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1954 century sedan. GA to NC


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I was told doing a torque tube puts hair on a man's chest. We all do it at some point! lol At least you had a garage to do yours in. Nothing makes it worse than nail biting a 24 hour rear end job, hoping the rains don't come.

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2 minutes ago, Beemon said:

I was told doing a torque tube puts hair on a man's chest. We all do it at some point! lol At least you had a garage to do yours in. Nothing makes it worse than nail biting a 24 hour rear end job, hoping the rains don't come.

Between your story and the last 14 years since I had  one of these cars on the road,  one thing is sure.  I will not have another unless I hit the lotto and can afford to let someone else struggle with it! 

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Got the whole diff and axle put back together..20170702_171334.thumb.jpg.9c14873a24965e66c210a75d86befcc7.jpg

Started putting the brakes back on,  realized I had the wrong shoes....  ugh.  Autozone is now 0 for 2! I'll see if i can locate correct shoes tomorrow,  then put the gas tank back in... getting closer.

 

Edit: maybe not autozone's fault. Aren't the brake shoes 2.25 on the rear for century usually?   Turns out mine are 1.75.  I cant find a listing for 1.75 even when I searched for a special....  any help? 

Edited by wndsofchng06 (see edit history)
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2 hours ago, wndsofchng06 said:

Turns out mine are 1.75.  I cant find a listing for 1.75 even when I searched for a special....  any help? 

 

Chevy?  Sounds like my '56 Bel Air:

 

Brake Shoe Width 1.82 IN
Mounting Hardware Included No
Friction Material Bonding Type Bonded
Drum Inside Diameter 11.0
 
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3 hours ago, wndsofchng06 said:

Got the whole diff and axle put back together..20170702_171334.thumb.jpg.9c14873a24965e66c210a75d86befcc7.jpg

Started putting the brakes back on,  realized I had the wrong shoes....  ugh.  Autozone is now 0 for 2! I'll see if i can locate correct shoes tomorrow,  then put the gas tank back in... getting closer.

 

Edit: maybe not autozone's fault. Aren't the brake shoes 2.25 on the rear for century usually?   Turns out mine are 1.75.  I cant find a listing for 1.75 even when I searched for a special....  any help? 

I did not have any luck with multiple suppliers when I was doing the Roadmaster brakes that are wider.

I went all school and found me a truck brake shop that re-lined shoes into my original casings. Work perfectly.

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On 7/2/2017 at 4:50 PM, wndsofchng06 said:

Got the whole diff and axle put back together..20170702_171334.thumb.jpg.9c14873a24965e66c210a75d86befcc7.jpg

Started putting the brakes back on,  realized I had the wrong shoes....  ugh.  Autozone is now 0 for 2! I'll see if i can locate correct shoes tomorrow,  then put the gas tank back in... getting closer.

 

Edit: maybe not autozone's fault. Aren't the brake shoes 2.25 on the rear for century usually?   Turns out mine are 1.75.  I cant find a listing for 1.75 even when I searched for a special....  any help? 

Suggest you measure the inside width of the drum where the shoe rides. I'd guess folks have put shoes not quite as wide as original sometimes because correct width was unavailable and wanted some brakes that were better than none.

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Fuel tank in, with a ground to the frame and new sending unit wire.  Replaced two exhaust hangers, put the master cylinder back in, and mounted the new fuel pump. 20170704_142127.thumb.jpg.e71bc2626335cd5249b0cd72635b8294.jpg20170704_153716.thumb.jpg.9661f80bd530d1857b0fc36f2ce92610.jpg Fixed the license plate light connector (bakelite was broken) with some jb weld and electric tape. 20170704_141841.thumb.jpg.74f2fb12d6d7c5f85bacf92078607211.jpgPretty productive 4th!  Now off to the bar for beer and free hot dogs to celebrate! 

P.s. NOS tires anyone?

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Edited by wndsofchng06 (see edit history)
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1 minute ago, Beemon said:

You could always scarce up some later backing plates to upgrade your surface area. Great work with the car, Matt! You're probably just waiting on radiator now, huh.

Rear shoes and a radiator!  Thankfully Ken Greene is toting the radiator to Atlanta so it will have a shorter distance to ship. 

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So as I may have stated earlier in the thread,  I pulled off the seat covers and the original upholstery is in good shape underneath.  Today I shampooed it,  wondering if there's any fabric treatments that help keep it in good shape? P.s. the lines in the photo are just from the vacuum.

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15 minutes ago, wndsofchng06 said:

 wondering if there's any fabric treatments that help keep it in good shape?

Just keep it covered from the sun, abrasive butts and hot storage.  Even then 60+ year old fabric will soon go south...usually the seams first.  But do enjoy it and display as often as possible.

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 clearly keeping it covered this long has helped but they had a permanent cover attached with hog rings I need to get a slipcover that I can take off when I want to show off the upholstery I guess

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Awesome can't wait to see the rest. I am sure though that the front drivers seat is going to be worn some. I told you, the upholstery and glass was worth the price of admission.

I forget, how are the plastic seat skirts? and if I recall,  it has a rubber mat up front right, standard in all series except 70. Keep your eyes on ebay, they come up every so often. (Right Chris?)

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Driver's seat is fine, it too was covered. Upholstery is fine, foam is brittle there too.  The only thing I cant get perfectly clean is the vinyl top part of the front seat.  Plastic seat skirts are shot. I've got some extras uncracked, but not replacing those until the seat is completely fixed!   Plastic mat up front is shot,  every time I look at it it cracks more!  

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 Got it up to temp,  had to add a quart of trans fluid,  but don't see any on the garage floor, carb evened out once hot.  Generator is charging well.  She runs very quiet other than the lifter tap....

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I did it the hard way.  Wet sanded 800- 1000- 1500- 2000- 2500 then used the polisher and medium polish.  Still need to fine polish,  but my hands are ready to fall off and my polisher needs a new foam pad. 

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The washer behind the bakelite washer ought to hold a nylon washer straight. Its not like there is extra pressure required in this location. If unsure, maybe you can get a circuit board @ a local Radio Shack and trim up one or two discs for a replacement? Getting them in is going to be fun. But I have an idea how to, if you want any ideas.

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1 hour ago, JohnD1956 said:

The washer behind the bakelite washer ought to hold a nylon washer straight. Its not like there is extra pressure required in this location. If unsure, maybe you can get a circuit board @ a local Radio Shack and trim up one or two discs for a replacement? Getting them in is going to be fun. But I have an idea how to, if you want any ideas.

Ha ha ha radio shack.... last one in NC shut down last year....   I miss them.  Anyhow, I'll try the nylon washer.  Good news is my radiator arrived.  Any tips for soldering on the new overflow tube???

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Just now, Beemon said:

Patience and time. Might be better at this time to put a rubber hose and add an expansion tank so you're not puking coolant on a hot day. 

Definitely going the expansion tank route, but need a little more tube to clamp the rubber hose to.  Or drill it out and install a nipple.

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Drill and tap will probably be the best bet IMO. the only issue is cap interference. As far as soldering goes, you need to get all the way around so it may get a bit tricky at the bottom, but I thought under the drain tube at the neck was a smaller tube almost like a nipple?

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Are you planning to have it boiled out and checked for leaks before assembly?  If so, I'm sure the shop would be willing to attaché a new nipple or tube to work off of.  If not, I would tap in a splice, since there is no pressure at this location other than that created by the hot coolant if it overflows.

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8 minutes ago, JohnD1956 said:

Are you planning to have it boiled out and checked for leaks before assembly?  If so, I'm sure the shop would be willing to attaché a new nipple or tube to work off of.  If not, I would tap in a splice, since there is no pressure at this location other than that created by the hot coolant if it overflows.

No plans for service as the radiator came with a good leak and flow test.   Also I need to thank Greg (2carb40), Ken (kgreen), and a few people not in the Buick community for helping get this radiator to me with no damage and no extra costs!!!

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Heater control valve arrived today (thanks willie) and horn button parts arrived from Buick Gardens over the weekend.  Now if i can manage to not break anything else, all I need is tires! Unfortunately until next tax returns,  she's getting used black walls from down the street.  Next yea I'll work on white wall tires!

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Edited by wndsofchng06 (see edit history)
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