buick man

Interesting case study here will need to follow. Trivial riddle, but have always wondered ... when GM was assembling this era of Buick and it's brothern, just exactly when was the production tag a fixed onto the firewall near brake booster. At what stage was it actually attached to the body shell upon delivery from Fisher Body ? ... Before it went through painting or after it was painted ? One would think the firewall ID tag would be placed before anything was done to the body shell as it has all the codes fixed to it then go on from there. If so, this then begs the question, would the tag then not be completely painted over as the assembly painters sprayed the entire body to the paint code indicated on the tag ? Personally, I have seen the tags both ways, either painted over but the vast majority of the time they appear just like this one as non painted and have no paint on them. If this is indeed a surviving factory paint car, and this tag has just the edges painted over, apparently the painters at the factory would what, place a card or something over it so as not to paint over the tag entirely and this one just happened to get some body shell paint on it ? Has anyone the factory correct answer to this Trivial Riddle ?

Agreed ... First take the basic time to get it running and drivable then list price with added zero's. Simple solution.

So what's not to like ... Optimum accessories, solid interior, great chrome and presentable paint job. Just clean the interior vinyl, steering wheel an install new window and door rubber seal kits and you have all you need here. Then get into the engine bay and clean that up too. Oh, er ... and take the body paint off of the fender bolts while your in there 😇

The price a bit too high ? .... I don't know but as compared to what other apparently surviving, solid presentable and drivable 1950 Buick ?

... Also might note that on our railheads, the original factory oil engine to filter boss ( That which allows for the mounting of the canister filter factory setup) mounts to the engine block and has a built-in valve system and spring component to it. One of the functions of this integrated valve body is to help minimize line drain back keeping oil at the ready upon startup. Regarding oil reserve upon startup after long standing non start scenarios, It is always much better to remove the distributor and spin the oil pump to sufficiently prime the complete engine oil gallery then to simply remove the coil wire and crank the cold hibernating engine to attempt pre start lubrication. btw this valve, on an aside, does also tend to get gummy bear ( i.e. frozen with gunk ) when the engine sits or hibernates for a long period of non-use and should be removed and cleaned up during either the filter canister filter or spin on filter service to assure proper functionality in regards to oil flow. Buick went to the spin-on in 1959 and from what I can conclude was more or less an attempt to speed up service bay turn-around times at the dealers much more than an overall engineering god send to engine lubrication advancements. Similar to this reoccurring argument is the use of paper air filter's claims to performing superior engine air intake filtering then what an oil bath system can accomplish. But then again heavy equipment manufactures continued to use oil bath systems for many, many years even after paper filter systems arrived on the scene. Makes on wonder why ? Alas, paper air filter systems too were most likely another creation for faster and simpler service bay turn-around times than anything to do with the continued hype of superior filtering capabilities of paper filters vs. oil bath filtering systems.

..... yeah drhach, but let's not forget to mention that was in the 80's and only after a decade of selective oil crisis social engineering and a financially strapped populace of force fed trickle down economics ..... q.e.d.

1960 LeSabre Engine perhaps

If anyone is quantined and wanting to see how things were back in the day or just need a reminder what it was like to actually have a functioning middle class that could purchase goods and services. Wow & service with a smile too ! Well some may ask what do ya mean service with a smile ? Take a look it's an eye opener to say the least to see just how much we have, in our opinion slipped and slided on down into the future as we know and live it today. Take a look at those 1957 model year cars too while your at it. Enjoy

The molded integrated arm rests which Lance refers to did indeed occur that I know of at least in the Century lines for sure. My all original 57 Caballero which I purchased in 1973 had them with a red/white cordovan interior and sporting a clean chrome polished dash band like as seen in the sample photos below and have seen these molded arm rests in some Supers as well. Speaking of dash bands this is yet another odd yet factory accurate reoccurrence yet cannot find this distinction in dealers interior selections of the period. As in could you order the molded arm rest interior and choose between center metal dash bands ? I have seen both combinations and perhaps this was a regional factory thing. Perhaps someone can clarify. As a result you often find a Century or a Super with and or without the "machined " look on the chrome dash band while others have fully clear polished dash bands and some have molded arm rests as well.

Hello: What you are asking for I think, is the metal approximately 12-inch long by 1/4" tube that runs out of the passenger's side engine block near the oil filter mounting boss location and runs up the passenger rear side of the block connecting to the manifold metal vacuum lines at the rear of carb base or you could fashion a connection into the intake manifold hard vacuum lines in that area. As you know you can fabricate one or If you cannot find one here you can contact one of the classic salvage yards located in Arizona, U.S.A. / Minnesota / Oklahoma etc. Here are a few to help you out : Desert Valley Auto Parts 800.798.2465 French Lake Auto 320.274.8497 Buds Salvage 1.800.375.2837 / 1.800.905.8020

Yep ... " There's just so much more for 54 "

... OK just take a ride over to your trusty automotive Dupont automotive paint jobber and have them color match a known factory correct component using their Nason catalyzed single stage urethane. Make sure to request they produce a mix formula for future reference. That's what I did and have them also give you a few mils in small cans of the blue, white and black tint used so you can tweak it a bit in shop to adjust with a few sample spray outs to get dialed in perfect if need be. A lite dusting of fine grit finish compound over the virgin surface area will delicately cut off surface oxidation and time induced hazing to expose the original hue and tones. The Nason urethane temp range is good to go on an engine block and valve covers. ( Not exhaust manifold etc ) I did this since like you had areas of covered protected areas of factory paint that when exposed were not as faded nor presenting with a oxidized green tine which led me to hypothesize on the leaded lacquer chemistry story posted above. Because what I found on the premixed market were the so-called correct color matches engine paints turned out to be incorrectly too green or too blue. Oh and Ford blue is not correct & neither is Chrysler green.

.... er now I'm getting confused, you mean 2 range Dynaflow right with 2 sprockets ? .... 😇

I think this is nice for the price overall. Clean and tidy and well sorted even the trunk looks nice. As one pointed out regarding a hint of rust and if there is indeed rust one must remember we are talking about a 49 Buick and the gauge of the sheet metal is about a 1/4 inch thick so repairs if even needed are a simple deal. Wonder how much it would cost to replate the rear bumper anyone know exactly ? The front looks really good. And just for posterity a few photos :

Special Ed : Not to sound too pretentious here and I mean no bad, but I recommend that you go drive a real period correct dynaflow and report back to us on your take about the absolute obvious lack of ANY sensation, sound, vibration of sprockets or gears changing during acceleration or deceleration ... That is Dynaflow ....

Edit to my prior post : Smartin yes you had a very nice complete original model 57 and got a proper and realistic price for value at the sale but that was not my contention here so perhaps I should give an abbreviated power point explanation to clarify once again .... In short IMO you never would of gotten even half that amount had you gone through BaT ... and this seller who knows it now should never of done so either. Classic cars selling on BaT are almost always " mercy sales " ( aka load and dump sales ) via estate executors i.e with no reserve or through non savvy family members with reserve. Hope that cleans everyone's shorts.

... ahh that's funny too 🤒

Or it could just be a mod as an old hippy ride and was thought to be psychedelic at the time ?

.... I mean no bad and not defending anything here really , but gee Smartin I just don't think if you had listed your RM on BaT you would of pulled anything near the upper 20's listing price you were asking and most likely why it was listed on both this site and eBay. So a comparably presented car evan as a Special with easily detachable nuances in comparable condition and overall presentation should be lucky to peak at under 10k, really what are we missing and here is why ? BaT is an interesting site. IMO and generally speaking it is a community that can be easily divided ... On the one hand you have your veneered cork smelling wine caver's set generally within a specific age grouping range that identifies and appreciates predominately european gated community shiny offerings, Fuchs, Ruf wheels, european factory tool kits etc. and/or offerings of either over the top resto-mod american 4 wheelers or " Survival Bot, " Transformer Type" all terrain restored and heavily upgraded vehicles. The other group appears is predominately set well within the informed retired rare to purchase range and which btw seems to contribute the bulk of the commentary during each sale. A site for the Love of true preserved American classic non modded metal ? - Ah not so much. In short, for these reasons and no doubt others, BaT is a poor site to sell true american preserved classics at their true potential value for American pre to mid 60's rolling iron and that segment of the public that these classic cars endear themselves to is shrinking by gentrification but their value is still out there when presented correctly to the right audience. Dynaflow as a 2-Speed or 2-Range transmission ? ... That is the question. To shift or not to shift quoted the Raven. My take is the Dynaflow as a fluid coupling torque multiplying type transmission as Lance and others correctly pointed out not an actual conventional thinking 2 speed transmission but a rather and more correctly a 2 range transmission with each range offering an almost logarithmic multiplication of torque based on a fluid's ability to move an object and not based upon a direct gear's ability to do so achieved by hard gearing and layshaft interplay resulting solid feel of gear changes.

... ah come on folks ... there is a lot of love area in that there back hanger .... Just think about it, pull up to a club event or a C&C, set up a table cloth off the back and lay out some cold cuts and buns, beer or it's your party what would you bring to the party other than a wrench ! Other than that IMO there is a lot to love with the rest of the car as well.

Sunday Pick of the Week : Just came across this 1957 Buick Special over at BAT site ... So what are your thoughts : This could just might redefine what a Tail Gate Party could really be ! https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1957-buick-special-3/

Chris .... I just detailed and explained what a proper 57 Buick pedal should feel like ... what did you miss ? Adam ... Yeah it is a lot to process and perhaps you were just lucking in the past. Like I said it is either the parts : original, cleaned and reused, or new and funky spec or something your doing, missing or over looking. Most likely the master cylinder and rod shaft interface. It is all about the sealing around the shaft at the master cylinder. But if you confidentially feel it has nothing to do with you or the components, go turn up the shoes into the drums up almost tight and see how your pedal feels ... if that cures pedal feel issues then it is most likely not your mc and while under vacuum the pedal rebounds properly as explained then it is something past the mc components and is either your brake lines themselves that although appear o.k. have an existing internal unseen failure problem. By snugging up the shoes into the drum to a certain extent you can isolate the shoe drum interplay to determine if that is the problem. 🤒 Edit: btw the photos shown above are from a tear down I did some years ago. The entire brake system was working just fine like all the 57 Buicks I had before, just removed, disassembled, cleaned the parts up and reassembled so the photos depict what the parts look like. Any cracking or dry parts which most likely won't occur unless the unit sat for years dry, then just clean up the parts and reinstall paying attention to how the shaft seals are doing their job. Doubly inspect how the seals look upon contact along the shaft/piston. Regarding the piston, make sure it is slightly just damp with ATF not soaked. No need to butter up the inside of the tank. Make sure the spring stays in position as you insert and pull back on the piston to check for binding or uneven retraction as you withdraw the piston and then pushing back in ....

Here are some more component photos to consider : As for the master cylinder itself as stated above is a metal reservoir chamber but the plunger head rides and seals via multiple rubber and metal components all riding on the just the plunger rod itself as the head is metal not rubber and plunges into the reservoir as a mass of displacement to cause the brake fluid to seek an opposite dynamic in response to the metal plunger rod. This then allows for greater displacement to occur with minimal counter force concentrated on the circumference to the small plunger shaft itself rather than conventional master cylinders that rely on the larger sealing areas needed and integrity of a cylinder wall of a rubber plunger/metal wall cylinder scenario. With that said, the shaft however needs to have it's rubber components located correctly and the spec clearances of the replacement rubber components have to be tight and the material used of solid integrity. If not this area of the master cylinder is going to give one problems on a rebuild pics 8 & 9. Placement of the metal strainer spacer as shown at the end of the wooden handle as being removed has to be non corroded and placed and seated correctly into the master cylinder on rebuild pic 6 & 9. If the both the master and plunger cylinder are correctly reassembled, lube and rebuilt with solid close tolerance quality components, with correct toque sealing the you should have a solid pedal upon driving and almost instant brake response at about 1/4 deflection of the pedal. If one wants to improve upon what is already a solid pedal feel, then the installation of metal braided DOT 4 flexible lines can be installed on both fronts and rear over axle line. Edit: The metal braided lines will dramatically reduce the psi reflex rebound that rubber only lines experience upon braking. In short rubber lines bulge out and this increases drop foot pedal travel where as metal braided teflon lines prevent this and contribute by reversing this rebound dynamic thereby assuring a more solid pedal and thereby reducing drop foot pedal travel.

Just my opinions here... Adam in all practical probability it is not the brake shoes and it is not the master cylinder itself as it is just a hollow block as it essentially serves as a hollow metal reservoir ... but wit this system it is all about the rubber seals, metal ring positions, amount and type of lube used upon reassembly. Also you may through no fault of your own have a crappy rebuild kit to begin with ( think type of materials used and the finished tolerances they are molded from ) or possibly you are creating something in how you are reassembling the components .... When you rebuilt the vacuum diaphragm did you apply any thing to the rubber comports that the rod slides through and/or how much did you use ? Did you apply anything to the walls of the plunger tank as shown in pic 7 ? What type of plunger material are you using leather or plastic compound provided in the rebuild kit as shown in pic 3 ? The bleeder line can leak internally new or old so take off and test it pic 1 & 2 . If you did apply something to the either the leather or plastic plunger how much of it did you apply and did you make sue the internal ring spring was not walking out of the leather or plastic when you inserted it into the plunger drum ? One can easily reverse the reassembly of the satellite clip rings pic 8 & 9. The cinch brass plug can be too loose or too tight when re-installed pic 6 If completed correctly and your reservoir vacuum tank and associated vacuum lines are all sealed and not leading, then if the car sits for ever you should still be able to get a hard pedal at about 1/4 of the way down and continue to do so even after multiple pumps. If not then some area, item/component, lube is either not installed right, overly lubed, reversed or is not sealing correctly or leaking or as stated you have a kit that has loosy goosy spec tolerances made of cheap component material.

... now now Lance, stop pouting just because you have a couple Roadie's ....