buick man

There are give and take issues regarding silicone brake fluid useage. It is easy to clean your system out to prepare for silicone but the reverse is not. Also, silicone brake fluid does not like the heat as in down hill runs on the brakes or heavy brake useage. If the car will be a garage or yard statue, then silicone will keep the corrosion issue down to a purr. However, if you just bleed your brakes once a year and use DOT 4 or Racing Blue then you will have no problems with the water or the rubber seals.

Hey. Does anyone out there know where I can purchase a kit to rebuild the Trico Windshield Washer Pump on a 1957 Buick? Now Old Buick Parts Inc. sells the naked lid, spring and jar but no pump rebuilding kits. What good is the jar and lid without the kit? I have the complete O.E.M. system along with the jar. I took it apart the other day. Seems very simple. After unscrewing from the jar the black plastic assembly is riveted to the lid with the various vacuum hoses attached to it. The main pump is secured with a circular ring which could be outsourced and matched. There is a spring inside of the cylinder and this pushes a plunger. In addition to my request above, can anyone also tell me how this pump works in detail and in regards to the various hoses attached to it and what they do? I looked into my 1957 Chassis Manual and CD but did not find any details or rebuilding data. Thanks in advance.

I should explain here just a bit. We agreed on a Friday to have me call him the next day on a Saturday as to what we should do about the trunk lid. He thought he had a bad lid around but was unsure on what he wanted to do. I called him that Saturday after lunch but got no response. I left early that next week on a last minute unexpected family matter trip out of state. Since we had not confirmed anything about the trunk I figured I would call him back when I got a chance. I did not have his number with me during the trip. He called a couple of times and my office notified me about his calls stating he had cut up his trunk lid. I called him during my absence and told him I would contact him when I got back and we would conclude the deal when I got back. My stay took much longer than I had expected. I just got back yesterday. He had my telephone number all this time and could of called me as of recent and left a message again. If he did I have not received it. BuickBonery, It is unfortunate we had a misunderstanding. Instead you chose to address your business concerns publicly on this forum as you did. Well I was going to contact you tomorrow but when I logged onto this post I was surprised to see your post flaming me. It was premature and unfortunate that you cut up your lid without confirmation from me first since you were the one unsure of what you wanted to do. I appreciate the thoughtful effort and initiative you employed. Thank you. But since you decided to post this on this site without concluding or confirming things with me first, I find this tactic to be somewhat sophomoric. Therefore, please keep the lid and sell it to some one else. I will find another. David

Trying to track down a qualified shop with documented project history regarding the preservation and redoing of a 1957 Buick Road Master interior and seats. If you have worked with such a shop or know of one with these qualifications, then let me know. Thanks in advance. David

Trying to track down a San Francisco Bay Area upholstery shop with documented experience and project history with both redoing and preserving 1957 Buick Road Master interiors and seats. Let me know if you have worked with a shop or know of one with these qualifications. Thanks in advance. David

Looking for a bay area upholstery shop with documented project experience regarding late renovation & preservation of 1957 Buick interiors and seats. If anyone has had contact and experience with such a firm, then please let me know. Thanks in advance. David

Want To Buy: Looking for a 364 Buick scrape Distributor shaft that I can use as an oil pressure purger on my drill to run the oil pump to create oil circulation for out of car engine. I have a 1957 Buick 364. Not sure what years will work but I would think 1957-1963. Thanks in advance David

Well I guess you guys are a wondering how things went on my L.A. run? First off. We are all car guys here so let's not kid ourselves. We all love a good car find story. So here is mine for you. So I may go on and on a wee bit try to understand my excitement of it all. I took videos of the loading of the car. When I get this put together I will post it on youtube and let everyone take a look at the adventure. To begin with I ended up taking down an enclosed Interstate trailer with torsion suspension. Rated at 9,950 lbs or nearly to that effect. With my F-250 4x4 heavy duty suspension and Banks Turbo with Banks 4-inch exhaust and Banks Transmission package I hardly felt like I was towing a trailer down to L.A. that is. Coming back up and home was slightly another matter that I will get into shortly. First though, I have to say the trip down to L.A. on Interstate 5 was uneventful save for a sideline pit stop at one of those out-in-no where truck stops spaced every 40 miles or so along the long lonely stretch that is Interstate 5 which runs from the San Francisco bay area south to L.A. The Mecca Run as it is sometimes known. I discovered at dusk, that I had no running lights power feeding the trailer and it was getting dark. So I had to pull off and wire up off of my tail light in order for the trailer to brighten up. Had brake and turn signals but no tree lights. Well we arrived at our destination about 12:00 midnight. Slept in the truck till 5:00 when the storage facility opened and the seller showed up. It did not matter what time it was. I jumped up rubbed my eyes, started my rig and drove around to the back of the facility. So there was my 1957 Road Master 2 Door Hard Top Model 76A just like it was waiting for me. I was pumped to say the least. I felt like a high school kid. Appearing in the original stock Antique Ivory also known as Cigarette Cream to some it was a contrast to the lot lights reaching out into the cold dim morning light and shimmering over the top of the car. I had never actually seen the car in person, mine you up to this point. A couple of weeks earlier a fellow I know went and took a zillion photos for me as directed so I had a really good idea of the condition of the car but had not felt and smelled it if you know what I mean. I had offered the lady a purchase option on the car and she accepted it. A non refundable $ 250.00 down and she would hold-up the sale for 45-days or until I could get a chance to see it and decide to buy it. This car according to the lady selling it for her still living 95 year old aunt to trim down the estate was originally purchased by her aunt in 1957 right here in L.A.. According to the VIN It was built right here at the L.A. plant G.M. had in the 50's and spent it's entire existence within this basin of The Door's infamous L.A. Women. Well, so the story goes the aunt stored the car in the very early seventies at her home in her garage. It had been her late husbands pride and joy so she kept it for remembrance I suppose. When I opened his Buick's extremely well balanced bank-vault-like driver's door, I caught a glimpse of the service tags that stations and dealers use to paste up on the lower inside door edge. Upon closer examination, I took a double take to discover one complete service tag had been done at 57,560 miles. The date? July 1968! Another tag just below and beside that one was for an oil change, chassis lube and complete transmission service at 60,000 miles. The date? 1970. The tags looked maybe 2-years old! I guess they should if no one ever opened the doors. I was amused at this until I then got into the car and looked at the odometer. It read 60,040. What? Had this car sat for that long? That or the odometer was broken. I asked the niece (seller) about this and she told me the car had sat all the time and was rarely ever driven after 1969 or 70. But it was serviced. The black original license plates had a june 1981 sticker on the plate. The battery was stamped punched 1981. It was toast. Apparently the old lady had licensed the vehicle up to that time but never drove it. She finally apparently just did a non-op on it from then on and there it sat in her garage. Boy the interior is like a time machine. Inside the car looks like a low mileage, no kids owner car cause I don't think the back seat was ever even sat in! Yep, the niece told me she had no kids. It reminds me of cars I would go and look at when I was in junior high back in the 60's. Like you would of found by opening the door up and looking in on some used car lot back in 1966 or so. I concluded the deal with the niece as she was in a hurry to get back up to San Jose where she lived. I then spent about an hour going over the car and looking at the original engine bay and generally checking everything out. My dad had a 1957 Century Convertible for about 3-years parked in front of our driveway when I was in 4th - 6th grade. It did not run but my friends and I use to sit in it and pretend we were flying bombing missions like on the 12:O' Clock High T.V. show. They say our sense of smell is directly wired to our memory banks in our brain. Well the smells of the engine and interior immediately flashed me back to those times. What a pleasant rush. This was the first car that I had worked on or had taken the engine apart as a kid will and knew it very well. The Buick green engine paint is still in great condition as are all components. Another time machine flash back for me. The car came stock with power windows, brakes, wonder bar radio w/foot switch, speed minder buzzer, electric antenna, electric 2-way seats and front/back/both radio speaker control. We had brought a battery with us so needless to say I was anxious to install it and power things up. I did not want or try to start it since it has been hibernating for so long. I have a time intensive detailed process for awakening slumbering and even locked engines. This was not to be the exception to this rule as badly as I wanted to see if the engine was free and would spin. But since the keys were long missing I could not turn the key to on so as to power most of the accessories up. However, I did reach over as if by reflex and wondering turned on the radio just to see if it might just light up or something, not expecting much but hoping. Humzzz went the vibrator in the radio. A good sign. A sign from heaven? Then very shortly there after classical music started to play. Scratchy at first then suddenly as clear as a bell. I then touch and lightly pressed the wonder bar. A quite sound like an old record changer mechanism noise followed, tha-click went the unit, then the dial moved to another station. Oh my god it works! It's ALIVE! Then I decided to try the foot button. The dial again changed to another station, this time a talk radio station. Then again and again a new station. When it reached the far right side as it began to recycle it thumped a little then flipped back to the left and started the process all over again though more smoothly this time. After a couple of times of this, the mechanism and movement was smooth and almost noiseless. I looked for and located the electric antenna switch just near my left knee and just wondered. So I at first tried to press/pull on it only to discover that a toggle switch was below that. Yes it worked. And smoothly up and down up and down. The lights all worked and the fan blowers as well. The Loading and Hauling of the Car: Well after all this excitement we washed the car at the site to clean it up. It had 40 years of dust and an oily type grease residue on the paint. Petroleum base air pollution. We then loaded the car nose first into the trailer easing it up the ramp using our winch we had brought along. I loaded as close to a 60/40 weight ratio as I could slightly weighing down the front of the trailer. We cross tied the front from the frame and I also straight tied off the front as well. When we straight tied using 2-inch 10,000 lb straps we were able to compress the suspension about 3-inches. We were tight to say the least. We only had about 2 1/2 feet or so working space up front so we also used our legs to cinch the straps down on the lock buckles. On the rear end I used axle straps being careful not to crush the steel brake lines that run along the axle housing and used the straight strap method and cinched these up tight as well. On hind sight I think I would of crossed strapped the rears but did not have enough straps to do so. We finally were loaded and set out on our return home journey. After some 65 miles through commuter Friday afternoon traffic we made our way to the start of the grape vine mountain grade just at the north end of the greater L.A. area basin . We were zombies at this point, so decided to stay the night and get a fresh start at a truckerville encampment. I checked the straps that night and they were tight. We left just click or two before dawn and made our way down the long steep mountain pass northward. This went off without a hitch letting the engine compression of the big diesel hold down it's own. I drove for a couple of uneventful hours then pulled over to check the straps. I was somewhat surprised. They were somewhat loose. Glad I had checked. I had not done any Jim Rockford type maneuvers so I could not understand how they could of loosened that much. The handle/strap brackets were still tight. Never the less they had slipped as slip they will. What happens regardless how frickin tight you get these straps they still manage to stretch then micro slip until loose. - Well thats my theory anyways. I think just the downhill inertia did the work to loosen the straps. So heres a lesson. HILLS LOOSEN STRAPS ! So we tightened them up and kept pushing on. We stopped again about 150 miles down the road and they needed slight tightening work but were just fine. The 4,400 lb car lives up to it's namesake "ROAD MASTER" and also made the F-250 more aware this time that something was in back of her unlike coming down to L.A. I found going north on I-5 is kinda of a long very slow but noticeable upgrade all the way back to the Bay Area. I could tell by the slight increase in turbo charge on my gauges and pyrometer exhaust meter. We got back ok and in one piece. The unloading went smoothly as we were now officially experts, and we were dead tired to say the least. A few days later I installed the battery again. I had taken out the driver's side door handle and lock and brought it to the locksmith to have a key made and was excited to see what I had bought. I inserted the new key into the ignition. Presto, it turned with ease. I then tried the locked glove box. It too turned with ease. Then the savored moment, I inserted the key into the switch turned it to on as I was anxious to see if the electric windows and seats worked. Sure enough as Fridays are paydays, they did and with ease. Hesitant at first sending out a slight smack off from a 40 year embrace with the rubber trim but the windows worked good. I did not want to press my luck and have them freeze on me until I was ready to service and lube them so I took them up. The passenger door side had been down about 3 inches and the driver's side about 2-inches for only God knows how long. They went up with ease. The trunk looks like it never was used. Still has the original jack with the jacking instructions on the trunk lid. The tires are all old Remington 8.0X15's with Wide White Walls. Probably at least 3 1/2 inches wide. They are not rotted and look like new tires with good tread although dirty and scuffed. Go figure. Did they even do date codes back then on the tires? I think not. The spare is also the same WWW tire type. No hubcaps though. I actually really surprised that the interior survived like it did as well as the inside of the truck and the completely original engine with clamps and hoses. I tried the electric seat but it did not work. I looked under the seat and discovered the stock wire connector had come off of the motor sometime in the past. I simply reinserted the harness end. Presto, the seats worked? A little jumpy and clunky at first but smoothed out. I had truly been one lucky guy to say the least. Well enough for now. I have a lot of work ahead of me to bring this car out of hibernation, rehabilitation and back onto the road. But I will do just that! I suspect just one kiss will not do it however. I am going to try and document on video the entire process since I run my own digital production company here in the Bay Area I thought this would be a neat and informative thing to do. Until then, I want to thank all of you guys for your input. To think this car was sleeping all this time since the Moon Landing and just like that voyage, it's a trip to say the least. David Gavin

Well to conclude this adventure I removed the driver's door handle with the lock mechanism inside it. The shaft that extends out of the door lock mechanism has the key code stamped on it. The lock smith made a key in a matter of minutes. Worked smoothly in the cylinder. When I returned to my vehicle and reinstalled the door handle I then tried the ignition switch. It too worked beautifully. I then tried the locked glove box. To my surprise it too turned and opened. I would have tried the trunk but I do not have a trunk lock at this time but I am working on it. The lock smith says when I get a lock cylinder, he will key the lock tumblers to fit my new key just made so I will then have as Buick intended in 1957 " One key for all locks" By the way, the lock smith's books indicated that there should be one key for the door/ignition and another different key for the glove box and trunk. Well apparently he and his books are wrong. My Road Master is a one owner and I doubt if it was re "keyed" to use just one key for all the locks. I know of a guy who just sold a Road Master convertible 1957 and he told me that one key fit all locks as well. Apparently this 2-key system ie door/ignition and then glove box/trunk began in the early 1960's. I am writing this so if anyone in the future finds themselves in the same position I was in regarding locks and keys for a 1957 Buick, they can use this reply as a reference. Removing the door handle required complete slow and careful removal of the interior door trim. I removed the handle by simply pressing the round escheions and exposing wire ring that holds the handle onto the door crank mechanism. I then took a dentists sharply pointed pick and slid the clip out of it's grove and the handle came off however I believe there is a specific tool for this procedure but the pick worked just fine. The only other slightly difficult ( because I had not done it before) was the complete removal of the door handle itself. I took off the very small twisted and conformed wire clip from the door's inside lock knob but found this was unnecessary. If I was going to do it again I would leave that attached and remove the door handle by removing the short rod that goes from the back of the handle/lock mechanism down to a clip. This clip in turn is attached to the door lock knob mechanism. To accomplish that one only needs to put your hand inside the door and follow the door lock knob rod mechanism down from the backside of the handle to where it connects to a clip. One only needs to user your fingers to press it out of the clip by pressing and pulling forward towards the front of the car. It then pops right out. Reassembly is the just the opposite of removal. David

Oh one other point. On a 1957 Ignition Front. There is only a contoured chrome key input flange which accepts the key. This flange envelopes most of the key plate when inserted. The entire unit is flush mounted to the dash with no holes at all. It appears all access has to be from behind. I will look straight into the bezel flange tomorrow, perhaps other than the key orifice there is some type of hole inside which I have not noticed before. The late 40s and earlier 50s Buicks had the ignition you speak of. If anyone actually owns and/or has removed a 1957 ignition unit from the dash please chime in. Respectfully, David

Thanks for the input. I however have no keys. That is why I am removing the ignition to get a good source for the key to be made at the locksmith shop. David

Hey if anyone has the actual experience in removing a 1957 Buick Ignition Switch I would like to hear from you. I have to remove mine, it is some distance from my house so I want to have all the right tools, sockets, or whatever with me so I can just dive right into it when I get to the car. I have never actually removed a 1957 ignition switch before so a good procedure and what to watch out for would be nice. I know they have a back plastic or bakelite cover plate on them. Does this have to be removed first? Basically I need to know how they are held in on the other side of the dash. Some switches have a large flat hex head nut with flat washer that threads up against the rear of the dash ignition hole and tightens up that way. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. David

Hey guys I know this is a blast from the past on a old post but I have to remove my ignition switch on my 1957 Road Master and want to know if there are any pointers on just how to do it. You know, special tools, size of sockets and best approach for attacking this switch removal in the least painful upside down procedure possible. If you have "actually" removed a 1957 Buick Ignition switch I would like to hear from you and your thoughts on how to go about removing it. I will have to travel a small distance to the car, so I want to have all the tools I need with me. If you can help, then thanks in advance. David

Thanks palosfv3. I will check out if mine should be flat or recessed and then get back with you soon. I appreciate your noble help and offer. David

Bumpy... Any one out there with a trunk or the piece I need. David

Thanks guys. That's what I like about this site, other people helping other people for a common good. Well, guess the jury is in. 1957 Buicks had one key for the entire bar. So I will take the door lock mechanism out this weekend and get it keyed then I will be good to go. palosfv3: If you have that blank hanging around the garage and would like to sell it let me know. If you can get one from your local PBE Supplier let me know. Give me their telephone number and I'll buy on from them that way I would not have to chop up a trunk lid. or.... anyone else know how I can get one of these blanks please chime in and let me know. Again, thanks you guys for giving me your opinions and feedback. David

kdodge: You mean to say on your buick the door key is the same for the ignition, trunk and glove compartment? One key for everything? I had a 1957 Caballero Wagon through the 70.s and I believe the door key and ignition were on different keys. I could be mistaken but that is what I recall. Are you sure no one has "keyed" the locks to be the same before you bought the car? Correct me if I am wrong please. David

Thanks fellas, for your input and help. I have this fist size hole in my trunk where the key lock once was. Greg: I live about a hour north of San Francisco. My car is a 1957 2-door Roadmaster Model 76A " . . . Check at your local PBE supplier. They sell a universal GM style trunk lock stamping. These are made for theft repair replacement after the locals beat the trunk lock through the deck lid. They should fit all the way back to the early 50's as most outside GM lock cylinders are the same. They are around $30.00. There is a slight difference between the door panel and deck lid blanks." palosfv3: Not exactly clear by what you mean here. I have never heard of this GM Style trunk lock stamping. What exactly is it? Would it consist of the embossed recessed key lock hole with about 4 inches of metal around it or would I have to use my own sheet metal stock cut to fit then weld the "GM Style trunk lock stamping to it? Could you indulge me here a little and expand on this a bit? Another question comes to mind here. Now are not the trunk key and the glove box key one and the same key? Also is the door key and ignition key one and the same key as well on a 1957 Buick? I just got this car and it has no keys at all. So if the door key and the ignition key are the same I would rather take the door lock mechanism out to the lock smith to make a key than taking the ignition out to do it. BTW: Someone told me the opposite was true, that the trunk and ignition were the same where the door and glove box share the same key. Would you guys know which is which? Regarding the outfit you are referring to I am not familiar with PBE? Who are they and do they have a website? Remember I'm out here on the left coast! Thanks in advance. David

Hello: I am searching for a 1957 Buick trunk lid key lock assembly. I just bought a Roadmaster that believe it or not, someone at sometime or another took and cut out the lock of the trunk using what appears to have been a combination of a saw-zaw and tin snips. The hole is about the size of a baseball. It is just below the insignia "ROAD MASTER". Of course I believe any 1957 trunk lock mechanism would work since all I really need is about a cut out measuring somewhere in the 4 inch by 6 inch rectangle size with the trunk key lock intact in the middle. That way I will use this piece cut to shape and use as a template then cut out the same on my trunk and then tig weld the new piece into place. I have the complete inside trunk trip mechanism and latch system. All I need is the complete key lock mechanism. I can open my trunk by inserting a standard screwdriver into where the key lock mechanism would insert. I really don't want to destroy a perfectly good trunk lid to do this. Therefore I am asking anyone who has or knows of someone with a lid that is really in a non useable condition overall to cut out the trunk sheet metal area with key lock mechanism installed. I would just use sheet metal, but the stock runk key lock hole has a pressed recessed rim and hole from the Buick factory in the sheet metal so fabrication would be harder to accomplish. It would be a lot easier to just get this area from a donor lid. Let me know if you have one or know of any sources that would. I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance. David

No Bob that sounds good. No I am not a nervous driver just a skilled one after all the semi work I have done. If I had my own trailer right now, i would have it set up right and no worries. The rented gear is crap. I did not fully understand that when I initiated this post. Besides if I wanted to hire someone I would not of posted in the first place and where is the adventure in that? But thank you guys for all your input and techniques. This has no doubt helped me and will do the same i am sure for anyone doing an armchair search and looking into doing undertaking a haul. I have found a guy who will rent me his enclosed trailer and he is a local joe. Torsion bar suspension, nice tires and solid 20-foot rig. i have decided to go with that. Beside having hold downs at each corner straight off fore and aft, he also has hold downs just under the axle areas where I can cinch down the suspension to get a good hold. Now with this rig I feel more confident that the equipment matches my driving skills and equipment expectations. I will no doubt use a combination of what I have learned here to fasten and secure the car so everything and everybody can get-er-done! Thanks guys, and I will post the results when I get back in a couple of weeks. David

Great thoughts, views, explanations, and advice. You guys are all outstanding. Ok so I am now rethinking this. I went and checked out the Penske trailer. It turns out the one which would be available would tow 4,000 ibs max. My Roadmaster is 4,300 lbs. . Another matter is my wheel base ( cap to cap ) is 127.5 inches. The rear of the car continues another 4 feet plus. The front continues on about 3.0 plus feet from the front center point. From tip to filter the car is just around 17.5 feet in length. These trailers are 16 feet in length. Ok, so with this trailer or any 16 ft trailer this allows me 10.6 feet for my foot print. Then I would only have 6 feet of trailer to work with. Meaning the car body would be at least 1.5 feet longer than the trailer. The front tires would need to be no further than 3 feet from the front end of the trailer. A lot of weight would be on the front 1/3 or the trailer. The brakes are surge not electric as I was 1st told. Well Scratch That! Now am I thinking this out correctly or would a heavy duty 16-footer work here? If not, than it looks what I need is at least a 20 foot trailer, with dual 7,200 lb axles with solid rim ( not spoke ) 8-lug wheels with hopefully the largest wheel bearings made. I do know that most 5,200 lb axles out there have the smaller bearing hubs. The 7,200 axles have the larger ones. I am also finding out that rented trailers are surge brake setups. Last but not least are the tires the rental companies use. Big IF factor here as well. I have towed cars before back in the day for some good distances and did so with only brawn and shear will power as my co-pilot. Those days are gone. I tend to use a more polished micrometer approach to things these days. I could hire someone to do it but wheres the adventure in that. So I am thinking if I can rent a good 20-foot heavy duty equipment trailer that would be the ticket. A trailer like this one. Too bad it's in Iowa! http://bigtenrentals.com/20-ft-10K-Flatbed-Specs.html David

Professor I will take the part for $ 50.00 pending you send me a email photo of it first so I can look it over. If it checks out as such I will send you the $ 50.00 plus shipping. Thanks in advance David

Jeff: Need the upper grill bar. Mine in cracked in two. I have a Roadmaster so if this is a super it will fit. The Super and Roadmasters for 1957 shared the B body with that of the cadillac. In size and width. Let me know if you still have it and send me an email photo of it as well. David

Leif: Thank you for your effort to post. However, I cannot open the list to view. There is no link. Let me know how else I could get and view this from you. Thanks in advance. David

Hello: I am in the market for the front grill center brow piece which follows the front hood line. Mine is cracked through. Also need 4 nice Roadmaster hub caps with nice red and clear center caps. Let me know. Thanks in advance! David