Technical Daily drivers...the good, bad and the ugly.

I've been thinking about doing this as well. this was a great read. a lot of great advice. especially since i am not the mosted gifted with a mechanical skill set. good luck to you and your buick.

 

Thank you and good luck to you if you decide to do the same!

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/true-confession.963610/ You'll find the answer to your problems or the answer will find you...we're all here on the same journey to help each other along our paths.

 

My daily driver for over ten years was my 1969 Valiant 100. I put over 300,000 Miles on that car.

I then started to restore the Valiant and bought a 1992 Cummins powered Dodge D350 Dually. After moving to the country, I bought a cheap Honda civic for daily duties. I still drive the Valiant every month as well as my Dually....

I prefer the Valiant over ALL of them, The Dually second.

 

Your Buick is a very nice car to drive. I have had the pleasure of doing a partial restoration on a 1956 Convertible. We kept the driveline all original... After I pulled the engine/trans and put all new seals and gaskets in them, the car was good as new. Some new rubber in the Suspension, and new rubber in the brakes with shoes, the car was ready to drive. Ironically I was able to buy Type A Fluid at Food 4 Less of all places... LOL

 

Build the Buick, buy a cheap (around 1K) car drive the Buick if it gives problems you have a back up.

 

Amen to that! I used to drive the coupe in my avatar to work every chance I got- nothing better than getting out of work, hitting the interstate and turning them hosses loose! Rock on, Sister!

 

Old cars make great daily drivers.
I drove a 68 bronco with a Detroit locker for six years as a daily. Even in minus 40 degree weather with the snow and ice to match.

My hat is off to Miss pirate. Rare to find a woman who will drive something old and not worry about what the fat assed minivan whores says about them.

 

My life in pieces...typical! Let the madness begin! Oh but I found my old shoulder holster...rad!

 

Pieces make parts, and parts make cars.Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

I drive my '63 Biscayne most every day....but not in the Wisconsin winters...

 

This was my DD for several years in the early 2000's. L6/3 on column, no option car.I still miss it.

 

I drove a 65 impala 4 door as a daily for over a year. We pulled it from the back lot of a chassis shop had been sitting for years due to a rusted frame, it was a parts car for a 65 SS resto, good parts went on the SS, spares were in the trunk of the 4 door.

Plated the frame in the bad spots and arc welded it in. Carb rebuild, Powerglide rebuild, water pump, gasket set on everything we could reach on the straight 6, brakes, tires, set of western auto bench seat covers, battery, ball joints and suspension rubber bushings.

Got some shady bodywork, alum soffit riveted in and fiberglass on both sides, Earl Scheib paint. The paint chalked in the first year but I saw the car about 10 years later and the bodywork held.
I drove it for over a year, my brother took it for a year, it sat as a spare for another 2 years.

Got great mileage, started everday. If we hadn't taken it, it would have been scrapped.

 

That big old Buick ought to do good in Crashville. I think some of those folks make a living out of crashing and screwing up traffic to give the PD and the yellow trucks something to do. The Buick is big enough to push them out of the way and keep on going. When the white stuff starts falling and they start salting the road, you can take the train. I'm stuck dealing with the idiots every time I make a trip through there, I try to get through early before they get crazy.

 

Finally got my list done, from what I can remember...old age!

Already done:

Rebuilt Carter WGD carb
New plugs, wires and caps
New belts and hoses
New battery
Radiator was pressure tested and checked
Floors welded (she was pretty damn solid to start with) and the entire floor and trunk got a good coat of POR15...

Parts I have on hand:

New gas tank, sending unit, pickup tube and straps
Front inner hub seals
Kingpins
New filters etc, for oil change
New springs which should give me a 3-4" static drop

To do/thing I still need list:

Reverse in the slushbox isn't working...
Stuck lifter
Do a 1 million point inspection on brakes, I am buying 4 new wheel cylinders, so even if I don't need all of them, I'll have some in stock
New fuel line, front to back
Rear window seal
Windshield and new rubber (may hold off on this as long as I can) it's cracked but whatever lol a new windshield is going to cost me $$!
New side glass (again, no rush, don't care right now.)
Underdash gauges, oil, temp, volts, etc. (Been eyeing a set of Mooneyes gauges, Christmas may come early for me)
Get all lights working
New tires
New shocks, may need shorter ones depending on how the new springs fit

Spray bomb dash, put back together as well as cover my very nasty seats and put interior back together (doing this today)...

I have mixed feelings about having to throw this all together like this, she is NOT going to be pretty and Frankenstein is the only thing that keeps coming to mind, but alas mateys shit doth happens...

 

A note for ya, Check the fuel fitting in the new tank and see if it matches the old one. My new tank on my 51 Fleetline had a different end than the original and when I hooked it up (i didn't notice the difference) it leaked like a seive. the threads were a little bit larger in diameter and the bottom was different, I ended up getting an adaptor.

 

Sadly, I do not have the original gas tank for it, so I guess I'm going to have to find out the hard way, but the tank I bought is specifically for this car, so I guess we'll see, but I'll definitely keep an eye out on that...good looking out!

 

You talkin' Frankenstein? Here's a little Transylvanian magic for ya-- driver's door made from pass. door--and it worked!
Use what ya got, to do what ya gotta do! It's the Code, Matey! Arghhhh!
BTW- loved the pic of the shoulder holster! Top shelf!

 

Park at the far end of the parking lot so you can circle into the spot pointing forward. No reverse needed, just good planning.

 

The 63.5 Ford in my avatar was daily driver a few years back for me again (after it's high school duty with me 28 years ago). Wife left with our new car, so I had the Galaxie. It was a trooper--I took it on 500 mile jaunts between Phoenix and California, doing 80 on the highway usually. Granted, I didn't have any crazy winters or traffic jams to put up with, but no AC in Phoenix over summer was tough. I just kept a keen eye on fluids and kept up with the old brakes, and it worked out.

 

I will have to say that my absolute favorite cars have all been Frankensteins... There is a lot of respect deemed at crosswalks and intersections.... Muhahaha

And you can leave it running at the conveinance store, and no one will steal it!

 

Sounds like you're well on your way. Some things do run into real $$. I did the windshield in my '59, cost me about $520 with shipping and another $75 to have it installed, plus $60 for the gasket. I did all new door glass, channels, bushings, inside & outside handles, vent window gaskets... 1 donor Edsel door (local find) and door guts for the other side from Oregon. Added it up... have about $400 into each door total... eek...

The transmission has big $$ potential, but tap into the experts here. Talk with the oldest transmission shop in town too.

 

There's nothing wrong with Frankenstein.......

 

Boy... 1st time I've posted in forever. Here's my two cents. I drove my mostly stock 49 chevy for an hour to and from work everyday for about a month or two while my 'regular' car was down. It rained and fogged up the windows. It was hot and overheating at lights. I had to fiddle with things. I have spare parts and tools in the truck. I used a roll of duct tape on the floor to hold my coffee. I had jerks pull in front of me with my shitty drum brakes. I had to take back roads and highways. I had to pull off in the middle of rush hour traffic to fiddle with more things.

Do it

If you aren't afraid to learn your car inside and out and you plan ahead you will be OK. You will enjoy it i'm sure. And when you get tired of it, park it in the garage and buy that crappy little Honda your neighbor put up for sale.

 

Haha yeah I am expecting all of the above but I tell you what if I'm buying a car, it's going to be a murdered out Cadillac...

 

This is why I have gone to great length$ to update anything possible on my Ford. I don't want to get stuck anywhere ever, done too much of that in my past. But I still have to sort the car out once I get the engine back into it. Newest project... a drive shaft. I can go the junkyard route with everything for maybe $150. I checked into having a new one made, only $275 with everything new and it will be balanced.

 

Most old original gauges will work with a good cleaning. Clean shiny metal on all mating surfaces make for a good ground. Most old gauges that I have come across that stopped working stopped because they weren't grounding properly. If the faces are bad you can always reface them. Might not be your direction but worth a mention.

 

I'll keep my opinion short. fix it and drive It!

I drove my 39 Chevy to work 90% of time the last two years in Dallas / Fort Worth freeway high speed traffic. I usually avoided hard rain cause the wipers suck. It has a 79 Camero front clip with a SBC so I have the speed and front disks brakes. I agree with previous comments. Put in seat belts, and go with radial tires. I also carry standard car insurance for liability only. I love all the "thumbs up" from people who wish they were driving a hot rod.

 

Its off topic but I sold my 71 cutlass station wagon 12 years ago.I found it about 4 months ago just sitting in a garage for the last 10 years. I had to have it back{I am a station wagon guy}Bought her back and had her road ready in about 3 months. Still need interior work and a repaint, but runs good .That work will be over the winter.I drive it almost every day. People always try to catch up with me in traffic to see it and just stare or give me a thumbs up..Almost everyone says I didn't know oldsmobile made a flat top wagon {unlike the vista cruiser}Good luck on your buick.Bruce.

 

Good job on the Buick, been following on IG also. One step at a time and eventually you will be there. Once you start driving, all of this will be in the rear view mirror ( literally ). And, Frankenstein condition means you can drive and park without worrying about The Ol Buick being messed with while you are away.