imported_buick5563

Brian, I imagine that if the first car you showed were to go at Barrett-Jackson or Kruse it would actually go higher than $65,000. Even though ebay is a really good place to sell (and buy) I don't think the big money really comes out until a live auction. It seems from what I have seen of live auctions the crowd gets into it and excites the buyer, and possibly the thrill of winning in front of thousands is an ego boost. Maybe I'm wrong. You are right that both of these cars while, with different end results, are probably benchmarks in high quality workmanship (and in the case of the restored car, price). People do want to buy customs but one problem with them is the modified car needs to meet the prospective buyers taste. I assure you I don't want to start the mod debate (or ranting), I just wanted to chime in. Mike

Bill, You definitely have to look around. I know here in Austin (city limits) there are a lot of places that actually make you drain your fuel before storing a car. One friend who rents a space (where the owners don't make that demand) costs $110 a month. That's cool for a "show" car but I know I wouldn't want to store a car there that I wanted to restore later. I know I "need" more space though. Mike

Me too. Whodathunkit? Mike

Budd, The Renu guys use a brown substance on the inside of the tank, and a black epoxy-like coating on the outside. Just make sure they do whatever body work you want done, cuz like I said they didn't straighten mine. Mike

Budd, From what I understand, from Willie Pittman, the tanks were galvanized and nothing else was put on them. When I got my car twenty years ago, there was undercoating all over it, but it supposedly came nekkid. Like I said my tank was a mess so I got it renu-ed. I tried the do it yourself stuff and it peeled off in sheets before I even got gas in it (luckily). I don't know if you would get points taken off, even at a National because supposedly they don't look under your car that thoroughly, but I haven't ever had this car judged. It will be this year so I guess I'll find out. Talk to you later. Mike

Hey Robert, I assume you were asking me. I used a company near Houston that was a Renu dealer. I painted the outside silver to mask the fact that it had been messed with. There isn't supposed to be any coating on them at all. Mike

Lamar, You need good wipers. Or Rain-X. Or both. Mike

I'm not sure to what degree your restoration is, but even though Renu work great (and it does), it doesn't look right at all and the guys who did mine didn't bang out all the dents first. Mike

How come every time I see Willie writing about what somebody else should do to their car, I know the next time I'm near his home I will be doing it on my car while he drinks coffee? Mike

I'll go check my garage..... Mike

Hi guys, I just received a carpet for a 55 2 dr. sedan. It didn't look right to me so I checked it against my old (rear) carpet and sure enough there weren't the cutouts that apparently are on the hardtop version. One question I have is mostly for my info. What is the cutout for? It's about 1 1/2" by 14-18". I assume it's for stiffening the body but what's inside? Also do I need to send the entire carpet back or (correct me if I'm wrong) isn't the front area carpet the same on hardtops and sedans. Does anybody have both? Thanks, I need the answer before I get the sendback UPS form. Mike

That seems to be true about the same brand wave even down here in "friendly" Texas. I really don't want to start a ruckus but somebody driving an old Camaro won't wave at my 55. The other thing I'm kinda surprised about is that we have alot of Biker Rallys down here and the bikers NEVER wave. Not once. Even when I've got the top down and we make eye contact and I wave first (or thumbs up). I agree with Dave that we are ambassadors and we have to be (almost overly) nice, so I'm not that concerned about it. I'm just happy when I'm driving one of my cars, so I smile easily. Mike

Shoot, every one of the old cars I have ever owned has started as a beater. Mike

Hi Paul, You can DO anything with enough time and money. A 64/65 swap will be easier because of the same motor mounts and accessories,etc. Remember you will also need a different gear indicator for your new PRNDL setup. For a while I wanted to lift the body off of my 55 and put it onto the body of a 69 sport wagon because the wheel base was within 1 inch, but: A) I'm not an engineer, Jesse James, or C) any other Discovery channel dude, so I opted for the "easy" way out by rebuilding my engine and pretty much everything else. You will almost certainly be better off in the long run buying a beater 64/65 Riviera for $1000 bucks and stealing anything you might need. Good luck, I hope your girlfriend knows your country of origin isn't the worst of your problems Sorry, lot's of Irish friends growing up. Mike

Rod it out! Rod it out! Mike

Hey Roberta, Can you really not have a Mustang or is it a keyed in the parking lot thang? I think the new Mustangs are pretty cool. I don't have a need for one, but it does look like somebody tried. Maybe it would make somebody higher up the food chain think about it if you showed up in a competitors car. Just curious. Mike

Bill, I agree with the $10-15k mark, but the 46R isn't a sedan, it's a hardtop, so probably slightly on the higher side of your estimate. The A/C could be taken out if it's an under dash unit (to satisfy tommy1927 ) but I like it better than the plastic vintage-air units they sell now. Of course, it's what the market (ebay) will bear. Mike

Jeez Willie, I thought you were just supposed to make up stuff if you didn't know about something. I guess I'll never post again. I'll just leave it to NTX5467. Mike

I promise I'm not trying to undercut you Jim, but I bought a set of 15 X 7 wheels for my 63 Wildcat that didn't fit. I bought four tires and had them balanced ( really straight, not many wheel weights) I have the 15 X 7 set if you want them for $150 plus shipping (about $50). They aren't perfect but they are nice and have center caps. I don't remember if they had any curb rash, I think the chrome was really nice. Mike Middleton buick5563@grandecom.com

Smaltzie, I'm up here in Austin and even with all the rain we've had this year I would personally recommend keeping with the original. First of all it won't look "rigged" even if you hide the switch. I grew up in DC with much more inclimate weather and I bought my 1955 when I was 18 (not that stinkin long ago). As a matter of fact, the traffic in Houston is probably as bad as it was 20 years ago in DC. The wipers honestly were the least of my worries when it was my driver. I made sure the brakes worked and that I had good tires, this seemed much more important. Her 56 will do great as a driver, these are cars, I started having much more problems when I bought my first truck and stopped driving my Buick everyday. You can disconnect the wiper motor in probably ten minutes even if you have never done it before (three screws and a vacuum line), box it and send it to get repaired. Good luck, Mike

A 401 would be good too, then you could stay old school with offy valve covers and other nailhead dress up goodies. Mike

Holy smokes, I'm glad I don't have to deal with snow anymore. Mike

Hi there, Wiperman will rebuild your pump including a new inner bladder for $75 plus shipping.I can't remember if it is a one or three year warranty. That leaves about $105 for Rain-X. Mike

I grew up with an accountant for a dad, so I wasn't tooling around at a young age either. After doing hundreds of things over the years with the help of my well worn shop manual and some patience, I have rebuilt the engine in my 55 (with help from a knowledgeable accomplice)... but I did pull it and rebuild it and it runs great. One other thing to know...something that took me years to learn, is that even having to do something twice because you messed up the first time is cheaper than taking it to a mechanic(more fun, too). I fooled around with my Wildcat's power steering pump for months, first replacing it when I put a new bracket on, then trying to replace it with another un-rebuilt unit, then sending it off to be rebuilt, then putting it back on. The third time I put it on I had the broken one off and the new one on in under 10 minutes without spilling a drop of fluid in my driveway. I learned it by repetition. My point is, don't get frustrated if it doesn't work the first time. Walk away and try again later. If you throw your wrench, you'll have to do body work or learn to replace glass . So many systems on older cars are really quite worker friendly and if you take your time you can have the satisfaction of bragging on this forum (and to other friends who truly don't care) that you did it yourself. Cheers, Mike

Hi there, I wanted to bring this thread up again to pass on a rebuilder who did my pump. Chip at Power Steering Services Inc. rebuilt my 1963 pump for $110 plus $10 for shipping. It works great and now I don't have to muscle the front end of my big cat manually. I had heard about other "classic" rebuilders and his price was the best I found. Check "powersteering.com". Mike