rmartens

Does it sound like there's a slight exhaust leak under the hood? At the start of the video it sounds like my '56 Century does, and I know my exhaust crossover on the bottom side of the intake manifold needs addressing. Otherwise, even the exhaust note sounds similar to my Flowmasters.

In your complete rebuild did you replace the rubber hoses? I couldn't get my fronts adjusted evenly no matter what I did, and likely heard on here about expanding and collapsing hoses. Replaced those and solved the problem.

I've owned this car for 33 years. There's been periods where it hasn't run for 3-5 years, but I've been driving it every month or two for the past 3 years or so, but have probably only put 500 miles on it in that time. All that to say, it's a survivor that runs fine with minimal maintenance. Last year I replaced the power steering pump and steering box and I cleaned up the corner of the valve cover and head before reinstalling the pump. Now I'd like to finish the rest of the topside. 1. Leak in exhaust cross-over in intake manifold. Anyone have a pic of the underside of the manifold so I can see the shape of the plate or plug I need to replace? 2. While manifold is off, I plan to remove valley pans to inspect and clean valley and lifters, etc. as I've never done so in 33 years of ownership and I suspect no one ever has. Any recommendations on what else to check? 3. Will pull valve covers and replace gaskets there as well. Will check valve lash, I have orig service manual, any additional recommendations? 4. I don't think I'll need to remove distributor, will I? Cap and rotor and points and condenser are 30 years old but functioning fine and timing is great so I don't want to mess with a good thing. Will replace plug wires, have a correct set from Fusick. 5. Should I remove/inspect the water pump manifold? I ordered the front end gasket set, but nothing is leaking. Replaced radiator and freeze plugs 30 years ago and flushed what I could from those openings at the time. 6. While I'm cleaning and repainting the topside I'll pay attention to casting numbers. What does it mean in our context to be "numbers matching"? I've got no reason to suspect this is NOT the original motor, but would like to confirm. 7. Haven't used the stock fuel/vacuum pump ever, using manifold vac where needed. A few weeks back while working on my parts list I noticed vac pump was still pulling vacuum. Should I add that back into the vac circuit? 8. Finally, anyone have a spare set of spark plug covers they're looking to sell? 🙂 Thanks, Rick Added on edit--last summer I splurged on a wet-sand paint correction, etc. from a local detailer. Paint is likely 40+ years old.

John, thanks for sharing. Will be praying for you and your family and trust the Lord will bring you peace.

Thanks all! Is there a particular Edelbrock carb model number I should be looking for to find the correct electric kit?

4 Barrel Carter carb, might be a '55 or '56, it's been 30+ years since I replaced the aftermarket carb that was on it with something close to original with functional starter switch. Fuel pump needs rebuild so running electric. Most of auto-choke mechanism missing, heat riser pipe from exhaust manifold broken off in manifold, and choke plates are sitting in the glove box. With electric pump I can prime and spray with a few accelerator pumps and she starts well. Odds of me getting the fuel/vacuum pump rebuilt are better than me getting the original choke functional, so I'm contemplating an electric choke conversion. Any recommendations? Thanks, Rick

When I called Lares to get a quote on rebuilding my 56 Century power box and pump, THEY told me Rock Auto was the best route to go, as Lares did the rebuilding for Rock Auto. When my parts arrived from Rock Auto, they were in fact Lares rebuilds. RA was cheaper than Lares would have charged directly, and Rock Auto makes cores returns easier as well.

Don't leave us hanging! What happened next?

There's no wiring per se at the rag joint, but in my case there are two copper straps, one that attaches to the larger centering post on the steering box side (12 o'clock in my photo) and one attached to the bolt at the 9 0'clock position that connects to the steering shaft side. See the indentation at about the 5 o'clock position on the 9 o'clock hole. I suspect at one point that was one continuous strip to provide a ground to the steering shaft. See second image--of rotated 90 degrees clockwise it's a close match for mine. I suspect my two pieces were once one, although until I removed the steering box the horn worked so they must have been in contact with each other somehow. I guess I'm looking for this copper grounding strap. My alternate idea is a short wire with an eye at each end to connect one side of the joint to the other. Thanks, Rick

After too many years on the bench, I sent out my steering gear box and pump out to Lares via Rock Auto for rebuilding. Tried to follow the indentations in the rag joint to put everything back together properly including the copper contacts, but when I tested for continuity between steering box and the shaft in the steering column on the upstream side of the rag joint, I get nothing. Shouldn't I have continuity--isn't that the point of the copper contacts? Any pictures of what it should look like? Thanks, Rick

I wish I had my info handy--but I believe a good tight fit on my '56 Century was found using a filter designed for a mid-80's Chevy S-10. Seals without needing additional gasketing.

Turning the cable by hand might not get the needle to move. I chuck the end of the cable in a cordless drill to get enough rpm to get the speedo moving.

I've done it on my '56 Century. Did not have to remove the fender. I don't recall it being that big of a deal. Had a radiator shop replace the core for me.

Couldn't think of a better place to ask for assistance. I have a time stamp just like this one--except the plunger is stuck in the down position. The plunger shaft is brass, the housing cast iron. I've tried PB blaster and as much prying and hammering with a rubber mallet as I dare but to no avail. It's been this way for 30 years or more. Any recommendations? Heat & Cold? I've taken the clock works out but can't get the die out with the plunger in the down position, and the die most likely has the name of the Hawaiian sugar mill where it was last used.

Living on the West Coast it was simply a knit hat or ski hat. My Canadian relatives called it a toque. But moving here to the East Coast (NC) I got real confused when people called them tobbogans. To me that's a 6' snow sled.

I had the same challenge some 20 years ago. I bought grade 8 bolts of the larger diameter and thread, then took them to the local vocational school where they cut off the heads and turned down the narrower diameter and thread pitch needed. Said the hardened bolts needed 3 passes each on the thread cutting lathe. They worked wonderfully! I've since moved back to the original wheels and hubcaps.

Sorry I wasn't more clear--Fusick wants to buy one they can keep so they can develop the kit at their convenience. I took a vacation day today and visited the bearing store in Raleigh for the seals and the rubber store for the O-rings and felt seal. Some of the rings looked a little smaller in the cross section than the originals, and they had to trim and reglue one of the larger rings to fit. The cost of the O-rings and felt seal was less than $4. Not sure how much the seals were, will pick them up on Tuesday.

I bought a test gauge at the farm store, and found that the threads on a flexible grease gun hose were exactly what I needed to connect the gauge to the various ports on my '56 Dynaflow. On a somewhat related note, if you ever need to check pressure with the transmission out of the car, I used some thick rubber and a couple of hose clamps to attach my largest socket to the center of the torque convertor. Then I attached an old 1/3 hp corded drill to spin the unit up for pressure testing.

Finally decided it's time to get this project done, but no one seems to have a gasket and seal kit. Spent some time on the phone with Terrance at Fusick--says the 56 Buick box was a one-year only unit, and they have not yet developed a kit for us. (They will PAY $100 and shipping for a unit they can tear down and use to create a kit.) Anyhow--are there any other suppliers for a kit?

I pulled the seals at the pitman shaft and the input shaft. The pitman shaft seal carries the following identifying info: EP 46 5683373 The input shaft seal reads: GP 20892 09 5682846 Are all numbers significant, or just one set--maybe the ones starting with 56? If I match those numbers, are all the appropriate dimensions going to be correct for this application? Thanks,

I too was expecting to see gaskets in those two places--but in both cases it was a large o-ring.

Jerry: Do you have a part number for the kit from CARS? I'm not having much luck searching their site. My steering box leaks more than my Dynaflow, but otherwise works fine. I disassembled it a couple of days ago--it's pretty straightforward, but I'm planning on leaving the control valve intact and am not planning on tearing into the piston or ball nut--just replacing the assorted o-rings, and the seals at the pitman shaft and input shaft. So far it looks like 3 large o-rings, 2 medium sized o-rings for the elbow on the control linkage, and two small o-rings between the control valve and main body. Plus the seals and washers. Thanks for any direction you can provide. Rick

I love the business card from Braley & Graham in Portland, OR. My '56 Century still has the chromed logo from that dealer on the trunk lid.

John D. beat me to it--followed the same process on my '56 Century. Just takes patience.

I had that same question a few years ago...the first explanation I heard is that the AC cars had the open grill and the non-AC cars did not. Subsequent discussion here on the forum discounted that theory in favor of the running change. On the other hand, if you wanted to turn it into a "ram-air" scoop it wouldn't take much ductwork. I've seen it done on tri-5 chevys with crate engines and better air filtration systems than stock Buicks. I run the stock air filter housing but use a paper filter that fits tightly--from an S-10 if I recall correctly. Rick