SpecialEducation

Believe it or not, that's not the first Olds dash swap I've seen...

I wish I had more Opel pix...

I know the feeling. We had a leaky torque ball serviced a couple years ago. Once we dried the rear end up, we found that there was a small leak up front. After a couple years and a trip to Springfield last summer, that little leak turned into a big one. We took it into the shop expecting a $500 bill to drop the Dynaflow and replace all of the external seals. Then the shop found the torque converter full of metal. It seems we've been loosing the front bearing, resulting in a leak at the front seal and turbine blades rubbing inside the converter. Fortunately, none of the metal got pumped into the rest of the transmission, but this $500 job will end up around $2k.

One more desktop pic. Old front bumper, portawalls, bad side of the car...

My desktop pictures rotate every few minutes, and this one just came up. I think it kinda epitomizes why Rivieras are so much fun. In my grandpa's '56, there would have been a post where my son's head is. What fun would that have been?

That's hilarious. I *just* saw your post on cutting up the Century and thought to myself, "I bet Beemon could use that rearend!" Come to think of it, if you've got a spare power steering system, I could use that!

As luck would have it, Dad recently snapped a couple pix for someone who was trying to figure out how this all related: https://www.facebook.com/1956Buick/photos/pcb.938625669546305/938625596212979/?type=3&theater The Ranco valve regulates how much hot water flows through the heater core. That coil of wire at the bottom of the box is part of the Ranco valve. When they fail, they like to leak water down the floor and into your carpet (at least ours do). Even if you find a NOS part, you are likely to need it rebuilt (those seals don't last forever, even on a shelf). We had a leaky valve, replaced it with a NOS valve, and had a wet floor again just a few weeks later. We bypassed the heat, and just don't drive it when it's cold. From time to time we have considered getting the valve rebuilt, then weeks like this happen where we've gone from a $500 project to fix a leaky transmission to a $1600 overhaul. Maybe next year... Your under-dash control may not be a total loss if the levers are still there. You can probably get generic push-pull cable and trim to fit, although I remember at least one of these is quite long (it's been 20 years since I swapped one out).

Both built in Kansas in 1956. A poster of this pic hangs in Plant I at Beechcraft. We have since replaced the tires, re-chromed front & back bumpers, and re-covered the seats. I guess it's time for a re-shoot.

Synthetics are more stable, especially in extreme temps, but I don't know that I'd use 5W30 in anything that wasn't designed for it. Unless you've got a fresh build with much tighter tolerances than the original specs, 5W30 is awful thin. Unless you are driving it on really cold days, 94,000 miles is a time where you might consider going to a slightly heaver oil, not a lighter one. I've caught flack for saying this before, but a significant change like this can dislodge deposits and make things worse. With no more miles on it than you seem to be accumulating, one oil change a year using a good quality conventional is probably sufficient. To do a changeover to Synthetic, you are probably looking at 2 or 3 oil & filter changes in a fairly short time, and in the end I don't think you are going to see much advantage for your investment. It's not that you can't or shouldn't go synthetic on an older engine, it's just that the costs seriously outweigh the benefits. If you were putting 20k/year on the clock, it would be a different story.

Other than the obvious 2bbl/4bbl difference, I don't know how you could tell without a number. As far as I recall, It's only a difference of 9.5:1 vs 10.0:1 on the compression ratios. If it seems down on power, I'd probably look at ignition timing.

Funny, the article said, “He would sit and polish these cars every day,” and then there's a photo of a dusty Buick next to a dusty Pontiac. I think Obsessive/Compulsive would be an understatement. Perhaps you don't have mod privileges because you keep hijacking threads?

Thanks for the déjà vu...

To tell you the truth, page five has been my favorite for several months running. I guess someone found the back of my head particularly interesting... That said, I specifically looked for Speedo's column in the February issue, and was kinda sad to see it wasn't there. Not everyone is into this 'internet thing' so I think the column gives the rest of the world a chance to see what's going on over here. I think the most recent issue is a great example as there's probably considerable interest in Mr. Laurance's collection among the members, and it deserves a full write-up in the pages of the Bugle. It's not like there's a team of Bugle reporters traveling the country to write a feature like this, so it would have been entirely up to Brian to pen something for print if not for the column. Those who participate in the forums aren't the target audience of the column, it's those who browse the forums vicariously through the column. That said, as internet savvy as I am, I can unequivocally say I read the column before joining the forum. I had a specific question that I needed to have addressed by a large number of experts & enthusiasts, and I knew this existed because of the Bugle. By the way, I am a member at a few other automotive forums and have been for years (j-body.org says I've been there since 2003), but most aren't as much fun as this one.

I don't see any pictures. Just kidding...

Must have gotten lost in the software shuffle. I see a PM I sent you on 3/5, but I see no replies. I also see a message I sent Brian Clark that shows no reply. Pretty certain I got replies on both, but I can't see them now. On the other hand, I see a February conversation with Mr. De Fiore and it looks like the entire exchange is intact...

Makes me think that something is transferring heat to the fuel. When the fuel flow is lower (stop lights / drive thru) the fuel has more time to warm up & vaporize. It's not necessicarily boiling in the bowl, that's just the only place for the vapor pressure to find relief.

Are you up to 30,000 models yet? http://www.freep.com/story/money/nation-now/2016/03/21/minnesota-house-of-cars/82075114/

I figured it was all related. Just making sure it wasn't just me.

Hmmm... I'm not getting updates from the forum like I used to. I quit following several forums during the Korean Conflict of 2016 because my email was getting unmanageable, but I never quit following any threads. I've turned the following back on and was getting emails for a while, but I haven't gotten any updates since Wednesday... Oh, wait! When was that forum system update? Maybe that did it. Anyone else getting email notifications?

Don't worry, being an Ulster-Scot, I try to avoid all appearance of green on 3/17. That said, I'm just going to leave this here:

To make a topless 4 door? Simplicity: A 4 door Riv already has frameless doors, and B-pillar requires no modification. Structurally, it's already there. It's a very simple mod, just pop out the back window and make two little cuts at the C-pillar. A long cut just far enough behind the windshield that you've got a place to attach sun visors and a map light. A little trim-out and you are done. Now, some might go all the way and take the windows out of the doors and trim that out as well, but some people like to put the windows up to reduce buffeting while highway driving, so you might want to leave them...

Good to know, thanks! I can go up to about 29", but I usually only stock 24" material. If there's enough interest, I can order wider in blue & red. I'll holler at the local management and see if I can get something sent up the flag pole...

Funny, being a convertible guy myself, I keep thinking I want to find a 4-door hardtop and make it a 4-door no-top... Not every year lends itself to that very well, but the '56 does.

I'm game. If I wanted to produce items with the BCA logo (such as a large vinyl decal) to raise funds for our local chapter, are there licensing fees involved? Who can supply vector art for such things?

A few English errors here & there are much more tolerable than the recent posts in Korean...