buick man

The Sagnaw box on a 57 is completely different from that of the 56 in size, length and hose alignment. I believe they hook up differently at the rag joint and at the frame rail along with other dimensional differences. You may get it to work with a lot of " Arts n Crafts " time and toil but I would square off and hunt down a 56 unit and rebuild that. Way better route to take ....

Lance is right. Funny you should ask. I just went to my Dupont jobber the other day as they have been in business since the fifties and my guy there pulled out their original archival Dupont Duco Lacquer and Dupont Dulux Enamel books with the factory mix tint ratios and numbers all as used back in the day. Dupont has color close approximation mix formulas to duplicate the Duco Lacquer colors and provide the appropriate paint/binder/tint formulas that render a very good starting point that however still needs to be tweaked a bit for an exact match. My jobber came up with the formulas after contacting Dupont but they now have different names for these color formulas. Like in my instance, it is no longer called Antique Ivory but by another name. The Tangerine color came back as a big zero with no name or color tint code. So alas they do not have the Dupont Dulux Enamel paint/binder/tint formulas to duplicate the belt line and wheel colors. You would need to have your jobber start from scratch and color tint to match and provide you with a ratio mix formula so the color can be reproduced whenever in the future for you. That costs extra but is well worth it. To be absolutely correct in color hue and tint an enamel base paint should be used on trim and wheels. Some single stage urethane the trim and powder coat the wheels but this is a close match but not as exact if that is what you are after. In any event, have a good original piece of trim so it can be used as a reference based calibrator the jobber can base tint and color tint match off of. When I get around to color matching mine I will post the formula for posterity.

Jim ...:') - just go down to the dealer and order some WA-30. We thinks the bottles have blue liquid in them :

Wow, thanks Al for the photo clarity and tech info. So it is for a straight eight then .... The 53 Buick Special came with a last year offering from Buick for the straight eight as all other models for 53 and onward now had the new nail head V8 mill from the factory.

... thanks guys. Your right Al that is most likely the story with the last digit. The boot itself however is actually very pliable and like new so is most likely if not factory than aftermarket boot from the 70's or 80's - perhaps. Anyways, bought the boot without a lot of thought or effort on my part. The ebay seller indicated that the box was to come with the boot but just the boot arrived. The box has the part number but the rubber seal has no I.D. or part number embossed upon it. Cost me $ 15 so no big deal ... did not do my usual due diligence and this is what happens. I know that the 57 does not have an external boot so thought it was something additional and did not look up the part number just to see ... don't know what I was thinking 😴 Al, I know you have a 53 and if you could use this boot let me know and I will ship it out to you free of charge. If Al does not want it then anyone else who could use it is welcome to it. As far as fitment goes I have no idea but It is soft, pliable and undamaged. - dave

Great points ... what I have done for at least the last 15 years is when winterizing in the fall I have a couple 5 gallon cans of real gas (non alcohol) that I get from either the marina or local municipal airstrip and put my favorite cocktail of fuel enzymes and stabilizers mixed well into it. Then hook my external fuel extractor unit to the detached incoming steel or rubber line of the fuel pump to it. It sucks most if not all the fuel out of the tank. Then reinstall the line and fill the tank up with about 2 gallons then start the car up and let it idle for about 5 minutes. This flushes the complete system. The external fuel extractor I use is battery operated and has a 1/2 id open hose with adaptors on one end and a hand held dispersal nozzle on the other end. I can use it to suck gas out of the vehicle tank as noted or use it to suck gas out of jerry cans or fuel containers to fill up with. Works simple and quick. But yes corn-a-ol wanna be gas gummy bears, coats, dissolves, separates and corrodes on a linear time basis meaning it worsens as it sets longer with time. In the spring the fuel is still fresh, no dried gaskets etc. just prime, spin and then start.

91vert: We would recommend : 1) Using this source for the carb rebuild parts for a multiple of reasons : http://www.daytonaparts.com/kits.html 2) Ideally, either recondition and reuse your original leather accelerator push rod get your hands on a leather replacement accelerator plunger and not a -plastic one. 3) Get your hands on 5 gallons of real gas not ethanol gas to do your startup after rebuilding the carb to spec as ethanol has a way of changing the fuel volumetric's to that of real gas that the original carb was spec'ed for. Makes getting everything set right before you put it into service then you can either recurve the distributor or tweak the idle circuit to accommodate the gas-o-hol volumetric's by way of adding an electric pusher pump near the gas tank. ... just a few nods of advice.

Just picked up what was reported to be an NOS torque ball boot for the 57 Buick. Received it but there are no markings nor part numbers anywhere on the rubber. I seem to recall some years ago I had one with the box and it had numbers embossed on the side. Could this even be the right one or worse a NORS one ? I did not get the box with the sale as I thought I would ... Anyone ? Below is the sale photo:

Here's a variety of 1957 heavy metal rides on this episode of Highway Patrol ... Buick, Dodge, Mercury, Ford and others ... pick out your favorite. It seems they all were equipped with posi traction and even when new these cars appear to have quite a bite and bark to the exhaust tone .... what with the 57 Police Special Buick having a possible beef'ed up 364 10:1 in it and this 57 Dodge with that tel-tale solid lifter 392 Hemi chatter. The 55 fords have their distinctive hollow Y-block sound and the Mercury is predictably throaty with what may be a 430 in it ?

... This is great and thanks for taking the time to post this which I think many perceive this whole process as daunting at best ...and with a video to boot ! Some of us here are challenged in just attempting to post a photo ... ; )

Just a note, another culprit for mimicking this kind of cascaded movement can be in an incorrectly tension set outer wheel bearing or even a sudden internal fated failing wheel bearing while still rendering no noise when checked with a quick outer jerk or spin of the tire. If you cannot discern aberrant improper seated ball joint movement, then I would tear down that wheel's spindle components and remove, check and repack and make a point of properly torque seating of that outer wheel bearing once again. As this has happened to me and found it worked out even though I had worked on that wheel/spindle just a couple months prior and assumed everything I had done was proper because I had done this operation many times before over the years. Sometimes we get interrupted during the teardown / reassembly process and then all bets are off.

Exactly lance ... guesstimate 1 full Saturday and possibly part of a Sunday ... put on stock hubcaps and do a number on the existing chrome bright work and it would look like a different car entirely. Looks like it sat and sat inside somewhere for a good stretch. That haze on the passenger's side is most likely the lacquer that has sweated and powdered. Cut and polish. Forgot to grab the price and the seller's phone or email.

Here is the listing: https://spokane.craigslist.org/cto/d/clayton-1950-buick-super-eight/6849535359.html

Yeah it is absolutely really nice car for sure and saw this episode years ago. One comment I have is the guy says .... "unrestored just the way I found it" ... If that is the case, and definitely no bad intended to the owner, ... If this car indeed sat for any length of time before he got it and even regardless if it had not and only had been driven 1 mile a month since new, I doubt seriously if the engine bay would present with such clean shiny painted surfaces especially on the valve covers considering old single stage factory enamel would surface fade and easily chip with the heat, wear and tear and compounding years. So my guess is the engine bay has definitely been massaged and prep'ed more than just a little.

.... great find Ed and what a comparison. Some years back the secret sauce in WD40 wash fish oil believe it not .. and none of these are actually oil base but are fluid based. It is interesting to see good ol' ATF which is no surprise but with acetone mixed into it that puzzles us. Acetone which of course is a very volatile ketone, which one would expect to evaporate within minutes once exposed to air is accredited to this mix. It would be interesting to see what the torque difference would be with just ATF alone without the acetone mix. In the past I have used ATF as a stand alone for removing oxidative blush off of metal surfaces, now I use M. Mystery Oil which again is actually a fluid and not an oil, as my go to for surface oxidation tasks. For example, like when you get that old car home the first day and the engine bay area components have all blushed with dull pink surface oxidation. Just spray a heavy load over all the surface areas under the hood and then walk away. Come back in a month or so and open the hood. The engine compartment will have that driver car used everyday look, just like as if you have been running the car full time and just shut it off last week as all the surface blush will have vanished.

These are truly gorgeous and what a really priceless find indeed. The 51-52 club man should not pass on these. Eric if you can try and make a xerox copy of these instructions and post them in the library to posterity.

... so can anyone tell us all what should the best kit be composed of and where would one get that best most complete kit ?

... well truth be told my take is I don't really use WD40 on anything anymore cause it causes rust just ask anyone who has owned and lived on a boat like I did for 15 yrs can tell you; As for PB Blaster it should have a skull and bones emblem on the front of it ( the smell alone is a clue ) ... so the real GO-TO for this guy is LU103 made by Sprayon T.M. . It works like a blow torch in a silk glove and it's pleasantly Vanilla scented as well. Here is the link : https://www.sprayon.com/product/lu103-high-performance-rust-penetrant-rust-breaker/ After getting to a point in time and starting to react to nouscious crap I had to find something that would work and not have the neighbors calling the EPA so found 103 and haven't looked back.

Wow this is one great nice retro collection you don't want to miss ... gee now I want my shop to look like some of these and the stairs that say BUICK is at the top too !

well regardless what kind of lubricant you use or how much heat one would think for sure just standing there and beating against your nuts will get them off real fast but ya gotta be careful, after all you could damage them, so if your real careful you can keep em in good condition and have them ready to use over and over again if'in they're not all scraped up gouged and damaged.

... Just thought while I was waiting and waiting for the water to boil while checking my thermostat I would ask what folks are using in the way of technique and products to get all this nasty stubborn and even tight nuts and bolts loose without ruining them cause you don't want that do you ? ... and you don't want to skin your knuckles either. So with that said, personally my Go-To method is to get what i'n working on nice and hot taking my time and then take a short breather and let em cool down a bit, then when it gets there start doing it again, Oh and you can repeat as necessary, When the moment feels right then just spray on some of this stuff cause it seems to work for me and don't get any complaints cause I follow the directions to a T ... Of course my instructions sheet is a little old, but then again so am I :

... Yes we hear that Al for sure, yet that Korean era chrome was still we believe hexavalent although trivalent was being used as far back as the thirties for small accessory items.

... no did not go see it as I am on the left coast just went to the craigslist ad and cut the photos out of the ad .... like I said they really loved to give us green back then cause they had a lot of it laying around so we have been told .. also if you go and get the rear bumper chromed and you want it to match even from 40 feet away make sure your plater uses the original Hexavalent chrome process and not the dyed Trivalent chrome process ... put them side by side and it is day to night diffierence. The Hexavalent will be the nice original blueish tone chrome and the Trivalent will have the spray can chrome paint / white tone ...

Spotted this on Denver Area Craigslist : Due to wife's illness I'am forced to sell some of my toys. This 57 Buick is a decent driver but I had the blue paint partially sanded down on top and now has patina which I have clear coated. It is a solid car with only small rust in spare tire well. I hope to have one of my grand-kids get me updated pics and video soon. It runs and drives but I haven't drove it since last summer. Interior needs to be redone as its dry from the Arid climate and sun. Tires are good and I have these wheels and or spoke wheels, 364 Nailhead v8 starts right up. Automatic. Decent chrome and all there, just needs love and a new home. $4995 https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/montrose-1957-buick-special/6831992498.html

and just for posterity .....