JohnD1956

Pirate, won't the system just bleed down without pumping? I believe it does. You can crack open the line on the old cylinder or at the hose, and then let the system bleed down 1/2 reservoir. It only takes a few minutes to do so. Then refill the MC and then change the wheel cylinder.

Where's the pictures?

[quote=Redwind89;776462.. I think my biggest problems if I were to buy that Electra T-type is .... 2) is which car do I let the girlfriend drive :confused::confused: You obviously forgot the MOST IMPORTANT question, which is: ...Which one do you let "Dear Ole Dad " drive? :cool:

Till you decide on a wheel there's not much point of doing this BUT you can always rebend the tabs on the hubcap so they grip the rims better. At least till you bend them so many times they break off. I had to do this to my 56 just a few weeks ago. That cap is on there really tight now.

There's two reasons I won't buy it. 1 is I committed to fixing what I already have before buying another collector car. 2 is it would cost just as much to have it transported as it would to buy it. Otherwise I'd be on the road already to check it out. I'll always remember in 2003, when RedWind89 and I drove out to Flint. We both left with full tanks and I had to fill the 56 three times enroute, and arrived in Flint on an empty tank. Doug filled the 89 T type once and arrived with more than a 1/4 tank full. Since then I've been thinking I'd love to have an 89 Electra T type for those far away meets.

When I pulled the plugs on the 78 to check, it was obvious which cylinder was involved. The plug had some anitfreeze on it. What was not so obvious was the head gasket going in the exact same location on the other head.

Sure sounds like a set of new wheel cylinders are required. Shouldn't be anything wet under the boots. They are available at places like NAPA, and are relatively cheap.

That low fluid could be a failed booster seal or cap seal. Either it's sucked into the manifold during use, or it could be splashing out of the cap everytime you step on the brakes. It can also evaporate. I was able to buy a mechanics syringe at my parts store. I use this once every two years or so to suck all the fluid I can out of the reservoir. When I first started doing this I was surprised at the junk that came out of my master cylinders. The nice thing is this does not require opening the brakes lines to get the fluid out of the reservoir. Then I put in new fluid. I wipe the cap seal and the surface on the MC with a clean cloth and reseal it up. I always disassemble the syringe and clean it with non chlorine based brake cleaner and let it air dry right after use.

Just to let you know, I helped a mechanic do this job on my 78 Estate Wagon this past winter. Start the project right after making sure you have the gaskets. You don't want to do this in the winter. Also do both sides at the same time. You don't want to go back in to do the other side later. While getting the gaskets soak the exhaust pipe to manifold bolts for a few days. Then hit them with a wire brush to clean off the threads. We pulled the carb off in order to get some of the intake manifold bolts off. Then we installed long bolts with huge flat washers into the holes for the carb and that made a convenient handle for lifting and setting the intake. We also pulled off the AC and brackets and the power sterring pump and brackets and just roped then out of the way. we then put the long bolts in the bracket holes so one of us could lift from the front while the other lifted from the back. We pulled the heads with the exhaust manifolds on. Then laid the heads on a wide board and worked on the exhaust bolts. We sprayed PB blaster and worked the bolts back and forth using a nice long breaker bar and six point socket. I pounded the head of the breaker bar and sprayed the balster while Adam worked it back and forth. On one head we broke two bolts but once the manifold was off we did this with a vice grips, and eventually all the exhaust bolts came out. With the heads and exhaust manifolds separated I took the heads to a machine shop. They degreased them and the pressure tested them without dissassembly. They assured me I had no cracks, and they checked the surface too. I even had them drill out and replace the exhaust studs which were all broken from a previous owner. This was a few hundred dollars BUT the confidence was priceless. It realistically took one week to be ready to put it back together. But we never worked more than three hours at a time on it because we both have day jobs. And it took three days to put it back together. I would recommend you get your 14 yr old son out there with you to help and tell him he is earning the right to the car when he has a years or two of driving experience under his belt.

Now That's just funny.. LMAO!

Our condolences to Tom's family and friends.

Well Stefan, That is one sweet 66 Skylark. Nice job! I love the color combination. Good luck on the rims. If it's such a hassle to change the tire size I'd be inclined to buy a set of tires and rims from someplace like Coker Tire. They can mount and balance the rims and I imagine they'd be willing to ship overseas. As NTX says, the new ones will be wider but that will make your car look good too. As for a double master cylinder, I think a lot of guys convert to 69 Buick Master cylinders, with a matching portioning valve, and then just run new lines as needed. Of course at that point your car is modified so the tires and wheels are less of an issue. Still, the Buick Rallyes are great looking rims on these cars.

Of course, now we ALL will be looking at it too.

I last used Greased Lightening, which cut through the grease like magic. I did find it was better to lightly scrape off all the heavy stuff and then used a new parts brush to scrub, but it left no residue. Of course it would be easiest on a warm engine.

I'm glad you brought this thread back up Joe. I've been driving this car for a while now 14K or so, and I have spent a lot of time and $ on it So much that I am a bit embarassed. Here's what's transpired since my last post: I still have not rebuilt the carb, but I did do new front rotors with new wheel bearings. Also new rear drums ( while they were still available), and universal joints. In all this I was chasing a stubborn vibration above 50 MPH While doing the universals I noticed a puddle of undercoating on the drive shaft. When I got under there and sanded it off, the car straightened out. Imagine, the original owner drove that car 100K with that vibration, and a 5cent piece of sandpaper was all that was needed. Also last December a head gasket went and right after Christmas they were both replaced. That was major improvement in performance. But two weeks later I had at least one lifter collapse, and I almost had to tear it down to replace those, but a wise man helped me cure the problem with out doing that. At my last safety inspection I learned a rear and front shock are leaking, and the fuel pump was leaking oil from the vent hole, so this past weekend I put in a new fuel pump. Thats when I noticed I still have the original timing chain and gears and I plan to replace those the first week in August. I have had a lot of Buicks over my years and every one of these older Buick engines ( without a chain tensioner) has needed a timing chain between 99 and 129K. Along the way I also had to replace the windshield because the seal was leaking and it was badly scratched. But I planned for that the day I bought it. Then I found out the seam on the cowl was also leaking but I was able to fix that by putting some seam sealer from the outside under the hood. It's been a labor of love. Right now I still need to change some more vacuum hoses, and I want a new radio. The power antenna broke, the six way power seat stopped working on one tilt axis. But the A/C still blows cold. The car starts right up, I'm getting close to 14 mph driving 20 miles to work and home. I used the car on several long distance trips ( 3 hours or more at highway speeds) and got more than 16 MPG, so I am very happy with this car. And I have had it at a couple of shows and I was very surprised to see how much the women like it.

So many people are converting to disc brakes it's most fashionable to do so. But you should ask yourself if that's really necessary. My 69 GS stops fairly well with non power drum brakes. Of course it does have the dual master cylinder, but my 56 stops very nice with it's original power brakes too, so the disc brakes are something you should decide after you get some serious driving experience with your car. As for the rims, I'd recommend shopping around and looking for the 15 rallye wheels. 14 in tires are getting harder to find in the states, and I imagine in Europe as well. And this will allow you to make one purchase and still convert to disc brakes later oon if need be. Look at E bay, as these used to come up often, but also know they are getting to be in demand much more because of the aforementioned 14 inch tire situation. And welcome to the Board. How about some pics of that 66. They are sweet cars.

I took a look at the Standard catalog of Buick for some information on this car Joe. Here's what I found: There were 25, 075 Estate wagons produced. They came in two levels of trim, a basic wagon ( this would be yours) and a Limited, which had Electra sheet metal in the front instead of the Lesabres. The car is a Series "R", and that can be found in the vehicle ID # as the second symbol. The next two symbols should be either 35, for a two seat wagon, or 45, for a three seat wagon. The next symbol is a letter code for the cars engine. This is where the book is a little confusing. Apparently the Estate Wagon could have any of the following motors: Code "J", a Buick 350 motor producing 155 HP @ 3,400 RPM/ 275 Ft lb torque at 1,800 RPM Or a code "R", an Oldsmobile 350 producing 170 hp @3,800 rpm/275 ft lb torque @2,000 RPM Or a code "L", a Chevrolet 350 producing 170 hp @3,800 rpm/270 ft lb torque @ 2400 rpm or a code "K", an Oldsmobile 403 producing 185 hp @ 3,600 and 320 ft lbs torque @ 2200 rpm. They sure did not make it easy back then for getting parts. the

Hey Joe, I am completely surprised. Thanks for posting the window sticker sheet.

Wouldn't you really rather DRIVE a Buick!

Here's my offering of today's bonehead move: One exit off of Rt 87 in Saratoga Springs NY dumps drivers onto a divided 4 lane, 55 mph highway. Within 1,000 feet or so is an intersection with a traffic light and a left hand turn lane carved into the road divider. Naturally the left turn lane is stopped while the thru traffic has a green light. On the side I was traveling there is a gas station on the right with a one way entrance off the highway. The stations' exit is onto the intersecting side road. But today, two girls in a 4 door Chevy pull out the entrance, and block both thru lanes while waiting for the left turn lane light to go green. Honestly, if the exit your on curves into the line of approaching traffic, wouldn't you think you should not be there? Dumb dumb dumb...

Did you try to spin the rear tires by hand and see if you heard the clicking noise? With the cover off you may be able to at least eliminate the rear axle as a source. Otherwise you are correct. The brake line would have to be disconnected and then the brakes have to be bled upon re-installation. In some of these cars once the attachment points are unhooked ( the shocks,springs, tube to tranny bolts, & panhard bar) then a comealong can be used to pull the rear axle back enough to dislodge the drive shaft from the torque ball. But I do not know if that's possible in a 47 Roadmaster

Look online or where-ever for an inline filter for the antifreeze. I don't know how long your car sat before you started to drive it, but if a few years, chances are you are getting scale pieces pushed into the top tank on the radiator. I bought one for the top radiator hose in my 56 and it caught a ton of stuff and saved me the hassle of having to constantly pull my radiator for a cleaning. If you can't find one, then stretch some panythose over the top radiator hose port before installing the hose. Just make sure you clean this often till you start to see less scale.

Until you said no one was behind you, I immediately thought that it was an insurance scam. While it may be an injustice, we all need to go back to practicing the basic rules on an individual basis. I always leave several car lengths to the car in front of me, because I have had brakes go out on me a few times, and I know I need the space to stop. If someone pulls in that spot, I just back off. It won't do me a bit of good to pick a fight with someone who doesn't have enough brains not to pull a stunt like this in the first place. Now my wife.... well, those people doing that stuff are getting the verbal lashing of a life time when she sees it.

How cool that car is. I see you have the Olds 403 motor. It's supposed to be a great engine, although I never had one personally and can't vouch for it. There's nothing like a wagon for going to out of town shows. Drive it a long time and feel free to ask any questions, no matter how weird they may sound. Lots of people here love to help out. Welcome aboard.