KAD36

The 56 has a better vent arrangement in the cabin than the 55 does and if stock is retained favors this set up. I believe there is a center and 2 side vents in the 56 so air can get directly on the passengers quickly, and the seller appears to have replicated the evaporator being in the 56s firewall blister. An Old Air Products unit was adapted to work in my 55. It pushes alot of cold air (alot of air noise on high mind you) and overall am happy with it - does the job. The OAP blowers cfm is significantly higher than a stock single 55 blower and keeps the car cool. Some things to think about from my experience: Might want to check with another 56 owner of a stock non AC 56 blowers ability to pump enough cold air into the cabin. FWIW, a single stock 55 defroster blowers cfm wouldn't cut it to cool my car, even if there were vents were up front blowing straight forward like a 56 - just my opinion. The 55 AC used 2 blowers in the trunk - maybe because that was pushing air from back to front? Or maybe the 56 with factory AC blower has higher CFMs? Something to investigate so you're not disappointed in air flow - because when its installed and all charged up it is what it is. Make sure your floor insulation and door and window seals are sound!! My door seals are ratty and that hurts the systems effectiveness, but it can keep up. The evaporator will drop incoming air about 60-70 degrees, measured at intake and vent. Check what the capacity is of the sellers evaporator. Stock radiators in good shape seem to work fine on AC cars. If you have a recored radiator my recommendation would be check the spacing between the rows to see what you have. Mine was 9/16 inches on center, and I had to move up to one that was on 3/8 inch centers to adequately handle the extra heat load from the condenser. Similarly, from a fan perspective, an electric fan didn't appeal to me. Folks with stock radiators have good results with the factory ACs 6 (or 5?) blade vs the standard 4 blade. I used a 19 inch diameter 6 blade clutch setup with the denser radiator and its been working well. Consider how important a suppliers warrantys/parts return policy, customer feedback/referrals on effectiveness and installation, size of the installation base (how many units are in the field) and factor that information into your decision process. I had some issues and parts were replaced at no cost. There is a value to those intangibles. I would agree that the system shown likely bolts in easier than an aftermarket system - having been there and done that. My unit with recharge was less than that, but I did alot of fabrication and putzing around trying to design a clean install, maybe if you consider that cost its a wash. Good luck - keep us posted.

4819 before the rain ruined the fun - about 80 miles past week - 183 miles so far. Ethanol free is avail in our area at a few more gas stations so filled up with that. Seems to idle smoother. Curious if it reduces having to use the electric pump when it warms up outside.

In the 80s today, 4736 miles after getting home. Think it's 100 miles into the challenge or sumthin like that. Diamondbacks and the new seats made for a relaxing ride. Rebuilt reverse light switch so that works again. Ran the AC (built it - might as well use it). New fuel pump plus electric pump couldn't keep the winter gas from vapor locking up a long hill at 70 but fresh gas did the trick. Speedometer holding accuracy. It used to read 10 high. Used a piece of 22 ga wire insulation over the end of the radial spring end tang on the drum followed by thicknesses of masking tape that increased spring tension sufficiently to get it within dead on to 2 mph (checked w Waze) at highway speeds between 50-75. Within 2-5 at lower speeds. Close enough. 4 Brake shoes to fit the drums and a master cylinder kit, next fix. Keeping eye on trans fluid. Bodywork correct windshield and paint to go. Eventually. But thats gettin off topic

Heres an excerpt ( in italics) from my 322 rebuild illustrating Willies point. My rebuild was of a running engine. The original valve train clacked pretty good - not quite as loud as yours and there was some play in the system because the lifters were frozen from sitting for so long in "the barn". I replaced with 56 push rods and lifters and everything got very quiet. During the rebuild and upon making this measurement I found some out of spec conditions. Depending on what parts were new/reused (I didn't go back and check your post) note that valve seat depth (if you had the heads worked), valve face material removed if the valves were ground, and valve stem height can result in play (if too much material removed inconsistently across the 16 valves that the lifter can't make it up resulting in no preload) in a fixed geometry pushrod/lifter/rocker assembly. If you are not sure what the rebuilder did go through and make this measurement and observe the final height which would reflect all the part tolerances. In my case the swapping a few valves around got it back to spec. When all the parts in this car were new and GM factory parts, it was less likely to run into this. If you don't have adjustable push rods and some of the parts are "overworked", there is nothing to take up the tolerance stack of an out of spec condition. Replace the suspect parts. The "system" will "depend" on everything measuring out properly. 1/8" slop between the pushrod and lifter is wrong if all the lifters are pumped up - if I'm understanding your post correctly. Progress update and lessons learned: 1) Write these numbers in your shop manual from Willies post and make these measurements. They are important unless you have adjustable pushrods or rocker arms and hard to find elsewhere valve stem height: 1.525 to 1.550 measured (in inches) from valve cover rail (base on where valve cover sits on head) to valve stem tip. valve stem clearance in guide: 0.0025 inlet 0.0030 exhaust Check all the valve stem heights. Having been the second time these heads were worked, we had 4 of them that were out of spec due to varying seat depths and the fact that the intake valves were reused. Swapping shortest to longest positions fixed 2 of the valves, milling a little off the stem of one, and the seat of the other fixed the other 2. All now meet spec. This measurement is important as it will affect lifter preload, valve spring installed height, and rocker arm position on the stem. (unless you provide for adjustment somewhere) Attached picture of measurement method to base of head: Think this link will work - go to page 2 about part way down and check the photo - Two other things to check for - ensure the valve guides are not sitting too high in the head, and ensure the valve springs aren't binding (fully compressed to solid when valve is open). Both those scenarios crept up on us during the project and we caught them through measurements before assembly was complete. Also agree with others observations - sounds like a miss at the exhaust pipe. Put a piece of cardboard or something over the tailpipe and leave a small opening between the cardboard and pipe tip to listen to the exhaust flow - should be steady with no regular "puffs". Some occasional irregular puffs are fine. Good luck

It was very comfortable and smooth - the insulation, padding and carpet were trimmed and glued to ensure all the underseat ductwork remained unobstruced. The new seat padding is really nice. My Grandfather used to brag to my Dad about how fast that car heated up.

Just happened to set them at 35 cold today before a short drive (Diamondback 225s). Used to keep the bias ply at 30-32 (L-78s).

Starting mileage. It got up to about 37 and the roads were dry. Took it around the country block a few times. Both heaters can still kick out 105-110 deg air. The low speed setting on the heater fan quit as did the reverse light switch. Both had been temperamental. Everything else was 100% I had disassembled the reverse/neutral safety switch twice prior and repaired the contacts. It may be time to break out the new one already and let it go another 60 years - then my kid can fix it. But thats off topic

Sounds good! Was planning to wake er up this afternoon and will get a picture of the mileage. There's still 6 inches on the ground here. Enough already!

What a fun idea. I'm in! Transmission needs a seal job. First trip will be to Utica when the snow quits!

Those pictures of your 56 in the snow remind me of the 4 years my 55 spent in winters in Potsdam NY. Got the same crazy looks from people when driving it on snowpacked roads and sub zero weather. Will hunt down some pics. Had a set of Firestone Town and Country studded snow tires on it and an 80 lb bag of salt over each wheel in the trunk. That car went through anything the great white North threw at it. I can remember pushing snow with the front bumper on the way home from a Springsteen concert in Syracuse in a blizzard. No weather reports on an iPhone back then and a paper map under that goofy little map light. Somehow those vacuum wipers went the distance. One of a few memorable winter adventures. Thinking back, not quite sure how we got home sometimes and didn’t end up backed into a snowbank. Sure glad the car knew what the heck it was doing. The Dynaflow having less startup torque in D on a slick snow packed road was always an advantage on startup. Once it got moving - it kept just going.

Hangers all snug on the pipes? Check the rubber mounts so they don’t allow too much motion? No vibrations in exhaust pipe behind the muffler over the rpm range? Just trying to ascertain if its resonating inside the muffler or elsewhere

So..... dopey question - you can replicate the drone in L or N at same rpm? Apologize if I missed that. In college days a ordinary citizen 20 dollar walker reverse flow muffler was on my car and it was stupid quiet. Any chance of returning/replacing? This also reminds me of a possible event where one friend may have whacked his Buicks muffler with a very large ball peen hammer, installing a sufficiently large dent that eliminated both resonance and annoying baffle rattle. This was done with little thought as to location of where to hit it or the probability of success of the approach. Prior to conducting the repair we ensured we were not thirsty. Because dehydration is unhealthy. And we all want good health. Lapse in judgement aside, it was rather extraordinary that he didn't miss the freakin muffler and take out the rocker panel or one of us. "Hey....it's fixed!" "Good. Now put that down" Unsure how long that muffler lasted...

....and your experience. Keep at it x2!

Hey Mudd - Glad to see more how to videos and the yakety sax was a riot. Paint here has been waiting for over 25 years - you're doing a superb job and appreciate you taking the time to make all the how to videos Factory gaps on mine are recdiculous. Same pinch at the trunk edge, same passenger door fitment issues at forward edge and top rear edge, driver side at fender to cowl. Been staring at it wondering how to attack it. Your trunk and door edge gap fixes were interesting.

Slip fit - expanded about 6 inches just before the peak going over the axle. Worked out good on my car because I had added a hanger up there to help hold the other fit not so good exhaust in place and reduced the tendency for it to twist. You could certainly weld it if it suits you.

Hunted for it in my pile of receipts but no joy. i recall the difference in overall length between the 55/56 was about an inch. The 56 system was a bolt in. Also, Marty did cut the tailpipe to save shipping and marked it allowing clocking it back into correct position. No maple trees or BFH needed to make his system fit. Jumped out of the box and under the car. Poof.

Got a system from Marty (MJ Exhaust) and it fit perfect. He also sent all the lengthwise dimensions of the exhaust system pieces - if interested I can go dig it up.

Classic Radiator and Cap a Radiator.

Thank you all for the compliments. Just got it home and am absolutely thrilled with it! J&R upholstery in Binghamton did the work. Ask for Todd - he manages all the restoration work. Been waiting a long long time to get this interior right. Reminds me of how it looked when my grandfather used to drive it. Dang - it's 19 degrees out and those 2 heaters can still cook you out of the car in no time!. Got a chance to try the heated defrost mod using the dash control (hooked to the AC). With the ac temp switch off, and ac fan switch on, and re-routing the factory defroster duct hose to blow heated air into the AC evaporator intake, hot air came right out the defrost vents. Make sure the vents to the passenger side front and both rear foot wells are open if you ever do carpet and install extra padding to protect the floor from exhaust heat.

Done! Had tire cover and jack stowage bags made with extra material. Use a scissors jack for tire changes. Factory jack with red oxide hold down spring is just for show and goes along for the ride.

PM sent

Back seat is done. Front cushion sewed. Extra dense foam later added to the front seat. Bench is solid - no broken springs and negligible rust. Backrest and trunk to go. Touched up the red paint on the seat mount. Picture below is shot of the nuts that hold the clips on for the stainless trim around the edge of the seat. Never could get that off to polish. No time in the schedule to do it - will have to do it on car later

I think so this is it: BEEMON 1956 Cam Card

Yes sir. Thank you again for posting the profile of your cam. Got the fuzz off it. Incidentally that blended cam answer you got being representative of a 56 is likely suspect. Based on conversations my hunch is the Lobe Separation Angle of those blended cams is 114 for a nice smooth idle vs the 111/112 LSA on a factory 56 cam that gave a hint of a lopey idle.

Car originally did not have gaskets from factory. They were added many years ago to fix a minor leak after the first replaced head work was done and installed with minimal torque, want to say like 5-8 ft lbs it stayed sealed for 20 years, no cracks or other issues. I think if you don’t crank it down it will be fine if you choose to use them. Ran the “new to me manifolds” on recent rebuild down a belt sander to flatten it but it was a little “gappy” hence why I put the gaskets back on. Have observed both sides of the gasket argument. Mine are those fiber type not metal. Also a skim coat of high temp sealer has been known to work on metal to metal. Regarding advice, look on the Buick forum for those of us who begin where others quit and persevere to get those camshaft specs right. Whoops.