1952 Special Deluxe Project

[avgwarhawk]

The drain hole is best/easiest way to keep the transmission fluid out of the rear end. The fluid will dilute the gear oil and allow the pinion gears to go bad. The fix Willie offered is fantastic! Although I will mix gear oil with gear oil if mine is leaking down the tube it still could present a problem as you suggested with thermal expansion, etc. The manual offers methods of diagnosing vibrations in the driveline. Leaking fluid in the tube is one of them. I'm a fan of open driveshaft!

[Guest Peter Bird]

Nice work on that undercarriage, Robert. Is this how Michelangelo began his painting career?

I like the drain hole suggestion. Top idea!

Edited November 20, 2012 by Peter Bird (see edit history)

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks guys. Peter, if this is how he got his start he can KEEP the sore arms and face full of paint! I'll pass! This ain't no Sistine Chapel! That would be funny to paint a big "Creation of Adam" on the bottom of my car though.......hmmmm. By the way, I can't take credit for the drain hole idea. Direct all compliments on that matter to Willie (Old-Tank).

I did a little touch up work today with a small brush. Got under there with a light and found all of the little spots we missed. Also painted some more small parts and got the front part of the axle sanded so I can paint it red oxide. When I wire brushed it there was red oxide paint all over that part. I didn't think anything of it at the time and painted it black, but after seeing 1957buickjims axle painted correctly I realized it was supposed to have the oxide paint on that part. I'm still leaning towards doing the red oxide on the underside of the body too. I know, I know, call me stubborn, call me a perfectionist, call it overkill, etc. I just want it to look good so I think I'll go for it. I don't have much else to do while I'm waiting for the end of January (trans. rebuild time).

[Guest shadetree77]

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! It comes a little late by the time you read this but I hope everyone had a great day filled with family, friends, and copious amounts of FOOD! I know I did! We all missed my little brother who now lives way out in Montana. This is the first holiday he has ever been away from home. Anyway, back to Buicks.....

I had some time to kill today while waiting for the meal to cook. I got some more painting done. My wife even helped out! I suited her up in one of our painters suits and put her to work! She painted the ventilation tube thingy (technical term) while I masked off the rear axle and painted the carrier housing red oxide.

[JohnD1956]

That is so nice. Move over on that awards platform 1957BuickJim. Shadetree77 may need some of that room up there!

[Guest 4 bufords]

cool that your wife helped out,my late wife very seldom saw the inside of the garage,4 bufords from ct

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks John, but I think Jim is safe for at least a few more years! Got a little bit more work to do to catch up to that kind of quality.

4 bufords, she helps me out occasionally. She actually enjoys herself. As a matter of fact, she would help me a lot more but she's got her hands full going to school full time, working a part time job at the school, AND a full time job at Walgreens as a Pharmacy Technician! She's a busy woman so I cherish the time we get to spend together. Even more so if we're in the garage though!

[Guest Rob McDonald]

Michealangelo's "Creation Of Adam", also known as Pull My Finger.

[Guest Rob McDonald]

ROBERT, have you started a conversation with your chosen transmission shop yet? Sounds like your Dynaflow is like mine - worked fine but was leaking like a sieve. I've looked at the specialized parts suppliers' websites and they seem to have most of what one needs. I'm planning on pulling my drivetrain out in a couple of weeks and need to place an order for rebuild parts soon.

Auto Tran (David Edwards) has an overhaul kit that includes friction clutches and steel plates, as well as seals and gaskets, including for the torque ball. Many other parts are available separately. Classic Transmission Solutions/Creekside also offers a similar rebuild kit. Charley Tranny's site has some useful parts diagrams. They don't seem to have an overhaul kit for Dynaflows after 1952 but they do offer a front and rear band relining service.

What are you hearing - should one replace clutches and plates "while you're in there", as regular maintenance? Or, should I wait until I've opened up the patient before deciding what to order?

Edited November 29, 2012 by Rob McDonald
changed list of parts in overhaul kit (see edit history)

[Guest shadetree77]

Rob, I haven't made the call yet. I was going to wait a while because I won't be able to take it to them until the end of January. I'll probably give them a call right after the holidays and place my parts order shortly after that. I'll probably go with the Autotrans place as well. Personally, I'm going to do as you said and wait until they open it up to see if it needs more than just a rebuild kit. I'm going to go ahead and buy the most complete rebuild kit available and then if they open it up and it needs more parts I'll order them then. Keep in mind though, my decision to do that is strictly based on keeping the costs to a minimum. If you've got the funds, I would go ahead and go all out. Unfortunately, I have to keep this sucker as cheap as possible so if something isn't broken it isn't getting replaced. I'm no trans. expert though. You might want to fish around for some more advice before you make the decision.

I started this weekend with the intention of beginning the long, arduous task of painting the underbody red oxide. I crawled underneath with my safety glasses on and sand paper in hand to rough up the rust paint. Before I began to sand I had a good look around just to formulate a plan of attack. At the end of that look around, I came to the decision that painting the red oxide should wait for now. Reason being, there are quite a few rust holes in my floor pans. One of my next projects is to patch those pans. If I paint the red oxide on there now, when I replace the pans later I'd just have to paint it all over again. There is no reason to do it twice. I already bought all of the paint and sandpaper to do the job, so I'll just put it up until after the floor pans are done. So I'm still going to do it, it's just going to be on hold for a bit.

Instead of painting, I decided to bend some brake lines for my rear axle/torque tube assembly. I'm somewhat of a novice when it comes to bending tubing but I think they came out pretty good. I took my time, measured everything at least twice, and bent a little bit at a time until the lines were right. As I said before, some of the lines in the kit were a little short but they did come with small extension pieces and couplers. I had to use a coupler on each side. I didn't think I'd need one on the drivers side but it ended up being a few inches shy of reaching the tee. I could have modified the tee bracket or even changed the way the line was routed but I wanted it to be in the stock location so I had to couple it with a small piece of line. Half way through bending the first line I remembered something though. I forgot to get some of that "brake armor" stuff you guys told me about. It was on my original lines so I wanted to put some on my new ones too. Can you still put that stuff on a bent line? Also, can you buy it in auto parts stores or do I have to order it?

These pictures didn't come out too good. The sun was shining on it in a weird direction. I'll try to get better ones tomorrow.

[Guest Rob McDonald]

ROBERT, my caution in replacing only what's worn or broken is not to be cheap but rather to preserve and make use of the proven quality of the original parts. Many of us have had sour experiences with reproduction parts that are just crap, if they fit at all. I would hope the transmission specialist suppliers are careful to get the best they can. However, if something has been performing its job perfectly well since 1957, why would I replace it? I'm repairing my car, not replicating it.

I'm going to order the overhaul kit from Auto Tran and then get the proprietor, David Edwards, to talk me through the tear-down and assessment of what else I'll need. Very likely, the job won't be finished in the three weeks I've given myself to play in the garage. No worries, my Buick is very patient.

Regarding tubing bends, I hope you already have the world's most useful tool for that. It's called a tubing bender, go figure, and it's just a tightly wound, heavy coil spring, about 6" long, with a slight increase in diameter at each end. The inside diameter is sized to suit 1/4", 5/16", or 3/8" tubing and it works with steel, aluminum, and copper tubing. I don't think it would be humanly possible to kink a line using one of these tools. If your local auto parts store doesn't have them, try a plumbing shop.

Your photos are very clear and useful, btw. I'm afraid I'd be disappointed at having to use couplings to extend the brake lines, however. Instead of buying a kit, I would prefer to buy lengths of tubing and a flaring tool, rather than risking discontinuous lines. Ignore all that, though - your brake line system looks great!

Edited November 27, 2012 by Rob McDonald
bent (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

The brake armour is really nothing more than a long slinky spring and it can be gotten at auto parts stores and probably hardware stores too. BUT you won't be able to slip it over the couplings. It would have slipped over straight or bent lines if you installed it when the premade flare on one end was cut off the line. Chances are you do not really need it so at this point I'd just move forward with the project. The lines you made look good, and I am very surprised that the lines were routed down the radius arms. For 56 the line runs down the torque tube to a Tee junction on top of the rear axle, like later vehicles.

[Guest shadetree77]

Rob, that is a good way to look at it and one I hadn't considered. You are absolutely correct about the problems experienced when buying "reproduction" parts. The quality is just not there a lot of the times. I shudder to think about trying to deal with lackluster quality parts on something as precision as a Dynaflow transmission or ANY transmission for that matter. If you have a chat with David Edwards any time soon let us know what advice he gives you. I'd like to hear it so I know what to expect. I do own several types of tubing benders. Two that are junk and the last one I bought has worked quite well. I found a picture of it on the net (below). Believe me, I was none too pleased at having to use the couplers. Not only do they take away from the stock appearance but that's just two more locations for a potential leak to occur. However, I opted to go with the pre-made kit and as they say, "I made my bed and now I have to lie in it". I simply can't afford to throw out the kit and buy more tubing.

John, that's kind of what I figured. Too late for the brake armor now. It completely slipped my mind until it was too late. Oh well, this isn't exactly a 400 point resto anyway right? Yes, the stock lines were both routed down the radius arms. There are even small metal tabs welded onto the arms that are meant to be bent down to hold the lines in place. They run down each arm and then cross over to the outside of the drivers side arm and hook into a brass block. I guess you could call it a tee because it does have 3 holes, but it's not actually in the shape of a tee. The "tee" attaches to the front of the radius arm with a bracket and a screw. I took a few more pictures today. They are a little blurry as they were taken when it was almost dark (I just can't seem to win with these brake line pictures!).

[avgwarhawk]

Rob, that is a good way to look at it and one I hadn't considered. You are absolutely correct about the problems experienced when buying "reproduction" parts. The quality is just not there a lot of the times. I shudder to think about trying to deal with lackluster quality parts on something as precision as a Dynaflow transmission or ANY transmission for that matter.

Robert, when the post of your leaking transmission first appeared it was my thoughts to fix the seal and refresh the fluid. The reasoning was the transmission was functioning as designed sans the leaking seal. This kind of drives home the point Rob is making about quality original parts working as designed. But, it is like the lottery. If I don't play today my darn number will come up. If I don't rebuild the entire transmission it will blow up on the first trip. It is that nagging in the back of the mind. With that said, Rob is dead on IMO. Take down the transmission and replace what is worn...if anything or simply refresh the fluid/filter and new seals where possible. Re-install. From my readings on this forum the Dynaflow takes a beating but keeps on pulling. Perhaps you might reassess what you will do with the transmission. Just food for thought.

[Buicknutty]

Guys, I had heard the stories before about troubles with repro parts, but really hadn't had any till I was putting my '41 Roadmaster on the road in June.

I have quite a list of stuff that gave me grief. The horn relay, a new repro, from a reputable dealer, didn't work, so the decades old one is back on the car and working fine, not as pretty, but it works!

First day on the road and the rebuilt fuel pump quit and I was stranded in traffic. This pump was an older "off the shelf" rebuilt unit. So, the decades old pump is still on the car, and did the 1,300 or so miles I drove it this year and is still working fine. I have a kit from Bob's that I will put in the rebuilt one over the winter. The emergency brake cable was the first thing to fail, when I pulled it hard for the first time, I heard a "ping". The crimped end came off the the cable. This was also a brand new repro part from the same supplier as the relay.

I also replaced most of the internal engine components, including all new push rods. Well, at about 400-500 miles it started running bad, and was belching blue smoke unbelievably bad. Turned out one of the new push rods broke. Fortunately, no damage was done otherwise, and the originals were still quite good, and that's what is in it now. That was also the last of the reliablity issues I had this year, so I was able to enjoy driving it more toward the end of the summer, as I could start to trust it. Those push rods were older NORS stock, which I would of thought would be good as they supposed to be made in USA. Never can tell I guess.

I have bought trans parts from David Edwards, and haven't had any issues with his stuff.

Keith

[Guest Rob McDonald]

I’ve corrected what’s included in Auto Tran’s overhaul kit in my previous post. It’s very complete. The only extra part needed for a general service is a new torque ball retainer, which they also sell. I placed my order today, totaling $304 with shipping. The package should reach my garage about mid-December, just as I hope to be hauling my Dynaflow up onto the bench.

[Guest shadetree77]

Some more progress this weekend. I was once again joined by my wife. She doubled productivity! Together we sanded, cleaned, and masked off the brake backing plates. My Silver Cad paint from Eastwood arrived Saturday right before we finished masking everything and we managed to get three coats on each plate before dark. The paint was expensive at $15.00 a can plus shipping and I've got to say, as of right this moment I'm not convinced it was worth it. That opinion may change when I roll the axle out into direct sunlight. The paint is supposed to mimic the silver cad coating by being full of metal flake with a bluish tint to the silver. There was definitely a TON of metal flake in there. I could literally see it floating in the air after being sprayed. But in the shade I can see neither the metal flake nor the bluish tint. I'll let you guys know whenever I see it in sunlight.

I took a few pictures. My wife hard at work masking where the backing plate bolts to the axle. A couple of the axle masked up. Check out the two pictures showing the shocks masked. That's a good visual representation of one of the differences between men and women. Look how tightly and methodically wrapped her side is compared to mine! Hers looks like a well-wrapped Christmas gift compared to mine! Just put a little bow on that sucker and it would be complete. I looked over after I got mine done and just laughed and shook my head. I said, "Honey, it doesn't have to be wrapped perfect and pretty." She replied, "I wanted it to be done right". Can't argue with that I guess! Also took a few after it was completed and I got the brake lines put back on. Now I just have to get those rims painted. They really stand out against that silver paint! One job leads to another. It's a vicious cycle.

[Guest 4 bufords]

really nice job,know what you mean about one thing leading to another,same as my 57 when i took off the valve covers to paint them,4 bufords from ct

[Guest Peter Bird]

That car is spoilt rotten!

Now your better half is workin' on her

As always, great thread with nice vibes.

[Guest Rob McDonald]

I made me promise me that I am not going to rise to the beautiful standard of work set by you and Mrs. Robert, on what's supposed to be the gol-darned greasy side! Sheesh, I'd never finish my car if I started gift-wrapping like you two. Does look spectacular, though.

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I think I've decided on my next course of action. I won't be able to take the Dynaflow to the re-builder until the end of January/beginning of February. After it's in the possession of the shop, who knows how long it will take after that. So we're looking at a potential 3 month period here. To fill my time during that period, I have decided to put the rear end back under the car, get her down off of the blocks, and roll her back under the car port. I will only pull it half way in there so that the front end is directly in the middle of the car port. We'll cover the back end with tarps.

Then, my friends, it will be time to tear apart the front end of the car to clean and re-paint the engine compartment. While I've got everything apart, I'm planning to install the new fender and drivers door that I've had in storage since last year. If things go as planned, by the time Spring rolls around and the car shows start up Lucy will be half-way restored and ready for me to drive, drive, drive, and DRIVE SOME MORE! She'll be sporting a shiny new underside, a reliable and leak free Dynaflow, a good as new engine compartment, and a dent and rust free door and fender. That's the plan anyway.

I'm raring to go here but my partner in crime is down again. This time it's the flu. I'm hoping he'll be good to go by this weekend as he's in his second week of it. I sure would like to get that axle put back in and get her down off of the platforms. I guess we'll see. In the meantime, I have an opinion question for you guys. If this was your car and you knew it was going to be quite a while before you could get it painted, would you install a new fender and door that are a slightly different color than your car or drive it around with some pretty big rust holes and dents in the original parts? This wouldn't be an issue if I was going to get it painted any time soon, but I'm not. I'm going to be driving her around quite a bit and I can't decide what would look worse. The original door and fender with holes and dents OR a rust free set that are going to stand out quite a bit against the rest of the car. I'm leaning towards the different color replacements because the holes and dents are really bad and they are an eye sore to me. I just can't decide which would be the bigger eye sore, large holes and dents or unmatched color. I can provide pictures of each alternative if needed. Opinions?

P.S. The color of the replacement parts is not too far off what little color is left on my car. The car was originally blue but over the years it has faded into an almost greenish blue. The replacements are similar in color to this faded green but they don't have any wear spots or patina like the originals. If installed, they would appear to be freshly painted replacements. I thought about trying to age the parts to make them match the rest of the car better. Sort of wear them down to the primer in some spots with a buffer and a mild abrasive or something. Do you guys think that would work?

Edited December 5, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[avgwarhawk]

I would install the replacement parts. It will be good fill time until the transmission is done. I would not sand or otherwise. There will be enough of that when you do paint it!

[old-tank]

Make it uniform: rattle can flat black, gray or white...

[avgwarhawk]

Make it uniform: rattle can flat black, gray or white...

I was thinking the same but I get the feeling Robert likes that survivor petina color obtained from years of service as the family truckster.

[Guest Rob McDonald]

I say bolt on the new bits. Then using your well-accomplished graphic skills, apply a disclaimer across the door and fender:

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks for the advice guys. I agree with the consensus to install the new ones. Those rust holes and dents bug me. It's not readily apparent in the pictures of my car but the bottom of the drivers fender is completely rusted away behind the chrome. The drivers door apparently had a run-in with some tractor equipment while parked in the barn for 40 years. At least, that's what it looks like to me. There are several large punctures and dents in the bottom of the door. Chris, you are right about liking the original look that the paint has acquired over the last 60 years. I didn't care for it at first, but it has grown on me. Don't get me wrong. This car is destined for paint as soon as I can afford it, but until then I do like the "survivor" finish.

On to an update....The eagle has landed folks. Lucy touched down this afternoon after some harrowing moments. The downward slope of our driveway caused some trouble while we were lowering the car. It had to be done in stages because of how far the car was off of the ground. During one of these lowering stages, the entire car began to lean backwards and down and 3 of the 4 jack stands that were supporting the rear end tilted back onto two legs. A few more pumps of the jack and the rear end would have come crashing down. Luckily, my Dad noticed that the car was leaning funny and we caught it in time. Scary stuff! We jacked the car back up, supported the front end, and moved to the back to take it down more before finishing the front. What I wouldn't give for a lift! Jacking a car up that high with a floor jack is nerve-shredding to say the least.

By the way, before we took the car down we got under there and wired up the torque tube with heavy duty wire as suggested by many other folks in a thread I started on the Post War section. We threaded a ton of wires into the tube flange holes and into the frame of the car. We were having trouble with the rear axle assembly shifting around because it isn't currently hooked up to the transmission, but the wire worked perfectly to hold the axle in place. Tomorrow we're going to try to roll her under the car port. Let's hope that wire holds.

[Guest Rob McDonald]

"the entire car began to lean backwards and down and 3 of the 4 jack stands that were supporting the rear end tilted back onto two legs"

Ooo, that's the stuff that wakes me up in a cold sweat. Precious Lesson Learned - do not do this alone. An extra set of eyes and someone to call 911 are essential when dealing with a Buick-full of stored kinetic energy.

[Guest chevy_dude97]

"the entire car began to lean backwards and down and 3 of the 4 jack stands that were supporting the rear end tilted back onto two legs"

Ooo, that's the stuff that wakes me up in a cold sweat. Precious Lesson Learned - do not do this alone. An extra set of eyes and someone to call 911 are essential when dealing with a Buick-full of stored kinetic energy.

Thats funny...

[Guest shadetree77]

Funny but true! I have to say out of all the stuff I've done to this car, using a small floor jack to lift it up that high has been the most dangerous thing I've done so far. You never know what's going to happen especially on a driveway that isn't quite level. Rob, I definitely don't recommend doing this alone. There's just no way to watch all sides of the car with one set of eyes! Invite a few buddies over and provide some ice cold bottles of refreshment while they keep an eye on the parts you can't see. That, and I highly recommend a level floor if at all possible!

Since I'm chiming in here I thought I'd let you guys know that I ordered the degreaser, engine paint, and exhaust manifold paint yesterday. I ordered everything from the POR-15 company. Hope that paint is the right color. I've been looking at chevy_dude's build thread to get myself psyched up for my engine compartment restoration. I've never taken body panels or doors off of a car before and I'm both apprehensive and excited!

[Guest chevy_dude97]

I've never taken body panels or doors off of a car before and I'm both apprehensive and excited!

This has to be the easiest fender allignment I have ever done, Just take your time. Also when reinstalling the fenders put a thin (5/16) or so of rubber in the corner where the door opens under it so you can have a proper gap, and not scratch the paint on the door. The rest is just bolt up and go, I suggest leaving one side on so you can reference the other for reinstall unless you take lots of pics. If I haden't the multiple weeks between reinstall would have left me guessing where each piece of hardware goes.... lol Good luck brother and use lots of break free or something of the sort, clean up any threads prior to reinstall and you will save yourself from drilling out broken bolts and waiting for "correct" hardware to piece Lucy back together.

[JohnD1956]

Robert, it is so nice to see your wife has a part in the Lucy project. I hope you can get that transmission to the shop on your schedule. I'd hate to think you could not drive this ole girl next summer. Of course I agree with the sentiments that you should just have the seals done and re install the transmission. You drove the car several hundred miles and it performed well till the leak, right? Should you really fix what isn't broken? The money you did not spend on fixing a good transmission could go towards an overall paint job.

I may have mentioned it once before but when I had my 95 riviera, I got a $500.00 estimate for painting the top half of the drivers door. It did not even need body work. So I went to my local automotive paint supply store and bought the materials plus a new HLVP Paint gun for less than the estimate, figuring the worse that could happen was I'd screw it up. It was a three paint combination as the top paint color needed a certain under color to get a close match to the factory paint. For the small amount I had to buy I was able to paint the trunk lid, front fender and door top and I still had paint leftover. If you have a non metallic color on your car, single stage paint can be very affordable.

[Buicknutty]

I would second John's thought's about learning how to paint the car yourself, when the time comes. You seem to be pretty good at learning how to do stuff on your car. Save the original panels and use them to test your techniques on.

Don't know if they still do this where you live, or not, but in my area there used to be courses in basic body and paint work you could take at local community colleges or such.

Anyway, just an idea. There are some good books available on the subject too. Just keep in mind that these materials are quite dangerous, if not dealt with properly!

Here in Ontario, the rules about automotive paints are much tougher than they were a few years ago, so it has made it much more difficult for a hobbyist, like me to get the paints, so I don't know if I will be able to do much more painting in my home garage.

As for your trans., I tend to agree with the others to just do a reseal on it and it will likely be good to go for many more years. It can be a tough choice, as some would suggest doing everything, so that its' all fresh, but the thing is so hard to get out, you don't want to do it very often, but if you have it completely overhauled and something isn't done right, you got to get it out again anyway.

Keith

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks for the tips chevy_dude. By the way, if you don't mind my asking, what's your name? It feels less friendly to refer to you by your forum name all the time. I like to be on a first name basis with fellow Buick guys. Anyway, I do appreciate the tips. As I said, I've never done this before and I can use all the info. I can get. I may leave the passenger fender on. I'll pull the drivers side and the front clip and see what it looks like. If I can still get to everything easily enough with the fender on I'll leave it that way. Does the front bumper have to be removed for this job?

John, I'd hate for her not to be back on the road come summer too. I have big plans for the old girl this year. Lots of local shows and maybe even a trip to visit the Grandparents in Eastern Kentucky. It's about 300 miles one way. My Grandpa has been excited to see the car ever since I bought it. I think that would make for an excellent test trip. Who knows? If old Lucy behaves herself on that trip I might just try to ease her on up to South Bend. We'll see.

On the transmission, truth be told guys, I still haven't 100% made up my mind on what to do. The time for a decision is fast approaching. I have quite a list of pros and cons for each path. I have about a month and a half to reach a decision. I need to weigh my options and possible outcomes carefully. Keith, that's my biggest fear of getting it re-built. I've never had good luck with mechanics and I'd be afraid of something being botched during the re-build. It was running fine before it developed the leak. I believe I could install the new seals myself.

On the paint, I've thought about it a lot and I'm most likely going to attempt to paint it myself. At least for the primer coat anyway. My final paint is a metallic color from what I understand so I may have to defer to the experts on that. I might take it in to a body shop to get a few rough areas taken care of before I primer it. There are a few small crumpled areas in some weird spots that I think may be beyond my skill set to fix. One such crumpled area is right around the gas tank door opening. No idea how that could have happened. Taking a class is a good idea. There are a lot of small tech. schools around here. Surely I can find one to accommodate me. I am going to save those old panels and I have a wrecked '77 T-Bird out back that I could practice on. If I get good enough, my '79 T-Bird could use a paint job too!

Edited December 13, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[avgwarhawk]

It was running fine before it developed the leak. I believe I could install the new seals myself.

And this my friend is the reason this old adaged works, "If it ain't broke. Don't fix it." I'm certain you can install the new seal. How many miles are on the transmission? I have been driving 32 years. I have had umpteen vehicles. I have never blown a transmission. Consistent regime of fluid and filter change every 25K brought the transmissions way beyond 100k miles. Replace a leaking seal if there is one. These transmission were still pulling like new when I sold off the cars. Usually about 120-130k I send these cars onto their next life. Let me tell you, I was not friendly with my transmissions in the early days of obtaining my license. Neutral drops for burnouts was the mainstay of a good time and smoking rubber. But hey, that is ancient history.

[Guest Rob McDonald]

CHRIS, maybe your youthful abuse of automatic transmissions is why the gods appointed a standard shift Buick to now be your one-and-only.

ROBERT, I'm making slower than anticipated progress in getting my own Dynaflow onto the bench for an overhaul. One hitch is that it's colder here than was predicted when I started my three week garage vacation last Friday. Wifey is leaving for work at 4:45am these days and is not keen on leaving our daily driver outside at -20C (but, Hon, that's only -4F). I definitely need both sides of the garage to pull the power train out of my Buick.

I hope to be able to tell you, before New Years, how simple is was to change the seals in the transmission and encourage you to do it yourself. Lots of pictures will start to appear on http://forums.aaca.org/f163/rust-does-sleep-actually-life-57-a-292591.html in the next few days.

[Guest chevy_dude97]

Does the front bumper have to be removed for this job?

Yes, the bumper, the teeth, the mustache bar,the hood release cable, the air ducts. They all connect to the fenders.

You can do the simple masking off, grime removal without taking off the fenders. You can do it by removing the air ducts and hood. I just wanted to remove mine so I could see how rotted the fenders where. as under the chrome was rust, which I treated along with a fresh coat of paint inbetween the inner and outer fender so I dont have to worry down the road of rust from the inside. the pass side I even removed the battery stand and cleaned below it as this is a high corrosion area as well with the battery acid and what not. The only thing I wish I had when doing this is a sand blaster, they are too expensive to have shipped here. (but save you the hassle of wire wheeling off rust to make a smooth surface) I figure I will redo all of this in the future on the "Eye sore" areas to smooth out the paint when I get around to painting the whole car, but at that point I will be walnut shelling the while car.

[JohnD1956]

I'll relate this true story for a lesson to be learned about these Dynaflows. Six years ago a fellow I know purchased a 49 Super somewhere in the midwest. He went there and took posession, and drove the car to Georgia to show to family. Then he drove the car to Upstate NY. Once home he began to think the trans did not operate right. When he looked for suggestions on a competent mechanic, I recommended a fellow I used once for my 56, and whom I was told was a top notch Dynaflow guy. ( Yes, you can see where this is already going down the toilet).

Anyway, the car is driven 25 miles to the mechanic ( partly on a super highway ) supposedly with instructions for just a price quote. The mechanic then claims he pulled the trans and rebuilt it. When the fellow called to see what the quote was the $1,800 bill was presented and the work was already completed. He paid the bill and took it home thereafter giveing me a verbal beating for recommending the guy.

But in reality, that car was just driven several hundred miles, and then the guy says the trans is acting funny?

I probably should have driven the 25 miles to see what he was talking about but how could it go that far if there was anything majorly wrong?

Shortly thereafter the Mechanic cloes up shop. I still question to this day if anything was done except cleaning the unit and shooting a coat of spray paint on it. And to the best of my knowledge this car now sits in his garage for the last 5 years untouched. Kinda sad all around.

[Buicknutty]

A pretty sad story, John.

Keith

PS. John, I say the story about the car show we were at in Hemmings! My car was there in the background!

KC

[JohnD1956]

Your car should have made the article Keith. An international 300 mile trip. Perhaps the folks at Hemmings just did not know about that? Besides, it is so nice!

[smithbrother]

Robert, I know there has been some comments/thoughts on painting the/a car by yourself.

The Feb issue of ROD & CUSTOM mag has a very good article on such. It's called, " TECHNOLOGY JUST MADE PAINING SO EASY THAT EVEN YOUR GRANDFATHER COULD DO IT."

Using PPG Envirobased High Performance waterborne base coat. Top knotch painter, Charley Hutton has converted his shop over to this process, not because it's safer, or cleaner (although he admits he appreciates it now), but because of its ease, reliability, and durability. Mercedes and Rolls use it too.

It is a very good article, you can either pick up a copy of the mag, or try going on line to read it.

Maybe you have been aware of this, but in case you aren't, CHECK IT OUT.

I wish you well, and Merry Christmas,

Dale in Indy