buick man

Really a nice find for a local. All this car really needs IF the engine is not frozen is a love affair with a new lacquer paint course, rubber seals and carpet. Speaking of lacquer paint, I love lacquer paint. Apply it in your driveway, garage, recreation room, etc or where ever. Use a Compliant needle and cap gun not a HVLP setup so it atomizes properly. Just a simple surface clean prep session and tape off of body panels and bright work; lightly scuff the old system up to 220, clean, tack then apply 2 coats of catalyzed epoxy primer over original properly prepped original and sound surfaces; wait 12 hours, then lay on first round of 2 coat layer of lacquer paint. Wait 2 days, then apply another 2 coats. Wait 1 week, lightly color sand with 400, then apply another 2 coats of lacquer, wait 2 days, color sand again then apply another 2 coats of lacquer, then wait 2 days color sand then apply another 2 coats but with the last coat 50% reduced with slow lacquer thinner. Then let it set outside for 1-month. Then color sand again with 1500 paper. Then wait another month, then lightly buff and wax. Each coat can be applied early morning or late evening. .... Oops, now I just went on another rant again ..... 😗

If anyone is listening and your OEM system is still tight and working but not all that cold because it never was .... A simple and ergonomic simple solution to consider is installing in series another second condenser and larger receiver/dryer pot if you have a thermal expansion valve. The condenser is easily accessible in front as is the dryer but unfortunately the evaporator is not so work with what's in front of you. That way you can keep your rebuilt stock seeds n stems compressor with so-so 134A modern coolant and at the same time increase the condensing rate since the condenser works to reduce the temperature and pressure of hot gasses coming from the refrigerant. In addition, the condenser is also responsible for moving the cooled liquid refrigerant to the receiver/dryer or accumulator. Electric pump driven A/C systems use this approach. That way one does not have to bring your barge into dry dock and recreate the wheel so to speak with a frankenstein hybrid or a complete makeover or spend deep pocket for an under dash unit .... just another of my $ 10 advice specials ..

Well how about David Edwards current inventory ... how does that unit look and is it fully vulcanized ... ?

It would be informative if we could see a fresh OEM Steele re-vulcanized unit compared side by side with the one offered on eBay and one of Edward's, set up in a group photo and a comparison review on each. If someone has recently received a Steele job they could submit a few photos and a summation review. Also, If someone has the one offered on eBay that is a repro or one from one of the usual suppliers perhaps they could include a few photos and a review as well. Same goes for the one offered by the NJ group. Just a few thoughts ....

I would have to check but I believe the one I received from David as a spare around 2011 was not vulcanized or had a separate cup ... but has been years since I checked it out. Either way, if yours is Sir Lance, perhaps applying some red rubber grease on the rubber lip upon installation would be a good idea .. and if you buy the one you listed above on line come back and let us know what you think of it quality wise. - Cheers

Not to bad anyone, but I have never honestly had a smooth straight experience with canvas or upholstery folks. Be it my boat or cars over the years. I mean there is just gonna be " something " that creeps up somewhere in the project and I do not mean unknowns creeping up. But it is on their side .... either things or materials get lost or the project time table to completion goes from a linear concept to something logarithmic and exponential to a shift in costs due to this or that, non returned calls to the point or you have to shadow them and camp out front of the shop to get their attention. Upholstery one would think would be pretty straight forward. Do the take offs and get to cutting and sewing. The opposite for example but very similar in complications setting in is the not so straight forward average plumbing project. Admittedly more complicated but regardless how many seemingly straight forward the number of turns, couplings and angles you anticipate, scale and draw out ... Something " always" results in more trips to the store, more turns, more couplings and less angles etc. That is why most plumbers drive van trucks I guess cause they need all those extra parts and fittings. Don here is what I would do and have done many times to avoid the above mentioned BS. Get yourself a good pair of hog wire pliers. Take the seats out complete and set them on a good adequately surface working bench and surgically remove the skins from the seat cushions. Then carefully as possible remove the cushions and put them is a container or make something that will safely contain them individually. Next remove the stitching from each of the pattern set blanks you remove that when sewn together make up your completed upholstery for that seat. When they redo your seats these steps is exactly what they have to do in order to use your old original sectional patterns as a template to trace out onto new material before cutting out. Different upholsters use various outside boundary hem / sew back lines. This means when they are tracing off your original individual patterns they allow an additional perimeter amount beyond the outer edge of original pattern piece and mark out these dimensions as such to allow for shrinkage, hem lines, seat cushion material, contouring etc. Either way, if you bring in your individual patterns as a number set over half the battle has been waged at this point. They can take from there and do their professional magic. In the meantime you can media blast your seat frames, springs etc and catalyze epoxy primer the whole works or get everything powder coated and make ready for the upholsterer. Or you can ... Do the frames/springs first and then bring the whole works over at the same time as your original patterns that way they have everything they need to start laying out, cutting and sewing. Since you have a Buick Roadmaster convertible go over to youtube and look at Jay Leno's R.M. convertible. He has a complete video show casing it. Take note of the factory original puffy contouring of the complete original leather seat, Notice the seat is not " Pan Cake Flat " but rather quite stuffed and where the piping meets the skins there is a definite raised radius contouring to allow for factory correct stuffing of foam and cotton. This is the correct look not flat lifeless " Slam it Out " upholstery work. It takes much more craftsmanship and time to do it correctly and that is why when you go and take a good look on many so called premiere restoration including frame off projects now days, the seats are pancake flat with little to no contouring. Tell tale evidence of a slam dunk out the door job ....... Oh .... Make sure to insist they use a special very strong non rotatable sewing hem threading called Gortex. It is made of a polypropylene material and boat upholstery and canvas folks use it. This polypropylene thread needs special sized needles for the particular and various Industrial Sewing Machines your upholsterer uses in their shop and Singer makes the various needles for their particular machine setup. Use this type of thread and you will never have a split seat due to thread rot failure again.

This fan clutch looks like a solid one. Is not a clutched assembly superior in over cooling functions ?

" ... I bought two kits of three and have these two left over to clutter the shop. . . " - Now that is just plain nutty ..... 🙃

Photo of spade clips used used to secure rubber fuel hose along frame and the type of clip used to secure at front frame cross member just before fuel pump.

Yeah Don there was no factory "T" connection off the tank. The new for 1957 rubber line replaced the previous years steel lines and ran from the center of the tank outlet over the top of the cross member over the axle to the passenger frame rail with factory spade clips located with factory milled holes made at about 4 foot intervals drilled into the frame rail to accept the rubber fuel line clips. The factory rubber fuel line continued up to the engine on the passenger side and was secured by clips located at the frame engine cradle area and there is one just before the fuel pump located on the top of cradle along the fender inner well skirt. The hose from the tank to the fuel pump is 1 continuous piece about 12 feet or so if memory serves me. From the fuel pump from the factory for 1957 it bypassed the previous years mounting at the thermostat goose neck as the factory eliminated the glass bulb configuration and instead used an additional rubber fuel hose which ran from the fuel pump to the front face of the carb be it the Carter or the Rochester being used by the factory. Therefore no fuel line on the driver's side nor coming up at or near the master brake component assemblies. Later during the model run, there was 2 different incarnations after the fuel pump. Both included ditching the In Tank fuel filter and instead incorporated either going back to previous model years glass bowl mounting arrangement or simple using a metal In-Line fuel filter. Factory clamps were of the simple screw less spring dog ear type clamp that one need only use a plies to install. As you can see in the photo from a October 1957 Test Drive report, the fuel line goes from the fuel pump via the rubber hose to the front of carb using no glass bowl filter setup. But notice at the thermostat goose neck the old bracket which was used in the previous model years using glass is still in place via the factory. The carb shown is the Carter 2507 4 barrel. Note too the master cylinder power plunger tank ( #6 location ) s not painted black but rather was rendered via the factory in silver cadmium plating and there is no fuel line anywhere near it. Excerpt from the test drive review regarding engine components for the new 1957 nailhead engine :

Cannot help you with Southern Cal Buck Nailhead experienced machine shops but make darn sure to ask when having nailhead "head work" performed and only by a shop that has the knowledge of actually working on Nail Head Engines and heads as you will not find many ... as they will know what to do to them and what not to do to them. Buick Nail Head engines are not a Chevy or Ford !! For example : You absolutely do not need to have them cut and insert hardened seats. The metal used on Cadillacs and Buicks heads of this Nail Head era was of extremely high quality metallurgical Boron content and hard. Also the port wall thickness jackets are extremely thin and close to the port and many Buick heads have been honed through the water jacket and ruined. There is a proper freezing process if you absolutely feel the need to insert hardened seats and theres a guy that does that in I believe South Dakota ... but then again why take the chance. From Russ at NailHead Buick . com : " ..... 15 PLUS Most common mistakes We get lots of phone calls and emails everyday, Here are the most common mistakes done by builders and machinists. Number one is valve guide clearance too tight, the new stainless valves require .002-.003 on intakes and .0025- .0035 on exhaust valves or you will have serious problems. " Number two, trying to install hardened seats and ruining the heads, Buick's don't need them .... " http://centervilleautorepair.com/tech-info/15-most-common-mistakes http://centervilleautorepair.com/tech-info/cylinder-head-info Call Russ and he will most likely know someone trust worthy to send them to in Southern Cal.

Thanks for posting ... and look at that upholstery and overall nice bright work. Edit: Oh, and if the factory brown lacquer primer is too much one can always very easily lacquer paint over it after painfully matching the factory lacquer blue top coat. Nice thing about lacquer is you can paint it in your driveway worst case scenario. You have to color sand every other coat anyway. A simple dimple job.

The only bolts I have found that had a factory black phosphate application are the large hex headed 4 bolts that secure the top of the power steering gear housing cover on Saginaw Unit .... But then again who's counting ;') Edit: Oh, for what it's worth I could be wrong and I was once back in 1971, but literally every non factory rebuilt Bendix or Moraine unit I have ever seen has been sprayed black without fail. Every factory original unit has been either silver cad or gold cad plated and the master cylinder reservoir was darkish battle ship gray with a silver cad fill cap. ;')

The stock setup had NO in-line filter. The filter was located in the tank as detailed and photographed above in my above post replies. The vent hose ran up and over the the top of the tank when mounted to the car and extended over the top and was exposed to the atmosphere. The photos above and explanations detail everything you need to know.