Pete Phillips

I am in need of a manual (not power) window crank & regulator for the driver's door of a 2-door 1959 Buick. Am told that any 2-door hardtop or 2-door sedan 1959 or 1960 full-sized G.M. product will interchange. All of my usual sources have come up empty. Any leads appreciated. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Sherman, TX pphillips922@earthlink.net

With all due respect, I think you can work on a '63 LeSabre transmission until the cows come home, and you will never get what you are after. It doesn't exist! I repeat: A Dynaflow does not kick down. I have owned and driven dozens of Dynaflow equipped Buicks and I have never, never felt one "kick down". Were they all broken? I think not. If you want a transmission with a kick-down feature, you need to get another make of car. This is crazy, and I'm not going to spend any more time reading or responding to it. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Sherman, TX. 1948 Roadmaster 1949 Super with Dynaflow 1950 Roadmaster with Dynaflow 1959 Electra with Dynaflow 1962 Electra 225 with Dynaflow Do I make my point?

A location might help, if you want people to come see them. Pete in Texas

"Stabil" is a brand name for a gasoline additive that supposedly stabilizes the fuel and keeps it fresh when you are not going to be using it for several months. It comes in a clear plastic bottle and is red in color. I guess they have come out with a new product that treats the ethanol-based gas, and it is blue in color. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

That 72R looks like Walter O'Grodnick's car, which has been for sale in the Bugle several times over the past year, and he is a BCA member. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

***GASP!!*** A one-owner, 28,000-mile, 1933 90-series...???? (turns green with envy). How can I get put into your will??!!! Please send me a few photos. I want to drool on them. pphillips922@earthlink.net Whenever you want to write up and photograph that car, I will make room in the Buick Bugle for it. There is no finer Buick that could go into those pages than a 1933 90-series. Wow! Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

With the angled B-pillar (back part of the door), it is either a Special sedanet or possibly a Century sedanet if it has the larger engine. Definitely a '42, which is rare in any case. The data plate on the firewall will tell you for sure. Model 46 or 48 = Special. Model 66 = Century. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Sherman, TX

Not my car, but it is posted on Ebay in the parts cars section where few will see it. This appears to be a really solid, 1985 LeSabre Estate Wagon with V-8, the fancy wheels, factory A/C, good body, needs the glued on side mouldings reattached and the bumper fillers replaced and thin paint on the hood, but seller says it is a 25,000-mile car from an elderly person's estate. Located in Texarkana, and no bids currently at $800. One heck of a buy for somebody. Ebay #220553808380. Pete Phillips

Are your battery cables the big, thick kind for 6-volt systems? They should be about as fat as your middle finger, in order to carry the amperage that a 6-volt system requires. I had a '52 Pontiac once and it cranked sluggishly as you describe. Finally, someone pointed out that it had thin, 12-volt-style battery cables. When I changed them to the proper thickness 6-volt cables, the difference was like night and day. Another thing you might do is take the armature out of the starter and take it to a rebuild shop that has a "growler". This is a tester that makes a growling noise if it finds voltage "leakage" between the various windings of the armature. It finds broken wires or wires that have come loose and slipped into an adjacent winding, which weakens everything. If the shop doesn't know what a "growler" is, find another starter repair shop! Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Sherman, Texas 1948 Roadmaster 1949 Super 1950 Roadmaster 1959 Electra 1962 Electra 225 1963 Wildcat

I agree that when the article talks about "moon roof" the author meant to say "halo vinyl roof" instead. I started to make that correction when I edited it, and then talked myself out of it and also forgot to get back to that after I became convinced that it needed to be changed, as there were several other edits that I had to do on the article. Nevertheless, I am really pleased that Craig so quickly pulled together all of the information that he had for this article. He is not your typical writer, but I think he did really well, and he is an expert on many Buick models that the rest of us usually ignore. It was all done with little lead time, as I felt it was important to get the correction out there as soon as possible, that the first Park Avenues were in 1975, not 1978. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Buick Bugle Editor

Most people get a new one made, rather than take a chance with a used one. I had one made a few years ago at Don Hart Radiator Shop, which is in Hempstead, Texas, or Waller, Texas if I remember correctly. They will send them to you by mail. I have had several radiators and heater cores made there, and have always been satisfied with their work. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Sherman, TX 1948 model 71 1949 model 59 1950 model 76-R 1959 Electra 1962 Electra 225 1963 Wildcat conv. 4-spd.

I have purchased and installed two wiring harnesses from Rhode Island Wiring, and have been very satisfied with their product. I also recommend that you join the BCA and the Minuteman Chapter--lots of good people in that chapter, who are friends of mine. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Sherman,TX 1948 Roadmaster model 71 1949 Super model 59 1950 Roadmaster model 76-R 1959 Electra 2-dr. ht. 1962 Electra 225 4-dr. ht. 1963 Wildcat conv. 4-spd.

Thanks to all for the leads. Pete

Does anyone know where to buy the waffle-like, brown, insulation material that goes on the under side of the trunk lid? I don't see it in CARS, Inc. catalogue, nor Bob's Automobilia, nor Restoration Specialties catalogue. I think most of the 1950s GM cars used it. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Sherman, TX

After making the car water-tight, the next thing I would do is get that clutch chatter fixed, because it will only get worse, it is hard on the rest of the drive train, and it takes a lot of the enjoyment out of driving the car. It could be something as simple as oil on the clutch disk, or maybe something in the drive train is out of alignment. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 1949 model 59

I paid either $3000 or $3500 (can't recall which) for a 1924 roadster in pieces about 12 years ago. It was a model 44, which is the rare 6-cylinder. This one appears to be the 4-cylinder, which is not worth quite as much when restored, but on the other hand, might now be equal to what I paid, given the passage of time. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Sherman, Texas

Good luck on finding the thin moulding retainer clips for the moulding at bottom of Century dash applique. I'm trying to find some now for a Century I am restoring. Pete Phillips

DShip, you make it sound like the BCA does not welcome your '92 Rivieras to its national meet. Nothing else could be farther from the truth! We have a class in the 400-point judging for these Rivieras, and if more than 10 or 15 Rivieras register, which they usually do, we split them into more classes, according to age. I have attended many BCA national meets and judged at them, and I am always amazed at the quality of cars that do NOT enter the 400-point judging. I think the majority of BCA members are under the impression that their car has to be showroom perfect to be in the 400-point judging. That is not and never has been the case. A well-maintained daily driver can usually win a bronze or silver award in the 400-point judging. It happens all the time. You can lose up to 45 judging points and still win an award in the 400-point judging. So please don't be so quick to dismiss it. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Head Judge, 2010 BCA National Meet

No photo and no link. Would like to see it. I restored one about 10 years ago. Pete

The brushes in the generator may be worn or loose, not contacting the armature all the time. That is my guess, anyway. Or, perhaps a loose or bad wiring ground somewhere. Pete Phillips Sherman, Texas 1948 Roadmaster sedan 1949 Super station wagon 1950 Roadmaster hardtop 1959 Electra 2-dr. 1962 Electra 225 4-dr. ht. 1963 Wildcat convertible 4-spd.

John, I just now found a listing for your generator (and mine) in an old Delco Remy parts catalogue I have. Your #1102668 fits 1946 through 1948 Roadmasters ( and most likely 1941 and 1942 also--book doesn't go back farther than 1946); and my #1102679 fits the 1946 through 1948 Specials and Supers. Mine is for sale, $75 reconditioned, if anyone needs a good generator. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Sherman, TX

You HAVE to register in advance of the BCA national meet, in order to have a car judged or displayed there. The registration hours listed are the hours you can pick up your registration packet at the meet, which is prepared several weeks prior to the meet. The reason for pre-registration is so the meet planners can properly lay out the show field, know about how many dash plaques & trophies to order, prepare your car's windshield I.D. card in advance, etc., etc. If you don't register until the days of the meet, you are out of luck. Dan, judging is going to be on Friday this year, rather than the usual Saturday. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Sherman, TX

Well, I have a 1102679 here, and it is supposed to be from a 1941 Buick Super, so yours must be close in age to this one. Six volts, of course. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Sherman, TX

This is now sold. Pete

If you can find a November 2006 issue of the Buick Bugle, that whole issue was devoted to the Buick woody station wagons of the 1940s. The reason so few 1940-48 wagons have survived is because everything from above the top of the fenders, and rearward of the cowl, is made of wood. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Sherman, Texas 1949 Super Estate Wagon