SpecialEducation

Now that I know you are a pilot, I'll cut straight to the A&P speak in the future!

I would also make sure that your fuel lines have no metal-on-metal contact. While the fuel is flowing it may keep the hotter spots cool enough to prevent vaporization, but once the flow stops, the opportunity for the heat to vaporize the fuel is greatly increased. System pressure caused by vaporization is going to normalize somehow. I'm not familiar with this specific setup, but generally any vapor pressure before the pump is going to head toward the tank, where pressure after the pump is likely to head toward the carb. It may not be vaporizing in the carb, but vapors before the carb are forcing fuel out of the bowl. That's one of the reasons we like tank mounted pumps and fuel return lines in modern vehicles. The excess flow acts to keep the system cool and purges vapors if/when they occur. It's not a cheap option ($4-$6/gallon), but if you want to try a less volatile fuel, find a small local airport and get some 100LL AVGAS. Airplane gas is low on VOCs because airplanes obviously have to operate at high altitudes. Your valves will probably like the lead, too! AVGAS is cheaper at smaller airports, as the slower fixed based operators are hungrier for the business. This means they are also more likely to be helpful in regards to getting your car to the pump, or letting you on the field with a 5 gallon can to get your fix of the blue stuff.

We just went down to the muffler shop and picked out some off-the-shelf tips that he had in stock. I was amazed how nice they fit. For $25 each, they are not too shabby. https://www.facebook.com/1956Buick/photos/a.428289983913212.1073741826.169746389767574/443387552403455/

I don't remember the shaft sizes off the top of my head, but I do believe there was a mid-year change on that. The aft seal that came with our '56 torque ball kit had a much bigger ID than the OD of the shaft. I'm not sure when ours was built, but based on some of the changes mentioned in the Service Bulletins, ours does not appear to be a 'late' version. I think our drive shaft is about .125" smaller than the seal that we were sold. For what it's worth, I'm not sure this is an instance were a new-old-stock part is desirable. The synthetics degrade over time and modern materials are much better than what was installed back then. In this instance, I think re-vulcanized or reproduction parts are going to provide less trouble in the long run. As much of a pain as the torque ball is to get to, I certainly wouldn't want to be redoing them on a regular basis.

The pulley that is on the alternator in the '56 is exactly the same as the pulley on the alternator in the '83, and the crank pulley is bigger in the Buick, so this alternator is spinning faster at equal engine revs. I don't have a tach on either engine, but I have little doubt that the Buick idle is higher than the Chevy. Whether this alternator is 'loose' or someone just put the wrong control circuit in it, it's obviously different internally from the factory alternator on the '83. Regardless, it was one of the best $45 mods we ever did.

The kit from Bob's for our '56 was close, but not quite right. The rear shaft seal was seriously oversized, so our transmission guy got one locally. The one that was in there was the same (wrong) size that Bob's sent us in the kit. It was no wonder all of our transmission fluid departed at the rear axle. Make sure the ID fits the shaft or you are wasting your time. https://www.facebook.com/1956Buick/photos/a.181330141942532.42940.169746389767574/516351878440355/

I was a bit irritated when we converted our '56 to an alternator, because I thought I knew what we were getting but it didn't play out that way. I knew the alternator in my '83 Chevy would do nicely (10-SI), so that's what I asked for at the parts store, but I don't think that's exactly what I got. The installation was fairly simple as I used the existing wiring for a clean, factory appearance and I stowed the wire we weren't using in case someone wanted to go back to the generator (or more realistically, dad decides the look of a modern alternator bugs him enough to by an alternator that looks like a generator). I put the idiot light in one of the ash trays. I didn't really need it because we have an ammeter, but the alternator won't work without it and I had to put it somewhere. I think one of these days I'll run it as an ammeter light so the gauge glows red if there's a charging fail. For some odd reason, it acts like a one-wire alternator in that I have to goose it after starting to get the alternator to cut-in. Why does a 3-wire have an RPM cut-in? I donno. The one in my Chevy doesn't do that, but whatever. As far as burning out an ammeter goes, if you aren't loading up the system beyond the original intent, you'll be fine. My solid state amp inside an old radio cab draws much less power than a tubeset, and the Garmin pulls way less than a cigar lighter element. Just because the alternator is capable of 70 amps, it doesn't mean we are putting any more current through the system than before. An ammeter is just a volt meter across a calibrated shunt. If you are concerned about frying the shunt, just put a 30 amp fuse or breaker on the alternator's bat terminal and you are covered. I will say that it was really nice to go for a cruise last weekend, and with the tunes, GPS, and headlights on, the ammeter was still half-way up the green while idling at a red light...

Well Mick, if it makes you feel better, Dodge used these calipers too: As a bonus, Oreillyauto.com claims it qualifies for free shipping! Now, they may change their story when they find out what hemisphere you want the parts shipped too...

Since I know what it costs to have a front & rear bumper re-chromed (more than we bought the car for), I'll take that bet. For starters, brake systems are very generic. Have you noticed the wide range of applicability of brake parts for these cars? They are off the shelf components designed and built by Bendix (not GM, which sold its minority interests in Bendix in 1948). Second, the Scarebird components adapt newer GM technology onto older chassis with little to no modification. The idea that the best brakes available are the original 1950's technology is ridiculous. Is there something magical or holy about GM engineers that made them infallible? If you are building a museum piece, by all means keep the drums, bias-ply tires, and while you are at it, put alcohol in your radiator. If you are building a driver, why risk the safety of your investment and your passengers when proven superior technology is available at a reasonable cost and makes zero impact to the visual effect of the car (and is completely revertible)?

I once bought a Buick that had a different key between the doors and the trunk, and the glove box had no lock at all. Being a convertible, I didn't like the lack of a locking glove box, so I got a lockable latch from salvage (but no key). I popped the trunk lock out and took it to a locksmith along with a door key and the new-to-me glove box latch. In a few minutes my glove box, trunk, and doors all used the same key, and it cost me something like $12.

Does the pulling happen on the first (cold) stop? If both drums aren't the same thickness (one has been turned more than the other), they may have different fade rates. Drum brake fading happens when you heat the drums through braking action and the inboard side of the drum grows with heat and becomes farther away from the shoe than the outboard side, which has the hub flange to help dissipate the heat and retain the dimension of the friction surface. Our '56 stops dead straight on the first couple cold stops, but as the drums heat up, it gets a touch squirrely. The I.D. of the front drums are not identical. This is what I'm leaning towards, as the common wear parts are readily available: https://scarebird.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59&product_id=57 Of course, for your '58, you'll need a different kit: https://scarebird.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59&product_id=59

I might add that if you plan on pulling a camper in the hills, you might also consider adding standalone transmission cooler. It may not retain the original appearance (although there's lots of room down there to hide things), but it's likely to keep that Dynaflow happier...

I guess the question is, why? We had significant overheating problems with our '56 46R. We took the radiator out and had it rodded at a local shop, and that helped a bunch. We also fixed the rear transmission leak, which helped because the fluid holds more heat when there is less of it to dissipate. Low fluid = hotter fluid going into the radiator and transferring heat to the engine coolant. Like Bernie, I'm more inclined to stick with the original if it can be repaired. I understand the difficulty in that though, as we had 2 shops in the area that could do the work, and less than six months after having ours rodded, the shop that did the work closed. What part of the country are you in? Maybe someone on here can refer you to a good, local shop? Here's a post from my dad that covers some other points: https://www.facebook.com/1956Buick/posts/800791659996374

I've considered the same thing. When we had the master cylinder rebuilt, we changed the system to DOT5 (thus changed EVERYTHING in the system). I don't know if the new pressure switches are set too high, or if it's the compressability of the DOT 5 (although I suspect the former), but you really have to cram on the brakes to get the lights to come on. We've swapped it out a couple times and it's only marginally better. We have a new mechanical switch, we just haven't fab'd a bracket for it yet...

Well, fluid is cheaper than a master cylinder, and either way you'd have to bleed it, so call it a win! Bhigdog, your symptoms sound a bit familiar. Occasionally the pedal doesn't make a full return. I can tell when it doesn't come back, because I hear the vacuum booster hissing. A quick tap usually frees it up; but I don't think I've had to lift it with my toe since the rebuild.

Ours squeaks because it rides on the hole in the floor. We had a grommet in there that stopped it, but somehow we've lost it. I sometimes sit with one foot on the brake and one on the gas at stop lights. I'm not reving it, just putting enough pressure on the gas to stop the incessant chirping!

Well, yes, if there plenty of fluid but no pressure to the wheels, a master cylinder failure would be that 'different problem..." I was just trying to be optimistic! By the way, a few years back we had our master cylinder/booster rebuilt by Ed Strain down in Florida. Anyone else use him? What kind of experience did you have? Ours still isn't quite right; not sure if we'll send it south for the winter, or go a different route.

There's nothing too exotic about these old brake systems. Obviously, locating wetness is going to be a primary concern. It sounds like you developed a leak somewhere and have pumped all of the fluid out of your reservoir and now you are pumping air into the system. It could be a very small leak that makes no noticeable effect on system performance for quite some time, but once the fluid level in the system got low enough to draw in air, the brakes went mushy and you were done. Now, if you pop the hood and find the reservoir is still full, we've got a different problem...

Don't waste your brain power on vacuum wipers, just know that they quit when you mash the gas. If you want to drive the car in the rain (you do get a little rain up that way, don't you? ), dump the vacuum wipers and convert to electric: https://www.newportwipers.com/ It's a bolt on conversion, so don't worry about 'ruining' the car... walterpilot: I have a feeling you and I jumped into this after reading page one of a 9 page conversation!

My biggest problem with corn-gas is what it does to the soft parts of the fuel pump! I do go out of my way to get ethanol-free, but I've never gone so far as to get the leaded blue from the airport. I've been tempted, but the Special is lower compression than the rest, so I don't know that we'd see $5.45/gallon worth of improvement. For the record, ethanol has less heat energy per gallon and burns cooler than gasoline, but the stoichiometric ratio is very different. Feeding alcohol to an engine mixed for gas will result in a lean mixture. If you want to change out your soft parts to materials that alcohol won't eat, your high compression motors would be happier tuned to burn E85. Just expect your mileage to go in the toilet, because you'll burn about 40% more fuel with a properly tuned E85 setup than you did with straight gasoline. When the fuel/air mix is correct, ethanol is very detonation resistant.

http://www.teambuick.com/reference/years/57.php

When I first saw this one I thought it was a modified Caballero, but the more I studied it, the more I think it's a modified 2 door Riv... https://www.facebook.com/1956Buick/photos/pb.169746389767574.-2207520000.1442372819./824314050977468 I just looked at some other photos of it and I take it back. The front doors are too short. The back doors have been welded...