TexRiv_63 Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 I have already started a thread for this car in the "Me and My Buick" forum but I decided to also start one here to share with any non-Buick owners that might be interested. Some of the posts may be duplicates but others will not. I have owned this car since March 8 but only received it on June 21. The car had some significant transmission and torque ball leaks and the dealer I bought it from was kind enough to include the repairs in the purchase price. I was in no rush at that time because I needed to sell another car to make room. The repairs were done by early April and I booked transport with Passport on April 16. They initially told me it would take three weeks due to high volume but in fact transport took more than two months! Apparently a perfect storm of car-hauling overload nailed me. Contracted events such as the Amelia Island auction and other shows originally scheduled for March were Covid-delayed until May combined with a driver shortage set everything back. When it was finally my turn Passport did their usual excellent job and the car arrived with no dirt, damage, or drama. Here is a short video of it coming off the truck: I had seen many professionally posed photos which made the car look nice but I was pleasantly surprised when it came off the truck looking much better than I expected. I have done a full inspection of the car and it has passed most of my tests, I will share more of the details later. Here are some photos I took right off the truck. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 That is a great looking car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipdang Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Nice. I once owned a blue/white 1960 Lesabre 4dr and absolutely loved it. What a great car! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 My first car was a ‘60 Buick (VIN 6G4001285…..will never forget that!) and I loved it. I have always had a soft spot for those so I welcome your posting! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 10, 2021 Author Share Posted August 10, 2021 My first adventure was to get this car to fit in my rather snug 3 car tandem garage. These are some of the widest cars ever made and you definitely cannot see the widest parts! I got it in place carefully and with the front end just clearing the wall there is adequate room for our daily driver behind it. This car came with very little history or documentation but did have the original Owner's Guide, Buick Accessories pamphlet, and Owner Protection Policy. From that I was able to see that it was delivered to Elizabeth McMullen on April 16, 1960 by Close Buick Inc. in Bowling Green, OH. According to the body and VIN tags it was built in Flint, MI with serial number 06207. Trim 471K is shown as Red/Black cloth - the interior actually has red, black, and white vinyl with cloth seat inserts in kind of a red/white tweed and white piping. Paint is two tone Arctic White and Tampico Red. It has the high compression two barrel 364 with Dynaflow and is a fairly well equipped car: EZ-Eye glass all around with shaded windshield and back window Power steering and brakes Power windows Sonomatic AM radio with rear speaker Two speed wipers with washers Speed warning, map light, clock Wheel covers Tissue dispenser and door edge guards. (Dealer options?) The outside rear view mirrors have been identified as 50s or 60s Mopar units but they work well appearance-wise. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 What is that round thing stuck to the front of the right head with the two wires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 11, 2021 Author Share Posted August 11, 2021 20 hours ago, GARY F said: What is that round thing stuck to the front of the right head with the two wires? Not sure what it's called but it has to do with the hot and cold idiot lights. It was originally mounted on a glass bowl fuel filter which is gone on my car. I also just learned it is supposed to be plugged into a vacuum source but have not gotten to study yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Don, Maybe this will help you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 12, 2021 Author Share Posted August 12, 2021 3 hours ago, Bill Stoneberg said: Don, Maybe this will help you. Thanks Bill that does help. Right now both the hot and cold lamps go on when I turn the key, the hot lamp goes off when I start the car, and the cold lamp stays on for a few minutes. The switch is not connected to a vacuum source now so does that mean the hot lamp would not function if I overheated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 I think what will happen is that if you get HOT both the HOT light and the OIL light will come on. I say that because you will not have any vacuum to break the circuit to the OIL light. With vacuum the vacuum switch it open so the only way to light the oil light is if the oil pressure switch goes to ground. But if you dont have vacuum you have a closed switch so if the temperature gets hot and moves the switch from the H side you have voltage running through the vacuum switch and it goes to the OIL light also. So you have both the Hot light and the OIL light on. I have had this issue and I have a replacement for the vacuum switch. Once I get mine all back together, we will see if it works. Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 22 hours ago, Bill Stoneberg said: I think what will happen is that if you get HOT both the HOT light and the OIL light will come on. I say that because you will not have any vacuum to break the circuit to the OIL light. With vacuum the vacuum switch it open so the only way to light the oil light is if the oil pressure switch goes to ground. But if you dont have vacuum you have a closed switch so if the temperature gets hot and moves the switch from the H side you have voltage running through the vacuum switch and it goes to the OIL light also. So you have both the Hot light and the OIL light on. I have had this issue and I have a replacement for the vacuum switch. Once I get mine all back together, we will see if it works. Bill That makes sense. I haven't actually looked at this switch yet, I will the next time the hood is open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 I love that car. I'm thinking 1960 was about the last year the American car makers used a two tone paint scheme (beyond just a different colored top, I mean.) If my google search is an indication, it wasn't real common on '60 Buicks...probably going out of fashion by that time...but it's done to great effect on that car. It has great lines and contours that lend themselves to that type of paint job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 14, 2021 Author Share Posted August 14, 2021 22 hours ago, JamesR said: I love that car. I'm thinking 1960 was about the last year the American car makers used a two tone paint scheme (beyond just a different colored top, I mean.) If my google search is an indication, it wasn't real common on '60 Buicks...probably going out of fashion by that time...but it's done to great effect on that car. It has great lines and contours that lend themselves to that type of paint job. I've only owned two two-tone cars in my life. The first was the very first car I bought myself, a 55 Ford Fairlane Victoria in black and white. I quickly covered it all up in Rangoon Red. This Buick is the other one, 54 years later and it will definitely remain as is. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share Posted August 18, 2021 When I got this car on June 21 I was recovering from foot surgery and hobbling around in an open-toed shoe. I managed to inspect and clean up the top surfaces and engine compartment and took it for a ride. The car drives well, runs smoothly and sounds great but - the brakes were TERRIBLE! They would hardly stop the car at slow speeds so I knew I could not drive it in traffic until they were fixed. After about 3 weeks I was finally able to get under the car and get to it. I jacked it up, pulled all the wheels and drums and inspected everything underneath. I had been afraid I would find hydraulic problems, worn linings, damaged drums, etc. but was happy to find it all looked good. Many of the brake lines, the front hoses, all the wheel cylinders and all the linings had been recently replaced and all four drums looked good. I repacked the wheel bearings and replaced the drums, the last step was to adjust - and there was my problem. Three out of four linings were so far out of adjustment I doubt they contacted the drums! I test drove it that night and the brakes are great! Since then I have taken the car out many times and it is a perfect cruiser, the only problem now is our Texas summer. I drive it with all the windows down in the early morning and even a short ride is the most fun I've had with a car in a long time. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert G. Smits Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 How does it compare to the 63 Olds you sold a year ago. I seriously considered buying that car but there was "no room in the inn" I like your taste in cars' Now you need to add Vintage Air. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 Do what I do, get up early in the morning before it gets way hot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 19, 2021 Author Share Posted August 19, 2021 16 hours ago, Robert G. Smits said: How does it compare to the 63 Olds you sold a year ago. I seriously considered buying that car but there was "no room in the inn" I like your taste in cars' Now you need to add Vintage Air. The driving experience is very similar to the Olds although it was more of a performance car and did not ride as well. The biggest difference was that that car needed a tremendous amount of repairs and detailing to get it where it was and it still was just a "10-footer". The Buick is a "2 footer" right now and at least currently has no major issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 19, 2021 Author Share Posted August 19, 2021 11 hours ago, Bill Stoneberg said: Do what I do, get up early in the morning before it gets way hot. Exactly what I'm doing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 So those are the famous finned Buick brake drums. Cool. Interesting that the fin design on the front look to be slightly different than the ones on the back. Also, I wonder how much the fins helped with brake fade? Glad to hear everything was in better shape than you thought. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 20, 2021 Author Share Posted August 20, 2021 20 hours ago, JamesR said: So those are the famous finned Buick brake drums. Cool. Interesting that the fin design on the front look to be slightly different than the ones on the back. Also, I wonder how much the fins helped with brake fade? Glad to hear everything was in better shape than you thought. Buick's secret weapon - front drums are aluminum with cast-in iron liners. The intricate fins were to increase exposed surface area to promote better cooling, they built on that by including fins in the iron rear drums. They definitely helped fight fading to the point that they were swapped onto lots of hot rods back in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 I've driven these cars with the big finned aluminum drums pretty hard, and never experienced brake fade in any capacity. Lots of mid summer highway driving, then into city traffic jams. They're the best drum brake systems on the planet, and it kills me to see people hacking them off the cars for disc brake "upgrades." Unfortunately, drum brake systems in general are a bit intimidating to work on, and that's one of the reasons people convert to disc. Properly functioning drums brakes on these cars are on par with a good disc system IMO. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 21, 2021 Author Share Posted August 21, 2021 5 hours ago, Smartin said: I've driven these cars with the big finned aluminum drums pretty hard, and never experienced brake fade in any capacity. Lots of mid summer highway driving, then into city traffic jams. They're the best drum brake systems on the planet, and it kills me to see people hacking them off the cars for disc brake "upgrades." Unfortunately, drum brake systems in general are a bit intimidating to work on, and that's one of the reasons people convert to disc. Properly functioning drums brakes on these cars are on par with a good disc system IMO. Totally agree. I'm on a number of forums and car facebook pages and it amazes me how many car owners immediately go for sketchy disc conversions without even trying to diagnose or properly service their drum system. Not sure what is intimidating about a drum system, the same basic Bendix design is on most cars from the 50s to the 90s. Although admittedly I've probably done a few hundred drum brake jobs in my lifetime... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipdang Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 My 1959 Fiat Granluce has the same type of drum. No experience driving it yet as it is a "work in progress!" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 22, 2021 Author Share Posted August 22, 2021 After fixing the brakes I did make it to one very nice cars & breakfast meetup, nice folks and nice cars. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 22, 2021 Author Share Posted August 22, 2021 It looks like I need to enter the fray asking about the best wide whitewall radial tires. This car has a beautiful set of 225-75-R15 B.F. Goodrich Silvertown radials with excellent tread but unfortunately a date code of 1309, which I take to mean they are 12 years old! They look great but after searching and reading many threads and articles about horror stories caused by tire age I am doubtful about putting freeway miles on until I replace them. I have checked all the supplier's websites which now appear to be under Coker ownership except for Diamondback. Duplicating my Silvertowns is the most expensive option at $328 per tire while the Diamond Back 1 is the cheapest at $239 per tire. I would welcome all comments and appreciate any recommendations based on your personal experiences. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert G. Smits Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 I have used Diamondbacks for years on all my drivers. I understand they now make their own tires rather than fabricating white sidewalls on Michelin radials. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 26, 2021 Author Share Posted August 26, 2021 No other tire comments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 Not much of a choice any more. Wont do Cokers, I wish they still made the Diamondbacks on the Toyo carcass. I am in the same pickle as you. When I am done with the car, I need to get new tires. Dont know what I am going to do yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 2 hours ago, Bill Stoneberg said: When I am done with the car, I need to get new tires. Dont know what I am going to do yet. I would like to know too. Is Firestone or Goodyear made by Coker too? Is there a list of what brands they make? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 The problem with tires on these old cars are they like wide Whitewalls. That’s where we are having issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 27, 2021 Author Share Posted August 27, 2021 18 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said: I would like to know too. Is Firestone or Goodyear made by Coker too? Is there a list of what brands they make? I have looked at the websites for Coker plus Lucas, and Universal, which appear to be owned or affiliated with Coker. They all show the BFG Silvertown which is what is on my car now and they say it is "proudly made in the USA" with DOT approval. They say the same thing about the American Classic radials but this language is absent for the Coker Classic. Even though the prices are obscene I am willing to pay them but I do not want to end up with a tire that is out of round, impossible to balance, or has whitewalls that turn brown every month. Does anyone have recent personal experience with the BFG or American Classic radials to share, good or bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billorn Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 I have the BFG Silvertown's on my 56' Olds 98 and have been happy with them and never had any balance issues. Stay white unless I drive in the rain or something makes them dirty but no brown haze. You are making me think I should be replacing them soon I bet their almost 10 years old now.......... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 30, 2021 Author Share Posted August 30, 2021 After considering this for a while, I started thinking about blackwalls mostly because I have been a big booster of using them on pre-war cars since the vast majority of those cars did not have whitewalls when they were new. My dad bought a new 1960 Ford and it had blackwall tires but he always went for low-content cars. When 1960 Buicks were new I wonder what percentage of them came with wide whites? So I tried some very amateur photo retouching and was actually surprised to see the blackwalls don't look too bad! What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 55er Posted August 30, 2021 Share Posted August 30, 2021 I think that any 1960 Buick looks better with whitewalls. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin1221 Posted August 30, 2021 Share Posted August 30, 2021 TexRiv 63 My vote is for whitewalls on your car. They really make your car “pop”. Kevin 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert G. Smits Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 I'll vote for the whitewalls also 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tate Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 I would recommend Hankook optimos, my brother has a set on a 64 Thunderbird and they are excellent. They come with a 70k mile warranty and around here are about a 100 a tire. They aren’t super period correct looking but have a little white stripe and at least mostly look the part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 34 minutes ago, Tate said: I would recommend Hankook optimos, my brother has a set on a 64 Thunderbird and they are excellent. They come with a 70k mile warranty and around here are about a 100 a tire. They aren’t super period correct looking but have a little white stripe and at least mostly look the part. I have those on my 66 Dodge. Unfortunately the skinny whitewalls aren't much more correct than the blackwalls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert G. Smits Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 I would look at Diamond Backs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimm63 Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 Curious as to why people don't like Coker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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