The contrast of the new paint colors looks excellent! Gotta love that shiny new radiator core you can see in one of the pics!!!! C'mon Friday! I gotta get my hands on this beauty! I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! :grin:
We're right on schedule for this Saturday. I should be able to fire it up by tomorrow afternoon. You've got quite a bit into it besides the initial cost of the car, but just lok at it as preventive maintenance. This is stuff that will allow you to drive the wheels off this thing all summer. I'd have Tom T do a trans fluid change when you can.
Tom, it's all good......we are cool :TU: Peace WildBill p.s......now these spacers are a different story.
That's exactly the way I look at it, Yards. The initial cost was fantastic for a 27kmi car, so putting the extra in is very much worth it. I don't want to be stressed out every time I drive it holding my cell phone and my AAA card in my hand. I do plan to drive the wheels off of it and hit every car show I can. After storing away my X for 20+ years, I only enjoyed it one summer before ripping into it. It'll be worth it when it's done, but I regret not driving it "as is" leaky exhaust, primered fender and all for at least another summer. As you know, that project is at a complete standstill due to "life events". Now I have this car to thoroughly enjoy. And enjoy it I shall. I originally was just looking for a hooptie Buick I could just drive, but you found me a true classic that's deserving of all the attention it's getting from you and will continue to get from me. :beer
KIDS - DONT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOUR GSX !!! IF YOU SEE THIS GROUP OF CHARACTERS NEAR YOUR CAR .... RUN !!!!
Yards just called me as he was road testing the Wildcat. Got the full tire squealing experience over the telephone! :3gears: He said the carb needs adjustment as it has a big time bog off idle. I know Nailhead Guru Tom Telesco can put the super tune on that puppy. It's still running all the old plugs, wires, rotor, cap, points, etc as I'm bringing that down with me tomorrow, so it can only get better!
I see that alternator fan a spinning! She be a running! Take a look back at the pics on page 1 to truly appreciate Yardley's work here! :eek2: PS- Master Cylinder just arrived!
Yeah, a tranny fluid change & a chain for the left motor mount that's going to let go & maybe take out a new RAD!!!!!! Be careful!!!!!!!!!!!
I definitely DO NOT want to take out my newly recored radiator!!! :eek2: How much chain, what hardware, and where do I connect it to??????
Check out this auction. Same color, same year, about three times the mileage, has air, rallyes, a cracked steering wheel and with 5 days left it's already several times what Yardley scored my gem for! I'm so excited, I just can't hide it! :TU:
Ken you have yourself a VERY nice ride! I can't get over how nice the chrome and interior is on that car. What a gem! I bet most of the paint will even buff out nicely. But forget the roof, it needs to be stripped... Hey, is anyone bringing strippers to the picnic? :laugh: And Jeff, if there's a big off-idle bog, it could be the accelerator pump...I had a weird problem today on my GS after I cleaned the carbs with Castrol Superclean. I wasn't getting any gas out of the acc pump squirters....it turns out the check valve under the squirter was stuck. If there is no acc pump shot, take the carb top off, then the screws on the squirter. The check valve is under that, just give them a shot of carb cleaner and a poke to loosen it up. See ya! :beer
perfessional... originol...??? That car has an immaculate trunk. Your engine is cleaner and interior is too. But he has no rust. We'll get those windows out and rust repaired next winter, then next spring you can squirt it. Yes, the roof has to be sanded smooth and hit with a serious rust remover. So far his is over a grand more that what you've got into it. But the no rust factor should push it higher. At least your floors and trunk are solid. POR15 the trunk asap. Oh, your taillights leak into the trunk. We'll need to make new gaskets for them.
Thanks once again to Yardley for transforming this car. I felt like a kid on Xmas morning on the ride down ti his house Friday night. When we got there it was running like crap. It was difficult to keep it running to get it from Yardley's front lawn into the garage. That's when the Nailhead Guru, Tom Telesco, went to work. As he pulled out plugs, one after the other, he kept saying, "This one's dead". So I think it was firing on only a few cylinders and misfiring at best on the rest. A new set of Bosch plugs and wires later and then he went to work on the distributor. I handed him the new "El Cheapo" distributor cap and rotor. He handed me back the original pieces (that's right- the factory installed pieces!) and asked me to comment on quality. No doubt, the originals were made much better. Actually, the cap and rotor looked great, so back on they went. The points were shot, so the new set went in. The coil showed no signs of oil leaks, so the original 40 year old unit stayed in. (The new NAPA coil will stay in the trunk for that just in case) It ran MUCH better when started and idling, but when the throttle was juiced it was obvious there was something wrong with the accelerator pump. So off the carb came, and into pieces on Yardley's work bench. It was determined that a needle in the circuit was stuck in its orifice. After much persuasion the needle came out, was reseated, and the carb went back together. Some carb tuning and a timing and dwell set later, Yardley and I were itching to rip and terrorize his neighborhood with the 'Cat. In my best Elwood voice I kept saying, "We're on a mission from God". But Tom said not yet. It seems the early motor mounts did not have the later safety built in, so if they let go, the motor would rise up, bend the fan blades on the radiator cover, and then take out the radiator core! Well, after paying $350+ for a new core, I was more than willing to listen. Tom hooked a chain to secure the engine in case of a failure, I threw the temp plate in the back window and we were off to the races. We cruised it lightly at first, the original T3's lighting up the road like someone holding a single birthday candle in front of the car. Trans felt good, brakes felt good, front end felt good, engine running smooth. We were stylin'! Hmmm... I wonder what this switch pitch thing is all about? Despite Tom's gentle advice to treat the old girl with care while she was reawakened, it was impossible to resist a few smoke shows! We took it up on the bypass and hit around 80, all was good, the smile on my face was ear to ear. Yardley was hooting and hollering, a very deserved look of satisfaction on his face. We returned home and stuck her in the garage. The nose was inches from the wall in order to get the garage door to close! A few celebratory beers later we all hit the rack. I couldn't sleep though, I couldn't wait to get up to play with my new toy again! Many thanks to Yardley for a totally above and beyond effort. You've put a big smile on my face that will be there for a looooong time! I am very grateful to call you my friend. Thanks, Tom, for coming down to Yardley's a day early to help out. That car would not be running the way it is without your expertise. Thanks to Walt Kilgus for coming to Yardley's the previous Sunday with a donated carb in hand and working to get it initially set-up. I really appreciate it! Buick people are the best and the Northeast guys are the cream of the crop!!!!
That is one SWEEEET new toy you got yourself, Ken.... Doesn't get much better than Buick Friendship, does it ?? ASWOME EFFORT TO ALL THOSE INVOLVED !!!!
Alan, that is the absolute truth! It's about a lot more than cars. Yardley, in case you're looking for your stubby phillips head screw driver, I found it in my pocket when I got home last night! ou: I'll get it to you next time we see each other.
