60FlatTop

I'm glad to see my comments are read, even singled out. I wrote to experience the car for 20 or 30 years.. How long have the forum members owned their cars? I'm in my 38th year with one and my 16th with another. Even a year or two of doing the things that will be needed whichever way the car goes is not unrealistic or ridiculous. If fact it is pretty smart to schmooze up to that big ark before that long relationship with "My Mechanic" starts. My grocery money comes from a place other than cars and the long haul (I just looked in the refrigerator so I must be doing something right), the long haul, to the observant, is a balance between concept and details in all endeavors. Conceptually, to me, that car is raised on an orthographic axis in my mind and every layer of detail is apparent from experience. It is a big 1941 Buick limo with systems that overlap a decade and a half in either direction, a complicated car to a 1930 trained mechanic and relatively common maintenance for the mid-'50's guy.. But the concepts and details are married and inherent to the car. In post #25, above, Bright headlights, AC, modern stereos, and 12 volts are sure conceptually Silverado crewcab to me. They aren't 1940's Buick. Yes, graft the front clip on a Silverado was my comment, as well, two for two! The original question shows a disconnect between concept and detail merely in asking if there is a kit. One might be taken by the concept of orbiting the planet in a rocket and unconcerned with characteristics of certain O-ring materials under varying weather. Sound extreme? That Buick could suffer an end of life experience. Anyone who has paid an electric bill would be shocked to think of generating electric at $1200 per KW. I saw it. Details put the boss to sleep. So what is this '41 Buick? Conceptually it appears to be for accepted participation with a select peer group with a retro look and all the modern amenities. That's a whole different concept than what is sitting there today. The $80,000 + to "My Mechanic" ain't gonna sit well in the end. Better to look for a good deal on a $20,000 car in the fall when someone doesn't want to store their car. Or send me a PM. I'll sell you one of my cars.... oh, hell, the humor in that will get missed.

Ok, I guy who gave himself the name, Hammer, and writes about full throttle acceleration would, obviously, just wait until something broke and look for it during the imminent repair. Bernie

Buying the Summit Coker biased tires would have been my choice, well, it has been, a couple of times. You'll be happy. I wouldn't recommend taking the car to an alignment shop. You will walk away wondering why you did it. With a solid front axle the king pin inclination and the camber, for sure, are not going to change. And the alignment shop probably won't be prepared to fix a bent axle or spring if you have one. Toe-in can be set in your garage with a couple blocks of wood, a tape measure, and a piece of chalk. That gives you a chance to disassemble the links and get fresh grease everywhere. Disconnect each end of the tie rod and swivel the kings pins to be sure they are not too tight and don't have too much play. I have seen king pins so tight the thrust bearing cap on the steering box broke out and the steering shaft telescoped on the worm gear. Bernie

How much was the bill for the labor it was payment for? I guess he would have taken cash instead of the car. Am I being too logical about thus? Bernie

Any time you are working on an existing heater core it is a good idea to slice the hose along the length of the inlet and outlet tubes with a razor knife so you can gently peel the old hose away. I saves the damage that can be caused by twisting and pulling on the hose. Bernie

There is a little restaurant just east of Fontana on the south side of the secondary road (I just checked, might be Rialto on 66). It used to be painted green and the waitress was the only person in the morning crowd I knew for sure wasn't armed. Her jeans and top were too tight. If you got the owner of that Buick in there with the door locked you might hear a whole different story of its provenance. It's a stretch that The Biltmore picked up guests in a custom pickup. The LA chapter should be able to chime in on that one. "I" sell cars with a sprinkle of BS. I recognize it. Bernie

If you can't slide a piece of #10 wire through the hose it is probably delaminated. Bernie

Go to a human, stay away from bureaucratic websites. Take what paperwork you have, maybe a before picture. Go to a small town DMV. Stay away from a city office. Look helpless and a little confused. DON"T quote laws, regulations, and things it is their job to know. Slouch a little and don't look too tall. If you are a veteran, wear a ship or division cap. Hold your paperwork toward the clerk and ask "Can you help me get my old car licensed?" Open your eyes a little wider and slightly nod you head Yes. Always nod yes to every question. If you walk in the door and see four very sour faces leave. Don't approach if they show any negative body language. I have turned around and driven 30 miles to another office when I have seen that. And you always need to look somewhat inept and in need. If it gets complicated don't try to help, just keep nodding yes. When the manager comes out, takes you aside, and says "Let me help you." You will know it's going to be OK. My wife is a real rule follower. She gets frustrated with red tape all the time. I leave the house at 8AM and come back at 8:30. She asks where I went. "I ran up and got the car inspected." She says "You need an appointment for that." "No, YOU need an appointment for that." Here's a favorite

I sold a '36 H-T pickup a little over a decade ago. If you get a chance to look one over closely the factory conversion is about the quality of a home job. And the box ain't anything to brag about. I will see if I can find the old disk with some close up pictures. The truck I got had been disassembled for restoration and sitting for at least 15 years. Just the body had been removed from the frame. I brought some new bolts with me and the owner helped me put the cab and box back on. We put the fenders in the box. At home I put the fenders on with some new bolts. The guy I sold it to had it running in about a week. "Bolts not included. Restoration not required" How common is that story. Bernie

X2 on the good luck. I bought a project car last week that has the paperwork. I just plan to sell it, but I am licensing it in my name for a full transfer before I do anything. More of a comment for the other guys; don't invest much in something you don't legally own. The one I just got is about three pickup loads. Still gets licensed first. Bernie

I have four matching 15" wheels from a '46 Continental all off the same car.They are wider, designed for 7.00X15 tires. And a conversion to Bendix rear brakes that are a significant upgrade. Bernie

Still here, waiting for the hamburgers and macaroni salad to get dished up. I like what Matt writes. Look at his history, some good stuff. I did have a thought. How about grafting that Buick front clip onto a 6 litre Silverado crew cab?? Ta da, all done. Bernie

We used to call that "wiggle" sashay. It seemed to come from the rear most commonly and was an appropriate term. The belts would shift and show obviously. We also saw a lot of steel wires at the edge of the sidewalls. We sold a lot of casings for cash flow in a small shop. Radial casings were pretty much useless. Even if they looked good there was never enough rubber to buff them for capping. That's my experience and it followed right on the heels of the 2 ply discount store tires. Being young and impressionable they were sure a far cry from a set of Goodyear Double Eagle 8.20 X 15's. It just looked like "less" was being forced on the public. I don't think I hold a grudge, but I sure know how to resist. I resist them on the cars that ain't supposed to have them. I just inherently know that, but I'm older. Younger guys don't relate. Reminds me of a couple years ago when I took my son on a job meeting with me. We took the client out to lunch and he asked if my son was our company engineer. I knew he didn't come right out and say "Oh, you look young and inexperienced. You must be the engineer." Works that way with old cars "we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two." Bernie

Making the changes sounds fine, but don't rush into it. Do the routine maintenance on the original systems and try it stock for 30 or 40 years. Then if you don't like it move forward on the modifications. Bernie

I just pour the regular Mobil 87 octane with a touch of the corn. That all goes into a '48 Packard 288, a '60 Buick 401, a '64 Riviera 425, an '87 Buick 3.8. a '94 Chevy LT1, a '98 Tahoe 350, an '05 5.3 Chevy, a '39 Alley Cat, and a Kaw powered Deere. I think the important part is that I use a brand name gas, the tanker always says Mobil, it's a busy station, and I don't price shop. Seems to be a good plan so far. I do always make sure I take the long way home; gets everything all warmed up and keeps me adding fresh. On the aviation side, when I was a kid my Navy ship still had all the JP5 apparatus for supporting the first carrier based squadron of FH-1 Phantom jets. That was left from qualifying the pilots the year I was born, 1948. Bernie

60 MPH max on dry pavement or just pavement in general? Biased tires less than 15 years old work pretty good. The 8.20 X 15's were 2 years old in that picture. Bernie

I have blackwalls on my '94 Impala SS and my tractor. In the context of a 1963 to 1965 upscale car and 50 years is a long time to remember. But even a deputy in a small town would spring for the extra $12 (pretty close to two day's pay) to get the white walls. It's from an era when people wore suits to church or a funeral, something you don't see today. My old cars capture something of the values as well as the mechanics of their time. My "60 Buick was parked at my friend's funeral last week and a guy there, paying his respects in sandals, shorts and apolo shirt told me he liked it. Yeah, I stuck out like a Clipper tail light, but I knew he would have liked the Snap On 1/4" wrench tie clasp.

Huh? I thought 400 point judges hatched like spider eggs and were carried by the wind to every old car that existed. The sincerity and deep concern these self appointed judges have amazes me. One was at my house this morning. Bernie

That yellow truck made me think of of a blonde girl in my sophomore art class who still sucked her thumb. Funny I should still remember her. Bernie

Ohms law always works. The ignition coil will put out exactly the voltage required to overcome the total resistance of the secondary circuit. Most cars I have tested with an inductive high voltage pickup run from 4,000 to 5,500 volts, depending on the plug gap and the air/fuel ratio. That's a good way to find a sneaky vacuum leak. But it also shows the 30,000 or 60,000 volt super Batmobile coil isn't necessary. To increase the voltage you need to increase the plug gap. There is one time the coil will generate very high voltages. That is when someone cranks the engine with the coil wire off, like doing a compression check. The huge air gap of a disconnected wire will really tax the coil. If I want to crank without starting I always clip the coil wire to a ground. That eliminates the resistance, won't overtax my coil, and add another problem to whatever I am fixing. Bernie

7.10X15's with a little over 1" whites sits and looks right. I had been working in the tire shop since 1959 when the Rivieras came out. Blackwalls went on Ramblers, Falcons, Valiants, brown Ford wagons, and ferin junk. Blackwall tires denigrate nice cars. The whites on my '60 are a little too wide. It should have 8.00 X 15's. I have 8.20's. The first set of Coker's got me 11 years and 12,000 miles. I replaced them with the same. They are 4 years old now; probably put another set on it in '23. Bernie

I just saved your P-A picture to my custom Riviera idea folder, planning one last redo. Are those non-metallic Chrysler colors? Must look great in person. Bernie

Most of the cars are photographed with the same background. I would say that is a good thing. Bernie

I have had problems with ignition parts that used to be reliable brand names; Standard and BW come to mind. I even got a flatbed ride home a couple days after a tune-up. Echlin points from NAPA are all I buy now. And I won't replace a condenser unless it has obviously failed, then I only use and old stock one. It kind of looks like "price shoppers" drive the market. Bernie

I have seen a lot of lost cars. People find them in barns. I'd look in barns. B