60FlatTop

Carl, I am curious. Did you install that system yet? Bernie

That's the little wiggle that puts the down turn of the pipe right in the corner the bumper makes. Years ago I had a pair of chrome exhaust extensions with an S curve that looked pretty nice. I think they were made for '57 Chevies and worked out good. Bernie

There is a pair on the left. Got a little wiggle in them. Bernie

It might be from a Kaiser. Bernie

Only two opinions are important about a modified car. One the owner's and running a close second is any potential future buyer. Of course, even on a stock car they have opinions about a lack of maintenance, little things you need to adjust for, and the like. Our cars are costing more to buy and keep operating and the investment gets heavier. When it comes time to divest of your investment one can sell a restored 1956 Buick or Bernie Daily's interpretation of a 1956 Buick. A restored 1956 Buick can be valued objectively based on originality and condition. The modified interpretation of a 1956 Buick is a subjective sale based on the taste of a collective group of individualists at the time of the sale. Bottom line is enjoy yourself but don't whine someday when you find out a satanic communist really likes your car and doesn't have any money to buy it. I'm gonna watch the last scene from Devil's Rejects, enjoy the music, and back to work like the free bird I am. Bernie Bernie

They are a locking type washer for the terminal screws. They will polish up pretty good with steel wool. I read an article by Bill Cannon in Skinned Knuckles years ago where Bill said (see how sneaky I shifted that, You have to be REALLY careful.) to mix up some household lye in a shallow container, then slip a wire through the washers and dip then in. Let them sit overnight. According to Bill they will be bright and shiny in the morning. Be sure you rinse them well before touching them and dilute the lye really well before disposing of it; according to Bill, of course. While writing that I was reminded of the night I got a little cavalier in my handling of a bucket of carburetor cleaner. Imagine 1 AM in the morning, everyone is sleeping, and one is hyperventilating because they think the flesh is going to start coming off their fingers and just leave bone behind. Bernie

You just can't believe how relieved I am to read that is your parts car. Bernie "Restraint is my least recognized attribute."

Funny thing about those shiny cars. Most take it for granted the bottom looks like this: Some do. Some not so good. Bernie

First thing I did was check the seller's "other items for sale". They are selling the Buick and keeping that Falcon.... er.... Mustang? That Ebay sale reminds me of an old car salesman I knew. When he taught his kids how to drive he warned them to "always be careful around people driving Chrysler products. He said they had already shown poor judgement in the past". Selling that Buick and keeping the lesser Ford would make me real cautious about the history and work done. How could a person do that? Unfathomable.... Bernie

Now that's a Roadmaster sized gal. I've always liked big cars and skinny women. I guess they call it appreciating diversity today. Bernie

The '59 and '60's are a pretty amazing design if you look at the visual effect of all the parallel and converging lines. Pulling it off technically was something not repeated, either; like welding up a two piece front fender. You will look a long way to find that effort duplicated. This is one of my favorite pictures. Just lay a mental ruler on each line: Bernie

So when I was a kid and my grandfather cut a drive-shaft in half and slid a smaller tube inside to change the length; when he said blow the bolt holes in with a torch at 90 degree angles to keep the balance, he may have grasped the concept but fell a little short in the details? Bernie

They look pretty good on a ballroom floor, as well. Drivability goes way deeper than cosmetics when these cars pass 50 years of age. Actually about 40 years is the limit before you start incurring expenses. An upscale model Buick is usually owned for 10 to 15 years by the first owner. The second owner generally seals the car's fate. If they are appreciative and of a collector mind good maintenance and a third similar owner can take the car to the 40 year mark with ease. If the second owner is just interested in a driver the life expectancy is about another 5 years, probably in the scrap pile at 20-25 years. At 40 years relatively expensive major commitments are required. That is when the mortality rate increases or cars get disassembled because of the domino effect and never get back together. I noticed this at the 2003 Nationals; lots of original cars back to 1958. Then restored were the rule and original was the exception. Today there are a lot more restored mid-'60's. I am considering selling my '60. There have been many posts showing the depth of service and refurbishing I have gone to with that car over the 12 years I have owned it. The price is about $5,000 less than the black '59. I haven't advertised it and I am not really motivated. We'll see. Bernie

Here is my old Willy's pickup. I sold it a few years ago. The ad read something like: "1956 Willys, good driver, rebuilt engine. Seller not motivated. Wife says if it doesn't sell I can keep it." It sold. It is still the cover girl for the Willys Tech group: http://mvpimages.net/willys/show.htm Bernie

Car Craft company in Lima, Ohio made them. I think there were close ties with Hess & Eisenhardt and they may have ended up with H&E's conversion when H&E started focusing on armored cars. I had a 1982 H&E Eldorado conversion and there are a lot of similarities. The Park Ave has some finer details, though, and I like the conversion better for the small touches. Here is the ID: This is the H&E Eldorado I had: The red PA in Canada was purchased by the Ontario couple used in Florida. The pictures are a couple of years old and it may still be sitting there with window problems. I know things move slow in metric. My car is being driven at least three times a week now that the weather is decent. I have four NOS wheels I bought for it and new tires are on the way. It turned 51,300 miles on the way home from having coffee at the diner yesterday. I'm looking forward to wearing out the tires. I'd hate to see them dry rot. Bernie

My wife was 23 years old when I met her. I tried to teach her lots of things over the years. The only thing she seems to remember is the one time I used the term "buying work". That was a long time ago and even recently, when I was looking at a 1949 Lincoln Cosmo convert that is a major project she said "I thought you weren't going to buy any more work." I told her that was advice for other people, not me. Bernie

There is a red one in Ontario, Canada. So one in the US and one in Canda. Mine is #0001, don't know the other one's number. Bernie

Vinyl top? Why, in the 35 years I've owned the car no one has pointed that out! Bernie

I like the part about Know-it-all sons in law or nephews. That's when the fun starts. Anyway, I have a small company where our motto is "If we aren't having fun, we're not going." If you are in the inner circle you can actually get handed this email address: bernie@misterknowitallconsulting.com. My first thought was that barn finds were supposed to be INSIDE the barn! Bernie

I had the battery charger sitting on the right shock tower and just kind of rested the hood back on it. Another 30 degrees gets the rear of the hood in its guides and it does a pivoting roll back to the windshield. Then push down to latch the front. I figure quality control was so bad in the '80's that that put the hood seams down on the side so you eye wouldn't follow the line. When the seam is between the hood and fender on top its easy to see a wandering gap. I'm pretty sure the idea could be traced back to Harley Earl. He was a master of optical illusion with die-cast. I imagine he would have done it with a big piece of tin if he had the draw on the die's. Maybe I could get a vanity plate in honor of the tricky hood: Bernie

I saw a TV special about a cruise-in OPGI had and most of the cars owed their existence to those re-popped parts. At least every car didn't have an overbearing father who kicked stuff around and verbally abused a stupid son. I did keep watching for the idiot with the metal detector to run in and cry out he had found cars. I watch stuff like that on TV and it makes me self conscious about the length of my arms. I check to see my knuckles aren't dragging. Bernie

Ohhh, geeez, look at the exhaust:

I have had a few cars like your Ollie. The first thing to do is thoroughly clean the car. Get out your bucket and soap, your vacuum cleaner, window spray, some lanolin hand cleaner to massage into the old rubber and clean every nook and cranny as if you were going to the biggest car show ever. Polish anything that will polish. You will really know the car when you are done. If you are a true car hobbyist and you take one part off the result be like this: . The dis-assembly can be smooth and slick. And cost as little as knocking over a domino. Imagine if it cost $1 each to stand up 30,000 domino's. It is easy and cheap to dis-assemble an old car. There are 300- $100 jobs to put it back together again. I can list them. So avoid making a pile of parts.Once it is all cleaned and as shiny as it can get you will want to be sure it rolls. Each wheel will need to be checked for its ability to roll freely. If it rolls freely it will need to stop. Imagine the logic of doing a brake job before starting the engine? I have done that with an "Ollie" I had. Starting the engine isn't just sticking a battery in and priming the carb. I've heard that story and it makes me cringe. You need to prelube every surface inside the engine. It is easy to jam the piston into cylinder wall rust where a valve has been letting moist air inside for decades. And if gramps didn't do a fresh oil change right before the starter went bad, acids in the oil have etched about .005" of babbit material off the big end of the rods. She'll rattle when the oxide wipe off. The fuel tank needs to be checked so you don't suck up dirt, rust, and the occasional wasp nest too. And I have actually found spider bodies in carburetors. You will need to check there. If the muffler is still on be sure not to set a big mouse nest on fire. Boy, do they smoke and stink! Also any vented component that is heavy may have a lot of water that condensed inside. That is the rearend, transmission, and even the oil pan. Be careful to bring it home on a flatbed so those parts are not lubed with water while being towed home. At least the old cars have drain plugs. I could write a lot more, just taking a break from work. The best thing is to learn from the mistakes of the group members. When I was young I tried to learn from their successes. I ended up with more dis-assembled cars than I could afford. This car is pretty similar to yours. It was only 35 years old when the picture was taken. I was 26. It sure was cheap to take them apart back then: Bernie

Tabaccoville? I remember that car coming in from the next county on Saturday nights with these guys in it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4wBr2wdE9U Actually, I've always thought a '49 Merc style custom job would look good on these fastback Rivieras. Bernie

Those four bald tires on rims go under the rear bumper when anyone is working under the car: And no one is allowed under the car when it is up like this: