Perry Garner

Thanks Ben, as for the engine, it's a 454 ---and yes I know, should have kept it Buick but finding a 455 around these parts is next to impossible, besides I KNOW this thing runs and drives great as I was able to test it prior to pulling it from the vehicle.

Hey gang, I know it's been a while since I updated my project but rest assured I HAVE been busy in it. I'v spent some time waiting for parts to arrive which worked as a domino affect, I couldn't order one part until l got the previous one bought and installed and so on and so on. I found a rear end for the car that was close enough in width to make the use of wheel adapters possible (needed to change the lug pattern anyway, once I got the correct adapters installed I was able the put the rear under the car and measure for the triangulated 4 link kit, then I had to wait for that to show up and get it installed so I could order my coil over shocks (still waiting for them), I made some temporary supports to take their place to check ride height. while I was waiting for those parts to show up I went ahead and ordered a set of stainless headers for the big block. I also spent a bunch of time stripping out the rest of the car including all the door hardware, seats, dash and wiring harness which made it MUCH easier to remove and clean up all the old sound deadener under the dash. I still need to clean the roof of that junk but it's just a bit of work to get it off. next I'll be cutting out and replacing all the rotted metal on the body (which will take a while).

Hey guys, Time for another update, got the engine mount parts in the other day so I was able to get the mounts installed and the motor positioned in it's permanent home. I think it fits really well and should have plenty of room for accessories and maintenance. I still need to fabricate the trans mount but that should be relatively easy compared to some of the other fab work that is needed. I'm going tomorrow to pick up another rear end for the car as I can no longer use the "torque tube" set up. it's quite a bit newer and should be a cake walk to convert to disk brakes. I need to get it in place and start mocking up the triangulated 4 link set up for it, I'm still undecided if I'm going to run air bags or just some good coil over shocks. either way, I'll make it work.

Hey Gang, I'm not sure if anyone is following this build but I'm gonna keep on posting as it helps me document the process for myself (or future buyers). I got the back up on the jack stands and pulled the original rear end out of the car, then I set up a pair of wheels and tires a friend loaned me just to see if I like the look. I actually love the way they fill the wheel wells up and they just barely fit between the inner and outer body panels, I think if I roll the fender lip they will fit without a problem. they have maybe 1/2" on each side of the tire so keeping the new rear end centered will be critical, can anyone say triangulated 4 link? the tires are 10.5" wide but look great from the back. I'm still considering going back with the Coaker wide white radials as an alternative but honestly, right now I'm leaning towards the black walls. I also had time to get the motor hanging in the approximate location that it will live, I did have to cut a bit of trans tunnel out for the TH-400 to fit but not as much as I expected. I'm currently waiting for the new "U" style motor mount that bolts to the front of the block and the rubber biscuits to come in tomorrow so I can get the motor installed in it's exact position, then I'll make the trans mount and cross member. I was able to slide the motor back 8 of the 10 inches it needed to make it look right in relation to the firewall. it also looks like a set of center dump block huger headers will just squeak past the frame and suspension.

Hey Ben, my first step was to get the frame up on jack stands and make sure it was level front to back and side to side, then I started pulling measurements and doing a sketch on a white board I have in the garage, I also made some center line marks on the floor for the center line of the wheels, I also measured the spindle height off the floor with the suspension in "full droop", normally I would have measured original ride height and then subtracted the amount of drop I wanted but in this case the car had already been WAY OVER CHOPPED so I couldn't do that. I figured that with the suspension in full droop on both frames would eliminate any drop issues. actually it worked out really well that the new frame rails slid all the way into the old frame, all I had to do was clearance the cross braces that run between the inner and outer frame rails, once it was slid in place the spindle height ended up exactly the same as the originals. I put some wheels on it and dropped it on the ground this morning and it sits pretty high but I have not installed the BIG BLOCK or trans yet so I expect it will settle down to just about perfect, I hope to install air bags anyway so I should be able to get the ride height perfect without too much effort.

thanks for moving this Matt. well, I've made a bit more forward progress on the car since my last updat. I got the front sub frame installed and somewhat welded in, I still have a bunch of finish welding to do but I'm gonna wait till I get the body off the frame so I can spin it around and get to the welds properly. I also still have some gusseting to take care of at the same time. I was also able to get the front sheet metal temporarily installed so I could get the core support mount fab'd and installed, plus I wanted to verify wheel alignment in the fender wells. looks great to me. here's some pics of my latest progress, in these pics you'll notice the inner frame rails are not connected to the new frame, that has been done and now the new frame is welded in on both sides and across the top, I still need to close up the bottom and weld that in but that will be done when I flip the frame.

Hey Gary, if you want I can get the exact gear number for you if you need it? I may be able to get it up as far as Bloomsburg Pa. for you, I have a friend who's family lives up there and will be down here in about 3 weeks, then going home and should be back up there near the end of October. shoot me a Private message and we can probably figure out a number that works for both of us. I probably won't have it pulled for a couple weeks so the above timing works good for me if it does for you ???

Hey GDMN852, where are you located? I will have a complete rear end out of my '41 century for sale soon, I'm going with a more traditional drive train in my rest-mod, it will be complete from drum to drum and all the way to the end of the torque tube. I haven't pulled the cover to get the exact gearing yet but I counted it with the "turn the wheel and watch the shaft" method and it's somewhere around the 4.xx:1 area. unfortunately, I cannot attest to it's condition as I never drove the car with the exception of onto the trailer and then into the garage but it moved fine under it's own power.

Thanks Ben, I'll have to check the rear end a little closer to see what it is. I can understand the "keeping the original" issue, there are some cars that I'd never think about modifying, but I don't think this one warrants that, it was already modified when I got it and the way I think about it is this: in the condition it's in, it would cost so much to "restore" that it doesn't make since to do it, it's not a highly desirable car so even if it were done in a concourse way, you would just be throwing money away. so, it's either have someone spend some money and "resto-mod" it or let it sit and rot away, I'd rather save it and get it to a state that is a bit more saleable down the road. let's face it, the market for a 4 door restored Buick isn't that big. by the way, the motor and tranny have already been spoken for. I'll be getting them ready to ship this weekend and early next week. Perry

thanks for all the input guys, unfortunately, I think there have been MANY hands working on this car over the years and NOTHING was done correctly, I've found just about every kind of clip, mount, nut/bolt combo you can think of and I'm still only just starting, I've even had to pull out the metric tools to get some of the stuff off. I guess that's one of the drawbacks to getting a project with a "sorted past". I've made some decent progress since my last update, again, I know it goes against the grain but here it is as it sits right now. if anyone needs any front suspension pieces let me know, I'm sure all the moving parts are pretty much wore out but the hard parts seem to be in good shape. I'll also have the rear end with the torque tube available, will come complete from drum to drum, I'm not sure of the gears in it but I did a ROUGH check and it seems to be about 4.00 :1 gears so it could be anything close, if needed I'll open up the cover and get the real numbers. I'll be installing a front sub frame from a '80 T/A that's already been fully rebuilt and has the quick ratio power steering box on it. plus the engine should bolt right in. don't be deceived by the pictures, these were taken with the front clip freshly cut off, I still have a bunch of mods to make to put strength into the connection of the two. by the time I'm gone it will be straight and strong.

no illusion there, the guy I got it from decided he wanted it "LOW" so he cut all the coil springs under it, he got it so low you can get over a small speed bump. needless to say, I'll be correcting that issue during the build of the car, I like the look but it's not drive-able as it is.

I'm in South East Virginia, almost at the beach

yes, I agree --- fortunately, this isn't the first build I've done so I always expect the nickle and dime stuff to be a pain.

thanks, I'm hoping to be somewhat cheaper as I already have the motor and transmission for it, also have a completely rebuilt front sub-frame that's ready to graft in. the rear end should not be an issue as I plan on doing a triangulated 4 link and bagging the whole car.

Thanks for the input, I've got a bunch of pictures and a video of it running just before pulling it out. unsure on the mileage due to the odometer being messed up so I can't depend on that, also unsure of the maintenance history of the motor, the car is new to me so "who knows". the motor does run great and doesn't smoke at all, fires up on the first turn of the key (or did before I pulled it anyway), just trying to get a feel for what these things bring, I'm sure the dual carb and exhaust setups are worth something as rare as they are.

hey guys, well I'm going to brake a cardinal rule here but I'm gonna be pulling the original 320 with a dual carb set up on it, the original 3 speed tranny and the rear end out of my car for a performance upgrade. I know you guys frown on this idea but I'll be passing these parts on to someone else who can use them to restore a car. my parts came out of a '41 Century, the engine runs good, the tranny works in 1'st and reverse but never tried it in the other gears, the rear end works good. I was wondering if you guys could give me an idea of what these parts are worth? I want to be fair with my prices when I put them up for sale. thanks,

Hey guys, Just wanted to let everyone know that I listed the pair of Fender Grills for sale on E-bay. heres the link in case anyone has any interest. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1939-Cadillac-fender-grills/273461241632?hash=item3fab8f6720:g:CDgAAOSw~91bm3e7

Hey Guys, Well, I got the car in the garage and jacked up as high as I can on jack stands. I did a pretty good inspection on the underside and found I have quite a bit of metal work to do as the floor pans and trunk pan is pretty bad, I just ordered replacement floor pans for it, I don't expect they will be a perfect fit but I'm sure I can make them work. the trunk pan is another story though, may end up having to make some panels for it. it's about time to start tearing into her but need to do it in a calm fashion. one of my first steps it to pull all the stainless trim off the car, some of it is pretty straight forward with nuts holding it in place. the parts I need a little advise on is the belt line trim and the trim around the windows. can anyone give me any insight into pulling this trim without damaging it?? oh and stand by, there will be tons of other questions as I move along. thanks, here's a picture of what I'm starting with.

Thanks guys, I think Keiser is correct from the looks of them. I appreciate the help.

Hey guys, I've got a couple grill halves that I believe are for a '39 Caddy but I'm not 100% on that, can you please tell me if I'm correct? thanks,

thanks Terry, I appreciate the help on that. I wasn't sure if they were car specific or not.

Hello everyone, I picked up some parts over the years that I'm not exactly sure what they belong to, I was hoping you guys being the experts could give me some idea as to their identity. if any other info is needed for a positive ID please let me know. I'd like to list them for sale but want to be as accurate as possible. thanks a ton.

roger that, I don't plan on trashing anything. once I get to a point that I KNOW I'm not gonna need it I'll post it up for sale. as of right now, I'm 99% sure the motor, tranny and rear end are coming out. it's got the 320 with the dual carb setup on it but a 3 spd. manual. still got a while before I get that far though.

Hey Flash, I plan on doing the car as a street rod, I'm going to try and keep the body more or less stock looking with an upgraded drive train and some creature comforts on the inside (power windows, locks, a/c) I would like to get some nicer chrome on the outside though, mainly the grill and turn signals on the front fenders. I already found a great condition hood ornament ---I'm currently looking for a passenger side hood vent and latch assembly as mine is missing. I'll be keeping the stainless around the windows but the body side molding will probably go away along with the spears on the fenders and rocker trim. I'll also be doing some torque thrust wheels with the wide whites on them so I don't need hub caps.

Hey all, I have listed on E-bay group of very nice Pontiac parts, there were for my '54 Chieftain but I have since sold the car and have these left over. here is a link to a VERY nice hood ornament I have listed, you can look at my other listings to see the rest. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1954-Pontiac-Chieftain-Lighted-hood-ornament/273438433992?hash=item3faa3362c8:g:oikAAOSwKqlbi-BY