A few questions first. Anybody know where I can find inner tie rods and a center link for this car? 27k actual miles on car. Car spent nearly 30yrs in a barn. OEM 1966 installed parts: Above: That's not rust. That's red Texas dirt caked on. This car came from a town that consisted of dirt roads when it was new. Believe it or not, all of that dirt protected the frame from rust. Well, that and the factory installed undercoating. Ok, that's definately rust. More of the dirt that was shown above, but this time without any parts in the way. I couldn't find something to plug the brake line, so I came up with a catch can from an empty brake fluid bottle for the time being. Under all of that dirt, (some of it being nearly an inch thick in places), is a semi-shiny black frame. The rear of the car was just as caked before I rebuilt the rear suspension last year. Lots of scraping ahead... Above: I went into Sears looking for a wire brush set and came out with a new jack and stands. Funny how that works. Above: Upper and lower control arms and gargantuan front brake assembly. Spring compressors are a brilliant idea. Too bad that they couldn't come up with a solution to make them easier to use in such tight spots. ^Lower control arm bushing. This one was a pain to get out, even with a press. My father suggested cutting it out. And we did. A little scarred from cleaning it up, but nothing to complain about. We used the old BBQ pit to cook meat for lunch, and it was still hot, so I decided to let the fresh rust proofing and paint bake on top of it. 8) Old on the left. New on the right. More pics to follow as progress moves on. Stay tuned. Same Buick time! Same Buick channel! While you wait, enjoy this vintage advertisement for Fenton Shifters. Click pic to view large.
Brian, Nice pics and nice work - I know Classic Buicks and oldbuickparts.com carry the tie rods and I'm sure others do as well because they buy them from someone. I've seen classic_specialties has a store on ebay and they will rebuild your center link. As you know 66 is unique and very tough to find. Curious as to the 27k. Is that documented mileage?
I bought the front suspension rebuild kit from oldbuickparts.com. They do not carry the inner tie rods for 66. Just the outers. I am unsure what actually constitutes documented mileage, but I found dealer service records in the glove box when I got the car. The last entry was filled out as having 25,819 miles and the tags on the car were expired the same year that the last service was done. The car had 26,200 when I got it. Here's a scan of one of the records.
Part 2 Above: Passenger side before starting. A little less dirt and a little more surface rust on the frame rail. Badly worn sway bar link bushing. Lower control arm ball joint on the passenger side. The sway bar links on both sides were so bad that I had to either break or cut them to get them out. Good thing the kit supplied new links. Lower control arm and spring from the passenger side. Upper control arm and shaft from the passenger side. Cleaned the frame up a bit, then hit it with a coat of rust prevention and paint. Not sure how those gouge marks got there. Once I find the bushings for the radius rod and sway bar to frame bushings, I will recondition those. I also plan to scrape, clean, and paint the mid section of the frame within the next week as that is all that is left caked with dirt. In the future, i'll do a frame-off resto, but right now I lack the time and tools to do so. Finished. Took it for a test drive. It drives much better, but once the front is aligned it will drive like new again. The camber is slightly off, and the tires sound like the wind howling quietly due to it not being perfectly aligned. Now to find a front end shop to align it.
I am unsure what actually constitutes documented mileage, but I found dealer service records in the glove box when I got the car. The last entry was filled out as having 25,819 miles and the tags on the car were expired the same year that the last service was done. The car had 26,200 when I got it. Here's a scan of one of the records. [/quote] you are correct Oldbuickparts don't have the inners. My bad. Seems like pretty good docs on the miles. The only reason I ask is I just went through an extensive process trying to determine if my 66 Riv GS was 27k or 127k. The engine cylinder wear was minimal about .0025 avg across the diameter. Based on that minimal wear I was really thinking that was the smoking gun for 27k but after a lot more research talking to nailhead guys, I am now thinking its 127k. Part of my conclusion came from the level of buildup or grime on the suspension and frame. My expereience and that of others I asked said with 27k there should be little buildup of greasy type grime on the suspension and frame in the vicinity of engine. Mine looked caked on similar to yours so I thought well, if you have solid documentation that your car is only 27k, then I may need to re-examine my case a little closer. Since DMV records are no longer available, it really makes it tough to 100% confirm mileage unless there is a cut and dried paper trail.
I agree. Up until I noticed the service records in the glove box, I just assumed that it was over 100k miles too. Then I started piecing things together and came up with what I have. Do you have any pictures of your Riviera(s)?
