dplotkin

My A5 still cools, but sounds like it is ready to blow up. I have ordered a A6. Anyone adapted this to an A5 equiped car? Dan

We used refrigeration oil, I think 502, a good A/C shop did the charge & added the oil to the suction side with a vacuum on it. Maybe that is the problem, oil not spread out? What do you mean by that? Dan

Yes, I added oil when I charged it in May. It got loud a little while after we pulled the compressor & flushed everything, including the compressor (and since finding out that you shouldn't flush a compressor), I did that two years ago. She blows 40 degree air, but the compressor housing gets cold, tells me it is leaking internally, valves are probably jammed. It sounds terrible with the hood open, but it almost cannot be heard inside the car. I figure she is going to blow one of these days. I guess a replacement compressor is in order. Dan

My 49,000 mile A6 still cools, but sounds like its full of marbles. I hear the A5 compressor is not rebuildable, no parts. Has anyone put the A6 on instead and does the existing hose set bolt up? How do you deal with the brackets? Dan

Hve you confirmed they are attached to the dash levers? Pull the housing apart & verify. When the cables froze, if forced they would break at the levers. I had this exact nightmare with my 60 Electra. Had to pull all the cables out, soak them & free them up, and put it all back. Dumb-[censored] design putting those delicate vacuum valves & switches in the inhospitable engine room, but hey, I wasn't yet born to ask. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> Dan

All you guys have been really helpful. I changed the oil & filter, put in 10W40, and it seems to have gone away. I think she wanted the oil changed. Unlike lesser cars, Buicks are so smooth & quiet that any little noise out of the ordinary stands out. Dan

Check Kanter, they say in the catalog that they have cast iron drums to fit. Dan

I have a 1960 Electra. I got it with 42,000 original miles a year ago. I've put 5,000 miles on it since (I love the car). The motor is powerful, uses no oil, runs cool & starts at the slightest provication of the starter. Lately I'vre noticed some tapit noise has developed, not terrible, but not there before. When I got the car the oil was clean, but I've changed it 3 times since, using Castrol 10W30. What might this be? What oil and/or additive can I run to keep her quiet? Dan

I am close by, let me know where the cars are, I'm happy to help. Dan ddplotkin@comcast.net

1). 1960 Buick Electra 4-door sedan A/C Power Seats Power Windows Tinted glass Door edge guards 2). 1963 Impala convertable A/C (in dash) Power Steering Power brakes 327-250 HP V8 Automatic trans Tinted glass 2 speed wipers W/washer dual sport mirrors 3). 1963.5 Ford Galaxie 500 XL "sports roof" 390 V8 (biggest engine with Automatic Cruiseomatic Power Steering Power brakes vinyl roof A/C AM/FM (first year) Motorola reverb Emergency brake warning lamp 4-way flashers Wire knock-off wheel covers hood ornament Dual mirrors Day/night mirror 1961 Plymouth Savoy 2-door Club sedan Sonoramic Commando engine option (413 with cross ram induction & 2 Carter AFB) Torqueflight automatic radio delete Deluxe heater Power brakes

Thanks guys. On a tip I had NAPA get me a Wilson rebuilt. A Fleet manager swears by Wilson & won't use anything else. Put it in today, seems fine. I discovered that the 364 & 401 use different starters, the 401 has extra coils and a different solonoid for more torque, although they are interchangable. Dan

Looks like I left my timing too far advanced for too long, and finished off my 45,000 mile starter. Who has a starter for this car, the parts houses don't have them. At least she's stuck tucked in the garage. Dan

I was coming to that conclusion myself, already do that fix with my '63 powerglide. Funny how I have a 63 cruiseomatic that doesn't leak...yet. Danny

What do you do for a leak at the torque ball on a 60 Electra? Dan

I got the car with 43,000 miles and no boots on the lowers. The lowers were worn, so I replaced them with a set from CARS. Those boots, not over greased, tore off in a couple weeks from insufficient clearence with the knuckle. Ordered a second set from Kanter, same thing. The joints are new, so I'll just keep 'em greased. Dan

A '60 Electra. Dan

I'm on my second set of lower ball joints, this set from Kanter, the first from CARS. The boots tear after about 700 miles, the clearence between the boot & the knuckle is insufficient. Anyone else having this problem? Dan

Anyone repop that rubber hose that attaches the blower housing to the motor case, has a 90 on one end? Dan

And the starter relay gets its ground through the generator windings which stops functioning as a ground as soon as its producing current, so that & the vacuum balls in the carb are the two failsafes to keep from engaging the starter on a running motor or leaving it engaged too long. Yes, applying throttle just as the motor lights off is not a great thing. Once you own one for a while you learn how to finesse the pedal to keep from over reving it cold, things not great for bearings or exhaust manifolds. Yet a good portion of the nailheads were built with these and the engines have a sterling reputation for reliability & longevity. Dan

Actually I did make it down, but I didn't take her. It was pouring. I was too embarrased to introduce myself. I want to go to that Cernack show, how many cars expected? Thanks to the other guys for your enthusiasm. I've got a Galaxie & an Impala, both restored cars that just are not in the same league. Now I know why the average guy 45 years ago aspired to own a Buick or Cad, the cheaper cars drove like cheaper cars, I could write a few pages in an analysis of the differences. On the freeway, the car feels like its standing still at 60 MPH. If you don't pay attention, you are hurtling along at 80. Unlike the powerglide or Ford MX CruisO, the Dynaflow gives the nailhead long legs, the car is content to cruise at 75 comfortably all day. I have yet to try that with the A/C on, but I bet wouldn't make any difference except at the gas pump. The 59 & 60 Buicks may be the finest Buicks ever built. I cannot say that any Buick that followed them was any better. For the most part, they got progressivly worse, turning into tarted up Impalas with enormous plastic dashboards and loosing their unique and smooth driveline, the Dynaflow & the torque-tube. These were world-class cars. Who made a better one? BMW? Not yet. Mercedes? They made very well constructed & engineered cars, but none with the room, ride, or power of a Buick. I do have to laugh at the styling over function, the exceedingly poor access to the rear seats, sunken floor wells & shallow trunk with narrow opening vs the over-all size of the car. But then consider that these cars have 4 tons of cooling in the factory A/C system, sufficient to cool 2 good sized homes. The frame could serve as a roof truss in a commercial building. Sorry for the dribble. But these are fabulous automobiles. Dan

Too bad that one was rained upon. I was so looking forward to having my 60 Electra there, now that I have straightened out the car and the factory air with all original parts except for the expansion valve is now blowing 40 degree air!! I have three other cars, but I am so in love with my Buick that I cannot even explain it. A guy lucky enough to have bought one new must have experienced the best "new car" event of his life. With 44,000 miles on mine, I get a slight idea of ewhat it must have been like to drive one home from the dealer. I love the 59 too, especially the fins & dash. But the side sculpture on the 60 is so much more interesting. Both cars are some of GM's best ever. Why someone would have bought a Caddy with that clunky hydramatic over a nailhead Dynaflow Buick is beyond me. Dan

Thanks guys. Turns out I was one of 28 winners out of 2,600 cars. I was selected by one of the sponsors, AAA, who thought it represented the car the AAA member of 1960 aspired to own. Sounds corny, but I'll take it. The car is running pretty much like new. Still don't have the A/C vacuum/duct valves working right and I am having trouble with the refrigerating side too, but I'm having too much fun driving it to tie it up in shops anymore. I'm also having trouble keeping ball joint boots on, dealing with that on Friday. Plan to be in Vernon CT, hope to see a few of you there. Dan

My 43,500 mile Electra sedan got noticed at Manchester Connecticut's Cruise on Main Street, one of the larger such events in New England. Must be because she was the ONLY 59/60 Buick there. Thought you guys would want to know that you don't have to drive a Chevelle or a GTO to win Trophy, an old-maid Buick pulled it off. Dan

I have a 43,000 mile untouched Electra with factory air. I have the manual & have studied it carefully. I now feel confident that I know how the vacuum and fan switching works. It is amazing how complicated this system is for pre-comfort control cars. Anyway, I need to pull my heater core, it is leaking, and then I need to get rid of what I suspect is ductwork filled with rodent nests. I cannot get any air flow out of anything, even with the fan on full tilt. Any of you ever worked on a 60 with air, or pulled the heater core from one with or without air, I hear the proceedure is the same? Dan

I need a 3-groove water pump pulley for a '60 Electra with A/C. Mine is bent enough to cause high RPM vibration, don't think the pump will take much of it. I have looked everywhere, called all the Buick guys, junk yards, etc. Can these be straightened? Was it used on any other car? Part # 1187732 Any one have any ideas for modifications, substitutions? Desperate in a '60 Dan