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Well another Xmas has passed and hope everyone like me & my wife had a Happy and Safe Holiday! I'm sitting in the living room looking at the cat sleeping under the tree on the skirt now that all the presents are gone and thought I'd share one that my son and his girl friend were kind enough to get me. Not old but a nice wall decoration in the man cave

Here's one.... But not for sale. My sister bought this as her 1st car, ended up going to school at ASU, drove it out and back three times. Not a power house but once the valve cover gaskets were replaced didn't give any major problems for years. 2008 - Out of storage getting ready to trailer down to her home in Tennessee. 1977 - On our way to Mexico from Phoenix for a weekend.

That sure is! Especially with the Postal Service connection! I'll bet it has some interesting stories to tell? Here is a Model A that I saw this past September at Greenfield Village, Michigan. Merry Xmas to you and your Family Jim. Safe travels out there.

Wishing you a Buickfull Merry Xmas and a Happy new Year! Any more progress on the Limited?

Frank, I think most of your questions have already been answered by some some pretty experienced people here on this interesting thread. My experience isn't hands on but watched my father and now my son (24) with Dad's '66 Corvair then and now. Dad did his own body and paint mostly due to costs/budget issues at home in his garage. Body work/prep done outside (look at that mess underneath! doh!) End result - purely amature / presentable at 20 ft. Costs? not sure then. Today, work/prep done inside this time (same car/same garage) Note the amount of low spots (prep before paint) Dad did not realize it required to get to that nice finished look back then. Most of the car was like that and it took many hours of block sanding, primer build and more block sanding before my son thought he was ready to paint. With two coats of paint and only his second car painting project, has decided to wet sand and polish before saying it's time to put all the trim back on. The end result: maybe a 5 footer this time when totally done? Costs: misc materials & supplies, primer, paint & activator - approximately $950.00 Labour - started in early October almost 6 days a week till November 30th including taking off of all trim, taping Self satisfaction: PRICELESS! 89 and still going!

Thanks Ben, glad you're liking it. Because I treat my vehicles as a hobby and not a business (no offense to anyone in the business please) I learned early that every 'car' has a story (as told by it's owner) and I enjoy hearing about that and sharing when asked about mine. My truck is nothing special production wise, model wise, condition wise or has any historical significance but the twist in how it came to be mine, the experiences and the people I've met while owning and driving it are the parts of the hobby I enjoy. One particular experience that sticks in my mind is taking a fellow Car Club member with me in the '52 out to one of our Club events soon after I got her on the road. This particular gentleman has known me as 'the kid in the Club' and ironically it was his red 49 Ford truck I mentioned earlier that sparked my interest in a Ford Truck. His particular interest in cars was always to have something more of a Trophy Class and he did indeed have a variety of exceptional cars over the years but never any longer than about two years per car. He was never a snob or degrading of your cars but I thought it curious he accepted my offer to drive the 20 miles and back in my kind of Rat Rod looking truck on this occasion. The day was great taking the back roads and the conversation good. On the way home he says to me "You really enjoy driving your cars don't you". Uh ya, don't you? No.... I worry about getting a stone chip or something happening I guess. Knowing he could afford it I said, "Maybe you should get something that would be your driver and still keep your GOOD car for show too". Sure enough doesn't he get a 68 Mustang convertible that according to him wasn't restored just tip top and proceeded to drive it for almost 5 years. Sadly, due to his age he isn't driving now but did thank me for suggesting he get out there and enjoy driving something instead of looking at it parked in the garage. It's all good, to each his own.

Having dropped off the seat to the upholstery shop I decided to clean up the metal floor. Other than the passenger side floor pan, the cab was in good condition. After some wire wheeling, primer and black paint....

Even though the truck was not a fine example of a well preserved vehicle and displayed signs of hard use I was a happy camper and was content to dive in and clean her up as best I could. While pondering just where to start, after taking a few comments on the overall condition/look, decided to tackle the interior as my budget did not include a body & paint job just yet. First job was to take off those tattered looking seat covers and see what was underneath. Note the red shag carpet oooooo....That definately had to go! I could tell there was some red, what appeared to be vinyl from the torn sections but was surprised to see that it was the original material when new. With not much effort out came the seat which needed to have two seat springs repaired before recovering. Now to that shag carpet. Once pulled up imagine my surprise what I find near the drivers door? Sure enough! This was the same truck I had seen on the road about 10 years earlier!

Well.... I did get a bit of a chuckle from reading "another literary post". Having hated English class in both Grade School and High School seems foreign to be associated with anything so... LOL. When my wife read that however, she just had to say, "See, I told you. You have inherited your fathers penchant for story telling and detail!" So be it...... The one thing I have to admit here is this, a few have offered advice to new people in the hobby that it is better to own one car and concentrate on it than have too many and not accomplish much. Clearly I'm that example and with a recent issue this fall and with the help of one of my son's, plan on making some progress together concerning the Ford. So... The truck is stock to the brake drums. You can see from the previous pictures what appears to be chrome wheels and the front tires and back tires were different widths and radials. With all new brakes, new flex lines, two new rear steel lines, lightly turned drums, new clutch and pressure plate (in that box of goods), new cluster gear, four new tires (matching those on her) and a complete tune up (again found in the box of parts), with mechanics Safety in hand I was off to the license bureau. Not a show queen but running and mine! All this in about 6 weeks.

1920 Willys Overland Model 4 Touring (Made in Canada) owned since 1966

1928 Willys Overland Whippet Cabriolet 28 year amature restoration, From this: To this:

1951 Nash Canadian Statesman 80% original paint and 100% original interior with 103,000 miles NEVER WINTER DRIVEN SINCE NEW.

For any of you that have read my threads, "Changing of Ownership" listed in this section and "Me and My 1958 Buicks", listed in the Me and My Buicks section of the BCA, understand my long interest in anything automotive. I have found it helpful and motivating to post about my cars and hope you will find this interesting. My interest in owning a truck started when Dad paid for my membership in our local Car Club when I was 12. The Club had purchased an old Dairy Barn which used to house the horses and wagons and they rented space to members for their cars to help pay for the building which had a Club room up in the old hay loft renovated for meetings and functions. Dad kept his 1920 Overland there for a while and when he went down to work on it I would tag along and explore the three bays of cars there. As Dad trusted me, what a great time to be left alone taking in the vast collection of cars without adults around to watch you! A vehicle that caught my attention (among many others) was a fire engine red 1949 Ford F1 with a flat head V8! While not a 100 point truck it sure was something that stuck in my mind I'd like own some day. Fast forward to the early 90's. While working in the suburb's I spot a white 48 to 52 Ford truck parked on the street near one of my jobs. Looking it over and seeing it was truly just a driver, decided to leave my card as no one seemed to be around, with a short note expressing my interest if he wanted to sell. Never heard anything from that effort but will come back to this later. Move ahead to 2003. A group of fellow Car Club members and I are off early one morning to a swap meet and don't I spot a Ford truck parked on a lot near a Beer Store in town with a for sale sign on it. Man, couldn't get back soon enough to go look at it up close! Being this was on Sunday the Awning business was closed so took down the phone number and waited till Monday. I spent some time looking this thing over and could tell it had been sitting outside for some time and had no current license plate on it. However.... it was white, had two flatheads sitting in the box under plastic and yet with a complete drive train in it. As faded as the paint was and the seat covers as ratted looking as they were, could this be the one I saw way back when? It took a month of phone messages to the cell number on the truck and the Awning business before I finally met the owner and started to discuss price. In the mean time I started searching the net for similar truck pricing and looked at few listed locally before getting serious with this fellow. After a few conversations with my wife, I went back with a bottom line offer and he left me one of the spare engines (which turned out to be a boat anchor again due to bad storage) and the deal was done. I did get three boxes of addition spare parts (mostly used) in the deal and while loading asked him about ever getting my card asking about selling it years ago. Being a bit of a character, he said no he did not remember anything like that but this was one of three trucks his dad had owned and he had grown up with. Oh well. The truck started ok with a boost from a 12V battery but had it's original 6V positive ground system. Brakes worked OK but not strong and... as I was about to go up on the car dolly I had, doesn't he say that I should use 2nd gear as first had a few teeth missing and might break some more! OOHH K! Thank heavens the price was where it was as I suspected there would be a few hidden things to come! So off to the shop we go and with the help of my mechanic the journey begins. This is September 2003 and since it has been 10 years I have decided to post what it has taken to get here today and what my plans are for the future. As purchased condition. Note the spare (boat anchor) engine under the plastic. More to come.

My 1958 Buick Limited 2dr.... my 1st car when in High School ..... Waiting quietly for me and the sawsall ..... which I couldn't quite make myself get to this year .......

BOY DID YOU EVER GET HIT! We had 8 inches here (south of Detroit) in total. Being the first major snow fall of the season, way too many white knuckle drivers out there! A friend of ours managed to drive his all wheel drive Lexus into a ditch head on thinking he was turning onto a road which actually was 100 yards further up. No one was hurt but he needs a new front tire and that fancy front bumper replaced. I even had to tell my 86 year old mother to just stay home as there was nothing she needed that was that important. Wishing everyone safe travels out there. The beginning of the storm here.

So here it is December 14, 2013 and our 1st MAJOR snow fall! (8 inches) Not much accomplished as I'd hoped but..... 2014 resolution? In the mean time, everyone have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Truly enjoyed this video! Thanks for posting it! I went to a Meet in Flint, Mi in 2009 and saw this. At least four of those engines survive today. It was great to see the Packard Plant in it's day and alive! A must see for everyone!

Jim. I'm thrilled for you! Yes, some cleaning will indeed make / help her look to her potential! Even if you put a blanket on that front seat who knows / who cares. The paint (if it is original) might even clean up and give you that patina a black car of that age just needs! KEEP US POSTED!

Thought I'd chime in about Michelin tires, admittedly not about warrantee. Dad bought a 1986 Volkswagen Westfalia (camper) only one year old that came from the factory with Michelin tires. He used it for vacations only with various highway and secondary road travel. I don't know the mileage but he needed to replace the front tires eventually as this vehicle does wear the fronts more than most apparently. He chose another brand tire not thinking about warrantee being purchased used (probably more due to cost). After some years, on a trip to Seattle, Wa he has a flat somewhere in Idaho. He had AAA who towed them to a tire shop. The tech noticed the flat tire brand and said he was familiar with these campers and recommended Dad go back to the recommended Michelin tire for this application. He explained that the less expensive tires did not have the design characteristics required for the unique handling and weight distribution of the camper. Kind of like a car tire on a 3/4 ton truck, will fit the rim but how safe is that? He paid the price, had two new Michelin's put on and made it out to Seattle & back plus many, many more miles after with no issues. I'd like to think had Dad had any issues with a tire, given he put on the recommended tire size and brand, that Michelin would be as honorable as Bigdog's experience. Dad finally sold the Camper just before he lost his license but has made it across the continent, coast to coast and north to south, mostly on correct sized Michelin's.

THANKS DAVE for that clarification! With a life time of ownership I know I still don't know everything about '58 Buicks but with the help of this Forums someday, who knows, I just might be able to say that. The saying 'Your never too old to learn' applies here. In the mean time, I sent you a PM.

It's my understanding (since mine never were working) that by pulling on the cable that it allowed more air to the rear bags and would therefore raise the car to compensate for varying loads. It is actually called the Height Control Valve. A good idea in theory but the technology just wasn't there yet.

The Whippet might be a '28. With that double bar bumper it could be a '27. Mine is a '28.

Technically not an Old Gas Station as it it a recreated one but.... It has been shelved with a great collection of original auto parts, wood floor in the office and old time garage repair equipment let alone a restored gas pump.

Dave, If you come across that conversion kit Instruction sheet, I'd appreciate a copy if you wouldn't mind.