60FlatTop

I guess I am at a point in my life where I can be generous. I'll tell you what, if anyone finds an old car like any of those I will buy it for them. All I would want in return is a valid contract to provide the work and services required to make it a show presentable, reliable driver. Billing for work and materials would be charged monthly, net 10 days. A non-refundable deposit for 30% of the estimated total would be due at signing. Imagine, a free car. Now that would really be Cash for a Clunker. Bernie

With Buicks, it is not usually the headlights. Not that I'd be stereotyping: . Now for a real hoot, go to Google images and search "old man in buick" Check the second row. Bernie

Oh, you thought is was intentional? That's giving a lot of credit. Bernie

Try running a ground right to the battery post and see if it makes a difference. If it does do what it takes to get the ground circuit back. Newer car headlights are a lot brighter but you should be able to see fine with the stock ones. Bernie

Pete, All Buicks are Roadmasters. Didn't you know that. Unless its an Electra. Then they are all "Deuce and a Quarta". You have been spending too much time with facts. They muddy things up. Check the feedback. Its a Model A Ford guy. I'm thinking about trimming my herd down to one car in the spring. Wait until you see the sprinkling of BS in those ads. Bernie

Here are my personal questions to sellers: : 1. Is the car licensed and insured now? No is the wrong answer. 2. How long have you owned the car? Less than 3 years, walk. 3. Have you done any major work on the car? "No, not a nickel. It's been a great car." Guess who gets to fix everything they didn't? 4. Could you toss me the keys and let me drive it around the block, if I was there? Stuttering not accepted. I used a back door into Ebay to check out the bidder on that car. It turns out he is a mid-50's male with a short pony tail. He has a job as a TV personality at about $350,000 per year. He has a private "car shop" where he brings crews to film him having mock arguments with a son who plays moderately stupid and never meets his father's expectations. They locate celebrities and pay them to be chummy friends. The Buick will be subjected to a lot of hand waving and eventually end up with an LS6 engine, as is the common recipe. The work will be done on an increasingly pressured schedule and finally be displayed with drum rolls and superlatives, much to the pleasure of executives from oil companies, headlight polishing pads, and, possibility, Emilia Earhart's grandson, Dale. Some inaccuracies may appear, but a good time will be had by all and sponsors will approve. Or you can watch reruns of old TV shows on Memorable Entertainment TV, but the shows are kind of predictable. Bernie

Nice car. There are some good original ads with silver cars in them. I was 15 when I saw my first one. My car was 15 when I bought it and I was 30. Two weeks and I will be 65. I guess they are keepers. Bernie

Those square body PA's are real nice when you just get the bottom of the square. Bernie

I just wanted to see an Ebay reserve get met. It could me the beginning of a new era. Bernie

I just finished some research! All of the greenhouse gases and harmful carbon generated in building my 1960 Electra AND my 1964 Riviera were incinerated during government sponsored nuclear atmospheric tests in the mid to late '60's and early '70's. Thanks Jack, Lyndon, Dick, Jerry, and others whom helped bring the Prius to fruition. We are safe from those pollutants now. Didn't know I had that nasty political soap box, did ya. Bernie

It probably doesn't make any difference. The car is on Ebay with a reserve. How many times have Ebay cars ever met the reserve? I just clicked on Buick completed auctions and saw so much red I thought my computer was hemorrhaging. The pictures are nice. Bernie

Those early '60's 4 speed cars of all makes pop up from time to time. I'll bet that a little research on the cars, particularly non-performance type cars, would turn up an Airstream trailer in the original owner's history. I remember Airstream caravans being a popular event in the mid to late '50's. We had a neighbor with a 1962 Chrysler Newport 4 door 4 speed who pulled his with other people. Automatics got off to a slow start with the 40 to 50 year old guys in the early 1950's; too trouble prone. My Dad bought new Chevies in '53, '55, '59; all stick. Then a '62 and a '63 Ford; both stick. A '66 Galaxie 500 was the first automatic. Trailer pullers bought the stick. Check some Airstream sites and look at the tow vehicles. You'll get a feel for the origin of those options. Bernie

I have two year old Coker Firestone 8.20 X 15 biased tires on my 1960 Electra. It rolls along just fine. In 1966 my 1960 Invicta had four 7.60 X 15 Firestone Deluxe Champion recaps it rode equally fine. I had a habit of pegging the Invicta speedometer at 120 fairly often. The Electra rarely goes over 85, where the speed reminder is set. The Electra has had a pretty good grease flushing at all the joints since I have owned it. I lift the rubber seals up and pump until any water or dirty grease is displaced. I cleaned and adjusted the steering link cups. When I do any work that twists the rubber bushings more than normal ride angles I loosen the through bolt and spread the suspension arm away from the serrations of the inner sleeve (keeps them from tearing). I went through about 8 rims to find a set I was happy with the chamfered bolt holes. A lot of wheels had been horsed down by good old boys with 150 PSI on the impact wrenches. They tear those holes up pretty bad. You might want to check that. That story I tell about having the priest spray holy water on my windshield when I test the windshield wipers, well, I don't even let him tighten the lug nuts; no one but me. Bernie

Be sure the throw out bearing is actually sliding on the transmission collar. Sometimes they rust up there and are in need some penetrant and a little tapping with a long drift punch. It may not really be stuck to the flywheel; just not disengaging. I have found that. Next, back off the pressure plate bolts without removing them. Just back off evenly until the pressure is relieved. Then tap it so see if you can get it to wiggle. My money would be on the stuck throw out bearing. Bernie

Don't worry about the carbon footprint. I haven't heard it mentioned in the congressional hearings on vaporizing parts of Syria. Now that's what I call carbon footprint. Where are the green protesters on that one? 33 Liters of engines at my house! Bernie

Although I have a garage full of Buicks, I look here at least once a week. I am shopping for a Cosmopolitan or a Senior Packard. My experience has been that 10% of any club members are active. 90% are lurkers. I'm ambitious. Here's the Cosmo that came close to qualifying me: Needs paint for show. Bernie

The big auction houses, Speed Channel, and the like don't know enough about cars to sprinkle the BS on just enough to enhance the flavor. Of course, being a TV personality you already have a job and don't need to sell the car. I had 3 car selling jobs in my life. The rest has just been hobby sales. AND I don't look or talk like a stereotypical car salesman. Once I was selling cars through a national brokerage that provided all the pricing. A customer came in for a Blazer with a budget all calculated, but he had left out a $500 delivery charge. We had the exact car he wanted; color, engine, options- THE car. He was filled with angst over the extra $500. I spent about two hours with him, getting toward dusk I let him stand alone with the car under a light in the back lot. He came back in and sat across from me, the salesman, and asked "What would you do?" I said your plan is to keep the car for its whole life, right? He answered, yes. I said if that is ten years, and it will probably be more, each time you walk up to that car you will think "That's the car I wanted, just my perfect first choice. And it will cost you $50 a year to feel that good. Lots of people live with second choices all their life and it costs a lot more- it could even be a wife. The guy looked me right in the eye and, without hesitation, said "I'll take it." Selling cars is a sport. It is not for TV actors or documentary journalists. Bernie

Take the extra time to try out a Lucerne the same day you test the Park Ave. You can't test too many Buicks and you might get a surprise. Bernie

You can stop into an air conditioning supply house and pick up a swedging tool. We use them to minimize joints in refrigeration systems. Then use a 1/4" drive socket to seat the new piece in place. Since the job is done pick up the tool and you will never need it. On the choke stove and tube parts. No one was supposed to keep the car so long that those internal parts would fail. It reminds me of the time we were at the Rolls plant discussing the sequence of re-assembly of a 1935 20/25 brake servo. Charles stopped us in mid-sentence and asked "Gentlemen, you do not have the means to purchase a newer model?" Bernie

Back when I serviced collector cars I had a customer who though he should be able to reach under the edge of his seat and just open the disconnect switch. I agreed. His cars had wood floor boards about 1/2" thick. I bought a Forstner bit and made a recessed hole to mount the switch flush with the floor. A couple of cables to the switch made it all work easily. One of the cars was a particular concern because it had a Startix starting system. Bernie

My rule of thumb is that for every $1,000 extra you are willing to spend you can buy about $4,000 worth of someone's work. The bargains are out there. You just have to spend a little more money to get them. A good scenario is the deal you get from the 55-60 year old early retiree, (usually with a little gray pony tail). They took a buy out and saw $200,000 to $400,000 transferred in a lump. Feeling they deserve a toy in exchange for a life's work, they skim off $10,000 to $20,000 for their cosmetically sweet dream car. It doesn't take long to figure out a 50 year old car worth $2,000 with an $8,000 paint job won't start, steer, or stop. Funds get taped for around $600 to make the battery charge and starter crank. Then the car goes down the road and lurches left or right when the brakes are applied or doesn't stop like the Tahoe. That is the $1200 hit to "fix" the brakes. Missus ain't happy. When the $600 radiator estimate comes in the hammer drops. Then the car is stored in the garage with fanged mowers and bicycles. The deep scratches are inevitable and the cardboard box set on the hood gets dragged across the paint. Craigslist or Ebay? Which step next? Gotta get the investment back. Ever heard the quote "Those fools don't know what this car is worth. I'm not giving it away"? That is right before it moves from inside the garage to next to the garage. And mother nature starts taking it back. Cars dissolve in water (rain). When coming home from an evening out and the headlights catch the glint of chrome by the garage it becomes the unmentioned white elephant by the garage. Avoid this by looking for nice clean running drivers at a fair market price. Here are the key questions: 1. Is the car licensed and insured now? No is the wrong answer. 2. How long have you owned the car? Less than 3 years, walk. 3. Have you done any major work on the car? "No, not a nickel. It's been a great car." Guess who gets to fix everything they didn't? 4. Could you toss me the keys and let me drive it around the block, if I was there? Stuttering not accepted. I have been smiling the whole time I wrote this, remembering examples. Most importantly- do as I say, not as I do. Bernie

I just double checked. The Brylcreem is in the medicine cabinet. Even bald guys need a little help to avoid that "Einstein" look around the edges. I'm all for taking a pan off once in a while. After you drain the oil out it's just an inspection cover. Bernie

I just checked the map. Go on over to Joyce Koons Buick with 65 crisp one hundred dollar bills. Spread them out like a hand of cards and tell them you have some cash to spend. See what they have to show you. That '54 is going to look real good to you after that visit. If I wasn't in the market for a project car right now, honestly, the car would be in my garage. Its not good to show cars you are interested to others online. I have actually visited three cars in the last couple of weeks that I have kept absolutely secret for 10 to 20 years. Two things you should never do; 1. tell a person about a nice desirable car you might want. 2. Mention to the owner that you might like to buy a car until you have the money in your pocket and are ready to buy. Both plant seeds that can lead to events out of your control. About 20 years ago I bought a Smith Motor Compressor. It was a factory built job with early Ford Model A sheet metal. I saw it, bought it, and brought it home. A month or so later a friend brought me a then recent issue of a Model A club magazine. He showed me a letter with a picture of a Smith Motor Compressor and a question of whether it was a good deal. It was my compressor in the barn where I found it. Buy stuff when you can. If you don't like it you can always sell it. (Probably at a little profit). Bernie

If you spread a towel across your stomach the steering wheel will rub on that instead of your shirt. Then you won't get dirty scuffs on your shirt. Old guy stomachs are not so solid they cause a big problem rubbing. OR, each time you get in the car and your stomach rubs, just walk instead. Pretty soon it won't rub no more. Bernie

I skipped the salt n pepper boomer stage and went right to bald. All the money I saved on haircuts I used to buy old cars. Since I was 12 there have been very few months when I have not owned a major project car. When things are all together and your job is just custodian all the day dreaming, the planning, the learning, the searching, and those special nuances of ownership go away. I'm looking now. Two days ago I called about a 1940 Cadillac 60S that I got my eye on in the early '90's. It has been well stored and still available. These are cars that may never get done. I parse out the time and money I can from the rest and otherwise they occupy the back of the garage and my mind with a special shape. That's enough for me. A while back I bought one of those cars for around $2,000. We have a psychiatric councilor in town. I told my wife I'd have to spend a lot more than two grand with him to feel as good as I did owning that car. I got feeling good, saw a chance to make a few bucks, and now I'm hunting again. Ahh, the thrill of the hunt and knowing mental health, though fleeting, is so achievable. Bernie