old-tank

Ha! Not for me: 2000 miles away and and I would need it to be 30-40 years ago to consider.

Climate controlled in the bottom of a creek???

Not a problem.

Mine was much worse. Probably no welding required on this one.

Won't hurt the transmission, but now the fluid level is above the pan gasket and maybe the speedometer cable site...may leak down to correct level on its own....

Project No rust and doable by someone who has done a mid 50's before.

Beer talking?

I think it is more about proportions. Larger tires with 4" on the senior cars would look about the same as 3" on the smaller tires.

Empties???

This is what I used. It performs as expected with no separation or lifting of paint after drying/bonding. My comment about flammability referred to sprays on TOP of the material (clear coat, hair spray...) Anything you buy will be fiberglass boiler wrap in various colors (pre cut or cut your own) and really has no function other than some sound deadening and looks sorta good and will pass any BCA judging. Even if the nasty original stuff were available "you can't run fast enough to give to me"! This has been an interesting thread, but I still don't understand the concerns...there are more important details out there.

Summit racing. Biggest cheapest can they had. Even worked on loose sole of athletic shoes. Stay tuned for brand.

Anything you spray will make it flammable

Yes

Sometimes Classic auto air will surprise with the part you need. I don't have a 56 parts book, but illustrations show a sight glass and gasket under group 9.202.

Welcome back Ben. Congrats on the marriage. Condolences on the insurance experience.

David, my issue with the pad was that the vendor sent YELLOW. I got that resolved and a friend gave me a section of gray and the shape was duplicated from the old pattern. The old pad was installed 30 years and 150,000 miles ago and was nasty from the (expected) slobbering of the A-5 A/C compressor. It removed easily with a plastic bondo spreader leaving some old adhesive residue on the black semi-gloss acrylic enamel that was still intact. After cleaning with simple green and then mineral spirits the area was masked, sprayed and the pad installed after spraying. If you spray wet and then scrape, then your paint will come off, but after everything is dry, it will outlast you. Just do a test piece to satisfy your concerns...

So post a picture of the one you want and we'll try to find one for you.😁

Search: In line sight glass 3/8 flare. That's what I use on my 55's. Anything original will be by now junk. The originals have a glass tube sealed by o-rings which at this point are welded to the glass. Even a new one I found a few years ago failed in a week.

Some friends call it Buford too and some of them call it holy s*** after a ride.😂😂😂

nailhead No Buick today, but terrorized the neighborhood with a nailhead in a 51 Ford

Find some suitable gray material and cut your own from existing (some supplier will send yellow or green boiler wrap). Spray the inside of the hood and the pad and don't worry about softening the paint...you will never see it again. The original stuff was some sort of rock wool. I would never consider using or re-using that nasty stuff: hair, caps and hats get dirty just looking under the hood.

Use 0.020 safety wire in the original staple holes and twist from the back. If too tedious then pop rivets.

I use that truck/bus group 31 battery in my 55's, but did not have to trim anything. Not as cosmetically pleasing but I just cut the bolt and spliced and brazed a section of tubing to stretch to fit.

Any fluid would "work" in dynaflow due to the simplicity with no gear changes. But all modern fluids and especially the synthetics are lower viscosity than original fluids. If yours has marginal pressures or small leaks, you may have problems. You don't need a premium fluid in a dynaflow...something like WalMart dexron/mercon will work fine.

But you don't break your leg driving a Buick in heat and humidity!