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I tap the hole and install a small screw to act as a plug. This will keep dirt/water out and if you do have a 'leaker' then you can drain it regularly instead of having a mess. Willie

I recommend drilling a hole in the torque tube just in front of the rear flange to check/drain fluid. If your car has a pinion seal and it is is good the torque tube will fill with trans fluid and it will get inside the driveshaft and give bad vibration problems. Changing the pinion seal is another (big) chore. The part about trans fluid ruining rear ends is probably sometimes true, but personal experience is different. My origianl 55 Special routinely filled the rear with trans fluid to the point of leaking out of the axel seals and contaminating the brakes...usually washed the brakes with gasoline and removed the fill plug to drain it back to a normal level. If I had time and money I would pull the bottom cover bolt, drain the whole thing and refill with cheap hypoid 90 that did not have the recommended wear inhibitors. Anyhow that rear went about 250,000 miles (car croaked at 374,000 mi) with various dilutions of trans fluid in the rear. I pulled ther rear end a few years ago and rebuilt it...other than a few pits in one of the pinion bearings and an axel bearing there was no abnormal wear. I just cleaned it, replaced the bearings and pinion seal...it is now happy in my CVT. Willie

The horizontal ribbon speedometer as used in Super and Roadmaster in 54/55 was used in all series/models in 56. Willie

The variable pitch rod is attached to the pivot linkage that is attached to the back of the left cylinder head (1955). The carburetors (54/55) should be the same since there is only one rod that attaches to the carb. You need the pivot linkage from a 55+ and need to fabricate a bracket on the straight 8 to attach it to. Another possibiity is to use a vacuum servo to operate the variable pitch. Willie

Keith "The Buick Club of America is a non-profit membership corporation dedicated to the preservation and restoration of those vehicles built by the Buick Motor Division of General Motors Corporation." "BCA National Awards are based on how well the vehicle compares to the original factory product as judged under the BCA 400-point system." A club with these philosophies needs to have judging at every national meet. Willie

The meet needs to have judging. I agree that the centennial was a special situation and judging would have been impossible. The first BCA national meet that I attended was the 1988(?) in Flint. I remember the extreme heat, the great engine and vehicle assembly plant tours, the swap meet with only Buick parts. But the cars were a disappointment: most were local and just 'pretty good drivers'. I was expecting the cars to be at least as good as those at some local/regional brand X shows. No one with a fresh restoration is going to trailer a car 1500 miles to display it; and a year later that car will deteriorate even if placed in a museum. The 2007 meet out west will be judged, but will be out of reach for many, so you may have to wait 2 years to have a car judged. Willie

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Bill, that is the plan, there has never, ever been a judged meet in Flint. </div></div> That's a bummer. Some sneer at judging in general, but to some it is important to get some recognition for the hard work getting a car up to standards. Willie

I'm getting thirsty... Willie

Jon The jackstands are adequate as long as you can get the car at least 18' higher than the low point of the transmission jack....I had mine 25" high. The floor jack is OK for jacking the car (do it in stages), but don't use it on that heavy tranny (might get squashed like a roach). Willie

sherlok The dimensions are 32"wide x 58"deep x 8'long. I designed it and dug it larger to allow for later forming of the walls and floor. The depth is about right, but it could be longer if you don't want to have to move a car around to get to all of the underside. The width will handle all vehicles large and small. Willie

Get it running first then report back on abnormal noises and function along with pressures. Willie

http://www.sem.ws/where_to_buy.php

SEM Vinyl And Plastic Color Coat (Aerosol Can)...I used this to touch up a damaged area on one of my daily drivers. 2 years later it still looked good. Also I painted and area on a junk tire on one of my parts cars as a test and it still looks good after 3 years. Willie

buke Buy quality points like from NAPA, always change the condensor, be sure all connections are tight and clean, try a replacement coil. Also be sure that the ballast resistor has not been bypassed. Willie

Ed Get rid if the heat riser! You don't need it for a fair weather car. These old ones either leak around the shaft like yours or stick in the closed position leading to driveablity problems. You will need to remove the manifold to cut it out and plug the holes. On those that are stuck just cut out the butterfly. Even on a restored car you cannot see the riser and probably will not get a point deduction. Willie

1. What is your current daily driven car? Year 1976 Make Olds Model Delta Royale (this is what I consider a proper size automobile) 2. How many miles do you commute per year? <5,000 5,000-10,000 10,000-15,000<------ 15,000-20,000 25,000+ 3. What MPG do you currently get in your daily driver? 12/15 4. Have you ever owned a hybrid vehicle? No 5. If you answered NO for question 4, do you plan on purchasing a hybrid in the future? No 6. If you answered NO for questions 4 and 5, please state the reason. Too small 7. If you answered NO for questions 4 and 5, would you be willing to purchase a diesel with equivalent gas mileage rather than a hybrid? No I had a 1980 LeSabre diesel and even the extra required routine maintenance ate up any savings over the similarly powered V6

Thanks Steve Let me know if you hear anything. I called Steele yesterday and was told that they don't have them and are not going to make them... Not wanting to hold my breath for Steele, I will get some estimates from Metro and Karr rubber. Willie

I am referring to that large triangular piece surrounding the steering column at the floor and firewall. Are theses items being reproduced? I have checked with all known suppliers and no joy. And any used ones in this area are worse than the ones I have. There was one for a Super (different part number) that went for $130 on ebay a few weeks ago. I am thinking about having some custom made...any interest? Thanks Willie

Paul You need an exhaust cutout: JC Whitney I've had them in the past and am smiling right now thinking about it. Go for it! Willie

Bob The lifters were aftermarket made by TRW and probably the VL-3 that Ken is talking about. Using 56 lifters a 55 is OK if you want to solve a problem like Ken, pending a complete rebuild. After all they lasted 20,000 miles and that is years for most of us... Willie

Bob 55 lifters have a deeper recess at the top and require a longer pushrod. 56 lifters can only be used if 56 pushrods are used to obtain the same overall lenght. Most of us use 56 lifters because they are cheaper and easier to find and the best way is to replace the cam with one from a 56. Here is what happens when you use 56 lifters on a 55 cam: (you are looking at the bottom of the lifter...there is a hole that ain't supposed to be there...) This took 20,000 miles but I was 500 miles from home when 3 of them went south. They were all on exhaust valves which would not open with a collapsed lifter so lots of backfireing thru the carb. Just disconnected the sparkplug wire and kept going...not much power running on 5 cylinders... Amended the diagnosis. The 56 lifters on the 55 cam worked fine for 20K miles. That was when one cylinder head was removed and rebuilt because of a burned valve. The reason the cam and lifters on that side were destroyed was because the machine shop installed shims under the outer valve springs that covered the recess for the inner valve springs causing valve bind and extreme pressure at the cam/lifter interface. I then rebuilt the engine with new cam, lifters, pushrods, rocker assemblies and upon startup it ran for 2 minutes and clanked to a stop. Findings: bent pushrods, broken rockers, broken rocker shafts, bent camshaft and cracked block around the cam journals; the same &*%$#@ machinist installed the same shims under the outer valve springs! After a lot of crying I got a good engine out of them. Don't worry about the "theoretical" incompatibility. With light valve springs, and modern lubricants it will outlast you. There are many rebuilt 53-54-55 nails that have possible incompatibility with different metals. Just be sure that the overall length of lifter/pushrod is correct. Willie

These engines were the 322ci and were lower compression than the engines used in Buicks. I have never seen one and have always wondered about what transmissions were used, etc. Willie

The tires were Carlyle brand (made in USA) from Discount Tire. The previous tires were the same tread design but a different brand and they self-destructed at 4 years just like these. The tires we bought in Norman, OK are Nanking(sp) brand made in China. I bought the 'lifetime' warranty for this last set of Carlyle tires and recieved a full refund from Discount Tire (after some 'negotiating'). Willie

This is Bill Talking, I am on Willie's computer cause mine died. Lost another trailer tire yesterday, I think it had something to do with hitting the large piece of furniturein the road last night. Just a glancing blow but broke a light and dented the fender. Traveling at night in Tennessee can be dangerous. Of course traveling during the day in Missouri is too as we heard a bang yesterday afternoon but couldn't figure out what it wa until we saw the bullet hole in the trailer. I dont know who I pissed off with my driving but they shot the trailer. We dropped the car off today outside of Mobile and will head back to Texas tomorrow. 3300 miles so far since Sunday, no rain no bad weather except for the wind and cold. Will post pictures when I get home.