JohnD1956
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Posts posted by JohnD1956
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Good God! that's the best looking Bug I ever saw.
JD
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Hi Shine 49. Thanks for these pictures, They are very helpful. I was wondering, what is that chrome knob on top of the dash above the radio? Is that the power top switch?
Also, is that dashboard Maroon?
JD
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Smaltzie, I just sent you a PM on removing the light switch.
It's really easy. Please let me know how you make out.
JD
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I am happy to agree with Jaybird! My 56 runs well and stops sufficiently well. Of course I keep it under 70 on the highway and subscribe to the theory that nothing is safer than one car length gap between me and the car in front of me for each 10 MPH.
I really can't understand how people today each ride on the others rear bumper.
But if you keep the brakes properly adjusted, these cars stop very well.
I also think these cars run very well, when they are put in proper running condition. Back in 78 I can recall thinking that dynaflow was a real pig. I'd drop it into low to take off with any assurance, and although I could get it up to highway speeds I was never really happy with it. Then I started having carb problems so I had it rebuilt. At that point I found I had a leaky carb base gasket.
The new one seemed to help some but it was still rough. Then in 85 one head gasket started to leak coolant. When I pulled it down I found I had two bad exhaust valves. After the valve job, I was amazed. Besides running smoother, the tranny actually had some pull without shifting it into low.
Unfortunately I still didn't drive it enough and I had other problems along the way. I could never get it timed right, and then I couldn't get it to idle right, and then last year I found out I had a bad harmonic balancer. I put in a new timing chain and gear set and had a rebuilt balancer and now, I could time it right and what a change. I also got a replacement carb because my choke was giving me problems. I had it rebuilt and right now this thing runs as nice as my newer cars. Plenty of pickup, smooth and feeling very strong.
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My tech service book for the 56 says later model year 56's with A/C had a different temperature guage. While the rest had the red lense for when the cars were running hot, the A/C'd cars did not have the red lense because they were running too close to that area. I think it said towards the end of the model run, they dropped the red lense on the temp guage in all the models. Perhaps this is what you were thinking of?
JD
JD
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It sounds so great to hear your excitement in this Buick. I've had similar experience with my 56 this past year. I've owned the car for 30 years and had it on the road most of that time, but for several years I couldn't find the time to drive it much. One year I actually drove it only two miles. A mile to get inspected and a mile back to the house. Then I didn't drive it again till the next year to get it inspected again.
But I wanted to take it to the Centenial meet in 2003, so I got started fixing things, but it wasn't till September of 2004 that I really felt it was back to being the car it should have been, and that's when I felt that smugness of driving something very Super...
Good luck. Drive often. Drive slow, so everyone can see it , and wish they were you!
JD
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I'll check with him on Monday and see if he still has it.
What I was going to say is, if this is the picture I'm thinking of, this was taken in the area where this fellow lived. He was familiar with all the surroundings. That's whay he picked it up in the first place.
I'll check it it out an let you know.
KD
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Joini9ng the BCA is a great idea. Chances are that if you needed help on the cross country trip, belonging to the BCA may introduce you to members in all areas of the country who caould at least provide some support.
But to just read about the cars, I'd suggest the book " The Buick a Complete History by Terry Dunham and Lawrence Gustin. This book points out the differences in the various years your looking towards, which may help you to refine your search to a certain model or year. The bool is published by 2002Automobile Heritage Publishing and Communications LLC.
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That link describes the car as built in 1963, on a modified 41 Buick Special Chassis. Claims it has parts from a Corvette, Chrysler, Ferrari, Ford Thunderbird and Jaguar too. Said it originally had a GM V8 but now has a Chevrolet 305 V*. Can this be evidence the Chevy motor isn't even a GM product?
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Hey Mr. Earl. I think I recogonize that photo. A friend at work found a postcard with this same picture on it I believe. Does the Picture show a service station or advertising board with Albany NY on it?
JohnD
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Can you pull them out while the engine is running? since there is vacuum on these they may hold tight while the engine is running anyway. Still, I would pull them out and bring them to a reliable auto parts store. That would be a NAPA in my neighborhood. They probably have new fittings that will take up that slack.I tend to doubt these were ever soldered in. I'm sure they were just pressed into place.
Here's another thought.
If you do have vacuum loss that could definitely impact the transmission modulator valve. But given the car's age and realtively low milage, I'd consider a tranny fluid change WITH a new modulator valve at the same time.
These are simple to change although I do not know if the tranny would leak fluid on that style set up. I know on front wheel drive tranny's they do not leak out, but the valve is much higher on the tranny casing. Anyway, if you try this yourself, the last one I did had not internal connection. it was all external. Apparently the valve is a push rod that is actuated by the amount of vacuum. There was one bolt holding a clamp ( like a distributor clamp) and the vacuum line. Naturally while under there you ought to change that flexible piece of vacuum like too.
Good luck. Let us know how you make out.
Jd
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I saw that vacuum break you referred to. The Chiltons does not show enough detail here. But it looks to me that the linkage would go to the back of the choke housing. If your car had a manual choke originally , and it was replaced with an electric one later, you may no longer have this connection.
Personally I'd do this:
Change every single piece of vacuum hose. I know you did not indicate rough running condition but the heat on these cars is enough to dry out the hose and you could still have leaks affecting shift points in the transmission.
Then I'd check the timing. I don't know how to do this but I heard someone say the best way to check the timing is with a vacuum guage. Basically adjust the distributor till you get the best vacuum reading and then back off a little. Then drive and check for knocking or pinging. If need be back off a little more. Of course if you use a light my book shows the timing to be 15 degrees BTC.
Also when is the last time you put plugs in the car? THe chiltons shows the gap at 80. Don't imagine it would take that long to expand that more with use and thus you may be losing some spark intensity.
Also, I'd try driving the car in L2, to see if you have better pickup. This might indicate problems with the tranny modulator valve. Here's another thought though.
Have you listened to the exhaust? By this I mean have you been outside the car while someone takes off with their foot to the floor? If you have you may have heard a whoshing sound, which I could describe as a massive air leak. Or a hissing sound. If so, do the catalytic converter. It really isn't that much but that sound is evidence the internals are disintegrating and pushing the innards into the muffler, clogging that. Blocked exhaust will slow you down.
By the way, try not to go for a universal one. These seem to be very smelly for a long time. OEM will cost a bit more but less than the cost of three car payments.
Of course if nothing else helps drop a 68- 72 Buick 350 in there. That'll liven things up a bit.
John D
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Maybe the Regal is totally different from the full size. My chiltons shows the following for 83 Buicks:
Looking at the 8th digit on the vehicle ID you could have :
an "A" representing a Buick 231 Cu in V6 ( this has a 2 bbl)
a "4" Representing a Buick 252 cu v6 ( this has a 4 BBL)
a "Y" for an Olds 307 V8
or a "n" for an Olds 350 Diesel.
Presumably you have the code 4?
JD
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Nor me. And I surely want to see that baby. When I was growing up one of the neighbors had a 64 Skylark convertible with the 4 speed too. What an awesome car. I don't know what he did with the convertible but a short time later he came by driving a 64 or 65 Skylark Wagon with a 4 speed.
You know, Buicks really are wonderful cars!
JohnD
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This is unbelievable!!! Look at the condition and asking price of this gem!
http://www.oldride.com/displayAd.html?sectionID=4&ViewItem=1332&sort=&val=&offset=1&CatID=7
JohnD
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By 1983 a lot of cars had the overdrive transmissions, an R 200 or R 700 I think. Have you tried driving the car in 3rd ( or Drive) and not Overdrive, and then seeing if it may have better pickup? It will cost you some in gas milage and I'm not really sure what to tell you if it does have better pickup this way. But I would definitly inquire about a hot rod shop in your area that has a quality reputation. According to one Buick Performance group that overdrive tranny gets a lot of respect.
Of course, this assumes you have taken the car to a reputable exhaust shop to see if the catalytic converter is flowing sufficiently.
By the way, is that 4.1 a Pontiac motor? or is this the 4.3 Buick Motor? Didn't the 4.1 have a bad reputation in these cars?
JohnD
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Part II
Once we knew we were getting the car, we knew it had to be towed home due to the broken brake line. I wanted to tow it on a trailer behind my 2002 Ranger pickup. The pickup is small. But it has the 4.0 V6 engine and 4.11 gears. The car and trailer would have been close to my gross tow capacity.
I call U-haul, but they were not willing to rent the trailer unless I used one of their trucks. Then I went to Nations Rent, who told me to forget about it. Said I?d have no problem getting the combo moving but once the car was on it, they predicted big problems steering and stopping.
Since I had to have transportation there and back , I couldn?t just use a one way rental. And after checking Ryder and Budget, U-Haul was the only place I could even rent the equipment. So, two weeks before my trip I reserved a 14' truck and a car carrier. I told the agent what my plans were. The car was over 3 hours away from me, so I wanted to make sure we had good quality equipment. I was assured no problem. The vehicle sports an AM/FM radio and Automatic trans plus A/C.
Upon arrival to pickup the truck and trailer, I was somewhat stunned. The truck was a ford f 350 converted to a 14 foot van. This thing looked kinda old. Dirty was an understatement but it was a diesel and with the only other vehicle on the property a well used gas Chevy, I told the attendant that I was concerned, but none-the- less I was pretty much stuck.
The attendant backed up to the one car carrier as well, and while he went about connecting things, I start to look over the equipment. Remembering the story a while back about bad tires on U-Hauls, I paid close attention to these. While they all looked good, one on the trailer had a 1/4 inch gouge completely around the side wall. I questioned the attendant who claimed the tire was okay and stepped on it to prove it. So I completed the rent. ?Don?t worry,? the guy said. ? Here?s an 800 number for roadside service if you have any problems. ?
The next day I planned to leave at 6 AM . At that rate I figured I have the car loaded and be back on the road by noon the latest. Should be home by 5 PM outside. But my sweetheart says she wants to go along for the ride too. This immediately puts me one hour behind. But what the hey, I have all weekend. I cleaned the windows while waiting and noted this truck was pushing several hundred thousand miles on the odometer. I said my prayers and off we went.
Things went smoothly. The radio had one speaker and no tuning knobs. But the sky was clear and temperature was mild. Predictions of late afternoon heat didn?t bother me much since I?d be home at 5 pm anyway. Boy, that diesel was loud and smelly too. Felt like it was right in the cab with us, but it didn?t miss a beat.
While cruising east before the NYS Thruway turns southward at Albany, the sun suddenly blinds us. I guess the clean window really didn?t matter as the glass was all pitted anyways. But I pull down the sunvisor and boom, it drops directly into my line of vision because the bracket was broken. Of course this was better than the other side of the truck where the visor was missing alltogether. Luckilly the trip made the turn for the south so the sun was on my side and we could see for the next 3 hours. I swing the visor to the side and keep moving. The visor kept drifting into my side and I had to keep adjusting it, finally I rolled the window up crushing the thing into the door to hold it in place. This worked pretty well. And we had an uneventful trip the rest of the way to get the car.
When we finally got to our destination, it was just around 11 AM. We spent some time with the sellers discussing just about everything under the sun. Then it came time to load the car up. It was just around noon now and we were pretty much on schedule.
But as soon as the car hits the top of the ramp, that scuffed tire goes flat.
No problem says George. The U-haul dealer is right on the other side of town. I have an air tank, We can put some air in the tire and then you can follow me down there. Good plan!
We head out to go downtown. I?m driving pretty cautiously but I think George is in a bit of a rush. As we hit the three lane around the town, I stepped on it to keep up and was pretty glad when we exited the highway. As we drove towards downtown, we make a left, and then I see the low bridge sign. Knowing it is lower than my truck I called George on the cell phone. George answers and says yes he saw that sign but he is sure there is a way around the tracks down here. So we proceed. We get to the bridge and I can see the dealer on the other side. George makes the last left before the bridge and I follow suit onto a narrow two lane road.
A few hundred feet up the road George pulls into a driveway and turns around. Says he was wrong about the thoroughfare but knows the right way now.
What a hassle turning that truck and trailer around on that street. Took close to 10 minutes I think. Forward, Back. Forward back. Geeze, how many times do I have to do this? But finally we get it around between mailboxes, parked trucks and cars etc without doing any damage...
Heading back I see the dealer again, but now we are headed back towards the interstate. George makes another left and we travel up a steep hill. At the top we have to make another left across traffic but this road is very busy.
George gets a break and goes. I said I can??t lose him now so I pulled out too. Amazingly no one even beeped their horns or anything, and a few minutes later we arrived at the U-haul dealer.
There were several youngish looking employees in the place and they swarmed out ogling the GS. Okay I can deal with that. One boy says ?Man I never even seen one of these. I mean you see them in the movies but this is the first real one I?ve seen.? I looked around and there were several car carriers and other trailers with similar tires and I figure I?m going to be okay. But wait, They can?t change the tire for me because they do not have any spares on the premises. Also, they can?t pull a tire off another trailer and swap it for me, nor change out the trailers. I have to call the 800 number.
So I dialed it up. ? Hello, I have a flat tire... I?m parked in your dealership # 25.. No I don?t know the road it?s on, wait let me ask the attendant... on West street in Danbury Conn. .. No, I don?t know the cross street... It?s your dealership # 25, don?t you know where that?s located?... Wait let me ask the staff... One of them is running out to get the name off the sign.... Okay, great you?ll be here in an hour after the mechanic finishes up the job he?s on. We?ll wait.
So now we?re sitting around. 1 hour, 1 ½ hours, 2 hours... I asked one of the attendants what the heck is going on? The teenaged attendants looks at me and says ?Yea, this is bull s- -t. I Told the man! We ought to just change the Muther F_ _ ckers tire and get him going, but no can do man...?
Another call to the 800 # and the operator says the repair man is on the scene. I looked around and asked what?s he driving cause I don?t see any repair truck here. They said ?wait a minute I?ll have the driver call you directly .? So a few minutes later the guy calls. Says ?I?m here on West Street but there?s nothing but a bunch of houses. There?s no U-haul here.? I said ?something?s wrong because I?m standing right in front of the place.? He said ?West Street in DERBY, right?? I said ?No, West Street in Danbury.?
?Danbury! ?! They told me Derby.?
I asked how far away is Derby?
?Oh man, it?s about an hour drive.?
?Another hour? Cant these kids change the tire for me so I can get going, It?s 3 pm, and we haven?t even had lunch yet.?
? No those kids can?t change the tire it;?s our contract... I?m sorry but I?ll be there as fast as I can. ?
So the repair truck rolls in around 4 pm, and he starts setting up the compressor and pulling hand tools off the back. I asked if he was just going to change the rim and tire? No, he had to break the tire down and replace the tire on the rim. Just another half hour or so...
Anyway, by now it?s 4:30 and we are just heading back. We stopped for a fast food lunch, then checked the chains and all and headed out. Now we are driving directly west into the afternoon sun. It?s tough to see out the window plus all that hot sun all day really heated up the truck. No problem, we?ll kick on the AC and till we cool off, except within a few minutes it?s obvious the A/C is non operational.
So 4 hours later we finally pulled into home. Tired, Sweaty, overheated and generally deaf from that diesel. We were well behind schedule but one look at our prize, and a large smile came over my face. Now I really had that car I always wanted in college.
The next day I took the truck and trailer back. I immediately asked the attendant ? please give me your managers name and phone number. I intend to place a complaint about this equipment and I don?t want to bore you with the details.?
He asked what happened?
I rattled off the list of problems and told him just how disgusted I was . He said ? wait! You took that truck to Danbury Conn??
? Yes? I said, ? I told the agent what I needed it for when I placed my reservation. When I came in to pick it up that?s all that was left here.?
He said, we never should have rented that truck to go that far. When these things reach that age we only rent them out for round town use. I?m going to cancel all the charges...
And so it was that all?s well that ends well..
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Hey there everybody.
The members of this potential Chapter will be meeting on Sunday, Feb 13th, 2 - 4 PM at Bennigans, on Rt 7 in Latham NY.
Feel free to e mail me at jld1972@empireone.net if you care to join us.
Note, spouses are included and the menu can be viewed at www.bennigans.com.
Thanks
JD
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Thaks Mr earl and Centurion. I had to stop there. Picking up the car was another adventure. It involves a broken down U haul truck and trailer. Don't know if anyone wants to hear that one...
JD
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Being a confirmed Buick nut since my Dads 55, I always loved the 68,69 and 70 Buicks, all of them. These being my final years of high school, I was always jealous of the cool cars all the rich kids drove. While I was proud of the 65 Electra we had, it was lacking the sport of the Mustangs and 442's, and endless Chrysler products. While in College, one friend buys a 68 GS 400. Nice car alright, but not a sweet as another friend driving a 69 Stage one with a 4 speed. At this point I purchased a 57 Special Convertible, but never got it on the road. Then I drove the old mans?s 69 Cutlass convertible, and followed with my first 56, a Roadmaster. But then college was done and family ways prevented me from following up on any other vehicles. Oh I had a few, but most were high milage cars that were rusted or damaged and never restored.
Then, in 1992 while attending a family function at my sisters home, her neighbor pulled in to their own driveway with his red 69GS 400 Convertible. Milage in the low 20's but wait, what?s that on the hood? Joe, part owner says ? Oh, the original owner was a bit eccentric?. He had a Jaguar hood ornament mounted smack dab between the ram air scoops. He also had a Police spot light mounted through the drivers side A pillar. But still, a low milage GS conv, it was odd looking but still nice.
Fast forward to June 2003. Somewhat flush, I began to wonder what ever happened to the GS? A call to my sister reveals she hadn?t seen the car in years but she?d ask anyway as she was still good friends with ?Joe?. Three weeks later she e mails me and says, guess what, Joe still owns the car and he is somewhat interested in selling. So here?s his e mail address.
I wrote right away and my wife rolled her eyes. ?You really don?t need another car?. But I said common, a Skylark convertible? Lets just look. See, after all this time I had forgotten it was a GS. I knew it was red, and I thought I remembered a white bucket seat interior. My sister knew it was a Buick, but that?s it. My wife was not happy.
So we wait a month, with nothing from Joe. I called my sister again and she agreed to ask Joe what was up. Then Joe writes that he is in partnership with George who has the car at his house for several years now. Joe hasn?t seen the car in a while and if George was willing to sell, he?d go along. So here?s Georges e mail address.
Firing one off to George, my wife gets nuts. Where are you going to put another car??? Finish what you already have , etc...
Anyway I hear nothing. One week drags into 4 weeks later, and then George e mails. By this point I figured I best not even open the e mail, but he titled it ?GS 400". I held off for about 10 hours and then caved like a tin hut in a hurricane. Yes, George was willing to sell and here?s where you can see the car.
Around this time I had a job to do at my parents house so I loaded my son up and off we went. I knew the location of the GS but didn?t tell my wife where I was going. Upon completion of the job we took off to see the car. All the way I kept saying Mom?s gonna be mad. Doug keeps saying, GS 400 convertible... come on, She?ll get over it. And further we go.
When we arrived the car was sitting in the drive way. Top down. Red, Black bench seat interior, Rallye Wheels and in need of a lot of cleaning.
http://www.aaca.org/photopost/data/500/11481GSfront-med.jpg?7156
George told the story. His wife?s Uncle bought it new in the Bronx. He was his own man, so the Jag hood ornament and spot light, both of which George removed ages ago. The dent in the front bumper came from Uncle hitting the concrete in the front of the garage. That way he knew he was in far enough to close the garage door. When Uncle # 1 was gone, Uncle # 2 inherited it. He couldn?t explain where the rest of the dents came from but there were dents everywhere. But the car still had all the original parts except tires, exhaust, and the starter. Even though George kept it garaged, there was a humidity condition caused by the dryer vent in front of the car blowing all the dryer exhaust directly into the grill. Several years ago a brake line broke so it sat unused since. Anyway, Joe and he would let it go for $7,500.
I wasn?t sure about explaining this to my wife. So I put him off and left. On the way home I called her so she could blow off the steam by the time I got home. Of course that didn?t work and we had a few tough days. I pretty much figured it wasn?t worth a divorce, so I let the matter drop.
A week later she says did you ever get back to George. I told her , ?No. It took him a month to get a hold of me in the first place, so if it?s sold I?m not gonna worry about it.? But Doug said, Come-on, it?s a GS 400, 325 HP, CONVERTIBLE, you know you want it.
I said it has a bench seat. I don?t want it. My wife says you know you want it, call him up and make an offer.. I told her I don?t want to hear about this the rest of my life. I?m not calling!
As luck would have it the following weekend we were scheduled to go to this sisters house again and Joe is invited. Naturally the subject of the car comes up. And my wife says make him an offer. You know you want the car... So my emotions got the best of me and I blurted out, Joe, if you guys want, I?ll give you 5K for it.
Joe says I?ll talk to George. I?d be satisfied with that, but it?s up to George.
3 agonizing weeks later, George calls.. Okay, it?s yours. Come and get it.
http://www.aaca.org/photopost/data/500/11481GS_drivers_rear-thumb.jpg
And that?s how I wound up with the car I always wanted in college...
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I got my 69 GS 400 convert with 27K on the clock in what I think was a great deal. Not necessarilly cheap, but I'm happy with it anyway. I'm posting the story on me and my Buick in a little while.
JD
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Glad to keep you posted.
I currently have 12 members, although some are pretty far away from Albany which will make winter meetings a bit of a problem.
But we'll see what comes of it.
JohnD
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Mr. Earl, those pictures are depressing. I can't believe this guy won't sell parts. Some of the chrome still looks salvageable.
Johnd
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Thanks Norb. this is perfect. I really appreciate it.
JohnD
need help quick on gages!
in Buick - General
Posted
Another thing, it appears that one could get factory A/C installed at the dealer too. In this case I imagine the car would have the red lense as it would have been built without the A/C originally.