My 58 Caballero

[Guest ewing]

I have many Buicks, that I have somehow gathered over the years. I've heard it said that the right cars can be a good investment, but in my case, while that may be true, its hard to know for sure if you never sell any.

I took a week off work a few years ago and happened to spot a small classified ad that read '1958 Buick station wagon for sale'. So I figured what can it hurt to take a look? So I bought it and 'put it away' because at that time I was still in the middle of my last project car, the 47 Roadmaster.

So this past year with the 47 virtually done, and wondering if I should start another car , or just drive and enjoy the cars more, I had mixed feelings about keeping the 58. My problem is, I seem to need to take stuff apart, fix it and put it back together. I get a lot of satisfaction out of that. ( I still like to drive them too!)

So I've started to take pieces off and started the process of refurbishing the 58. Its all unmodified and original engine, with lots of nice accessories and options. So my plan is not to restore it, but to clean it up, get it running, some paint where it needs it, and run it as as a work horse.

So now I am moving it around and starting to take some of the pieces off. Here it is this fall, I'm moving it around with the 72 Riviera.

I've cleaned up the dash and it doesn't look too bad

I've finally figured out how to get the seat cushions out and have started to scrub and clean the seats. I also have the lower seat cushions out and plan to restitch the seams where the stitching has let go. You can also see I've removed the interior panels and have cleaned them up and am pressing them flat. They look pretty good.

I've also taken off the front end and replaced the inner fenders with nice solid metal, from a parts car I found fairly close to home. I still have a lot of work to do at this end, but I have all the shiny stuff off and in the basement ready for clean up, over the long winter ahead!

One accessory I'd like to find, or at least find pictures of in a car, is the junior seat that sat facing forward at the rear of the car. Looks like this

This car does have PS,PW, PB,wonderbar radio, electric antenna, windshield washer, P seat, 1/3:2/3 split rear seat option, dual trailmaster lights, roof rack.

I'll work on getting pictures of my other Buicks posted in a while. They all have interesting stories attached to them.

[Guest imported_Thriller]

It's come a long way since the days of the garden under the hood John. Maybe you should host a garage tour someday If you need a hand, you know where to find me.

[Guest ewing]

Yea, I think I've removed about 200 pounds of fertile topsoil from every nook and cranny. The tail lights were literally packed with black dirt. Remember the top of the engine?, caked full of topsoil, the valley pan packed full to the underside of the intake manifold. All from what the guy I bought it from said was a couple of years sitting out front in the garden. He moved it to his place in the country after his mother in law passed away and this car was found in a garage in a rental property she owned. Apparently this lady had a son who went through a lot of cars, and when one broke down, it was parked, and she bought him another. According to the story, she seemed to stick to Buicks, but he didn't find any other cars.[ too bad, because he recalled several being big 58's]

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

Looking forward to reading more about this car John. Sounds like you're really enjoying your Buicks. Thanks for sharing the enjoyment.

[Centurion]

John, thanks for your update on this car. I think these are really cool, and I was secretly relieved when you did not sell it. Glad to see that this one will get the chance to look good and roam the highways once again. Please keep us posted!

[Guest 1964 225 Roadster]

Sweet.

[Guest ewing]

I'm full into my winter projects on the wagon.

The basement is getting full of shiney pieces.

Fixed up the splits in the seats too. Looking ok to use as is now.

This is the 1/3 side of the rear seat cushion.

[Guest ewing]

Here's the other side of the rear seat cushion, the 2/3 side, before...

and, after. Not perfect but will be ok for an original interior.

[Guest ewing]

Spring is only 3 days away and the caballero is starting to peek out of the snow drift.

[/image]

The other good thing is ... now I'm finding some of the pieces I lost when the snow arrived last fall, like the front bumper.

[/image]

The bad news is, Carol now sees all the Buick parts lying around the back yard, and wants the stuff 'cleaned up', as in do something with it, don't just leave it there...

[R W Burgess]

ewing, You lucky dog. It's been spring here in Virginia since the middle of February. I've been trying to trim bushes before they bud out completely. Darn "global warning"! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Wayne

[Guest imported_Thriller]

Thanks for the laugh John...the sun is really gaining ground now...if only the temps would get above freezing...oh well, I can wait for the garage to flood for a little while yet.

So do you want me to talk to Carol? A little bit of which would you rather see might change the opinion a bit

[Guest ewing]

I think we'd all vote for more Buick parts sprouting up in the yard.

And, I'm thinking it'll still be about 8 weeks before I need to start looking for the hedge trimmer.

[Guest DaveCorbin]

Dear Ewing:

A little fact for a laugh: Many years ago in the Chicagoland area, a friend had a 1958 Roadmaster 75 with every toy that Buick put on that year. We spent several hours one day counting the shiny pieces. The rule for this game was: If it's shiny, identifiably a separate piece and visible, count it. Obviously, some aren't very big (clips and screws), but if it shows, count it! His car had 815 "shinies" that we could identify inside and out. Since yours is a wagon, it will be somewhat different, but not too much so!

This will give you some idea what to tell the Mrs. about how much could be "growing" around the house!

Regards, Dave Corbin

[Guest ewing]

Thanks for that Dave... great story.

Now I'm thinking that I need to go and count the shiney pieces. By way of clarification, to get a jump start I'd like to count the grill as 160, not 2.

Derek, do you think the guys would chip in $5 per try, to guess the number of shiney bits on the Caballero? All the money would go to the 'fix this tired old wagon fund'. I'm thinking no one would get the right answer ( as in having the staying power, concentration, or what ever it takes). Guess if I need to have a prize, it could be the 401 long block taking up space in the garage. Hey, I'd come out a winner either way.

John

[Guest DaveCorbin]

Dear John:

You've got it right. Under our rules,the grille was 160 "shinies". As I remember, by the time you got to the front of the front wheelwells, the count was about 225.

Regards, Dave Corbin

[Guest imported_Thriller]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Derek, do you think the guys would chip in $5 per try, to guess the number of shiney bits on the Caballero? All the money would go to the 'fix this tired old wagon fund'. I'm thinking no one would get the right answer ( as in having the staying power, concentration, or what ever it takes). Guess if I need to have a prize, it could be the 401 long block taking up space in the garage. Hey, I'd come out a winner either way. </div></div>

I doubt it...they are cheap Winnipeggers after all. If the money was going toward some other cause perhaps

You might want to wait until the car is done though as some rusties might turn to shinies in the process increasing the number.

[Guest ewing]

Winnipeggers are cheap you say?

So, that reminds me of a joke. Altered to suit this discussion.

Did you hear about the collision between two taxis at the corner of Portage and Main St today? Pretty bad, no one killed but 20 Winnipeggers were hurt.

You may have to think about that one for a minute.

[Guest ewing]

Thought you'd find this interesting.

I figured I'd take off the ss trim from the wagon roof to clean off the rust accumulating and to 'seal' the metal , until I can get to the body work.

So, (not including the tailgate trim), I have now removed the roof rack and the 9 ss strips from the body roof. There are 24 holes drilled in the roof to attach the roof rack, and another 45 holes drilled in the roof to attach the ss trim.

So, if you bought a basic special wagon, you got a roof with no holes in it. If you went all out and bought a Caballero with a roof rack, they added 69 holes to your body roof. Seems to increase the odds of developing a leak?

One observation I can make however, is that the red sealer they used on the bolts through the roof was still pliable after 48 years and was still watertight. Now I have to find a sealer as good as the original.

[frame30]

I am just putting back together my 59 Estate Wagon. I am looking for the front and tail gate clips for the windows ... and the front and tail gate molding clips. Any thoughts? From Edmonton. Cheers. Michael.

[Caballero2]

I used rope caulking from the hardware store for the roof rails. Wrap a short piece around the attaching clip threaded shaft, replace the red sealer in the nut with a wrap of caulk. Be careful when tightening the nuts as not to warp the stainles trim. After twenty years, the trim is still water tight.

Go through your learning curve by doing the short pieces on the upper hatch.

Dan