Bill Shields

60FlatTop - excellent advice on the starting business. I've violated that idea multiple times for one reason or another. I do plan to look for the drain holes!

Our cats make a big dent in the mousie population.

Update on the white smoke issue. At Nailhead Bob's suggestion, I purchased a combustion leak detector kit. See his post in this series. Today I used it. I started the Buick and got it settled down to fast idle to warm up. After running a minute or so it began to blow moist white smoke out the left (driver's) tailpipe. Even in a dense cloud, the smoke had no odor. Nothing from the other side. It was a warm afternoon so the car warmed up pretty fast to normal operating temperature. The thermostat opened properly and I could see coolant flowing past the filler neck. No bubbles or foaming seen. I filled the tester with blue fluid as instructed, settled the rubber cone-shaped neck into the radiator filler neck, and began sucking air from the radiator head space using the suction bulb provided. Instructions say that if there is CO2 from the exhaust leaking into the coolant at the head gasket, the fluid will turn yellow in about 2 minutes. I kept up pumping for at least 5 minutes and the test fluid remained a beautiful blue, not a hint of yellow. Then I did it again, with the same result. Hence no exhaust gases in the coolant. Next, I set the tester aside and revved the engine 5-6 times. Clouds of smoke came out at first but afterward I noticed the smoking was less. By 15 minutes of running or so, just a faint amount of white vapor was coming out of the left side pipe, none on the right. No odor of any kind even when the shop was full of white mist. I haven't actually driven the car since the first smoke episode, but a good 35-40 minutes of idling have not diminished the coolant level. It you cover the filler neck with the palm of your hand for 10-15 second, no pressure is felt. Idle is absolutely smooth and the coolant temperature was about 150. My working theory is that water in substantial amounts is condensing in the driver's side muffler. Why not both sides? Fluke of installation, clamps, etc, slanting the muffler and pipes rearward slightly? Note in the icture below that the right and left side piping are not identical in shape and bends. Comments welcome. Bill

Rock10: It would be a 25 mph run about 4 miles to the shop. I hate having the car flatbedded that far, always a chance at damage. I doubt there is antifreeze in the oil sump because that would be drawn into cylinders on both sides, not just one side. So far, my working theory is a small head gasket leak on the driver's side that is dripping coolant into one or two cylinders. Not enough to cause a miss at low rpm. Chris - agree in general. But there is zero "smoke" on the passenger side and clouds of it on the driver side. I let it run almost a half hour with the air temperature above 70. I'll know more when I get the gas detector identified by Nailhead Bob. Should arrive in a couple of days. I will post progress or the lack of it.

Bob - in response to your post: As indicated, I pulled one plug, second from front on the driver's side. Plug was dry, compression about 125 (unchanged). I can probably do the front plug too, though it's tucked underneath the PS pump bracket. The two rear plugs on that side are VERY hard to even get to, let alone insert a compression tester or leakdown tester. The cloud of smoke does NOT smell sweet. But does AF retain its odor if it's vaporized in a cylinder? Note also that AF no longer tastes sweet, it's very bitter (to protect pets and children). Note that with the thermostat open, I could not see any bubbling in the coolant. Great tool recommendation!! My local AZ store doesn't have the tester so I have one on the way from Amazon. I won't take any actions until I use this tool. In response to Rock10 - no crossover. The 58 Buick Roadmaster exhaust has separate piping all the way back. Muffler and two resonators on each side!

Bob - in response to your super-helpful post: As indicated, I pulled one plug, second from front on the driver's side. Plug was dry, compression about 125 (unchanged). I can probably do the front plug too, though it sits underneath the PS pump bracket. The two rear plugs on that side are VERY hard to even get to, let alone insert a compression tester or leakdown tester. The cloud of smoke does NOT smell sweet. But does AF retain its odor if it's vaporized in a cylinder? Note also that AF no longer tastes sweet - it's extremely bitter. (Protection of children and pets.) Great tool recommendation!! My local AZ store doesn't have the tester so I have one on the way from Amazon. I won't take any actions until I use this tool. Finally, with the thermostat open, I could not see any bubbling in the coolant. To Rock10 - dual exhaust all the way back. No crossovers. Bill

Bob - thanks. I was getting the car ready to go for the brake job this week. Anyway, I just restarted after an hour sitting. Billowing white smoke again, drivers side exhaust only. Has to be the head gasket. I checked compression on the most accessible driver's side cylinder and got 125, about right for this car. Probably just leaking at one cylinder. Question: safe to drive at low speeds for about 4 miles?

After a break of almost two months, today I cranked up my Roadmaster. Primed the carb and it started well. THEN ... I saw white smoke pouring from the driver's side pipe. Revving produced more smoke but the engine was running smoothly. Eventually (5-6 minutes in 70 degree weather) the smoke faded out to nothing. With the car running I opened the radiator cap and coolant level was up, no bubbles. Oil was full up also. Shut it down for 10 minutes and restarted - no smoke. I came up with two explanations. 1) Accumulated condensate in the driver's side exhaust. Recent weather has been down to 40 at night, 60s in the day. Why only one side?? 2) Coolant slowly leaked into the oil sump over several months and then quickly burned off. What path does coolant take to get into the sump with the car not running? Head gasket? This week I need to drive the car a few miles to get some brake work done at the shop. They could probably handle head gaskets but it will be expensive for labor. Will a compression test on the driver's side cylinders be revealing? Thanks in advance. Bill Shields

I checked the switch for pedal pressure with the engine off. It activated with modest pressure. With the booster operating, I think it would be quite sensitive. But I didn't like what it did when I turned it in by hand.

Bloo, thanks for the observations. That's my current plan. If it leaks, I'll see if I can find another brand made in the USA. But I fear all the brands are made in that cursed China.

I didn't send this picture of the evaporator/blower mounted on the transmission hump. The car has a lot of usable parts overall.

John, alas it's an aftermarket AC setup that looked pretty poor, not mention the car is in Texas. For those interested, CTC Auto Ranch is parting out four or five '58 Buicks including one Super. Note that sometimes pcitures are out of date, hence they have to check to see if the power brake unit is still there. I can see one on the Super also.

Sorry - it was Bob. My mistake.

Bob - thanks for the special tool offer, I will take you up on it when I actually start on a rebuild. Old Tank - where does that very detailed schematic you posted come from? The one with a two-letter designation for each part. A parts book? To all - it's been awhile since I've been on the forum. Not clear to me how to reply to a single post as opposed to replying to the topic.

Thanks for the replies! EmTee - I have a solid pedal in the situation you describe, remains solid with pumping. in general I agree, just pull off the master cylinder and rebuild or replace, then bleed. The issue is that on a '58 Buick, the master cannot be removed separately, the whole combined unit has to come out. Due to an inaccessible locknut under the dash, this is a very unpleasant task even if you've done it before, as I have. Then there is the $1,000 for the rebuilt unit plus shipping unless you take on the rebuild yourself with a kit. There is now available a custom booster/master setup for '58 Buick that provides a dual master, for about the same cost. John D - agree also. Not enough leakage to get on anything besides the bottom of the booster unit -- and in any event, my engine compartment is not cosmetically detailed. Bob - as said to EmTee, the pedal is solid and does not sink to the floor under pressure. I've never touched the innards of these complex units. I'd give it a shot if it was an easy removal and install, but it's not. On the leak itself, it is not sensitive to multiple brake applications. I thing it is leaking very slowly past a "secondary seal" that is not in contact with the pressurized part of the piston assembly (primary seal). If that's right, the unit will perform fine as long as the fluid level is up. Disappointing that a seal leaks after just a few years. Lance - no weep hole. It does have an unusual plugged brake line port at the bottom of the reservoir. I don't know what this is for. In any event, it's in plain sight and is not leaking. Overall, I'm leaning towards the brand new dual unit, available on eBay and other places. Custom-made for the Buick. However, I have a question in to the eBay vendor. The description seems to imply that this unit blocks off the driver's air vent. That would be an unacceptable loss, as my car is not air-conditioned. I have a friend with a '58 Cad who went through 3 rebuilds in 12 years, same power brake unit. The last rebuild is holding so far ... UPDATE: eBay vendor answered instantly: "This kit blocks off the driver side air vent that is by the driver's knees. Passenger side is unaffected." Very bad unless you have AC.

On my 1958 Roadmaster ... the Flight Pitch tranny is generally working well including the Grader Retarder. No leaks (!) and no noise. It does have one odd issue, though. If you start the car and try to shift into reverse while idled up a bit (say 800-1,000), you get a horrible clanking/grinding as if two gears are fighting each other or a gear is half-engaged. I've never let this go on more than a second or two. On the other hand, if you wait till the engine idles down to 450-500 rpm, shifting into reverse is silent and smooth. Yes, I can live with this issue but I'd like to know the cause and what would need to be done to fix it. Nothing I can find in the Flight Pitch manual. Any ideas out there? Bill Luray, VA

Wow, I hadn't thought of that. I'll check tomorrow. There should be nothing liquid in there!

Updated report. The car has been sitting in the garage for two days and the greenish fluid still drips from the gas tank flange. The big oil splash pan is now covered with a thin layer of fluid. I'd guess if I poured it out there would be maybe 4-6 ounces. So far no noticeable drop in the radiator level though that amount of fluid wouldn't make much of a dent at the radiator. I am ruling out "splash back" from driving at high speed, that would have left fluid all over the bottom of the car. No sign of that. On evaporation -- the pan fluid does not seem to be evaporating now that the temp is cooler. My impression is that there is some water mixed in with whatever is dripping. No smell of gasoline. This weekend I'll put the rear end up on ramps and take a look. The forward slant of the body should drive the dripping to another location. I can also run a cooling system pressure test -- I have one of the old Stant kits for doing that. Thanks for all the replies!

That occurred to me also. I don't think so. I now have an oil splash pan covered with the clearly green fluid. Putting it on painted surfaces had no effect. And the gas tank is well behind the rear brake lines.

Interesting theory. No smell of gasoline but it could be mixed in with water. I had a very hard time getting this "under water" gas gauge to seal up. They should have left it on the top of the tank as they did with all Buicks 1957 and earlier. The 1958 design was to help mechanics get at the gauge!

No underseat heater on this car. Coolant is showing full but I only drove the car 10 miles or so. I looked under the hood and saw nothing, water pump is a new installation as are all the hoses, clamps, etc. I didn't have time to run more tests, I'll get at that this weekend.

Sorry - typo. That's 1/16".

It was a standard hex set screw ... but very tiny, just 1/6". The set screw was much smaller than the opening provided for it. Thanks for all the replies!

Bob - that certainly could be. I will check tomorrow as you suggest and post what I find.

I will check that this weekend. Thanks.