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1955 Buick Century


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  • 5 months later...

Hey here everybody, i just wanted to put this msg here and say that this tread and pictures have helped me a lot on my 1955 buick century. It was my grandfathers car that he bought from first American owner and then imported to Belgium in 1970 as his dream car. he had it till 2012 and after his passing it was sold and sat untouched. I was able to track it down and purchased it and collected it on the 5th of October this year. i had to free up the engine and get the car running to drive it home 70 or so miles. (114km in my country). I have done a lot of things to fix it and restore it and this forum has helped a lot. My only struggle remains to be getting parts but i love it for the cause.

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  • 2 months later...

Time for a little spring cleaning.  No one showed interest in the roof or frame.  So, it's time to move on.  20230325_191951.jpg.c8ea43c58ac454c584602f3953abf9e0.jpg20230325_192022.jpg.ef00851feafa6033cb976c4b01dddffc.jpg20230325_192027.jpg.2cc1913c5bfe5595d068b28d5610c0ed.jpgI will use the rear end to make a sofa (later project).  Once I clear this out, fix the garage up and then time to get back on the Buick!

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  • 2 weeks later...

this question is for kosage chavis. I was following you during your taking apart of your Buick step by step. was wondering if you had the pics and info of taking apart the front bumper and the other parts of it along with the grille. you explained it perfectly and I want to do it myself. liked the story you told about your dad selling his Buick when you were a kid and now you purchased the same one. good luck with it.

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On 4/15/2023 at 8:08 AM, EmTee said:

Hey Kosage - it's been awhile!  Hope all is well.  Any updates on the Buick or your garage? 

Yeah is it done yet?  Videos, construction, destruction, parts from all over the world in the mail….

 

 

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On 4/14/2023 at 1:30 PM, john compono said:

this question is for kosage chavis. I was following you during your taking apart of your Buick step by step. was wondering if you had the pics and info of taking apart the front bumper and the other parts of it along with the grille. you explained it perfectly and I want to do it myself. liked the story you told about your dad selling his Buick when you were a kid and now you purchased the same one. good luck with it.

Good to hear from you @john compono.  Unfortunately, I don't have more pictures of the front bumper removal.  This removal was at the very start of the process.  The further, I got into the process, the more detailed I learned how to be.  But no worries, the front bumper is easy to remove (depending on how frozen the bolts are).  There are a total of 6 bolts that hold the front bumper on (3 on each side).  At each side, 2 bolts are at the bottom of the bumper and 1 will be directly behind the dagmar.  Be careful.  The whole bumper will come off as one whole assembly.  It is pretty heavy.  After, I removed the front bumper, I then removed the grill (see my photos).  Lastly, was the top front bumper framing (or as some call it, the mustache bar).  I hope that I was able to help.  And hope that you post your progress on the Buick forum.

 

On 4/15/2023 at 8:08 AM, EmTee said:

Hey Kosage - it's been awhile!  Hope all is well.  Any updates on the Buick or your garage? 

How you been @EmTee!  I have done virtually nothing with the Buick in the last year.  I have been so busy with stuff.  Built My kids a new playset, renovated the dining room for my Wife, got COVID, buried power and telephone lines in our backyard, helped build a flower bed for my Wife, kids doing sports, etc.  But good news, I should be starting the garage within the next week or two.  Once I get the garage done, it's time to get back on the Buick!  I am itching to work on it again.  

 

On 4/16/2023 at 9:26 AM, KAD36 said:

Yeah is it done yet?  Videos, construction, destruction, parts from all over the world in the mail….

 

 

LOL @KAD36.  I wish I had more to share.  But just busy. 

 

On 4/16/2023 at 6:43 PM, EmTee said:

He's probably out driving it around...  ;)

LOL @EmTee.  You all would have known if that were the case.  Hang in there with me.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

Got these in the mail today.  A pair of knobs that came off of an A/C control panel...compliments of Ebay. 20230916_132233.jpg.89d530699346b299fb07ced7cd28dec4.jpg20230916_132307.jpg.989074a58508fb2977c3cbb0045a3f7b.jpgI was bit surprised that there is a slight difference in the knobs.  I thought they would be the same.  I also don't know what the small metal pieces are for or how they mount with the knobs.  Maybe one of you all with A/C cars could school me.

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1 hour ago, Kosage Chavis said:

Got these in the mail today.  A pair of knobs that came off of an A/C control panel...compliments of Ebay. 20230916_132233.jpg.89d530699346b299fb07ced7cd28dec4.jpg20230916_132307.jpg.989074a58508fb2977c3cbb0045a3f7b.jpgI was bit surprised that there is a slight difference in the knobs.  I thought they would be the same.  I also don't know what the small metal pieces are for or how they mount with the knobs.  Maybe one of you all with A/C cars could school me.

Those metal tabs can be found on many applications.  Generally they go over the shaft of the switch and stick into the plastic knobs from the back side. That locks the knobs against the switch shaft preventing them from rotating on the shaft. . 

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  • 2 weeks later...

hey kosage how have you been ? was wondering where your at with your Buick ? the work you put in was incredible so far. thought mine would have been done earlier this year but I'm still doing some odd and ends on it. started replacing some of the body mount bushings then to do new springs and shocks all way round and hopefully the car will be more stable when going over some rough road and bumps and stuff. I put in a heavier front sway bar that old tank told me about. it works great and you can get them from brads bars in Georgia. its a great product. hope to hear back from you. thanks.

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  • 2 months later...
On 9/29/2023 at 1:37 PM, john compono said:

hey kosage how have you been ? was wondering where your at with your Buick ? the work you put in was incredible so far. thought mine would have been done earlier this year but I'm still doing some odd and ends on it. started replacing some of the body mount bushings then to do new springs and shocks all way round and hopefully the car will be more stable when going over some rough road and bumps and stuff. I put in a heavier front sway bar that old tank told me about. it works great and you can get them from brads bars in Georgia. its a great product. hope to hear back from you. thanks.

@john compono, I apologize that I didn't answer this earlier.  I am just seeing this now.  I haven't had a chance to work on my Buick for a little over a year now.  I had gotten to the point of being almost at the end of the removal/disassembly process and my garage was not up to par to go further.  So, I had to switch gears and get the garage up a certain standard before continuing.  I have spent months working on the garage and I am wrapping that up now.  I have just a few small loose ends to tie up and I can finally pick up where I left off with the Buick.  I appreciate what you said.  And I am aware of the new sway bar.  Please post lots of pictures of your progress so we all can eat it up.

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  • 1 month later...

no problem just trying to put it out there if somebody needs them. gotta clean out the garage before spring. also I have 4 original Kelsey Hayes spoke rims for 54 and 55. I don't know if my son listed them. I had them all cleaned up and powder coated to as close as I could get to chrome color. I know there on eBay if you want to check them out. hope all is well.

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  • 1 month later...

Nothing big, but I needed to break down the very last vestiges of the parts car (the rear end).  I have never worked a rear end before.  All of the cars I have ever worked on were front wheel drive.  There was no intimidation, but I took my time.

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I had to grind down the heads of the rivets to get these arms off.20240228_175446.jpg.abd851d103a28ae1845975ab96401f71.jpg20240228_175456.jpg.484aab538e4eb559322f32c83e503289.jpg20240228_175502.jpg.7f549167d1595b643fb959eb9489bcf6.jpg

I thought removing the drive shaft and torque tube would be simple...20240228_175511.jpg.83eab95ac3a611bda50c336148ebb4ba.jpg...but not at all.  I could tell by looking at it that it wouldn't.   I went into the archives and it turns out @old-tank had to create a tool to pull the drive shaft off of this spline.  I just didn't have the time.  So, I just put this part back together. 20240228_180034.jpg.4e479993d7518bc6d036f803ea3eecf9.jpgI opened the differential cover and inspected the gears.  Everything looked pretty good.  I then removed each piece of the differential, which was the fun part for me.  It was surprisingly easy! 20240228_183134.jpg.0ad0031e1a30474a28edcfbd53e31d2d.jpgAfter breaking down the differential and pulling out the casing, I wiped up all of the old grease and sludge.20240301_154923.jpg.702bc9dd305432baf90f974e7afdebbe.jpgPacked everything up and it's all out of my way now.  

 

Next thing I would like to do is get a car lift for the garage so that I can remove the body from the frame of the car.  That will have to wait a little, as I am "refreshing" the kitchen for my Wife right now.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello @FireballV8, I don't want to high-jack @Mudbone's thread on this forum.  So, I will answer your question here.  My car's color code is KUK...Stafford Blue/Condor Yellow/Stafford Blue.  I understand how some would like this combination, but personally, I am not a fan of primary colors being on any one thing (with hubcaps removed)...especially a car.

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  • 1 month later...

I greatly appreciate how thorough this thread has been. I was struggling with the wiring on my 55 special project and this post has answered so many questions with where some things are supposed to go. Excited to see the progress on your project 

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