Hopefully the new owner of.....

So I'm stuck in Afghanistan but my Dad is going to buy me a 1958 Buick Special with the 364 Nailhead engine. I've finally got a project but have a long time till I will even see it in person. Can anyone steer me toward some good resources so I can get smart on this car before I get home?

 

thanks for serving and keep your head down...

 

No resources here, but...
Thanks for your service....keep your head down!!

 

I think the first thing I would do is try to get a factory service manual and any other factory manuals I could find. That will let you learn about the car as it sits stock.

They weren't popular with the custom car guy back in the day and I think I would leave it pretty mild outside of maybe lowering it and putting a hell of a nice paint job on it and nice interior in it.

A couple of links that might be interesting to you.
http://www.amazon.com/1958-Buick-Service-Manual-Original/dp/B004NPCZOM
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0KW2P79RV298D249AGAG

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0KW2P79RV298D249AGAG

http://www.faxonautoliterature.com/1958-Buick-CD-ROM-Repair-Shop-Manual-
Body-Manual-and-Body-Parts-book-P13165.aspx

Right now this might be the one to get as it isn't that expensive and doesn't take up much space.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1958-Buick-CD-Shop-Manual-and-Body-Repair-Manuals-58-/160570657642

 

Thanks for sticking your neck out so we can be safe back home !
Sounds like you are going to have something to look forward to when you get home soon .
Take care , keep your head down low and watch your back . Remember we have plenty of Hero's so come back in one piece !

Retro Jim

 

God bless and be safe! Thank you from my family!

 

But do not forget to keep other important parts low also!!!

 

may god bless you with safety. Thank you for your service

 

Let me be another thanking you for your service and looking forward to your safe return.

 

58 Buicks are cool just the way they were built. I had a nice one back in the late 70's. Nice big and heavy car that is a great highway cruiser. The stock brakes are marginal at best on a car that heavy and the suspension rolls pretty good, you will understand the term land yacht. But with a few upgardes these can things can all be made better. Like said above I wouldn't do to much to it, nice paint, and uphostrey and lowered which isn't too hard. Simple and basic and has some unique features than not any other GM car had such as gas pedal start ribbon speedometer, heater under the seat etc.

Be safe and keep your head and butt low and watch your back. What seems like a long time before you get back here, is actually not much time at all. You will understand that, when you get to be an old coot like me. I thought my stint in the service would never end and in reality it was the blink of an eye.

 

Thank You for your service and safe return! God Bless

 

A) Thanks for being where YOU are, so we can be where WE are.

G) Those old "pubics" as we used to call them, are just super (no pun intended). Had girlfriend that drove one in HS....we'd pack 8 or 9 of us in there and head up the grapevine to Spokane. I always thought the engine should be bigger - even though it was certainly one of the largest around at the time. Plenty of directions you can go with it - best direction is to enjoy it.

Thanks again

dj

 

Thanks very much for being there for me and mine and I hope you get a great car!

 

www.v8buick.com
www.teambuick.com

here's a couple of buick forums.
stay safe.

 

Thank you for your service and good luck on the project..keep us posted.

 

Thank you for your service SNDT1319. Get home safe! I wish I had something useful for you on your new project. Hey Buick guys, chime in will yeah!!!

 

Thank you for your service, your a true hero! Cant wait to see the build when you return.

 

Thank you for your service, men like you are the reason that we don't speak anything but English in the good ole USA..... Best of luck on your project when you get home. May God watch over you and all your fellow soldiers...

 

Thank you for your service, and may God bless you.............

 

Thank you to you from us here and come home safe.

 

Lots of good info right here... What info are you looking for?

If it has power brakes they are fine as long as kept in good working order and adjusted. Though I prefer to adapt a dual master, and you can now do a front disc with stuff from Scarebird.

Not really that heavy, but they do ride real good.

Special most likely doesn't have the under seat heat...

 

So I have been thinking.

The primary purpose of this car will be cruising or a nice weekend drive. It doesn't need to be crazy fast or practically a race car or anything. It just needs to get out of it's own way and be fun to drive.

Because I would like to be able to do some longer drives in this car, I have a few things that are important:

1. The drive train can't be so rare as to make repair parts impossible to find except on the internet. I'm not sure how the nailhead, dynaflow, and torque tube fits here

2. The drive train needs to be reliable. Not sure the Dynaflow fits here.

3. It has to be able to hold car seats in the back safely. I guess I need to add some seatbelts.

Right now I'm leaning toward doing a dark blue paint job with the white top with a little pinstriping or gold flake highlights in tribute to my Father who is a retired policeman. The interior would be blue on white as well. I'm thinking of going to an open driveline using a truck arm setup from a chevy pickup because I think it is in my price range and skill ability.

Any thoughts on my plan so far. Also remember the planet seperates me from the car so this is mainly a research idea phase.

 

Thank you for your service

 

Hi. Thank you for your service.

There are a few pics of 58 Buicks on Carnut.com website.

http://www.carnut.com/photo/list/buick/buick58.html