Diving Off the Deep End: My 1956 Buick Project

That's a great picture. You and who I assume to be your dad are standing alike.

If you haven't already, I'd pull that crusty engine and trans and work on the front suspension and brakes. It'd be easier with the front sheetmetal and such out of the way, too. The rear brakes aren't as important as the fronts. The rear brakes should be much simpler because they're just drums; the fronts you might swap to discs. You may want to swap rear ends anyway. If your drums are okay, you might be able to get away with rebuilding the stock brakes for now. You'll probably need new brake lines, which shouldn't be very expensive.

 

sgtlathergic: I took that picture, that's my friend and my dad.

Cruiser: I have all the trim, its sitting safely in my room.

Mark: I could send you some pictures and measurements of it unless you really need an actual piece. Its in pretty bad shape.

After I get the transmission off I plan on pulling the old engine out of the car and fix/clean/re-paint everything that needs it in the engine bay, then drop in the other engine.

Thanks for all the kind words.
Now off to work on the car...

Ryland

 

Now with the motor and transmission apart I need to pull the engine out of the car so I can drop this one in. Should I pull the engine and the trans, bolt up the engine to the old trans and drop them in together. OR pull just the engine and hook the old trans up to the engine while in the car.

Thanks,
Ryland

 

If you've got help you can leave the trans in the car. You'll have to line the splines on the trans input shaft with the clutch splines by turning the output shaft while trying to get the engine and trans to mate.

Outside of the car makes it easier to mate the eng and trans, but then you have to wrestle with it more to get it into the car. A "load leveler" (?) on the cherrypicker helps a lot in this case.

 

If it was me, I'd be pullin the engine and tranny as a unit. It not only gives you a chance to cleanup the entire engine bay, it also makes for less overhead work. Much easier to change out a tranny out of the car than in one.

Dan Stevens
dba, Steelsmith

 

Which leveler do you suggest I get? I don't want it to be a piece of shit that will fall apart on me but I also am very money conscious, I was looking at the northern tools one for $50, will that one be good enough? I've also read about using a manifold plate, which are a lot cheaper, how much harder are they to use?


Thanks,
Ryland

 

Hard to tell over the Internet, but that one got good reviews, for what that's worth. The Harbor Freight one works, but isn't very good. I'd call around and see if any rental yards have them. Ask the neighbor that gave it to you if they have a leveler.

I think the manifold plate isn't going to allow you to tilt the eng/trans, it's just a different way to attach it.

 

Ryland, I also live here in Portland..in the rain. When your ready to do some metal work shoot me an e-mail. I'll give ya some pointers..been doing it for 40 years. Harbor freight levelers will work. $24.00..Save ya some cash and you can have it today. As often as I use mine it works good. Remember slow and easy. Good Luck Dave...ddavis001@comcast.net

 

I started prepping to pull the engine, I'm going to buy some more hand tools (wrenches and stuff) tomorrow because what I have now just isn't cutting it.

Today I also started to pull out the dash so I can bring it inside and get it cleaned up. Removing all wires is a real pain, there are just so many back there, would just cutting them all off be okay? I'm kinda scared to just start cutting wires but the dash wont come out with them connected. I plan on buying a new wire harness anyway so does it really matter? Any other tips on removing or restoring the dash that you care to share?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

The harbor freight one works fine, I used it on a 455 and it was fine.
Do not cut the wires, I repeat do not cut them!! carefully remove them.
When you get a new harness they do not come with the pigtails, so you might have to reuse some of it.

 

Good call on the hand tools.

I wouldn't cut a single solitary wire, or anything else for that matter. Take your time and think it through. You might be able to disconnect the wiring at/on the firewall, in the engine compartment, and in the interior, on the actual firewall mounted items in most cases. If the wiring doesn't use firewall connectors and is simply grommeted through, disconnect it from the underhood items and pull it through. Even if you don't end up using the original wiring, being able to study where it lays in the car and seeing it connected to components is invaluable, especially the back side of the instrument panel.

You'll find pulling things apart is time consuming and sometimes pure drudgery, but they will come apart. Go buy yourself a can of Sea Foam penetrating oil and spray all the nuts, bolts, and screws. Spraying clip on wiring connectors doesn't hurt anything either, and will help get them apart too, if they are rusted to whatever they're connected to. Let anything you spray with penetrating oil soak, for days if you have to. Mix up a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF to pan soak subassemblies. This stuff will work when nothing else will.

Take lots of photos of everything before you pull anything apart. Caption every photo clearly and completely. Taking photos as you take things apart is also a big help to get them back together. Before something comes apart, you think you'll remember how it goes back together, but you can't believe how quickly you forget.

Want to save yourself major grief later on down the road to reassembly? Label everything you take apart (nuts, bolts, screws, parts, everything!) with tags or masking tape flags, even the items you positively KNOW you will not be reusing. Baggy everything small enough to bag up and label the bags too. Organize the baggied up bits into boxes organized by their purpose or location on the car.

Working in the cold and wet is miserable, and you'll want to get back in the warm as quickly as possible, but if you get in a hurry taking things apart, you'll really regret it later. If you do get too cold and want to hurry the work, STOP what you are working on at the moment, go inside and use the time to read and reread your factory manual. You'll find it to be a far more productive use of that time, and possibly save you a costly do over.

Good luck with it.

 

Everything Twofosho said is like Gospel. Read it again and then let it sink in and then read it three more times. Once the stuff is removed you will not be able to go back and say "now how did that go together?"
Also for hand tools, many may disagree but Sears craftsman beginner mechanics set will give you a good start on hand tools. I got mine 30 years ago and still use about 90% of them.
Good luck!

 

Listen to twofosho. When I got my 57 it was a shell. I had nothing to actually go by or
model it after and for a 14 year old kid that was like hell! So take advantage of what u have Even if it is all nastyy. And the manifold plate only allows you o choose one angle at a time which stinks but it is awesome to use along with a standard leveler. You may even wantto look onto buyin a new engine hoist too. I bought mine at SAMs club WITH a leveler for a 100 bucks and it's a high quality Goodyear one. So for 50 bucks more u could have a new hoist and maybe sell it on craigslist for 150 if u already have one and get the lveler for
free! Just a new way of thinking keep us posted and definitely rip the motor and tranny out as a whole. Heck out my thread on my 57 and it's got a picture or two of me replacing the motor in mid
hoist

 

I removed the 4 nuts around the base of the carburetor but it wont come off. Is there anything else holding it on? Its a carter 4bbl. The shop manual says nothing about it.

I will not cut any of the wires.

Thanks,
Ryland

 

3spd: probably the carb gasket. After things have been together for a really long time, gaskets will frequently adhere to the surfaces they are touching. Gentle prying will probably pop the carb loose.

 

In case any of you were wondering I did change my user name to 3spd (it used to be sleeperstang). I thought it was a little more appropriate.

Today I got some work in on the car, I removed the top half of the radiator support to give me more room to remove the engine. I also unhooked the linkage and speedo cable on the trans. I gave up while trying to remove the clutch linkage because laying on my wet driveway cramped under the car just wasn't fun any more, and its a bitch to get at. I think all I have left to do before I pull the engine/trans is remove the clutch linkage then just un-bolt the engine and trans and pull them out. Today I got three pretty nice cuts on my hands... I'm sure I have many more to come.

Ryland

 

You risk breaking the carburetor baseplate by prying and that should be the last resort. Rapping the side of the baseplate of the carburetor with the plastic or wooden handle of a screwdriver can sometimes help unstick it from the gasket. Soaking the carburetor baseplate heavily with some sort of solvent will sometimes help break the bond by wicking into the gasket and softening it too.

 

Not to say that this will happen to you but, if you leave the radiator in place while you pull the engine you risk damaging it. With the engine being jockied around on the hoist, it's hard to see everything that it can smack. The radiator is only held in by a few bolts, but with it out of the way you have additional room, which makes it all go better!

Dan Stevens
dba, Steelsmith

 

I have already re-moved the radiator.

Is there a way to re-build the alternator it has? Can I use a late model alternator?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

Yes, alternators can be rebuilt. Check around for a local shop that specializes in alternator/starter/generator rebuilding for automotive use. I have one locally called 'Duro-built', I believe it's a franchise name.
If not, your local parts house usually does an exchange service, just make sure the one you get in exchange for yours is the same! There can be subtle differences, such as the case can be clocked differently for different hookups, and it's not always easy to change with out special tools. Compare there on the countertop before taking the new one home, I always ask the counter person to look too, as they can be alerted to differences that have caused them to have unhappy customers in the past. Just take your time on the inspection and don't leave any hardware or bolts attached to your old one!

Dan Stevens
dba, Steelsmith

 

I finally got the clutch linkage off, boy was that a pain. The cotter pin was really stuck, I finally ended up getting it by running a wire through the end of the pin and out through a hole in the floor, wrapping the wire around a pipe to use as a handle, and yanking it out.

This brings up an issue, here in Oregon its only getting colder and wetter. I have the car under a shelter so no rain is falling on it but the asphalt under the car is still pretty soaked. Any suggestions on how to keep under the car dry?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

Ya know those heavy sheetmetal drive up ramps, kind of elevate the car by 10 or so inches? It leaves the car on it's tires, but elevates it for working room. I don't drive up on them, because they have to be bolted to the concrete to work that way. I do however like to use two sets, one pair for each end of the car. I just use a floor jack to raise the car up, slide the drive-up ramps into position, and there you have it! Working room for a guy on a creeper!
Well that is, if you aren't too thick around the middle! Ha! This only applies to a car on flat ground, inclines can make these ramps really dangerous unless bolted down.

WARNING! Do not try to drive onto or off of these types of ramps, without them being bolted to the concrete! They can dump you and the car, or only one ramp will hold and there you are with one ramp folded into your undercarrige, one wheel off the ground the other still somewhere on the remaining ramp! Having them at both ends just makes it even more likely to cause damage and maybe get you or somebody else hurt!
Just use them as stationary stands, and use a floorjack to install them and remove them.

Hope this helps!

Dan Stevens
dba, Steelsmith

 

This car should have a generator, not an alternator. Chrysler started using them first, and that wasn't until 1960 on the Valiant (first year of the slant six) and 300. GM was late to the party and didn't start using them until several years later. Unless someone changed the generator out for an alternator at one time (with the required regulator and wiring changes), that's what you have.


There used to be local auto electric rebuilders around Portland doing generators locally, before the big push to source everything offshore in the far east or India, but I don't know of anyone currently doing it commercially anymore. Get a current copy of Hemmings Motor News, should be lots of suppliers in it. If you want to try rebuilding it yourself, you might find brushes, and possibly some bearings from ABE at 15th and Hawthorne in southeast Portland. That is, if you can find someone willing to turn the armature, and that is provided it's even turnable.

 

How can you tell a generator from an alternator? I plan on buying a new wire harness, how hard would it be to change it to an alternator then?

Do you know what is involved in turning the armature? I have a metal lathe, is it possible to do it on that?

Ryland

 

Remember that factory manual? It should have a section on the electrical system showing pictures of the generator, regulator, and other underhood components, possibly even pictures of the underhood wiring itself. Try going to the local auto parts of your choice and have them show you a couple of alternators of various kinds.

 

Generators are all right, but they get expensive fast. Go down to shucks and get a Gm 3 wire off say a 76 nova. Easy enough to cut the factory mount. Easy to wire as well.

I run generators, but then again im wierd like that.

 

Fabbing up alternator mounts shouldn't be that tough, and the factory might have even done the job for you in 65-66 (last years of the nailhead and would have carried an alternator stock).

Getting back to that generator, if it looks OK on the outside, hook up all the stock wiring along with everything else to get the motor running, and see if it puts out a charge before you do anything. Even if it doesn't put out a charge, all it might need is cleaning up the commutator rings on the armature with a little fine emory paper and slapping in a new set of brushes. Don't loose the springs that hold the brushes against the armature. Just remember, the main reason for going to an alternator was that they start charging at a much lower RPM (at or off idle), so don't expect to see the generator put out anything until you wind up the motor a bit.

 

I thought I was done removing the clutch linkage but now it turns out I'm not.

I pulled the cotter pin that holds the pin in on the yoke of the clutch release rod but I can't seem to get the pin out. Is this the only thing I need to remove to detach the clutch linkage from the transmission? Any suggestions? I can't find anywhere that anyone even mentions removing the clutch linkage before pulling the transmission. Am I the only one with this problem?

Ryland

 

Anyone? I can't find any information anywhere about this. Is the 56 Buick the only car that has this set up? Even the service manual only mentions it. From what I can gather looking at the car and service manual it looks like the clutch equalizer is attached the frame on one end and the bell housing on the other end. In between is the linkage that goes to clutch pedal and the linkage that goes to the clutch. What needs to be removed/disconnected here so I can pull the engine/transmission out? Its in a really tight spot and it really hard to see whats actually up there.

Ryland

 

Anyone? Any other information I need to provide?