Ok, everyone, my '54 is home!

[Guest Amicus]

Well, we got it home about 2:30 this morning! Thank God all the lights work! But, the driver was at our drop spot, so what can ya do? LOL

Getting a good look at everything in the daylight, some things look better than expected, some worse, but that was to be expected. Even though the interior is in very bad shape, it was surreal when I opened the door and stuck my head in. The SMELL just brought memories rushing back!!!! So strange. It does NOT smell good, lol, but the undertone smells.......wow!

Whoever had it and had started "restoring" it, well, let's just say they did NOT do it right, they tried to do it CHEAP. Which may be good for us in some ways. The "chrome" that we thought was in such bad shape,....well, not so much. It isn't chrome at all, but that cheap "chrome" spray paint, and it wasn't prepped at all before they painted it. So maybe the REAL prep won't be as bad as I thought.

The engine, wow! It GROWLS!!!!! It runs really good!!!!

One really good thing is it was originally green, and some of it BAFFIN GREEN, yay!!!!! Looks like it was two-tone, that ugly light green (whatever it's called) and Baffin Green. Some of the interior still boasts the Baffin Green (bottom part of dash, steering column). The steering wheel that looked almost teal in the pictures isn't, it is green!!!!!!

The paint is cheap, cheap, cheap, and not much prep work before they painted. Much of it is bubbled and flaking and peeling. Don't care, cause we are going with......you guessed it, Baffin Green!

Rust is minimal, but there. As we thought, the windshield has water between the layers, as do the wing windows. But again, that's ok, I found a place for all the glass.

So, my first (of many, many, MANY) questions is........where would YOU start????? I'm thinking the engine rebuild. Thoughts????? I know I will END with paint and body work.

[JohnD1956]

So, my first (of many, many, MANY) questions is........where would YOU start????? I'm thinking the engine rebuild. Thoughts????? I know I will END with paint and body work.

First, congrats on getting the ole girl home. Sounds like you will have some work ahead of you. And in my book that means making some decisions about just what you really want from this car. For instance, do you want to ultimately drive this car, or trailer it? Do you want to go to car shows or just tool around town reliveing your memories of Dad and his 54? Do you have intense desire to do a concours quality restoration, or are you just looking for a car that looks good and can go ouot on a date in an instant?

This , in my humble opinion, dictates where to start and where to end.

And now for one other thought; While most people would start with an engine rebuild, then a trans rebuild and then move on from there to Body work and interior, I say that is a recipe for dragging your feet and losing sight of the ultimate goal. It may be the way the car was originally built but after dropping 5K or so on an engine rebuild, are you gonna have the resources and intestinal fortitude to continue onto the rest of the project?

Instead, I would propose that if the engine runs good, and if the transmission operates, and the car moves, turns and stops, then start with the body and paint. You'll most likely still spend much more than you expect but in the end, looking at a completed paint job will give you reinforcement to go ahead with other aspects of the project. I especially recommend this avenue if your answer to the first questions is anything remotely related to : I want to be able to jump in this car and take it for a ride.

All of this is just my humble opinion of course. I'm sure you'll hear from lots of others soon.

Whatever you decide, this is gonna be a great car when you're finished. Good luck!

[Guest Amicus]

Thank you for your reply, and some really good questions. My ultimate goal is to have this car as close to showroom new as possible. Shows, sure, drive around, of course! One of the first things we plan to do is to go to the drive-in movie in Glendale, AZ. This is the SAME drive-in that we went to, in my dad's '54, when I was a kid. How LUCKY is that, that it is still there?????!!!!!

I know I want to wait till last for paint and body. As far as the engine rebuild, I found a kit for this engine for a little over $1,600, and we have the mechanic to help us do it. The best part is, ......he will work for food and beer!!!!!! Again, how lucky is that?????

In the long run, I really don't care how much money I put into it. I never plan to sell it, so no "loss" there. It will go to my oldest son when I'm gone, he was very close to his grandfather, so it will mean as much to him as it does me.

I guess my goals are different than most when it comes to this restoration. The emotions surrounding it are very complicated, which probably explains why I really don't care about cost. I'm not rich, by any stretch, but I will come up with what I need. There is always a way.......

So, all that said, and looking at it from my point of view, what is the best way to attack this? I'm still thinking the engine first, then all the mechanical aspects.....but maybe interior?????? More thoughts??????

[Guest 54fins]

Well, check out 54buick.com. Surprisingly active website for such a limited scope. Bleeds into the Buick tri 5's. I didn't catch what model you got.

[Guest Amicus]

Well, check out 54buick.com. Surprisingly active website for such a limited scope. Bleeds into the Buick tri 5's. I didn't catch what model you got.

Ok, I will do that. Mine is a '54 Super, 4 door sedan.

[Glassesguy]

I go with John D's reply. If the engine "growls" meaning it runs great and trans is good why would you feel they have to be rebuilt? Do the paint, bodywork, and interior then drive it for a while and relive the memories. I know you plan to keep it forever, but sometimes things come up (stuff happens). Shiny paint, nice interiors, and shiny chrome either attract attention or sell cars...not engine rebuilds and lousy paint. If you feel you have to do something to your engine, then pull the oil pan and valve covers and clean out the sludge and gunk you will no doubt find there. Pull the wheels and inspect the wheel cylinders for leakage then flush the brake system. Now you can drive to your preferred body and paint shop and bring back the car the way you remember your Dad's.

My $.02 worth.

[Guest Amicus]

I go with John D's reply. If the engine "growls" meaning it runs great and trans is good why would you feel they have to be rebuilt? Do the paint, bodywork, and interior then drive it for a while and relive the memories. I know you plan to keep it forever, but sometimes things come up (stuff happens). Shiny paint, nice interiors, and shiny chrome either attract attention or sell cars...not engine rebuilds and lousy paint. If you feel you have to do something to your engine, then pull the oil pan and valve covers and clean out the sludge and gunk you will no doubt find there. Pull the wheels and inspect the wheel cylinders for leakage then flush the brake system. Now you can drive to your preferred body and paint shop and bring back the car the way you remember your Dad's.

My $.02 worth.

You may be right. I wish I knew if the odometer is correct.....probably has turned over at least once. Speaking of wheel cylinders for leakage, I noticed after we got it home that there is some oily residue on all 4 tires (the tires are as close to new as you can get)......do you think that may be what this is? Or could it be brake fluid? I know we are just getting into this, just want to know the most common things to look for.

It does seem to run pretty good, though there is a definite exhaust leak. Please bear with me, the only other car I have had that was a "project car" was a '73 Vega that I put a Buick (imagine that, lol) 231 V6 in.....and that was years ago. I am a complete novice at this. I will have a lot of the work done professionally, but I also want to do some myself (and with my hubby, though not TOO much). I am green, but I am smart and learn fast. I have worked on my own cars (back when you COULD work on them), just a little rusty. I guess the reason I want to rebuild the engine is because we don't really know how many miles are truly on it, if it has been rebuilt in the past, etc. I do want to be able to drive it, and possibly fairly long trips, and do NOT want to have engine problems and get stuck in the middle of nowhere. Been there, done that too many times.

I am listening to all of your suggestions, and will continue to do so. I appreciate any help I can get. I am so grateful that I found this site, makes me feel like I can really do this!!!!! Thank you to all of you!!!!!!

[Guest Amicus]

Part of why I am wanting to wait till the end to do paint and body work......everyone I have talked to about doing the work advises me to wait till the end to do paint and body. Some of these people have restored many vintage cars, and their reasons seem reasonable. Such as, if you do the body and paint first, then you could damage it later with engine work or even interior work. I tend to agree.....but if I'm being paranoid, please tell me so!!!!

[Guest 54fins]

there are several pitfalls that we might help you avoid. step 1 is brakes! they are cheap too, no excuses. You might save a life too. Don't trust park, they can jump out. wheel cylinders and hoses are $150 and easy to do. worn shoes can still stop, but once you loose fluid pressure it's game over. $20 for a master kit or 50 for a master- surprisingly cheap but the master is a bear to get to.

Even if you rebuild the engine, get it running and change the oil, look for some threads on "flushing " the engine. Why? you need to know if you have a good block and good heads, used motors are fairly cheap if it's not. Also, you need the car to be an op, inops are a royal pain. now you can move it around, drive it a little and start the inspection process. Oh, if the car doesn't go, the tranny is probably good. They leak and don't go forward without oil. You also want to listen for noises, like in the rear end.

Now, demo the interior. If it's nice, remove it very carefully. Pull the seats, door panels, carpet etc. Mice love old buicks, odds are you will find little black pellets- hmmm. BUt the brown stuff is called rust. If the kick is good, you might get lucky. Check the rockers and all the tight spots, wheel wells, fenders etc. Get a bodyman friend to help that will be brutally honest. If the rust is bad, you simply can buy a restored car cheaper than you can retore it.

Lets say the car is reasonably solid. Clean it up yourself, detail every part yourself. the very last step is taking it to a shop. I would have everything off, trim, interior etc. Don't give any more than a $500 deposit if you use a body shop. Do not let the car be rendered inoperative, have each body issue done frame on. Once the car is taken apart, the shop owns you. You don't want to sit on an inop for 2,3 or more years. Even if it isn't finished, you want to start it, drive it a little, get familiar with it. do a frame on, hand polish the chrome and clean up everything.

After a couple years, you can make a better judgement if you want to go frame off. I highly advise against it. Many Senior status cars are frame on restorations, you don't have to completely tear down the car from day 1. You will also be much prouder, and richer if you do most of it yourself. Most the stuff just bolts right up, and most doesn't have to happen right away. I can put on some tunes, grabb a beer and just start cleaning parts. anyhow, good luck, just get on them brakes first!

[1953mack]

. . . . . So, my first (of many, many, MANY) questions is........where would YOU start????? I'm thinking the engine rebuild. Thoughts????? I know I will END with paint and body work . . . . .

FWIW:

I would start first by deciding how many dollar$ are you willing and able to afford to dump into a 4-door sedan and go from there.

Get it running and driveable and enjoy it; then, make your decision on an engine rebuild last or paint and body work first. What's wrong in cruising around town with body work completed and a suede (primer) finish? Wait until everything you want to complete is completed and then squirt on the shiny paint.

Just my $.03 worth. Good luck.

Al Malachowski

BCA #8965

"500 Miles West of Flint"

"A running auto is easier to sell than a garage full of parts."

[Guest 54fins]

I use a Maaco to do $1000 paint jobs- with bodywork. If you take the trim off yourself, door handles,locks, etc, the paint can look like a 10K paint job. Then you take everything apart. You don't need to spend alot. Once it's in a shop taken apart, you are screwed.

[Guest Rob McDonald]

AMICUS, you've already got a $1000 Maaco paint job, it's just the wrong colour. Bubbling and peeling are the natural result of inadequate preparation - how much can they do in an afternoon? - and a few seasons of exposure to the weather. A cheapo respray in Baffin Green would look just as bad in a year or two. Mind you, it might temporarily satisfy your craving to see your dad's car reborn and maybe that's worth a grand, emotionally. Just know that you'll be doing it again some day, with another layer of faulty paint to work through.

The engine is running well, so there's no reason to fear it dying on the highway somewhere. These things usually give us lots of warning. I echo 54fins' advice to thoroughly flush out the oiling (and cooling) system before running the engine much more. Buickman has provided excellent step-by-step instructions on that - http://forums.aaca.org/f162/another-how-do-series-review-technique-335301.html. OldTank then tells us how to seal the engine up again, once we've done the deep cleaning - http://forums.aaca.org/f163/55-century-66r-project-292364.html#post1079634.

Your Dynaflow probably leaks like a sieve but properly stemming the flow is a big job - all labour $, not much parts $ - involving removal of the transmission. Shadetree77 is about to embark on that adventure - http://forums.aaca.org/f163/1952-special-deluxe-project-315000.html In the short term, you can do like most of us - put up with the puddles on the garage floor and always have a jug of ATF in the trunk, to top up every time you fill the gas tank. The leaks usually slow somewhat, the more you drive the car - swelling gaskets or something.

Please consider doing all the other mechanical work before tearing into the engine. Did anyone mention brakes? You should renew the brakes before anything else. And steering - be sure the steering and the suspension are tight and smooth, which makes any old car so much nicer to drive. Oh, and do the brakes, too.

Funny how the smell of your car's decayed interior is evocative for you. That unique mustiness always takes me back to the beaters my friends drove when we were teenagers. My dear Wifey must have had a better class of high school chums because she thinks my Buick smells revolting. Anyway, there's lots you can do at home to improve the looks and comfort (and smell) of your car's insides, before springing $5000 for an authentic reupholstery job - which will be fabulous in a '54 Super sedan.

[Guest Amicus]

Wow, thank you so much everyone. Think I'll start with the brakes....lol! The paint job, when we do it, will be a good one, no Maaco (better get Maaco my ass). And, Rob, it's not the decayed smell, but the UNDERTONES, I can smell the real smells of the interior as it once was, just like Dad's. There is the bad smell, but there is also the BUICK smell, don't know how else to describe it. When I was a kid and Dad had his car, it didn't have any bad, or musty smells. I dunno, maybe I'm crazy (or crazier than most people think).

Will do the engine flush first, as a couple of you have suggested. It really does run good. It drives almost perfect! It steers like new. It brakes well, but that leakage at each wheel has me worried, so definitely will do the brakes.

So far, there are absolutely NO signs of leakage. I'm beginning to wonder if the engine has been rebuilt. I have a name for the previous owner before the dealer got it. Maybe I could locate that person and ask some questions........hhmmmmmm.

Anyway, thanks for all the responses. As I said, we will start with brakes, then as we start really digging into it, I'll ask some more questions.

[Guest 54fins]

if it aint broke, don't fix it! Sounds like you are pretty much set. If the engine was started up on a regular basis, it may not be sludged. Some dynaflows don't leak- that's a good thing. I like an original interior, it's a rare find but if its reasonable, I would leave it alone. Sounds like paint may be your only issue, if thats the case you can take the overhaul funds and put a little nore there. Nice paint and chrome does make the car and I would not worry about painting it the same colors as your childhood car. Paint is only original once, just use 1954 colors. I try to talk people out of going too crazy. The less you do, or have to do the more you will enjoy the car.

[NTX5467]

Some orientations are to do mechanical work first, then body and paint stuff. Others have compelling reasons to do it the other way. Just like whether to get a new convertible top before or after a paint job. Some of these differences can relate to what it takes to get the engine out of the car and other related things done, so not all vehicles might not be the same in that respect. With great care not to add to or make existing problems larger (as belt buckle/jeans' pocket rivets), the particular sequence can be best determined by which things need to be done sooner, rather than later.

In a vehicle that old with an unknown repair history, getting a "baseline" of sorts is important during the initial discovery process of what's what. Prioritizing things, after this discovery process is completed can then influence what comes next . . . plus "available funding".

Pull the wheels and check the bearings and brake linings and seals . . . front and back. With them off, you can use approved techniques and brake cleaner to clean things up and such. Might be that what you are seeing on the tires is bearing grease rather than brake fluid trails?

Do the flushes of the coolant system, removing all of the block's freeze plugs in the process. Then evaluate the condition of the rest of the cooling system afterward. Even if the radiator might need some attention, if the coolant can't flow through the block as it should, you might still have an overheat situation with a new radiator.

Look at the quality of the motor oil (on the end of the dipstick) and the trans fluid. If the oil is still clean and not overly-dark, worry about that later. Same with the trans fluid condition. Kind of the "If it's not broke, don't fix it . . . yet" orientation. Rear axle fluid will need to be looked at, too, especially for the presence of transmission fluid from an internally-leaking DynaFlow. Considering the age, it might be nice to put some fresh grease in an assembly which normally didn't see fresh lube, just small additions throughout its life. Don't forget to lube the chassis and such, too. If the various joints are "dry", then you might file that information back for future reference and future parts accumulations.

You might want to consider some of the "high zinc" motor oils now on the market. Edelbrock and other specialty manufacturers now have some. The new Quaker State DEFY oil is usually higher in zddp content, tool. And current 15W-40 diesel-rated motor oils never did diminish their zddp levels (think Rotella T or Delo 400). Sometimes, you can find 30W motor oil in the older "SL" service rating, too.

Some of your comments tend to indicate that you were very keyed-in with the various sensory inputs of the cars back then. That is great! This can be an additional indication that something "is not right" should that situation occur, too. To me, one of the great things about vintage vehicles is they did the things they did, the sounds they made, the smells they had, the way the steering felt, the sounds the engines and starters and transmissions made . . . and how that all interacted to make them the vehicles they were when they were new . . . and can be once again. Once you know about those things, it makes owning an older vehicle that much more special and enjoyable!

With all due respect, MAACO stores are locally-franchised. That means that while there might be a particular "standard of franchisee service" and such each one might have to meet, each one can be different. I've seen some good paint work from a local franchisee, but I've also seen some that looked good and started chipping on the edges of the hood and such about 18 months later. And then there are the decreasing number of Earl Scheib franchises whose base paint job included just scuffing the paint and shooting everything still attached to the body (other than the glass and safety-related lighting).

As noted, doing great body work and prep-for-paint is imperative to a good paint job. But what's becoming more important to me is also what type of paint you can get to do the job with! As OEM paints have now evolved into basecoat/clearcoat and waterborne versions, it makes the painters who might know how to shoot the earlier single-stage acrylic enamels and acrylic lacquers more scarce. The fact the newer paints need to have a spray booth controlled environment is a plus, though. Personally, I'd recommend an acrylic enamel paint system, but not a basecoat/clearcoat system as the single-stage system would be more appropriate for the vehicle and have the correct gloss and enhanced gloss retention with decent care . . . for a long time. The basecoat/clearcoat system uses less paint and then uses the clearcoat to make up the difference in total build thickness, plus it can have some UV filters in it, which might be good, too. Just depends upon the final look you might desire for the car.

Take care,

NTX5467

[Guest Amicus]

if it aint broke, don't fix it! Sounds like you are pretty much set. If the engine was started up on a regular basis, it may not be sludged. Some dynaflows don't leak- that's a good thing. I like an original interior, it's a rare find but if its reasonable, I would leave it alone. Sounds like paint may be your only issue, if thats the case you can take the overhaul funds and put a little nore there. Nice paint and chrome does make the car and I would not worry about painting it the same colors as your childhood car. Paint is only original once, just use 1954 colors. I try to talk people out of going too crazy. The less you do, or have to do the more you will enjoy the car.

I like an original interior also, and we will do our best to make that happen. The interior now,....well, that's our biggest problem, it is BAD, BAD, BAD!!!! Except the dash, which is in surprisingly good condition. The gauges seem to work properly, the original AM radio works, the bottle openers are there. No cracks in the gauge faces. Don't know if the clock works, have to check that.