Aaron65

Make sure your distributor is advancing and your vacuum advance works.

I can't imagine it was designed that way...the head should be flat on the sealing surface. That stinks man...I forget, did you try pressurizing the cooling system? I think that's your next bet...go to your local big box auto parts store and rent a pressure tester. Hook it up to the radiator and pump it up to 15 pounds of pressure, and let it sit. If there's a leak, the pressure will go down and you may even see where it is leaking.

Lots to look out for...spend tonight on corvaircenter.com searching around for buying tips... New to Corvairs, How to buy? http://autoxer.skiblack.com/nallm/prebuychecks.pdf

Engine Torque Specifications for most Buick Engines Check this out...it looks like you have a '66 or '67 V6 in it.

Let us know how it turns out...if the intake was leaking, obviously change the oil...Did you use a manual to get the torque sequences right on the heads and intake?

I don't want to quite call this a victory yet, but I hooked up the above mentioned apparatus and drove the car probably 2 miles, and it's sat for about 4 or 5 days since then...no leaks yet. Hopefully it stays that way as I drive it more.

Good luck--we've all been there...some of us still are!

I know it's "only a 4-door," but I'd hate to subject that thing to road salt and ruin it in a few short years. I'd go in and offer $2500. If I really liked it, I'd go $3000. If you planned on driving it regularly, you might as well plan on rebuilding the carb and putting in a new fuel pump, and changing out all the rubber--radiator, brake, and fuel hoses, as mentioned above. I dig the color... I've always thought these would make great regular drivers in nicer weather.

I'm going to try this to see if it works. I got a 3/8-24 brake bleeder and washer, and I'm going to put it in the 2:00 position of the cover. I'm going to connect a hose to the bleeder, and hook the hose to a fuel filter to keep junk out, and run the hose somewhere out of the way. Where I'll run it...who knows? But I'm giving it a shot. That way I don't have to drill into the housing and take a chance on shavings getting in there. If this doesn't work, I'll probably install a vent in the cover.

When he put the real vent in, do you know if he took the axle out, or did he just grease a drill bit?

Thanks Willie! I thought I was nuts. Putting in a vent is a lot better than pulling the torque tube again! Do you know where he installed that Jegs vent?

I had the differential rebuilt on my '53 this winter. I don't have a press, and it didn't cost much more to have the shop set it up. I added new axle bearings and seals, etc. I took the housing over to the shop to protect the carrier on the trip over. Well, it's been back together for about 2 months now, and I took it for it's first longer ride yesterday. It sounds and rides great, but it has a pretty bad leak from the carrier to housing gasket. I tried pulling the lower bolt and wrapping it in Teflon tape, and I tried tightening the lower bolts a little past spec, but it still leaks. Pulling the torque tube apart for a job that should have been simple just stinks! A whole day wasted for the want of a non-sealing gasket. I think I'm just going to RTV it. I'd take it back to the shop and complain, but I've had the torque tube out of that thing so often that I know I'll do it right. Just venting... Speaking of venting...is there an axle vent anywhere on these things? I didn't notice one...

Is it running on all 6? Foam in the water doesn't sound good.

When I ran a 160 in my '53 Buick (no PCV system), the oil breather snotted up regularly...now with a 180, it runs toward the high end of the normal band on the highway in the summer on a 30+ minute run, but no junk on the breather.

My '65 300 traps the air something fierce when I do any cooling system work. Drill a small hole in the thermostat...then you can determine if you need any radiator work. With brown water though, you might as well plan on getting a new radiator or having this one checked and cleaned.

Wow. That's "backwoods" engineering!

Some '52s would have had hydraulic lifters, which, if I'm not mistaken, had an extra hole for oiling the lifters. It could be bleeding some off where it's not needed. It probably won't matter too much though.

I recommend Steve Lehto's book on the Chrysler Turbine Car. It has all you'd need to know on it. The book states that the import duties were the stated reason for scrapping the cars, but in reality, they tried to give them away to car museums, but very few wanted them. It would be like giving a car museum a Volt today. Additionally, they didn't want a bunch of Turbines running around with engine swaps, diluting the effect of the program.

If I found a 4-speed setup for my '65 Skylark, I'd put it in (especially if the automatic needed a rebuild anyway).

It's not original to the car. The 427 did not come out until 1963. The biggest engine you could get in 1960 was a 352.

There was a similar Dilbert strip about three years ago--I guess Scott Adams really doesn't like old cars! I wonder what they did to him??? Normally I like Dilbert...today's strikes me as a little ironic, considering the Dilbert character spent 10 hours in yesterday's strip checking his Facebook and Linked In accounts, along with watching "humorous" internet videos. Is that a worthwhile hobby? Am I a hypocrite for saying that on an internet forum?

David, I think he can skip the engine freeing treatment...

I remember seeing your car at Gilmore in 2006...I loved it! It looked like you drove it anywhere and really enjoyed it...

I love that you're saving an old car that had no chance at all... Looks great!

Why would anybody scrap that? God, some people are frustrating. That looks basically rust free. I'm glad you saved it and hopefully you can get it going or find someone who will.