JohnD1956

53-55 Special. Can you post a picture of that harmonic balancer, as it may also be a 56.

Usually a great event. We got this one on our calendar. .

I'm thinking spark plug wires, unless you already changed them. What a shame to have so much trouble from a Buick.

You don't know how good it feels to recogonize most of the people in that crowd. Sure looks like you had a great time. Sorry to have missed this.

The modulator valve is on the right as shown below.

Rob, What happened to that tire? Was it just old? Or was there an unavoidable road hazzard? Good job keeping that old girl under control. And a sweet ride. Love those big Electras....

No and Maybe. The first picture shows the transmission cooler lines. The second picture shows the upper radiator hose but below that is the Transmission Modulator Valve, which is hooked to a vacuum line. The pics are too small for me to see the crack you mention. If it is in that transmission modulator vacuum line then this might be the hiss noise you mention.

Is there a small set screw on the outside rim of the adjuster knob?

The power steering pump is on the passengers side towards the windshield. I wonder if this noise could be coming from the egr valve, or did the air hose from the aircleaner to the throttle body develop a crack? If it did, then you may have noticed some roughness in the idle

Two possibilities on the clutch. First is the dashboard switch may have burnt points. Had this on my 69 but I know the 72 switch is a bit different. The other thing is the compressor may not turn on if the system became discharged. Look at the top of the inside of the hood and see if you have the tell tale overspray of compressor oil across the insulation. Also check the condensor in front of the radiator and look at the corners to see if you have an oil spot there. While looking won't fix either problem, it will give you an idea of what you're up against price wise. Good luck.

The title does not indicate the car is a wagon. According to the standard catalog of Buick, there were 4600 8 passenger models made and 9100 6 passenger models made, but they hardly ever come up for sale let alone ones with factory A/C.

Any chance of posting a picture of this coil?

Sure wish I could have been there with you all. Have a good time and a safe trip.

Anyone know if that 54-55 fuel line would fit the 56 as well?

Incorrect description on the Craigslist title may result in many overlooking this car. CLASSIC 1962 BUICK INVICTA

"the bolts on the rt side lower control arm were loose" Wow! Never would have thought of that. Glad you got it fixed and posted the root cause.

Great idea on sanding the inside of the grommet with the dremel.

Mikusa, Pete is right. The only thing not shown on your picture is the size of the hose. Usually the hose is 5/32nds and 7/32nd in diameter. I don't know what the metric conversions would be for those sizes. Since the diagram shows a rear distributor, you are working on either a Chevy 350, or an Olds 350 or an Olds 403 motor. I'm certain you have the Olds motor. An Olds 350 would have engine code "R", while the 403 would have a code "K". The Chevy engine is code "L". The engine code is the letter in the seventh position in the Vin ID. I see the diagram shows a "K" on it in two places. This tells me you have an Olds motor but I don't know which one. Hoses marked with the K probably exist on the Olds 403 version, not the Olds 350. Also I would caution you to only use information designated for the year of the car. 77-80 was a period of a big changes and many things apply to just one year of manufacture. I have a manual for a 78 and will look up whatever you need but you'd have to consider that it's the wrong year for your car.

Hi Adam. Thanks for the response. But do you think the ones from TA performance are softer than the ones on the Help Board? Actually, the two that I have purchased for this are listed in the NAPA books as intended for this application. I did not get them off the Help Board. They both appeared pliable enough, and went into the manifold easily. Too easily in the case of the first one that dropped in. It just seemes that once in the manifold, the hole for the PCV valve closes up slightly and then it's a major chore to push in the new valve. I also believe in divine intervention, in that; something touted as a regular maintenance procedure should not be so hard. Because (in this case) it is so hard, something else must be wrong underneath that manifold. I'm wondering if the grommet that fell in somehow went past the valley pan part of the intake gasket and is resting against the cam or a lifter waiting to cause more damage if I try to start it. Any way, I've now decided I'm pulling the intake as soon as I get a new gasket and while the manifold is out I'll install the new pcv and grommet. This way I can hold the grommet in on the underside and if it pops out again I'll be able to retrieve it. However, I understand that the PCV valve could have also been placed in the valve cover on this engine. So I'm toying with the idea of permamently blocking the intake hole and drilling a new hole in the valve cover for the PCV valve. Do you think I'd get the same scavaging effect from the valve cover as from the intake location?

Foolishly ( in retrospect) I pulled out the PCV valve on the 78 Wagon ( Buick 350, "X" motor) and the grommet came out with it. I got a new valve and grommet, but now I can't get both back into the engine. I can either get the grommet in the engine but then not the PCV valve, or the PCV valve into the grommet but not into the engine. Further, in the process of trying to get this in, one grommet popped into the valley under the intake manifold. I tried engine oil as lubricant and then Dilectric Grease as lubricant on the 2nd grommet. But this PVC Valve will not go into the grommet once the grommet is in the intake manifold? Anyway, I'm thinking of pulling the intake to find the grommet that popped in, and then installing the parts while the manifold is off the car. But does anyone know a trick to getting this thing in? I even tried cutting the tapered end off the old valve just to see if it would slide into the grommet when it is in the manifold, and that won't go in either??? First time I've come across this. Any ideas out there?

That's a great idea Stevo. Let me add my numbers for those traveling through Albany NY area. Home 518 384 7807, cell 518 542 4189.

Unbelievable ! http://albany.craigslist.org/pts/1228029096.html

By the way, Don is asking 28K and his e mail address is: dweichol@nycap.rr.com

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: serb</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My mother had a 65 Electra 4 door hardtop, deep, deep blue. Stevo </div></div> Dad got rid of the 55 special and brought home a Maroon 4 dr hardtop with black vinyl top and interior in 1966. I just got my license and we racked up the miles on that baby. By 1969 it got up to the 90K mark and he wanted to sell it so he found someone to turn the odometer back to 49 K. But no one bought it even though I kept it looking like new. So we kept driving it. Back up to 99K, turnover, and back up to 60K or so when he finally did get a buyer. Along the way we went through 3 sets of motor mounts, one transmission, one radiator, a rebuilt carb, and it lost the brakes two times on me. Good God I loved that car!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JHopkins</div><div class="ubbcode-body">...it started up with relative ease... </div></div> That's what these Buicks do. Lay around a while, start easy (lulling you into a feeling this would be a piece of cake to get going), and then lower the $ boom on ya.