Buicks Rule

The 66/67 Rivs used this wheel cover or one extremely similar to it with a R in the center. Rivs had a 15 inch wheel. The Riv covers are verrrry heavy and actually extend out to the edge of the tire, covering the wheel lip completely. Change the center piece to an R and voila, a Riv hubcap. Also, the Rivs had this same cap with a 2 bar spinner and without. They look impressive on the road but if they ever fly off they'll take out one Toyota on their way across the road.

Bud, The 63 with 215 used a special transmission called the Dual Path. Go onto www.buickclub.org and look under non-affiliated clubs. The Buick Compact Club specializes in the 61-63 Specials and Skylarks. Bruce Andren in Tustin California has owned quite a few of them, including a 62 since new. He can put you in touch with some people who know those trannys and their foibles. I second John Chapman's comment about shop manuals. Before doing anything major check the procedure in the shop manual. My understanding is that parts for the 215 Aluminum engine and especially the tranny are getting somewhat hard to find. The Dual Path was only used for 61--63 and only in the Special/Skylark; Olds F-85/Cutlass, possibly Tempest but maybe not because the Tempest had that weird rear mount transmission in 61--63. Good luck,

Dave, Didn't you say in another post somewhere recently that you forgot to renew your BCA membership? Can't be a member of a chapter without that...... The group of neighborhood kids you take with your family to car shows and get involved with cars may in fact be more vital to sustaining the hobby than any individual car. People who stay active in the hobby do so because of the people they meet. And, people who stop participating in the hobby do so because of the people they meet TOO. And, the people you have fun with often influence the next collector car you buy. Example, a good friend has a top restored pre-war Buick which he and his wife had a lot of fun with. They have become very active BDE'ers with their older cars and have a great time racing their Grand National ( the wife's ex-grocery getter ). Everyone has a finite amount of time, money and space. Most of us have all the cars that we can support in a reasonable fashion. So, there will be some cars that get away; some will be crushed because no one wanted them; some will be rodded; and some will be bought by a restorer looking for a good start on a 100 point restoration. And, it may all be a moot point in a few years anyway if ( when ) we all run out of oil. Whether by alternative fuels or alternative power plants, we may NOT HAVE a choice in the not so distant future if we want to actually drive our cars.

Before you do anything to the tranny, make sure you know which Dynaflow you have. Variable Pitch--cast iron case ( aluminum bell housing ), two vertical columns at front of tranny--shifter will say pndlr. Basically used by Buick from 1956--1963. Parts are available with some searching. Flite Pitch--one piece aluminum cast case. Shifter will say PRNDG. Used in 1958 and 59 only. Parts are very hard to find-including gaskets and seals. Contact Mike/Nancy Book at the Buick Club Office--see email at the top of the BCA discussion page. Join the club--lots of parts/info in the monthly magazine. They might also be able to direct you to a local chapter in your area.

Dave, Sooooo, what have you done lately to jump start the old car hobby in your neck of the woods? You've mentioned your family situation as requiring you to be a house husband. There are lots of things that you can do from home to help the hobby. The Cincy Chapter BCA has been trying to regroup and become active again. Are you a member and helping to make that happen? They probably desperately need someone like you who is available during the day to answer prospective members' calls/emails, help do the set up for tours/events/socials--you know all the things that are extremely difficult to do after 500 PM when everyone gets home from work ( and all those places are closed ). Have you started/become involved in an AACA chapter in the Cincy Area? Same thing? Or Horseless Carriage, or CCCA, or whatever? Do you take YOUR car to lots of local shows/cruises along with your kids, and maybe let them bring a couple of friends so the kids can have a good time with the cars. Ever take a neighbor to a car show when the wife ( kids ) don't want ot go and try to get him/her involved in the hobby. Maybe it's time to stop pointing out the problem and actually get involved on a local level and actually DO something. There are a lot of people on these forums ( yeah I know it's really fora ), that have spent many years and many $$ trying doing stuff on the local, regional and national level to keep the hobby going ( and some of us are still under 50 ). If you've got some ideas about what needs doing, then GET OUT AND DO IT! Sign up 5 new members for one of the car clubs and then tell us how you did it. Better yet, go for 50.

And the next time someone wonders why there are few under 50 people people at BCA meets, direct them to Tommy's post. High school seniors this year were born in 1986-87, when the last GN was a NEW car. Their twenty something older sibs would be around 10--just old enough to think mom/dad's new GN was the coolest thing it town. What do you think they'll be looking for if they want to have a car just like Mom and Dad's? As others have said, everyone is welcome to their own opinion about the best of the "real" Buicks. It's just too bad that some folks have to go out of their way to insult others. The sad part is newbies might believe that "everyone" feels the same as Tommy and make their first BCA experience their LAST BCA experience. No, I don't own a 70's or 80's Buick. Never have been able to afford a Turbo 3.8 but really liked the ones I've driven. But, my 60's used car BUICK and I will think of Tommy's comment tomorrow night on an evening ride with the top down. That's the nice thing about USED CARS--THEY GET USED!!!!! 1965 Buicks turn 40 this year. That's just about the same age the first straight 8 Buicks-1931- were at the first BCA Nationals in the early 70's.

Brian, Another thought. Could this car be wearing 14 inch wheels. Look at the rear wheel fenderline area compared to the photo you posted. This preproduction mule is covering up quite a bit more wheel. This may have even been a non-running styling mule, or a pre-production test track runner for some sort of test, which would account for the lack of tinted glass, radio antenna and so forth. Could have also been a rear air bag car that the air bag deflated on prior to the photo. I also think outside rear view mirrors were only standard on Convertibles up until the mid 60's due to the smaller rear window.

Until this past year, I have pretty much always used cars from the 60's as my daily drivers. It is possible to insure them using stated value/agreed value insurance. You will have to shop around suppliers as some companies don't do this. You may also have to be over age 25. Although never had a major incident, I was hit at a stop light by a dim wit in a Toyota who had trouble reading a red light. Her company had to pay to repair the damage because of the way MY company wrote MY policy. The first words out of the dimwits mouth as she notices plastic Toyota pieces littering the road were "Oh, I'm glad I hit you, it's an old car." She lived to regret those words. When I was in college in the 80's, I used a 37 Buick as a daily driver for about a year. The car was well used and needed some serious work which I had neither the time nor the money to do. I still own the 60's Buick that replaced it and did daily service from 84 until about 90 when it became a show/tour car. Buicks from the late 30's are probably among the most drivable cars of their era available today. However, they are NOT real happy at highway speeds due to rear axle ratios around 4.00 to 1. Gas mileage is a factor as well. Even though your daily commute is relatively short, think about other driving that you do. Will you have access to a more modern car if you want to take a longer trip? Do you want things like CD/Tape/Stereo, ability to charge cell phone and so forth. Then you'll need a 12 volt car which means middle 50's and newer. Cars from the middle 50's through the 70's offer a wide variation in size, body styles and driving experiences. They simply WON'T get the gas mileage of a more modern car but with the right engine/transmission/driving habits decent gas mileage is possible. Better than many modern SUV's but not on the order of a 2003 LeSabre. Back then, Buicks really did drive differently than Fords, than Chevies. So, make sure that you spend some time with the car before you buy and that you LIKE the way it drives/stops/handles/performs in your daily driving activities. You may find that you love the looks of a certain car but you don't like driving it. Been there, done that. You can't see how it looks from the drivers seat. Liking the way something drives will make you happier long term than falling in love with the styling and disliking driving the car. Definitely add seat belts, possibly shoulder harness too. Buy the nicest car you can afford, and assume that you'll still probably spend a couple of thousand dollars fixing stuff within a few months of purchase. Any car that hasn't been used frequently will have a few bizarre surprises in store for you as it comes back to life in daily use. So, you'll want to always have some funds in the bank to cover the unexpected. The only car that ever stranded me in the middle of nowhere was a 6 year old early 80's Dodge convertible. The 50's, 60's and 70's cars have always gotten where they were going with surprisingly little theatrics-including many cross country trips made at 70-75 mph max legal speeds. Good luck. It can be done, but do your research first and buy a GOOD example of what you like. You won't make money but you'll have a distinctive vehicle that you can have fun with. Your friends will always know where you are.

Hood hinge arms are generally natural/plated. Springs usually black paint or natural/clear.

Guys--just a reminder. I have no definite knowlege of anything concerning the mailing date of this issue but..... The publisher of the Bugle is in Orlando Florida. Both Charlie and Frances passed through Orlando within the past few weeks. Regardless of when the mailing house put the magazine in the mail, it appears that many transportation systems, including the USPS, have a great deal to cope with getting stuff in or out of Florida. Many in Florida are and have been without power a large period of time over the past couple of weeks. Many are also dealing with no water, no sewer and little/no gas available, especially on the hard hit east coast. Might be a good time to have patience. IF and I do mean IF there is a problem, Roberta will let us know on the forum.

Ron Good to hear from you and Sally. One thing, the BCA National Meet is handled pretty much the same as the AACA. National BOD waits for chapters to submit bids from which the BOD selects a location. It's the Buick Driving Enthusiasts Division of the BCA--think Buzzies who own Buicks--that decides where the BDE National Tour will be and then does what is necessary to bring the Tour to that location. The Motto of the BDE is "BUICKS WERE MADE TO BE DRIVEN." The tours generally fill up regardless of the location. The 5 day BDE Tour to Bartlesville OK a few years ago was planned by 3 to 5 people that live in Florida or Michigan. The planners spent a couple of days on site the preceeding year and locked everything in from home. Is there any reason any such traveling planning/execution committee would have to be restricted to current AACA board members or that the same committee would have to do every meet/tour that is taken on the road so to speak? I'll bet there are active AACA members that have been heavily involved in hosting meets/tours that might NOT be on the BOD and have the time and interest to see this work. Maybe some retired board members ( Hint Ron, Hint! ). There are a bunch of active people in AACA that know they can't make the time commitment to board service but they have a wealth of experience in showing/touring and love to visit new areas of the country. AACA has been very proactive in developing new classes to encourage more cars to attend more meets, Driver's Participation Class, HPOF, the special classes for Muscle Cars. AACA has done a lot to encourage 2 National meets per year in the Western Region. The commitment to having 2 Western Meets per year has made it possible for small western chapters to host a National Meet. That's a good thing! Unlike the VMCCA mentioned earlier, the BCA was founded in California and still has a large membership base there, but for the most part the largest and most active chapters ( leading the largest National Meets) are located around the Great Lakes area. The Dallas Group hosted a great 2004 BCA National Meet this June. Slightly less than 200 cars attended. The Great Lakes Region will have a meet around Pittsburgh this month. It will be interesting to see how many cars attend that. I'm betting on 400. The BCA's Western National Meets have been 1985 Los Angeles, 1991 Sacramento; 1993 Phoenix, 1996 Dallas, 2004 Dallas. Sacramento was a 400 car meet, the others were roughly 200 cars. It is very difficult for a smaller western chapter to successfully bid for a BCA National Meet against a mid western chapter as it's pretty much a given that the mid-western meet will be 400+ cars and the western meet will be 200- cars. The BCA has 1 National meet per year. So, in comparison AACA has shown a pretty strong commitment to the Western Region. Al

Howard and Dan We missed you and Judy and Judy on the Founder's Tour but know it was unavoidable. Glad everything turned out healthwise OK. That trip up to Estes Park in Dan's 14 Buick is still one of the most fun things I have ever done! My high school students hear about it and are surprised that any one would drive a car that old on that long a trip. They think it's WAY COOL!!! and are shocked that an almost 100 year old BUICK can cruise up a pretty rigorous climb with the style and reliability that makes a BUICK a BUICK! Howard-water's density depends I believe on it's mineral concentration and it's altitude above sea level ( think I learned that in a physics class somewhere . Like any liquid when poured out in an environment where it will remain a liquid, water will eventually form uniformly thin sheet of water. Maybe you've locked the gates to WY but the mid west and the east are moving into Phoenix, Tucson and Vegas in thousands of people per month. But as you know, AZ, NM, UT, and sort of CA have developed so differently than MI, OH, PA, FL and so forth. How to increase participation in the West is an incredibly tough question. It's like how do we get more young people involved in the hobby. The power of this forum is we can all share ideas and maybe out of pieces and parts contributed by many of us, AACA leadership will find some things that prove useful. The west is DIFFERENT. I absolutely agree. There are things we probably cannot change, and things we probably should not change but I do think that it will probably take a different type of logistical support from National to 'grow the west.' I don't know what that looks like. Not only have almost all western meets in the past 10+ years been hosted by the chapters that I mentioned yesterday, many of the folks that have stepped up to the plate and taken on the jobs are largely the same people, every show. There is going to come a time when Hannah and Whit, Frank and Helen, Erik and Belva, Bill, Howard and Judy, Dwight and Fran, Dan and Judy and many of the other folks that westerners will recognize won't be able to DO the jobs they have done for meet, after meet, after meet. And, they often would love pass their knowledge and the job on to a new person but there aren't any takers. In an eastern chapter of 100-300 active families, when 1/3 of the membership helps ( or even shows up ) for an event that's a lot of help and a lot of experience. In a chapter of 10-20 active families that's only 6 to 10 people to do a heck of a lot of work. So, many of the folks that volunteer once, just won't do it again. Growing up in Akron, Ohio, from Mother's Day until Labor Day, I could pretty much attend one ( sometimes two ) car show each weekend located within 60 miles of my home. Every little town had some type of annual car show that would draw between 100 and 400 cars-some modified but most stock. Most of the time the drive out was all 2 lane road or country highway. And, as I recall you didn't see the very same cars at each show. It's very easy for someone to get hooked on the cars, the people and happen upon a car to buy, happen upon an AACA member ( or a herd of AACA members, or BCA members, or POCI members, or ??? ), start socializing with them at shows and get involved in their local chapter. Inter chapter/inter region friendships flourish because so many active people saw each other so often, even though chapter/region members of a give region only had responsibilities for one event. Building participation in the West won't be easy, and it probably won't be a result of one thing. It'll take some trial and error. The West is DIFFERENT. We have huge population centers, separated by miles of a sometimes hostile environment. I agree that anyone in the west that goes to meets is aware of the distance but I'm not sure than many of the eastern folks are. I love your Hershey example. And, when you go back to Hershey from Cheyenne everyone from the east recognises "wow that's a long trip." Probably following with " I really want to take a trip out west someday but it's such a long trip." But, I bet many of those same people would not recognize that the trip to the Western Region Fall Meet in Santa Rosa is virtually the same trip as Cheyenne to Hershey for both Howard and I. Even though I knew about the distance, what really brought home to me in a very personal way how far that 1000 miles to a meet is was the analogy to Vero Beach. Like everyone else in the Rust Belt, my family went to FL ( Vero) for winter vacation. Even someone desperate to get out of the cold and snow would be thought a little odd if they decided to leave NE OH Wednesday morning, driving even a modern car, arriving in Vero Beach either late Thursday or early Friday; spending Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon on the beach. Then leaving FL either Sat Night or Sunday morning to be back at work in OH by Tuesday morning. Even odder would be to leave Thursday morning, drive all day Thurs/Fri, enjoy the Beach on Saturday and head back to get to work on Monday. It would take a really good salesperson to sell this "vacation" to a spouse or family, especially one that doesn't like the beach (car shows, or car tours or other car events). But that's exactly what Western Region members must do if they want to be active. Some of you know the Buick National was in Dallas Texas this year. That's 1000 miles from Tucson. A very well known, knowledgeable Mid-West Buick and AACA person who shall remain nameless and I were talking at the meet. He was very proud that he had driven his car around 1200 miles to the show. When I said "I drove 1000," his comment was something on the order of "but Tucson's out west." "You're just a couple of hundred miles from Dallas." He truly had no clue that there are 700 miles of TEXAS between El Paso and Dallas plus 300 miles of AZ/New Mex between Tucson and Dallas. The Tucson BCA Chapter had either 13 or 18 members at the Dallas meet and that was the second or third largest chapter contingent their after the host chapter. A very common reason why BCA friends did not come to the Dallas meet from the mid west was " It's too far." OH/PA/IN to Dallas sounds FAR to someone from the midwest. Tucson to Dallas sounds CLOSE to the same people. I am very grateful that the AACA folks in Santa Rosa stepped forward to host a meet. The same for the BCA Dallas folks that also stepped forward to host a meet. I truly hope the rumored Denver Dual Grand National/National happens in 2005. My comments are NOT intended to be a cricism of the members of any of these or any other regions. I can't go to Santa Rosa but I'm hoping the schedule for Denver will work out. No matter where we live, "some" meets just end up being quite far away but in the western region, unless your own region hosts the meet, it's "always" at least a 500 mile trip, and "almost always" a 1000 mile trip. Maybe adjusting the months of the meets would help. California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada all have lots of desert to cross, as does west Texas. It gets HOT starting in May and it stays HOT until October. Monsoon Storms out of the Baja Gulf that sometimes actually bring real rain to the southwest deserts are very violent and often have lots of blowing dust. Think sandblaster. For Tucson let's call hot 100-101, and that pretty much describes late May through Sept/Oct. Heading toward California for about 400 miles, increase the Tucson temp by 5-15 degrees, heading east through New Mexico, drop it by 5-10 degrees-for about 400 miles headed toward TX, make it 700 headed toward Denver/Cheyenne. Yeah, I know, It's a dry heat Guess this would be about 10 cents instead of 2. Al

A link to a large american car show that occurs each year in Sweden was posted elsewhere on the forum. www.bigmeet.com Lots of 50's and 60's american cars, some modified, some stock.

Pete, The vacuum advance and or the mechanical advance might be stuck-not working. Could have bad plug wire since carbon cores don't show damage when broken internally. Could be stale gas/bad gas that just won't burn. Vaccuum leak? at brake booster or under carb. MTBE fuel goes stale quick and can soften accel pumps so that the work sort of but move enough fuel to cover the opening throttle plates. Is switch pitch working correctly on tranny? Any chance it's got double wall exhaust system. These were used a lot because they are very quiet, but the inner wall can collapse without the outer wall showing the damage. Bill

With respect to building participation in the West, both Howard and Dan have made some good points. I think we all know that distances are further out here in the west, but just for fun I did a little comparison between driving distances from Tucson, where I?ve lived for 20+ years to the National Meets in our region, vs the driving distances from my home town Akron, Ohio to other National Meets/Activities available within the same one way driving radius. The following regions have hosted multiple meets since 1988 and are included with their one way driving distance from Tucson rounded roughly to the hundred. If I?ve forgotten a region, I apologize. Cheyenne 1100 miles Laramie 1100 miles Palm Springs 400 miles San Diego 400+ miles San Jose Cal 1000 miles Denver 1000 miles Tucson, Arizona 0 miles LA ( 1 meet ) 500 miles Because of the distances involved, only a small group of people from any one of these chapters can make the commitment to travel to any of the other meets in the western region. And, it is those same people who travel to their neighboring meet who encourage their own region to host a future meet. The same folks have put on a LOT of meets in the past 15 years. The bottom line is that in the Western Region, even attending both meets in our region each year involves at least one trip of at least 1000 miles each way. Whether driving or trailering, vacation time, fuel cost, lodging along the way are high due to the distances. Now, let?s look at distances from my hometown of Akron, Ohio. Akron to Melbourne Florida 1000 miles. Akron to Boston, MA?600-700 miles Akron to St. Louis MO?600 miles Akron to Denver Colorado 1300 miles Within that same 1000 mile one way driving distance, from north east Ohio, I can pretty much get to every AACA National meet, in every region except for the Western Region, every year. So, whether showing a car, attending to judge, or just attending for fun and fellowship, a mid-western member may attend pretty much 8 out of 10 AACA National Meets every year without driving further to any one meet that many western region members have to drive to their ?closest? meet. Members in the mid-west/east have a lot more opportunities to get involved, experience a National Meet. So, meets back there are larger, etc?. Even dropping the radius down to 500 miles, still a healthy day?s drive in an antique car ( even one from the 60?s ) or in a trailer, still gives 4 to 6 meets per year to choose from. So, let?s say you are an enthusiastic AACA Member/Restorer/Judge who would like to show a car and hopefully have it be deemed worthy of an AACA First Junior, Senior and Preservation Awards. If all goes well, and the car wins each award on its first attempt for that award, it?s very doable for a mid-western member to hit 3 meets in the same calendar year without going over that 1000 mile radius from home ever, and often driving quite a bit less. On the other hand, the Western Region Member will very likely ONLY be able to hit 2 meets within that 1000 mile radius in one calendar year. So, that means at least a 2 year commitment for a car to get to the Preservation level where it can then be enjoyed/driven a bit more for fun, unless the owner wants to try Grand National level competition which means keeping the car ?perfect? a while longer. I know that some cars have qualified even up to Grand National First and Grand National Senior Level while being driven to all meets. I know some of the folks that have done it. But I think it is a fair statement to say that it is pretty difficult for a car driven any significant distance to achieve these successes. So, what to do. Now you?re going to figure out I do something with mathematics for a living. Maybe it would be worthwhile to look at the past 5 or 10 years, select some fairly active chapters/regions across the country and see how many national meets per year were within a 500 mile radius, or a 1000 mile radius of that active chapter/region. Yes-it is a chicken or the egg question. Does having a lot of National Activities within 1 day?s drive motivate more people to join chapters and get involved in AACA or does having large, active chapters encourage attendance at National Activities closeby? I suspect that the statistics will show that the average distance a western region member must drive to participate in a national meet IN THEIR REGION is significantly less that that of a member of any other region. Here?s a thought. There are areas in the western region that already have an AACA Chapter/Region that might be a good location for a National Meet but whose members just haven?t participated and so aren?t comfortable taking on a meet. The Buick Club of America?s Buick Driving Enthusiasts Division has an interesting way of planning their National Tours. The leadership, in consultation with active members, chooses where the group would like to go and if there is no one local to that area, a small group of experienced tour leaders visits the area, selects the hotel, visits the sites, plans and dry runs the routes. Let?s say that AACA BOD decides that Santa Fe would be a good spot for a National Meet since it?s a day?s drive for Tucson, Phoenix, Denver, Cheyenne, Laramie. Maybe Steve or someone else experienced in planning/hosting National Meets could fly out to Albu/Santa Fe, visit the local chapter or if there isn?t one, try to get the local AACA members to meet together to solicit volunteers for some of the staffing. Maybe some of the other folks that are active Nationally would be willing to be Chief Judge, registration chairman and handle some of the other jobs where prior meet experience is necessary. Yes, this does mean that National would be taking on a very active role in making these meets happen. And that would be a major change in the way things are done. There?s certainly no reason to do something like this for those areas of the country that have a waiting list of chapters wanting to host National meets. So????? Al AACA # 253060 BCA# 9160 BDE# 51

They must be having a problem with their site. Tried a couple other makes and same error. If it doesn't come back up Monday, you might try calling/emailing them to see when they'll have it fixed. Your other choice would be to call auto paint suppliers in your area and see if any have the color charts for 1968. I'd keep checking back to autocolorlibrary.com over the weekend in case they come back up.

If you post the paint and interior codes off of the body plate here, someone will probably be able to identify the original color and trim, if that's what you're looking for.

PPG's website www.autocolorlibrary.com has paint chip sets for most cars and most years of Buicks.

Keith, Guess that shows us 1. mistakes in numbering did happen on the assembly line or 2. in the Sixties, whatever the customer wanted, was built. or 3. ?? It will be interesting to hear what this car actually turns out to be.

The following numbers should help you. These are the first 3 digits of the VIN. All Gran Sports V-8 401 will begin with 446 All regular Skylark V-8 300 or 340 will begin with 444 All regular Skylark V-6 will begin 443 All Special DeLuxe V-8 300 or 340 will begin 436 All Special DeLuxe V-6 will begin 435 All Special standard V-8 300 or 340 will begin 434 All Special standard V-6 will begin 433 This information is from the 66 Buick Chassis Service Manual.

Did you try Lynn Steele Rubber Company www.steelerubber.com. I have their 2001 catalog in front of me. A quick glance shows quite a bit for 63-64 Starfires.

Since this is a 1978, I think you might find the information you want by checking either the United States Environmental Protection Agency or the California State EPA. My limited understanding of the rules of this is that any car brought into the USA in from another country must be brought into compliance with all applicable Emissions and possibly Safety standards in place in the USA ( at the time of manufacture???). California has had tougher emissions than the other 49 states for 40 years, so since that is your destination, the Cal EPA might be the folks to talk to. There have been articles on what is involved in doing this. I believe the cars are called "gray market" cars. Doing a search on the net on gray market cars might lead you to some information. These conversions can be very, very expensive.

These are being repro'd. Check CARS, Year One, Original Parts Group, Coker. All of them sell them. Wheel Vintiques or some one else in CA or OR is the manufacturer.

Mike, Original tire size was 8.45 x 15. That size is not available, even in reproduction. 225 70 R 15 is most likely smaller in overall diameter than the original tire size. Thus, more tire revolutions per mile along the road, leading to a speedo that reads a higher speed than the actual. GM speedos in this era used to read a bit high anyway. It is possible that a different speedometer gear in the tranny could bring the speedo closer to actual. Another choice would be to find a mechanic/speedometer shop with a rear wheel dynomometer. On a dyno you can then cross reference speedometer inidicated speeds with actual 55, 65, 70, etc. Be aware that sometimes speedometer error is not a constant thing so you might be 7 mph low at indicated 55 but error could be less at lower speeds. Good luck

I agree with the poster above. GM A bodies are great cars to restore, drive and enjoy. Many parts are available, especially for the Chevelles. Interiors are roomy enough for the family, as is the trunk and the gas mileage is OK. Why not check out the Chapters and Regions link from www.aaca.org and contact a chapter or region near you. Attend a couple meetings and get involved. You're sure to find a great group of people who enjoy having fun with their old cars.