60FlatTop

This was posted two days ago at the end of a tough winter. Yesterday the sun was shining, I got the Buick and the Packard out, no snow in the driveway. Please disregard my comments. Can we reword this song? Bernie

Look under the car! The little lady might have thought it was a great place to store the China. Not my wife, but I know who's did. Bernie

#9, good advice. Don't reply or antagonize the phishers, low life's, and Nigerians. Just let their emails float off to a black hole. They'll get you. It's a hobby to you, a livelihood to them. Bernie

Just thinking through the keyboard; if you cap off the heat tube at the choke element can you pull a vacuum on it? Bernie

Thanks for the reply. I remembered I had West's email and have the pictures now. B

Car show season is coming up quick. If you really want to learn the importance of British wrench sizes be sure to look at the exhaust manifold studs and nuts on a 6 cylinder F-head Rolls-Royce or Bentley when you find a bonnet open. Bernie

I noticed the lack of overspray. It is impressive. After having a new bumper cover for my Impala painted by a professional last summer I abandoned outside bodywork for good. Although it was too cold to get inspired to use them over the winter, I did buy the Devilbiss guns and a suitable air compressor. And I have a 40 year coach. A few weeks and I will be into couple of jobs. Same thoughts here, lacquer or urethane to start. I might give the base coat clear coat a try on my truck for the experience. Oh, yeah, I have a black bumper cover to do, also. Thanks for the reply and reinforcing my plan. Bernie

A?F stands for across the flats. That's a Brit way of designating wrenches. Then I have some BS wrenches, those are British Standard, no BS. Bernie

Here's the real deal teal. Torque teal just made me think twisted bird. Bernie

37 years for the Riviera and me next month. I bet there are a lot of forum members nudging that 40-50 year ownership level. The time goes by fast and I have a '94 that I expect to see turn 50. It won't be long. Bernie

The plastic clip may be brittle and can split in the channel. Mine did. After it split I split it into 4" sections and there was enough to do a good job. Bernie

It looks like my Walker. Here it is at work. In the late '60's and early '70's they were a free perk to garages that ordered a basic stock of Walker mufflers. That was the source of mine. I bought mine around 1990 and had the cylinder rebuilt by a hydraulic shop for about a hundred bucks. It is pretty standard stuff. I had paperwork at one time and it is rated for 3-5 tons. The two speed action is one of the best I have used. The height is real good. There is a plug for filling and bleeding. I might have done that once. It is all generic parts. The hydraulic guys will know the parts if they know what direction to turn a bolt. Don't call Sears. If there is still rubber on the casters, cut it off. It was a PIA before the term was invented. I have a few other jacks of various types. This one is a keeper. Bernie

If you have one of those electric parts junkyard store (ours closed a few years ago) you might try a 500 microfarad start capacitor on the starter to shift the surge just a little. It might help just enough during engagement. Along the same line, adding a capacitor (automotive condenser) to any switches; headlight, power window, wiper motor, and the like can extend the life of hard to find switches at any operating voltage. On that topic of better lights, when I work on them I usually solder a ground wire to the bulb housing and ground directly to the car frame. People have actually stopped their old car in front of me at a nighttime event and walked back to ask "What the hell do you have for lights in that?" I like West's idea. Is there a write up or schematic for the install in the forum somewhere? Bernie

Tell me about selling parts! People have learned to expect a cradle to grave guaranty and free shipping for their inspection. Ebay's delusion that buyers are their customers has done a lot to create that mindset. Does it affect parts availability? Sure can. My first collector level Cadillac was a 1969 Fleetwood that turned into a daily driver for my wife and was consumed by New York rust. I parted the big chunks and found a couple of scratches on the bumper. Not wanting a hassle, it spent 10 years as a nice bench. Eventually a guy with a '69 Caddy convert stopped by and was thrilled to find it; a good story to keep in mind when one wonders why they can't find a part for their car. Bernie

I did that when I was abut 40. I had 7 old cars licensed and in a couple of locations. I was extremely lucky that time. I sold the cars I wanted to divest myself of and was able to keep the ones I wanted. Usually one gets stuck with the ones they don't want and can sell what was supposed to be the keeper pretty easily. Insurance is where I lose my way. It is not very expensive so the financial burden of the "entry fee" is not bad for the next one. I am back up to five. I could sell three this year, maybe four. I spend about $600 to $1,000 minimum on each car every year. Avoiding that could be perceived as a savings. And I'd have the money from the cars. So you see five guys standing together and they each have a few thousand bucks in their pocket. How do you differential them? "Oh, he's the one who drives around in the '64 Riviera." Give that up and you are just like the rest. After 50+ years in the hobby I have learned one important rule. Logical decisions tend to lead to disappointment and are usually irreversible. Spontaneity makes me smile real big, like I am right now. Sell the ones you like the least and buy a couple you like more. Those are the cars that probably put that thought in your head anyway. I like the four I added better than the 6 I sold. And still kept THE one. Bernie

The one on my first '60 Buick broke in 1966. I was 17 and my Mother very carefully guided me through one of her flower beds to get it turned around. Only Mothers will do that. The dealership fixed it for about $90. They claimed I was young and hot rodded it. Bernie

How would one stereotype a graffiti artist who needed Buick green spray paint? Bernie

You have to be using an HVLP gun. What brand and model? Bernie

They fixed that in '60, using mirrors and magic. Bernie

B

I'm an easy hour away and we used to think nothing of hopping over to the Canadian side for lunch or a drive along the Niagara. The last time we crossed,the US border guard was such a jerk with an attitude we decided to leave him alone in his misery. That was 2011, seems to be working out OK for me. Sorry to give such news, Canada was fun to visit. Bernie

I bought a set of weatherstrips for my Riviera from Metro and the distance between the molded angles of the roof rail piece were too long on both sides. A surly person on the phone told me my car must have been in an accident and the roof had been shortened. I had to cut the rubber and make a joint. Bernie

Chrome is always costly and painted stuff that was supposed to be chrome always looks crappy. Take a run out to Medina and see what these people can do for you: http://www.barnesmetalpolishing.com/. I was happy with their work and prices when I was servicing cars in the '90's. They came under my radar last year when I bought my Packard. The chicken on the hood and the tail light bezels had been done by them for about $500 and I was, once again, pleased with their work. By June the winter rush for car work should be tapering off, Just guessing, $500-600 each should get the bumpers done and you might squeeze the guards in at that. I have a pile of stuff to take over during the summer, but I have been finding the pieces pretty reasonable on Ebay. Bernie

It was quite a few years ago that Clark's started selling Riviera parts and, as I remember, they became involved because they owned one. Maybe a better question would be posed to the potential vendor- "How did they work on your car?" Bernie

All of my old signs have a date code on them. Bernie