dobieroo

I will check and see if the bracket that supports the muffler for the aircleaner is attached or just mounted under the t-stat housing. I will e-mail you lots of pics along with more info! Thanks for the reply.

I have a 1956 322 engine and need the thermostat housing that the upper rad hose connects to. It is the 1/2 dome thingy with about a 5 inch hose conector neck coming off of it. Please let me know if you can help. Duane Gilles Grand Blanc MI.

China's Buick Infatuation The Stodgy American Auto Is a Prerevolutionary Icon For Booming Middle Class The Wall Street Journal By Peter Wonacott July 22, 2004 Shanghai -- WANG SHUAIWU POKES through a multibrand auto showroom here with his eight-year-old grandson, shopping for a new family car. Mr. Wang wants something snappy-looking and spacious inside with good after-sales service. He shuts the door of a blue Volkswagen Polo hatchback and walks up to a sales table. "We've basically decided," the 60-year old apartment-building manager announces, drawing in the dealership's staff. "We'll buy a Buick Sail." Chalk up another small victory for General Motors Corp. Its success with families such as the Wangs explains why GM is outmaneuvering Volkswagen AG and other foreign car makers for the global auto industry's biggest prize: China's booming middle class. As cars become a prized symbol of upward mobility, auto makers are scrambling to divine the tastes of the emerging middle-class consumer, a swath of the country that now counts more than 100 million people. Japan's Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Corp. and South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. are all making inroads into the mass market. And several smaller Chinese auto makers are scrambling to catch up with the global giants in product design and brand reputation. But GM has a built-in advantage: China's enduring, decades-old affinity for the venerable Buick. In the U.S., the GM brand has stumbled through a less-than-glamorous evolution that included an unsightly 1971 slope-top Skylark. It's still difficult for Buick to break away from its current image as a car for middle-American senior citizens. C.J. Fraleigh, the new 40-year-old head of the Buick brand, concedes that "for quite a number of years, Buick's product offerings have trailed product trends. Buick suffered a lack of relevance." In China, however, the Buick is a revered icon of old prerevolutionary days, when the classic black sedan with white-wall tires was known as the car of the elite. In 1912, Chinese statesman Sun Yat-sen took his first ride in an automobile -- a Buick. The last emperor of China bought two of them in 1924, the first cars to enter Peking's Forbidden City. In the 1930's, GM's flagship brand in China was fashionable among Shanghai's rich factory bosses, and the Buick became a symbol for an era of great wealth amid great poverty. When the communists took power in 1949, China shut its doors to the outside world, including foreign auto makers. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that Western auto makers were allowed to produce cars in China again. GM re-entered the Chinese sedan market in the 1990s, and in 1995, its bid to build the Buick Century in Shanghai was chosen over Ford Motor Co.'s proposal to sell the Taurus. Somehow, the elite image of the Buick remained frozen in time, and it's still a symbol of status and affluence for modern-day upwardly mobile Chinese. "Customers feel the Buick has a royal bloodline," says salesman Wu Xianjia of the Shanghai Celebrities Auto Sales Co., a dealership that sells GM cars. "It stands for luxury and safety and an earlier era of America." In fact, Buick sales in China could soon exceed sales of the brand in the U.S. This year through June, Buick's U.S. sales were down 3.4% to 162,456 vehicles, continuing a steady decline. During the same period, Shanghai GM sold 141,319 Buicks, about 54% of its total sales -- up from 52% in 2003. Last month, for the first time, GM sold more cars than any other foreign venture in China, including two Volkswagen joint ventures, which still combine for more than 20% share of the market, compared to 14% for GM. "In this young and fickle market it is not uncommon to see fluctuations," says Bernd Leissner, president of Volkswagen Asia Pacific in Beijing. "Long-term figures will be more indicative of trends, and (Shanghai VW) is expected to remain market leader with year-end sales." VW has by far the widest selection of vehicles in China, and is introducing new models, such as the Touran. But critics say VW has too many cars like the Santana that are tired-looking and out of step with Chinese consumers who know what is sleek and chic thanks to the Internet, overseas travel and other media. In Shanghai, boxy Santanas are considered unchic because of their ubiquity after two decades in China. They fill out the city's taxi fleets and are a favorite first car among the nouveaux riches outside big cities who are scorned by urbanites. "It's like what a farmer-turned-entrepreneur drives," scoffs Mr. Wang, the 60-year-old Shanghai building manager who's opting for the Buick Sail. "Too old-style." Chinese consumers see Buicks, by contrast, as more contemporary. The Buick Regal caters to the modern Chinese capitalist, and salespeople say typical buyers are small and midsize company bosses. With the average price for a model now around $33,000, they either pay for it themselves or don't want to put a more expensive Mercedes on the company bill. The Buick Sail, which retails for about $10,000, targets young couples as well as older Chinese who long dreamed of owning a car but didn't have spending power until now. Polishing its image as a car for weekend outings, GM advertises a sporty hatchback on the beach with a beefy male surfer on top of the car. Several GM models have undergone facelifts at a Shanghai technical design center in an effort to cater to local taste. That's where designers gave the Regal a big washtub-shaped chrome grille and slanted headlights that are modeled, they say, on a smiling Buddha. Over the next two years, GM plans to introduce 20 new models in China as part of a $3 billion expansion. One new model will be the Cadillac, but GM executives decline to comment on the rest. (Back in the U.S., GM is coming out later this year with a new midsize Buick sedan called the Lacrosse. GM has pushed its designers to give the new car a more sophisticated, better-tailored interior and smoother-looking exterior lines). GM says it doesn't simply want to cater to still-undefined Chinese car tastes. It wants to shape them. "Make the customer feel affluent," says James Shyr, director of design for GM China. That means lots of chrome on the outside; leather seats with fancy French stitching inside; and plenty of room for the important passengers who, in China, often sit in back. The car maker stuffs its sedans full of extras, such as DVD players built into the back seats of the Buick Regal. Even the more economical Excelle, aimed at China's white-collar commuters, has a six-CD changer in a panel with wood-style finishing and a small cooler that holds soda cans in the glove compartment. For women wearing heels, there's a small drawer to store a pair of comfortable driving shoes. Versions of the more upmarket VW Passat, by contrast, offer only a cassette tape deck. "If you earn 50 grand a year, don't you think you want to look as if you earn 80 grand?" asks Mr. Shyr, the GM designer. "That's why we want to pamper that psychological need. It's perceived value that's important." Ordinary families like Mr. Wang's show why sales are tilting toward GM. The family of five spans three generations, living in the same apartment. Mr. Wang and his schoolteacher daughter plan to purchase the car together. Combined, their paychecks amount to a little less than $1,000 a month, not much by Western standards, but it places them solidly in China's middle class. In the air-conditioned cool of the Shanghai auto showroom, Mr. Wang acknowledges the Sail isn't fancy. But the $10,000 price tag is a bargain because "Buick is a brand of luxury," says Mr. Wang, his grandson tugging on a mobile phone attached to his belt. "Even if we buy a smaller Buick, it still brings social status."

I have a 68 Wildact with a 430 that runs pretty good. I know the Carb needs to be rebuilt as the car stubbles when pushed and is getting poor gas milage (less than 10). The car is spitting black water and "chunks" out the tailpipe and I beleive it is carbon. If so, what causes carbon and how do I get rid of it? I neighbor says he has heard of an old trick of pouring cold water down the carb on a running, hot engine. The cold water hits the carbon on the valves and cracks it off instantly. Not about to try this one unless some more people can tell me they have tried it and it works. If the cold water trick does not do the job, then what shoud I try? Thanks- Duane Gilles

This is a fairly simple request, what color was the gas cap on a 1956 Roadmaster? Black, silver or something else? What about a gas tank? and the straps that hold it on. I'm not trying to go for an EXACT reproduction, but while touching some things up, I want to be going in the right direction. Thanks- Duane

I am in the process of re-covering the seats for my 1956 Roadmaster (76R)and need <span style="font-weight: bold">1 more yard</span> of the black fabric to finish the job. The shop that helped me find the original 2.75 yards can not get anymore. The material is listed as C-3787-8 in most of the catalogs from 1956 that I have looked at. Can anyone help me out here? The fabric is black cloth with a silver thread randomly weaving through it. Thank you- Duane

I have a 1956 Roadmaster 76R with red and black interior seats. I recently ordered 2.75 yards of the original black fabric from C.H. Schultz in Flint MI. and am having the work done by a private individual. Debbie, the owner of Schultz, found this material from what I would call a "broker". I now have the rear seat re-covered, but do not have enough material to finish the front seat. I only have enough for the bottom cushion <span style="font-weight: bold">or</span> the seat back. Can anyone tell me where to look for 1 more yard of this fabric, as Schultz has not been able to find anymore of it. According to a 1956 supplier fabric book (it lists ALL vehicle manufactures interior materials), this fabric is code C-3787-8. The material is black cloth with a silver thread running randomly through it. Thank you Duane Gilles

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Tell him to give North Star Plating in Brainerd, MN a try: 2180829-4063. They can do amazing things with bumbers, and I know their work is on several concours Mopars that have taken top honors in national shows, including factory light-weight cars. I don't know how mangled the bumbers are, but I've seen them work, and the work is flawless. What's more, the prices are extremely reasonable. -Brad </div></div> The phone number has 1 too many digits , can someone please post the correct number so I can look these guys up. Thanks!

I have a friend who is in the market for a convertible car and I am trying to steer him towards a Buick. He likes the Skylarks from 70-72 and it must be in decent shape. He is a family man with no time for taking on a project. Please reply with any leads and I will pass them on. Being in the MI area would help.

I am looking at a 68 GTO but the body colored Endura front bumper is not on this particular car. The guy selling it says that GM had a problem with the first few cars and installed the standard Chrome front bumper and the Endura style came a few moths later. Any truth to this?

This doesn't address the issue on the 58 directly, but for reference I wanted to chime in and get share my experaince here. I just dropped the tank on my 56 Roadmaster and there is no vent tube or hole. Just the pick-up unit screwed into the top and the tank has a tight fit against two rails attached to the underside of the trunk pan.

You might want to contact Ken at Wheatbelt Buick. They are a used parts yard that seems to come accross some really good stuff. You just never know what they might have. Ken is very up-to-date on what is out there and has helped me out with some good stuff. He is also very fair to deal with. Dobieroo