58 Buick special 46R

[Ttotired]

I thought I should start a build thread for my Buick

 

I found this car advertised quite close to me as a 57 Buick, but the pictures showed a 58

 

I decided to go for a look, just to see the car

 

I am a big fan of finned era cars, and there are not a lot of Buicks around here

 

I have just finished a 60 Dodge Phoenix and also have a 60 Plymouth Fury waiting in the wings

 

When I looked at the Buick, I was surprised at how little rust it had in it (both the Mopars are/were quite rusty), the chrome and trims are not to bad, the interior is very good (just a couple of small holes in the seats that are easy enough to fix) and it had been converted to right had drive many years ago, so I couldnt resist it and a deal was made and it came home

 

I originally was going to try and flip it, but I kind of like it to much

 

The first thing I did was tried to get it running, the engine was locked and I spent a couple of weeks getting it to turn

 

I got it started, but it had a knock in it, so I only drove it down the end of the street and back (with no brakes) just to see if it would move and drive ok, but I went quite slowly and all seemed basically ok except for the knocking and various leaky things

 

So next was to pull the engine and find what was trying to get out, here is the thread I started on it

 

http://forums.aaca.org/topic/264513-58-special-engine-removal/

 

I am going to keep everything here now including the engine repair, but I wont double up on the dis assembly stuff

 

Basically, the engine is out, cleaned, but partially re assembled (to keep all the stuff together), the dynaflow is cleaned and ready for painting (no game to pull it apart and it seemed to work ok), just pulled the rear axle assembly out to fix the torque tube and the arms (they are a bit bent)

 

Because of the other 2 cars, I have to try and find room for the Buick parts somewhere before I get to carried away with getting the interior out and getting the trims and glass off

 

I will add pictures as I go and comments and advice are welcome

 

Mick

[Smartin]

Wow RH drive 58...too cool!  Looking forward to updates as they come

[dei]

Hey Mick,

Like Adam said, WOW!

This is the first right hand '58 I've seen!

Oh, and I understand about other car issues... Space is always a premium!

Keep us posted!

[Ttotired]

So this is where its at today

 

The blown tire happened before I got it and was a re tread

 

It did a bit of damage to the inner wheel arch and the lower exterior of the outer wheel arches, but not to drastic

 

I have straightened out the inner part, but I had to cut it in half and now have to weld it back in

 

The plan today is to clean the torque tube and pull it apart to check it inside and work out what seals I need to fix the leak

 

Mick

[Ttotired]

I have the torque tube apart now (what a mess) and cleaned up

 

The oil that was leaking near the back end of the torque tube appears to be diff oil, the torque ball end seems to be really good, but there is a bit of rubber sticking out of the cover thing

 

I have ordered a torque ball repair kit off ebay and found a new pinion seal there as well, so its also on the way

 

I tried to undo the pinion nut today to see if I could pry the seal out and wasnt having much luck, so I resorted to looking in the manual

 

Looks like I need at least 2 special tools to do this, 1 to lock the nut and another to turn the pinion shaft

 

(The service manual says to lock the nut against the diff housing and turn the pinion shaft to undo the nut)

 

I have found and almost (waiting on postage costs) ordered the socket that fits onto the splines, but I couldnt find the tool to retain the nut, so the plasma cutter and a scrap bit of steel has kept me amused for a while making one, the service manual mentions 250 foot pounds, so I hope it holds

 

This is my first time messing with a closed drive system, so its quite interesting

 

Worse thing is, most things take between 2 to 3 weeks to turn up here normally, so now I have to wait

 

( no pics of the tool, sort of looks like I chewed it out of the steel with my teeth )

 

Mick

[dei]

Good to see you here Mick.

 

The shot under the hood without the motor showing the steering box on the other side (to us - ha ha) is interesting. 

 

Looking forward to your progress.

[Ttotired]

Not much to report really, I have mothballed the Buick for now due mostly to the costs of the glass I need (Its looking like approximately AU$2000+ for a screen and side glass) as well as the engine rebuild which is also not going to be very economical

Work has dried up somewhat around here, so not as much spare cash floating about to play with it, so I have bought my Plymouth out to fit the rust repair sections I have for it (Did try to sell it, but only got stupid offers, so I will fix it). I did finish resealing the final drive and I have put it and the trans back in the car mostly so I can roll it around, but its undercover now and out of the way and will sit there for a while and (I hate hearing this) "I will get around to doing it one day"

Sleep well Buick

 

 

 

[dei]

I totally understand where you are at!

It has taken me a LOOONG time to decide to get back at mine and it is a struggle both financially and time wise too but.... just too much history/memories to let it go.

I will need to replace my windshield (screen) on my Roadmaster some day before I can get a safety certificate and know they don't come cheap let alone the balance of the glass.....

Hang in there, at least the body looks to be solid which is a big plus around here.

Edited June 2, 2016 by dei (see edit history)

[dei]

OOps! wrong post 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2016 by dei
wrong post..... (see edit history)