane outfitted with the 340 cubic inch V-8 engine and little else. In 1967, Buick GS cars with the 340 motor were available in only two colors, silver and white, but since the California model was unique it could be ordered in any color Buick offered that year."

     

    I wonder if Dan Williams is a BCA member and/or a member of this forum. Baldwinsville is near Syracuse. Do any of you from upstate New York know him?

     

    Ike

  5. I really appreciate all the comments and discussion my post generated. I'm sorry I haven't responded sooner.

    I must say that I'm not that upset about my photo being used (perhaps I should be); rather, I was slightly annoyed by it because it seemed dishonest. I guess I was misinterpreting the posted name of the item:

     

    "Details about 1963 Buick all-model factory cost/dealer sticker pricing for base + options $$"

     

    This initially suggested to me that the seller was trying to pass off the cover sheet as part of a factory options/pricing catalog. Clearly, he/she just created a cover sheet using a modified version of my photo and slapped on the photocopies of the documents he's selling.

     

    I suspect that the person found the photo posted online and therefore assumed it was in the public domain.

    Old-tank said "Somehow the pic got on the interweb." Well, that's my doing. I recall contributing this and another photo of my Electra to a web site that features car photos. (http://www.classycars.org/buick02.html)

     

    Matt (SpecialEducation) points out that:

    "Ike's name was edited out of the photo (look at the licence plate).  There's some intent... "

    Actually, that's my doing, too. I blocked out the license plate in the photos I submitted, and I intentionally requested that my name not be associated with the photos. So even if the eBay seller wanted to contact me for permission to use the photo, my contact info was not available.

     

    I will consider the suggestions everyone provided and decide if I'm going to take any action. Honestly, I don't know if I'm going to bother to do anything about this. As lancemb said about a similar situation he experienced, it "Didn't cost me anything, and they're not getting rich off me."

    I suppose, at a minimum, I could follow a combination of the advice offered by MrEarl, SpecialEducation, and  NTX5467: 

    • (MrEarl) "You should at least hit him up for a copy as compensation for use."  :P I like this idea. I'm curious, but I wouldn't buy the material he's selling.
    • (SpecialEducation) "...send him a note requesting that he give you credit for the photo in this publication, or ask that he quits using it altogether."
    • (NTX5467) "...advise him of whom the vehicle owner was and where the picture was taken with the DESIRE that such information be included in their advertising.  Perhaps rather than your name, you use "A Buick Club of America Member" ..."

    Ike

  6. Imagine my surprise while browsing ebay listings when I came across an item using a photo I took of my 1963 Electra in July 2012.

     

    This is the link to the ebay item: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1963-Buick-all-model-factory-cost-dealer-sticker-pricing-for-base-options-/381152853997?fits=Year%3A1963|Make%3ABuick|Model%3AElectra|Submodel%3ABase|Engine+-+Liter_Display%3A6.6L&hash=item58be7affed:g:it0AAOSwpDdU2lFg&vxp=mtr

     

    This is the photo of the item for sale on ebay:

    s-l1600.jpg

     

    Now here is the photo I took of my car in July 2012:

    DSC_7146.jpg

    I took this photo on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. In fact, this was one of the photos that Pete Phillips chose to use in the June 2013 Bugle article that featured my car.

    I don't know whether to feel flattered or annoyed that this person is using my photo to sell his stuff on ebay. I guess I'm feeling a little of both.

     

    Ike

     

  7. I'm hoping to be there with my father again this year. (I think he's up for the drive from Chicago!)

     

    JohnD, in case you hadn't counted us in yet, I can confirm that my father and I will be at the forum breakfast/lunch.

     

    We arrived in Springfield, MO around 4pm today. We made very good time in my father's 2013 Enclave. Only 7 hours and 15 minutes from the north suburbs of Chicago to the Springfield Doubletree Hotel down the street from the Ramada. (And that includes a brief detour in St. Louis to drive by and around Busch Stadium.)

     

    Looking forward to the events of the week, and especially to the forum gathering on Friday.

     

    Ike

  8. I was at Oak Ridge National Laboratory today for meetings. I was thrilled to discover that there was a car show scheduled on site today. There was only one Buick on display: a beautiful 1934 model 67.

    Mr. Earl, I'm posting this from my not-so-smart smart phone, and it appears that the photo is not oriented correctly. Can you work your magic and re-post it correctly?

    Ikepost-77380-0-41915600-1433477291_thumb.j

  9. Can anyone tell me if the center section of the rear bumper from a '57 Buick wagon would interchange with the rear bumper center section on my '57 super?

    Guy on phone says No, but I look at pictures and it looks awfully similar.

    Thanks

    No, it won't. The '57 wagons were built on Century/Special frames, which, as you discovered, are a little narrower than the Super/Roadmaster frames.

    Lots of valuable information is available on the Team Buick web site:

    http://www.teambuick.com/reference/years/57.php

  10. What mesh is everyone talking about in the same breath as oil bath filters? The wire mesh built into the valley cover or the mesh in the oil cap ? Certainly not referring to a wire mesh in the air cleaner of a 57 Buick I take it.

    Hi buick man,

    I was referring to the wire mesh contained in the air cleaner element. I think the others were, too.

    See the following image for some text and figures from the 1957 Buick Chassis Service Manual.

    post-83062-143142726158_thumb.png

    Ike

    post-83062-143142726158_thumb.png

  11. Sunday was a beautiful day in the region surrounding Washington, DC, so I took my '63 Electra 225 convertible out for a short drive (only 250 miles or so). It was a lovely day to be touring with the top down, but I've got to remember to keep a hat in the car -- my bald head got a little too much sun.

    Sorry, no photos of the car; but I did quickly take a photo as I started to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge going eastbound on Hwy 50.

    post-83062-143142721941_thumb.jpg

    The closest gas station to me that sells 93 octane ethanol-free gasoline is on the Delmarva Peninsula in Easton, Maryland. For those of you unfamiliar with the geography of this region, here's a map of the Delmarva Peninsula. It's the large peninsula on the East coast occupied by most of Delaware, portions of Maryland, and Virginia way down at its Southern tip.

    post-83062-143142721903_thumb.jpg

    Easton, MD is about 70 miles away from my home in DC. Every so often, I'll drive one of my old Buicks to Easton for a tank-full of ethanol-free gas; and I usually extend my drive to get as close to empty as I dare before arriving at the gas station to fill up. This is easier to accomplish in the Electra, which has a functioning fuel gauge; it's a little more challenging in the '57 Roadmaster, with its faulty fuel gauge. Until I get the Roadmaster's fuel gauge sorted out, I have to rely on the trip odometer, which I zero out at every fill-up. Lately, I've been averaging between 11 and 14 mpg in the Roadmaster, so I don't dare drive more than about 215 miles before refueling. I really enjoy the drive to Easton and back, but still, I wish I had more options for ethanol-free gas closer to me. Those of you with ethanol-free gas nearby are lucky. Actually, come to think of it, at $5.69/gal, I am lucky that ethanol-free gas is some distance away and not an option for every fill-up!

    Happy motoring!

  12. Yep. Kerosene will do it for the most part. May have to let the mesh soak some, depending on how hard it is. In my younger dumber years, I used gasoline. Washed parts in a tank of gas. Lucky.

    Ben

    FYI...The 1957 Buick Chassis Service Manual states, in capital letters: DO NOT USE KEROSENE

    Though, it doesn't explain why.

    The text below was copied from the Chassis Service Manual chapter on "Lubricare," under tasks to be performed every 5000 miles:

    2. Air Cleaner and Oil Filter Caps. Every

    5000 miles (more often under dusty operating

    conditions) remove the air cleaner element and

    the oil filler caps and wash the filtering ele-

    ments in a non-inflammable solvent. DO NOT

    USE KEROSENE. Allow elements to drain

    until dry. Do not use air blast on filtering ele-

    ment. Oil the filler cap elements.

    Wash and dry the air cleaner reservoir then

    fill to point marked "OIL LEVEL," using one

    pint of SAE 50 engine oil. See figure 1-10. Do

    not oil the cleaner element because oil will

    drain down into reservoir and over-fill it.

    Ike

  13. I agree that an oil bath air cleaner setup may be more efficient than a paper filter. However, I'm pretty sure that this is possible only when the oil bath actually has oil in it!

    Last weekend I happened to check the air cleaner oil bath level in my 1957 Roadmaster. To my surprise and dismay, it was dry! :eek: I didn't have any SAE 50 oil on hand, so I filled the oil bath reservoir to the line with 10W-30. I plan to replace the 10W-30 with SAE 50 as soon as I get a chance this weekend.

    Since I took delivery of the car in May 2013, I have regularly checked the levels and condition of the engine oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, brake fluid, and coolant; but until last weekend, I had never personally checked the air cleaner oil bath. :mad:

    I don't even want to think about how long the oil bath has been dry, or how many miles I've driven the car in that condition. :( I had a mechanic rebuild the carburetor for me late last year, but for all I know, the oil bath may have been dry before then. At least I haven't driven the car very much this year while I've been trying to sort out the brakes.

    Is there something in particular that I should do now to mitigate any potentially harmful effects? :confused:

    Thanks,

    Ike

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