ME & MY === 1958 Buick, 1958 Buick, 1958 Buick and……..

[dei]

When I became a minority partner in my business the senior partner had an F100 pickup and a Dodge A100 truck. He started purchasing Ford pickups because as he would say, "They were cheap." Not that they were built cheaply just the cost of a Ford versus a Chev or a Dodge was less expensive. I have found them reasonable to repair over my 40 years using them for work trucks when things came up but in general are very dependable trucks.

I did a comparison when I ordered this one and saved 1,600 dollars vs a Chev at that time. Then there were big savings like 1,000 dollar Costco memberships, family discount savings, vehicle package savings and... Ford was offering a 3,000 dollar off on bringing in any vehicle as long as  you could drive it in!

I cleaned out my then 1990 GMC and dropped the keys at the desk for 3,000 cash!

Good deal when all was said and done!

 

And now back to our regular scheduled (?) Buick topic...

 

Edited April 27, 2020 by dei (see edit history)

[dei]

What does one do when a long time fellow car buddy call and ask if I could help him out?

 

While it was not with one of his cars at first, at the end of the day we did look over a problem he was having with his '66 Lincoln.

(sorry for the quality of the picture - camera dropped too many times???)

 

In order to get this beast on his hoist we had to move 6 of his cars first.

 

 

Joe has a big garage but with these boats it is tight getting in and out.

 

For a City property it is rather larger than normal (lucky for him) and due to being grandfathered in this once small chroming building has been repurposed for a hobby garage.

Even the circular driveway is unique to the area allowing for a personal car show whenever he wants.

 

 

So with the Lincoln on the hoist and the rear axle lifted to free the wheels it didn't take long to feel the drivers side wheel was dragging. We took off the tire and rim and then removed the brake drum. Getting it off proved to be a bit of effort as it seemed the shoes were hanging up (expanded). Once it was off, the axles moved easily so visually checked the brakes finding they were sitting properly and the emergency cable was not sized. I noticed they are self adjusting brakes and suggested backing off the star adjuster after Joe mentioned he had jammed on the brakes backing up several times thinking something might be hanging up after he noticed when putting it in drive it took more than usual amount of pedal to get the car to move forward.

Then I noticed fluid on the backing plate and it appeared the axle seal was leaking so cleaned that up and shot the shoes with brake clean. We then put the drum and tire back on turning the wheels before setting her back on the ramps.

By now it was late so bid him a good night to head home for a late supper.

 

The original request for my help was to roll, dethatch and aerate his lawn since his riding lawn mower needed repair.

I used my roller but his dethatcher and aerator before getting into the Lincoln.

 

 

 

While not my Buick's yet, not a bad way to spend a long afternoon playing with cars and all. 😁

Edited April 29, 2020 by dei (see edit history)

[dei]

With a hearty lunch today and constant light rain I laid on the couch while the wife turned on the idiot box and literally cat napped!

Woke up some time later seeing my 19 year old house cat sleeping on my lap.

 

We/she has been dealing with a bladder infection and early signs of kidney failure for two weeks but has turned around some and seems to be her old self (for now). Vet says as long as she eats regular and not crying might be around for 6-12 months. Doing what needs to be done for her not to suffer.

 

After I moved her to another chair went to the garage with the Special as the rain quit for a bit.

I took apart the frame I want at home marking the pipes for a quick reassembly out back on the pad till I can scrounge funds for the flat roof.

 

Going to secure it with some 2x4's and then cover it with a tarp where I can clean and paint parts for the Limited or?

I threw this on and measured to order from our local supplier.

 

After dinner I went into the garage and moved a few things placing/sorting/marking them in boxes.

Came upon this rear windshield trim piece and wondered if it would be any better than the one on my car now.

 

With magic stuff and rag went at it and...

 

I think it is about the same so wrapped it, marked it and have it stored for now.

 

I then looked at the small padded dash piece for the Special siting on the bench. i had cleaned out the old deteriorated foam (what a sticky mess that was) and knew the plan is to put spray foam inside. Knowing it will harden and will expand I want to build a form to help keep it's shape. 

With some beaded styrofoam pieces I marked it out and cut it to see how to proceed.

 

If I use the beaded stuff I'm going to have to build a wood box around it and clamp some wood on top to prevent movement I think.

 

If I do this carefully it will be a vast improvement from the original one on the dash now that has deformed from years of heat and loss of inside padding.

 

I was very pleased the way the vinyl cleaned up on the new piece and still held its shape. It's going to look great.

 

Thanks Joe! (95Cardinal) 😎

Edited May 1, 2020 by dei (see edit history)

[dei]

Made trip over to check in on Mom and with finding her out in the front flower beds seemingly good in the almost 70 degrees today, went into Dad's wood shop with intention to make a box for my padding mould.

Dad was an amature wood worker mentored by a friend whose hobby was making fine antique looking furniture. He started late in life but really came to doing some fantastic projects including turning multi species bowls.

Consequently there was plenty of wood pieces to choose from but used a piece of what looked like siding.

I only ever used his equipment a few times myself so felt like he was standing over my shoulder watching me work.

 

Going to give this a try once I get in line at Home Hardware tomorrow to buy a can of expanding foam.

 

Edited May 2, 2020 by dei (see edit history)

[dei]

At the risk of boring you (since I brought it up) here are a few of Dad's wood turning projects.

 

 

 

 

These are but only three of the many he made along with toys for my boys.

This May the 4th he would have been 96.

[lancemb]

Those are some really beautiful pieces your dad made!

[Fr. Buick]

Did anyone see the '58 Super in the Wednesday Wall Street Journal?

[Buicknutty]

Lovely work, Doug!

[dei]

On 5/2/2020 at 1:18 AM, lancemb said:

Those are some really beautiful pieces your dad made!

 

11 hours ago, Buicknutty said:

Lovely work, Doug!

 

Thanks guys!

Dad used to say he was the prime example of "Jack of all trades but master of none". 

In his day growing up (like many others) living on a small farm money was tight, so one had to do things that the young generation today (not all...) say, Take it in to be fixed or through it out and get a new one cause it's cheaper than having it fixed...

 

He always said he would have loved to be a carpenter working with wood but back then labour didn't pay what it does comparatively today so went to work as an Operator In Training for the Ontario Hydro till becoming an Assistant Operator in what was the then maned distribution yards. This is a facility that reduces the power from those huge lines coming from Niagara Falls to service Windsor with it's local power. Eventually those places were fully Automated which reduced man power requirements and when Dad turned 59 the Company offered him early retirement with not only full pension but a years salary incentive to boot!!

It was then that he built his 16x16 wood shop in the back yard and delved into finish wood working. 

Along with his antique cars, three of which I still have (Thanks Dad), and the various charity organisations he worked on, his life was very fulfilled. 

 

Short story about his job.

With having cottages 40 miles from home and his job being in Windsor, he would drive after work to the cottages and be with us as there was always something to do there. He was driving the Limited at that time (before he gave it to me) and one day getting ready to go on his afternoon shift he asked if I wanted to go to work with him?

The station he was posted at was a sub station and didn't have a large staff during the evenings so sure, why not. 

Different times then as it would not be allowed to have non employees on site even with permission!!! As a young lad it was fascinating to be in that building hearing the humming of those big transformers reducing power to be sent to the City and the Chrysler Plant right down the road.

Dad's job was to monitor the equipment meters and be on site to switch power around should there be any disruption in power through out the system allowing Linemen to fix the problem safely so I was left to explore the yard and building with strict instructions to "NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!!" 

 

Back to the Limited...

As the evening wore on I was getting tired and with no place to lay down Dad said he would pull the Buick into the bay and I could sleep on the back seat. That was my earliest experience with the back seat of that car...

Next thing I knew the car door was shutting as it was 12 pm and his shift was over so time for the 40 mile drive back to the cottages.

 

Being about 13 then, life seemed to be a lot simpler.

 

Happy Birthday Dad. 

[Buicknutty]

 Thanks for the background on your Dad, Doug. My grandfather wanted to be woodworker and cabinet maker, and his father had set his older brothers up in an apprenticeship of their choice, but had decided my grandfather would be the one to take over the family dairy. This caused a rift, and when his girlfriend's parents announced their plans to come to Canada from England, he was told, by his future father in law, that "if you have the money for the fare, come to Canada with us, and marry her there". That was in 1911.

 The rest, as they say, is history.

 My point here, is that my grandfather though never was able to work professionally as a cabinet maker, he continued working with wood, and I still have a few pieces of furniture made by him.

 I hope you don't mind this digression, Doug.

Keith

[dei]

No issue at all Keith.

Like Dad's antique cars, family treasures keep him alive for me and obviously you too regarding your grandfathers furniture. Dad told my son Mark that he could have all his wood shop tools and know he would like them as a hobby craft also being the mechanical engineer that he is.

 

If I think of it will dig out some of the toys and shoot some pictures Dad made for the boys when they were young.

 

[dei]

Sunday morning I made a trip to a Home Depot Store on the outskirts of town that is rather large and allows one to actually get in a line to ask to purchase goods instead of on-line or calling on the phone. It was worth the gas as I had spent from 1:30 till 4:15 Saturday trying to get through at my regular store on the phone and then only to be told I could pick up the few things I wanted sometime after 3 the next day>>>??? 

Staying isolated not able to earn a living is one thing but this hurry up and wait in a social distance line is testing my patience. Was told by my neighbour I'd better just get used to it...

There, got that off my chest.

 

So having purchased a can of spray foam I put some into the Vinyl dash piece as it was 78 degrees on Sunday and left it over night to cure per instructions.

I think I got enough in there.

 

After cutting lawns I sat down with a knife and after unscrewing the wood braces took out the piece and cleaned it up.

 

I'm mostly happy with the way it worked out and will save the box in case I have to do the same thing for the Limited and the Roadmaster.

 

Now, time to get into that dash again...

Edited May 5, 2020 by dei (see edit history)

[dei]

Received a call wondering if I would be interested in some work in Kingsville so met the man early, discussed the project after showing me some equipment that would be involved and decided to drive on down to where we had cottages years ago.

It was a real a eye opener when I stopped at what was once known as The Municipal Beach.

 

There used to be a sandy beach out to the end of those steel groynes.

Lake Erie is at an all time high and with the south westerly winds lots of damage to property going on.

Drove on down to the cottages and took this shot.

 

While not quite as critical it still will be a problem if the wind either doesn't shift direction or slow down.  Dad had to put the concrete in back in the 70's when a three day blow washed out the block and wood wall they had then. Then ten years later he and the neighbours contracted to put in those steel groynes. They have saved the beach until now but looks like mother nature is going to win this one. Once those big rocks are place forget ever  having a sandy beach again...

 

This is what the beaches looked like then.

That's my 15 ft Lyman and my then girl friend (before I knew she was going to be my wife) in front of the cottages. 

 

 

On the way back home I took a small road and look what I saw. At least he is further back from the lake than some. 

[JohnD1956]

Hey @dei. Hope everything is okay. Haven't seen a post in a while?

[EmTee]

x2...

[lancemb]

I was going to also send Doug a jolt.  I suspect the turn in weather just has him extra busy right now...

[dei]

23 hours ago, JohnD1956 said:

Hey @dei. Hope everything is okay. Haven't seen a post in a while?

 

15 hours ago, EmTee said:

x2...

 

14 hours ago, lancemb said:

I was going to also send Doug a jolt.  I suspect the turn in weather just has him extra busy right now...

 

Hey guys,

I saw JohnD's post late last night and was going to respond but had to think about it at the late hour I read it and then saw you both asked today while I was out working.

 

First let me say right off that my wife and I are OK physical health wise but my mental health, while questionable at times in the past, is being put to it's test.

I don't want this to be a "Wendy Whiner" piece but like I'm sure some of you are dealing with, changes to the normal way of life for us are big and don't expect things to be the same ever again.

 

95Cardinal reached out (as did Gary - cxgvd) via PM and want to express my THANKS to you ALL for your concerns as I now realise it has been over a month having posted something or accomplished anything with my cars. 

 

Let me explain, being self employed in the service industry for 46 years and watching business slowly dwindle away since the "economic (shafting) recession" of 2008 and turning to a more seasonal business, this shut down has virtually become my FORCED RETIREMENT which I'm not really prepared to do! 

If anyone ever comes up to you and says "You're in business, man you have it made", do me and him a favour and give that person a slap in the head!

 

I've worked physically hard to raise my boys, pay off our house, live modestly, preserve my cars, watch my saving (investments) loose 30% back in 2009, gain some /most of that back and now loose another 22% of that and the business sinking only to revert to a labour job to assist the house hold income!

Am I the only one with these woe's? NO, I"M SURE NOT! 

It's about like what my business partner said to me when he found out HE had leukemia, "It's not where I thought I would be in my life at this age..."

 

I/we have our health so thankful to be able to continue on and ... the one bright light to look towards is we will become Grandparents of a baby boy come around October 31st!!

Things look good so far and waiting anxiously for a healthy arrival for everyone concerned.

 

Changes... I now have to consider selling the place where I keep the cars and PARTS after August 31st so need to find car storage for 5 cars!!!!! That's only 11 weeks away come Monday and... 

 

So, the Special is still apart under the dash but I can and have had it running as it sits but have come to the rationalisation that I'm going to sell Dad's beloved '51 Nash to reduce one space requirement.

 

It's been sitting for some time and will need some attention when I manage that time... 

 

Again I want to thank those who have been following along and reached out before my thread got onto the third page.

 

I know I'm not alone here in some ways so THANKS for thinking of me and listening.

Doug

Edited June 14, 2020 by dei (see edit history)

[lancemb]

Good to hear from you, and glad you're physically well.  Sorry to hear about your struggles, but I have faith you'll stay right side up!

[EmTee]

Doug, nearly every day for the last three months I have considered myself extremely lucky to have been allowed to continue working.  Like you, I am approaching retirement, but this pandemic is a definite setback.  Though we have never met, I know from your postings that you are not the type who sits back and "waits to see what will happen" - you have the "I can do this" attitude and work ethic.  So, while I appreciate the struggle you're dealing with, I feel that you'll work through it and will find a way to make things better.  Your priorities are in perfect order, so go do what needs to be done, but please do check in from time to time  to keep us posted.  A little Buick-chat from time-to-time can go a long way toward helping to keep you motivated. 

Edited June 14, 2020 by EmTee
typo (see edit history)

[dei]

Thanks @EmTee for the support and will report today I did spend about an hour accessing where to dig into the garage a bit. Cleaning/moving empty boxes was a start right now...

Some will be needed to put small things in off the shelves so a bit here and a bit there is where I'm at now. 

I took a bit of video but can't recall tonight how to post it and maybe shouldn't as it is embarrassing what things have gotten too. 🙄

 

Will try and keep active as things show a more positive result.

[dei]

With having caught up early today I ran over to the garage and spent a couple of hours.

I'm putting in a fence on the side lot and painting a post before screwing in the braces and boards to clean things up and then painted the side doors for the same effort.

 

I then went over to the Nash to see what cleaning it will need.

Sadly it has been long enough the chrome needs some big cleaning so decided to get at that.

 

Patience and LOTS of scrubbing is doing the trick but it wasn't like when Dad gave me the car.

 

A little here and a little there...

 

 

So I got about half of the front chrome cleaned up and had to head home but planning on the weekend to see if I can fire her up to move her out and do a proper washing.

 

Dad was the third owner and verified from the previous owner (who he worked with) the car only spent one winter of driving here in Ontario since new. It has it's original black paint and interior even though it shows 100,000 miles.

With it's 6 cylinder standard transmission having had a valve job at around 50,000 miles the last time I drove her it was quiet and comfortable at 55 miles per hour. 

 

Will see what the weekend brings to get her running...

 

Moving forward....

[dei]

Friday was a hot day on the machine but finished reasonable early so went to the battery store afterwards to buy a new 6V battery for the Nash. No sense in playing with charging an old battery only to find it is beyond it's life expectancy.

 

Spent a good three hours today pulling her out to clean and pump up the tires before removing the old battery. The hold down bracket had some residue so took it into the garage and wire wheeled it before painting it and the bars up.

 

She cranked over fine but didn't fire up...

Tried a few things but had to pack up for the day as we have an evening planned.

Fathers Day will leave me time to try again.

[lancemb]

Dang, that's a lot of grass!

[EmTee]

13 hours ago, dei said:

She cranked over fine but didn't fire up...

 

I'd try filing the points.  I'll bet the contacts are oxidized.  give everything under there a good look while you have the cap off. 

[dei]

10 hours ago, lancemb said:

Dang, that's a lot of grass!

 

Sure is!

It's a 14 acre property I supply the labour on their machine which takes a full 6 hours to cut with this machine. They are hoping to get their bigger diesel back soon when the correct parts come in. Supposedly it will knock time down to 4 hours. Meantime it's work and a cheque.

I just need to find my radio headphones...

 

Kingsville is located on the north shore of Lake Erie and the property is located across from the Kingsville Harbour which makes for a great spot for a lunch break.

[dei]

2 hours ago, EmTee said:

 

I'd try filing the points.  I'll bet the contacts are oxidized.  give everything under there a good look while you have the cap off. 

 

Good call EmTee.  I discussed that (via text) with my go to mechanic last night who stated the very same thing so will be heading over this afternoon and see how things look. 

 

Once it runs I will continue with the cleaning as she is really dirty.

 

One surprise (and set me back) was opening the trunk to find Dad's case sitting there with some trophy's and plaques from car shows he drove the car to.

 

He told me that when he was called up on the draught in WW2 he packed this bag and reported to Wolseley Barracks in London, Ontario, Canada by train. When he got there they asked what branch he wished to sign for and he said the Army.

During the physical he discovered he had flat feet and with all the marching required they felt it was not the branch for him to serve. Then with the fact he was an only child and his parents had a 25 acre farm they offered him a Hardship Discharge as the war effort felt food was as important as the man power to support the cause.

Who knows if I'd even be here if things had worked out differently...

 

That bag is going to get a good preservation cleaning and hold a special place.

[dei]

Sunday (Fathers Day) was of mixed blessings.

The good was seeing and talking to both boys and their mates. Got a WiFi extender from one of them and appreciate I will now be able to use my I pad out on the deck now.

Went over to the Nash earlier to discover my firing issue is indeed moisture in the distributor...

The rotor looked like this so will have to find the box marked Nash parts and see if Dad has spare ignition parts to put in.

 

With that I spent the rest of the time with cleaning her up since it was sitting out.

The vinyl on the doors had mildew so grabbed my Mothers cleaner and it came up nicely.

 

 

Realised with this shot the lens of my camera has some scratches and the sun makes for the distortion at this angle...

 

I use that throw blanket to save the original upholstery some.

 

It's coming along getting it to look like she should when I last drove her.

Looking at the sticker on the back plate proved to be enlightening. It was last on the road in 2011!!

 

To be continued...

[GARY F]

Try and clean the rotor. I want to hear it run.

[Buicknutty]

Thanks for the update, Doug! I too was wondering what had become of you. This pandemic takes it's toll on people, in all sorts of ways.

Neat cars, those Nashes. I good friend of mine has a few of them, in various states, like we have a few Buicks!

Keith

 

[dei]

This mornings rain (somewhat needed) has put work on hold today so posting a bit more on the Nash.

Keith, several years ago (actually a lot of years ago...) my youngest and I were up in Newmarket

picking up a 10x20 portable tent, stopping for lunch and a group of antique cars rolled in. Low and behold wasn't there an identical black '51 Nash Canadian Statesman! We chatted some before the group headed back out on their tour and I thought we exchanged contact info but looks like I lost it with the last computer hard drive crash. 

See, I looked further into the distributor Sunday finding no spark from the points so looking to replace points, condenser, rotor and cap before stressing the new battery further. That contact might have proved helpful (if he still has the car...).  

If your friends with those Nash's might know where to source parts I'd appreciate the help. 

 

The box I have on the shelf proved nothing for those new parts so chasing down sources like the Nash Car Club of America and waiting to hear back.

 

Meantime, I might have a solution for the vast amount of Buick parts that will need a new home. Details are being worked out so not to jinx this I will hold back those details till confirmation.

 

Going to try and finish a small fence I want to put in. Most everything is painted up now requiring assembly/installation.

 

This is week 10 till everything has to be cleaned up & or moved... 

Edited June 23, 2020 by dei (see edit history)

[old-tank]

On 6/21/2020 at 7:32 AM, EmTee said:

 

I'd try filing the points.  I'll bet the contacts are oxidized.  give everything under there a good look while you have the cap off. 

If it ran with those points and rotor before, it will probably run again.  Try RockAuto for replacements.

[dei]

13 minutes ago, old-tank said:

If it ran with those points and rotor before, it will probably run again.  Try RockAuto for replacements.

 

Unfortunately that was 11 years ago and moisture has it's way of creating issues.

Going to go over connections and clean them to ensure good contact.

 

Being in Canada running into a few places that won't ship across the Border (Internationally) but will check them out too. Thanks.

[Smartin]

Have you sprayed starting fluid down the carb to see if it’s a fuel delivery problem? 

[dei]

I didn't use the starter spray, poured gas, sometimes a bit and sometimes a lot with the choke both open and closed over about an hour or so then pulled a plug wire, put in a screw driver in it and asked a neighbour to watch  for a spark as the starter button for this Nash is on the bottom of the clutch pedal. No dice with that so tested continuity of the coil wire and that was good. 

Has power to one side of the coil. 

 

Any suggestions accepted.

Edited June 23, 2020 by dei (see edit history)

[dmfconsult]

Doug,

Rockauto will ship to Canada no problem (reasonably fast too) and they show most of the parts you are looking for.  They also show parts in Canadian $$ so you know what it's costing, although that's just a conversion, they still bill you in US$.  Just double check the parts to make sure what they list is correct as I've seen they are not always correct in their listings.

 

Cheers,

[dei]

Appreciate the info Doug! Will check it out on my desk top when I finish up tonight with work. 

Nothing like a bit of rain to push the day back trying to keep on schedule.

[dei]

Turns out while cleaning the Nash up a fellow car buff down the way stopped by as he had never seen the Nash before and as we talked gave me the name of a guy at a local Auto business who has been in the trade for many years unlike the new counter guys who have never even heard of a Nash let alone where to look for parts...

Ted is going to check as there are two different distributors for the car and with pictures of mine try and set me up.  

Not sure when they will come in or when I can get my mechanic to come over to install but have to keep moving forward. 

 

[dei]

Naturally Nash parts are on back order. So fitting with this hurry up get in line and wait new world order...

It is what it is and moving along with the other priorities needed. My son ordered a bin for stuff he is disposing of and was planning to throw stuff out from the basement and share the cost but... after coming back from working the lawns found he literally had it full to the top!

We covered it with my tarp that night to keep the furniture from getting wet (adding to the weight charge) from the overnight storms.

Thinking it would be picked up on Saturday took the cover off and decided to squeeze cut off branches on top.

 

I got so carried away with the cleaning up yard waste I had to use my small trailer and make a trip to the City Recycle Centre. Fortunately Residential Yard Waste can be dumped for free as long as there is no grass in it. 

Again the hurry up and wait system was in place there too.

 

OK enough gripping. 

 

The one good thing this week was the place out in Kingsville finally got their unit back from the shop and man is it big and very powerful being a diesel.

Due to the cut size it has shaved off an 1 hour and 15 minutes leaving some time to do trimming around the buildings and fences. It barely fits into the Sea Can and have to be careful parking it.

Edited June 28, 2020 by dei (see edit history)

[dei]

Spent the better part of the day Sunday with more exterior cleanup and things are looking better as far as eye appeal. Decided to scrub down the garage door and siding which was really dirty.

 

Yes the garage is stuffed and another bin will be needed with the move and sort operation.

Fortunately I have made arrangements to have use of a Sea Can for parts storage and can start with the transfer next weekend, hence the property cleanup efforts for now.

I still have plenty of paver stones so decided to place some on this corner to neaten things up along with mounting a matching trellis I saved from Mom's.

 

Got a small start going through the front of that pile, sorting what is to be kept and what is to be thrown out. It all has to be moved before I can get into the rafters and bring stuff down...

And so it goes.

 

 

[dei]

After supper looked out the front windows and saw this come up the driveway.

 

My car buddy was out and decided to stop in for a visit.

The Cadillac is a local car all it's life and Joe bought it from the original owner's daughter.

It was repainted once but the chrome is all original as is the interior.

 

Surprising how sitting by itself the styling makes the car look so big and bulky but here beside my truck not quite so big. 

 

 

It was a nice visit.

I need to get the Special back together and find time for a ride or two...

Edited June 29, 2020 by dei (see edit history)