old-tank

New? Used? Year? Arms only or complete shaft assy?

Party? Party? Where's the party? I'm thirsty! and I'll drink to that!

Some people collect the antlers of dead deer...others is seems collect the teeth of dead Buicks. I prefer the former...deer are tasty.

The gear problem is a defective thrust pad; no compression and oil in the cylinder indicates a hole in the piston....sorry

"gravel parking and had a little fun spinning around"...That is the best way to tear up the spider gears. If John's suggestions don't localize the noise, remove the cover and look. Willie

Joe That does not appear to be an original stock antenna. There are so many after-market designs out there that you may have to make the part or just get a different unit. Willie

Paul Try tapping back and forth (wood block and small hammer). If it move it is probably goop and/or a clip a clip that has it captured or a clip that it slides on (?). If no movement, there may be another screw. Willie

My setup on my 51 F-1 with the 264 may be similar. To verify what thermostat is installed without disassembly, check the temperature at the thermostat housing with a heat gun at the time coolant starts flowing and heating the top tank of the radiator. A mechanical gauge at the rear of the drivers side head will read lower than at the thermostat housing. Mine has a 180* thermostat (heat gun reads 180*) and the gauge reads 160* . I have a probe for the fan controller just below the top radiator hose and it is set at 195* (using a heat gun on the top tank). The fan stays off when the truck is in motion and comes on when stopped or low speeds. No matter where the temperature probe is installed set it to turn on the fan using the temperature of the top tank near the upper radiator hose. You will also need to have the fan turn on anytime the a/c is turned on. Willie

It was my good fortune and distinct pleasure to be parked next to Bob at the Buick Centenial (pictures #14 and #15 of the 55 Buick group MORE PICTURES . It was all knees and elbows trying to get a look at the restoration pictures. Bob, at what point did the wire wheels get installed? Do you have any finished product pictures of the car with wheel covers? Willie

Paul The body manual you have is for 1954, and that might be one of the few things different. I did notice that the upper center reveal molding on the 2dr hardtop is like the small body cars (in the gasket) whereas the 4dr has screws from the inside. If you can, check gasket part numbers for 54 55 and 56 to see if the part numbers are different...might give clue. Willie

I look at it this way: you have learned some new skills, can be proud of the work done, and now know to buy a better car to start with . I want a ride in the Roadmaster with the Flightpitch! Willie

Unless you have changed things significantly under the dash, it is not that hard to change the switch and cable. If you removed all that during the restorations, you know how it is done, otherwise I can help. Willie

If clear is available, use that and have it tinted and/or shaded to your liking. Just don't apply any stickers or suction cups for GPS.

Rear main leaks will tend to have more oil on the passenger side. Be sure it is engine oil and not transmission fluid. On my last cross country trip I had a puddle at the rear of the engine when parked; it looked like engine oil and I thought that it was from the seal that I had repaired a year earlier. A slipping transmission that was low on fluid had me looking a little closer. After the transmission leak was stopped it was dry again. How bad is the leak on your car?...puddle size, amount of oil on frame, back of car,etc.

Doesn't make sense to me either. Does it stop better or worse in reverse?

Post #1 can serve as 'letter to the editor' if they care to use it, otherwise I am finished with this.

If your car has single exhaust, remove the crossover pipe, detach the idler arm at the frame and let it hang (tape so that the idler arm does not rotate), remove oil filter, remove pan, remove oil pump. While it is apart, check clearances on the rear main bearing --- journal with plastigauge, end play or thrust with a dial indicator --- no seal will work if the rear main bearings are worn (hard on a dynaflow too). I tried the 'new' two piece lip seal and it was a failure...leaked 2 quart in 10 miles...had to remove the engine to do it right. Willie

Before you take it apart, drive it some (if you feel that you can do it safely) and it will probably improve. If not then you will have established a wear pattern that will tell you what needs to be corrected. Willie

First, don't try to lock up new brakes until they are seated, either by arcing the shoes to fit the drum like Ben suggested or by driving carefully with lots of moderate stops. Sometimes you have to readjust the shoes every 100 miles until they are stable. The service manual says to adjust until tight then back off 12 clicks. Before I had a service manual, I backed off until free which was about 6 clicks, and that still works for me. Drive a few hundred miles before getting worried. Willie

Yeah, a little voice in my head kept sayin' that, but... I chose "I want to skip that step and try something else"...it's only been 5,000 miles! Finally I got out the timing light and dwell meter. The dwell should be around 30*, but was 50*:eek::eek:...the points were way too close and essentially not opening. The timing is supposed to be around 5* BTDC (before top dead center), but was over 10* ATDC (after top dead center):eek::confused:. After I got the distributor out, I found that the vacuum advance was shot, the breaker plate was worn, and the distributor shaft had nearly 1/8 inch of play at the top. (I want it noted here and for ever after that this is the first time I touched that distributor) Anyhow I pulled a better distributor out of my pile, installed a better breaker plate, new vacuum advance, new points (Standard BlueStreak), condenser. It started instantly and ran smoothly even barely ticking over while I set the timing. The timing ended up at 10* BTDC after the distributor was snugged down. It ran good except for some part throttle detonation --- backed off to 7* where I run all my 55's and now it runs perfectly! Cheap-arsch points' rubbing block wore down after 5,000 miles along with a marginal distributor compounded by NDG vacuum advance. ...it's only been 5,000 miles!...we don't need to check that! It's got to be the carburetor this time! Willie

...and in my case scratching various body parts...

You will get more turning force using a 2 foot pry bar on the ring gear teeth than a 6 foot bar on the front of the crank. Using the head bolts or substitutes fashion a heavy steel plate over the piston and then construct a large fine thread screw in the plate over the piston. Place a piece of wood over the piston and some steel plate over that for the screw to bear against. Even this will not break it loose instantly...let it sit with tension and try turning the screw daily. This will only work if there are only one or two stuck pistons. Another way that most of us don't have is to remove the rocker assembly (and hopefully the valves on the offending cylinder will be closed) and apply hydraulic pressure through the spark plug hole...even forcing grease under pressure has a chance of working. Be aware that if it is stuck hard the cylinder walls will be pitted and may not clean up with just boring...may need a sleeve. Willie

A few more observations: while the crossover was off for the pan removal it was noticed that the inside of the left side exhaust manifold was black vs gray on the inside of the right side; after it was all assembled it would not start...fire but would not run. I pulled the wire out of the coil and a big fat spark jumped out of the nose. I propped the choke and throttle plates open for a few hours and it finally started, but still ran badly. I tried an old trick that worked on a ford flathead: rev it up and just about when you have it wide open close the choke....no joy (the jets on the flathead are at the bottom of the bowl and often one would clog with sediment to the point of running on only one bank --- the increased vacuum would sometime dislodge the clog so I did not have to disassemble just to get home). Willie

We need a diagnosis so we can proceed with a cure. (we got more opinions at Charlotte on that hot parking lots at 11 pm --- maybe it was the beers...bud=wiser --->groan...)