60FlatTop

Looking at those pictures reminds me! Anyone getting their car all spruced up for summer can pick one of these up at Lowes: I think the price is good, as well. If anyone hears about me kicking the bucket, its in the price range my wife has been told to sell my Riviera for, maybe a little more. When I'm alive its significantly more. My heart goes out to the local guy who gets talked into consigning his personal car with a lot of hype and BS about the big auction prices, then urged to lift his reserve while standing by the auctioneer and ends up with about 4500 bucks in his hand for a car like that after fees, charges, and taxes; yep, sale of collectible items is taxed income at a hefty rate. Try hiding that $6800 bank transfer and see. Bernie

It is likely the car was consigned by a local owner and not stock from an auction circuit dealer. At that price it is probably in a dealer's stock for spring sales now. If it doesn't sell for $14,999 privately it will begin making the auction rounds this summer, changing from circuit dealer to circuit dealer as part of the show. I wasn't born cynical. I learned it by observation. Bernie

This clip must be shared: Bernie

You can still get a Buick truck. Mine had a 219.5 cubic engine that seemed a bit underpowered and the logo was a little plain looking. Bernie

Another before you glue trick is to tape the rubber in place and close the door on a five dollar bill. It should be pinched in place. I have a set in my tool box. A one for Ford and Chevy, a five for Buicks, a ten for Caddies, and a fifty for Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Bernie

Thank you. Those numbers sound about right considering the overall width of the cars. Years ago I bought a '35 Ford frame with a Columbia 2 speed rear. At the time, about 50 years ago, the local stock car guys snapped it right up. I knew it was available for a Ford. Now I am looking into the adaptations of Ford components into the Zephyr monocoque bodies. I would like to find the front and rear tread (60.6 is great!). I'm happy. Bernie

The '67 has a different cowl because of the windshield wipers. A '68 has hidden wipers under the edge of the hood. Bernie

Mark's report from the DOT pretty much wraps up my experience with New York State road history. I have been driving on them for almost 50 years. The original highway system was sectioned concrete, laid down from the 1920 to 1950's. My Great Uncle, who was a chassis engineer at Chrysler in the '20's and '30's told me the 138 inch wheelbases were designed so luxury cars hit the tar strips at the same time (11.5') so only one thump went through the car instead of the "thump, thump" one feels now. My historic routes (not roots) are Rte. 31 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_31 and Rte. 104 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_104. Both were about 40 years old and still sectional concrete when I started driving them in 1965. Between '65 and '75 they were asphalt and macadam coated and widened. I was discharged from the Navy in Charleston, SC in 1971 and remember crossing the NYS border. That's where the road was widened buy 2 feet on each side with an inferior cracking and rough add-on. Over the last 40 years that syndrome has earmarked New York State roads. You always know when you are getting close to home. Driving a Buick helps smooth the roads out a lot. My wife and I like driving some of these regional routes end to end. Rte. 104 is really neat, as is Rte. 96, 36, 14, 15, and 19; great day trips with good diners and restaurants. This summer I would like to run the length of Rte 219 from New York to Virginia, mostly a secondary road. To the original question, the roads aren't the same quality as the 1930's concrete. Bernie

I liked this presentation in general, good for old guys. At about 7:30 there is a 430 Skylark funny car: https://www.youtube.com/embed/AFKtlu-zL-w ernie

"It's almost like the suspension is hitting something SOLID". That's the camber issue I have run into. When guys order the station wagon springs or heavy duty front springs it is fairly common. A lot of times you can actually see the front wheels tilt in at the top. The most common comment is "oh, they are new and will come down". They won't, but it usually makes the customer go away. One of the worst was a '69 Cadillac that would bang and shake the whole wide hood at the slightest imperfection of the road surface. New springs had been installed by the previous owner. The shop mournfully told me there was nothing they could do. Those cars had camber adjustment in the spindle with a rotating hex nut. I brought the car home and loosened the lock nut they hadn't touched and turned it, test drove, turned it, tested, and found the sweet spot. And it was a sweet spot for sure. The car road like a dream. I see the late Corvettes us an adjustable cam disk for camber. Screw the "experts". Crank them out all the way and then bring them back to your own "sweet spot". Bernie

About 50 years seems to be the typical cut off point between well maintained survivors and semi-restored (heavily invested) cars. This summer the late '60's will start decreasing in number at events, just as the '50's began a decline about ten years ago. Some might remember the restored 1955 or 1956 restored chassis at the 2003 Nationals. At the time that was a major work for the vintage and it attracted quite a bit of attention. Today the mid-60's cars are reaching their life before major repairs and refurbishing. Dodging the price bullet of servicing a 50 or 60 year old component by re-engineering or modifying can carry it's own hidden costs in safety or saleability. In the long run, repair the component or system that lasted the first 50 years and hope you have to fix it the next time. Bernie

About 50 years seems to be the typical cut off point between well maintained survivors and semi-restored (heavily invested) cars. This summer the late '60's will start decreasing in number at events, just as the '50's began a decline about ten years ago. Some might remember the restored 1955 or 1956 restored chassis at the 2003 Nationals. At the time that was a major work for the vintage and it attracted quite a bit of attention. Today the mid-60's cars are reaching their life before major repairs and refurbishing. Dodging the price bullet of servicing a 50 year old component by re-engineering or modifying can carry it's own hidden costs in safety or saleability. In the long run, repair the component or system that lasted the first 50 years and hope you have to fix it the next time. Bernie

When you sell a car the good thing is that you only remember the good stuff. The bad thing is that you only remember the good stuff. At least I have always found seller's remorse a lot easier to get over than buyer's remorse; just stick your hand in your pocket. Bernie

I like that. Knowing and keeping the original flavor makes a difference. I like the hood ornament and retaining the windshield chrome. A lot wouldn't have done that. Earlier I mentioned Silverado suspension (I think I see a Chevy truck part in your pic). My work truck is a 2005 Silverado that has unequal length control arms. I tried out a newer one and the coil overs are not an improvement. They are hard when you know what good is. Ford shops like Posie's have a lot of experience with poly transverse springs. They might be a good source to soften up that Vette ride. Also push the positive camber to it's limits. I have cured some real tar strip bangers doing that. Bernie

Incoming!!! A seagull's eye view, right after washing: Bernie

Silverado trucks went to coil overs in 2007 or 2008. You might want to take a close look for parts to scavenge. Bernie

Just in line with the interest in weighing, here is a portable scale police agencies use for spot checks of bigger stuff: Of course, big is relative. Buick Limited are big. Boilers are bigger: And 120+ wheels on the road got some attention. Bernie

I think I would drive on first, get the readings, and then back on and get another set of readings. That should make it really confusing. Bernie

We are pretty much out of the winter now and the raw figures are in. Our winter was about 10% colder by degree days than average. My natural gas bill next month will have the final total. It looks like heating the garage will total about $350 for the season; about $85 per car. I monitored the run times of the furnace online and settled on an average of 40 to 42 degrees when unoccupied and ran it up to 60 when I worked out there, maybe ten times for any duration. The roof of the garage is visible from my bedroom. Each morning I would check and adjust the temperature so I could usually see snow on the roof. For my money, none of the contents of the garage dropped below freezing. Paint, chemicals, polishes, and the like were protected. The cars have not been at a temperature below dewpoint so condensation has not occurred on any surfaces, painted or bare. The mass of the concrete floor stabilized the temperature and helped minimize the warming time when I did go out and work. It was worthwhile and I will do it again next year. I have had the '60 and the Chevy out in the last couple of weeks; no real hibernation and stuff is ready to go. Some days I just massaged on a little detail spray on the dusty spots. Bernie

I've scouted all over the internet trying to find the drum to drum measurement of a 1946 Lincoln rearend with no luck. Does anyone have the front and rear measurements (like if you have one out). Thanks, Bernie

It was kind of sad. They accuse me of stereotyping and this bunch thinks Man cave" men need trucknuts for $15. A cave is something like this: Bernie

A single Hush-Power muffler will probably get the sound you want. I rarely see any of my tach-equiped vehicles go above 3500 RPM so a second pipe would be appearance. And I'll bite my tongue and not give a comment on where the Waldron's pipe would run. Then there is the "Ready to leave Cruise-In: Bernie

Some things just catch your eye, like this thread on the Buick Clubs directory page. I understand about the abbreviations and acronyms, too. That's why I was so entertained by a poster from this organization. Their poster was hanging by the door of a diner I stopped in: Bernie

Just curious, did you have an old car before the Buick and if you did, how did the '57 come to replace it? Bernie

The driver's side is the most difficult due to the brackets. I would have used a replacement but they weren't available in 1994. I do have a shipping box from Cars at that time period. O bought everything they had available. The sandwiching technique allowed me to cut around the steering and pedal brackets and seal the material. The actual insulation goes under those items. It is a big job. Here is is going back together. Lots has been reinstalled. You can see the rubber under the heater distribution box. Film pictures scanned, that was pre-digital.