60FlatTop

I used to sell paints and chemical products at shows and flea markets. The sealer always came in quart cans. I would tell buyers that one quart in a 20 gallon tank was not a lot to slosh around, or over the hump on a Model A tank. I'd say "I bet you have a friend who needs their tank sealed, too. Take two quarts and do a better job on both. I'm sure he will pay the $20 for his quart." I rarely sold less than two. When I started you bought brown glass bottles of gasket shellac with a twisted wire and a dauber at the end for sealing. Although I don't use that any more, I will put a little sealer on my fingers and just pinch a very light coat on the float bowl cover gasket if I see stress cracks or deterioration of the sealing ridge. Setting the float is critical. How about those carbs with mechanically operated float bowl vents. Sloshing has an easy cure. When I was High School age I read that chauffeurs had to be able to drive with a full glass of water on the dash and not spill it. I have always tried to drive that way at least 97.6% of the time. It works pretty good. Oh, that seepage, here is an EPA guy who fould seepage at a float bowl gasket: I gotta go check my evaporator canister! And on the driving style, my wife and I went out with a friend in his later model Rolls-Royce. He drives in a manner that sloshes fuel (to be kind). My wife got home and told me "Gee, your Buick seems to be a lot smoother than ****'s Rolls-Royce." I just smiled and said "Yes, the Duke of Windsor thought so, too." Bernie

USN BT-3 1967-1971 Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club USS Arlington AGMR-2

"The 4GC is a friendly carb to rebuild. If you are learning you might want to buy two kits in case you have to give yourself class 101 over." Bernie

Just take your existing solenoid apart. Polish the big contactor up real nice, check the pivot in for wear or drag, and make sure the spring has tension. You spelled solenoid right; you're way ahead of a lot of them. Bernie

A 6 month turn around time for door panels. "Mr. Vendor, let's pretend I sent them, you fart around doing whatever preparations you need to do and I'll ship them in 160 days." The funny part is their attitude when you want your car or parts back. I remember picking up two primered Model A wheels after a year and a half. They were supposed to be finished in Apple Green. The guy said "I don't know why you are so antsy about it." I remember the first collector car I serviced in 1991. I had told the owner it would be done about 3 PM on a Saturday. As he drove away I looked at my watch and it was 11:30 AM. I am planning to get back into the collector car servicing business again soon and keep my existing operation going, as well. I think a lot of these slow movers are afraid to hand over the finished product and have the quality and warranty issues begin. Bernie

I had my package shelf off about 20 years ago and saw the bare composition board. I figured anything to keep it from absorbing moisture, even from the air, would be a good idea. So I gave it a good soaking coat of varnish on the exposed board. It has held up well. Bernie

This is not the material for a business case and should be looked at selfishly. How much do you want the grille bar the other guys don't have. On a much smaller scale, I have a reproduction of the 1960 fan warning label on my '60 Buick. I had a few made and stashed away for spares if mine gets dirty or damaged. They were expensive for what they are, but surely a losing proposition as an item for market. And if I did happen to make a profit on them 40-50% of the profit would have to go for taxes. I think the grille bar can be made for $3000 to $4000 depending on cooperation. If I had a convertible or wagon, maybe a hardtop, of high quality I would spend it. Being a key feature the percentage of the total cost would be there even to the pragmatist. It is not the part. It is the whole end product. Bernie

Drive it like you stole it and if it breaks fix it. Hold the beer mug high and say : "Der vom Einzelnen zu erreichende Grad an Perfektion ist direkt proportional zur Anzahl der Wiederholungen." I've had one head off my '60 twice and taken the body off the Riviera frame twice. I took German as a language in High School. The only thing I remember after 50 years is "einen reifenpanne". I guess that shows where my priorities were. Bernie

A 1937 Buick, complete novice, Las Vegas, fiance with a kit Cobra, and lots of LOL; there is a TV producer looking for you. Good luck with the car. Bernie

The nice days of spring and early summer delude us and make us forget about plans to get out before next winter. Grand Cayman in 2017! Bernie

Think about making 2 castings and plating one for your car. If you can get a deal on plating two, plate both. There is a chrome shop in Syracuse I have never used. The owner seems friendly enough to work with. Keep the mold and make one off as you sell the finished spare. Then the buyer sees the finished product and they are assured to be happy. Try to keep one on your car and one spare for sale. As you get better at making them be sure the best one you ever made is on your car. Bernie

Gee, I hope I influenced that! Bernie

The gasket should be good for 40 to 60 PSIG at those passages under normal conditions. And you shouldn't leave oil in the driveway, that's for sure. If it was in my garage I would run a compression check and a leakdown test just to be sure cylinder pressure wasn't forcing the oil out for some odd reason. Pressurizing the cooling system both cold and warm it not hard and might add some insight. Be sure you don't see a little oil in the coolant. Anything you find that might make you suspicious is going to lead you to pull the heads. When you do it the tests may help you pinpoint the problem. Try to remove them as gently as possible without disturbing much. We had low pressure on my Park Ave after installing a new long block. Although it is really hard to work up the willingness to take stuff apart again we found the engine rebuilder supplied the wrong timing chain cover gasket; could have lost the new engine. "The level of perfection one can achieve is directly proportional to the number of times they are willing to do things over." Can you translate that to German? Bernie

I checked your profile to see how far away you were. I would help. Just don't do too many things at one time. And here is the message people search for and never find: Every time you pick up your ratchet be conscious that it is in the "tighten" position. That means whatever you did last was put something together. If you keeping picking it up and it always seems to be in "loosen" it is time to really evaluate what you have been doing. For the last 26 years my wrench has been in "tighten". You won't find a more rewarding awareness. And it doesn't happen by accident. Works for non-automotive stuff, too. Bernie

Yeah, the management at my house threw away the hubcap picture too. Bernie

Interesting site and name. I don't remember if the sheriff used the exact words "nude auto mall" but he didn't want to discuss the difference between mauling (sounded like mall) and fondling at all. Once I got looking over the site I thought, gee, it has been two years since I had the stroke and heart attack. I have been staying in shape. Maybe I could pose. Speedos, welding gloves, and engineer boots; you know nothing too extreme. Then I saw the questions like dress size and figured I better stick with the homemade Birthday cards I make with the timer on the camera. Oh, and the day I took the pictures of the '51 Buick wheelcovers for EBay............ the shorts were not the thing to wear. Just a tip, hang hubcaps on the wall to take pictures of them. Bernie

It is a slight musky smell with just a hint of freshly cooked corn on the cob? When the car is warm from the sun it wraps around you like you were slipping back into the womb? It is mold or fungus. Once I managed to orchestrate a combination of custom gas pedal, rich fuel, and interrupted ignition into an explosion that burned a corner of the rear carpet on my '56 Olds. That one always smelled like hot dogs afterward. I used to sell Maloder Counter-reactant. It came in two flavors, one for mold and one for tobacco. If this thread goes anywhere, maybe I will buy a couple of cases. It is about 20 bucks a quart. Bernie

I always smile in authoritative mode. I'll have to pay attention in my humble mode next time. And that list was a product of my wife saying I should have kept a list of all the cars I had. I did. Bernie

That was the quote from message #16. Here is mine from February 14th: "Once the assembly is checked and OK, install it and run the engine with no valve cover. Be sure all the rockers are getting oil. And watch it flow down the returns. If the returns are plugged use a small tip ship vac and a small flat blade screwdriver to open them while sucking up the crud. I wouldn't aggressively try to scape any sludge unless it blocked passage of oil or looked loose. Just follow this routine every 200 to 500 miles depending on how much you drive." Not humble, authoritative, without pleading to not tear the thing all apart. Here are the credentials: http://brockportinternational.com/xjs/Dir5/Cars/BernieCars.xlsx Bernie

"In my humble opinion, if you are so mechanically inept that you feel you must farm the repair work out to mechanics, you have no business owning an antique car." yep. Bernie

Don't die and leave your wife believing your "asking" price is what she should get for the car. Bernie

NAPA sells Belden wire, terminals, nipples, and everything your need to make a set except the rubber cylinder head well covers. I make my sets with solid core wires to all the plugs and a carbon suppression coil wire. Just wipe the Belden writing off with lacquer thinner. Bernie

I pointed out brass and that would be the choice in almost any case of reproduction. A foundry is not Mrs. Murphy's chowder kitchen. In the early '70's I helped run a three electrode Bessemer smelting furnace. Each pour cycle was about 2000-3000 pounds starting with engine blocks, some scrap, and pig iron. Once liquified we had a dipping cup with a 20" handle for sampling. Each sample was analyzed and a few pounds of carbon, nickle, or suitable alloy were added. Even though we worked with a ton or more the accuracy was high. Sand for casting was specially mixed in a muller and fed to the copes by gravity, slingers, and hand packers. Trimming waste was kept low.Shaker grates and a big Wheel-A-Brator shot blaster cleaned stuff up so just a little grinding made the parts ready for machining. We even had molds to cast our own replacement parts for high wear items. On single run jobs a grille bar could be fabricated and chromed for under $4,000 I would expect. Too bad they all aren't wagons and Roadmaster converts. Bernie

"I actually got it to start & run before I took it all apart & now it's back together again & I'm dumbfounded." It is hard not to appear insensitive. If others refer to this thread in the future, don't do that. The best option if one does find them self in this same predicament is to get the best mechanic from your local Buick or AACA chapter leaning over the fender of your car. The chances of an electronic Q&A helping are pretty slim. I even looked to see if you were near me, can't tell. Bernie

Once the misguided youth learns the difference between rich and idle rich they can be rich and have neat stuff like me! I can guarantee they won't get rich off of my taxes; maybe a handout or some food stamps, but never the redistribution they cry for. Bernie