60FlatTop

Shop's in disarray? Not until your car looks like a barn find: Bernie

Mine was broken in 1978 and rattled when you closed the door. I had it heliarched and it has been fine. Back then it wasn't as easy to find welders like that. The same guy repaired my hood ornament after the ring got knocked off by a snowbrush. I haven;t replaced it because he was a friend and I remember him when I polish it. Bernie

Right now I have a black 1965 Custom interior in the car. I installed it in 1978 when I bought the car. It is in real good shape except the shoulder seam of the driver's seat has split. I got a Clarks upper left seat upholstery section to replace that. Once installed I will have a nice used black '65 Custom interior to sell. I bought a set of correct '64 Standard frames, had them glass beaded and painted for the replacement. The foam is all 45 years old an fairly complex. I'm surprised no one has encountered this but I am a real PIA when it comes to detail. I plan to order the front seat foam. Maybe I will do the rear seat first and see how it works out, If I screw it up I'll be the $120 guinea pig. If it works it will be worth it. Told my wife I was doing it for her; if I croak she will have all the cars in perfect original condition and ready to sell. Its the best argument for spending money on the cars I ever thought of! Bernie

I am getting around to ordering my upholstery for the '64 Riviera from Clark's. I have asked before what others have done for rear seat replacement foam. I am curious whether the front foam will work in the rear. maybe a little coaxing. Anyone tried it or made their own? Bernie

I like the high quality song bird seed for mice. I just sprinkle a fine trail from my garage to the neighbor's at the end of October. and just keep making it shorter. Bernie

So the engine won't turn a full revolution. If that is the case you need to remove the engine and transmission in one piece. It has to go WAY up to clear the core support and the crossmember at the same time. Put the front wheels on a spare pair of rims to get it up. Then attach a cherry picker to the front of center so the transmission points almost straight down when you lift. Two guys should help lift the tailshaft over the core support. Don't kill anyone. Since it is a 400 transmission you can take the bell housing bolts out and separate it. The torque converter just slides in. You can't separate a Dynaflow that way. In the Dynaflow case you have to take the crank out of the engine. I've done both. Around 1972 I bought a '62 Electra convertible with melted pistons. Its a bear. Bernie

The vacuum lines can be changed, with patience. The easiest way is to remove the console and then reinstall it. The hoses are complicated and color coded. When I replaced mine I removed a four foot vacuum hose bundle from the dash of a 1969 Cadillac. There was enough length and assortment of colored tracers to do a pretty faithful job. The least expensive way to restore is to use the original equipment. If it is just an old driver what some call a rat rod, any array of aftermarket parts would be fine. If you want to sell it as a collector quality Buick Riviera someday an appraiser would evaluate it "1965 Riviera- missing A/C components." and deduct the cost of a correct installation. I've seen that upset a seller. Bernie

All the tear downs are easy. Its the 300 $100 jobs getting it all back together that's a killer. Do as I say, not as I do:

Well, my wife had the day off and about noon she asked if I wanted to go out for lunch, maybe up to Bergen (where I met Dwight yesterday). I said sure. We got the same waitress. I asked her if she knew about how careful you had to be about meeting people you met online. She gave me one of those semi-horrified looks and shoot her head. I told her the guy I was with yesterday was someone I met online and she knew the 1922 Buick was his. I told her "I met him and now I want one, too." Boy, she's going to stay away from online meetings for sure now. Its Friday night so I'm taking her up to town to sit in front of the dryers at the Laundromat and practice telepathy. Bernie

Years ago I needed a center link for our 1962 Electra. The price was fairly high and they wanted an exchange. I figured if someone else could rebuild it, I could. I wouldn't have any problem rebuilding another. Just figure out how to fix yours...... and keep an eye out for a spare. Most you find will be over 50 years old and ready to go anyway. Bernie

Well, I hope Dwight is all rested up from an uneventful ride home. I imagine he and his wife sat on the porch looking at the new car and pondering all the possibilities into the wee hours. Bernie

I can remember when people said that the 1960's cars were way too complicated to ever think about restoring. I think that was 40 years ago. Bernie

The forum connection worked! Dwight and I met for lunch. Now I'm not sure if I wanted that car or just want to spend some money. Its a sickness. No one drove a John Deere into the parking lot or walked in obviously right from doin chores so the food was good. I'm sure there was head turning as people drove by the parking lot:

This year I have a web based thermostat for the garage and I will maintain a 50 degree minimum. I can bump the setpoint up from my phone or computer if I want to work out there. An important consideration is maintaining a constant temperature or high ventilation to keep dew from forming on the car. Except under bad weather conditions I will try to drive each car 15 miles per week. There are 3 good diners in nearby towns to help me do that. I don't have a car cover. I like to sit in my drafting chair and day dream or plan. Since I built the garage in 1988, it has been a ritual to turn the heat up on January 1st and wash & wax a car. Her's a shot of that in 2003: There is a book from the 1960's call The Fun of Old Cars. Don't get wrapped around this storage idea and lose the fun. There are people around me whom have already put theirs away. Bernie "OH, one more thing." If you wash the car on January 1st put a block of wood under the door so it doesn't freeze shut. Guess how I learned that!

Come, John, who are you tryin' to kid? I know New York looks like this: Oh, yeah, there's a tree in Brooklyn, but just A tree. Bernie

Dwight, I found your quote "Darmok and Jalad on the ocean" most fascitating. This is the tailgate of my truck: Yes, most fascinating: Bernie

If you are heading home on Rt 90, the Thruway, I'll spring for lunch at the Farm Market Family Restaurant in Bergen. Its about 5 miles north of exit 47. Bernie

You have quite a few postings related to a 1953 Skylark being refurbished and ready for paint. Is that the car being offered for sale? It seems like you have very intimate knowledge of the car. If it is that car and you are uncomfortable with the price I'd say pass on it. Bernie

Pete, It is a door opener for a car with shaved handles and electric releases. The spring bolts to the door post and pops the door open when you push the button. Bernie

I read the comment about driving cross country at night. This is one of my other cars: See that animal in the center of the deck lid? I always laugh to myself when I walk up to that car from behind. My "favorite" animal, yeah. Leave the good stuff home. There are deer plotting evil things. Bernie

I keep mine ready to go all year round. On a dry day in January you might catch me driving through town on the way to the diner; been keeping the cars out of hibernation for at least 20 years now. I turned 65 yesterday so I don't have to keep them as long as you younger guys. Anyway, if my cars get a little shabby I'll sell it to a restorer with rose colored glasses and buy one of the nice ones you guys have been saving for me. Bernie

I found this concept on Ebay and thought about doing it with a Riviera (not mine, though): http://www.ebay.com/itm/190913705070?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649 ernie

Stop by and sit on the front porch for a spell. It ain't Mayberry and the only thing that whistles is the wind. Bernie

The real point I was trying to make is that an older Buick in its original form is a pretty good car when it is maintained. No matter where a person looks, especially with old cars, whatever is existing is not good enough or not recognized for its value. The thought of driving 200 miles with mechanical points and a generator appears to send chills down the spine of many. A single bore master cylinder with drum brakes? Shouldn't such a vehicle me required to have a flag waving, walking escort preceding them? Biased tires, oh, the sweat must have been rolling off that poor person just trying to keep the car on the road! And I like modified cars. Its just that there are a lot of lesser cars out there that would actually benefit from modifications. Didn't hot rodding start with guys making Fords better. I think some even used Buick parts to do it. Bernie

Yesterday my wife and I took a 180 mile round trip in the '60 Electra to visit her sister and our brother in law. We went south about 12 miles and the took the Oatka Trail east. It runs along the Oatka Creek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oatka_Creek). Then we rolled over the hills along Rt 5&20 (http://www.routes5and20.com/). The weather was perfect both ways and we had lunch and a walk along Seneca Lake in Geneva. As I drove along I noticed: The bias 8.20 X 15's rolled smoothly and the car steered straight and effortlessly. The finned aluminum brakes brought us to smooth stops as needed. The points ignition system fired on demand without faltering. The Dynaflow transmission performed smoothly and flawlessly. The AFB carb was responsive and not problematic. I had topped the tank off with plain old regular gas and had a little over the half mark when we got home; maybe 17 or 18 MPG. I don't think the engine ever went more than 2500 RPM, if that, so the factory exhaust system was not restrictive. An old friend was out in his yard in Avon so we stopped for a few minutes to say Hi. The car started right up just like it did when we made the obligatory old people's pit stop at a McDonald's a little farther down the road. We had both front windows rolled down and the vents open; quite comfortable of a mid-70's day. And we could carry on a conversation. All in all a pretty nice ride in a stock 53 year old car. AND (to paraphrase Woodie Guthrie about my hard working Buick, ) I'm just sitting here thinking about what kind of modification I could make so's the next ride would be better.Oh! My brother in law was really impressed with the "voice command" starter on the car, too! Bernie