SpecialEducation

Here's a fun fact I thought I'd share: The Books provided email addresses for members in Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas. Not every member has provided an email address, but of the 184 addresses I've sent emails to, 24 have bounced back. That's a 13% failure rate.

There was actually a note with the new pulley regarding the sensor/reluctor clearance. I'm surprised how many how-to videos are out there that show how to replace the balancer and even the sensor and never mentioned how to check clearances. Some said they jammed the flywheel in various ways, but I'm reluctant to stop that much torque with a part that I care about, so the original balancer will get any mods and/or abuse as required. The 1000 ft-lb Impact wrench was out of stock, might try the 700 tomorrow...

I have no personal experience with HTS 2000, but I find it very intriguing. I'm not buying the cylinder head repair demo in their video (if you can melt it with propane, do you really expect it to last in a combustion chamber?), but I'm sure there are many other applications where it would be perfectly acceptable.

Plan B is to try a bigger gun. The one I've got now is rated at about 350 ft-lbs. Harbor Freight says I can try their 1000 ft-lb Earthquake XT for 90 days risk free. We shall see...

HEY!!! Actually, I left engineering last week. I'm a maintenance instructor now. Yes, that's a Northstar, but TOYota has done the same thing: http://www.someguyinnevada.com/toyota-tundra-starter-repair-a-journey-of-discovery

Well, poor ol' Ruby developed a pretty nasty rattle (a.k.a. clatter, clanking, etc.). It's only audible at lower RPM and goes away under acceleration. After a little Google searching, I determined that the harmonic balancer was the place to start. A 30 second inspection that consisted of popping the hood and reaching down to turn the balancer confirmed the suspicion. In retrospect, I could have just rotated the power steering pump back and forth and made the same determination without getting as dirty. C'est la vie. My go-to parts house was out of stock, so I went to the second string guys. The nearest store that had it in stock was dangerously close to the Friday night car-guy hangout, and I got distracted looking for the owner of this '39 (among others): I've seen this car around for years, but I've never caught up to the owner. I later confirmed that some other friends know the owner and he's planning to bring the car out to our October show. Having thoroughly killed Friday, no more work got done. Saturday was spent working on Oldsmobilie stuff and a barbershop chorus rehearsal. Sunday was a bit abnormal, but after church I had to fix some bikes before getting back to Ruby. No problem, it's just a harmonic balancer, right? This should be a 1/2 hour job... uh huh. The first thing I notice when I peel the splash panel back is a lack of holes to pull the balancer with. My friend Google says that means this was a slip-fit installation, no puller required. Yay! Right? The next point of concern is getting that bolt off. I don't have a cheap Chinese impact wrench and there's not much it can't bust lose, but this one had it beat. So how do I keep the engine from turning while I put a breaker bar on the bolt? I'm glad you asked. First, I took a drill to the balancer. That dimple was a convenient place to hit it. Then I stuck a bolt through a wrench, put the bolt in the new hole, and rotated the crank to where it wouldn't turn: I supported my 1/2" extensions with a jackstand: and then input a LOT of torque: I was actually afraid that I was going to break my breaker bar or twist off one of the extensions. I hit it with heat to the point of cooking some of the rubber, and tried to get some penetrating oil in behind the bolt flange. I haven't actually broken anything (yet), but the balancer isn't off, either. I did manage to develop a nice process for making offset wrenches, though... To be continued...

Google HTS 2000.

Dash plaques!

It's just some soft maple we've had for a while. We usually buy 100-200 bd-ft of hardwood every few years. We cut the blanks and I've got a friend with the laser. After the laser work is done, we lightly sand it to get some of the smoke off the top, then spray with polyurethane. I was at my hometown lumber mill in Michigan a few weeks ago (dad was picking up 100 bd-ft of mahogany) and spotted some AWESOME material for next year's awards. If you think these are cool, next year's will be crazy!

Yeah, the '56 does the same thing. Ours has 2 places that will sweak. The rod will rub on the hole in the floor, and it will squeak at the first joint down.

That moment when you are sitting back and watching, knowing that his homie doesn't know what he's doing...

Just put finish on the first 2 awards...

Now what does Mr. Fitty Fo want with '56 internals, I wonder?!!

Block Cast # Year Displacement 1169334 56-59 322 1390972 1953 322 1391753 1954 322 1392101 1955 322 1392102 1955 std. 322 1392290 1955 dyna. 322 1392291 1955 dyna. 322 1392586* 1956 dyna. 322 1392734 1956 322 Head Cast # Year Displacement 1344214 1953 322 1343840 1953 322 1165549 54 264/322 1166349 54-56 264/322 1168930 56 322 1169349 56 322 1175109 56-59 322* *Chev truck Intake Manifold Cast # Year Displacement 1162286 53 322 4bbl 1163206 54-55 322 4bbl 1165308 53-55 322 2bbl 1165308 1169189 man. trans. 1170624 55 322 2bbl 1165384 55 322 4bbl 1169189 55 40 std. 1170624 56 322 2bbl 1170625 50/60/70 56 322 4bbl Exhaust Manifold Cast # Year Displacement 1165212 right 1345564-5left 54-55 264/322 1168110 right 1169265 left 56 322 1168110 right 1169001 left 56 322 1175576 right 1175575 left 56 322 1175576 right 1175581 left 56 with duals and series 70 322 1345564-5 right 1345564-5 left 53 322 (From Buicks.net)

You definitely want to catalog them by casting numbers. This engine was an infant back then. There were lots of evolutionary product improvement changes going on.

Compression can be changed with different piston domes and different head chambers. Changing pistons is pretty common, but my understanding is that Buick used different heads, too. I don't have a parts manual for the exact breakdown. I don't have my manual in front of me either, but as I recall, Specials got 7.5:1 (SM) or 8.9:1 (DF) 322s, where all others got 9.5:1 engines.

Specs are variable due to different carbs as well as different compression ratios. In '56, the 2bbl Dynaflow engine was rated at 220hp, where the 4bbl engines were 255. I have searched all over for a rating on the low compression Syncromesh 322, but have never found it. We all know the engine should do better with dual exhaust, but back then those were bare engine ratings, so that's HP at the flywheel with no generator load, no PS, etc...

C'mon, Chuck. I can't get you to pre-register for the October 2016 event, and you are talking about 2041?

Yer fine, Ryan. The Buick forums are split into a variety of categories. For example, the General stuff is usually not model/year specific, the post-war is where you'd ask questions about factory mechanicals, and the modified is where you'd showcase a diesel powerplant or airbag suspension conversion.

Hi Ryan, looks like a fun project! I've thought I'd like to get a '50 Sedanette, bag it, and put a fuel injected Nailhead in it. Are you keeping the original drive train?

With 17 paid registrations so far, I've got one from KCMO and one from Ketchum, Oklahoma that are neck & neck for the long haul award (about 195 miles). Who's gonna push this over the 200 mile mark?

Building a '56 Ute is on my to-do list, but I gotta finish my wife's wagon before I buy another one.

http://home.earthlink.net/~gtroselle/tech_data.htm

Looks like something that belongs over here:

A friend posted this on FB from the Iowa State Fair. While I can't prove that the trailer was towed there by a Buick, you can't prove that it wasn't...