BuickNut

Bleeding the cooling system of air is not that tough of a problem....I had air trapped in my '86 Ford Ranger system and easily fixed it...I simply jacked up the front of the vehicle so the radiator hose (upper) was the higher than the hose inlet in to the engine, undid the radiator cap, let the vehicle sit for a while and allow the air to bleed out through the stop ball in the thermostate, then filled up the coolant with the car still raised. With todays totally enclosed systems I can't vouch how difficult bleeding would be - but on the older vehicles, its and easy fix and a good practice to follow when you change coolant and/or thermostats.<P>Might also do some background checking on how long the car sat and maintenance on it before you bought it....possiibly worst cast might be your blocks' cooling passages are getting plugged (again, worst case scenario...)<BR>Just my 2 cents worth - good luck.

Hemmings has recently, over the past months, added some "editorial" and "article" features to their magazine. It is not a large section, as they started out just putting in review of different cars that were featured on the magazine cover - but I guess they have expanded it to also start discussing engines as well. I would suppose with Ebay, and so many buy/sell websites out there, they have felt the need to expand their magazine to keep the readers/buyers there.

Hi,<P>I've found that alot of the citrus degreasers (from Home Depot for exammple) do great. Additionally, for a more expensive alternative, PB Blaster Citrus cleaner from Meiers, KMart, or any of the chain auto stores, do a real good job too. Good Luck.

Hi,<P>Are both for the small bolt pattern ? <BR>Could you please send a pic of the 15x7 if they are small bolt pattern ?<P>Thanks.

Hi,<P>If you have a 2 door anything, restore it. While I do have a '49 4 door, and like them, the 2 doors are generally considered more collectable - though I still recommend restoring the 4 doors too (hey, 4 doors are overlooked and they may wind up becoming the more collectables....). Additionally, if you have the Riveria, you definatly have something there, as it is a more rare vehicle. Check out Hemmings Motor News, check out a bunch more Buick websites, check out junkyards, swapmeets, join the Buick Club and keep a "wanted" ad posted on this website or in their club literature, etc. Parts are becoming more and more scarce, and you need to be patient. My suggestion would be to keep the Riv, or sell it whole (don't part it out)if you really want the convertible. Just my point of view...good luck.

Hi,<P>I have a 73 Century GS Stage 1 with a 4 speed. I have heard also the 4 speed was not a Stage 1 option (was optional with the GS however). Have heard anywhere from 7 to 25 of these were taken off the line and specially made. What shape is yours in ? Mine came pretty whupped when I got it - has been in storage the past 10 yrs after I had a new rear put on past the C pillar. Dummy me, before I realized the rarity of it, I put a new Hurst Street super shifter in it and cut out the stock shifter opening to accomodate the straight shifting linkage - am looking to see about making a pattern of an existing one - might you help out with this ? The 4 spds installed were the M-21's - and those I have talked to have had the same experience as me - they were real slush boxes and couldn't handle the extra HP from the Stage 1 option.<P>If you want to discuss it more, I'm at RES2897@aol.com

Hi ,<P>I need the following for a 1949 Buick Super 4 Door Sedan:<BR>-Grille (lh & rh)<BR>-Grille mustache bar<BR>-RH SS gravel shield, rear<BR>-Frt & rr springs (new ?)<BR>-Directional switch<BR>-Headlights<BR>-Door handles<BR>-"Super" chrome scripts<BR>-Front hood crest<BR>-Any other chrome or SS modelings<BR>-Rockers panels<BR>-Front Directional lenses<BR>-Body to frame bushings<P>Thanks

It was suggested to me about using liquid graphite (basically the door lock lube in a spray can...)) by an autoparts store (I have a similar problem on a newer vehicle)...still haven't tried it. Has anybody a comment on this type of lube (..in addition to the comment already posted ) ..I also would have thought there should be some special type of lube specifically for speedo's.<P>Thanks.<p>[ 06-18-2001: Message edited by: BuickNut ]

Sorry, I didn't realize your situation. You would have to be careful about resetting the springs though - I'm not a spring man, but I believe they are heat treated, and any re-stretching of them would probably require more heat treating to stress relieve them. I would still go the line with the new springs if you can - how many times have you had to go back and do something twice because you didn't take the time or money to do it right the first time (...I'm the first one to stand in the guilty line for that one...! ) ?

Hi...saw your problem...I had a similar (not exact same though) on a '67 Ford. I replaced the voltage regulator, alternator, etc. multiple times...the third alternator seemed cured the problem. The auto parts store (Murrays) books only went back to '68, and they gave me the correct alternator - but for a 289 and not a 390 Wagon with air, and a bunch of other options (though i spelled that out for them each time ! ). Be careful with the stores you go to...a lot of the people behind the counter don't know squat about cars - new parts "ain't always the right parts" .

Springs reset ? Hmm...maybe I need a little more experience, but I have never heard of that one before (...though maybe there is such a thing, I'm not meaning to come across as sarcastic...). Truthfully, get yourself to the Hemmings Motor News Website and buy yourself a new set...would probably due you to get a new set for the front as well. There are plenty of places that make either the stock design or the variable load designs. If worse comes to worse, get to a Tuffy or Midas shop and they should be able to get a set for you and install them. Good Luck.

Hi,<P>I think I'll give this a try on my 70 Caddy since that's the closest to getting on the road. So I'll take the following:<P>Ignitor II <BR>Black Coil (epoxy)<BR>Coil Bracket, Zinc<P>Car : 1970 Cadillac DeVille Convertible<BR> 472 cu inch engine<BR> 4 bbl carb (quadrajet, stock)<BR> currently running stock ingnition<BR> automatic transmission<P>I'm actually going to try Split Fire spark plug wires with this - unless somebody might have some insight as to "they don't work worth a darn" - or that there is some biggie on using the spark plug wires called out with the ignitor set ?<P>I hope I'm not too late in getting this order in - I'd like to pay by check if its ok. Thanks for the help with this.<P>Ray <P>FYI on another subject - I have had luck with milage and seat of the pants performance with the combo of the K&N filtercharger and the Tornado (J.C. Whitney) on my 86 Ranger 4x4 2.9 L V-6 .

I have a 49 Buick Super 4 door sedan, 248 cu inch straight 8 ; looking for grille, mustache bar, right rear stainless gravel shield, "SUPER" scripts, front hood emblem (Buick crest),,,,,might you have any of these from your parting out cars ?<P>Thanks.

Hi,<P>Thanks for putting this together. What, besides high end acceleration, is the advantages of using this setup ? I have a high performance vehicle (73 Century GS Stage 1), and 2 cruisers (67 Ford Station Wagon and 70 Caddy Deville convertible) - what would the benefits be for these vehicles ? Can this be used on older cars (49 Buick Super straight 8 ) ? Anybody do any gas milage or performance benchmarking to validate any claims by the manufacturer ? I was just curious, and may sign up depending upon the response.<P>Thanks.

Hi,<P>I'm looking for a 1975-1978 Buick Skyhawk hatchback car for sale, preferably with a 4 speed manual tranny, in the Great Lakes area. Looking for a driver, not a restoration project. Thanks.

Hi,<BR>Got pics of them ; how old are they ?<P>Thanks

I have a '73 Century G.S. Stage 1 with a 4 speed. I believe it is an M-21 that was typically also put in the '73 G.S's. With little "wumping" on the car before and after the work done, I have had to replace the synchronizers 3 different times, and had to have various other parts replaced (gears, etc) - without a total rebuild recommended from the shops during any of the repairs (maybe my first mistake in listening to them instead of my gut ???). Is there a particular year/model M-22 that would be a direct replacement or replacement with change to the yoke spline only ? Thanks for your advice.

..guess the above spoken like a true engineer (..lol). Peter, I guess I hope that maybe some ideas like this might help with the demand, plus maybe getting together with some of the automotive enthusiast groups (if enough of them do it...) putting together some political clout to pressure our govt to look into the validity of these price increases, or (..ok, I'm dreaming here too..) putting together a group to investigate fuel alternative that isn't influenced by the oil companies. Truthfully, I don't consider what is going on as supply and demand..but price fixing. The oil companies are complaining that the old refineries can't keep up, that one broke down, one had a fire..etc. But hey, part of a business it to take some of the profits and put BACK INTO the business for upkeep, expansion, R&D (alternative fuels for instance..), it should be REINVESTED into the company. But instead, it would appear all of the money is going into their pockets...not the way capitalism is supposed to work if there is fair competition going on...sorta seems instead there is a mutual agreement between the oil companies/distributors/refineries/OPEC (!!!) to keep the prices up and NOT do the R&D necessary to come up with alternative solutions in terms of the mother earh (yes, guess I'm a tree hugger despsite my interest in gas guzzling old cars...) and reasonable expectations of supply of a synthetic/alternative fuel. (My VERY long winded 2 cents worth)

I have no connections with anything to do with either the K&N Filtercharger or the Tornado...was just curious about the "wonder" gagets and thought it was worth a try. I'm an engineer with both aeronatutical and automotive backgrounds and the Tornado make "theoretical" sense...it seems to be working. As to the truck I'm trying it out on...it has 186,000 miles on it with the 2.9 L V6 (factory fuel injection) rebuilt at 178 kmiles, manual 5 spd tranny, 4x4 (if I didn't get atleast 18 MPG out of it, was considering parking it for the spring/summer/fall and getting a car for better gas milage...). WAAAY back (before I hit 100,00 miles) I used to get about 22 MPG on the highway...I have yet to try it out that way (though I would expect now to get at least 25 MPG). One thing to consider in this matter though, EXPECT (both better and worse) different results for different applications. If your car/truck is better optimized for air flow into the fuel injection/carburator, you might not get the same gains as I have.

Do they have electric fans for 6Volt Negative ground systems ?

I have a '49 Buick Super 4 door with a 248 str 8...been years thats its been in storage, but I used to drive it quite regularly...with the same overheating probelm you had. I had since put in a new rebuilt radiator and flushed the system, though not as agressivley as described. Don't know the end results though, as I then put it into storage at that point.

Last 4 milage readings with the Tornado installed were : 18.1, 19.4, 15.8, 19.4 MPG (ALL the same route - have no idea what happened with the 15.8 mpg reading...). I'm taking the Tornado out this week and seeing what is contributes vs the K&N Filtercharger alone.

Folks...an update on the Tornado "miracle" gas saving gadget : first reading was 18.4 MPG; second reading was 19.4 MPG compared to the baseline 16.5 MPG found earlier. Note I made only 2 changes from the 16.5 MPG readings : I added the Tornado and per their suggestion, added a K&N Filtercharger- readings were over the same trek from home to work to home each day ..also note there was a "seat of the pants" increase in performance...maybe 5-10 hp (???), but at least noticable The breathing characteristics are terrible on my truck- 2 90degree bends in the airflow path from start to finish...but the increase in MPG is enough justification that I'm going to get the same setup for my other cars. Anything I got over 18 MPG (city driving) is gravy. I don't know what the magazines did in their testing...and I don't dispute their results...but for my particular application, it does work.

I guess I'll start off this reply by saying I'm not sure of the absolute correct color, and as to your "drive-er" or "show-er" status of the car...if its a driver, then I would recommend the following : POR 15 has engine paint that I used on my everyday driver...after 1.5 years it is still looking very good and hasn't baked off.. I live in Michigan and drive the truck through all 4 seasons. You have to follow the directions about cleaning, degreasing, and preping closely to get good results. They have general colors for the various years and makes they recommend. If your car is for show...guess I can't help. Good luck

The "magic" gas saver I am using is out of JC Whitney....its called the Tornado and the idea behind it is to induce turbulence into the air flow prior to the intake. If this is properly optimized, it will increase the homogeneaity of the air/fuel thus increasing combustion efficiency - hopefully puts more air/fuel ratio at the proper mix for combustion. Again, if the engineers that made the gaget did their homework and properly optimized it. I took my first reading after 1 week and milage increased from 16.5 city to 18.1 city....about 10%. I'll know better when I get 2 or more readings under by belt...but it does seem to improve milage a bit.