wex65
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Many thanks for the photos mud. We had a hot one here and I had work to do elsewhere so I will get back to looking at the car tomorrow or Tuesday. Not sure what my issue is. I will update later in the week. Paul
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Willie Thanks for the reply. I think your reply might actually have already partly helped me. The two spindles are stamped GMB20B and GMB21A. I do see that one of them has a reverse thread...never noticed that. I think my other issue pertains to the control arm pins. I will have access to a camera a little later but I am trying to get a view of the control arm pins, showing the bushes etc. I think my lower control arm has something welded to it that prevents part of the bushing from being stalled. I think the larger bush has been welded into the arm...?! So, in summary...anything you have that shows the outer ends of the control arms, above and below the steering knuckle would be VERY helpful. I have a bad feeling about my lower arm. Paul
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Bob Totally understand you are not making a recommendation, merely a suggestion. I will post an update once I get the trim together. I might also look for am image of it in the master chassis book to show the pierce I am referring to. As always, thanks for the input y'all are providing. Paul
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Does anyone have a fairly high res image showing the front spindle and control arms? Preferably both sides as odd as that might sound. Putting them back together last night two things struck me: First, the two spindles have different numbers stamped on them, one with an A and the other with a B. They DO have very slight differences. I wasn't aware they were different. Next, I am connecting up the lower control arm and have an alignment issue. I would like to compare with a fully assembled spindle and control arms. Many thanks, Paul
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So, I think Bob is right and I am about to order these rivets for my window trim...they are solid rivets and not hollow, that OK? Rivet, Flat, 1/8 In Dia, 1 In L, PK100 - Solid Rivets - Rivets - 6KY75 : Grainger Industrial Supply I will post photos after the job is done to help others out trying to accomplish the same thing. If anyone could recommend a rivet tool to install these it would be appreciated. Riveting is not something I have much experience of but suspect some sort of press required as opposed to a rivet gun? Paul
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'55 Roadmaster front suspension question - control arm bushing
wex65 replied to wex65's topic in Buick - Post War
yes, when removing the upper arms I realized the adjustment method. I will print the relevant service manual page and bring it with me. Machine shop just called, kingpins all done! -
'55 Roadmaster front suspension question - control arm bushing
wex65 replied to wex65's topic in Buick - Post War
An update for anyone performing the same job on their front end. I finally got the control arms rebuilt and back in place. The passenger side upper arm is blocked by the engine mount. I ended up having to unbolt the mount and jack the engine up about 2-3 inches to get the rearmost control arm mount bolt out. All is fine now. Bob, to your comment about the rubber rings, I agree...but what is the alternative?? The old ones had almost turned to a rubber/jelly mixture. HOPEFULLY my spindles/kingpins should be back from the machine shop today and I can get everything back together. New wheel cylinders will be going on and I can get the wheels back on this weekend. then, I will see if it can drive in a straight line and handle bends...! Actually, castor/camber is something I need to look at first. Looking forward to seeing reaction from local guys when I bring it in. Paul -
at this rate you will have it fully restored and ready to drive this weekend
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Paul I could be wrong, it is early!, but I think the figures I posted might actually be for the front shocks where the link bar attaches...
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According to the service manual... Nut Shock Absorber Link Rod 25-30 ft/lbs Pal Nut Shock Absorber Link Rod 2-4 ft/lbs Hope this is what you are after... Paul
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Many thanks 5467. I was really more talking about an OCR'd version of the scan. I ran one last night to see how it would work and was pleasantly surprised at the outcome on my 55 service manual. It essentially turned graphics into searchable text and retained graphics like illustrations. Might be me being over zealous but I felt it would be beneficial to be able to search for strings like in a word document. I am not aware that the table of contents in the service manual PDFs is operating as you suggest. I think that is more common in modern documents but not simple scan. Anyway, not trying to divert a Buick forum into a computer discussion so I will stop for now. Thanks for the feed back. Paul
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I know this might sound a little 'out there' but has anyone come across PDF service manuals or parts interchange books that are actually searchable as text and not scanned images. Several appear to advertise their downloads as being searchable but the copies I have purchased are simply scans and definitely NOT searchable. They are amazingly useful but how much more useful would the parts interchange document be if I could simply type in 133847802 and jump straight to the relevant section... Using the service manual example, I cannot type in 'upper control arm' and jump to pages that contain that phrase, make sense? Just seeing if this exists out there somewhere??? Maybe I am being lazy or not thinking straight... Paul
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I am in need of a dagmar bullet for the front bumper of my 55 Roadmaster. I think they are different from side to side so it is the driver's side one I need.
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lol, BFH...took me about 5 seconds to work it out.
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Ben Believe it or not this is my very first ever experience of seeing a kingpin, never mind working with one! Back where I hail from a 55 Buick would have seemed like a aircraft carrier in terms of size compared to the cars I worked on as a youth... Anyways, spindles dropped off at second machine shop who when seeing them complained that they might not be able to get the old kingpins out with their machines and could I do it for them?!... is it me or is it getting more difficult to find skilled tradesmen? Paul
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OK, after talking to another machine shop up in MD I am headed to pick up the parts from the original shop. The second shop are in COMPLETE agreement that BOTH pins need to be present to do the job properly. They concur that each needs to be reamed/honed to fit. They also confirmed they would completely re-assemble the spindles. I called the first shop back and boy are they unhappy. They are of the opinion that I am calling them jackasses....I will be happy once I have my parts back. It now turns out they only cleaned the parts so I will bring them to the new shop and feel happy doing so. Thanks for all your input guys, it really made a difference. Paul
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Thanks guys, I called the shop. Their position is that they are a machine shop and not mechanics and hence they will install bushes and hand back to me rather than re-assemble otherwise they have potential liability in the re-assembly process. Not sure I agree with them but being where I am I don't seem to have a long list of alternatives... They say 50 years ago pins could vary significantly in diameter but these days are near identical hence little need to match pin to bush. Seems they already started the job so I will wait to see what I get back... sigh...
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Leif, I left them AN and AY (as they are assembled together with the old kingpin) but they say I need to shim 'on the car'. Is this incorrect? I am starting to think they are as new to this as I am! Also, if I do finish the installation after they install the bushes is this something I can do easily?
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53buickspecial8, nice car. I am in the process of trying to get my bumpers chromed here in WV and it looks like you might need the same at some point. If I come up with a cost effective solution I will let you know. The quotes thus far are somewhat higher than I had expected. If you are up in this area (Martinsburg/Charles Town) feel free to look me up. Paul
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John Thanks, I didn't see the PM until you mentioned it then found it! I went ahead and joined the BCA and will wait to hear back from them. I haven't reached out to the local contacts as of yet but will likely to do this week. Many thanks for reaching out to me, appreciated. Paul
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Sorry but another post, this one relating to the kingpins. I dropped off both complete spindle assemblies and a new kingpin set to a local machine shop last Thursday with them saying they would get to them today or tomorrow. The strange thing is, they said they didn't need both pins and only needed the bushings and one pin. They said they would drive out the old bushings, drive in the new one and only needed on pin to check with. They left me with the other pin and the shims (they said it needed to be shimmed on the car) and other parts as they didn't need them...? I have not dealt with kingpins before and, perhaps naively, pretty much thought they would hand me back the complete spindle assembly with new pins installed. They seem to be indicating they will be installing new bushings and the remainder of the assembly is easy, down to me and wont require special tools etc. Is this right?? I don't want to pay $95 (which itself sounded expensive!) only to find a job done a) wrong or half done. I will be happy once this suspension is back together...hopefully she wont steer and handle like the Lucitania afterwards! Paul
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'55 Roadmaster front suspension question - control arm bushing
wex65 replied to wex65's topic in Buick - Post War
An update, Bob was absolutely right. I put the arm in a vice and used a 650 ft lb impact wrench. even with this it took plenty of anti-seize and 5-10 minutes to get it fully tightened. had to run the wrench above the recommended psi to get the job done. I am amazed at just how tight these caps are. Now, unfortunately the passenger side upper control arm will not come out until the engine is raised 2 or so inches and the rear mounting bolt hits the engine mount, sigh... Paul -
Many thanks Bob, I just opened the new glass and realized they included the rubber with them, very helpful.
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I am trying to install my nice new front windows and new trim but am a little lost as how best to attach the trim clips to the new trim pieces. I have attached photos that hopefully display the clip and trim sufficiently. The four little jagged tags need top puncture through the trim and then be bent over to secure it. I am thinking a very small drill piece would allow me to do this and keep the existing clips but wanted to check that there wasn't a far easier method using some other form of attachment. Any help appreciated. If nothing else hopefully this thread helps those trying to identify what clip is needed! The photos are pretty high res and can be clicked on to expand. Paul
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As part of replacing both front windows on my 55 4DR Roadmaster, each being cracked, I am replacing the window seal trim pieces. Thankfully the seller of the car included two brand new windows, custom cut... Upon removing the window on the driver's side I noted that the support channel is badly corroded. I am looking to replace it and suspect this is the best option... 1955 Buick Restoration Parts Window Sash Channel - Door - 10-045X This is the channel into which the window sits and is held seemingly just by some rubber. I also want to replace that rubber that sits inside that channel. It is difficult to see whether this is the correct product, has anyone else replaced this piece and am I on the right track with the link below? 1955 Buick Restoration Parts Window Sash Channel Filler - Rubber-Cork 1/32" Thick - 10-041X Many thanks, Paul PS: Just removing the interior door handles and window cranks to get the door panel off is probably the trickiest job I have performed on a car recently!
