Fr. Buick
10-19-2005, 01:08 AM
OK, I have been informed that I should post an intro here...
My friends call me Fr. Buick - I am a Catholic priest who loves old cars and got stuck on Buicks early on.
I grew up in SoCal with my father wrenching on a '41 Willeys coupe he was building to drag. Dad liked the sound of the driver of the Stone/Woods/Cook car and named me "Doug" and gave me a love for things automotive. After he died, Mom sold the Willeys but I got the old man's tools. I miss the Willeys, but at 12 years of age, it was way over my head. I would give my left arm for it now.
I got fixated as a teenager on mid-50's GM and finally got my first real car - a '54 Buick Special, which I still have, and am doing a slow restoration on. Body work is all done, front clip is off, and engine/trans are ready to come out so I can do undercarriage, rear-end, fire wall, etc. I have all the parts collected - a lot of NOS - I just need time. I have done all the work myself.
The next project is a nice little '24 Buick roadster I found on Ebay that was only a 20 min drive away. I snagged it and have been collecting for that as well. All the big pieces are in place for a 60's style hi-boy, all-Buick. I want to put a sign in front of it at shows that will say "Aint no Chevy, and aint no God-damn Ford.". Solid front axle and parrallel springs (23 Buick), alluminum brums on all four wheels (Buick 45-fin), an open engine bay, 425 Nailhead and dual quads, ST 400 and a 3.42 posi from a '65 Rivi GS, set up. The rear suspension will have cantalever springs (a Buick design from the 20's) to form the lower part of a four-bar set-up.
My daily driver is a 96 Impala (dark grey-green), which is a big, comfy pig that hauls ass. I got stopped doing 90 on the way to a 1 AM emergency call to the hospital just the other night. No ticket, thanks officer! It has some fun mods, including prototype headers (soon on the market from Headman), Hooker cat-back, shift-kit, etc. It's great for cross-country drives pulling a trailer full of old Buick parts home.
I am a parish priest for the Diocese of Orange. I am pastor of a small Polish ethnic parish in Yorba Linda. The food and beer are great! I also serve as the head canon lawyer for the diocese - what they call "judicial vicar." I did seminary locally for four years and then five years of grad school in Belgium. I have been home from that and working as a priest for 12 years now.
The car hobby is a big source of sanity and relaxation for me, and I meet a lot of great people in it. Thanks for lettting me in, and happy wrenching!
My friends call me Fr. Buick - I am a Catholic priest who loves old cars and got stuck on Buicks early on.
I grew up in SoCal with my father wrenching on a '41 Willeys coupe he was building to drag. Dad liked the sound of the driver of the Stone/Woods/Cook car and named me "Doug" and gave me a love for things automotive. After he died, Mom sold the Willeys but I got the old man's tools. I miss the Willeys, but at 12 years of age, it was way over my head. I would give my left arm for it now.
I got fixated as a teenager on mid-50's GM and finally got my first real car - a '54 Buick Special, which I still have, and am doing a slow restoration on. Body work is all done, front clip is off, and engine/trans are ready to come out so I can do undercarriage, rear-end, fire wall, etc. I have all the parts collected - a lot of NOS - I just need time. I have done all the work myself.
The next project is a nice little '24 Buick roadster I found on Ebay that was only a 20 min drive away. I snagged it and have been collecting for that as well. All the big pieces are in place for a 60's style hi-boy, all-Buick. I want to put a sign in front of it at shows that will say "Aint no Chevy, and aint no God-damn Ford.". Solid front axle and parrallel springs (23 Buick), alluminum brums on all four wheels (Buick 45-fin), an open engine bay, 425 Nailhead and dual quads, ST 400 and a 3.42 posi from a '65 Rivi GS, set up. The rear suspension will have cantalever springs (a Buick design from the 20's) to form the lower part of a four-bar set-up.
My daily driver is a 96 Impala (dark grey-green), which is a big, comfy pig that hauls ass. I got stopped doing 90 on the way to a 1 AM emergency call to the hospital just the other night. No ticket, thanks officer! It has some fun mods, including prototype headers (soon on the market from Headman), Hooker cat-back, shift-kit, etc. It's great for cross-country drives pulling a trailer full of old Buick parts home.
I am a parish priest for the Diocese of Orange. I am pastor of a small Polish ethnic parish in Yorba Linda. The food and beer are great! I also serve as the head canon lawyer for the diocese - what they call "judicial vicar." I did seminary locally for four years and then five years of grad school in Belgium. I have been home from that and working as a priest for 12 years now.
The car hobby is a big source of sanity and relaxation for me, and I meet a lot of great people in it. Thanks for lettting me in, and happy wrenching!