JohnD1956

It's interesting to see how cars have been the influence on peoples perception of themselves throughout the years. So many old pictures include cars, which is noice for dating the picture. In this case it's nice that there was brand loyalty in 35. Thanks for posting that Lamar.

Love those Buicks but guage sending units were not their strong point. I don't know what's worse, the annoyance of running out of gas and dealing with all the well wishers who try to trouble shoot the problem, or the embarassment of realizing you just ran out of fuel.

Nice concept. I just hope this does not suffer the same fate as the Velite. Since so many foreign manufacturers are already in this market it would be great to see GM get out there with a nice quality car. But it would be nicer to see GM leading the field, rather than responding to it all the time.

I believe on the 95 the S/C belt runs the water pump, so changing to non supercharged would be a major changeover. But the belts on the 95 do come off easily. However that's not going to help much on diagnosis. I recommend going to any of the auto parts houses and buying a mechanics stethoscope. With this you can listen to all the parts separately while the engine is running. Just be careful in some of those tight places in there. Chances are you have a bad idler pulley or one or more bad tensioners. These parts are much cheaper than a Supercharger, but you really need to stay out of the major auto repair centers like Aamco, Midas, etc. Those places have huge monthly overhead and sometimes major employee turnover. You need to find a reputable mechanic in your area.

May I ask if you have changed the rear axle oil within the last 15K? If not, be sure to use quality oil and see your NAPA dealer for the positraction additive thats required. As for exchanging units, I think the axle assembly on the Riv is diofferent, but if you have not already done so I would post this question in the Riviera Forum under the Buick Clubs listing below. there are a bunch of good mechanics in that group who may have come across this. And BTW, I'd do whatever I could to hang onto that rear axle. I believe it is the best ratio for these vehicles and may not be too easy to find.

Those look like some nice cars. Thanks for posting. I noticed the 52 (?) looks like it has a 67 starwars aircleaner. Do you know what power mills the others had?

Well then, that is not too far from our Albany area based Buick Club Chapter. I'd like to invite you to come to a meeting or two if you'd like and see what we are up to. Have you joined the BCA yet? Note, October 3rd we are arranging a tour to Vermont. It will be a one day trip to leaf peak and take in a few local attractions, and to tour with our cars. Also on October 18th we will be touring down to the Rhinebeck area to attend the Mills Mansion show, which is a free show with over 800 cars last year. Lots to see and do at this state historical site. You're more than welcome to tour with us if you care to.

I think El Diablo' s point is the BMW website shows sport, action, commaradie and fun. And if the BCA website was enhanced with some of that we might pull additional members. If you take a deeper look at the BMW website you'd see some forum comments that seem familiar. Links that don't work, people not getting their monthly magazine, people weighing in on hard copy or electronic version. Also people praising the magazine and the work of the club organizers. But one big difference is more subtle. It seems that the Club includes dealerships, and there is a contest under way for a membership drive. There are two classes of contestants in this event. Regular members and Dealerships. Without over analyzation it appears that the Dealerships for BMW participate in a big way in driving new members to the club. That is something we do not share in the BCA. There is no way to know if the people stay with the club. Were the BCA to advertise it's total membership number one would see that over time there has been over 40,000 BCA members. But another big difference is there are no more new sporty Buicks. We can't do much about that except to complain verbally and protest with our pocket books by buying another manufacturers vehicles. This part is up to the "new" GM to recogonize and fix. But as to El D's original comment I think it would be a nice addition if we could have a front page picture album which members could add to individually and then have a photo contest to find and add pictures under the same general categories, fun, commradie, sport, and whatever else we can think of. '

Had a similar situation on my 56. Turned out to be a leak at the base gasket of the carb. If you have the carb off again I'd recommend checking with a known straightedge to see if the base is flat.

Saratoga springs? I live only 25 minutes south of there. Looks like I was asleep at the wheel on that one. ' From the pictures you posted, the car does look very well maintained. As for the price, based on the pics I'd say you did good. Are you comfortable that you got a good value for what you paid? And are you located in this area still? I'd like to see that car up close.

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The CNE chapter's annual show was this past weekend. While I was surprised that attendance was light, still there were some amazing cars. Thanks Tim and crew for a great day.

Good work and thanks for letting us know.

Can't wait to see pics of the work. BTW, your comment about not being able to wait tells me that you made a good decision when you sent it to be repaired. Good luck!

Indicating that there are limited funds, and the car sat in a field for several years, I was wondering if you have fully evaluated the condition of the frame, before attempting restoration? Especially in the area just in front of the rear wheels?

Hey 50 Bomb, can you show how you suspended the Camaro rear? What year rear end is this too? Just wondering.

WOW! Where did you find this in UPstate NY? How the heck did I miss this car? Are you anywhere near the Albany area? Also, I wonder if this car is a Special, or a Super. The picture of the dashboard tells me this is a model 50 series ( super) car, not a 40 series( Special), but I must admit I am not certain of that. Anyway, looks like you have a beautiful car... Congratulations!

It is great of you both to acknowledge help recieved. I like to help out, if I can, and appreciate the follow up on what solved the problems. I am always facinated by the solutions found, first to validate my off site diagnosis, and if I was wrong, to learn possible solutions in the case I come across those problems myself. Mostly however, it gives me a lot of satisfaction to see new people finding the same joy I have found in old cars and particularly older Buicks. Keep up the communications guys. Were always happy to hear good news on these sites too. When you can, post lots of pictures of your pride and joy on the "me and my Buick forum". Makes for a year round car show that way.

In some cars you can unbolt the shroud from the radiator and then just lean it back against the motor and have enough clearance. Not sure if this applies to the 57 or not. But you also may be able to remove the top of the radiator support to get additional clearance. If it were me and I took that route, I'd slip a big piece of cardboard between the radiator and condensor to prevent the two from scraping against each other on the way out and back in.

An excellent story and write up Brian. I really enjoyed reading it.

Good luck and please post what you find as you go along.

Thanks for the follow up. I took a closer look at mine. The glovebox door is satin and smooth, the rest is a satin color but almost a prickley finish. I'm thinking I may try wet sanding it to see what happens.

If nothing is available I'd try adapting a t-stat bypass hose splicing it to a straight through connector right at the bracket on the firewall. Again, only if unobtainable. Have you tried CARS inc? I see that their 67 Catalog lists 3 heater hoses as application unknown. May be worth a call.

I agree with the others on the radiator. if you can get the lower hose off you can swipe your finger inside the lowere radiator port and you'll see right away if you have a big buildup of muck. but also check: * the engine core plugs. These are steel and after 50 years they could be rusted and weeping, allowing a loss of coolant pressure and a rise in temp. ( fixed my 56 that way). * And the timing I know it should not change without intervention but I'd just verify that it is set per the book or within one or two degrees. This would usually manifest itself with hard starting when hot. * Lean fuel mix. Check this by looking for burnt electrodes on your spark plugs.