JohnD1956
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Posts posted by JohnD1956
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Right you are John. I say Fight Chevy's, and Mopars, not other BCA members. BTW, Im ready to try a road trip to California. I thought Flint was way too close from Albany NY.
John D
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Okay, I've had enough of these cars that I should know by now, but does anyone have any ideas on how to get those smaller bolts out after they snap off? I tried drilling them and using an easy out, but the easy out snapped off inside one of them. I then had to use a carbide tipped bit and a rotary drill to get the easy out, out, and then I drilled clear through both. I soaked in pb blaster for two days but still no luck. I'm just about ready to drill these as big as the openings on the pump and then put a longer bolt and nut on em. Luckilly they are both on the top side and I could actually do that. But I'm looking for other ideas so as to keep it stock in appearance.
All ideas are appreciated.
Thank you
John D
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Please let me know how you make out. I now have two 69's to do this on.
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My local NAPA has this additive, so they claim. I haven't tried it yet, but one of their tenured counter men is my friendly next door neighbor, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't give me bad advice.
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I never touched the anti lock sensors, and doubt you will have to either. The fronts are just like non anti lock brakes, except my Regal has a seemingly complicated caliper mount. It seems the caliper is mounted to a steel form, which is then mounted to the knuckle. You can get the caliper out without removing the mount attached to the knuckle. but you have to remove both to get the rotor off. Still, you don't have to touch the antilock sensors.
There was a previous thread on unbalanced brakes, and some one said that if the shoes get brake fluid on them ( like from a leaky wheel cylinder) then the brake will actually grab faster and harder than a dry brake shoe. I don't know if this is true but it causes me to think you should check the pads first. Any good mechanic would ensure the sliders were cleaned and lubricated when installing pads. Perhaps one of the pads became contaminated with the lubricant?
Good luck.
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Thanks for the reply. As it was I bought a pump for the old girl last summer when I thought mine was the root cause of a knock. Of course it wasn't but it's too late to do anything about that now.
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Wow, you got a big set of em all right.
Of course your Buick is much more special than the VP's Corvette, but lets face it, this was the VP man... 
You should have let him have his way and brag about his vette...Unless you are planning to jump ship anyway. 
Actually, I'm just kidding, but...S A good friend of mine took his Skylark to his towns first ever annual famly picnic. They were having a show for any resident who wanted to bring a car. So a bunch of Vette owners show up and only three other cars. Part of the festivities was a parade of all the cars in the show. So what happens? The vette owners protested. They didn't want to ride with non-vettes... What a bunch of stuffed shirts. I'd take your 55 anyday of the week over that borevette.
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I got mine at my local NAPA store last summer. I bought a universal set with the 90 degree sparkplug boot, but then had to specify the straight boot at the cap end. These were readilly available.
John d
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Can you explain how to use that homemade tool? I tried to rebuild my pump once but the instructions for that tool seemed to apply to the vacuum side of the pump, and I never did feel I had gotten that right. I think that was shown by decent fuel delivery but my wipers were very unreliable.
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I have a 93 Regal with the 4 wheel disc brakes, and I would recommend you try freeing up and lubricating the sliders on the stuck caliper.
The rear calipers remove in a similar fashion to the fronts, but the big difference is the parking brake hook-up. I did not have to disconnect the parking brake cable. But remove the studs and it swings right up.
If you go to replace the pads, then you will need a tool to "screw" the pistons back in. On my 93, I usually pull off the rotor, and the old pads then reattach ( without tightening too much) the caliper on it;s holder. Then using the tool you can push on the tool and ratchet the piston at the same time to get it back in place. I have also put a large prybar behind the tool and then turned it to give added leverage.
On some cars I understand the lever for the parking brake would have to be removed, but this is not so on the 93 Regal.
Of course if it is the barking brake cable hanging up causing the pulling problem, then it's another whole story. But my 93's was not hard to replace either.
Good luck.
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Thanks for posting these photos. While I don't have a 54, I find this very interesting considering the demise of the Buick City plant.
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If I recall corectly, the Carter and Rochester carbs will fit on the manifold. However, watch the manifold gasket. The manifold has a narrow bolt pattern (compared to 57 and up) but the exhaust passage hole to the base of the carb swings wide, and general kits may not have the gasket that fits this mounting area. Also, the linkage is adjustable at the point it connects to the carb, which you will need to fiddle with if you change to the Rochester carb.
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Vinyl roofs are a PIA. Stick with paint.
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I'm very interested in these posts as I have a similar problem as of late with my 56. Sometimes I wonder if it isn't partially todays gasoline blends. Perhaps they vaporize at lower temps? But I was thinking of replacing my fuel line with a home made custom one, so I can get the line up out of that valley. I'm also thinking of blocking the exhaust crossovers on the intake manifold. I have to pull it anyway since it sounds like the exhaust port cover plate may have deteriorated and needs replacement.
Has anyone else blocked these ports and if so what material worked and what didn't?
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I received a recent e mail with a much better idea about how to impact the gas prices than a one day boycott. A one day boycott is ineffective because sooer or later you will still have to buy gas.
Maybe the way to go ( as per this e mail) is to boycott one supplier, for weeks or months. As the law of supply and demand go, if one has a big supply with no demand, then the price will usually receed to the level that there is demand again. So if we all stopped buying gas from one supplier, then their supply would maximize and if they wanted to get some income, they'd be forced to reconsider their price. When ( and if) they reduced their price, then we would go to them and boycott the next supplier, till the scenario repeats itself.
Now this is an idea which could work. I don't know about in your state but the Mobil stations where I live are consistently higher in price than most others with the notable exceptions of Citgo. I would be glad to boycott these stations till all their milk in their mini marts went sour!
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I had a three core radiator made last summer. At first the car was right then it started to creep upwards again. Later, for unrelated reasons, I drained the radiator and while it was dry, I noticed there was crud on top of the cores again.
I had the radiator disassembled, and all the cores cleaned, then I got a in top hose filter from TEBKS enterprises. This is a fellow in the Riviera Club from Australia. The filter is easy to install, and I left my heater disconnected so none of the coolant could possibly circulate back into the radiator.
This filter is pretty neat. It has a screw on cap and a stainless steel filter with plenty of screen holes so as to provide sufficient flow. Meanwhile I can't believe the crap it has caught.
I also agree with the other poster, who recommended pulling the freeze plugs. There are alos two pet-cocks on the block. You may be able to unscrew these without messing with the plugs first. If the hole is covered over with a layer of rust, then you really need to pull the plugs and flush the bottom of the motor out.
Good Luck
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I don't think the paint was your problem to start with. If the gas was attacking the paint, it probably broke it down enough to pass with the rest of the air fuel mixture. I'd check to see if you have spark, since presumably the new carb is doing it's job. You might try a shot of starting fluid. If you get nothing, check electronics. Starting with new points and condenser.
By the way, I had a condensor wire pull out on me on a 65 Electra once, because I didn't see the small loop of wire on the points plate that you are suppoosed to run the condensor wire through.
Good luck
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Bucent, I'm not sure about a 3100 in a 98. 1997 was the year for the big body changes in the Regal line. I know the cars similar to the 93 needed the engine lifted when equiped with the 3100. But the 1997 and 1998 look like mich bigger cars. So you'd have to get someone elses advice on this.
But don't despair. I have a 95 Riviera with the Supercharged engine. I had to do the rear plugs from underneath because of all the coolan lines in the way from up on top. The easiest car I know of to do the plugs on is my 69 Electra. everything else seems o have some nuiance to tick one off. But I still love my BUICKS!!!!
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I would think the 53 to 56 is the same, as in 57 I think the 322 became a 364. The 57 engine probably fits the engine compartment, but does have several differences.
Also I think the the 56 322 is the first year with a harmonic balancer, so you don't really want to go older with the 53 to 55.
Why don't you offer to buy the gent a newer nailhead engine and tranny in exchange for a return of the 56 motor. You may fine a newer motor and trans easier to acquire, and he may find it easier to work with than the torque tube setup. Plus the newer one could be a 401. I'd go to at least a 64 or newer nail head for this as that's when you start to get away from the dynaflow and into the turbo 400's.
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When my wifes 93 Regal was 30K old, I had to take the car back to the dealer for something ( can't remember what) but at the time I thought I'll price the sparkplug replacement. The service guy said something like $40.00. I was lazy and said okay, go ahead.
When we went back to pick the car up the bill was $70.00. I was madder than heck over this. I asked why? The guy said something about a tight fit and lifting the motor to do the job. I said Bull S--t! Thats the 3800, not the 3100 which does need the motor lifted for that job.
HE said well they lifted the motor anyway. I asked why they didn't call me, because for $70.00 I would have reached in there and done the job myself, as I could see there is no way the motor had to be lifted.
They tried to appease me without changing the bill. Tossed in a few car washes and an oil change, but never went back. The bum went OOB a few years later anyway. And I've changed those plugs two times since and never touched a motor mount. Every dealer I've ever had to work with has been much less than customer friendly and unconcerned with customer satisfaction.
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I also had my tank redone by a gas tank renu dealer in Albany. He's the same guy who built my radiator. This process is marvelous. My tank had a big dent, and they were able to press it out and save my tank. It comes in two finishes, silver ( looks like a new tank) or a black corrugated which looks like undercoating. I took the black undercoating to match my car.
They actually cut off a part of the tank on the topside. Then the tank is cleaned, and I believe blasted. They spot welded the filler neck in place before de-soldering the seam. The seam is replaced with this coating. Then they welded the top back on, coated the tank inside and out, and bake on the finish, like a powder coating I guess. The result was perfect. They really did an excellent job!
And I can fill it right up the filler neck with no problems.
Here's one thing though. I had installed a new sender unit several years earlier. When I started getting leaks, I figured the tank had a fatigue crack at the dent. After the tank was done, it leaked again. When we shook the tank with gas in it, it turned out to be the rivits holding the sending unit together that actually leaked. This guy had a special epoxy which he put over the rivits. Sealed the whole thing up nicely. I suggest epoxying those rivits fron the get-go. You can't see it on top of the tank and it sure beats dropping the thing another time.
John D
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I had a local shop make me a three core radiator using my original tanks, but the car still ran hot going to Flint last year. When got home I had to drain the system for another problem and I noticed there was debris in the top tank clogging some of the tubes.
I had the radiator taken apart and rodded, then I bought a filter from TEBKA enterprises. This filter goes in the top radiator hose ( i did have to cut it, but it's several years old already) and I left the heater disconnected so all coolant has to pass the filter.
I couldn't believe the crap that filter caught in just an hours worth of idling.
I plan to pop my soft plugs and rinse out the water jacket sometime this summer. Then hook up the heater again.
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If the car has the trunk lid luggage rack, check the seals on the bolts holding it on.
If the car has a sunroof, check the drain pipe inside the car coming down at the C pillars. My Brother bought a nice 91 Ultra with this problem, and found that there was an angled connector at the point nearest the roof line that had come apart. He slipped it back together and didn't have any more problems for several years.
If it was me, I'd put some adhesive on it as well.
JohnD1956
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Check the rubber piece of fuel line that attaches the fuel supply line to the fuel pump. Down below the pump on the passenger side. Is this deteriorated?
Also how are the rest of your fuel lines? Is it all still steel to the tank pickup? If not, I'd check for more deteriorated rubber lines.
Did you keep the original fuel filter? Is this deteriorated and sending debris into the carb?
I had a terrible problem with my 56 Harmonic balancer this year. The car did run, but it was tough to keep going at an idle. It ran rough all the time.It seems many of the Nail head engined Rivera owners on the ROA maillist had a similar situation as well this past year.
I'd check it out. Disconnect your generator belt and your power steering belt, then grab ahold of the outside of your balancer and see if it twists on it's center shaft. If so, you have the same situation. Mine was ruined. My crank was 3/1000th out of round from the damage as well. Got a replacement from Ken Reeves, and had Damper Doc in California rebuild it. Even though the car already has steel gears, I put in a new set of timing gears and chain while in there.
Runs great now!
69 400 water pump snapped bolts
in Buick - General
Posted
Thanks for the replies. I am thinking heli coils are the correct answer. Just investigated that today. They look rather simple, as long as you get the hole straight.