1952 Special Deluxe Project

[Guest chevy_dude97]

I like the car.... now I know where the front grill pieces went from that guy on ebay...BTW be careful what you buy from him as he does not like to send pictures of the stuff prior to mailing. I got the intake/exhaust off that car he was parting and lets just say I wouldn't take him for his word. He stated "no cracks" and before I even pulled the dusty manifolds out I seen a hairline on the intake...... I guess I'm better at spotting cracks than him. Anyway that wasn't the worst I also had him cut a 1' section of the lower pinch rail out he said was usable.... there wasn't much of a pinch rail even on the piece.... I'm glad you got some good stuff off that car. And way to keep that car on the road!

[Guest shadetree77]

Dude97, thanks! I like yours too! Love those colors. Hmmm...I think you might mean the guy I bought my mustache bar extensions from. If so, they wouldn't have fit on a Super. At least, I'm pretty sure Supers and Roadmasters were different part numbers than my Special. Sorry to hear about your bad luck. Not sure if it was the same guy. I talked to two guys on EBAY recently. One is the guy I bought the extensions from and I had no trouble from him. He sent extra pictures and everything. The other guy however was a different story. I kept asking him about some parts and he kept sending me half-assed answers and wouldn't send pictures. Eventually, he quit responding to me altogether so I gave up. Maybe that's the one you're referring to. Don't let that one bad experience scare you off of EBAY though. I've been using EBAY for close to 10 years now and I've only been screwed twice. EBAY is where I get most of my impossible to find parts. Hope you have better luck in the future!

Now on to some news. We started off on Saturday morning by taking that busted carb. fitting off and heading to town to look for a new one. We hit all the usual spots and let me tell you, they ALL have p*ss-poor selections of fittings. We ended up at a brand new Napa that just opened nearby and we hit the jackpot there! They had an entire wall of fittings in the back and they found just what we needed. As a matter of fact, they found us the perfect fitting for my setup which allowed me to do away with one of the three fittings I had my fuel line cobbled up with. I bought the wrong size tubing back when I replaced my fuel line and so I had to cobble it to the carb. with three different fittings. Gotta' get that replaced soon. Anyway, we got that put on and fired her up to check for leaks. None were found in either the fuel or cooling systems so we took off on a test drive through some stop and go traffic in town. We drove through town, stopped at the ethanol free station for some go-juice, and then hit the back roads. It was probably around a good 45 mins. or so. She only stalled slightly one time after the engine got hot. I didn't smell gas or anything. I took that turn really hard though as I was trying to get her to stall so I can't blame her for complaining a little bit on that one.

So then we went back to the house and checked the trans. fluid. It was low so we topped it off. We had also noticed a high pitched whine that only happened when I let off the gas at slow speeds and then stopped right before the car came to a stop. I thought it might be a leak in the wiper vacuum system as this caused a high pitched sound once before, but that wasn't it. My Dad thinks it's coming from our faulty speedometer. I hope he's right because I think it might be coming from the Dynaflow. Let's hope not! After this, we took off again. Went back through town and by this time it was in the 90's and the engine got a little warmer. When it did, the car began to stall again. But this time, it seemed to be stalling any time I slowed down and not just on sharp turns. After quickly teaching myself to drive with both feet to keep the engine going, we limped home. My Dad suggested increasing the idle speed. I recently hooked up a tach. to the car and set the idle down to factory specs. I think that speed might have worked for it back in '52, but my old engine seems to need a higher idle nowadays. I took her back out and she was running just fine! No stalling and cool as a cucumber in the 90's temperatures!

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon. My Wife, my Dad, and I all hopped in and took her for the longest drive (time-wise) she's been on since I've owned her. I wanted to drive into some hilly country to see if she could handle curvy roads and a slight grade. Reason being, I want to take the car to the Moonshine Cruise-In this upcoming weekend and to get there I have to cross some small mountains. I'm happy to report that she did just fine! Pulled those hills and curves with no problem. It got a little warm but never left the Normal range. It was in the upper 90's at this point though so that's to be expected. No stalling the entire time. It's the Moonshine Cruise-In or Bust!!

Edited August 8, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[avgwarhawk]

Good news Robert! Enjoy the cruise!

[bhclark]

GREAT NEWS!

Congrats on solving all her problems. Hope she keeps you happy now after all that love you gave her.

[Buicknutty]

I'll add to the chorus, glad to hear the great news! Drive and enjoy!

Keith

[avgwarhawk]

Robert, please post some pictures of the cruise in. Your persistance paid off.

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks guys. I'm getting really excited. Seems like this week is going by really slow. I've been waiting a year to try this trip again. Last time she only made it 20 miles from home. I've got a whole year of work in her now so maybe she'll make it the entire 92 miles this time. Chris, don't you worry. I'll have LOTS of pictures when I get back. As for the persistence paying off....let's just hope so! We've got a whole day of cleaning and packing today and we'll be heading out around 10 AM Friday morning. Our plan is to get there Friday afternoon and jump in the hotel pool with some ice cold beverages. Then, Friday night we're heading to downtown Hiawassee to grab some grub at a local diner and watch the parade of cars from the Cruise-In. Then, Saturday morning we're going to take Lucy up to the Moonshine Cruise-In and enter her in the show. One more dip in the pool and another night of sleep and we'll be headed home Sunday morning. At least, that's the plan. Now if Lucy will just cooperate we'll be OK! I'll check in here when I get to Hiawassee. Wish me luck guys!

[avgwarhawk]

Enjoy!

[Buicknutty]

Good luck, Robert!

Keith

[Guest shadetree77]

Wooohoooo!! We made it! Pulled into the hotel a few minutes ago. She's leaking some transmission fluid but it's manageable. Temperature stayed in the normal range all the way here and no stalling the entire time. I'm off to the pool!:cool:

[avgwarhawk]

That's great Robert. Enjoy the weekend!

[smithbrother]

" I LOVE LUCY" has a nice ring.

Where have I heard that B-4?

Enjoy the weekend Robert,

Dale in Indy

[Guest 56BuickSuper]

OK, I think I get it. You took the Buick and a VW.

[Guest shadetree77]

I already posted on the General section, but just in case anyone missed it we made it to the Moonshine Cruize-In and back with no trouble at all. Well, OK, minor problems but nothing that kept us from making the trip. We had a great time and I took a lot of pictures that I'll be posting on here soon. Now for the "minor problems". I've developed a steady leak from the trans. It's coming from the inside of the bell housing on the side where the pump/converter hooks up to the trans. Not good. It's been suggested to me to check some of the bolts inside the hand hole cover and also to add some STP oil treatment to thicken up the fluid and slow the leak a little bit. Both things I'm going to try soon. The trans. isn't slipping or hesitating so I think it should be fine as long as I keep a close eye on the fluid level. Pulling it off and getting it re-built is just not an option any time soon. If the Dynaflow goes down Lucy will be sitting for a LONG time waiting on a re-build so let's hope that doesn't happen!

The other problem occurred about 20 miles from home. My turn signals and brake lights stopped working all of a sudden. Good thing my wife was behind us in the VW. Upon further inspection today, I found that we blew a fuse. Stuck a new 14 amp fuse in there and the lights are working again. I'm thinking I might need to upgrade that fuse to a slightly higher amperage. I added turn signals, a turn indicator light, and dual filament park light bulbs to that system. The brake lights are also through that fuse. That may be a little too much for that 14 amp fuse to handle. My indicator bulb inside the turn signal switch must have blown when the fuse went because now it isn't working. I think I'd rather do without the indicator rather than take that switch apart again for the 100th time.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Robert, your last two sentences may be telling you something!!

Glad Lucy gave a good showing of herself this outing.

Ben

[avgwarhawk]

[smithbrother]

Oh, how I recall WHEN that was an EVERYDAY SIGHTING.

It worked toooooooo!

Dale in Indy

[Guest Peter Bird]

Rob, I am so envious of you, man. I am busting to get this car on the road. Sounds like you had a top trip. Get those pics up!

[Guest shadetree77]

Ben, that's the first time I've had to replace that indicator light. The other 99 times I referred to was when I re-built the switch. There are a lot of little pieces and springs in there you have to get just right. I'll replace it eventually and if it blows again I'll know what's causing the problem.

Chris, thanks for the diagram. I know the signals but I'd be willing to bet a huge percentage of drivers nowadays don't. That's what prompted me to install the turn signals in the first place as my car didn't have them originally. I just didn't want to get rear-ended. That and there's not a signal for braking is there? My brake lights went too!

Pete, you'll get it eventually. Took me a little over a year to get mine on the road. Time well spent in my opinion. It's a blast to drive and people at car shows LOVE it. Lucy got absolutely swamped at the Moonshine show. I'm working on the pictures. They might even be up some time today. I wish there was a program that could re-size large amounts of pictures without having to open every single one. That takes forever!!

[Guest chevy_dude97]

Nice, glad she made it back! Sucks about the light, sounds like when the bulb blew it must have drawn enuff current to blow the fuse as well. I know for sure here in HI no one knows hand signals as no one even bothers with turn signals here. Hope you find a loose bolt in the trans that cures the leak.

[avgwarhawk]

Robert, there is one signal most drivers understand. Sometimes I get the signal two or three times a day. Your transmission might just need a front seal and not a rebuild. Glad you are making headway on the old girl.

[Guest shadetree77]

Well fellas, the leak is getting worse. She's all but pouring fluid now. I'm not going to be able to keep driving it like that. As much as I hate to, I think I'll have to park her until I figure this trans. thing out. :( We are going to try tightening those pump cover bolts today but I doubt that's going to fix it. Those 60 year old seals are probably shot. I'm toying with the idea of dropping the transmission and taking it to a guy that's been re-building Dynaflows since 1955. I just don't know where to come up with the money to do it. That and taking it out is going to be somewhat of a challenge considering my available work area and tools.

Chris, I'm pretty sure it's leaking down the side where the pump/converter hooks up to the transmission. So that's going to either be the pump cover seal or some kind of other seal in there. I don't think it's leaking from the engine/front seal side. Anyway, I'm pretty disheartened about the whole thing. I'm trying to keep myself cheered up by remembering how it felt to drive her on the open road. Guess you could say I've got the Buick Blues right about now.

Edited August 17, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[Guest chevy_dude97]

Look at the bright side, You didn't wait till she would not move in any gear... seals are cheap, pumps and other hard parts to find are not.

[avgwarhawk]

I'm thinking its a seal and a rebuild is not necessarily required. Either way Robert, the transmission needs to come out. Does the transmission work without issue now? No slippage and shifts ok? If so, look to find the leaking seal and replace it. Reinstall the transmission. At this point with the continued refill of fluid I suspect if the transmission would have shown slippage and poor shifting she would have by now. If not, why not find the offending seal and replace it? It would be grand to rebuild as long as the transmission is out. But is it really necessary? Look at it this way, if the tail shaft on the transmission was leaking would the seal be replaced and new fluid poured in? Absolutely. Why not the same for the front seal? Its more labor intensive certainly but is it necessary to rebuild because the transmission is out to repair a leaking seal? Between you, me and a lamp post, don't use any transmission leak fix or dump brake fluid into the transmission. These fluid make seals swell. They also make seals that are working great swell to the point they do not work great. I have seen transmission stop leaks and anti-slip in a can work for about 3 months. At this point the chemicals have done their job in ruining the rest of the transmission.

Edited August 17, 2012 by avgwarhawk (see edit history)

[Guest shadetree77]

We checked the pump cover bolts today. All were tight except one. One of the bolts was REALLY loose. Like, about to fall off loose. We torqued it to spec. hoping upon hope that the leak would be cured but.....no dice. We started it up and ran it for about 5-8 mins. I took some video of the leak. You can really see it good at about 0:40 in the video. Looks like Lucy is down for the count. I can't bring myself to drive her like that.

Chris, I responded to you in that other post about the STP stuff. Don't worry, I didn't use any quick fix chemicals. The only reason Willie recommended that STP was to thicken the fluid a bit and slow the leak until I could figure out a solution. I don't think he intended it to be used as one of those snake oil quick fixes. I think people misunderstood his intentions on that one. I've never been a fan of the quick fix stuff either and generally avoid all of them.

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[55 SURVIVOR]

Robert;Just a thought,Have you checked to see if the torque converter drain plugs are tight,I think there are 3.You can get to them by removing the 4 bolts/acsess cover.The loose plug/plugs will "sling" oil when the converter is spinning/running.I always look at cheap,easy,obvious,first.If it is the seal your biggest challenge is just getting it out,just work it a little at a time.Good luck!! Mark

[avgwarhawk]

Robert, Willies idea with STP is a good piece of information. I'm certain its tried and true. Reading Willies recommendations, his fixes are dead on all the time. In short, he knows Buicks! I got to thinking about the stop leak in a can found at the auto parts store. Tried and true....these chemicals take a perfectly good transmission and ruins them. I did not want you to take that route. That stuff swells seals. Then it destroys them along with the transmission. My most vivid memory of my friends 200R. The torque converter completely exploded. I did not want that to happen to you specifically if dropping the transmission and replacing the outer seals might be the order of the day.

Edited August 18, 2012 by avgwarhawk (see edit history)

[Guest shadetree77]

Sure did Mark. There are 2 on mine. I checked both of them while I was checking the pump cover bolts. All signs are pointing to transmission removal right now. I'm not looking forward to it. Thanks for the suggestion though.

[smithbrother]

I STILL love Lucy, it will take MORE than this issue for me to FALL OUT OF LOVE.

We all get a burnt biscuit NOW and THEN.

Dale in Indy

[Buicknutty]

Robert;

I wouldn't think that a can or 3 of sealer won't do much for a leak that bad, anyway. I'm sorry to concur that the trans will have to come out, but seals are likely not expensive, but I've done them, and they are a bear to do. That said, do your research, then you get into it and get it done!

My '56 is leaking in the same area, though not as bad yet, but the neighbours notice when I leave a trail, so I'll have to do mine soon.

I know its' a bunch of work, but keep up the good work on her, and you'll have her going again!

Keith

[bhambulldog]

Sorry to hear of your transmission trouble.

On the lights; Does yours have four bulbs or two for the taillights?

(I might be wrong) But, It seems I remember that, '55 was the first year for combined turn/brake signal bulb. That previous years Buicks with turn signals, had 4 dual filament bulbs. Two for braking and two for signals.

Maybe????

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys. I may have the Buick blues but I'm not giving up on old Lucy yet. That drive to the Moonshine show just got me even more excited. We have decided that the transmission must come out. We are planning our attack while we wait on the funds to arrive for our tool shopping spree. We are going to Harbor Freight to buy four 6 ton jack stands, a transmission jack, a level finder/gauge, and a smaller torque wrench. The only thing we haven't figured out is where to do this at. We usually work under a car port with a dirt floor. I don't think that's going to work too good because it's not level. Our other choice is to pull the rear end of the car up onto the edge of our concrete patio and leave the front end on the gravel driveway. We could put some sheet metal down on top of the gravel to set our trans. jack and jack stands on. I don't trust our concrete patio enough to pull the entire car up there. Wish I did because that would make this a whole lot easier. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I've never done anything quite this big before. My Dad has helped pull a good many transmissions in his day but never on anything this old and definitely never a Dynaflow. I know we can do it though.

James, mine didn't originally come with turn signals but when I added them I followed the service manual descriptions and wiring exactly. If I remember correctly, mine is just like you said, "....4 dual filament bulbs. Two for braking and two for signals. ". I'll have to look again to be sure. I know the brake/park light is a dual filament but I can't remember if I put a dual filament bulb in for the turn signals. It has been a while! That was one of the first things I did to my old Buick. I'll get back to you on that.

[bhambulldog]

Your plan for an under-layment for the jacks is a good idea for safety. Maybe the concrete would do if you used an underlayment for each jack there?

My question on the bulbs came up because I was thinking if you had the brake and turn on the same bulb, it might have been too much load.

But as you went separate, it makes my idea moot on the reason for overload.

Good luck, and keep thinking safe. It's good that even on a budget, safety is in mind.

[smithbrother]

I have worked on dirt floors in the long gone past, it can be done, depends a lot on how OUT OF LEVEL the ground is? Also when it rains, does it get wet enough to soften the soil? I have taken 3/4" plywood, NOT PARTICLE BOARD as my foundation. 24" squares worked. Often you can level up the stands with scraps of plywood or solid boards. You can also lay out a large plastic sheet first, and give the ground more protection.

Point is, it can be done and SAFE. If working under the carport is FIRST CHOICE, then consider such. IMO.

You are a smart fellow, so you will figure it out, just some food for thought.

Everyone LOVES LUCY. Robert you are to YOUNG to recall the TV series. ' I LOVE LUCY'

Dale in Indy

[Guest chevy_dude97]

Dynaflow Parts

I have searched for rebuild kits and this is what I came up with. Seems they have every thing as far as seals rebuild kits and hard parts.

[Guest shadetree77]

James, even with some kind of underlayment for the jack stands I still wouldn't trust the majority of the concrete. Erosion has carried away a large part of the dirt underneath the concrete slab. It has begun to crack in places and I'm afraid if we pull a car onto it it may collapse. Who knows if there is anything left under there supporting the concrete? Only a small portion of the slab on one side still has dirt under it so that's the only side I trust.

Dale, the dirt floor under the car port is really not level. It causes a problem every time we use it. We usually do it just as you described with the plywood pieces for the jacks and jack stands. But for a job this big I really want the car to be in a rock solid state when we're under there yanking on stuff. That's a good idea about covering the dirt with plastic. It gets really muddy out there when it rains. Not the best of working conditions by far, but better than no cover at all I suppose. We will probably end up using the edge of the patio and the gravel driveway. I'll invest in some tarps to cover the windows with in case of rain while we have the trans. and rear end out. As for I Love Lucy, I might not have been around when it was new but I definitely remember it. My Mom loves all the classic shows and I grew up watching them with her on the "Nick at Nite" channel. I remember when Nickolodeon would change from cartoons to classic television at night. Nowadays they have their own channel called "TV Land" and I watch it often. We watched I Love Lucy, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Green Acres, etc. all the time. Some of my favorites were Mr. Ed, Have Gun Will Travel, Gilligan's Island, Lassie, Three Stooges, the original Star Trek and the best of all....The Honeymooners! Their neighbor Ed cracks me up!

Chevydude, I responded to you in one of the other threads but thanks again for that link. Autotrans looks like a really promising company and they seem to have any part you would need for a Dynaflow. Looks like they really know their stuff and the prices look good too. I'll probably give them a try when I'm ready to order my parts. Thanks again!

[MrEarl]

Portable garage floors - empty refrigerator boxes from Lowes

[old-tank]

Just start thinking ahead on how you will move the transmission jack with that heavy arsche dynaflow on it. That jack will not move with 200-300 lbs on it if on gravel, dirt or even plywood. Even a tiny piece of gravel on my smooth garage floor stopped it dead...you don't want to be jerking when the transmission is 2 ft in the air. Also get the transmission jack that you pictured...don't even think about an adapter for a floor jack...too narrow and unstable and only the rear wheels swivel. The car will need to be about 3 ft in the air so that the jack with tranny will clear the frame...real scary when you see it. Think ahead.

Willie

[Guest chevy_dude97]

Here is a pic I found on in another thread, I know its not a 51 but gives good reference for hight required.

Edited August 23, 2012 by chevy_dude97 (see edit history)

[Guest Rob McDonald]

Ooo, I'm getting all clammy, looking at that. Wood blocks on top of jack stands on top of more wood blocks, flanked by ramps on yet more blocks. Thankfully, those do seem pretty well clamped with big channels. This is why service stations and hydraulic hoists were invented, although those fall down once in a while, too.

However, the home hobbyist has little choice but to improvise with house-of-cards constructions like this. Even an electric post-mounted lift is out of the question because we're not likely to be extracting Dynaflows more than once in our lifetime - which we hope will not be prematurely terminated by that attempt. I'm all ears though, to hear more about tackling this diabolical job that many of us face.