Diving Off the Deep End: My 1956 Buick Project

I've made a couple posts about cars I've been looking it. Well its finally happened. I bought my first car. I probably made a common rookie mistake by biting off more than I can chew. But so far so good. I drove 500 miles round trip with only me and a good friend to get this car (I'm 17, he is 18). Neither of us have ever done any major work on a car or even loaded one onto a trailer. We got up at 6:30, drove to Uhaul in a 1993 Isuzu Trooper borrowed from another one of my friends and picked up a trailer, then we were off. It took us a little over 4 hours to drive up. Using a come along we were able to fairly uneventfully pull it onto the trailer. It took awhile but getting it on the trailer was fairly easy even though one of the tires was flat.

The place I got it is a piece of land a couple bought that was covered in stuff. They said it had 27 cars on it that they knew of when they bought it. They still had two Mercs, 1 2d and 1 4d, an old Dodge truck, bits of 20's sedan, and some other pickups. There was also a huge pile of metal, In it I could see a couple motors and transmissions, fenders, hoods, bumpers, some old dirt bikes, and even what looked like a whole car, all I could see was a bit of a fender and what could have been a roof line. They are slowly chipping away at the pile and said they would call me if they found any Model A's or the like. They also had a lot of other cool stuff laying around, a huge tractor, what looked to be a very large old winch, a very large Lincoln welder/generator.

Anyways back to the car... We drove back down without a problem. We got home at 8:30 and were beat so we just went straight to bed. The next morning I got up and with the help of my mom, dad, a tree, and some rope we pulled the car off the trailer. We Basically just tired a rope to the car and a tree, then pulled the trailer and out from under the car. It actually went quite smoothly. Then next day (today) I went out and got the blown tire replaced, then spent a couple hours pulling everything out of the car and cleaning it up a little.

As for what needs to be done; the whole floor needs to be replaced, a hole in the roof needs to be patched, the gutter rail on one side needs to be replaced, the engine needs to be gone through, rebuild the carb, all the fluids need to be changed, I need to get a battery, it needs to be re-wired, the radiator needs to be looked at, the brakes need to be re-built/replaced, it needs new tires, the frame needs to be inspected/cleaned up, the suspension needs to be freshened up... and I'm sure a whole lot more too. Did I forget anything major?

Now for some questions. Where do I need to look to know what motor/transmission I have? Should I pull the body from the frame to inspect for rust or other damage? What do you think needs to be done to get the engine running?

Here are some pictures: http://s97.photobucket.com/albums/l222/III_3_III/Mah BUICK/

Still a lot more questions to come!
Thanks,
Ryland

 

So you bit the bullet and picked her up! Good for you!! Did you get it for less than the asking price? I would like to see what you do to her. If you need any help on her, I would be glad to help you out. When I return from this wasteland!!

 

The guy was unwilling to negotiate so I paid him full ($500). I had been talking to his wife before I came up and she said they were willing to negotiate. She actually tried negotiating with him too.

Another question, does anyone know of good places to buy sheet metal around Portland?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

Not a bad place to start. I'd clean the hell out of everything before you start taking anything apart. A nice clean car is much easier to deal with.

 

Not a bad start, I actually think mine is rustier! Yours is cool, don't see very many Buick wagons thats for sure.

I dunno where to get sheet metal around Portland, but there are some places that fab floor pans and what not for that car. Last time I checked eBay it seems more and more parts are becoming available for mid 50's Buicks.

The brakes on a 56 Buick are a pain in the ass because the master cylinder was only used in 1956. Swapping anything else out isn't an easy task due to how it mounts. There are some places that will rebuilt your master; it usually runs about $350.

Engine should be a 322 Nailhead with a Dynaflow tranny, assuming it hasn't been swapped out for anything else. Does the engine turn over? Nailheads are expensive to rebuild, but that may be the best route to take long-run. The starting system is kind of Rube Goldberg-esque, you turn the engine over by putting the key to On and pushing the accelerator all the way to the floor. I'm not sure if the vacuum switch on the carb and the other odds and ends needed to make this work are available, so it may be easier to install a normal style ignition switch. (I did).

I've never lifted a body off a frame, but I'm pretty sure thats a major job and you may even have to weld bracing inside the body to keep it from flexing while its off the frame. Its not a bad idea to do; it just is going to require a lot of planning. And something to put the body on after you remove it.

Anyway, I am sure some people with more knowledge than me will chime in soon enough. Good luck, and very cool project.

 

I have a 57 Special Kustom, welcome to the Buick club

 

like GG said it should have a 322 under the hood ....try Yahoo groups "Nailhead" for some good info and tracking down parts...good people on that board....also look up Kanter automotive and order one of their catalogs....they pretty much have anything you need to rebuild/replace your brakes to include you master cyl.... good luck on your proyect and wever be afraid of asking questions....

 

YOU did dive off the deep end...however, wagons are cool and the price was decent...

I hope you've got some mad skills cuz you're going to need them...I see a lot of metal work in that wagon...and a lot of other work...BUT, if you don't get discouraged and end up selling the whole thing, you'll have a keeper...

I would not remove the body from the frame UNTIL you see how much rust is under the car...are the body supports gone...??? I'd replace all the floor/braces/supports you can get at so the body won't fold up if and when you remove it from the frame...and removing it sure will make it easier to get at the rest of the components you'll need to work on...

If you want to see how I did it...clik on:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=329070&highlight=the+best+55+caddy+build

R-

 

Just finished rebuilding a 55 Buick Super, it's almost as long as that wagon and was just as rusty. We did a body off because all the body mounts were rusted out and also had to replace the rubber pads that had deteriated beyond use. One tip is: We went to a local company that makes belts for machinery and they cut some belting material for us to use as body mounting pads. Probably about 1/4 the price of store bought. I think the total was about 6.00 for the whole body. Check your subfloor/body mounts to make sure they are still solid. If they are rusted out it'll make it hard to line the body up. Hope this helps.

 

i think it will look great after alot of work, and alot of learning as you go. I wish i had bought more when i was your age i'm in my 30s now and the ones i saw then are mostlly gone now. good luck with it.

 

Try this place http://www.bobsautomobilia.com/ I got a lot of my stuff from him, also try http://www.steelerubber.com/ for all your weather stripping. Good Luck on your project. My 56 Wagon was just finished last year.

 

Sweet project, welcome to the Buick world...

 

Thanks for all the replies. I thought it would have a 322 and a dynaflow but I was under the impression that Dynaflows didn't have clutches, and I'm pretty sure Mine has a clutch.

As for cleaning it I've already gone through it with a shop vac and sucked the majority of the dirt and loose bits. I still need to pull the headliner and re-vacuum it.

Thanks,
Ryland

 

very cool car! if i could make a sugestion, before you start tearing everything apart, take tons of pictures, bag, tag, and label everything. different size ziplock sandwich bags work great. get yourself a notebook and draw diagrams, pictures and write all the info you can think of when disassembling. the more organized you are taking it apart the better chance you have of getting it back together. good luck, keep us updated.

 

You definitely did bite off a lot. Take your time. Go for quality. Focus on one thing at a time. Start with brakes and motor, and whatever makes it safe and reliable. And have fun. You're going to develop a lot of good skills like patience, ingenuity, creativity, budgeting, and dreaming.

You look just like my nephew.

 

Interesting the standard shift isn't original equipment it was only available on the Special and not with dual exhaust on Special. Century was auto only car.

 

buikwag offers good advice. both companies have great online catalogs and they ship promptly

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=169

If your interested come join the Buick Forum!!

 

I got a few more little things done. I removed the front seat and the headliner and cleaned up the engine a little more. I pulled one of the valve covers and was surprised by the amount of rust and crap under them. The covers were pretty crusty but I expected them to be nicer on the inside, is this normal? I've never done this before so forgive my ignorance.

Here are some pictures:
(Click to enlarge)




Do I need to replace the springs? Would just de-rusting them be enough?

Again with my ignorance, on the front of the engine the bottom pulley is the one that would turn the crankshaft if turned, correct? How hard should it be to turn it, just reaching down past the fan I can't turn it by hand, should I be able to?

To try and turn it over with a wrench do I need to remove the radiator first?

How do you tell what gear your in? I cant see any indicators on the dashboard. Logically I would assume it would go Neutral -->1 -->2 -->Reverse, top to bottom, is this correct?

How is this for a shop manual: 1956 Buick Shop Manual

And the last I can think of right now is, is this a 12 volt or a 6 volt electrical system. I thought it would be 6 but I saw some stuff saying 12... Which is it?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

Hey, I'm up in Olympia Washington that is... when you get to the part were you need some parts for it get at me. I have good front and rear bumpers and a grill, and some other stuff if ya need let me know

 

that motor looks bad, to say the least.

Even attempting to start it would be spooky with that much rust. Might be time to look for another motor.

Dynaflows were automatic. Your car might be a standard (manual), which is pretty rare if i remember correctly.

It is 12 volt.
Your motor is probably froze if the top end looks like that. But anyway, get a socket on a ratchet, and try spinning the motor that way.



I dig the longroof mang!

Glad to see another fella my age into this kinda shit!

 

I have a good core motor too

 

You won't be able to turn the harmonic balancer (bottom pulley) with just your hands. Theres a big bolt in the center, get a good 6 point socket and a breaker bar and try to get the engine to turn. It should turn clockwise looking at the front, but either way will work just to see if it moves. If not, pull the spark plugs and shoot some PB blaster or Marvels Mystery Oil in it, let it sit a couple days and try it again.

I would immagine that with the top end being rusty the bottom end will be too, but you never know. If it does turn over I would pull the rocker shafts, clean em up best you can, clean the inside of the heads best you can, change the oil and try to get it running. Sometimes the upper end collects moisture (condunsation) under the valve covers and makes things rust after a while, or the whole engine may be full of water and rusty. Was this thing in an area that ever flooded?

 

Thanks guys. This car is really confusing me. Some parts of it are completely rusted out and others are perfect. The people that I bought it from said it was under a lean-two shed that had collapsed on it, so it probably got rained on in some parts and stayed relatively dry on others. I'm not sure if the oil has water in it but just out of curiosity I checked the oil and it was perfectly full, the oil looked pretty dirty but it was right up to the line.

I don't see the bolt in the center... Do you mean the center of the pulley, or the actual engine? I tried turning the bolt in the bottom pulley with a socket but without a breaker bar with no success. I went to my local ACE hardware and they didn't have PB or Marvel so after school im going to run to auto zone and get a can.

Any Ideas on how to know what gear the car is in?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

I found some numbers on the trans (click for a larger image):


Do they tell me anything about it? Like can you tell for sure its a dynaflow?

Here is a picture of the pedals and some of the trans:


It may be hard to see but on the far left is the gas pedal without an actual pedal mounted on it. Is this the normal pedal setup for this car?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

Killer find, it looks like you will need to invest in a cutting wheel, lots, lots, and lots did i mention alot of replacement cutting wheels, sheet metal, and purchase some patients while your at it and everything will be fine

 

if nothing else kid you have youth on your side. id trade that for any of the skills i have. any way do one thing at a time. start some place, i dont know where but start some place.

 

This one belongs to a guy and his son,that I met at the LARS. It's just beautiful! Thought you might like some ideas...

 

looks like you have a 3spd manual transmission. pull the plugs and mark them while you do and keep them in order. fill the cylinders with marvel mystery oil and let them sit for a few days. the bolt is in the center of the lower pulley but don't get in a hurry or your gonna snap it off, that my friend will ruin your day. chang the oil after you lube the rocker assembly and they have time to soak. key thing is "have patience" i waited 3 weeks one time freeing up a old hudson engine and it ran but smoked like a chimney. go to the public library and copy a manual. start hitting the buick sites to help you get familiar with your new "longroof". your in portland right? there is a swapmeet this weekend in centrailia fairgrounds 8-3 you might find a manual there. good luck and keep posting pic's those really help everyone assisting you.

 

take your time, nice find! the marvel mystery oil in the cylinders and time and she may loosen up ...Good luck!