60FlatTop

Fifty years later the key might be going back to the original LaSalle II concept and borrowing something from Cadillac. I remember being somewhat disappointed when the last generation Riviera was introduced. I had expected to see the, then, new Eldorado body with a waterfall grille. This car has a much more integrated look that the Chinese concept and could get a Buick keyed 2014 make over that would be stunning. The recent concepts lack the sail panels that are an unbeatable feature of the original and help bring this Eldo together. I would probably own one if it didn't have the Northstar engine (system? as they called it). I have looked at some 1992's with a 4.9. To be completely chauvinist about it, the concept car reminds me of Zooey Deschanel. When I see a Buick I want to remember Lynda Carter! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LWcmlIbNhs Bernie

Still looks at lot like this: The Bentley doesn't have the extravagant showiness, glitter, and ostentation. It is more the classic enduring art form of my '64. Bernie

I just bought a 6 volt car and the previous owner recommended an 8 volt battery. I bought a new 6 volt. How could a new car dealership even got any money from customers, or anyone to even come in the door, if those cars didn't start well? Surely they wouldn't have sold any at the Buick, Cadillac, and Lincoln price range. If you made the bearing or rings too tight they can be reinstalled. If the piston skirts are dragging the 8 volt probably won't help. One of the shortfalls I see on these cars that grunt and barely start is incorrectly set initial timing or malfunctioning variable timing components. Is the initial timing set correctly? Does the breaker plate move freely? Are the mechanical advance weights free? If a cable attached to the chassis feeds back timing settings, is it in place? Is the vacuum advance tube connected to the right location and sealed? Is the vacuum advance diaphragm operational? Each of those questions reminds me of a happy person, kind of like the banker in the 1930's who bought his second new Buick. Bernie

George Ohm and I had coffee at Tim Horton's the other night and he mentioned his law hasn't changed. The secondary circuit will only put out enough voltage to overcome the total resistance. We figured the reliability issue was more holistic. The reliability of the car is directly proportional to the skills of the mechanic. My preference is to pull the distributor out of the car and change points on the bench: Then you get to check the vacuum advance, centrifugal advance, breaker plate bearings, ground and lubrication pad. You can check the primary lead condition and seal; all that stuff is in my paradigm and keeps me happy. Not only can one get a sense of pride from doing what others think are superfluous jobs, it is great to fix Lucas electric problems by directly applying Ohm's Law. Now there are two opinions that will be taken as backward. Just watch this clip and substitute pistol and rife for electronics and points: Bernie

I just showed the garage extraction pictures and comments to my son and asked his thoughts. He said, "yeah. that looks like a car that would show up here and one you would sell - after you washed it and polished everything." Then I showed him the Packardinfo comment on price vs. odds of restoration. The price would certainly be more from me. If a buyer does not dig deep enough into their pocket to make a real commitment to ownership of the project the odds DECREASE. I would be committed to ask a high price for the sake of the car's future. That philosophy has been with me for quite a few years. And I have had to suffer some added profit, but it has all been for the good of the car. If I lived closer I would probably scoop that car up at the bargain price. It would never be 3500 bucks again, that's for sure. Although I might throw in some rose colored glasses and a 20 year old ZZ Top CD. Bernie

That was a good deal. If any of you hear about me kicking the bucket, get to my wife quick for and equal or better deal. I gave her prices to move all the stuff and turn it to cash. Of course while I'm still alive they are pretty expensive. I've been reading the forum for quite a few years now and recognize what a lot of cars don't do. Mine have been mastered and are well behaved. Bernie

There is a good chance the original oil is in the car and still a whale oil base. It was the best transmission fluid you could get. Like refrigerants, the newer blends and synthetics are all based on second choice materials. Save the whale oil if you can. Bernie

I think most of the Opel owners feel more comfortable hanging out with Corvette groups. Bernie

Looks like a good car to drive and work on for the next 30 years or so. At the price you could dump it with minimal losses, if any, when it sisn't meet your expectations. I always figure for every $1,000 more I am willing to spend I came get about $4,000 of someones work. The formula would work out just about right on this car. Bernie

When I called he said he was busy watching the speed channel learnin' stuff. Bernie

The first thing to do is clean every square inch of the car as if you were taking it to a major show. Clean and polish everything. Then focus on one component at a time to free up, refurbish, or repair. Lots and lots of oil all over the inside and outside of parts. Budget about $1,000 to that stuff. Step back and see if you want to continue. Don't tear the whole thing apart. It costs almost nothing and makes a mess. After the first $1,000 do another $1,000 and evaluate. If you happen to figure out you don't want to do that 100 times you will have something you can sell. Last week I bought home a '48 Deluxe Eight and decided to do the same dance in $500 increments. Bernie

Join the club BEFORE you buy the car and use all the club resources to buy the best car for your money. If you buy the car and then join the club you might go to the first meeting and hear someone say "Oh, you bought THAT car.". That was the advice I got in 1994 when I was thinking about an expensive British car. A few weeks ago the person who gave the advice rode out of my driveway in my Impala SS. I told him I had chosen that car over a Silver Spur. He just said "You are a smart man." I thanked him for the 20 year old advice. Bernie

Nice car, imagine if you had one back then and kept it: Although I didn't keep that one, its one of a long sting of Buicks, older and newer. We took my Electra over to the town 5 miles away and drove along the Erie Canal with the windows down and the vents open. Back roads, no traffic, no engine noise, no road noise; my wife said "I like this." I'll probably keep both of them. Bernie

When I joined the Buick Club in 1979 those cars were 38 years old and really popular. At that age the well maintained ones were still about 10 years away from needing major money spent on them, were reasonably priced, and ready for a lot of fun at the equivalent of a $3,000 or $4,000 car today. Its kind of like buying a 1976 in good shape today for 4 grand and keeping it until 2050. That logic might go a lot farther today. Actually, I think if the right 2003 to 2005 Lincoln Town Car comes along for under $10,000 I could do it. Nice thought...... wouldn't life be tough if you could only have one car. Bernie

The entry fee will pale in comparison to the total cost of owning the car. The only thing that makes me even think about chiseling an asking price down is the attitude of the seller. The $3500 is probably in the range of 10 to 15% of your total investment. If the seller is a nice guy give him the money. If the seller is a jerk it is best to stay away from the car completely. Cars seem to carry the previous owner's personality. I have 5 old cars. Two belonged to jerks. I don't drive those as much. The other three are an absolute pleasure to drive and be around just to polish. I bought a car this week, a '48 Packard. The owner wanted to keep the new battery for another of his cars. I asked if I could use it to get the car parked in my garage and bring it back. He was a little edgy but agreed. I took it back yesterday. If he had been the type of person who would have just kept it he NEVER would have let me take it. After years in the hobby you get to recognize personalities, they are not deeply hidden. If you are nuts enough to take on the project, pay the seller or leave him standing in his own little world. Bernie

Bypass the rheostat and turn them on bright or put an adjustable potentiometer in line and adjust them the way you like. Or wire the terminals to a Pot with a knob on the dash. Bernie

Yes, although you might have to buy 50 of them and be ready to sell the ones that don't meet your expectation once you get it home. Over the years I have found that when I buy a car, I go through the mechanical systems and rebuild a lot of reliability into a car. Cosmetics never were a huge priority. If a situation came up where I had to sell the car it was reliable and cosmetically a no sale. In today's market I think you will find a lot of cosmetic frump jobs that were purchased by inexperienced early retirees. "Please, Dear, it's only a small amount of the investment program." A lot of those cars are resting in garages, some limping around the streets and selling at fire sale prices. I always figure no purchase can be a total loss. You can always sell what you don't like or want. For the past 20 years or so I have "risk managed" about $3,000 per year in loss on hobby stuff. That's the limit I am willing to take a beating on and still be responsible to the wife and kids. I think I'm ahead. So the cars are out there. Looking for reliability and appearance increases the risk. Be conscious of your risk limits, use good judgement, and be willing to unload what you don't like. I'll take a flyer any time. Last night this Craigslist special spent its first night in my garage. If you see it on Ebay you'll know it didn't meet my expectations. Bernie

Here is my old Mark VII engine: It is different for sure. But if you swapped sides for the intake and exhaust as well as reversed the rotation of the engine, you might be able to get a Jaguar to sound that bad. I sure miss the sound of that Jag. Bernie

Why do so many people work so hard to defeat Darwin's basic concepts??? Now you gotta figure out if I was having fun. Bernie

Well, on the up side, most of the activity in the online discussion was among Riviera owners whom already have one and probably wouldn't have bought that one anyway. Then there is the fact it is an Ebay "reserve not met car". No one is lonely when that group gets together. Surprisingly the reserve was met in May, but for some reason the buyer didn't take delivery of the car. Kind of like calculus, all the factors contribute to a formula that equals 0. Bernie

600W has been replaced by 90W. I checked with Pennzoil about 15 years ago when I was flushing some long neglected rear ends. 40 years ago I used 600W oil in the lubrication cups for babbit journal bearings on blowers in a mid century forge shop I maintained. Sometimes it was referred to as steam oil for use on locomotives and railroad car packing boxes. It works real good with those open chain drive cars. They meter out a flow as they drive. In the teen's the drip lube system helped keep the dust down on dirt roads. Today it would just drw the attention of those EPA guys in green trucks. Of course with summer coming on a little torque tube ball drip can be helpful on Woodchuck Hollow Road: Bernie

Often a noise or squeak in one area results from a problem in a completely different area. In this case, the first thing I would check is the body mounts at the cowl and the left front suspension components. I have seen paper matchbooks folded and stuffed into cracks of a dashboard to stop an annoying noise. Then on driving the car found a bad universal joint. Fix the u-joint and the dash doesn't rattle any more. I would expect something remote from the left dash area, where you already checked and tightened, to be the actual source of the problem. Old cars do stuff like that to play with your head. Bernie

I advertised my '56 Willys pickup something like 10 or 12 years ago: http://mvpimages.net/willys/show.htm The ad read "My wife says I have to sell it. If you don't buy it I can keep it." Its gone. Bernie

Just a thought about the old prices; in 1979 I bought the tilt column and wood wheel as an assembly at a swap meet for $30. The horn bar was broken. Bennett Buick, in Wayland, New York diligently searched and found me what may have been the last NOS horn bar ever sold. It was $17.00 and some change. It is not bad remembering those old prices when you bought stuff and still have it. Bernie

It is online and everything online is true. And Ebay is the first one to look out for customers. They send a guy around to verify numbers match: Bernie