60FlatTop

One more:

Here are a couple:

That's the kind of car I could see getting an LS6, a black paint job, and some mild appearance touches. Its a little far for me to go. As for the money side, I have about $9,000 in my PA convert since the purchase and probably another $3,000 to make me happy. Of course, I ain't right in the head and shouldn't be listened to. Ask my wife. Bernie

Find a heating supply store or a friendly oil burner mechanic. Ask them for a couple of 1/8" ferrules. Get one set to screw up and one for the finished job. Cut your new line to length. Debur the ends, slide the compression nut, the hex part you saved, on, then the ferrule. Insert it firmly into the distributor fitting. Tightening the compression nut will press the ferrule on the line and seal it. Ta Da! If you can't spell HVAC don't worry. Bernie

I think I bought two or three Lares rebuilt boxes from Lares in the 1990's. Those pre-computer days when you read every page in Hemmings and a search engine was a symptom of a bad fuel pump leather (hesitate and search for power). At the time I had seen too many pitman arm shaft seal replacements fail shortly after installation. I made it a policy to replace the 40-50 year old box instead of the seal. At the time we could swap out a box for around $350 with labor. No returns and a noticable difference on most. Bernie

Here are a couple closer pictures of the one in my garage: Bernie

I like that poster. Send me a private message of where the money goes and I'll get it right out. Here is one of those pictures from 1993 or 94 when I had the Riviera apart. The interstate guys used to have them;

I donated the 10 bucks to the Buick Heritage Alliance. I figured a Buick owner sure wouldn't need it. And the Alliance needs all our help. I guess it was a bit of a Terry Dunham gesture, too. I did take a look at completed sales for Buicks from 1900-90 on Ebay. There was so much red from "no sales" I jumped up for a bandage. I thought the computer was hemorrhaging! The odds really were on my side. Bernie

I just scrolled through the messages and noticed I had never matched up this pair of pictures. The pictures are about 30 years apart. Where are those hippies? Bernie

I thought there were six women and one man. MY wife corrected me. There are two men. Must have been the Hank Williams, Johny Cash, Wayon Jennings, and beer that clouded my vision. Bernie

Tony, The interior struck me as well. I am redoing mine and that tan might be an option for me. I see it is 9AM and 81 F., a perfect day for a ride. 5 PM and 30 F. here, perfect time for sleeping cars Your pictures remind me of the sprucing up that is on my schedule. Thanks for putting up the link. Bernie

I'm flashing back to 1994

Those "HELP" bubble pack parts used to have a GM rag joint. I think they differentiated between '64 and '65. I could never see a difference which ever one ended up on my Riviera is fine. There are a couple of interfering pins that prevent losing complete control if the joint fails. I've had some Caddies come in with bad one. The steering is real loose and feels like driving a Ford. Bernie

As the car collecting hobby relates to economics it is a pretty intensive use of discretionary income. From studies I have done the average US citizen has about $50 in discretionary money per month. Old car hobbyists spend more. I am saying it will be reduced, not eliminated, and it wouldn't be good to have your flexible cash tied up in second or third choice vehicles when the scale shifts. Bernie

I think a lot of those half finished street rods were half finished restorations at one time. It seems the first half of anything is fairly inexpensive. There are at least 300 $100 jobs in one of these projects. Yes, I really could list them- for $100. Bernie

Well, the car is at $8200 and the reserve is not met. This is going to be the "entry fee" for the restoration. And it does need a full restoration to be show presentable and able to poke the key into and drive a couple hundred miles without an incident. I looked at where Phillipsburg, NJ is. What a shot to the local economy. Maybe the feds are buying it as a stimulus activity. Pushing $10,000, I would be out of the mainstream market looking for something with a folding top; maybe a Limited, 98, or de Ville convertible. A little money spent on detective work would find one easy enough. I have used the term "entry fee" for at least 20 years now. That is the amount you pay for the base car. All the other expenses are generally the same. In the early 1990's when I made the observation you could buy a 1930's project car for $1500, as solid as this Buick. Of course being a Roadmaster 2DR HT night have tacked on another grand for the equivalent even then. The point is, you could buy say a 1939 Cadillac sedan project for $1500. A convertible project would probably be $6,000 at the time. The engine, brakes, and chrome trim all cost the same no matter what you buy. So financially the entry fee varies. The total investment is fairly constant. At that time you could squeak by with a $35,000 to $50,000 restoration on an average car if you did a lot yourself. The low entry got you a real nice four door sedan at the end. Reaching up front got you a convertible. A current example would be the "54 Century sedan in Jamestown compared to this '57 Roadmaster. At the $4200 entry fee for the '54 you still have $1000 in a nice set of tires, at least $1500 in a complete brake job, and on and on in those detail repairs. I could see myself going an extra $2500 to $3000 for that '57 Roadmaster projecting about $15000 for a nice reliable driver. The auction car is over the casual enthusiast price which probably peaked at $7500. There are just too many other options. For the true car guy with $10,000, hold tight. There are tough economic times coming up. If you are secure, there will be some real deals. A lot of cars were bought with a little skim off early retirement funds. If a guy worked for the larger corporations it wasn't unusual for a 30 year reinvestment and stock program to have accrued $350-400,000 over 30-35 years. A little less than 10% would get a mid 50's guy his dream car. A lot couldn't maintain them. A lot are learning about fixed income. A lot are experiencing changes in the economy and the health of their former employer. A lot of good deals will surface. I, for one, wouldn't want my "toy" money tied up in a half finished kind of nice car when real knock your socks off car shows up. Mine probably won't be on Ebay. Its under a rock right now. Bernie

I agree with staying away from exchange programs. I'm a booster for Booster Dewey. He did a great job on my '60 and put the original yellow cad plating on it. Very happy with the results. At the same time I sent my master cylinder the Apply Hydraulics, another excellent company. I have experience with all three mentioned sf far. Booster Dewey and Apple Hydraulics will get my money every time. Bernie

You might have a weak pump arm spring or a sticky pivot pin. If it was mine I would loosen the pump bolts and turn them finger tight. Then while the engine is running and clicking back them out enough to take the arm off its actuator cam. Just run on the carb (nice to have a reserve instead of FI) If it stops return the pump. Or just take the pump back. Most counter guys will give you a replacement without question. They do it all the time (a hint). Bernie

I just put a ten dollar bill on the desk. Odds are its another candidate for the Ebay hall of Reserve Not Met. Barn find is like museum quality without polish. We call it deferred maintenance in my industry. Bernie Oh, oh, oh, this reminds me; ever make a fair offer on a car at a dealer and have them tell you they have more than your offer into the car? I always ask if they have an opening in their purchasing and appraisal department. It goes like- You have some working here who paid more than that for this car? Do they still work here? What were they thinking of? It's a riot to do that at a dealership that has a used Jaguar for sale. Watch the salesman. He knows he is in trouble, he has a serious buyer, and the managers rose colored glasses always outlast the "on the lot failure". I sold a car for the first time on my grandfather's car lot when I was 13. I was dangerous then; upgraded to lethal with maturity. Bernie

Udder balm in Palm Beach.... Somehow I keep thinking of an over-tanned real estate agent about the same age as my Electra. Bernie

Hi Tony, I didn't even notice it was your question. My brain is off in la-la land again. I have been watching the Sydney weather this week and your comment woke me up. Can you post the link to that good looking RHD Riviera of yours? Its been a while and I lost it. Oh, do the easy stuff first. Check the lower hose. Good to see your name in print, Bernie

D&L hand cleaner is loaded with lanolin. I have massaged it into vinyl seats and been real happy with the results. I have also used Softscrub for white vinyl tops, just using my fingers. Good stuff but you have to caress parts of your car to do it; kinda kinky to some. Bernie

Mr. Earl you've been on Google maps and found out why you can't stop by if you have a four hour layover at Kennedy Airport. I am about 30 miles from Toronto, Ontario, eh. My wife and I like driving up to a little town along the Niagara River (the one with the falls) for lunch. Here's Toronto from a rooftop in that town. Bernie And here's how you get there with a flattop Buick

If you think Jamestown is in the salt belt you should have been with the guy who went to Rochester! Sometimes I wake up during the night and hear my truck rusting. Here is a directory of all the cars on their lot. Index of /xjs/Dir2/Cresent It won't take long to figure out I put doubles up. It will give twice the experience. I remember that '54 being pretty good. As a salt belter, we can smell the bad ones. Jamestown is a depressed area. I can guarantee those cars have seen more than one May. We do a lot of school work and state aid is based on the economic tax base of the districts. I remember that was one of the highest. Most of the industry was gone and only a large medical center was left. In economies like that some pretty good stuff can sit unsold for a long time. That lot is on Rt. 417 which is bypassed by Interstate 17, 2 miles to the north. Good bye small cities and towns. And, Hey, some changed GM and made all my stock worth nothing. There will be a lot of unsold cars or really good deals in the next few years. My soapbox, better quit while I'm ahead. Bernie

Make sure you have a spring in the lower radiator hose and that the hose it not too soft. They can collapse slightly on higher pump flows. Bernie