56 Buick

Hi Looking for the starter relay part number. From a search on the internet it appears the Delco Remy part is 1116963 or 1116967?????? Thanks Drew

After some review I see the starter relay has been removed (no longer there). The pink wire from the accelerator switch is not connected to anything. The light green wire coming from the generator terminal of the generator regulator is not connected. And the kill switch is connected to directly to the ignition key switch and the solenoid the cranking motor. I am going to have to get another relay.

Thanks for the heads up there on the ductwork. I had started to remove a duct and being the original ducts they are indeed brittle and not happy to move!

Many thanks.

Thanks guys. Now at least I know what I am looking for. I am not as flexible as I used to be but I will persist. No luck yet so I am going to either have to take out all the duct work under the dash or come in from the top by removing the crash pad.

I have been successful in getting the vacuum wipers working. Now I want to get the washers working. The washer bottle assembly is all there and will discharge washer fluid but all I have is a hose coming off the washer bottle to nowhere. The end of the hose has always just been loose in the engine bay. I cannot find where that hose should connect. In other words, I cannot find or see where the hoses are that lead to the discharge nozzles on the wiper arms. I can see there is a hole in the firewall where the other hoses/lines are going to the wiper control switch on the instrument panel, so I would assume the hoses I am looking for would be somewhere around that area on the inside of the firewall/under the dash? At this stage I am either looking in the wrong spot or those hoses are not even there. Does anyone have any advice? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks Drew

My reverse lights work so it is likely the switch is working and just been bypassed, noting the ignition kill switch that has been put in also bypasses the need to use the accelerator pedal. Now I am not that technical with electrical but I should be able to correct this issue by either rerouting the 12V+ line to the neutral/park switch before it goes to the kill switch OR rerouting the line from the kill switch to the solenoid to include the neutral/park switch.

Thanks. Do you know if the neutral safety switch location and troubleshooting is in the shop manual?

Hi Ben Any chance you have a photo of the top of the filter housing off with the paper filter inside. I need to put a paper filter in my oil bath filter housing and I would like to see how it fits. On first assessment of my lower housing it appears there is little flat horizontal space for the paper filter to sit on and seal against. Thanks Drew

Hi all So the car will start in drive and reverse and I assume this should not be the case? Anyone have any idea what is likely culprit and how to fix this? I not the car has had an ignition kill switch fitted. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks Drew

If I recall correctly that recent car was a coral and white 56 2 door HT Special that was sold on Illinois? craigslist for $18,000. I think perhaps the car was sold in haste noting, that like all things, it is often a case of the right buyer being in the right place at the right time and as a result, it often takes a while to sell a classic car for a good price. Otherwise you will likely end up selling it to a dealer for a reduced price where they will onsell for a much higher price. In case you have not already considered it (but perhaps you have), can I suggest also advertising the car on sites such as Hemmings, ClassicCars.com or ebay, etc. which will reach a very wide audience. I always think the biggest issue a "for sale by owner" seller has is trying to overcome potential buyers' concerns that you are legitimate and not some scammer. Good luck.

Thanks for that. Did you tac weld the backing plates onto the underside of the car body or are they merely sitting freely?

Thanks Beemon. At this stage I have had the vacuum unit reconditioned and aim to refit that unit. I made the enquiry with Newport in case the vacuum unit failed to end up working effectively and also for the benefit of the forum. I am hoping the vacuum unit will work okay ...

Thanks for that info 1956century. I did speak with Newport re their electric wipers. They said they know of no issues or conflict with cam-o-matic wipers. They did say they can alter the angle of the sweep if required. Although I am wondering whether it's more a case of not how much angle or sweep as opposed to perhaps the initial starting position???? Beemon, you may have a better idea of this as you had the electric unit on the car and could see first hand where the slap was occurring. I think also Newport have a separate wiper for the Super/Roadmaster and I wonder whether that is because of the wider sweep of the cam-o-matic wipers or is that due to some other physical difference in the wiper set-up between the bigger and smaller cars - can that be used on the smaller cars with the cam-o-matic wipers???

I read the manual again. Loosening and adjusting the anchor pin sets the eccentrics. I certainly missed that previously. I will give it a go. Thanks.

So I am assuming the mounting points for the rear seats should be level with or just below the level of the top of the rear seat base. That way when under stress the belt will not crush/foul/move against the rear seat.

I can't see any loss of fluid in the MC level so theoretically the MC should be good. I thought the eccentrics of the shoes were dealt with by the star wheel nut/pin and the fact the bottom of the shoes effectively float but I can look into that. I did see a post on Jalopy Journal and someone there was referring to the same problem and noted the shoes just did not seat themselves for about 100 miles and then the brakes began to work properly. Having pulled the drums it does appear not all the shoe face is contacting the drum.

I went for a drive today after adjusting each brake so you can just hear the shoe touching here and there as the wheel spins. The good news is that the car stops but the brakes still don't seem to pull up perhaps as they should...maybe the shoes are not yet seated. Of course I haven't touched the master cylinder, is it possible that is the problem?

Thanks. I note I have also attempted to find something on the internet without much luck.

I am interested in this as I plan to fix rear lap belts to the rear of a 56'. I suspect your hoping someone who has already fitted seat belts will chime in with the exact positions they put the drill through? Anyway I would think you can also buy strengthening plates to sit under the body floor pan. The principle being the stress or pull is spread across a wider portion of the floor pan and be less likely to pull through.

Yes first time working on drum brakes, so thanks for all the useful insights here.. Much appreciated.

Essentially new wheel cylinders, shoes and fluid. Haven't touched the master cylinder.

Yes, new shoes all round.

Hi all Just bought this car and really haven't had it on the road as I needed to repair the brakes. I have replaced wheel cylinders, pads and bled the hydraulic system. I note I followed the manual by bleeding the brakes closest to the master cylinder first - which is contrary to everything I was ever taught about bleeding brakes! Anyway, now I have never had a car of this vintage and perhaps I am too used to modern cars with power assisted discs but the brakes on the 56 are not what I expected. You really have to almost stand on the brake pedal and hold it down with some considerable force, my question is whether this is normal for the standard brakes (not power brakes)? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Drew

The 56 Century HT 2 door recently purchased