NTX5467

Don't the self-service car washes up there have "whitewall cleaner" in their selections? But NOW that you have that extra chrome, dirty tires can detract from them more than hub caps. I'm waiting for concours-level self-cleaning paint! NTX5467

My point is that trying to gauge engine rpm by how it sounds can lead to inaccuracies. What was once considered "normal" can lead to "over-revved" sounds now? As to weatherstrip issues, have you tried closing the side air vents, so the cabin is not pressurized at highway speeds? Using "Recirculate"/inside air on the a/c (if equipped)? It seems that every car, back then, had some level of "wind noise", just a matter of degree. Enjoy! NTX5467

Now . . . when are the 14" whitewall tires going to arrive to complete the OEM look? Just a thought, NTX5467

Looks like it was a great show, Roberta. A good number of awards for Buicks owned by "BCA Royalty", too! Congrats, NTX5467

Much of what might be deemed "revving too high" can be related to the sound of things, not just what we might perceive as "rpm". Exhaust sounds and related resonances can be a part of this, as can induction system sounds. One engine might be quieter at 3000rpm than another, for example. A 3.42 with modern tires is not too far off from a '55 Century (with tires from back then) with its stock 3.6 (or so) stock rear axle, as to mph/1000rpm. If a 3.07 ratio is "normal", with lower numbers being "highway/downhill gears" and higher numbers being "performance gears", so be it. End result is that the engines could spend hours at about 3000=3500rpm with no problems (other than an emptying gas tank), back then. The other side of the deal is that with a quieter exhaust system, if the engine sounds happy and little throttle input is needed on the highway, don't worry about it. Just enjoy! Just some thoughts, NTX5467

Sounds like a great event to go to! A good reason to drive the Buick and get out of the house! YouTube video coverage? Buick Gardens looks even more fabulous that I ever suspected, from the pictures above. Didn't realize you were so close to the Savoie! A great museum, from the pictures I've seen. It houses a '29 Buick which used to belong to one of our chapter members, Chuck and Diane Nixon. Y'all enjoy! NTX5467

Unfortunately, each of the GM carlines did their own things as to how they engineered the cars, even for parts like steering components. Which means high prices for NOS items or to get the part rebuilt by a good company. IF you might find a salvage yard which still has an old Hollander Interchange Manual, which goes back that far, it would list the other vehicles for which steering parts on your car might interchange with and what it might take to get some others to work on your car. This might be a terrible "long shot", though. Even though, the parts for those interchanges might be unobtainium, too. When you do get the replacement items, seek out some Valvoline synthetic chassis lube with Moly in it, to meet the Ford spec for such. The synthetic grease lasts longer and the moly makes for a better frictional decrease, too. A win-win situation, to me. Available in grease gun tubes, too. Just some thoughts, NTX5467

On ANY carrier bearing, make sure the water shields are on both sides of the bearing itself! On our '69 Chevy pickup (which has a 2-piece driveshaft, every so often the bearing would get noisy, so we'd take it to the dealer to get it replaced. One time, the prior replacement ended up with a bent shield, so it wore through the rubber surrounding the bearing in the housing. Squeaked until it finally wore though the rubber it was touching. On the bearing replacement after that, the tech threw away the shields as "They aren't needed. It's a sealed bearing", which made sense. Yet within two years (about 30K miles), the bearing was noisy again. Taking it apart, getting the plastic protectors out of the way, the bearing was full of sand. So much for the "sealed bearing" idea! So we ordered some new water shields and made sure nothing touched. That was the last carrier bearing we needed to put in it. NTX5467

Yep, looks like you need a new one. Finding one might be a trick. I suspect they are still out there, just need to find the right place. Possibly an old driveshaft shop that has been around "since the cars were newer". The bad thing, even if you might find an NOS one, that the rubber in it will be old to start with, which can mean "old and dried-out" a bit, so it might bre a bit fragile to start with. For the best longevity, you'll also need to address where that oil/sand accumulation came from and fix that FIRST, while the shaft is out of the car. Were there any shims between the mounting point and the rubber? Just some thoughts, NTX5467

A "real Buick owner" could have already have had a Cadillac, IF they wanted one. Instead, they chose the Buick they liked and were used to, regardless of the price. Not to mention the "little things" (as in the less expensive oil change) in the bargain. This is what GM discovered when they deleted Oldsmobile, many Olds customers did not bite for the discount voucher for a new Cadillac, preferring to stay with their existing former Olds dealer and buy what he sold. As for the young couple, by the time they can buy that Buick, they will be about the 4th owner of that car. Which means about 20-somethnings who are still active before the kids come or they are in college. I remember seeing a ;85 LeSabre with three couples in it of such people, on a weekend night, out for clean fun. Why should they buy an inexpensive Ford compact when they bought a nicer Buick for the same money, which is easier to fix, and costs less to maintain? On the other hand, a long-time Buick owner selling their car (when needed) in later life, at a very discounted price, can be a godsend for a younger buyer. A very nice, nicely cared for car, for under $3000.00. A similar Cadillac can have many more issues with its options, by comparison. Not to forget the long-term issues which can happen with the Northstar V-8 . . . like when the cyl heads have to come of at 150K miles, having to have all of the cyl head bolt holes "Timezerted", etc. As the typical Buick 3800 just keeps purring right along. Nor the similar DeVille's $300.00+labor blower motor, or Northstar oil leaks. As getting the oil changed at a local Valvoline oil change place now surpasses $75.00 for their syn-blend oil, knowing well that a gallon of the same oil at WalMart is only about $26.00+tax, I can use their coupon to buy it down to $55.00 incl tax. You don't like "coupon clippers" either? Buick was the low-cost maintenance leader over Cadillac. Want to consider EPA fuel economy ratings between those two engines too? Advantage Buick. Regards, NTX5467

That Ed Roth creation was probably done in the earlier 1960s, when "Space Race" vehicles were in vogue. Made great displays at the bigger indoor car shows back then. Their "oddity" was their main attribute. NTX5467

"Frugal" is when a person bought a new 2005 LeSabre Limited rather than a new Cadillac DeVille as the Buick 3800 V-6 was a 4.5quart oil change rather than the 7quart oil change of the more expensive Cadillac Northstar V-8. Grand parents (on "fixed income") and young drivers (with little income) can appreciate the cost differences in such maintenance items. Regards, NTX5467

In reading on the Evans website, it is a neat product and one which could work well in our old car orientations. TNEN I read what it would take to convert to their product. Kind of made the (at whatever change frequency one is currently on) coolant change look easy and low-cost to me, as a somewhat frugal person. One disadvantage is that anybody which might buy one of Jay's cars would have enough resources to keep it or change it back to normal stuff. BTAIM Enjoy! NTX5467

After reading and thinking about the article, one thing is certain . . . the "talking and gaining information stage" is just beginning. As we know, nothing in the government happens over-night, usually. Especially iif somebody's watching what is going on. In this case, I certainly suspect that SEMA will be a big partner in any discussions. Many people who talk about the federal EPA forget that Richard Nixon signed the legislation initiating the EPA way back then. At that time, CA was strangling itself in exhaust fumes. Remember smog alert days when it was deemed unhealthy to be outside? MUCH worse than any recent "Ozone Action Day" we have ever endured in Texas or otherwise. Many large metro/industrialized areas of the USA were headed in the same direction. That's in respect to the "air", with similar orientations on "water" and "earth". Something had to be done and Nixon started it. ONE key orientation not to be considered was what it cost or cost effectiveness. By 1966, California Air Resources Board was in full operation and setting vehicle emissions standards for vehicles sold/registered in CA. Which generated a lot of legislation to ensure violators had no loopholes to sneak through. Even to what equipment could be used to repair/upgrade road-going vehicles which were over 25-35 model years old. There did not appear to be a lot of opposition as we were in a different world back then, where CA citizens were the ones harming themselves so they went along with cleaning things up. At least there was no mention of opposition in the publications back then. Other than cars, CA air quality issues tended to greatly affect the metal chroming industry. In a time when getting automotive parts chrome plated was a big deal (including some hot rod crankshafts), these new standards tended to end that industry in CA, by observation. So chromers had to comply or move out of CA. The Federal EPA and CARB had the authority to set standards and fine those who did not comply, from their very first days. In most cases, the initial standards had periodic tightening of the regulations, too. Sometimes, it seemed that just as one standard was being achieved, they "moved the goal posts", which brought more areas into non-compliance, several times. As if the EPA was doing this on purpose, but it turned out that the tighter standards had been programmed to happen many years prior, sequentially. It should also be noted that the Federal EPA was designed to be non-political. To protect the citizens' health and welfare as it had become very evident local municipalities or states would not do it themselves (other than CA, which started to do so several years earlier). Just some thoughts and observations, NTX5467

Show me where that subject is written in the LATimes or similar. Plus the history of that orientation. Now, what might be happening is that, like many European large cities (as Paris), the limit access to some of the inner-city areas by license plate last number and/or model year of the vehicle. This has been going on for about 10 years now. BUT, considering how "car-centric" the car culture is and has been in CA, what results might be something like that, BUT how many people really drive their vintage cars in the alleged "off limits" areas on a regular basis? Besides . . . the car culture in CA has been dealing with carburetors and such which have a CARB approval code on it. Such codes are listed openly on the Holley and Edelbrock websites, for example, and have been for years. Not to forget the random emissions checks they used to do, where the offending vehicles are parked until they can be compliant again. Just some thoughts, NTX5467

The peanut butter guy is trying to save .001 cent on every container they seal. Makes him more money, plus the stockholders . . . none of which probably use that stuff. Just gently slit it down the middle and peel to the sides. Condensers seemto be failing a lot lately, by observation. New Old Stock is better than New Replacement Stock. NTX5467

Thanks for the reply and comments. Up here in the States, the Buick 3800 was used in Buick Rivieras and Park Avenues, plus all of the mid-size fwd platforms, plus several years in Camaros and Firebirds. Toward the later 1990s, there were even kits to put on a factory-style supercharger on normal 3800s, too. Plus the special models with it (Regal GS and the several Pontiac Grand Prix high-perf cars). It was in the various performance 3800 websites that I saw much about the electronics related of the engines. As good as the 3800 SC is, it exists in the shadow of the Turbo GN cars. Again, your car looks great with the tasteful wire wheels and gold-stripe (Vogue?) tires. Take care, NTX5467

How long has this been going on? If it bogs in every gear at the same general rpm, hot or cold, that might well be an ignition coil which will only produce so much output voltage to fire the plugs. How long has it been since the air cleaner was serviced? Might also get a wrench and tap the areas on the muffler listening for a loose or mis-placed internal baffle? Just curious, NTX5467

On the block flushing, one time in my younger and inquisitive days, I decided to see if I could get a better flush by removing the thermostat and thermostat housing, to use that location to introduce the flush water into, directly into the block that way, using the lower radiator hose for the drain. I then also put the fresh coolant in through there, too. Remember, too, that the water pump level is pretty much 1/2 up the engine, so that much coolant remains when the radiator or lower radiator hose stops draining. End result, I got only the normal amount of coolant in the system for a good bit of additional work. I might have gotten a better flush that way, but little else. End result, last time I did that. For the record, this was on my '77 Camaro 305 which I bought new and maintained the coolant level/protection at least to factory specs. Just some thoughts and experiences, NTX5467

The drain plugs on the side of the block are just for that, draining coolant, yet there can still be some residual coolant in the rear corners of the water jacket as the engines are usually tilted rearward when they are in the vehicle. While they can "flow clean", there can still be residual sediment in those rear areas of the water jackets. Which means that the only way to get that out is to remove the core plugs on the side of the block and flush things out completely. A messy job for sure, but that's the only real way (on an older engine) that you can get things as clean as possible. Just have new brass plugs to replace them. IF you used a chemical flush product, it will remove rust and scale (to varying degrees). On an engine block, no big deal. On those core plugs and heater core, where the rust and scale accumulate, that accumulation can degrade the core surface and eat into it. Removing that scale with chemicals also means that thinner metal results, as the rust will seal those areas until it is removed or eats through them. A coolant-water mixture will find those weak areas quicker than plain water will, by observation. So, best to get ahead of the situation by removing those side plugs and washing everything out, if possible. If they have been changed, it will be obvious by their color. Usually, the radiator will hold about 1/2 the volume of the total cooling system. draining, flushing, and refilling with about 2 gallons of coolant (NOT 50-50 coolant, but non-diluted) will can usually result in coolant protection to -20 degrees F and possibly -34 degrees F. When the engine is cold, the coolant level should be at the "COLD" level on a cross-flow radiator, which makes it look pretty empty. As the engine temperature increases, the coolant level will rise as the heated coolant expands, such that when at or near operating temperature, the coolant level should be just below the filler neck on the radiator tank. Any more will be pushed out of the overflow pipe. Yes, when the coolant temp is at operating temperature, it will be pressurized to about 16psi, which makes the radiator hoses "hard" to the touch. This is normal. The infra-red "heat guns" are available in the US at discount places as "Harbor Freight". There are two heat ranges, 500 degrees F and 1000 degrees F. All have switches to read Centigrade, too. Usually in the $35.00 USD range. Possibly some places like that in Europe? You can use these "point and shoot" temperature readers for many vehicle diagnostic things. You can check the temperatures of the side of the engine block for temperature variations, plus the thermostat area to see when the thermostat opens, checking various parts of the radiator core for temperature variations, plus many other things. A good diagnostic investment. Can also be used around the house to look for heat escaping around windows in the winter, too. In automotive diagnostics, the main thing you are looking for is unusual temperature variations, not only for specific temperatures. For example, an over-heat issue can be because the bottom half of a cross-flow radiator can be clogged with sediment, although it looks normal looking down the filler neck opening. The bottom part of the radiator core will be cold, as the upper section is hot, yet it is the bottom section air flow which the fan clutch "sees", which governs when the fan clutch works or does not work, so engine temp soars above 3/4 gauge as a result. On the side of the engine block, the parts with good coolant flow will approximate coolant temperature as those parts with lessened flow will be a good bit hotter in comparison. ONE word of caution . . . do NOT open the radiator cap on an engine where the radiator hoses are "hard", meaning the system is pressurized. ONLY do that after the engine is cooled and the hoses can be easily compressed (as in "no pressure). Take care, NTX5467

I'm not sure how the European specs referenced might compare to the USA OEM specs, but in the USA, at the OEM level, the "green" coolant was what we used in the 1960s. Some brands might have had different colors, but they were all of the same chemical make-up (i.e., ethylene glycol). One detriment of ethylene glycol is that it does not like the solder in the heater and radiator cores of cooling systems, causing it to degrade with time. So that coolant has additives in it to prevent/lessen that situation. But as the additive package degrades with time, the coolant must be replaced for best radiator/heater core longevity. The additive packages were upgraded in the earlier 1960s to be compatible with aluminum engine parts (i.e., the aluminum blocks and/or cylinder heads which came into use back then). When GM introduced its long-life Dexcool coolants, it had a unique color and the caps on the plastic bottles it was sold in had a similar color. Ford and Chrysler followed with their own tweaks in coolants with similar properties, with the Valvoline GO-2 coolants generally following the Ford coolants. As I recall, there were three OAT-type coolants back then? As the Valvoline GO-2 was possibly the best to change-over a cooling system than the others, but as the bulk of my experiences (at the dealership level) were related to Dexcool, that's what I know the most about. ONE thing about the newer coolants is that they are designed to operate in a closed cooling system. With a coolant recovery jug that is also where the radiator cap is located. Nothing readily-exposed to "open air" as the 1960s-style cooling systems were. Trying to use these coolants in an older vehicle is asking for trouble. If there is some brand you are considering, you might Google that brand's products and look to see what they offer and look at their Material Data sheets to see if they might comply with the GM specs. You might also Google the GM spec to see what comes up. There is a brand of coolant which is not ethylene glycol or Dexcool which can replace them. I don't recall the name, but one of its users is Jay Leno, who uses it in all of the vehicles he owns. Using it requires some prep-flushes, too. It is something like $100.00 USD per gallon, but is much better in many respects. I thought about using it in my cars, but it would be cost-prohibitive for me, even if the long-term costs were less. Hopefully this might help guide you in your searches, NTX5467

My apologies for mentioning the www.RegalGS.org website. Since I looked at it a good while back, it has now become a Facebook group page rather than the full-blown forum-based website it used to be. Where the owners were obviously "30-somethings" with smaller families living in the suburbs, not much different that depicted in the Buick Regal GS "Supercharged Family" television spots. Many of these owners, by observation, needed to fix their own stuff rather than go do to the dealership and get it done for them. Hence the knowledge they shared on how to do things, knowledge from the "school of hard knocks" rather than a "manual". Many drag raced their daily-driver cars, too, which led to their knowledge of the Buick 3800 V-6's "guts". But what my Google search also turned up was the presence of many Buick 3800-specific website on how to increase the power of their engines for racing purposes. Some which had been around since the later 1990s when the Buick 3800SC evolved into being. In the process of their racing activities, there might be certain blocks which are better than others, so that's where the "engine ID" and "block ID" come into play. Where to look at the block to find such information. The same information you might need in Oz for the paperwork. In the USA, the same information can be used to track stolen vehicles and parts thereof. Perhaps the searches I found (knowing about them from times past) eluded your searches as they are not "Riviera-specific" and usually do not appear in normal Buick websites? Take care, NTX5467

There used to be a fwd Regal GS forum. When I found it in the 1990s, I was impressed with the youth of the posters and interesting way they had of fixing things (like the digital display in the auto a/c control panels). Of course, those Regal GS cars had supercharged 3800s in them. That might be a fruitful place to look? IF the SC3800s are similar to other GM engines, they might have the engine ID stamping, plus a block casting number on the side of the block, possibly with a date code there too. On the stamping codes, many have the last part of the VIN nearby. The stamp code identifies the specs and application the engine was machined for, with the VIN stamping identifying the specific vehicle the engine was factory-installed into. I have not verified if the same things actually exist for the V-6s, but I suspect they might. Looking in non-Riviera-specific websites, other than the one listed, might yield better results. Only ONE GM engine plant built the later 3800s, which was in Flint, MI and on the sight of the larger Buick assembly operations there. Great looking Riviera! NTX5467

There can be two areas of concern with a radiator shop repair. The most important one is the thickness (or lack thereof) of the tank flange where it interfaces with the solder and mating flange on the core. If that tank flange gets too thin, it might not hold solder as it should (from what a good radiator shop told me years ago). Apparently, when they clean the old solder off of the tanks, their cleaning fluid also might remove some of the metal too, thinning the flanges? The other point of concern is the quality of the solder. Apparently there are several quality grades, with "OEM-spec" being the top level. I say this as any new Modine radiator I used to buy would last at least three years in daily use before it started to HINT to a tank seep. In most of the repairs we had done locally, in the later 1960s (there were three radiator shops in town then, with ONE being known to do the better work, as in "no leaks" for the longest period of time), most had a tank seep within two years of time. Which is what led me to the new Modines, with their OEM-spec quality for similar prices, back then. Just some thoughts and experiences, NTX5467

To the question of "authenticity", KH built wire wheels for many brands of cars back then, just that Buick also installed them OEM back then. There can be some repros, obviously, but I also suspect that ALL KH wheels will have "Kelsey-Hayes" stamped on the inner section of the rim, with the size specs for the wheel. The OEM versions would probably need tubed tires, unlike the newer versions with "the band patch" to seal the end of the wire spokes from leaking air, which makes them capable of using tubeless tires. I remember the General Dual 90 tires being advertised new, back then. "Dual" meaning the two tire treads, side by side. Great tire ads back then! Enjoy! NTX5467