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Have heard some can be rebuilt installing new seals but no experience there. The ones on my '58 Buick were a crimped type so bought NOS ones at a swap meet way back. They will need to be replaced soon (it's been a long time and use) and the last price I looked up were $150 US each... then I probably should replace the hoses too. Keep us posted. I like the fact you can drive your car while making these upgrades.

Hey Keith thanks for your thoughts. Yes I want to get back to the Buick's soon too! The license plate on the Special is from 1972 which I will post a shot of later when I find a good shot of it. That was when I registered it in my name and was the last year in Ontario that we had to turn in our old plates for new ones. In 1973 the Province started the "new" stickers in an effort to save the plate replacements. I believe I have the 1971 plate that wasn't turned in somewhere, but with all the cleaning/packing up can't put my hands on it right now but know I didn't throw it out! Dare I say that's the kind of thinking I got myself into with this moving out situation saving things.....

Yesterday I tackled moving the spare motor for the Overland with help of my block and tackle. Could have used some help to guide it up the ramps as it wanted to drift off to one side but got it loaded slowly. With no room in the sea can or the storage container I took it over to Mom's to put in the garage. She was out somewhere so backed up, set up to unload and tucked it in beside my sister's '66 Corvair. I then made a trip out to the sea can and after cleaning up a mirror that got broken due to a tire and rim that fell over on it, I head back to continue more cleaning out of the garage. I've mentioned before that the rules of the road seem to have been rescinded since the pandemic and sure enough don't I see this on the 100 km/hour roadway that takes one to the International Ambassador Bridge. It's this kind of thinking that doesn't help with the frustration people have to deal with. Where is a cop when one needs one?? 🤨😏🙄

I hear you John and it seems to be accelerating more than ever!😒

Don't forget the Limited series has a longer trunk than the other series Lance. I don't have the Special home right now but do know there is less room from the spare tire to the bumper in the Special than there is in my Limited. Then I'd bet you will find the Special and Century series is narrower than the upper series model. Sorry not being much help but wanted to point out what you might need to check before buying something which might not be quite right for your car. Care to share a picture of your car? We all love pictures and it helps keep your thread near the top of the page.

Curious about your supplier Gary. Would they do wood spoked wheels also? The Overland has a wheel that was creaking making me wonder about it's safety going down the road.

Spent till 11 pm yesterday and will have to unload the trailer before heading back today. A few more days I think and the move out will be complete...

Actually Bill it might be something of local terminology but yes the current 155 ft frontage is able to be "split", in normal cases, to a minimum 59 ft lots in this area. Lot's currently are running in the area of 200,000 for an unfinished empty lot so can understand the owner going through the efforts to recoup some of his rebuilding costs that way. We looked at this many years ago but a good friend of mine in the industry said to me then that is was about the bottom line at the end of the day for the efforts and time it would take. Having a young family with education cost and the times, just wasn't going to work for us. The current change with housing/real estate values this past year has people gambling on future returns. Go for it, I'm dealing with enough right now.

I sorted some picture files this morning and while looking at them to place in some kind of order, thought I'd share just what this move started out like. From exactly 2 years ago this month (2019): And today: My understanding from the owner is that by July of this year the garage will be demolished and the lot will be severed for him to build a new house. He found out that the severance is going to be 2.5 feet short of the minimum requirement in this area so he has to go through a Variance Procedure and if one person objects he will loose his 1,000 non-refundable application fee. Meantime he has almost totally gutted the house on both floors including the attic ceiling to redo everything new. It's been interesting to see along the way as with having been built in 1908 this process has revealed a lot of history like the original knob and tube wiring, some of the reconstruction that I heard went on in the late 50's and the fact the lumber is FULL dimension 2x4's and so on. The work being done to the house well, that's fine for anyone who has that kind of time and money but the garage, Going to be so sorry to see that go... What these pictures are doing for me is reminding me of what NOT to let myself do again with the garage at home!

For Red Friday: Hoping to recapture those ice cream drives again soon...

Fortunately this time of year most snow, even 3 inches, didn't cover any roads so no issues travelling around town. The wife and I had a 9 am appointment to get our vaccination shots and found it quite organised therefore somewhat quick. With the 15 minute wait afterwards and reading the two page typed things regarding the vaccine, I headed back to the old garage expecting it to be cold inside but the sun was warming things up to a comfortable level. I can honestly say I see an end to this clean out soon. Have been so blessed with the new owner generously letting me not have a deadline! Had two surprises while checking things out in the rafters. One was a heavy box unmarked and once down found these. The other was this large cardboard which I was actually considering leaving up there for the tear down. Good thing I checked as it was a set of kick panels for the Special @Lancemb had sent me!! With a gusty wind all day the snow fell off the trees and melted once on the warm ground. Like you stated Lance, we are soon out of the last signs of winter. It's good to see the Limited clear of snow again.

Not sure if I should wish everyone a Merry Xmas again or not?

Happy to say as of today 2/3 of the garage is now cleared of items that needed to be packed up and moved out. I needed to make a trip out to the sea can but... by 3 pm it started with snow flurries and shortly after was building up on the grass making sure things would be wet before I got unloaded so went home to cover up the lawn mowers and hope the weatherman is wrong this time. Expecting 2 - 4 inches and freezing temps. Not what we were looking forward to with May just around the corner.

Decided this morning to start the week with something special. No not my Buick Special as the forecast for Tuesday night into Wednesday is for somewhere between 2-4 inches of SNOW!!! Climate change indeed.... Anyway, if you have been following along, back a bit Buicknutty came and picked up the other motor I said he could have, helping me make more space in the garage here at home. After cleaning up and taking a break he says that he has something for me. Seems he has many trees on his property and makes home made maple syrup and handed me a nice bottle of his work to sample. Dare I say, HMMM HMMM GOOD! Thanks Keith, it really hit the spot!

This weekend I managed to find my 1" wrench to take out the speedometer gear in the transmission. Naturally it took a bit of a tap like everything else on this block. I cleaned it up on my wire wheel and came up with this information. Not sure if that helps further identify the year or not? It cleaned up nicely and rotates fine.

Damn that's a stylin' front end!

Appreciate the suggestion but no I can't unbolt the transmission since with the motor being seized, will not allow me to rotate the crank to access the bolts on the flywheel, so it would be one big tub and allot of fluid to be pumping into the block. The other fact that it is an earlier nail head than what I have just isn't going to be worth my time to save it. Storage space and dollars involved to rebuild if it did free up well, is also a challenge being in the 4th quarter of my life.

Not sure just what someone was thinking where they stored this motor???

With nearing the end of cleaning out the old garage, one of the things I have to deal with is a Buick motor & transmission that was seized when I got it and hence the trany is still attached. It is not useful for my 1958 Buick motors and it's condition is none to promising for a rebuild given all the rust. Decided to take off as much as possible (not sure why...) and then dispose of the block if I can't get it to turn. It's pretty nasty looking outside. And NOT much better looking inside. I have not been this dirty since wrenching on my 50 dollar cars while in High School. 😱

As stated above, continuing to dismantle what I can and today I managed to removed the starter but man, was that inside lower bolt a bear!! Had a heck of a time getting a wrench on it properly and to apply enough force to loosen it's grip. Finally found a wrench that would go on and lying on my back managed to hit it with a hammer till it let go. Then I decided to remove the motor mount and bracket. Another awkward rusty bolt but persistence paid off. Then went at the bracket, the mount had to be removed first for access to the three bolts in the block and... surprise! The lower bolt near the cross over pipe apparently goes into the cooling passage as water gushed out of the hole!! Looking at the mess wondered what I'd be faced with trying to loosen the exhaust manifold bolts looking at the rust around them. Surprisingly the french locks were not bent over and after putting a wire brush to the bolt heads I grabbed my enforcer pipe and put it on my ratchet. Managed to get them all to snap loose without breaking any. By now it was getting late so will leave it as it is for now. Hope I get lucky with the cross over bolts into the manifold...

I see just now you posted after I left today. I don't have anything in the way of reference material to help out with this. Maybe if you reach out to Buicknutty he might be able to advise as it was he who suggested this motor was a 1956 322. I'm going to try and take off the speedometer gear anyway along with as much as possible but not clear why yet... Let me know what you discover please.

John, I found these in PM's sent to Buicknutty just now. Is this stamped number what you are looking for? Block casting number.

John, as to the model it came from I have no idea. It had been removed long before I was offered it. I can say that there is only one pulley on the damper so maybe that might suggest being from a lower series as I'm sure Roadmaster's would have power steering correct? Naturally I can't find the pictures I took showing the numbers you need but will let you know tonight as I'm going there later today. Would the transmission #'s help you at all too?

Took another hour to plug away with the motor today. Managed to clean off the valley cover more before taking out the bolts in order to lessen the crap going down into the block. Not sure why just not liking the thoughts of seeing that I guess. Once opened up I decided to take off the rocker arm assembly and then removed the distributor. After liberally spraying everything down with PB Blaster I was able with a gentle tapping on the casting and use of a screw driver to move the lifters and then remove them by hand. It's not looking too good as a candidate for a rebuild is it... The distributor shaft is stuck. Does this look like it might have been in a car that went into a river? Starter will be next on the removal list. Thanks Keith. Does the extra rust mean I'll get more if I scrap the block? LOL 😁 By the way, does the inside of the block you got look like this too? Just curious.

This motor sure isn't looking pretty and will be curious to see what I can inside. Surprisingly all the water pump bolts came loose rather easily. I figured at least two would have snapped off from past experiences. The water pump shaft is stuck and could not get it to turn even after removing the unit. Will be nothing more than a core exchange for someone. Pulling out that lower left hand bolt allowed some fluid to drip out. It sure isn't the green looking coolant I'm used to seeing. Pulled the rocker arm covers off and no wonder it's locked up. Guessing the roof leaked in the barn I got this from (or worse...). I also removed one bank of the spark plugs to see how they looked. Really not bad but not going to hold my breath getting it to turn over once I remove the rocket arms.... I called it quits heading home for a late supper. Will be up early to finish this weeks lawn work and get back to boxing up the garage collection then continue with dismantling the motor as much as I can.