FRITZ-TIP

Wayne - Thanks for your reply. You sure looked at the picture very closely! I am going to check that bolt next week. Our 1954 Riviera has been on display in our car museum in Canfield, Ohio for several years, and like other "too good to drive" cars is sadly buried behind other cars. Also thank you for your compliments. Several weeks ago, members of the Buick Club from Akron-Canton stopped in to see our 50-car collection, as well as a tour of our vintage offices. We have all antique oak office furnishings, including over 30 oak file cabinets with brass handles, roll-top desks, etc. I know this is off-subject, but attached pictures are of my office at Tip Tools. Not shown is a tin ceiling. All of our other offices (over 2500 sq. ft.) are in the same decor with original restored oak cabinets, desks and trim. It took us many years to locate, buy and restore everything that is seldom shown to the public. Fritz

Thank you Al, I found your article last night and it answered all of my questions. I have an old cast iron stencil cutting machine to cut out stencils with 1" numbers that I will be using soon on the Skylark. Your article is very informative and helpful. Here is a picture of the engine compartment of my 1954 Riviera. Notice the upside down INSP 23 that my graphic artist added. I saw this on a nicely restored 1954 Skylark and thought it looked neat. (It may or not be as original, but adds a nice touch to the engine). Mr. Earl (Lamar) helped me with this restoration, with plenty of advice and encouragement. He and I have become good friends over the years. I also have an original 1956 Roadmaster with only 30,000 original miles and a very nice 1957 Buick Super. All of these cars are in our car museum in Canfield, Ohio (Open Saturdays from 10-3 - free admittance). See www.tipcars.us Thanks again, Fritz

I am just finishing a 3-year restoration of my 1953 Skylark and I believe there may have been numbers painted on the frame. I also have a 1954 Buick Riviera 2dr. HT, and when we restored the car some years back, we determined that the numbers painted on the frame were 1" high letters and they were painted on the passenger side of the frame. The numbers were upside down after the body was attached. According to my research the frames were stacked before the body was installed. This explained the reason the numbers were upside down. This 1954 Buick was judged at the Buick Grand Nationals in Charlotte about 6-8 years ago and received 400 points out of 400, so I assume the painted numbers were correct. A picture of the frame numbers on the 1954 Riviera is attached. My question now is should these numbers be painted on the 1953 Skylark and if so, should they be upside down or right side up as viewed from the side? I think I can determine the approximate build date from the original title to the car and possibly the serial number. Any help on this will be appreciated.

We figured it out and fixed the leak! Not getting anywhere, I called in my best (part-time on call) mechanic who always does a lot of research before starting a difficult job. Here is what he discovered: The openings in the fly wheel are spaced so that the bolts to the transmission can be tightened. They were not lined up after our engine and transmission rebuild. I am not blaming anyone - just glad that it is fixed. This required turning the fly wheel with a large flat head slightly angled screw driver until the holes lined up correctly and so the bolts could be tightened. One bolt was very loose so it (and other) were all torqued per specs. We also tightened all of the flywheel bolts in correct sequence and specs. This time everything was torqued to Buick specs. We then drained the transmission, going with Dextron III this time, starting with 3 Qts., then adding 1/2 Qt at a time, continually checking the dip stick with engine idling. At 8 Qts. it was at running level on the dip stick. We let it run for awhile and no leaks were observed. It was late in the day, so we shut down and placed a large piece of new cardboard under the car. This morning - no leaks. Luckily we did not pull the transmission and I guess we lucked out. How this was missed by our engine and transmissionre builder is hard to explain, as we often have both rebuilt when doing a restoration and he has done many for us, including my 1954 Riviera 2 Dr. HT and other GM cars. The leak previously with engine running was unbelievable. Even when parked it would leak rapidly - it looked like gallons, but still was quarts on the floor All is well that ends well. Thanks to everyone who replied to this post. Fred (Fritz-TIP)

Thanks for the information. I found a shop in Chagrin Falls near Cleveland that many of the Ohio Buick Club Members use. This is in case we simply overfilled the transmission and will be able to get the leaks stopped. They are Trans Colonial. I called first thing this morning and talked to Rick who knew immediately about the Dynaflow in the 1953 Skylarks. They go by appointment, but will get it finished in several days after it is delivered to them. They are backed up until the end of July (this is OK), but they have a big shop and the car will be kept in their garage until completed. While we previously removed and replaced the engine, transmission and rear axle assembly when restoring the car, I prefer this time want a shop do the removal, rebuilding and installation (and testing after back in the car) I previously contacted Jim and Sons in Canton, but they no longer work on cars that old and referred me to Trans Colonial. In my conversation with Rick I had a feeling that he knows all about our Dynaflows and once he mentioned that they do work for some of our local Buick guys, that is good enough for me. One thing I am wondering about is this: We used Lucas Transmission fluid - label said it can be used with any transmission. Any ideas on a fluid that might be more suitable for this 1953 Skylark? After spending 3 years to restore this car (thank you Covid), I am greatly disappointed as was hoping to show the car this summer at least once. My son and I have 50-car collection in our car museum in Canfield, Ohio and lots of Buicks (1917 Touring, 1953 Skylark, 1954 2dr. Riviera HT, 1956 Roadmaster Convertible & 1957 Super 2dr. HT. Check it out: www.tpcarcollection.com Car museum is open every Saturday from 10-3 (no charge). The Buick club from Canton was here 2 weeks ago. Fritz

Century Eight, Thank you for the information. I located a Jim and Sons Transmission Specialists in nearby Canton, Ohio and if we cannot figure a way to stop the leakage due to a possible over fill I will contact them. We have a shop with lift, but it might make sense to have a specialist take care of this, as the car is now fully restored to perfection. Fritz

When we first bought the 53 Skylark we drove it into our shop and the engine needed some work, but the transmission was just fine. However since we were doing a full restoration, my engine mechanic took the transmission to a shop in the Cleveland area and had it rebuilt. It was returned a few months later and was shipped dry. A picture on my earlier second post shows the transmission ready to reinstall with the engine. Due to Covid we had a one-year delay and finally installed the engine and after installing new wiring, my mechanic (who no longer works for us) added engine oil and I am not sure how he added the transmission fluid, but we bought some Lucas Transmission Fluid that is supposed to be suitable for any transmission. *Big mistakes in not getting some advice on this forum. I was once active on this forum but lost my password when i moved, so started all over just recently). I do not know if he just added (maybe 8 quarts) all at once or if he added slowly. We started the car and transmission fluid was leaking everywhere. We cleaned up the mess and later trailered the car to Portage Trim in Akron for a new leather interior. They reported more leakage as I mentioned and when we put the car on our lift at work 2 weeks ago, more leakage. We did not yet take a very close look, but will be doing so this coming week. We had a death in our family so I will not be at work until the later part of the week, but my son (great mechanic) and our painter who is also a detailed fussy mechanic are going to try to determine if the transmission was over-filled and will be draining everything and starting over per Buick specs. When we restored the car we detailed under the car, so we should be able to locate the source. Attached are some pictures of the underside. We have two solid years on this restoration and to say i am disappointed is an understatement. Fritz (Fred)

We are not sure. It was in the trim shop for 2 months and they said there was transmission fluid all over the floor - leaking so much that it was beyond each side of the car. We have it on our lift at work now and plan to take a very careful look next week. Thanks for the reply. I will add to this post next week if we are able to pin point the leak(s). Fritz

We recently finished a 3-year restoration on my 1953 Skylark. We had the transmission and engine rebuilt and one of our guys might have added too much transmission fluid, as it is leaking like a sieve, whether not running or running. The mechanic that did this is no longer working for us, but it appears that he may have added 8 quarts (We bought 12 quarts of Lucas Transmission Fluid and have 4 quarts left). Also is Lucas transmission fluid OK for this car? On their label it says it is OK for any automatic transmission. Looking for some ideas on this. THANKS! Fritz

After some advice from other Skylark owners, I am going to go for all leather interior door panels and rear side panels. The seats are already completed in all leather.

According to several Skylark owners, interior door panels and rear side panels were originally all leather, so I am going that route. Thanks for the advice and comments.

First I sent the hood springs to a guy in CA who made a new set. Then we had to increase the size of the small roller that supports the inside rear of the trunk. We then spent about 20-man hours and finally got everything as close to perfect as humanly possible. This was prior to painting the car. Before removing the hood and spring assembly we drilled 1/8" pilot alignment holes for later. After painting, the gaps are very presentable. I have seen some Skylarks with the rear side of the hood gap at top of the door big enough to fit your hand. I also have a 1954 Buick Riviera HT and we had plenty of trouble lining up that hood as well. I always wondered how the factory workers manages the hood alignment.

Over the years I always saved all spare and left-over GM keys. When restoring a 1940 Cadillac series 75 I badly needed a key, so looked through all of my GM spare keys and later all of my other GM cars in our car museum (www.tipcars.us) and came up with a matching key! I heard that GM made only 100 different keys, so by process of elimination found a key. Attached is a picture of my 1940 Cadillac.

INTERIOR DOOR PANELS - LEATHER OR NAUGAHYDE? I had the seats done correctly in red and white leather, but need to know if door side panels and rear interior side panels were originally leather or Naugahyde (Vinyl). The car is at the trim shop, waiting for a definite answer, as I want to keep the car original. Thanks!

THANKS for the input (Yes I know Naugahyde is a brand name for a vinyl). I tried the Buick Club Judging Manual and it covers Stayfast/Haartz convertible tops being OK - see attached picture. However nothing is mentioned on the door and rear interior side panels. I had the seats done over a year ago in red and white leather, which is correct as shown in picture on my original post). I have a few phone calls in to some Skylark friends, as want to get this right. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Attached is a picture of my trunk (I do my own trunks and wiring). The trunk material is period correct, but not exactly the same as original material which is not available. I will try the Buick Forum soon and thanks again.