brad54

Can some of you guys point me in a good direction here? I'm parting out a '58 Buick 4dr HT. It's a Georgia car, so the sheetmetal is very good--the trunk was filled with old clothes, the rear window was busted out, so the water filled the trunk and rotted the floor and lower edge of deck lid, but otherwise the car is very solid. A guy in New England needs the rear quarters, rear bumper, tail lights and quarter trim. Until now, I've been able to sell unboltable pieces, with the idea of having a body "nickel and dimed" but still with a lot of decent bits and pieces that I could sell as a parts car on Ebay. Cutting the quarter panels off is going to sink that idea. Plus it's a lot of work to do that much surgery (Bright side--gotta buy a Sawzall. WA-HOO!!!) He's not interested in the whole car, either. (I'm pulling the engine out and shipping it to him already. He said he doesn't have room for the whole car, or the time to meet me half way to pick it up). I don't want to rape him on the parts, but I don't want to shoot myself in the foot either and make $10 when I could make $20 by selling a complete body. What's your opinion of a fair price for the rear sheetmetal and trim? Thanks. -Brad

The '54-'56 Buicks shared the same basic body platform (roof, doors, floors): were the chassis different from one year to the next? Mainly, can anybody tell me if there are substantial differences between a '54 frame and a '56 frame? For instance, a '55/'56 Chevy frame will interchange, but the front frame horns on a '57 Chevy are very different. I know some things were different (provision for dual exhaust on '56 cars, front spindles on '56 cars, rear end on '56), but is there anything else really different? Mainly in the front portion of the frame is where it might be a big deal. (front bumper mount) Thanks, -Brad

Actually, Chrysler put the little "Pentastar" logo on the passenger side fender only, all the way up through the '70s at least. That way, while people were walking next to the car on the sidewalk, they'd know it was a Chrysler product. Seriously. That emblem was never on the driver's side. -Brad

Lots of hidden taxes in a gallon of gas these days, too--it all ads up. But I agree on not losing sleep over it--especially when there isn't anything you can do. Now, who has paid $1.39 for a 20 oz. bottle of soda at the gas station in the last week? Or better yet, how about buying a bottle of water, which is FREE at any tap! I won't even get into cigarettes or McDonald's lunches. -Brad

I used to work with a woman who was always bitter and never had a nice thing to say. Always walked around work with a scowl or frown. UNLESS something sad/bad/unfortunate happened to somebody--then she couldn't wait to talk to you about it, and her whole face was lit up! 15 years later, I've got Tommy on the BCA forum. How come the only time you ever post is to gripe about something and stir people up? Do you think you're doing us some kind of "service" or favor by getting us upset, or getting us fired up about something when what we'd really like to do is come here and spend some quality time with our hobby? Can't they shut him off? Isn't there somebody in control of this forum that can just lock him out of it? I'm not saying to lock everybody out who makes an unpopular post or expresses an unpopular opinion--but all this guy EVER seems to post is aimed at stirring up trouble. Whether it's his "opinion" or not doesn't matter--just because you have an opinion and like to spout it doesn't mean we all have to be subjected to it. Heck, I'd be happy with a 50/50 ratio: if he'd occasionally post something that wasn't composed from a high-horse and delivered with hurled rocks, I wouldn't mind him. But every stinkin' post he puts on here is complaining about someone or something, and is often insulting. How 'bout we take a vote on it? All in favor of removing the delightful Tommy from here, say "Aye." AYE!!!!!!! -Brad

Just an observation: We're all used to driving new cars every day--and we're used to the way those cars perform. Then we slide behind the wheel of our vintage car, and obviously know it's a different driving experience, but as we're cruising down the road with the windows down and the radio on, we're probably not thinking about doubling the brakeing distance we're used to. If we are CONSTANTLY thinking about every single pebble in the road and rotation of the tires, are we really enjoying our drive? That being said, I am planning on upgrading the brakes on my '54. Now that the disc conversion kit mentioned previously is available, I might go that route. HOWEVER, the first plan is go get self-adjust brake hardware from a later '60s 12-inch drum Buick and adapt it to the backing plates on my '54, converting them to self adjust. This will be a BIG step in the right direction. Fitting the linings to the drums is a very cool idea--I hadn't thought of that before, and will do it. Dual reservoir master cylinder is mandatory. Check with Master Power Brakes. I used a '50s Corvette conversion kit for mine, with a remote reservoir so I didn't have to pull up the carpet when servicing the brakes, and added a longer plunger rod. Finally, I'm going to swap in 4 finned aluminum drums, to help with the brake fade. At some point, though, I probably will upgrade to discs up front. If they didn't work better than drums for around-town driving, they wouldn't be on all the new cars today. They're more expensive than drum brakes, so if the companies could save money on them and the performance was the same, you bet your sweet bippy they'd be sending them out the door with drums at all the corners! -Brad

That's Awesome!!! And while the roof/side window lines aren't really in proportion, the back half of the project looks very well executed. Note that the boom folds down into the floor! Look carefully, and you can see that the forward wall of the bed lifts up (under the rear window), the floor sides then lift up, and the boom comes out. That'd be an awesome shop truck! Or swap meet hauler...Hmmmmmmm -Brad

I just received a Nailhead Rocker Arm Lubricator Kit I bought off e-bay. It's an aftermarket thing. With some small copper tubing and fittings, it plumbs into the oil pressure sending port on the back of the engine, and feeds two tubes to each valve cover. The tube fits under the valve cover (it's somewhat flat spotted at this point, and the instructions say to add gasket sealer), and runs up to one of the rocker shaft hold-down bolts. At the end of the tube it's soldiered to the flat of a nut--drilled through, so the oil will flow through the side wall of the nut to where the threads would be (no threads, though--it's basically a banjo fitting). You remove the factory hold-down bolt and throw it away. A new, longer bolt supplied with the kit is installed. The bolt is turned down at the top by the head, and the nut soldiered to the top of the tube is oversized to fit at this spot. You set the nut (with tubing attached) on the rocker stand, run the new, longer bolt through it, and then tighten it all down. The oil flows between the nut and turned-down bolt, into the passage of the rocker arm shaft from what I can tell. When I bought it, I thought there would be a piece of tubing that ran the length of the head, with small holes that would squirt/drip oil onto the rocker/valve tips. I paid about $25 for it, and figured it wouldn't be what I thought, but would be worth the money to see it and learn what the idea was behind it, etc. The brass fittings that came with it will be worth the money to me. Basically, what I want to know is, has anyone here ever heard of these kits, did they actually work, and is it worth the effort in a high performance engine? The kit is manufactured by Wohlert's of Lansing Michigan, and says it fits '53-'61 Buick. -Brad

I'm a HUGE fan of a full bookshelf! Here are a couple of my personal favorites: Motor's Service Manuals are at the top of my list. DO NOT get the "Flat Rate" manuals--those were just books that told how long a procedure would take. Be picky when you buy them--I've put together a full set covering the first years (I think 1937?) through 1985, and all the books are in perfect condition--no broken spines, no grease stains. Paid between $10 and $15 each for them over 2 years of swap meets. That was with some hard, dedicated shopping. Typically, the average price seemed to be around $40. For the one book covering your car, that's not a bad deal. I just really wanted a full set. Next is a good set of the un-abridged version of the Technical Service Bulletins. It's amazing what you find in these. In a bind, the abridged versions will be okay, but the unabridged, 3-hole-punched versions are full of much more information. John Lawlor's Auto Math Handbook is also a must-have. It isn't Buick-specific, but when you want to start figuring out tire sizes vs. RPM, etc. it can't be beat. And I've had that particular conversation with a lot of resto guys! Finally, the best book out there is one you can make yourself. Every magazine article, web-thread/post or scrap of useful information should be printed/photo copied, 3-hole punched, and put in a binder on your shelf. I have one, and the categories are (for hot rod stuff): Engine, Transmission, Rear End, Suspension, Brakes, Electrical, Misc. Ever had a question, and just KNOW you read it somewhere, but can't find/don't have the time to dig through 15 years' worth of old magazines? Build your own book, and it's always there, easy to find. -Brad

It's a Southern car, so there isn't a ton of rust. The trunk floor and deck lid are rotted though. Doors are solid. Front fenders, grille, bumper gone. Hood is perfect. Inner front fenders are excellent (except battery box area) Radiator surround is excellent Power Steering, manual brakes, no power anything. Gas tank is dented. The interior is complete, but all the pot metal is rough. Has padded dash--good for core to have restored by Just Dashes. The carb and intake are gone, as are the valve cover breathere. I'm keeping the engine and front drums, but that's it. -Brad

I've got a '58 Super 4dr HT I'm parting out. I'm in Atlanta, but we get a pretty good deal on shipping. Do you need the front seat for a 2- or 4dr? -Brad

I'm looking for a set of front spindles for a '56. How much is the gas tank? -Brad

Another way to describe the Hemi is that the intake and exhaust valve are across from one another, while the Nailhead has the valves next to eachother. A kinda decent analogy might be that a Hemi (hemispherical combustion chamber) looks like an orange cut in half, while a Nailhead's combustion chamber looks like a quarter of an orange. -Brad

Repeating the page for La Carrera; Mr. la carrera to the white courtesy phone please.

I saw your reply to the Synchromesh trans post in the For Sale board. Going by your handle, and the fact that you have a couple spare Century 6-bolt trans boxes, are you building a car to run The Race? I'd LOVE to find out some info from you!!! I have a friend who ran a '53 Stude in the last one, and he has me thinking very bad thoughts about putting a '54 Buick together to run it. The trans/torque tube rear is bear to find parts for...wondering if I could weasel my way to a sanctioned conversion to an open drive line behind a Nailhead. Thanks -Brad

Tomorrow I'll go look at the '58 parts car I've got outside, but I gotta say I can't imagine a front suspension system with coil springs that you wouldn't have to remove the ball joints in order to remove the coil spring. Although, now that I've said that, I have seen guys compress the spring, then remove the control arm mounting bolts at the cross member, dropping the back of the control arm, which allowed the ball joint to be left alone. Given that, yeah, I suppose it's possible. I'll check. -Brad

I caught it one day when she found out I was using the toilet brush to scrub some chassis parts. To which my response was "I don't see what the big deal is. Look what YOU clean with it!" Oddly enough, she didn't come around to my way of seeing things... -Brad

Please tell me this car isn't painted red, black and gray! My grandfather lived in Chilton (aunt/uncle just moved out of Plymouth), and bought a '56 Buick brand new. Somehow, my mother and her brother talked him into having the area under the side trim painted gray! As for the rest, it's a good deal, but I can't get it right now. I'd really find a way if the trans was still in it--but I need another Buick on my property like I need a third eye. Great to see, but not really popular, if you get my drift (unless it's that tri-tone car: Then I gotta buy it!) Thanks, -Brad

I'm interested as well--where are you? I'm more interested in the transmission! Is it available as well? Or, to make things possibly easier (especially in terms of shipping), how 'bout the bellhousing, trans and flywheel? Thanks -Brad

Gotta disagree about the power of a 322 versus a small block Chevy. That being said...Earl is right--the Nailhead would be a better choice. Specifically, I'd go with a '56 322 (oh wait--I am in my '54! ) You won't be able to use your transmission with a small block Chevy. You can convert to a Chevy trans, but it's a closed driveshaft, so you'll have to replace the rear end as well. And because the rear end is a coil-over design employing the driveshaft's Torque Tube to locate the rear end front-to-rear, you'll have to fabricate a new rear suspension as well (specifically, locating bars to keep the rear end under the car). By the time you get done with all that, you might be better off looking for a rebuildable 322. The '56 had the most power of the 322s, and it's a bolt-in. Just my .02 -Brad (Oh yeah--a Nailhead looks WAY cooler than a typical small block Chevy! It's not like you see them every day)

Yes, please sell it to Mr. Earl! That way the car isn't going anywhere, and he'll be storing it until I save enough money to get it from him! That seems the best solution for all concerned--the car get's saved, you don't have to worry about having one more on the burner, Earl gets ANOTHER '54 Buick to keep the weeks down on his farm, and I get storage until I can bring the car home! I really would LOVE this car, but I won't be in a position to get or enjoy it for a year. -Brad

Well, I've got a complete padded dash, including the glove box door section, the end caps on the dash ends, etc. It's just basically the shells and such--the vinyl is dead, as is the padding (the original padding was formeldahyde based, and breaks down over time). Just Dashes in California can restore the whole thing, using the process the originals were manufactured with. I don't have a price for it, but I've done a couple of magazine stories with them, and have seen the results in cars, and they are absolutely perfect. Concours quality. $100 for my starting-point, if anybody is interested. (Getting it out of the musty old interior and carpets is NOT something I want to do for $20!) -Brad

Was a padded dash optional in '58, or were they all padded? The parts car I have has a padded dash, so I was wondering. -Brad

Selling a '58 364. Long block--intake, distributor and exhaust manifolds off, otherwise complete. This engine turns over with a breaker bar on the crank bolt. Not seized up (which, frankly, surprised the bleep outta me! It was last registered in 1983.) It was a 4bbl engine, so it's the higher compression (10:1). Water pump is seized. It looks like the car was taken off the road for a cooling fix, and that was the beginning of the end. Radiator was out, fan and pulleys were off, and there was a new thremostat in it's box on the front seat. Never got fixed, sat outside neglected, until I got it. Before that, it was owned by a doctor. $375. It's still in the car. If you want to help remove it (I've got a hoist and tools)it'll be cheaper. I'm in the Atlanta area. I don't want to deal with a trucking company, etc. Local pick-up, or for a fee I can deliver a reasonable distance into SC or NC up I-85, Alabama, or as far north as Detroit up I-75 (or into Cleveland or Columbus in Ohio), ot south into Tampa/Orlando FL. Any questions, lemme know. -Brad

Actually, I refer to that photo backdrop as my "Hamster Half-pipe" Never found the photo--but it's actually a slide, and not a photo. Josh will be at the March show, so bring your camera! He'll pop the hood off, I'm sure. Thanks for the suggestion on the swap meet posting--I'll go do that now! -Brad