Category: Members' Cars

The Lonely Buick by Charlie Nash

1/15/2019

MY RESTORATION OF A 1951 BUICK SUPER RIVIERA

Introduction

Much like her proclivity towards the most downtrodden, neglected and “under-appreciated” of animals, this started much the same way. “Awwww, look.....”
Usually after such exclamations I would soon find myself digging and sinking fence posts (NOT an easy thing to do in New England as any New Englander will tell you!) or erecting various structures in anticipation of her newest wayward unsung animal adoptee to our home- but this was different.
The picture pulled up on the internet this time revealed a bulbous looking old Buick- those peculiar yet somehow incredibly intriguing 50’s models that had caught her eye for years. This one was powder blue and, yes, undeniably......pretty.

She first saw it arrayed on the computer screen from a dealer’s website in nearby Massachusetts—Shown alongside the overtly slick models of pretty much every sports car and barely street legal muscle car that lures the imagination of most antique car enthusiasts these days- the Buick’s age, color, price and condition (though really quite good) made her a ‘standout’ for those reasons against all the other more flashy and expensive cars....a dreamy looking big ol’ gal looking for the right dreamer to come along to share some more fun memories with her again.

The Buick's story was an all too familiar one but one that never fails to pull at one’s heartstrings. A cherished car from an elderly owner that reluctantly had to part with it due to declining health, declining use, and increased cost of ‘admission’ to an assisted living facility. Her son had the sad job of finding a new owner for his Mother’s car—a situation that is also all too familiar to most of us.

“Awwww, look.......”
And so they found each other and we found ourselves driving to Massachusetts to the dealership.

After just recently having completed an engine rebuild -along with the many other “rebuilds” to my 1932 Chevy Confederate, I was in no mindset to take on any additional large- and thus largely expensive- repair projects to this car if we acquired her.

But I had laid down some rules with my wife and I was at least going to try to stick with them. If the Buick looked in any way like it would need an expensive rebuild on ANYTHING we would not be falling for her tempting looks.

At the dealership, other than some of the usual issues with a car that has been sitting idle, and some that I had already been made aware of, I saw nothing major to turn us away. Her price was definitely fair and I saw no reason why we should not purchase her.

So here we are. I am merely the mechanic and maintenance person. While her interest in these cars certainly surprised me, who am I to question the acquisition of anything old and rusty ?!?

                                            COSMETIC CONDITION
The original mileage is documented at 27,600. I believe this to be true. Body excellent, paint has some issues, interior is also excellent and original.

   MECHANICAL CONDITION
Highway performance is still a big mystery until taken on an extended test drive. However, she starts and idles fine, no smoke, no overheating, shifts fine, minor leaks from the Dynaflow transmission.
Let me say here that I never owned a Buick before and thought a Dynaflow was some kind of early GE washing machine.
The brakes are soft and probably need a complete overhaul to make safe.

   CURRENT PROJECTS

Before I even dared to swing a wrench an initial inspection by the club’s Gaslighters was conducted as I have NO prior experience with Buicks. A leak down and compression test was recommended and many questions were answered. The goal is to bring the car up to daily drivable condition yet retain original equipment and appearance to the extent possible.

In advance of any engine diagnosis, my first priority was the replacement of all fluids since the car sat for many years. The above photo shows what the oil pan looked like. I’m sure it was never off the car.

And of course the Dynaflow transmission pan was just as foul but check out the almost unidentifiable filter screen. It took 2 days of soaking in a carburetor cleaner to actually see the brass filter element. The poor Dynaflow was not getting any flow- or very little.

This above view of the transmission is from below looking up.

This is how the transmission appeared after hours of cleaning.

With these 2 projects done, I moved onto degreasing the front end. Unless I could see everything, most importantly the numerous grease fittings, no real inspection could be made. This effort was taxing, lying on a cold concrete floor for 2 weeks while destroying a few shirts and pants in the process.
Fortunately, there was very little rust with most components looking solid and tight. In keeping with original factory look, many parts were not painted so I used clear lacquer to prevent rust.

So that’s it for now. Next on the agenda is some light engine work and start-up diagnosis.

Car Fans: Check out the photo below. These are assorted parts that I removed from the Buick. How many of these can you identify? Meet the challenge and put your answers in the 'Comments' area.
Thanks!

4 Comments

The Old '37, by Barbara Coon

11/30/2018

1 Comment

Very few club members share with our group the story of how they acquired their old car(s).
Even fewer (I would venture none) have written a poem that expresses their pleasure in riding through town and putting smiles on the faces of pedestrians and other motorists.
We are fortunate that Barbara Coon has shared her memories with us in the following article. The story is told in the first person from the point of view of the 1937 Ford that we all know so well.
Editor

The Old '37 - a Story

------- Lost in the woods at Saranac Lake, New York until George found me. Hoisted me up on a tow truck and took me to my new home in Connecticut.

Oh my - he stripped me down, overhauled me, oiled and greased my parts while putting me back together. I looked so darn good I received several trophies at the car shows.

I had fun flirting with other cars and owners. My master has given me lots of loving care. I might be old but my rings and bearings still work and all my joints are well greased. My surface is well dusted and polished to a brilliant shine.

Actually I'm in better shape than Barb and George! I might be old at the age of 81 but still traveling along the highways and byways.

Signed, Old ‘37

The Old '37- a Poem

Driving to church one sunny summer morning in the antique car we were getting horns and hand signals and voices yelling at us ; “Like that car!!” I got inspired and wrote my one and only poem! ~ Titled - The Antique Car.

The Antique Car
A pair of antiques in an antique car
Cruising along having fun so far.
Hi there, hello there
From the antique car
You wish you were where we are
just cruising along in the antique car.

1 Comment

2000 Camaro Z-28, A Gift from Husband to Wife

9/2/2018

0 Comments

Tom Regan visited me recently so I might do a photo shoot of his 2000 Camaro. The first surprising thing I learned about the car is that it is not his car. The car belongs to his wife, Ellen. Tom is just the nice guy who negotiated the purchase and gave the car to his wife.

For most of her life Ellen had never ridden in a convertible. She had no idea what the experience was like. Then one day she had an opportunity to ride in a friend’s convertible and that opened a whole new automotive window for her. She loved the car. That was all Tom needed to hear. He began looking for a really nice convertible that they would both like. The 2000 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 that he discovered was owned by a young couple who had a growing family and the Camaro was not a good fit for small children. They were asking a very reasonable price that Tom was more than willing to pay. Of course Tom had to ask them what their bottom line was. No true car guy would overlook the opportunity to leave a little more cash in the family bank account. The couple consulted privately and to Tom’s surprise they came back with a price that was about $1,000 lower, a significant discount. The deal was done.

The Camaro Z28 has the Corvette LS1 V8 engine that puts out over 300 HP and accelerates like a bullet. Tom had very little to do to get the car to like new condition. The top needed replacing and so did the rug due to a leak that had got some mold and surface rust started in the carpet area. The top and back window was professionally replaced with new components that look great. The carpet was removed, cleaned, and dried and then put back in. It looks like new now and all the mold and rust are gone.

The Camaro has the automatic transmission, an option for 2000. If Tom had ordered the car new for himself he would have gone with the 6-speed manual. But this car was meant for Ellen and an automatic is just what she needed. The paint looks very good with just minor dings (hail damage) and a bit of age. Tom will be getting a repaint soon. If you are considering a paint job you might want to check with Tom first because the painter he deals with gives a great deal.

This isn’t the first special interest car that the Regan’s have owned. Not too long ago Tom was perusing an online auction site when he noticed a really nice authentic 1973 Caprice. The 4-door car had an appealing light yellow exterior and a green interior plus a vinyl top. He put in a relatively low bid of $2500 on the Georgia car and then promptly forgot about it. Sometime later his wife approached him with a bill that said he owed someone in Georgia $2,500.00 and she wanted to know what that was all about. It took Tom a little thinking and he finally recalled the car that he had no expectation to win. Tom drove down to Georgia with his big 24 foot enclosed trailer and picked up the Chevy. When he found it the car had been stored for many years and had not been started in a long time. The outside was covered in white mold but the interior was like new. Once the car arrived home in Westerly a local detailer restored the outside paint and top to new condition. The 454 cubic inch big block with only 64,000 miles on it had not turned over in many years and Tom did not want to mess it up. He decided to call on the aid of a friend. His friend removed the distributor and the valve covers. He then was able to turn the oil pump through the distributor shaft. He kept doing this until he saw oil spurting out the ports in the head. They then drained the radiator and had it tested and cleaned. The automatic transmission was dropped (Tom had the use of a special transmission jack) and delivered to The Transmission Shop in Coventry where all necessary maintenance was done for a total of $70! The men also replaced two freeze plugs that were only accessible after removing the transmission. After all was reassembled and the old ignition was replaced with an electronic upgrade a liberal supply of Marvel Mystery oil was added to the fuel and the engine oil. Spark plugs and cables were replaced. Now it was time to turn it over. The car fired right up. It sounded a little rough at first but soon it was as smooth as new!
Tom enjoyed driving the Caprice for several years until he decided to sell it. One morning a local man knocked on his door and announced that he wanted to buy the car. He said he would return at 5:00 PM with the full price. He returned at the appointed time with the cash. Tom insisted that the buyer take back $500 since Tom expected some haggling. The nice elderly gent refused to take the discount. Tom refused to sell the car to him unless he accepted the $500. The deal was done. The buyer never once drove the car or even opened the doors to look inside. He also passed up the opportunity to drive it home while Tom would drive the buyer’s car. So, Tom drove the Caprice the mile or so to its final home. That’s when things got really interesting. The nice old man offered to show Tom around the place. The first stop was the garage which featured an original Shelby Cobra Mustang sitting up on a lift. It had about 8 miles on the odometer! The gentleman had originally bought the car new for his oldest son who unfortunately was killed in Vietnam and thus never took possession of the car. The Shelby is now destined to go to the younger son when dad passes.

And the story is not quite over. The elderly man insisted on showing Tom what he had in his basement. Down they went to the train room. Thousands of train sets, all in good working order, were on display. Racks of engines and cars lined the room. 10 complete train sets are in motion at all times. Every so many months the 10 sets are taken down, given preventative maintenance, and then returned to ‘display status’ while 10 more different sets are then put in motion. Tom was absolutely amazed by the collection.

I am sure Tom has many more stories to tell and I hope we hear more of them in the not too distant future. He plans to spend more time with club activities as he gets a little closer to retirement age. Did you know he is on the lookout for a 1970-1971 Barracuda? But that’s another story. Ask Tom about it when you see him.
(Click on the photos for an enlarged view)