brad54

Bad spellers of the world--UNTIE!

Yup, he's right--the '56 is already a 12 volt system. I had the same thoughts when I bought my '54, and it was already a 12 volt, too. What might be throwing you is that it's a generator system, rather than a modern-style alternator charging system.<BR>There's really nothing too bad about having a generator. I've got A/C on mine, and it keeps up just fine.<BR>If you elect to stick with the generator, here are a couple of tips I've learned along the way:<BR>Shop around and have it rebuilt by a reputable shop. I paid one guy $65 for what turned out to be a re-paint, new bearing and brushes. I found a little mom&pop shop that put in brand new windings, etc. and did a true rebuild for $35 after the first rebuild burned out.<BR>A good shop can "beef" them up a bit.<BR>From the factory, there were heavy duty generators that put out a little more power. These were found on factory A/C cars, cars with lots of power accessories, ambulances, trucks, etc. <BR>Our generators are the same as those found on '55-57 Chevys (except Power Steering). Classic Chevy International used to offer a generator rebuild kit (1-800-456-1957 for info)<BR>Finally, if you don't already have one, get yourself a factory shop manual. Honestly, you should never own an old car and not have the manual for it. By and large, local service centers are useless as far as we're concerned, so we're on our own. A factory manual, and a Motors Repair Manual (NOT the Flat Rate Manual) from the time period will help with your diagnostics. If you can't score these at a local swap meet, call 1-800-MOTORHEAD and order their Vintage Parts Locator for Buicks--it's a national directory of everyone who sells anything Buick related, including literature. These three manuals will answer almost all your questions, and they're worth every penny.<BR>Good Luck!<BR>-Brad

Call 1-800-MOTORHEAD and send him about $25 for his Vintage Parts Locator for Buicks. It's a national directory of everybody who makes or sells anything for Buicks. It's broken down into several chapters (Electrical, Sheetmetal, engine parts, Rubber Parts, etc., etc., etc.). It's honestly about the best $25 you'll spend, and I gaurantee someone listed in it has an NOS heater control valve for your car.<BR>Or anything else you need.<BR>-Brad

I think I read an add in Street Rodder about someone like Sanderson offering Nailhead headers. If I'm remembering correctly, then they're probably block hugger headers. If that is the case, then they'll probably clear on the passenger side without problem, but they may not clear everything on the driver's side.<BR>I don't have a number for them, but they advertise in R&C, Street Rodder, etc.<BR>Post your results!<BR>-Brad

How much are a set of pistons? I ask because I know of a guy who is building an old Chrysler 318 Polyshpere stroker motor. Those engines are at least as obsolete as our Nailheads. He put a 4-inch stroker crank in it, and then sent one of his original pistons to JE Pistons and gave them all the dimensions of his stroker assembly, and specified a 10.0:1 compression ratio and overbore. They took the specs off his stocker and whittled him a set of pistons. The balance on them was extraordinary, and he's had no problems with compression, interference or pin height. The set cost him a tick under $600. That's not too bad for custom pistons from a reputable manufacturer that are ready to go with no other prep. I don't know if it'd be cheaper to send them a stock nailhead piston and say "just duplicate it" but I'm going to find out in the next few months.<BR>As for interchangeability with pistons, I've got a repro Hollander Interchange Manual. There are a lot of extra notes about piston and head swaps, such as using a '54 head gasket if clearance problems, one way the valves need to be swapped, and there are "early" and "Late" year notations, and "will interchange up to engine #....."<BR>But without sorting through all of it specifically, it leads me to beleive that, as you've found out, it's not just a matter of swapping pistons out.<BR>If you need it, I'll sit down this week and try to present that info in a coherant manner so it makes sense. If you do, post what year your block is, and what years your other parts are-I lost my score card.<BR>-Brad<BR>

Don, regarding pistons, I looked up the compression ratios in a vintage Motor's Repair Manual, and here's what it's got:<BR>'55 Special 264 cid: 8.4:1 cr<BR>'55 Super w/ Synchromesh: 8.4:1 cr<BR>'55 Super w/Dynaflow: 9.0:1 cr<BR>'55 Century w/ Synchro: 8.4:1 cr<BR>'55 Century w/ Dynaflow: 9.0:1 cr<BR>'55 RoadMaster: 9.0:1 cr<BR>My '54 factory manual says the pistons for 322s are the same and the compression ratio is changed by head gasket thickness. Synchromesh cars equipped with head gasket of .045" thick for comp ratio of 8.0:1. Dynaflow equipped with .014" for comp ratio of 8.5:1, and that all checks out with the Motor's Manual. So for Egge to say there is only one piston for '55 probably makes sense, if the factory had two different gaskets to regulate cr.<BR>For '56, the Motors Manual lists the following:<BR>Special: (322cid) 8.9:1<BR>Super: 9.5:1<BR>Century: 9.5:1<BR>Roadmaster: 9.5:1<BR>I don't see a reason Egge should list three different pistons for a '56 322, with only two differet compression ratios. I don't have a '56 Shop Manual, but if the factory regulated compression in '54 by using a thinner head gasket, it seems they might in '56 as well. I know you put '56 valve gear in yours, but did you also go with '56 Pistons as well?<BR>Take this for what it's worth. Best of luck to you!<BR>-Brad

Don, you're a wealth of information!!!<BR>Thanks! (figure out your oiling woes yet? I happened to think, did you clean all the oil gallies with a small bottle-type brush? It could be you've got crud in one of them that never came out when you had the block hot tanked).<BR>I just found an article I photocopied out of an old Hot Rod Mechanix, and it says they "first appeared in '58 on full size buicks and were used into the late '60s. The earlier drums used widely spaced fins; the later drums had more fins (closer spaced), though they were less pronounced."<BR>I've got three drums from about '62-63, and they've got 45 fins spaced apart 1-inch from the center of the fins.<BR>I thought the earlier drums had more fins, and the later units had fewer fins. Can anone confirm this one way or another.<BR>As to the origins of them, aluminum is about the best heat sink there is, so the aluminum "shell" drew the heat out of the iron liners, and the fins were there to dissipate that heat. The result was supposed to be less brake fad. My only evidence of whether it worked or not is that Buick stuck with them for an awfully long time when it would have been cheaper to just make iron drums.<BR>Can anyone with an early car count their fins? And how late into the '60s did these run?<BR>Thanks,<BR>-Brad

I took the lid of a Mopar Slant 6 air cleaner and cut a hole in it with a hole saw and used that as the air cleaner base for the 4bbl on my '54. The hole saw I've got doesn't have it's size on it, but just take the gasket and match it up.<BR>I'm using a '55 Caddy aircleaner for the top of it, and it matched to the recesses on the top surface of the Slant's air cleaner lid. Got lucky.<BR>If you just want an open element air cleaner, get two lids and holesaw one of them and use it as the bottom. Then go to the parts store and look for an air filter element that fits. K&N has any size you could need.<BR>Hope this helped.<BR>-Brad

For you concours guys! I've got a pair of very good original underseat heater hose from a 35,000 mile car. They're dirty, and still have the factory undercoating overspray on them, but they aren't cracked or dry rotted. The heater has been used a lot recently, and they hold water.<BR>The one coming off the water pump lost about two inches when it came off, but they're long enough that it will still reach w/o problem. If you have the patiance, these will clean up nicely and you'll have the correct hoses.<BR>Price is the cost of replacing them with new hose (probably about $10-15)plus shipping.<BR>E-mail me at brad.ocock@verizon.net<BR>or call (863) 858-1414<BR>-Brad

These are off of a 35,000 mile '54 Special and are the narrower drums. Hollander interchange says they fit '52-55. Still have a lot of meat left on them, and much of the factory paint is still on them, so they're not rusted pieces of crud. $20 for the pair as is, $60 bead blasted and turned ready for paint and installation (plus shipping).<BR>e-mail me at brad.ocock@verizon.net, or call<BR>(863) 858-1414<BR>-Brad

Check the basics. My '54 did the same thing when I replaced the entire brake system. It was sucking air into the line at one of the fittings, yet it wasn't showing a leak. For brake and fuel fittings, there should be absolutely no thread sealant (tape or otherwise) on the threads of the fittings. The flared fittings seat together at the tube--it's not the threads that keep the line sealed. To make sure the lines are sealed, back each fitting off and re-tighten it three or four times to make sure they're seated, but don't torque down on the fittings. Just snug them up. Make the investment in line wrenches if you don't have some already (Craftsman sells a nice set for cheap).<BR>Hope this helps.<BR>brad