KAD36

Used to travel that way (Ogden/SLC) on business quite a bit. Got to spend 4 months there on TDY. Pretty country, lots to see, great food, never a dull moment. Enjoy.

“For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going.” F. Gump Fresh lobsters in Maine are tough to beat JD….just sayin…. This is like my morning coffe go-to thread. Drive safe and thanks for the pics!

Curious if you got any additional advice, it’s certainly unnerving when the surging and sputtering starts until the electric pump kicks in, but it sounds like sometimes the pump isn’t enough? The recirculating fuel idea sounds promising. Enjoying the ride in your 29. Safe travels.

If we were to pass him on the road he’d be easy to spot. We’d see the trophy and a fist pumping smile through the window. Oh yeah, then there’s the car 🤣

Somewhere there was a post or an article I came across about a person that matched up an extended/mil temp range capacitor and got it to fit either in the condenser housing or the distributor….

Thanks for the ride JD. Safe journey back.

Have personally not found anything cost effective unless you go black walls. I used to do Coker’s bias ply and a few years ago finally treated the car to radials from Diamondback and they were expensive then. Good luck.

But of course you did. There’s new bushings in the back - go git em Fireball 👍

+2 Absentee Ballots rolling in LOL….

What….no bumper jack to pull the axle back? 🤣. Impressive repair guys. Would have loved to see it

Go Beemon! Have a great time, thanks for the updates. Ain’t that the truth…

BRAVO! As discussed. ->. Plenty of Zoom at the Top Hoping to fly wing with you in the 55 like we all did for South Bend in the not too distant future. Thanks for all the pictures and have a great time!

Posted this here where first mentioned, if the admin wants to move it no issues. After Willie found these urethane parts and declared improvements, and JD replaced his original bushings with new rubber ones and also claimed an improvement, figured it was time to replace my last suspension components original to the car - these panhard bushings I went Willie’s route, ordered the urethanes as specified and modified as discussed. Snapped one of two bolts that attach to captive nuts on the pass side. Could not get a nut welded on to hold up after 5 tries so went old school and drilled it out, however, to come at it straight would have required pulling both axle and brake backing plate with lever shock attached and we weren’t havin none of that. So, eyeballed the correct cockeyed angle and started off center, accurately drilling crooked across the bolt and just kissing the threads on the far edge of the backend, whacked it with a chisel to get it out and ran a tap through saving the threads. Not bad for a rookie. 6 hours of working 68 year old hardware, a BFH and a BFC (Crowbar) and it was off the car, all remaining hardware intact. Ever get the idea leave well enough alone? I followed the outlined process of grinding the domes on the ends flat. Then jigged them up on a drill bit and cut to length with a hacksaw on a marked yellow line. Use Syl Glide to lubricate the bushings on the pins - no squeaks. Needed a big C clamp to compress and seat the pin into the bushing on the drivers side. Passenger side seated no problem. Recommend tightening the pin nuts first, then the drivers side bracket nuts, then snugging up the passenger side fore and aft facing bolts finger tight, then tighten the 2 bolts facing the passenger side tire to pull the bar in tight to the frame bracket, then finish tightening the fore and aft bolts. Last photo shows difference in the bushing center hole. After re-assembly first very noticeable difference was pushing sideways on the back of the car - it does not yield. It drives like a completely different car on wavy upstate back country roads. 40 years ago I remember what it was like to drive on bias tires and worn out parts, read the road crown ahead of you and turn left to go right. Note today the car has all rebuilt suspension and steering components, springs, radial tires and one of Brads HD sway bars up front with urethane bushings also. And while it was stable and driveable, with the rear bushings replaced the car does not wander in the least on curvy roads with heavy road crown, even crown that is intuitively opposite the turn. It tracks much straighter and holds track longer. And for a reason I can’t understand the back of the car seems quieter and much more solid over rough country roads or railroad track. Highway test tomorrow and expect same improved results. I also noticed the steering is now slightly off center to go straight hands free on a no crown stretch of road, probably 11:58-59 position. I’m attributing that to wear in the old bushings, so will adjust the tie rods accordingly. Granted this is subjective, but I really, really am surprised at the level of improvement. Thanks for researching the parts to get Willie - appreciate it.

Have a safe trip and looking forward to the play by play😎

Looks like the bar is set. Don’t know about the rest of you but I’m gettin some popcorn and a good readin seat.

Don’t you go be steppin’ on it and then burying it in the backyard….🤣

Was wondering about that also…

The short pivot shaft mounted on the throttle lever at the carb connecting to the throttle rod from accelerator at 3:00 looks loose…see what you think unless you were still working on it. Also isn’t the the hot air tube (copper colored pipe at 9:00) supposed to go to a high heat source in the exhaust manifold vs open air else when you buy the cover it will look marvelous but open late and run rich. Lastly even if you have electric wipers make sure that vacuum hose at 12:00 is not sucking open air and is plugged if so. Get a shop manual and read the carb section. If not then bookmark Hometown Buick. Don’t see a tag on the carb for a number to reference the manual, so it’s,hard to tell if it’s the right one for the car but if it’s running decent and you want to assume it is the correct model WGD until proven wrong it’s a start… https://www.hometownbuick.com/1955-buick-carter-2-barrel-carburetor/ Disregard if you already had that link. Web searches will reveal sources for new/used thermostatic cover if you know the carb #. If not any carter 2bbl cap might physically fit but the thermostatic spring mounted inside the cover may be “clocked” differently at the setup temp of 70F or have a different spring rate than the correct original. It could probably be adjusted to work it may not sit on the “ index” mark when you set it up or open the choke at the right rate but at least you’d have a functional choke. If you get the carb number sorted out someone on the team could get you the part number for the correct cap. You’ll need the 2-3 machine screws to hold it on plus the retainers that go under the screws which you could probably fabricate. There are a couple of things deserving attention first IMHO, past forum threads probably have what you’re looking for on heat source, repair, reference photos, etc and be good research time.

The dwell looks decent, 28-30 deg is typical for a V8 recognizing Buick didn’t specify dwell until like 1957. Higher dwell (less gap) will slightly retard initial timing (before setting it to 5 at the damper by rotating the distributor). Confirm your actual point gap is just under .017 spec max? Wow - your Sears solid state electronic analyzer appears in really good shape compared to the one in my garage…had to retire it and go back to my Heathkit 🤣. After the octane booster to run the tank down what do you think of trying maybe 1/2 tank of premium unleaded? And/or any fuel cleaner for the carb (+1 on EmTees Techron, or perhaps Berrymans?) or air filter checks that might cause a leaner condition under load. Not sure what’s left after that. Compression test? One thing at a time. Thanks for keeping us updated JD

What valve train noise is there iff any? Any lifters sticking? Interested to see the wear under the rocker arms on the shaft. That’ll tell ya 42 or 142 in a hurry. Good luck!

To borrow your quote…that —-^…. worked well until it didn’t. That ought to do it. With the AC on a 95 deg day if it gets too hot in traffic a fast idle in N will bring it down from 215-220 to just a bit over 200, and 200 is N on my gauge taken at the temp sensor in the head. FWIW my 5 blade fan is from a late 70s olds wagon with either a 350 or 403. 3 inch pitch 19.25 inch but just not with the 2 offset blades. Do the JD trick and seal around the shroud if you have to. It really pulls a lot of air. Good luck!

Not to resurrect the dreaded clutch fan on a mid 50s Buick thread, but if you decide to go this route recommend use of the HD clutch, not the standard duty, and a 5 blade 3 inch pitch min fan. It works well with the Beemon super duty air filter. 👍

Working from home huh…..😁

Wow - 12 hour job….those transverse engines certainly require willpower to work on…

^——-👍. Had to stop and think about that over a cup or three of coffee, good idea.