1955 Buick Century

[Kosage Chavis]

2 hours ago, Sean Batiz said:

For me, it’s been small amounts of dough spent, MANY MANY COUNTLESS TIMES over the years. I really try not to ever think about how much in total that I’ve spent in total thus far...

I actually keep a log of my Buick expenditures...everything from the car itself, all the way to the smallest item.  I list the specific item, who or where I bought it from and how much I spent on it.

[dei]

9 hours ago, Kosage Chavis said:

I actually keep a log of my Buick expenditures...everything from the car itself, all the way to the smallest item.  I list the specific item, who or where I bought it from and how much I spent on it.

 

I started out doing that when I first acquired my '58 Limited from Dad and then with the other three '58's so have a rough idea what I have invested also. 

Over the later years I didn't write things down as much when I bought things at swap meets etc but when digging in the garages (that space thing going on here...) and come across this or that piece, it pops into my head where, when and what I paid for it as if it was yesterday (for now anyway...). 

I also have a list of contacts and cards though that sometimes has helped when needing something or service. Sadly due to the "Long Time" being in the hobby some of those contacts are either retired or... 

I'll never sell my cars so investment wasn't my motive for record keeping.

I do find it somewhat interesting though to see what I have into them for nothing else than hearing what others have in there efforts if just a driver or a full blown restoration 100 point car and will weigh it against an insurance value now and then.

 

In today's money some have told me "you did pretty" good for what you have and yes it might seem so.

When you take into account I was 16 in High School, living at home working two part time summer jobs, dating and life, saving to purchase a home one day and then buy into an established business by the age of 22, that money wasn't exactly excess or found cash.

To me that reflects the same money for today's hobby like yourself with a young family and home on the go and with things costing more but wages up from my teen days governs the spare cash to invest.

 

With all this what I'm trying to say is by keeping investment records it helped keep me grounded in reality as to where my "hobby expectations" were going to be. 

I am thrilled to death to have a running dependable driver right now and plan to have a second on the road in the near future (God willing). 

When that time comes I have two son's that will get the collection and they will at least have an idea of Dad's investment and decide for themselves if keeping them is worth their time and money but hope they will see the enjoyment also.

 

Keep posting your progress and look forward to seeing the day your car is on road again!

[RivNut]

On 10/24/2019 at 9:40 PM, Kosage Chavis said:

I actually keep a log of my Buick expenditures...everything from the car itself, all the way to the smallest item.  I list the specific item, who or where I bought it from and how much I spent on it.

[Sean Batiz]

Riv-Nut, Now THAT cabinet would possibly be “just big enough”, lol! I originally was printing up every page for each and every single online sourced item for my Buick collection, to file away with the printout of receipts, along with whatever items receipts from other sources, in chronological order by date of purchase. I suppose this was done due to my thinking that “just in case” any of the online sites got bought out and vanished to become a completely new websites. For probably the last ten years or so, I’ve just hand written the information along with a printout of just a receipt. I save screenshot images of the items instead of printing them all. Does tend to get slightly overwhelming to organize it all. I’m sure having A.D.D. doesn’t help this situation either! NEVER content on the particular organization arrangement! This all said, I really like having obtained several vintage heavy duty, piano hinged binders for storing the various original Buick literature in! Makes it seem as though it’s all always been stored in them. Kosage, sorry for creating this long winded tangent distraction from your topic! I really should just be working on my own dang thread for my ‘55 Buick’s! Lazy, I am! Too much to discuss, so little free time! Argh 😤 

[NC-car-guy]

On 10/24/2019 at 10:40 PM, Kosage Chavis said:

I actually keep a log of my Buick expenditures...everything from the car itself, all the way to the smallest item.  I list the specific item, who or where I bought it from and how much I spent on it.

I used to. I then decided that was as useful as tracking my beer money...

[Kosage Chavis]

More work done last weekend.  Removed the spark plug covers as shown.Remove both retaining nuts and slide off.  All of the retaining nuts are missing, but the parts car has them.  Showing site of removal.Showing spark plug covers removed from engine.

 

Next, removed the front engine mounts as shown.Remove 2 mount-to-engine bolts on front and rear side of mount.  Remove.  Showing site of removal.Showing front engine mounts after removal.Note made that 1 mount was completely broken.  This would explain the hard sound it made when shifting into drive or reverse when the car ran.

 

Next was the bottom generator bracket as shown.Remove the top nut as shown above.  Remove these 3 bolts underneath and be sure to place  a trey underneath to catch the coolant from this removal.Showing the site of removal.Showing the bottom generator bracket removed from engine.

 

Next, I removed the exhaust manifolds as shown.Remove 8 bolts on each side.  I might have been overly cautious, but I loosened the bolts incrementally in steps to remove.  I have heard some horror stories about cracking.  Remove.  Showing site of removal.Showing exhaust manifolds removed from engine.Noted that there were exhaust manifold gaskets on the engine.  Hope this is not an issue, but does confirm this engine has been taken apart before.

 

Overall, everything in this post was an easy task.

[dei]

Or possibly a cross over pipe was replaced and the manifolds had to be taken off to put new bolts/stud on...?

I had one break and replacing it necessitated taking that manifold off, just saying.

[Kosage Chavis]

37 minutes ago, dei said:

Or possibly a cross over pipe was replaced and the manifolds had to be taken off to put new bolts/stud on...?

I had one break and replacing it necessitated taking that manifold off, just saying.

I was also taking in consideration the fact that the whole engine had been repainted once before.  There is a non-original bluish color over the original engine paint.

[Sean Batiz]

Progress, Progress, Progress ‼️‼️ I love it! We do what we can, as Winter nears. Definitely a whole different experience, once you’re elbow deep into the bowls of your very own Nailhead! Your elaborate,  meticulous  documentation is going to REALLY pay off on this part of the restoration process! Enjoy the discovery of individual part condition as you go along this journey. It is quite impressive to see just how extensive the engineering department of Buick was, so entirely independent of G.M. back then! Very much over engineered in many instances but, so perfectly executed in just the right way.

[Kosage Chavis]

55 minutes ago, Sean Batiz said:

It is quite impressive to see just how extensive the engineering department of Buick was, so entirely independent of G.M. back then! Very much over engineered in many instances but, so perfectly executed in just the right way.

Couldn't agree with you more Sean!  I am  nervously looking forward to opening up this engine.

[Kosage Chavis]

I got a little time to mess with the engine before the kids got home from school.  I have been a little nervous about the condition of the engine.  I took off both valve covers and to my suprise, I found this...I am no expert on these engines, but at the very least, the heads look really nice inside so far.  What do all of you think?

[Sean Batiz]

It’s too bad that you don’t have the full history of that specific Buick; I’d like to know what kind/type of oil it’s previous owner was using! That valve train appears to be TOO CLEAN to be Buick from the mid ‘50’s! Hard to guess what all happened with that engine over its 64 year life. With its suspicious repainting, its a fair assumption that it very well could’ve also been fully rebuilt at some point. Whomever owned that car, definitely LOVED their Century! You just might be able to get away with merely cleaning up all of the engine parts and repainting them to their appropriate color scheme, with only having to change the gaskets/seals in it! Besides, it’s a very risky choice of having hardened valve seats installed (to handle modern gas formulations); not enough  adequate space between the valves’ seats and water jacket area. Many a Buick head has been ruined for attempting this procedure, done wrong. This said, I do have an extra pair of heads you can have for free if necessary; just pay for the S&H&P. They’ll need rebuilt. Update: after rethinking about this a bit more, I think the valve seat issues are due to there not being enough “meat” between each pair of valves to safety accommodate the dimensions of replacement valve seats. Not so much an issue of interfering with the water jacket area.

Edited November 1, 2019 by Sean Batiz
Second thought (see edit history)

[Kosage Chavis]

Again, looking good so far in the valley.

[EmTee]

Very clean! 

[RivNut]

You'll know a lot more when you pull the heads and look at the valves.  Mic the cylinder walls and keep your fingers crossed that the rest of the engine is as clean and the bores mic out.  You might be able to re-ring with out a bore job. Maybe a quick honing.

[Kosage Chavis]

I was able to find the previous owner of the car and call him up.  I asked him about the nature of any repairs he made to the car while he owned it.  He confirmed that both heads were taken to a place called Dunkum's Machine Shop right down the road from where I live.  The heads were rebuilt because he said that one of the valves was sticking when he bought the car.  He went on to say that the car wasn't driven very much while he owned it.  The rest of the engine was left alone because of it's "low mileage" and the compression was very good.  The fuel tank was also removed and reconditioned.  He didn't remember spray painting the engine, but did say that if he did, he only sprayed the top of the engine.  That lines up with what I observed.  I was also able to find and call the Grandson of the previous owner...to the previous owner (hope you followed that).  He said that his Grandad would drive the car to and from his job.  He owned a car dealership in my area and he also said that if anything was done to the car, that his employees would take care of it for him.  So, not a lot there.  Either way, I have a better understanding of the engine than what I did before.

[lancemb]

On 11/2/2019 at 4:05 PM, Kosage Chavis said:

I was able to find the previous owner of the car and call him up.  I asked him about the nature of any repairs he made to the car while he owned it.  He confirmed that both heads were taken to a place called Dunkum's Machine Shop right down the road from where I live.  The heads were rebuilt because he said that one of the valves was sticking when he bought the car.  He went on to say that the car wasn't driven very much while he owned it.  The rest of the engine was left alone because of it's "low mileage" and the compression was very good.  The fuel tank was also removed and reconditioned.  He didn't remember spray painting the engine, but did say that if he did, he only sprayed the top of the engine.  That lines up with what I observed.  I was also able to find and call the Grandson of the previous owner...to the previous owner (hope you followed that).  He said that his Grandad would drive the car to and from his job.  He owned a car dealership in my area and he also said that if anything was done to the car, that his employees would take care of it for him.  So, not a lot there.  Either way, I have a better understanding of the engine than what I did before.

Looks very clean, and that history is very encouraging.  I know that dad's cars were always kept in top maintenance because if anything was off his employees would take care of it right away.  Problems of larger nature usually arrive when people put off repairs making things worse.  Sounds to me like this car was probably well-maintained mechanically.  Now, we have to see what's in the oil pan...

[Sean Batiz]

Lancemb, Maybe the evidence to whom ACTUALLY killed JFK! Never know.... Stranger things have happened, no?

Edited November 6, 2019 by Sean Batiz
Relevance (see edit history)

[Kosage Chavis]

Well, before I got ahead of myself and posted pictures of how some of the internal engine looked, I had removed the intake manifold as shown.Remove 8 bolts and pull up on intake to remove.  In my case, it was really stuck.  So, I got me a long piece of sturdy pipe and slid it between the intake manifold and valley cover, with the farther end of the pipe extending pass the edge of the engine as shown.I pulled up on the pipe with subtle jerks until the seal was broken.  Remove.  Showing the site after removal.Showing the intake manifold removed from engine.Overall, easy task.

[avgwarhawk]

On 11/1/2019 at 7:13 PM, RivNut said:

You'll know a lot more when you pull the heads and look at the valves.  Mic the cylinder walls and keep your fingers crossed that the rest of the engine is as clean and the bores mic out.  You might be able to re-ring with out a bore job. Maybe a quick honing.

 

Best possible outcome with little money spent! 

 

[NC-car-guy]

Just curious why you might take the engine apart? Or are you just opening to look at general condition internally? Is the engine the first thing you'll restore? 

[Kosage Chavis]

2 hours ago, NC-car-guy said:

Just curious why you might take the engine apart? Or are you just opening to look at general condition internally? Is the engine the first thing you'll restore? 

At first, I just wanted to get an idea of the engine's condition.  But now, I'm seriously considering making this the first thing I restore.

[avgwarhawk]

1 hour ago, Kosage Chavis said:

At first, I just wanted to get an idea of the engine's condition.  But now, I'm seriously considering making this the first thing I restore.

I'm betting the cylinders still show hone marks and good wear.  

[Kosage Chavis]

29 minutes ago, avgwarhawk said:

I'm betting the cylinders still show hone marks and good wear.  

Not holding my breath on this one, but that would justify a parade if that turned out to be the case.

[avgwarhawk]

2 minutes ago, Kosage Chavis said:

Not holding my breath on this one, but that would justify a parade if that turned out to be the case.

 

Crack it open. Let's take a look 👍

[Kosage Chavis]

9 minutes ago, avgwarhawk said:

 

Crack it open. Let's take a look 👍

I will probably do so this Friday!

[Sean Batiz]

After you’ve cracked everything open and taken ample photos of everything, you “could” torture us with holding off from posting them until...., 🎁 Christmas Day! 😬 But, please don’t; that sort of anticipation might have some followers of this thread, give up and switch to a vintage Ford thread ‼️‼️

[old-tank]

Leave that poor old engine alone until you are ready for it.  The more you take apart, the more storage space it takes; parts get misplaced  and you will forget where everything goes even with many pictures.  Finish the frame and rear end/torque tube assembly, then install the rebuilt engine and transmission.  At this point you can test run and check function of engine and transmission.  That will light a fire under you to finish the rest of the car.

What to do with the engine when you get around to it?  Depends:  if you are only going to drive it a few hundred miles a year, just clean and reseal if it was smooth running with good oil pressure and no abnormal noises (will last at least 50K miles); if you are going to drive many thousands of miles a year do a full rebuild and balance on it.

[Sean Batiz]

3 hours ago, old-tank said:

Leave that poor old engine alone until you are ready for it.  The more you take apart, the more storage space it takes; parts get misplaced  and you will forget where everything goes even with many pictures.  Finish the frame and rear end/torque tube assembly, then install the rebuilt engine and transmission.

This is actually very sound advice! I myself, likewise, decided to “temporarily” reassemble every single part of my original Nailhead for my Buick (without seals, just finger tightened up the fasteners) and have it on its engine stand in my garage, waiting for me to “finish the frame & rear end” portion, before going back to the engine/trans. For this exact reason of parts storage space & potentially forgetting where everything goes. But, thankfully, like yourself Kosage, we have a duplicate “parts car” that is still intact for use as a guide. Yes, someone painted my ‘55 Nailhead all red at some point.

[Kosage Chavis]

5 hours ago, old-tank said:

Leave that poor old engine alone until you are ready for it.  The more you take apart, the more storage space it takes; parts get misplaced  and you will forget where everything goes even with many pictures.  Finish the frame and rear end/torque tube assembly, then install the rebuilt engine and transmission.  At this point you can test run and check function of engine and transmission.  That will light a fire under you to finish the rest of the car.

What to do with the engine when you get around to it?  Depends:  if you are only going to drive it a few hundred miles a year, just clean and reseal if it was smooth running with good oil pressure and no abnormal noises (will last at least 50K miles); if you are going to drive many thousands of miles a year do a full rebuild and balance on it.

Mr Willie, I have a tremendous amount of respect for you Sir (and ya know I love ya😆), but as my Dad and Grandad would say, "there's more than one way to skin a cat".  I am not going to break everything down on the engine to every piece-part.  However, I do plan on separating the heads and transmission from the block.  They will be safely crated and stored away.  My Dad has experience with the proper way to store engine parts over a long period of time.  This will be a full scale rebuild.  That way, I can do what my Dad didn't do with his Buick...drive it and pass it onto my children when I am no longer here.  

[Kosage Chavis]

It was time to look further into the condition of the engine.  I had to remove a few things before we got there.  Started with the valve covers.Just remove both nuts at top and slide cover up and off.  Showing site of removal.Showing valve covers removed from engine.

 

Next, I removed the valley cover.Just remove both bolts at the top.  Angle the pan to clear the intake manifold mounting surface edges and remove.  Showing the valley cover removed from the engine.

 

Next was the rocker arm assemblies as shown.Remove the 4 hold down bolts like the one shown here.Wiggle rocker arm assemblies off of the dowels and remove.  Showing site of removal.Showing rocker arm assembly removed from engine.

 

Now you can remove the push rods as shown.Simply pull each push rod out one by one while making sure the rod isn't pulling the lifter out with it.I am not sure if push rods can be reused after an overhaul.  But just in case, I used some painters tape and a sharpie to mark the order of arrangement (#1 thru #8) and which side of the engine they were pulled from (DS vs PS).  I also marked which end was what (CYL HD  END vs CAM END).  Showing the site of removal.Showing the push rods removed from engine.

 

Next, I removed the head bolts as shown.The service manual simply states that you remove the head bolts without mention to an order of removal.  I am not sure about this type of engine, but on other engines I have overhauled, you remove head bolts in the reverse order in which they were installed.  To be safe, I chose the latter.  Here is the tightening sequence for head bolts.  Start with #14.Again, I am pretty sure we can't reuse head bolts, but I went ahead and layed them out in the order I removed them in and labeled them by side (PS vs DS) and order (#1 thru #14).  Note: the #14 head bolt on driver's side was removed previously with the power steering pump assembly.  Showing removal site.Showing head bolts removed from engine.

 

At this point the cylinder heads are only being held in place with 2 dowels.  2 things to be careful of when separating the heads: a lot of coolant will come gushing out.  Place something underneath to catch any coolant.  Also, the head is surprisingly heavy.  Be ready to use your strength and a place to lay the head down when you pull off.  Watch your fingers.  Remove.  Showing the site of removal.Showing the cylinder head after removal.

 

Overall, all of the tasks in this post were easy.  In my next post, I will share what I discovered so far with the condition of the engine.

[avgwarhawk]

The head looks good.  Heck of a lot better than my mess of a seat filled heads failing miserably .   If you do decide to get new lifters/push rods and cam, to my knowledge,  it will be a set up for a 56 motor which will work. It does in my 54. The lifters and rods are different.    If your cam/rods and lifters look good, reuse them.  

 

Do the cylinder walls have the hone marks?  Any edges towards the top of the cylinder wall? 

 

As a side note on the heavy heads,  I was lifting mine over the fender as the block was still in the car!  Just a ton of metal!!!!   

Edited November 14, 2019 by avgwarhawk (see edit history)

[Kosage Chavis]

6 hours ago, avgwarhawk said:

Do the cylinder walls have the hone marks?  Any edges towards the top of the cylinder wall? 

I am going to organize my photos and be desciptive about those things in my next post.  I know I will get an honest opinion from you and everyone else on here.

Edited November 14, 2019 by Kosage Chavis (see edit history)

[avgwarhawk]

14 minutes ago, Kosage Chavis said:

I am going to organize my photos and be desciptive about those things in my next post.  I know I will get an honest opinion from you and everyone else on here.

 

Close up shots are helpful!  From what I see already a refresh is quite possible.    The tops of the pistons have an even layer of build up.  If I show you a picture of mine after a crappy rebuild you would cry. The heads look pretty good for an engine that sat for a while.  Again, if I show you my heads the rebuilder installed seats  you would weep.   Just a awful rebuild.  

 

Looking forward to the pictures. 

[Sean Batiz]

On the point of the top of its cylinders having a ridge/lip, you’ll definitely want to use a ridge reamer to shave away this lip BEFORE attempting to remove the pistons! Otherwise, you risk having the piston rings binding on those and possibly even damaging the piston ring grooves of the pistons themselves. But from the looks of the condition of those cylinders from the pictures provided having apparently little to no carbon buildup, its possible that not very many miles/hours where put on that engine after its head rebuild job before. Possibly not much of a ridge at all. Push Rods are definitely reusable, as long as they’re not worn down on their tips or warped/bent from being straight but, some Nailhead engine kit companies offer these as “adjustable” push rods to get the valve train perfectly dialed in to match the hydraulic lifters travel; much better option!

[Sean Batiz]

Check with www.centervilleautorepair.com about these adjustable push rods & Nailhead engine kits. They’re whom I intend going through for my Nailhead needs, once I can afford this procedure. They seem to be very “Nailhead Knowledgeable”.

[Kosage Chavis]

Here are my findings so far:

 

All bores have a lip at the top of them.  Some are more pronounced than others, but nothing that felt serious.  I took a quick glance at the bores with a flash light and did not see the presence of honing lines.  Walls of the bore looks closer to a semi polished metal. 

 

Also, the top of the pistons have an even amount of carbon build-up.  Some are dry and some are moist, but nothing excessive. 

 

The underside of both heads look about the same.  At first glance, things look fine with no signs of cracking.  Obviously, a thorough cleaning and testing will confirm. 

 

The head gaskets looked normal.  No burned spots between cylinder bores.  Noticed that the head gaskets do not have cut outs for some of the coolant passages in cylinder head mounting surface.  Not sure how acceptable that is.  I know that any time I ran the car, it never overheated.

 

Here are some close up photos starting with the passenger's side block in order left to right (#7, #5, #3, #1)

Passenger's side cylinder head left to right (#7, #5, #3, #1).

#1 piston#1 combustion chamber#3 piston#3 combustion chamber #5 piston#5 combustion chamber #7 piston#7 combustion chamber 

 

Driver's side block in order left to right (#2, #4, #6, #8)Driver's side cylinder head left to right (#2, #4, #6, #8).#2 piston#2 combustion chamber #4 piston #4 combustion chamber #6 piston#6 combustion chamber #8 piston#8 combustion chamber 

 

I did find one issue.  Take a look at the #2 piston.  You can see at some point the intake valve (the larger one) was hitting the top of the piston head as shown.I then took a closer look at the #2 combustion chamber intake valve.  This valve looks just fine as shown.Also, there was a noticeable bend in the 2nd (from front of engine) push rod as shown.  This is the rod that helps open the intake valve for the #2 piston.

I mentioned in a previous post that when I spoke with the previous owner of this car, he mentioned there being a stuck valve, which prompted him to get the heads redone.  He also mentioned that that he didn't do anything with the block and that the compression was very good.  I assume that the fouling of the #2 piston with the intake valve happened before the heads were done.  The shop replaced that intake valve and left the piston alone, assuming that it would be okay based on a good compression test.  I also assume that they took that corresponding push rod, straightened it back up and reused it rather than replacement.  On part of one side of the push rod in question, it is noticeably shinier than the rest.  It could have been bent so badly that it rubbed up against another part while in operation.  It is also possible that the shop hammered that part of the push rod to straighten it.  If something like that has been bent before, it loses a bit of it's integrity and it would become easier to bend again.  That would explain the present condition of the piston and push rod, while the valve looks okay.  

 

In spite of all this, the engine looks decent so far.  At least in my opinion.  Nothing serious, but will get the full treament when time comes.  What do you all think?

[old-tank]

26 minutes ago, Kosage Chavis said:

Noticed that the head gaskets do not have cut outs for some of the coolant passages in cylinder head mounting surface.  Not sure how acceptable that is. 

Supposed to be that way to plug casting access holes.  The only ones that communicate are the odd shaped ones front and back:  coolant travels from the bottom of the block to the back of the head; across the head back to the radiator.  In fact if those blocked passages rust out to allow flow, you will have overheating.

Usually if there is a ridge the cylinders should be bored; if not the ridge will need to be reamed before honing.  Up to 0.006" wear is the maximum to use old pistons.

Back in the 1980's  i did one that had up to 0.014 wear because I was not going to pay Kanter $80 for each of 8 pistons (the only supplier back then).  It was noisy and the oil got dirty fast due to the excessive ring gap, but it ran all over the country for 25K miles and was rebuilt again because of an unrelated problem.

[avgwarhawk]

I concur with your assumption on cylinder #2.  How you explained the damage and subsequent repair is very plausible.  The ridge,  I have read if one's finger nail really catches it then bore.  If the ridge is not significant ream then hone.  In my case the ridge was not bad I honed the ridge and the pistons removed from the block was not an issue.   If this block were mine and the bores mic ok, I would hone and new rings. Clean up the heads and secure another good push rod(original OEM) for #2.       

 

 

[Sean Batiz]

Sounds like you’re thinking in the right direction on your assumptions there. Old-Tank, I’ve learned something new! I was myself, perplexed by those coolant ports having been blocked off by the head gaskets of my Nailhead &, can’t remember having read anywhere why they were made that way. Your explanation makes perfect sense. Kosage, your Nailhead’s parts are lookin’ MUCH better than those of mine! It oughta purr quite nicely for many years/miles after its all back in service!