Buicks Rule

Actually, the head sealed seams are very easy to duplicate today-IF the owner is willing to spend the $. There are a couple of companies that handle it. The red they used could also be off color which could be affecting the look of the car. The photos are not particularly good and don't show the car off well. They also don't actually show anything, as I said earlier. Dave-thanks for checking the CT book. I was too lazy to go over to the office and check it. Seems like Blue, Green, Red, Silver and ( yellow and white ) were it color wise on convert, along with 2 tones light/dark same color were it for convertibles. Piece of trivia. If you can find a DVD of the Lucy/Desi Comedy hour, the episode where Lucy goes to Mexico has the gang driving a couple of 58 Buicks including one Century convertible that probably has the white/yellow interior.

Don't think there was a black interior available on LTD convertible in 58. Red dash-red interior. If there was a black interior, dash would have been black or possibly black and white. Betcha the interior has been replaced with vinyl. Funny thing about those photos, none of them show any worthwhile details on that car. You know, the things someone who knew the cars would want to see before plunking down $$. The trunk interior might be questionable as well-can't see enough details to tell. Somebody might be getting a good deal or a big surprise. I think I'd want to see it in person before spending $40K on it.

John With friends like that, why have enemies????? I would hand him the bill for the top, the hubcaps, etc..... Maybe not make him pay it, but at least get through to his planet that you appreciate his help however he needs to wait to be asked..... Some people only learn when it hits them in the wallet. Others only learn when THEY get to bleed to repair it. My dimwit was brought over by a friend to see a freshly restored car with about a $1500 special sparkle weave carpet and full custom dyed leather interior. Yep-you guess it. Dimwit and her diet soda started to part company over the carpet. Dimwit moved really fast when it was made crystal clear what would happen to her if that glass that was tilted over the carpet spilled. Dimwit's friend is no longer permitted to bring ANYONE over. PERIOD. AT ALL, EVER.... I have a bit of a temper. We had another unrestored version of virtually the same car here at that time. Dimwit couldn't have hurt that but of course Dimwit didn't want to look at the 'old' interior..... The sad part is idiots like these make car shows more an ordeal than a pleasant experience. Few of us have the $$ to redo stuff to keep everything NICE. For most of us, finding the money to do a job once is hard enough but to redo it after someone else's stupidity is the last straw. Funny thing-the MOST respectful people I ever ran into were a couple of hard core bikers that were fueling up at a gas station where I had to put fuel in one of the hardly ever driven show cars. Grungy riders but bikes that were as clean or cleaner than the show car. They came up and ASKED if I minded if the looked over the car. One look at their bikes, told me that they would treat my ride with the respect they demanded of theirs..... And, they did. Oh well. It's more fun to drive the cars with people that you enjoy being around than to sit at a show and deal with the morons. Most AACA meets and other National/Regional club events are not problematic as usually there are enough club members around keeping watch, however local shows/cruises are a huge problem. The folks that invite people to treat their cars like a used car they are test driving at shows don't help this situation. The same idiots then treat ALL the cars that way and look offended when asked what they think they are doing. Oh well-display the car top up, windows up, doors locked. Then there's no problem. It does make it harder for the photo folks to take photos, but oh well....

Mark, Glad you came out OK and didn't hit her. That may have been what she was going for. It's called a swoop and squat-tailgate, dash by on left, dart in and stop. Then sue the insurance company because YOU failed to stop..... Unfortunately no matter the age of the collector car, behavior like this often turns a pleasant drive into an ordeal. It's one of the reasons mine don't get out more often too. The time, energy and $$ it takes to get something back into the shape it was in before any damage is precious.

James, The parts will certainly bolt on. Trim lines may or may not line up. But, the reality is that mixing model years will drop the value of the car significantly when you go to sell it. It's your car-do what you want. Just be aware that if things change and you need to sell it, a franken-Buick will not bring the dollars a model year correct car will bring. If you're doing a full custom then all bets are off. I know of at least one Franken-Buick near me that comes up for sale periodically. I've never heard of it actually selling. Good luck

Yes, the cost of gas will curtail my participation on some events. Whether driving the car or trailering, the $ cost and also the resource cost merely to attend a 1 day show is something to think about. On the other hand, I had to park the fuel efficient 99 today due to dead window motor ( down naturally ) and drive one of the old Buicks. Part won't be here till Wed. On the other hand, when it starts costing some of you eastern folks the $500-$1000 that western members have had to pay for years to attend a meet due to driving distances, maybe you'll understand why the participation in the west is low.

Honestly, you'd be better off keeping the 51 all 51. Mixing the two model years will lower the value of the car. A Super 4 door is not an extremely high dollar car, but all things being equal, a righteous 50 or 51 will bring more $ than any mixture of the two. After you check the cost of rechroming the 50 vs 51 front end, you might find out how much you like the 51. Good luck

Rick, Just proves if you fry it and cover it with ketchup, anything tastes good!

Come on Fran-share with all of us. Bet it's like scrapple, or sausage, or hot dogs, made from all the parts of the pig that NO ONE would eat if they knew what part it was.

Remember, what's printed in the Bugle is often 2-3 months old at the time it's printed. Board meetings happen every 3 months. Decisions DO get modified. Read the minutes from Batavia if you did not attend the Board or General Membership meetings at the meet. One of the purposes of having both meetings open to an audience and encouraging member comments at the meeting; not to mention posting them to the website, is to make sure that those members who want to know what's going on can do so easily. Since National's are pre-reg only events, the host chapter also finds themselves turning away stock cars whose owners don't "bother" to pay attention to the previous 12 months of registration forms. The BCAMD folks are still writing in pencil. When they realized that the rigid originality enforcement in Drivers Class was resulting in cars with helper cooling fans or 12V generators/batteries being declared Modified, they began to try to divide into 4 categories of mild to wild so that those cars that were denied the Drivers Award for what many of us would consider very, very mild and very transparent modifications would have a place to be welcomed and possibly compete for an award. READ THE MINUTES. That's why they are online. Chapters get a hard copy mailed to them, so if you're in a chapter, read them there. If you like, or don't like, what the board is doing, write them a letter or email them through the National Office. All board related correspondance needs to pass through the office so the club can maintain records.

Dave, I knew 57-59 Merc had it's own body/chassis/engines. Given that they didn't sell well and the Edsel issues, including sharing Merc/Edsel chassis/engine, I thought Ford did a lot more sharing between the 60 Ford and Merc lines. The 60 Merc is a very unique looking vehicle, looking very different from the 57-59's. The 61 Ford was still too fat but I think the 62 was legal. Probably same for Mercury.

Buicksplus--Read the Rules the Modified Division plans to use. Buick Powered and Buick Bodied seems a very common thread. Read the minutes elsewhere here on the forum where I mentioned above. I believe that the entry form for Modified Division for 2005 SAID BUICK POWERED only. Since the BCA National is a Pre-Registration only event, there is no on site show registration. So, he who registers and doesn't read the rules probably would and should be turned away. Just like cars without fire extinguishers. I don't know what's in the Sedanette on the cover. My guess is a Buick 350, 400 or 455. Seriously folks. READ THE FREAKIN RULES. They're online. Some of what people are fussing about just ain't gonna happen based on what the BCAMD folks are planning to do. One of the principals in the BCAMD has restored at least 2 cars to BCA Senior Gold level, with his two hands. They have also won AACA Awards as well. Another has been involved with the BCA since the very first, and frankly knows more about BUICKS built since 1930 than anyone else in the BCA. He is very generous with his time. Neither of them is going allow anything that HURTS the BCA to happen. I won't mention either name because they are both very modest and frankly, any one who looks for the facts of the situation will know who I'm talking about without the names being posted here. Whatever the BCAMD decides to do, it will be uniquely BUICK and with tolerance and willingness to learn from both sides will strengthen both sides of the BUICK hobby. It will also be BUICK focused. If we get more rodders to use BUICK engines, then maybe those of us wanting to use STOCK BUICK engines will have additional replacement parts to choose from.

For those who would like to know what the BCA Modified folks are actually doing, check out the thread under BCA Events that lists the BOD meeting minutes and General Membership meeting minutes from the Batavia National Meet. For Example-it is very unlikely that a 48 Roadmaster with a 350 SBC will be allowed. Buick Powered pretty much says it all-don't it! Another thing. The BCA Driver's class is being evaluated VEEEERRRRYYY rigorously as to originality. For example, adding an auxilary cooling fan to a 48 Roadmaster or even adding a Compound Carb manifold to a 40 ( came out in 41 ) disqualifies the car from the Driver's award. BCA Driven award is a get it/don't get it award so ONE strike and you're out of the running. There seems to be quite a will on the part of club leadership that such minor mods should immediately move the car into the "modified" class. Read the minutes. Learn what's actually going on. If you don't like it, attend a National Meet or board meeting at speak your mind at the Board or General Membership Meetings. AACA board meetings are absolutely CLOSED to the membership. BCA Board meetings are ABSOLUTELY OPEN.

60 Merc-probably not--same body as Ford. Lincoln likely as Imperial was too fat until Engel slimmed it down. I think Imperial was the last over wide to be built either 63 or 66 as last wide body.

If I remember correctly, no state law change to accommodate the fat cars. However, auto manufacturers were given the message that if they didn't voluntarily cut back the width, states could refuse to allow the extra wide cars to be sold in their state. $$ talks.

Many states have laws on the books limiting the maximum width of a passenger car to 80 inches. Roughly in the 1959-1963 era-different years for each manufacturer, GM, Ford, Chrysler all got into some trouble by making cars that were slightly over wide at 81/82 inches.

Lisa, The word DEPENDABLE was actually coined by the Dodge Brother's ad agency in the teens. Sooooo, pretty good connection between dependable and Dodge. G N Georgano's book Encyclopedia of Automobiles lists most cars ever built worldwide with a short historical blurb about each. It's organized alphabetically. You might see if your local library has a copy-it will likely be reference only--and browse through it looking for names that sound good and whose blurb makes sense as well.

Sad really; So sad; Actually tragic; That such a devout, nay sainted, defender of original and restored cars, should fondle a car belonging to another. So sad, shameful really But then bad manners always are! Those of whom the hobby shall always be proud, just seem to know, without instruction, the two things that offend and cause destruction; are touching someone else's spouse and touching someone else's car. Buhma Shave!

Tommy/Peter Scavone, Funny thing. I spent an hour on the phone with an old friend tonight that's heavily into original Buicks. Wonderful guy and fantastic wife. Real asset to the BCA, and to AACA. Part of our conversation was about the BCA modified division. Turns out I know 2 of the three leaders very well. Again, great guys. Fantastic wives. ALL, I REPEAT ALL OF THEM have been involved in the Buick hobby restoring to original, racing, touring, and now modifying. I've participated in a number of events with these folks, shows, tours and even some racing. Everyone has fun. Everyone gets along. Everyone respects each other's taste in cars, original, modified, full race, whatever. Sorry Tommy but from your posts, you just don't seem to be a lot of fun to be around. Have a nice life. Enjoy your cars and Airstream.

A couple things. 64 and 65 auto trannys are different. When the 401 was a current production engine, a number of different cams were available. Now quite a few have been collapsed into the one that is available today. The 64 Riv is also quite a bit lighter than most 59's, if I recall the weight's correctly. If the Riv has posi, it likely has a 3.23 whereas the 59 may have a 2.5 or 2.73 which would make a noticeable difference in acceleration between the two. The easy way to settle this would be for someone to do the calculation based on tire outer diameter, rear axle ratio and engine rpm. I think the nailhead gets max hp at 4800 rpm. I have not seen a BUICK document that shows a red line number, so I would use the 4800 as max rpm. The 'theoretical' top speed with engine running at 4800 rpm, could very well be that high IF the aerodynamics were right, it might attain it. But probably not in a head wind.

Lamar, Remember-more pages=more postage=higher dues Or only 11 issues of the Bugle and a Roster The Bylaws, SOPS and production info are already in slightly larger type. Like you said. It's a phone book. Please, please tell me you didn't sit down and try to read the Roster cover to cover After all, when we need it in an emergency when the car breaks down on the road, it'll be night so we'll have to find the flashlight anyway. Might as well use it to find the magnifier too.

Sid, For what it's worth, between the 55 and the 58, I would keep the car that is in the better shape. The one that you can use and enjoy with the least $$ spent in making/keeping it roadworthy is the one to keep. Having a car you can drive and enjoy will go a long way toward keeping you interested. If things are tough, it's very easy for that long term project car to always require just a bit more funds than are available to get it running. Also, should you find the car you want in the future, a decent runner will sell easier and bring more $ than a lawn ornament, as well as possibly providing a basis for a trade. Good luck

Swede--which route?

Snappy, Call her. Be polite, be kind. It's very likely that her husband dealt with all the car club renewals and she didn't get the renewal notice. After a death, there are a TON of things to resolve. It is extremely easy for something minor like car club dues to fall through the cracks, especially when the renewal notice is something rather subtle. Maybe the renewal notice got lost in the mail-who knows. Explain the situation to her and she'll probably be very happy to renew. Some clubs do have honorary membership procedures to recognize members who have made an outstanding contribution to the local club's success. Maybe your club would want to look into something like that for similar situations. However, it is a lot easier to set up the criteria in a vacuum without the spector of a particular situation being involved.

AMV is our web master Roberta's sister Alicia Vasilow.