Tony M

I was hoping that I'd get a couple of guys fired up. Great to hear from you. We did drive it to the meet in Oklahoma. That was an absolute BLAST. The old Buick got a lot of attention.

Hi all. After taking 2 years off, this meet should be GREAT. There are a lot of fun things to do in Chicago. If you get a chance, take one of the Architectural River Cruises. Way cool. They have also been on WTTW. There's going to be a caravan to the close by town of Lisle on Thursday night. The Museum tours are also great. You almost need a whole day for each museum. Lots of interesting things. The Sheraton grounds are pretty big. Lots of room. I have been a BCA member for a somewhat short time. A little over 10 years. But, I have enjoyed several mid-west meets and the Allentown meet. Drove my 55 Super to all of them except Allentown. I trailered it there. 1st time ever. Mostly because I still have the 4 wheel drum brakes and bias-ply tires, and I wasn't too sure how it would handle the ups and downs. For those of you that are driving, Rt.66 is always a fun trip. Illinois is lucky to have over 400 miles of this historic road that will turn 100 years old in 2026. ( That's also when I plan on driving the 55 to Santa Monica and back). Hope to see everyone in June. Tony Melone Past Assistant Director of the Chicagoland BCA BCA 45939

Good morning all. Now, I am finally going to repair the locks on both the driver and passenger door handles. The passenger lock has never been operable with the key, at least since I have owned it . Now, the drivers door can not be opened or locked with the key. I put the key in and it does not engage the locks. Any pointers here to know what i can expect to run into would be appreciated. Thank you.... Tony M.

Hi all. Tony M here. Had a little issue happen over the weekend with my 55 Super. I was parked in a lot that had a very slight incline. Car was facing the downward slope. I put the car in park, took my foot off the brake, while the engine was still running, and the car wanted to jerk forward. When I turned the engine off, the jerking stopped and the car held its position. Is this something that I should look into pretty quick ? Tony M.

Mike and Woody. GREAT JOB. You guys were part of a pretty special road race. ON ROUTE 66.!!!! HOLY COW. Hope you guys at least got a picture of you and your car at the pier in Santa Monica. Enjoy L.A. and the parts of Rt. 66 on your way home, that you flew by on your way there. Hopefully , you'll be able to ease up on the gas pedal a little bit. Keep us posted on your way. Good luck. Tony M.

Thanks Derrick. It was nice to meet you also. Great that you made it from up north despite your car problems.

Mike. I was hoping that you would be posting something that we can follow. Kathy and I stopped at the Merrimac caverns when we left Springfield on Sunday. COOL PLACE. Really. 58 degrees year round. Route 66 is a GREAT piece of history that people were forgetting about for a while. It has been getting a lot of attention lately. Me, my wife, AND the 55 Super have been up and down Rt. 66 in Illinois for the past couple of years. Lots of cool stuff still left. Too bad we didnt get a chance to meet up in Chicago after the Springfield meet. It was pretty wet here. 5" of rain in half an hour is a lot. I am very jealous of you and Woody. Keep us posted and GOOD LUCK. Tony M

Hi all. Tony M. Here. Had a GREAT time in Springfield. Got to meet Willie, Mike Middleton, and a lot of other people who I have been chatting with on this forum. Wednesday was HOT...Had to turn the heat on in 95 degree weather. Old Buick ran GREAT otherwise. Hopefully , these 3 pictures show a little bit of my excitement. Chicagoland BCA had a pretty good showing. All of our members that entered the 400 point judging , did well and received awards. Cant wait till next year in Allentown and the year after that in Milwaukee. PS. I was a little hesitant entering the 400 point category. Lots of great input at the South Bend meet. People talked me into the "BIG SHOW". Didn't do too bad for my first time . SENIOR GOLD. Thanks again for everybody on this forum who helped me get the 55 Super, in GOLDEN condition. Tony M.

Latest and GREATEST. The new motor mounts just about fell into place with no effort at all. These were original mounts that were revulcanized. If I had these originally, replacement time would have been under 2 hours without a doubt. NO MODIFICATION NEEDED. Now all I need to do is get everything put back together that I needed to take off to replace the oil pan gasket. Tony M.

OK. Now were getting close !!! I received the next set of motor mounts. Looks like they were originals that were revulcanized. So far it looks like an EXACT MATCH. Spread and locations. Now all I have to do is get them installed. Darn day job gets in the way of all my fun. Tony M.

All. They are from CARS. I did order another pair from Bobs Automobilia, hoping that I will get back an original pair that was revulcanized. I need to return my old ones. Can't wait to get those to see if they are any better, Before I start " Modifying ". Thanks for the patience comment OLD TANK. I will keep everyone posted. Tony M

Ok. Before I do any modifications, I ordered a new set from Bobs Automobilia. At least I might have a chance of getting an original set of mounts that were revulcanized. I HOPE.... Another weekend of looking at the ol' Buick sitting on jack stands instead of wearing out the tires. Thanks again everybody. Tony M.

Ok. Next issue. The studs on the old mounts are spaced at 1-9/16" center to center. The studs on the new mounts are 1-7/16" center to center. If I spread them apart, I'm sure that they will not insert into the holes correctly. Should I look at a different supplier ?

WOW !!! That is beautiful. Thanks again for your help Mike.

Thanks Mike. Do the brackets that mount to the block need to be removed too ? Also , do you have any pix of the bottom of the motor and trans. I'm repainting and want correct colors. I know the oil pan is Buick green. What about fly wheel cover? Trans pan etc. Thanks again

Hello again . So after I removed the oil pan, 4 freeze plugs, exhaust manifolds, etc,etc, I am down to the MOTOR MOUNTS. I removed the nuts and bolts on the mounts, and loosened 2 bolts on the trans mount. Started to jack up the engine and it seemed tight so I shut down for the night. Is there anything else that I should be aware of and /or loosen up before I put some big muscle on jacking up the engine when I get back to it tomorrow ? Thanks again. Tony M.

looks like a match. I will send you my contact info on PM. Thank you

Woo-hoo. I've been following this for a while and couldn't wait to here the results. Sounds beautiful. This forum is GREAT . Lots of good help ready to assist. I was thinking about installing the electronic ignition in the ol 55 Super to be more trouble free, but I think this might not be a good idea after all. GREAT JOB GUYS!!!! Tony M.

Thank you very much. Can you send a picture of that manifold ? Thanks again. I will message you for info.

I heard that "That's the way they came from the factory...No gaskets"

Hello again ALL. While I was dropping everything to replace the oil pan gasket I came across another " I might as well do this while I'm this far" This time it was removing the exhaust manifolds while the crossover pipe was removed. I saw this crack on the passenger side while I was under the car. ALL of the bolts were loose so that was a good thing. They were easy enough to get out since I made room . As you can see by the pictures, the manifold is not only cracked, but it seems that it is missing a lot of meat on the one flange. Can the crack be repaired ? Is the one port that is lacking some of the surface mating material something that I should be concerned with ? Or is that a common issue ? Also, I have been reading a lot of information that recommends NOT using a gasket for the manifold to head connection. What is the consensus on this subject ? The surface of both the heads and the manifolds seem to be pretty flat and true. Thanks again....Tony M.

Tank. Thanks for the great advice .... AGAIN. I think I will do the wire thing for the upper, replace the lower seal with the rope seal, and hope for the best. I'm sure I'll be pulling the engine within the next 20 years to do a complete re-do.

Paul . That oil pan looks great. (cant wait for watermelons to be in season ). I was almost hoping to find more sludge than I did to justify all this work , but my pan was pretty clean . A little bit of sediment but nothing too thick and the screen was actually pretty clean. That blue paint looks very close to the Buick Blue. I'm hoping to find a good paint thats pretty oil and heat resistant. What did you use ?