sweetpotato

Hi Al , East Central Arizona. The car was originally owned by a druggist in MO, then it went to Colorado, then Arizona. Bob

1953 Buick Special, 263CI Straight Eight. Standard Transmission. Recent restoration. New or Rebuilt: Battery, Hoses, Shocks, Brakes, Tires, Paint, Windshield, Wiper Motor, Carburetor, Radio, Torque Tube Seals, Pedals, Interior-Seats, Headliner, Carpet, Door panels, Booster Electric Fuel Pump, Clutch Disc and Pressure Plate, Horn Relay, Window glass &channels, Seat Belts, Radiator. Many parts re-chromed. Transmission rebuilt. Many small restoration parts, gaskets, hardware, clips, seals, etc. RECEIPTS AVAILABLE. ASKING $14,350 Reasonable offers will be considered.

Don't know whether I'm supposed to post this on the forum but I would like some feedback on whether his asking price is in the ballpark. Bob https://showlow.craigslist.org/cto/d/1955-buick-century-estate/6415337898.html

I do remember that the plate was painted over with the body color when I removed it. In fact you can see a small residue of red in one of the letters that I missed when I put it on the wire wheel before I put it back on. Do any of the numbers indicate what time of year the car was built? Maybe the engine S/N would show that? Anyway, thanks for all that info. I'm always amazed at the amount of information you have on our Buicks. Carole and I had a great long Black Friday tour in the Buick yesterday.... lots of thumbs up and o.k's. We have noticed that small kids have a lot of interest in and appreciation of our old cars, often more than the adults they are with. Don't know why that is but I'll take it as a good omen for the future. Bob

Here is the plate. I removed it to paint and reinstalled it with screws. I don't remember if it was originally installed with rivets or screws but I don't think there was any evidence that it was swapped out. Bob

Thanks Al for all the paint info. The paint no. on my i.d. plate is 72 which I think is Carlsbad black top and Matador red bottom. Is that right? When I got the car the old, apparently original, colors were black top and red bottom. And when I stripped/sanded the car I didn't see anything different. The trim no. on the plate is 41. According to your information the lower dash should be the light grey if the upper dash is black. I don't think any part of the car was ever repainted and the upper dash was black. The original lower dash definitely had that green look so I'm wondering if there could have been some cars that didn't follow that rule. This car was built in Kansas City. Thanks, Bob

Looks great Pat. The color appears to be very close to mine. I believe we both, separately, probably got it about right. I think your grandfather would probably recognize that color as close to the way it looked out of the showroom. Bob

No, it is black. I repainted it as original. I live in the tall Ponderosa pines of Eastern Arizona. Maybe they are reflecting off the dash. Bob

Glad you got it resolved. Can you post a picture of the final product? Bob

Attached are pictures of the lower dash of my '53 Special 41D. I, too, took the glove box door with the original color to my local Dupont paint supplier. He matched it electronically and it visually was, in my opinion, also a near perfect match. The color is a metallic Ful Cryl (Nason). It has a very slight green cast to it. The number on the can is 334371. Bob

For starters, buy a shop manual applicable to your year. And, when you hit a snag, the experts (not me) on this site will nearly always have the answer.

I'll do that

Unfortunately, my local glass shop made the one that I have now and is cracked. It was definitely cheap but you can see where the crack started at a small chip between the laminates where they sanded it on top. These "classic" glass shops do give you a good, polished edge product but Bhigdog is right about the price. When you live in the mountains there aren't a lot of glass shops.

Does anyone have a suggestion for reasonable supplier of flat door glass? ('53 Special 41D rear door)

Joe, It looks like the opening on the car is probably the same as a Dynaflow car. It is 23 3/8 inches. That is why they attached the wide (4 inch) mounting bracket to the passenger side of the 18 3/4 inch wide conventional transmission core. Definitely should get better cooling with the 22 inch radiator. I might have to do some creative fabrication on the mounting brackets and hoses.

Thanks for the research Joe. I wish someone was building the 3130075 but I guess it's supply and demand. The 3123756 ('50-'52) shows a core size of 22X22. http://classicfordradiator.com/1950-52-new-buick-3-row-radiator-regular-core-design-313-1.aspx My OEM core is 22 1/4 high by 18 3/4 wide. Bob

Yep, the mounts are at an angle. I'm leaning more toward getting these tanks re-cored or going to the 50-52 Buick one (brass and copper) which has the inlet and outlet in the right place and at the right angle. Re-plumbing for the upper which is centered on the Al one and dealing with the straight rather than ell lower and then maybe not having good fan clearance sounds like not worth the "savings".

Do you mean my orig. radiator or the aluminum '47-54 chevy one? It is on ebay at radiators4less.

Joe, I do not have the nipple on the bottom. This is a standard transmission series 40. The stampings on the top tank are: Harrison 3130075 53f R-21 The mounting flange on the passenger side is 4 inches wide and the flange on the driver side is 2 inches wide. This setup moves the radiator over to the driver side enough to center it on the fan.

Thanks Old Tank. Those 50-52 ones at least have the inlet/outlet in the right place.

I'm in a little mountain town in east-central Arizona. No big city within 200 miles so not a lot of options on radiator shops. He did say he could re-core it but just the core would be over $500. I can't afford that so, since this is not a show car but more of a daily driver that's why I was looking at adapting a $200 alternative.

During the fourth of July parade my radiator sprung a serious leak. My local radiator shop said he is not able to repair it because it is a heater core type and not a tube type. I have found on ebay an all aluminum three row radiator for a 47-54 chevy truck which has stamped tanks and looks somewhat like mine. The measurements are close and the inlet and outlet are relatively close to being in the right place. I think I can make it work with some modification of the mounting fins. I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with one of these?

If anyone knows of a used one I would appreciate it.

Correction. It is a 1950 model 50 (Super?). I believe it is a 248 engine.

It is a '51 special but I went by there yesterday and they won't sell the manifold off of it. They want to keep the engine intact so that plan is out. I'm not having any luck on the internet, ebay, etc. CARS has a repop for about $700. Can't afford that. Is it feasible to weld, mig, tig, braze it or is that a waste of time and money?