60FlatTop

They wrote a song to hum with driving on overaged tires: Bernie

Yep. Those bubbles will. Bubbles from boiling will keep perking. Lots of times the hose condition is obvious. I looked around the garage yesterday for one that used to hang on a pegboard. I removed it from the sending unit on an old Caddy. The fabric plies were showing where the rubber cracked and came off. I remember snaking my head around the axle just to get a look at it. When I get a chance I'll look around again. Bernie

I have seen bubbles in the fuel filter bowl caused by deteriorated rubber hoses on the suction side of the pump. The hoses can be short connectors at the tank or in the engine compartment. They don't leak enough to drip. They just suck air in. Remember 30" of vacuun is 14.7 PSI. If the pump is pulling 8 to 10" on the suction side that's 4 or 5 PSI atmospheric trying to get in. Bernie

I have seen bubbles in the fuel filter bowl caused by deteriorated rubber hoses on the suction side of the pump. The hoses can be short connectors at the tank or in the engine compartment. They don't leak enough to drip. They just suck air in. Remember 30" of vacuun is 14.7 PSI. If the pump is pulling 8 to 10" on the suction side that's 4 or 5 PSI atmospheric trying to get in. Bernie

1997 doesn't seem that long ago, but that was the date code on the tires the PA arrived with. and they were lumpy. Over the winter I had found 4 NOS wheels the same as mine, still in the boxes. Out of the boxes today! I put 4 new 215-70X14's on the car: Now when this set is 15 years old I'll be about 80. The car just turned 51,000 so I figure I just put on the third set. If I have to put on another set after 15 years, I'm going to stretch an extra 5 years out of the fourth set. Bernie

You can take that 15/64ths drill bit and drill a 1/4' deep hole is a piece of scrap. Then puddle a little lead in the hole to make a lead plug. Bernie

Once you are up high enough to get any work done rolling the rear end a few inches or a few feet makes little difference: Bernie

You'll find a short brake hose at the front end of the torque tube. Plan on replacing that while doing the job. It is good to replace the steel lines as well. Pretty it up like this if you have the chance: And be sure to use a diaphragm pressure plate to keep it feeling like a Buick. Sometimes there is a temptation to install a Borg & Beck 12 spring style and you end up needing to push the clutch pedal down with two feet. Bernie

If you have a broken motor mount the engine will raise from the torque of full throttle and pull the linkage to WOT. Once the torque backs off it will release. Some of those original parts of the car never get replaced. Bernie

[h=4]1967 THE FUN OF OLD CARS* STUBENRAUCH * RESTORING & COLLECTING is another great standby from the early days of American published books. If you get a copy there is a nice original 1931 Pierce-Arrow convertible coupe in it. I have serviced and driven that car. Surprisingly peppy and sporty to drive, you just can't beat an original car. [/h]Bernie

Oh, I have two with aluminum wheels, but this one has a new set of Nito Envo's: racing slicks with rain grooves. Bernie

She does data entry for my company and sometimes wonders why she can't get on the home computer. I showed her how innocent my online endeavors are. I deleted the link to www.matureasianwomenforbuickowners.com. Bernie

Here's the anniversary card picture I made for my wife: She's almost 40 years younger than me in that picture. Bernie

My wife just read this and said "I bet I know which one the bitchy one is". It gets four new tires and the NOS aluminum wheels go on it tomorrow. I wonder what the next owner will think carries over personality-wise. Bernie

Needing a core was the reason I took mine apart. If someone else could fix it why couldn't I? I did. Bernie

So I went up to town this afternoon for coffee at the diner. You wonder a bit when the Mr. Rooter guy and the septic cleaner advertise on the coffee cup. While looking away and wondering you spot a Buick convert in the parking lot. Now, when was the last time you saw one of those? It's just a magical little town. Bernie

Wouldn't a person just go to a place like Richmond Gear and buy a ring and pinion of the ratio they wanted? Bernie

In the 1990's I ran a part time service for collector cars that was quite successful. I would not restore a car. I serviced only restored and well preserved original cars. My moto was to make them "Steer, Start, 'N Stop". Restored cars rarely did any of those things well and it was really noticeable when I knew I was the first one to make a repair on an original car. I would tell the customers to ad up all their receipts and figure they were about 90% there. I dealt with a lot of cleaned and painted worn out parts. There were cobbled assemblies and incorrect aftermarket parts. Evidence of testing was nonexistent. Diagnostics seemed to be limited to glazed staring or misinformation passed on during coffee breaks. $3,000 to $4,000 will get you straightened out. President Eisenhower started the Interstate system in 1955 and it was designed for travel at 100 MPH. Your car will do it and if you check old National Geographics you'll see cars like yours on interstate trips pulling airstream trailers. My '60 is only 5 years newer and I think the speed alarm is set for 80 or 85 to stop from being a nuisance. When I was servicing the cars my daily driver was a stock '56 Olds that I drove like I stole. Try again using you local Buick club or AACA chapter to find your mechanic. There should be one. Above all, stay away from people who tell you something will get better. Nurses talk like that, not mechanics. Bernie

Here's the rundown: Indy 500 Pace Cars and Drivers Just wondering why that black '87 is not on the list. Bernie

Maybe I was too subtle about the part where I have been at it for 53 years. And I have stuff I can't make work to my level of acceptance. You really need to be self sufficient in this hobby. No matter what anyone tells you, making mistakes is not the ONLY way to learn. Someone in the medical field is spreading that one. Most important in the car hobby, probably medical, too, is the development of maintenance skills. Can a person do the tasks required to maintain a daily driver in tip top condition both mechanically and cosmetically? Think back at the condition the last three cars you traded in. If there were deteriorated, why? When was the last tine you had the hood open on your daily driver and check the level of the power steering fluid? It is really hard to bring a neglected and deteriorated car back to reliable and modest show condition. No components are superior, everything either wears out or ages at an equal rate. Shops do not generally have the tools to work on old cars. It takes more than a pair of pliers and a screw driver to fix them. Tell a typical mechanic you think you have a problem with your power valve and they will think it is something you bought through an info-mercial. It's a though spot when you have found out shops can't give you quality service and you don't have another 50 years to develop skills. Then its time to evaluate why you are motivated by the collector car. If it is to drive something that is a head turner its easy. A new Corvette is an amazing deal. If the goal is to preserve Dynaflow technology, drive smooth and effortlessly on biased tires, well, it gets harder. Sometimes I think about selling the cars and buying some nice watches. Once I was at Fall Hershey and asked a vendor if he remembered me. he said "With that Jaguar hat and the Rolex watch, of course I do." The watch is a Croton Cadillac salesman's perk. Maybe its not just old cars that get the thumbs up and attention. Bernie

My parents dropped my brother and I with our cousins in the summer of 1959; five boys, all gearheads. That was my baptism. Another Aunt bought me the September 1959 issue of Rod & Custom, you know, the one with the yellow coupes on the cover. Well, I have been studying cars and working on them ever since. In 1980 I swapped a 350 Buick engine into a 1960 Ford pickup and really felt it was a professional job. You'll catch up. It just takes time. Bernie

Maybe I should have written to make a longitudinal cut, not a circumcisular one. Now you can smile. Bernie

I don't think they deduct for radial tires. It's the polished inner fenders that take points away. They are supposed to be satin black. Bernie

On my '62 Electra that button was the signal search for the radio tuner. Check the radio for a bar above the station number window. You can activate it either way. Bernie

That reminds me, the second time I took my body off the frame I didn't remove the gas tank. Trivia. Bernie