Bhigdog

Only deal with bumperboyz if you are price sensitive and and VERY tolerant of poor quality. Like anything else, you get what you pay for.......Bob.

Don't use tri valent chrome. It has a blue cast and will not match the rest of your chrome. Marty at NEL restored a rusted through 57 Buick rear bumper end for me. The turn around time was good, 4 weeks, and the repair itself fine but the chrome was not the best. If you look at in the right light you can see swirl marks from sanding that were not totally buffed out. I needed the piece "right now" to finish the car in time for Hershey and never squawked so I don't know if Marty would have redone it or not. I have a friend who dealt with NEL and absolutley HATES them but I forget the details. Personaly I deal only with Librandi Plating in Harrisburg, PA. His prices are fair (but not cheap)and his work is excellant. He will tell you ahead of time the price and turn around and sticks to both.........bob

The 55 Olds has basically the same X member type frame. The frame on my 2 door Olds closed body measures only .140 thick for all sections except the X member web which measures only .070. I could tell working on the olds that it is of less quality than the Buicks. The frame probably weighs half what the Buick does. Does any one know the 0 to 60 times of a 55 Olds Super 88 vs a 55 Buick century? They both have close to the same C.I. but Buick claims 34 more horsepower. The Olds claims more torque at a lower RPM. My guess is the olds would kick [@!#!$].

I would say those thicknesses sound about right. I can still measure the X member of the 55 Riv. I cut up if you want. But it would be a 55 not 54. My throat is kind of parched, now that you mention. 8-).

The most important thing to understand here is that Kevin and I have a bottle of wine (or "whine" to the loser) riding on this issue. I say, from actual observation, that the convert. X member is MUCH thicker than the corresponding closed body frame. At least in 55 small body series..........Bob

I bought front springs for my 55 from ESPO. The top of the spring is supposed to be gound flat to seat properly. these were not but I figured they would be ok. They looked OK until I installed the engine/trans and the front end. Then the unlevel top ends caused the spring to bow and rub the inside of the spring pocket in the frame. I still have them if anyone wants them. You get what you pay for..........Bob.

Yup, not too many car owners there with greasy nails and skinned knuckles........Bob.

Having had a couple of cars invited to a concours ( not PB ) I've come to the conclusion that politics/money plays a bigger role than condition or authenticity. I've also noted that the judges just drive up to certain cars and plant an award on them. Yeah well, it's still a nice day out............Bob.

Instead of a screwdriver use a piece of 3/8 ID plastic or rubber tubing in one ear and an ear plug in the other. Move the end very close to any suspected noise sources. This method is very selective and pin point. If you put the end over the noise sourse you will know it........Bob

This gets pretty interesting. The judging sheet is signed by Rick Schick as Captain. I guess this means he personally made the deduction. The deduction says "grill teeth sides not painted". The funny thing is the deduction was for "workmanship" not authenticity. Go figure. I guess I'll have to EMail Rick and see whats up. Like I said it's no big deal but I think I'll insist on seeing documentation. Getting gigged for "workmanship" does kind of p*** me off....Bob.

No paint at all, just natural matte chrome color (which is "argent"). That's probably why the judges spent about 5 minutes looking at the grill. You may have answered the question, though. I still would like to see where that info is documented. I haven't been able find it, although I really didn't put a lot of time into the search.......Bob.

Sure, no big deal really. I had one point deducted because one of the judges said the back side and edges between the grill "teeth" of my 57 Special were supposed to be painted argent. He said he had seen documentation of that but evidently didn't have it on hand. I'd just like to know where that "documentation" came from. As I said it's not a big deal, and he just may be correct. I was awarded a Senior Gold even with the deduction. Thanks........Bob.

How does one [censored] about what they consider a questionable deduction at the Nationals?..........Bob.

As far as I know all 55 Centuries had engine turned dash inserts. When I restored mine I made my own inserts using new sheet aluminum, as original. They turned out good enough to help the car to Senior Grand National level. It is not a job for the faint of heart. I probably had 40 hours in it till I was done. Doug Seybold will redo used inserts. 5 years ago he got $750 for the job.....Bob

Iv'e tried to figure this out on my own ..............but.........what's a DF'er.

Thank you guys. The P & P manual spells it out pretty good........Bob

I understand there are national awards presented in Phila. I haven't been able to find any info on the AACA site. Can Steve or someone else give a rundown on what's it all about? Thanks......Bob.

Yes it was MACCAR, I realize now that I forgot the "A". That's why I couldn't get any Google hits too. Thanks.......Bob.

While driving the Mountains of PA yesterday I came across an old bus that was converted into a hunting cabin. The name on the cast iron radiator tank was MCCAR (all caps) It looked like it might be from the early thirties with a body made of sheet steel. It was complete and has a flat head 6 engine, But was VERY rough. Any one have a little history on the make?.........Bob

Now I get it. I would be willing to bet a 55/56 pump would work. The blocks are virtually the same....Bob

They are tough to find but do appear on EBay from time to time. That's where I got mine and I've seen a couple since. It was around $150 as I remember.......Bob

I think I see what you are saying. My question would be why bother removing the vacuum pump and useing a blanking plate. Leave the vacuum pump in place and just dont use it for vacuum. Either put a plug in the rubber vacuum hose or plug the pipe tapped hole in the side of the block. If you are bothered by the thoughts of the vacuum pump still spinning you can remove the vanes from the vacuum pump. That will, in effect, make the vacuum pump the blocking plate.... Bob.

What exactly are you asking? If you are asking if you can just plug the vacuum line from the pump to the wiper moter the answer is yes, just do it. You won't hurt a thing......Bob

If you get under your car and look directly behind the outer rocker panels you will see a vertical piece of sheet metal about 4" wide that is spot welded to brackets that are in turn welded to the floor and are also body mounts. That is the "inner" rocker. It is an important structural member that in conjunction with the the outer rocker forms a "D" shaped tube that stiffens the lower structure of the car. It runs from the front to rear wheel openings. In two door cars the bottom of the rear 1/4 is welded to it. Generally, if the outer rocker is rotten so is the inner. It's not terribly difficult to replace, just time consuming. The good news is that it is not really seen so you don't have to worry about apperance, within reason. Once you get the outer rocker cut off you will see and have acess to the inner. It is spot welded to the body brackets, the floor, and at the front a cowl brace. I generally cut the spot welds to the brackets and front brace and then just cut the whole length along the top, and remove. I fit the new piece tight along the top and skip weld. For the brackets you can plug weld from the front or just edge weld from the back (or both). I use metal about 6" wide so I dont have to worry about fitting both top and bottom. That leaves the bottom over wide and after the outers are welded on the last thing I do is just trim the bottom off. Rather than pay top dollar for repro inners I just use 1/16 thick steel I buy from the local sheet metal shop. ($20 pair). That's almost twice the original thickness but it's much stronger and does a better job. Sometimes the inner is mostly OK with just a small section rotted out. If that's the case it's OK to patch over the rotted area but remember it's not just cosmetic but also structural. If I patch I use a piece long enough to go between two brackets and also weld to the brackets. Have fun.......Bob

In order of preferance......1. Your local NAPA or other auto parts store. You would be very surprised at what is still available and at probably lower prices. 2. Kanter auto 800-526-1096 3. CARS inc. 908-369-3666 they have the stuff you need, but are the worst personalities to deal with.......Bob.