old-tank

Rust free used is alway best. Post links to potential vendors with links.

Parts required and as mounted with vacuum tubing as bumper. I can send these (loose ones) or scan one for you to duplicate. Willie

All of the above, plus added under dash gauge that reads the real temperature. The stock gauge is pegged out on HOT at 200* which leads to worry and white knuckles. With the above setup it should go to 250* before boiling over. On my nailheads there will be increased detonation at 230* due to higher cylinder head temps. Willie

The date and place is: April 4-6, Bastrop Texas...next weekend (party time) THE BUGLE HAS THE WRONG DATE (April 11-13)...if you show up then, it will very lonely. Willie

Used is the only know source. I'll look for some. Willie

I'm not understanding what the problem is. Pictures? Maybe the rebuilder changed something --- call them. Anyhow, if it is just the filler portion and it is not leaking, you are good to go. I might worry about having to adapt the output side. Willie

Like James said....I have not done the conversion. This is the the 4th or 5th thread that discussed the conversion; we have done out best to research the issue; I think I could make it work with the info supplied; the big problem is: those attempting the conversion have never replied back as to whether it works or not. Advice: please try it and REPLY BACK! Willie

If you can find a 322 to rebuild, do that...'there is no replacement for displacement'. If you have a good running 264, add the 4-barrel and dual exhaust AND replace the rear gears from 3.6 (std with dynaflow) to 3.9 (std with manual tranny) or higher and you will outrun a 322! Willie

Ok, so you take your newly restored car to a show or cruise-in and that thing parks nearby...which will have the most lookers? Yours of course since those guys never finish those things to show up in the first place.

Nice video Mud, but I had to pause it half way through to go out and drive one of my 55's and look through its' bird strainer on the hood (driving these things is not a spectator sport, kinda like neither is fishing, bowling, sex...). Lots of parallel stories out there even involving 55's. My first one a 46R was given to me after it was 'totaled' in a rear end collision (frame bent, trunk pushed to rear glass, drivetrain pushed forward off broken mounts); I paid a frame shop $60 to pull everything back in place; $30 to have the engine and tranny mounts replaced; beat out the trunk with a sledge hammer; replaced the gas tank with used $7; drove it hard on and off road for a total of 365,000 miles! It became a parts car after the engine lost oil pressure --- not many good parts since most were 'customized by crunch' or completely worn out. Eisenhower tunnel: looks like it was still 2-way traffic at that time. Loveland Pass: an alternative to the tunnel and will have you thinking again about all those engine, transmission and brake part you had in your grubby little hands! Dillon, CO: we try to stay there a few days every 2 years...tasty beer at the Dillon Dam Brewery! Your picture of the engine/tranny installation looks like a 56 tranny with the aluminum bell housing. Finish your current 55, collect all the awards it deserves then drive all over Colorado again. Willie

This is all you need to do. Forget about broom sticks, shims, drag and other adjustment procedures in your 53-54-55 "bible"...refer instead to maybe a 57-58 manual. After the rubber is compressed it will take a 'set' and be just right. After many years and miles when the rubber gets hard and even before a small leak is noticed you will have drivetrain vibration on deceleration from it being to loose. If you strap your Buick on a trailer like I do with straps on the lower A-arms and the rear axle, you will be pulling back on the rubber of the outer torque ball retainer...after releasing there will be a small leak and drivetrain vibration until the rubber recovers. I wish the suppliers of these outer torque ball retainer kits would leave out the stinkin' shims and include instructions for installation like for a 57 or 58 (although 58 I think used O-rings instead of gaskets). Willie

The Buicks stayed covered, but the nailhead in the '51 Ford truck got a workout....

Choice shots!!

Ingenious or just plain genius on those torsion bars. Good fit on the trunk. Hint: to maintain that good fit use trunk rubber from Metro...theirs is a little softer and smaller than Steele Rubber. Willie

There is a second page for other models that has the footnote denoted by 't' for the oil cooler hose which is 74" for a 54 and 78" for 55. See my website for a quick and easy way to change out the hoses and a complete chart. I drill a 1/8 hole in the flange of the thermostat to help purge air from the system, which if left in will result in some of the puking you described. Hopefully new parts and a clean radiator will solve the problem, otherwise consider a blown head gasket or cracked head letting combustion gases in the cooling system. Willie

Go ahead and paint. If it is like 55's the stain is caused by bleeding from a tar paper like padding used under the bow rods...nothing will touch it. If you ever do remove the headliner, substitute something else for the tar paper. Willie

Check some local body shops to see where they send truck bumpers for repair and re-plating. Here in south central Texas most are sent to Mexico and the whole deal is handled by the (friendly) body shop. The results have been the best on 55 Buick bumpers. I might hesitate to send rare parts.

The number of shims are 'as needed', so 3 is your starting point. Clean all contact areas to shiny metal with fine sand paper; I use WD-40 which improves electrical properties as well as lubricates without being gummy. If testing off the car goes well it should work as designed if the push button switch was wired so that it substituted for the carb switch....get back to us if wired differently. Consider replacing the starter relay also. Willie

You can read the scan on page 23?

This is the way 'crispy critters' are produced. Drain the tank to a level below the leak until it can be repaired. Don't even think of catching the drips unless the garage is open and a large fan is blowing the fume outside.

...pictures on request if ol' Jaybird confused you to much...

Detail is severely lacking in the pictures/scans in the online version of the Bugle, to the point that it is impossible to read printed material. The print version of the Bugle is fine. It seems that a lower resolution version is submitted for online use.

Ken, yes that is the so called half-ton pickup of 51. A few construction pics on my server: http://www.buickrestorer.com/buford With 3.92 rear gears the power comes on strong and fast. Even with that primitive spur gear 4-speed that requires double clutching, I would not want an automatic. Willie

The short side should go toward the flywheel, but this combo might not 'fit' that way either. Also the flywheel appears to be drilled for different size pressure plates/clutches. Is there a source for all of the correct parts?

I used a Crager/Offenhauser 309 adapter to mate the 264 to Ford tranny in my 51 F-1. Most of the Ford top loader 3 or 4 speed trannies are pretty stout vs those made for column shift. Do the research and ask more questions... Willie