MrEarl

Congratulations Bob. Best of Best of Show for Charlotte Autofair. That is awesome. You and the Landau deserve it. So how you likin that ugly ol' fitty fo right about now? So about the flower arrangement. I don't believe I would make a point of tellin Linda you won them and then Forgot to bring them home to her either. Sounds like a lose, lose situation to me. Sounds like mum's the word about the flowers. Would like to see some pictures of the trophies and plaques after you rest up.

not near my parts book....Is a 54-55 interchangeable edit> they don't have the same parts number, so apparently not. sorry . can't help you. btw did you get the care package, threw in a little something extra;)

Just read a post by Sid called "slip slidin away". Turned out not to be exactly what I thought the title suggested. But the title did remind me that Life for us all is slip slidin away. as in "LIFE IS LIKE A ROLL OF TOILET PAPER, THE CLOSER TO THE END YOU GET THE FASTER IT FRIKIN GOES" Here's a little story that evolved back when Ham radios were more popular and guys spent there Saturday morning's on the ham, much as we spend our here in front of a 'puter screen. 1,000 Marbles A Little Something about Precious Time "The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable. A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement shack with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning, turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it. I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whoever he was talking with something about "a thousand marbles". I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say. "Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital." He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles." "You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years." "Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part." "It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail", he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy." "So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round-up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away." "I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight." "Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time." "It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. 73 Old Man, this is K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!" You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast." "What brought this on?" she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles. And somethin from MrEarl "Life is like a roller coaster ride, it has it's up and downs, is scary as hell but fun at the same time. There's one big difference though!!! In life there's no gettin back in line, no matter how many quarters you got. I'm gonna enjoy my roller coaster ride all the way to the end!!! And then they're gonna have to drag me outa the sumbitch when I get to the end."

WOW!!! That's heavy mannnn!!!

The ol Cadillac was handling pretty well in the curves I thought. What struck me was the presence of "men with guns". Intermingled in the crowd, on street corners and all. I doubt you will find very many donkeys still wondering the streets in Mexico these days but I suspect the 'men with guns" are still there. palosfvu3, thanks so much for the additional info and link to Ida Mae. What a lady!!! So the Ford truck you posted the picture of is Ida Mae's and was used in filming. Let me get back to Ida Mae, looks like a 3 cup a coffee morning spent already.

I wanna see a picture of the gear shift knob:D

Great, great news. Not that I doubted for a second that it wouldn't. It is looking great. Congratulations Bob. Congratulations 1954 Buick Landau. Congratulations Ned Nickles. Congratulations Harley Earl.

Sure, as long as I get it the first six.

Marck, those are indeed some great shots of the Landau on the grass. Some nice angles representing not only the beauty and class of the Landau but of the 1954 Buick itself. Thanks for taking the time to take them and also to post them so promptly. Can't wait to hear the results of the judging. I so wish I could have been there. THANKS again for the great photos.

The warden gave me a one day pass so I went to Charlotte to see Robert E and the Landau. He has done a few things to it since Ames and is hoping to get his AACA Senior this year. I could find no reason why that won't happpen. The car is looking better and is in better condition than it has been since it rolled out of the special order design department in Flint. I didn't let Bob know but I actually did let a little drop of drool fall on the little black book that lives in the glove compartment telling about the "special order" car that it is. Much of it was hand writtn. The drool fell when I read the part that said " if any additional information about this car is desired, please call NED NICKLES at 6437". But there she was. Sitting on display at Bob's vendor space gathering dust and surrounded by folks all google eyed. (as in NOT in some private, rich ass collectors museum somewhere never being seen by anyone.) Sat and chat awhile with Robert then was off to see if by chance there were anymore other 54's at the show. There never is, but lo and behold I found one in the car coral. Well that's another story.

Crap, one more person to have to bid against for the next manifold that comes on eBay.

Paul, I think Lief is right, they were optional on all but Roadmasters. I also have a 56 Century (parts car) with just single exhaust. Your best bet is to see if whoever you bought that dual system fom will take it back and refund your money. I have been trying to buy a left exhaust manifold for a 56 engine for several years. Last week for instance.... 1956 BUICK DUAL EXHAUST LEFT MANIFOLD %^ - eBay (item 150583418215 end time Apr-03-11 16:58:21 PDT) they're rare and getting rarer. High dollar and gettin higher. A single year item that is in high demand by folk looking for replacements or looking for stock high performance parts. (like me)

The warden is lettin me out for a day and I will be there Friday probably hangin around a certain ol Roadmaster with half a roof. Gotta be back to Buick Gardens Saturday for yard duty. Call me on my cell, I'll buy ya a hot dog. 706 201 eight five five five. Speak up, I'm old and can't hear crap.

Remember this Frank? :D:D Has anybody here seen Buke? I AM Buke. :D:D

I don't believe that song, "dad's big black Buick" had been released when Music For Buick Lovers" was made Bob. I'm thinkin it made it's debut in Jewell Iowa around the end of July, '10. Maybe we can include it on MFBL II.

So they will interchange. I wondered that when I first read your post last week but wasn't near a parts book. I may can help you.

possibly a 55-56 Buick parking light, front

Fred, you had asked for a picture. Here's a couple. One is the double groove I will be sending. The other is a "rarer than hens teeth" triple groove. Take a good look at it. I doubt you will ever see another. I mean just how many 54/55 Specials were ordered with power steering AND Air Conditioning. Don't you know those lil 264's were taxed. It's not for sale.

Good Lord, 36 hits and not a single comment. Must have been some pretty week coffee. Or am I the only one that gets excited over this stuff. Running the La Carrera Pamamericana Chihuahua Express in my Texas Pete Special someday is definitely in my Buick bucket list. OK maybe we'll get some better response this evening, over a couple glasses of red wine. The La Carrera Panamericana...: Chihuahua Express, April 8-9-10, 2011 I ran the Riviera through the Tail of the Dragon with Rita with me last fall. I plan to sneak off and run it by myself some day. Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap and Cherohala Skyway, Graham Co, NC I use to run that stretch of US 129 back in the early 70's in my Triumph GT6+. I don't think it was even named The Dragon then. Road was narrower, speed limit was 55 and hardly any pesky motorcycles. <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wqktVK3N-R8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

for you morning cup a coffee or if too late for that, your evenin glass a wine enjoyment. It's about 30 minutes long but thoroughly enjoyable. My favs are the Cadillac, Lincoln and of course The Buick. Be sure to click the 4 outward pointing arrows for full screen. <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/11037755" width="400" height="265" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href=" ">1954 La Carrera Panamericana</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1476253'>http://vimeo.com/user1476253">Gary</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> here's a couple more I think you will like. <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/4570579" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/4570579">Legacy Trailer - La Carrera Panamericana</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/strangemedia">Steffan Schulz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> Can anybody tell what the car that starts out in front of this G350 is? <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/9313970" width="400" height="265" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/9313970">Baby Driver Left 10</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1476253'>http://vimeo.com/user1476253">Gary</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

for your morning cup a coffee or if too late for that, your evenin glass a wine enjoyment. It's about 30 minutes long but thoroughly enjoyable. My favs are the Cadillac, Lincoln and of course The Buick. Be sure to click the 4 outward pointing arrows for full screen. <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/11037755" width="400" height="265" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href=" ">1954 La Carrera Panamericana</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1476253'>http://vimeo.com/user1476253">Gary</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> here's a couple more I think you will like. <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/4570579" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/4570579">Legacy Trailer - La Carrera Panamericana</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/strangemedia">Steffan Schulz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> Can anybody tell what the car that starts out in front of this G350 is? <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/9313970" width="400" height="265" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/9313970">Baby Driver Left 10</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1476253'>http://vimeo.com/user1476253">Gary</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

newb....NEWB.....I don't know that I'd call anyone who's been on here a year and half with 600+ posts and a TOTALLY dismantled 54 Roadmaster in his garage a "NEWB". Thanks for your offer to help others Bob

I saw this right after you posted but thought I'd wait and view it over Sunday morning coffee. Just finished viewing it over a cup of Ethiopian in my favorite Buick mug. Life don't get no better'n dis. Thanks Willie and Bob. :cool:

Bob, email me the numbers off that engine. The pictures I took that day didn't turn out clear enough

I know I had fun. And some of the best apple pie and ice cream I ever et