Johnd1956's Buicks

[JohnD1956]

So, after thinking about the posts on the 1954 century sedan GA to NC thread, by wndsofchng06,  yesterday, I was motivated to get the Super out to check out my own heat riser valve situation.  Looks like my run of trouble free driving may be coming to a close.  Today was the first time since I bought the commercial battery,  in November 2009, that it did not have enough reserve to start the engine.   If it had caught at first,  I would have been okay, but by the third attempt it was obviously running down. So, I threw the charger on it. I guess 8.5 years on that battery is a pretty good run.  Just wish I had used the car more in those 8.5 years!

 

Anyway, last night I took it for a ride with the intent to document the engine temp after a run. It was a very low humidity day around here and I headed for the next town to the north of me.  The trip was only 6 miles, but there is a decent stretch of straight-away  road with 55 MPH speed limits.  The temp gauge was right on the N for the short trip.  And when I got to the next town I pulled off into a convenience mart to turn around.

 

By the time I idled through the parking lot, it had climbed to what I think is the 195* temp zone, which is about a third of the way between the N and H on my factory gauge. It was probably close to entering the red zone but didn't go there. 

 

 Along the way back I stopped and checked,  and sure enough , if I still have a valve in there, it would have been in the closed position. I say "if I have a valve in there" because I vaguely recall at one time the valve may have been folded in half.  But I am not sure of that.  I would think if there was a complete valve in there I would have been experiencing some serious overheating. If I am right about the folded over valve then at this point I was probably running half restricted exhaust on the passengers side.  The good news is the valve spins freely. 

 

So I temporarily wired the valve in an open position and took it out for another ride,  but as soon as the sun went down the ambient temperature was dropping and who knows how much that affected the test run?   However, using the same route,  the gauge was distinctly below the N during the drive. And on the turn around, it rose to slightly over the N while idling for a minute in the convenience store parking lot.  Then back below the N as I traveled back .

 

On the way home I pushed it a bit harder in the straight-away and right at the end of that road section I pulled into another lot.  I set the timer for 2.5 minutes, and sat there, engine idling, trans in drive.  At 2.5 minutes the needle was here:

 

 

And within 3 miles after leaving that parking lot the temp was back to just on the N.

 

Today I checked the adjustment on the thermostat for the heat riser valve.  Again, the good news is the pin I thought was missing is still there.  And the thermostat may been off,  as in too tight.  However what I do not have is the two stops that limit the travel of the valve.  And the thermostat spring is not strong enough to hold the valve in any location so the weights fall to their natural position which leads to that closed valve indication.

 

I re wired the unit open for now while researching and determining what to do next, and to take it out today for another test run.    I hate pulling the pipes off, but may do so just to see what I do have in there regarding the valve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NC-car-guy]

Wow, didn't mean to get you into all that.  I've not checked my valve either...  hmmm

[Beemon]

Just went through the process of swapping exhaust manifolds. My valve was free spinning (the spring fell out) so I replaced it with my old one (shaft fused to manifold, so I cut it out). I also had my coolant professionally flushed with a vacuum pump to ensure no air pockets and I had my waterpump replaced with the one I had rebuilt by the Dutchman. I've noticed significantly cooler operations as a result (not pegging on the freeway unless I hit traffic). I drive my car at 80 when I can on the freeway. 

 

I did also put new gaskets between the head and the manifold. I know it's a big no no but the manifolds had exhaust leaks from the original configuration. Not only is the ticking noise gone, but the manifold is more isolated so heat isn't being absorbed as much by the cylinder head (in theory).

[JohnD1956]

83° with 34% humidity. Not ideal conditions to check what I wanted, but a great day for a ride. 

As expectedb needle right on the N during the ride to the next town but a much lower increase while idling in drive for one minute in the parking lot. After the hot soak the needle was just a little above the N on the way back. In the 2nd lot after 2.5 minutes idling in drive.

then it pretty much stayed there while going to fill it up. 

In the past I used to run a 160° thermostat and the needle was always below the N.  This spot looks like it would represent the 180° mark to me.  So I will drop the pipe someday and see about getting the butterfly out of there all together. Meantime I'm just gonna drive the tires off of it. 

[JohnD1956]

Last night while cruising around I noticed the amp meter running at a slight discharge with my parking lights and radio on.  So after a momentary panic I found a place to stop and check the tightness of the kill switch.  That seemed to make it better for part of the ride but after gassing up, I noticed it more when I put the headlights on. 

 

Today I unscrewed the kill switch and noticed the contact point was dirty. 

 

And after using some 400 grit sand paper

 

Reinstalled with a dab of Oxyguard.  This seems to have corrected the problem.  Took it for 10 miles tonight and had no discharge while moving,, which is the way I expect the system to perform.  Matter of fact I had some distinct charging early in the ride, which I also expected as the battery recharged.  

 

Anyway, I'll monitor it more closely for a few rides and see.  This may have been the reason my battery let me down in mid July.  I haven't changed that yet and it seems to be working just fine since I slow charged it back then.  Tonight it did seem to start easier too even if it was a little bit run down.

 

Will be nice if this fixes the situation.

Edited August 7, 2018 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

Dateline: October 2nd, 2018 I went to look at this 1992 Buick Century Wagon.  The sales pitch included: It was originally a California Car, it had a new battery and new tires. It drives well in the steep hills surrounding the vehicles current location.  It's drawbacks were a missing front signal light, a duct taped drivers side rear view mirror, a exhaust system in need of repair, high mileage ( 178K)  and a lot of grunge and dirt with a overbearing odor inside. 

But it's attributes were just masked. 

It started easily. Had no smoke from the exhaust. solid appearing door bottoms,  and one look underneath, with no rot or errant oil,  and it was definitely a California car! 

 

My offer was accepted and the paper work took two weeks to straighten out.  But the car was brought home on 10-17-18.

 

[JohnD1956]

My son Doug drove me the 14 miles to retrieve the car and follow me home.  I would have had it towed but the two estimates I got for the task seemed outrageous.  So I put the plates on and prayed for luck. 

 

The car drove really nice.  Despite the apparent fact that the vehicle had sat for approximately two years on a dirt driveway, with little to no gas, I put in a bottle of STP gas treatment, and filled it at the nearest service station.  I figured I might as well see if the tank leaks right off the bat.  But it didn't leak, and it rode very nice, just like the seller said.  Turned well, stopped straight, had sufficient power and no apparent transmission/drive train issues or noises.  I was cautiously optimistic.

 

Doug followed me and reported on the few taillight failures and suggested airing up the tires as one appeared somewhat low.   So we parted and I headed for the station I use the most which has a reliable air hose.  

 

When I went to add air to the left front  tire I noticed it was dry rotted and starting a small side wall separation.  So much for the new tires!  The two rear tires seemed to be in good shape though.  But the front right tires valve stem was bent and the stations air hose would not go on.  That tire also looked sad.  But I only had three miles to go and they went 11 miles already so  I took the chance and brought it home.

 

 

[JohnD1956]

On inspection the next day I started my list:

 

Since this will be my winter car and I already needed two tires at least, I wanted 4 snow tires.

The interior was loaded with junk, and the headliner was torn and drooping. 

The car was loaded with dirt in the tailgate door jamb.  I have never seen anything with that much dirt and the door actually worked.

Matter of fact, all the door jambs were full of dirt,  which I found nteresting.

The front carpet was wet on the drivers side, so I thought there might be a hole in the cowl. 

The heater fan worked on low speed, but it vibrated on the higher speeds.   Either an air door was jammed creating back pressure or the motor was toast.

The exhaust looked like it may be partially replaced.

The battery light flashed intermittently.

The battery was not in it's tray and locked down plus it looked like it was in backwards.  The side terminals were facing the radiator core support and worse the prior owner put extra long bolts in apparently so it was easier to use the jumper cables.  And the hold down was a tightly folded terry cloth rag jammed between the top of the battery and the piece of frame that goes directly over the top of it. 

 

The good things were the bottom of the car was, well, gorgeous!  The floor pans were all there with zero rust.  The bottoms of all the doors were solid with no rust in the skin seams. The seats looked pretty decent as well as the door panels. And a lot of the options worked, like the six way drivers seat, with recliner. The pass side recliner, all the power windows and the power door locks.   I got my money's worth. 

 

Then I found out what tires cost.    Whoa boy!  almost 50% of what I paid for the car.  Also since they were 14" rims the tires were harder to get.  The mirror, signal Iight housing and air filter was another hundred.  Engine oil, but I did have a new oil filter left over since 2006.  That was enough to start with.

 

 

[JohnD1956]

A quick back step.  The seller told me the car was gold.  But it was so dirty when I saw it that I thought it was tan.  So that's how I registered it.  But after it's first wash, I discovered it was indeed gold.  I really like gold colored Buicks... So that's a plus.  The interior was cleaned out and I got a nice set of jumper cables in the deal.  The dirt in the door jambs was washed, and scrubbed and scraped out of the seals.  And the seals were all good.  And I had a few days till the tires were delivered so I got the carpet cleaner out and washed the rugs. Hopefully that will get that smell out.  The car still has the original floor mats and they are actually in great shape overall.  The rugs cleaned up pretty good but I decided not to do the cloth seats fearing they would not dry in the driveway this time of the year.

 

Then I pulled out the battery to see what was up with that.  This is one of two areas I found rust.  The prior battery must have leaked and the inner fender was badly rusted with a hole about the size of a grapefruit.  But the battery hold down was still there and the bolt came out easily.  So I found a piece of metal to cover the hole, changed the extra long battery terminals  for the short original style ones, and turning the battery around with the terminals facing the washer jug, I dropped it in. But obviously the battery was originally installed to have the terminals face the radiator core support.  Seems kinda odd to me.  But the positive cables cap was still attached to the wire and that provides some protection from shorting out if the terminals contact the core for some reason.

 

I then pulled it apart, wire brushed the rusted fender well, primed and painted the area, and laid the patch panel in.  It doesn't have to look pretty.   It is just a winter car.

 

Next day I changed the oil and filter and took a better look at the underside.  All the brake lines look new.  No rust, not even on the rock guards!  The brake hoses have no stress or dry rot cracks.  And the frame mounts are solid as well as the body they attach to.  Now I'm beginning to think maybe this isn't a winter car afterall? 

[JohnD1956]

Over the next few days I keep cleaning and fixing the small things.   The glove box door latch wouldn't work. The ash tray cover was hanging.  The rugs all dried except that area right at in front of the drivers seat.  And the interior still smelled.

 

Then the mirror arrived.  Two studs on the mirror with new bolts.   Looks like a piece of cake to install.  2 hours later, after removal of all the door trim, loosening of the front window track, squeezing the bracket that the mirror bolts to back far enough to access those two simple studs...Ugg.  I hope I never have to do THAT again.  Meanwhile that freaking rug is still wet after 5 decent days where it should have dried...WTH? 

 

No matter how much I rubbed with the shop vac it just wasn't getting any better.  So I decided to use the compressed air to blow the water out.  I was astounded.  The black sandy silt that came out totally coated the protection I put over the door trim.  Also it extended the stain across the rug to the door!  But at least the next day it was dry, finally!   So I blew it out again and got the carpet machine out and re washed that area.   Then blew it out again.   It dried overnight and finally the smell is subsiding!  

 

The next day was tire install and state inspection.  Then I could take it for a real ride.  

 

  ( to be continued)

[sebastienbuick]

beautiful

[JohnD1956]

Have to back up again.  On that first wash up I found dirt packed into the seam between the windshield and the cowl cover. Since I was concerned about a hole in the cowl causing that wet spot on the rug,  which was almost a visible puddle I would add, I decided to get in there to repair whatever was needed.  The wipers came off easy, and then a hand full of bolts and the entire cowl vent assembly came off and that's when I saw the mouse nest in the blower fan cage.

I could not get the entire nest out of the cage with the shop vac so I decided to pull the blower fan.  After all, only 5 small bolts and Voila!  But wait a minute.

Sure,, those five bolts released the fan but there was not enough space to get it past the power steering pump.   So 3 bolts later , and after dropping one that did not fall all the way through the pump was off it's mount, but it would not move enough to let the blower clear the shock tower.  So I pulled the return line to the pump and tried again.  After 15 minutes or so I was thinking maybe I could put a dent in the shock tower for the fraction of space I needed,  but I could not bring myself to hammer on those nice shock towers.   Then all of a sudden it was free.  That's when I saw the rest of the mouse nest down by the heater core.  Shop vac to the rescue.  Then a sanitizing wash from which I heard the water drain through it's intended port.  Bright flashlight and mirror to check and I got it all out.  The heater core looks great, and there would be no way the mice could have gotten to the inside from this location.  So I buttoned it all back up. 

I tried the fan and the vibration was gone, but now it squealed on high speed.  Ugh!  With a drs appointment on schedule I made a mental note to drop the PS suppluline next time and the whole thing should be a lot easier. I also made a mental note to go back in that cowl and make a screen for the HVAC system opening.   Some aluminum window screening held in place with some black RTV ought to limit future home seekers to just the cowl vent area. 

 

The better news was that the cowl vent area was dirty but not packed with dirt, and there was no holes to the cabin.  Just a wash and it looked like day one materials.  Now just where did that water on the rug come from?  Windshield gasket maybe?  Hmmn... Can't worry about it yet.

 

Edited October 27, 2018 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

So, on tire/ inspection day I got a chance to really see what I had on my hands.  A 1992 "anything" in New York does not normally look anything like this!

 

Oh man!  Should I really drive this in the winter?  Mental note to check that area of the frame under the transmission.  Likely caused by whatever caused the hole in the battery tray.  Battery acid the most likely culprit.

Edited October 28, 2018 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

 

With the tires installed, the mirror and signal lights replaced I could finally take it for a ride!  

 

Now many of you would rightly think , who cares?  A v6 1992 Buick is no classic, nor power monster, and/ or, even note worthy!  But that's just the type of Buick I like!  A plain jane car which most would bypass in a minute but those who know, would greatly appreciate.

 

The Buick 3300 in this car is very adequate for the 3,000 lb carcass!  The steel styled wheels are kinda sporty and interesting although I am missing two of the trim rings.  And one center is broken although the latches to keep it on the rim are still there.  The worst thing about this car is the paint!  I can see it was shot with a coat of paint from the pinstripping down.  I presume to cover scratches and dings.  I can also see the original paint was not prepped because around the insignia on the back the original paint was covered and appears to be in nice shape. The insignia was just taped over, from top to bottom, and with irregular lengths of tape.  If there had been any prepwork beneath this top coat it would have shone here.  Meanwhile the top coat had hazed and cracked and the scratches and dings have irregular finishes that polish are not addressing.  But none of that mattered at this moment.  I got a chance to drive it for a short while.

 

With the new tires it really felt great!  And the only issues I have are the A/C does not work and the battery light keeps flashing intermittently.  This car has a volt meter plus a idiot light for the circuit.  And paying attention to them both I discovered that the light would come on when the volt meter was pegging around 17 volts.  Once the meter dropped below 13 volts but it was usually above the 13 mark on the scale.  When it was around 14 volts the battery light was off.   So I figured a voltage regulator  or at worst, a new alternator. 

 

Then I discovered what an alternator would cost!  Whoa!  In this area $111 for a rebuilt to $175 for a new one.  Good God!  This was just a winter car!  

Edited October 27, 2018 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

Doug found me a new set of trim rings.  They are not the original design, but they were new, stainless steel and there were four of them.  I like em!

 

[JohnD1956]

This all leads me to yesterday.  With a nice day and the expectations of a nor easter storm today, I decided to go and get an estimate on the exhaust repair.  On the lift the technician was going on about how clean it was underneath but the exhaust would have to be replaced from the CAT on back.  Meanwhile the sales rep goes digging in the back and finds they have the pipe from the CAT to the rear axle.  No mufflers in sight though.   "Probably have to fit something in and free bend the tailpipe.  We'll drop it down and I get the estimate for you".

 

So I go back to the waiting area where I can see the car is still on the lift and I am wondering why they haven't pulled it out yet?  Then I noticed the tech was helping someone in the next bay to use the torch to cut something off a different car.   Meanwhile the sales rep is searching the computer and not coming up with any mufflers, and I asked if he cold just give me a ball park figure at this point.

" Yeah,  well this may go down some if I find a muffler but, right now with the pipe we have here, and the custom bending we have to do after the axle and the tail pipe, were right around $600.00".

"$600!  What?  Whoa, I'm not gonna spend that much on that car. It's just a winter car!"  Please stop and just get my car off the lift."

Then...  BANG!!!

I see the tech with the torch flinch and drop down.  It sounded like a gun shot!  The other guy in the waiting area says " Oh no.  Did they just blow up on of my tires?"

The sales rep goes in the garage and then motions to me to come out.

There I see that that back vent window on the passengers side  blew out of the car!  No one was around it, nothing was leaning on it or near the ground around it, just glass bits every where!

 

This was unbelievable.  And it gets even more so.   The layout of this shop is there are 5 bays.  The building was originally built with two and three were added on adjacent.  May car was in the three bay area.  The workers with the torches were in the two bay area.  there is a pass through at the front and rear of the adjacent bays and a concrete block wall between the rest of the length of the wall.  From the spray pattern of the glass it was obvious the glass blew out from the car and the fan of the spray was uninterrupted so it did not appear as if anyone had intentionally broke that glass.  It just looked like it decided I want to explode right now!

 

Perfect! And with a nor easter coming!  No free garage space! And an open invitation to rodents! 

 

So I take the car right to the local glass guy I've used before.  All the way there the battery light is flashing.  The glass tech says " you may not want to hear this but I think this has to be changed with the whole unit in front of it.  This could be pretty expensive, if we can find one."    But inside they discover the vent window can be changed independently and there are some available, in  California!  They did find on in Pennsylvania though and from what I could gather they had had some issues with that supplier so they had to get back to me on a eta.  But they vacuumed up the broken pieces inside and put a temporary plastic window on to keep it dry with the storm coming. 

 

Meanwhile I texted my good friend and mechanic , Adam, asking if the battery light could come on when the system is charging above 14 volts?  I never thought that could happen.  And I figured I needed a regulator at a minimum.  He wrote back, don't do anything!  I'll be home from work at 4:30.  I'll call you.

 

Sheesh! Couple of hundred for tires.  Couple of hundred for exhaust.  Unknown expense for that window!   And at least a hundred for the alternator.  I'm thinking this was one big mistake pursuing this car!

 

 

 

[JohnD1956]

At 4:30 Adam showed up at my house.  First he's seen this car.  But he says pop the hood and lets see what's going on here.  He takes out his electronic probe and runs a few continuity tests then we start it.  14.5 volts.  Then we increase the idle and it jumps to 17 volts.  Now he starts pushing and probing the connections and to make along story short, he finds the connector for the "voltage sensing circuit" is loose.  With a paper clip he tightens the connector and voila!  14.5 volts steady at any rpm.  14.5 volts with the headlights, rear defroster and blower on high.

 

"Okay. Turn it all off lets let it sit a bit and try again.  The good news is it seems that was it, a loose connector.  The bad news is you need a blower motor to get rid of the squeal on high.  But wait this one has the tape over the bearing port.  Peel that back and put some oil in there, maybe that will take care of the squeal. "

Well, the oil did not take care of the squeal.  But the second test showed the electrical system problem to be solved.  He explained that without a good connection there the system was telling the regulator to go to full capacity and that indeed turns on the battery light in this car.  This could lead to overcharging the battery and most likely lead to the battery acid spill that ruined the inner fender and caused that rust on the frame below the trans.   Anyway, No charge! 

 

Wow!  Thank you Adam! 

 

So I scraped, and wire brushed that piece of frame with the rust and painted it with rustoleum self etching primer and top coat it with rustoleum grey paint.  Did a few other areas as well as long as I was under there.  Pictures to come after the rain.  I also got a can of spray lithium grease and sprayed every single brake line ( except those by the new paint, I'll get those in a few days) and fuel line plus the whole seam of the gas tank and where ever I thought it could use some protection. 

 

It's pouring outside now so I am interested to see if the drivers side carpet is getting wet again. 

 

BTW, Adam also looked the car over good.  He was very impressed with it's pedigree at this mileage.  Gave me a few things to watch for and how to fix em if they occurred.  Made me feel good when he said I got a "GREAT" deal!

Edited October 27, 2018 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[EmTee]

John, sorry to hear the issues, but at least you're working with a solid structure.  Once these teething problems are sorted, you should be able to coax at least 5 to 10 winters out of the car with only routine maintenance.  The amortized cost/year is what I'd be looking at...

[JohnD1956]

@EmTee I know you're right about that.  Except I am already thinking if it survives this winter I may just fix that bad paint and add it to the family... I do like it a lot.  And since the 3300 is the same block as the 3800 I am now gonna keep my eyes open for a  93-94 engine with the appropriate computer.  You never know!  I loved my 93 Regal with the 3800 and the 3.06 final drive. 

[EmTee]

I just realized the 3300 is a 90-degree engine derived from the 3800 -- not the 60-degree family (thank goodness)!  Intake gasket leaks can still occur, but this is a much better engine than the 2800/3100/3400 series...

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

6 hours ago, JohnD1956 said:

@EmTee I know you're right about that.  Except I am already thinking if it survives this winter I may just fix that bad paint and add it to the family... I do like it a lot.  And since the 3300 is the same block as the 3800 I am now gonna keep my eyes open for a  93-94 engine with the appropriate computer.  You never know!  I loved my 93 Regal with the 3800 and the 3.06 final drive. 

 

 You mean make it into a "real" Century?

 

  Ben

Edited October 27, 2018 by Ben Bruce aka First Born
sp (see edit history)

[dship]

1 hour ago, JohnD1956 said:

Sheesh! Couple of hundred for tires.  Couple of hundred for exhaust.  Unknown expense for that window!   And at least a hundred for the alternator.  I'm thinking this was one big mistake pursuing this car!

 

 

 

Yeah, but look at all the room in the back to haul stuff around!  Station wagons are making a comeback at various cruise-ins.

Edited October 27, 2018 by DShip (see edit history)

[RivNut]

I don't know what years of these wagons are the same basic body and I don't know how far you live from Elmira, NY but there's a '93 Century wagon in a Pic-n-pull there.

 

https://row52.com/Vehicle/Index/1G4AH85N4P6419679

 

I looked on a search engine - row52.com - and found it by just looking for Buicks and Century Wagons.  I didn't look at the sedans/coupes; they're in a different link.

 

Ed

Edited October 27, 2018 by RivNut (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

27 minutes ago, RivNut said:

I don't know what years of these wagons are the same basic body and I don't know how far you live from Elmira, NY but there's a '93 Century wagon in a Pic-n-pull there.

 

Thank you for that link.  I'll check it out.

[RivNut]

You might also look at these search engines.  They collect and combine searches from all of the other search engines - Craiglslist, eBay, etc.

 

adhuntr.com  -  yes I spelled it correctly

 

searchtempest.com 

 

.searchalljunk.com/

 

 

[JohnD1956]

@RivNut Great resources.  Can't thank you enough! 

[RivNut]

16 minutes ago, JohnD1956 said:

@RivNut Great resources.  Can't thank you enough! 

Hope something pans out for you..

 

Ed

[MrEarl]

Always liked these lil Century wagons. congrats on adding it to the family!!

[GARY F]

I just bought four  14 inch W/W for my 63 Grand Prix for $331.00.  Hankook

[RivNut]

I'm running 215/75 15" Hankooks on my '94 Roadmaster Wagon.  They're mounted on the 71-73 Buick Rally wheels with 66 - 70 ribbed center caps.  

[RivNut]

John,

 

If you find a car at a location which you can't get to, there's a link in the lower left of the page of pullers who work those yards. You could try contacting one of them and see what they think of the part and if they'd be willing to pull it and ship it to you.

 

Ed

Edited October 28, 2018 by RivNut (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

Awesome!  @RivNut

[JohnD1956]

Quick update!

The exhaust parts were bought over the counter.  Exhaust pipe, muffler, and tail pipe were all available,  and along with the one gasket between the catalytic converter and exhaust pipe and a hefty discount from a rewards program I was packing the parts inside the car for just over $115.00 .  This looked like a fairly simple job!  All the bolts holding the system in place looked to be in good condition and like they would come out.  So I was going to do it myself and argued the issue with myself for a few days while applying some PB Blaster on and off.

 

The weather has changed here and with no heat in the garage, and for some other reasons,  I decided to send the car up the road for the exhaust work, which turned out to be the right choice, for me.

 

As it turned out, the bolts all did come out.  But there is a separate bracket on the panhard bar that had to be loosened and pulled out of the way.   Those bolts also came out but took a lot of torque to get them free.  Not sure I could have got those out laying under the car and with my tool assortment.  Then it turned out that the exhaust pipe was bent perfectly, but it was two inches short.  This pipe extends in one piece from the converter, around the gas tank, up over the rear axle, through the gap formed by the body and that extra panhard bracket,  and then makes a 90* turn to meet up with the transverse muffler.   I don't have a welder,  so it would have been virtually impossible for me to get that system on.  As it was,  the work took a little over two hours with removal of the old stuff, assembly, mockup, disassembly, welding and then reassembly of the new.  But it is a very nice correction and assembly and the system is very quiet, with a slight Buick rumble at the tail pipe outlet.  It brings a smile to my face to listen to it there because the 3300 does not have the counter balance shaft, so at an idle it sounds like a little V8 with a seriously altered camshaft.  But under load it really runs smooth.

 

The rear quarter glass was also installed this week.  As it is I am expecting 1/2 from the muffler shop that caused the damage.  I also have plans to pursue the 2nd half when ( if) I get the first half. 

 

Next up will be replacing the door seals.  In heavy rains three of the doors are leaking and the seals look kinda odd.  #1, the seals along the tops are separate pieces.  Then they are cut on a 45 degree angle and on all the doors they do not meet the seals running down the pillars.  I am not sure these are the original seals as I can't image the car being built this way.   This seems to be the problem that's causing the odor in the car.  What with the rains we are getting here, just about every other day, the rugs are getting wet and then it's never warm enough to really dry them out.  I did try a temporary repair yesterday, as it will take me a while to get some new ones. 

 

Also, the alternator had to be replaced.  On the last day of the old one it began spiking to 18 volts again, and then, just as suddenly, it dropped to a steady 12 volts.  A replacement alternator appears to have fixed that issue and I have been really enjoying the car for the past few days.

 

Go Buick! 

 

[JohnD1956]

The wagon got it's first compliment today at the grocery store!   lol...  Go  Buick!

[JohnD1956]

Hit a temporary set back.  When I showed my friendly mechanic  the car initially, he said I'd have to replace the water pump as it is a "pattern failure".  Well, he was right, I think.  With just short of 500 miles of use I could smell the antifreeze steam outside the car, and Wednesday it marked it's parking spot with a puddle of green pee.  So I tackled the project yesterday afternoon.

 

At first the drain petcock turned with the expected amount of tension.  And it is plastic, so it began to move freely but not open the drain.  I could see it was unscrewing and returning to seat, so it wasn't stripped, just no fluid was coming out.  So I got it to the end of the open position and tugged a little.  The center guts popped out and it drained post haste.  It did take little over a half hour to get the plug back in, and I was sweating that I had broken the thing, which does not look replaceable.  But it finally did go back in.  Whew!

 

Meanwhile I had sprayed some PB Blaster on the front of the 3 small bolts on top, and in the open ports at the back of them. Prior to this I had dribbled some hot tranny fluid on these three bolts over a few days.  But each of the three were reluctant to budge.  Also when I removed the pulley I began to wonder if the pump had even failed.  There was no direct evidence of green stuff there, and the port in the shaft faced upwards, easily seen and it didn't look wet.  But there was some green stuff on the right side of the lower block case so  I decided to just go ahead with the replacement seeing as I had already bought the parts.

 

After close to two hours I was down to just one of those three small bolts that would not budge.  All else successfully loosened and worked with liberal amounts of blaster so they spun easily.  So I went with a little more force and the stubborn little thing finally budged.  Put some blaster in and tightened, waited a bit and loosened.  a little more blaster, and tightened.  Loosened and the head popped off.  Of well, I thought, at least there would be a lot of bolt to work with when  I got the pump off.

And I was right about that.  The thing on this car though is the left side of the pump is behind the idler pulley.  So you have to lift the idler and work the pump out from behind for clearance.  It's not hard, just awkward, and a reminder of how much strength is required for some seemingly simple tasks.

 

So after general clean up of all the bolts and surfaces, I finally got it back together, sans the one bolt,  after just 5 hours!  Sheesh! 

 

Anyway, I went to run it for a bit to check for leaks and was unsettled to discover a leak at the heater core location.  This area is in an inopportune spot. I cannot see if this leak is simply a hose clamp, or hose or if it is a bad heater core pipe.  The only thing I can say is the leak is on the engine compartment side and not the interior side. But it looks like a bear to get in there and get the screws loosened on the clamps.  The fact that there are screw clamps at the fire wall but the typical GM spring clamps at the engine side of both hoses tells me that the hoses have likely been replaced.  So I am hoping that it's just a loose clamp.  But it looks like the easiest way to access this is to pull the engine.  

 

Otherwise this is one sweet little Buick. 

[EmTee]

Maybe something like this can reach the clamp screw?

 

https://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-1051-Flex-Driver/dp/B01LEXSR9C

[JohnD1956]

That's a really good option EmTee...Thanks for the idea!   And It does appear to be the clamps need an extra turn or two.  After ten miles of driving the faceplate of the heater core is completely dry, with no evidence of any leak. 

[EmTee]

Worm gear clamps do tend to loosen over time; particularly if they were originally installed on new hoses (which shrink with age).

Edited December 1, 2018 by EmTee
Updated (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

Got at it easily enough.  It's tight but there's enough room to snake a flexible arm in there.  And these may be factory hoses yet.  I say that because of the orientation of the two worm clamps ( thanks for the nomenclature @EmTee).  They were both easy to reach with the 1/4 " drive ratchet, with a 5/16th socket.  Took up about a full turn on the one and a quarter turn on the other.  Will monitor for future developments. 

Edited December 1, 2018 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

Picked up another kudos today...its fun to tell people it has 178k on it...