Diving Off the Deep End: My 1956 Buick Project

Thanks for the scan of the manual!
I just learned somethin new today, thats whats awesome about the HAMB!!

 

One thing that has been on my to do list is re-seal the gas tank, it looks really solid on the out side. It really doesn't even have that much surface rust, no holes or flaking rust. I was planning on buying the POR 15 kit, it is listed at $46.50 for the sealer and metal prep stuff. CARS. Inc. (oldbuickparts.com) has tank sealer for $20.25 and prep for $12.75 ($33 together). Which do you suggest? Is the POR 15 worth the extra dough? I am already ordering parts from CARS. so I wouldn't have to pay a whole other shipping charge too. Do I really need the prep? Is cleaning it out with acetone and a chain good enough?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

neat this, I started with a similar car a long time ago, good luck with it. The tank, drop it (if you havent already) take out the fuel gauge sender and have a good look around inside, if its clean no need for much except a flush and outside clean and paint. replace the rubber hoses whilst its out

 

I would just take the fuel tank to a radiator shop and have it hot tanked. I would'nt put in the tank sealer. Heard people have had problems with it comming loose and clogging their carbs. Don't cost much to have it tanked. I had mine done at Gresham radiator on Powell blvd.

 

I agree with mckustoms, just have it boiled out by a radiator shop and dont seal it with POR. I say this with the alltoo recent experience of having sealed a tank on my 65 truck with POR, only to have it flake off and be an absolute nightmare of a fuel filter issue. Fortunatly I had a spare tank, which I had a radiator shop deal with, and now allis good. If you dont have a spare tank to play with, and dont want to waste a bunch of time with messed up sealer, I say go the radiator shop route.

 

used the POR stuff on a 61 buick gas tank. It's time consuming but damn it works well. You get what you pay for

 

I drove out to the Napa in willsonville because supposedly the god of old car knowledge works there, I was told at the Sherwood Napa and the Oregon City Auto Zone to go to him. I go there and talk to him (Roger) about my clutch and the best he says he can do is sent it to Otts and have them rebuild it for ~$300. No thank you. I also ordered a rebuild kit for my WCFB (not through Roger) and they told me it would be there later that night, awesome. I said I'd come in the next day and get it. This morning I drove back out there (20 minutes, not bad at all) and picked it up, it was $20.09 a good price I thought. I got home opened the box and its for a different carb. Its for a carter BB, not a Carter WCFB. Now I have to drive back out there return the kit I got, order a new one, then drive back again to pick it up. Sorry for the rant...


Anyone know the bolt spacing on the pressure plate of a mid 1950's chevy with a 11" clutch?

Thanks
Ryland

 

According to Summit this will fit my car: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ZZZ-30042/

But, I measured my clutch and it is 11" in diameter not 10.4". Will it still work?

Also if it does fit will it being a circle track clutch making driving it on the road difficult?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

Your pic only shows the back side, but try the Napa Online page , tell it you are not searching for a specific vehicle and search for part # 657350. It will bring up a pic of an 11 inch disk and cover, does this look close? Bearing is probably wrong.

 

There are 3 basic pressure plate designs, the diaphram, the Borg and Beck, and the Long. Yours appears to be a Long style ( 3 fingers and 6 bolts in groups of 2) Try 69-74 ford (like a galaxy or custom 500) with a 351w (windsor motor)

 

willys1950jeepster: Thanks, NAPA part #657350 is exactly what I needed. Picked it up today and it is almost exactly the same wasn't too expensive either, $139. I'm not sure if the throw out bearing will work but it might.

I rebuilt a WCFB from a 1954 Chrysler Imperial, It went really well. It took me a long time but I got it all back together using all the pieces. I need to tear it back down to re-adjust the float level. I should set it to the Buick specs, not the Chrysler ones, right? The Idle screws were missing, any idea where I can get new ones? I couldn't find them on NAPA, Ebay, or Google.

Thanks,
Ryland

 

Here is the carb as I got it, notice the fuel line is broken off in it:


These are the screws from WCFB that came with the Buick, I am leery to use them because they are bent and the tips are slightly corroded. What do you guys think?


Thanks,
Ryland

 

Anyone?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

Anyone know where this came from? It fell out and I'm not sure where it came from... I cant find it on any parts schematics.



How does the spring on this attach? On the parts diagram it is labeled "Link- Vacumeter Piston"



Is the vacuum piston supposed to have o-rings on it?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

I finally got my bearings and seals. Any suggestions on how I can get the old bearings off and the new ones on without a press?

What machine shops do you suggest in the Portland area?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

Have you figured out the rear bearings?
To get the old ones off you can score them with a cut off wheel then wack them off with chisel.
Gettin them on
You should be able to take a long piece of pipe, and fit it over the axle to get the bearings on.
After the rear axle what are you gonna work on next?

 

I got the old bearings off and the new ones on thanks to the help of HAMBer Ragnar2xx2. I also got some goodies at the swap meet, a 1" bore MC, a couple side view mirrors and a brake pedal assembly from a mid 70's something. I don't have enough room to mount the pedal assembly I got but I think I am going to try and fabricate a pedal similar to the willwood hanging assembly. For a 1" MC and 1" wheel cylinders what pedal ratio should I use? 6:1?

At the moment I am attempting to rebuild the brakes, I got the wheel cylinder out but I can't get it disassembled, all the how to's I've read don't elaborate past "Dissemble the wheel cylinder". Is there a trick or is mine just frozen?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

I bought a rear wheel cylinder for $5-6. Check rockauto for more.

 

yeah i bought new ones for my 56 super from kanter but they came w/ an over haul kit i jus had to pay extra for em. Im in the middle of redoing my brakes aswell. almost done too! i jus gotta find a new or rebuild kit for the check valve and junction block assembly, but i cant seem to find one anyware lol

 

Hi

Be sure to chek brakeflued container (if power brakes), when i tryed to refill fluid, i broke the thing right off, The aluminium was teared completly down. I had a lokal guy help me out at a friday night.

 

A quick little update: I have the passenger's side rear brakes re-built, I should have the drives side done tomorrow then I will move to the front. I bought new wheel cylinders, got the rear drums turned and the flywheel faced. I am currently re-painting the driver's side rear backing plate. I'll post some pictures later....

Ryland

 

I finished rebuilding the rear brakes but the drums are extremely tight, the adjusters are all they way in. Any idea what could be causing this?

Here is the driver's side after I rebuilt it:

Thanks,
Ryland

 

Just checked this thread, man thats gonna be a sweet wagon! Fuck I want one of those now too!!

 

I put this together:

(click for a larger, or rather huge, image)

I put it back together exactly as it came apart. Any ideas as to what I did wrong?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

No, I don't, but in the picture "d2" the wheel cylinder looks wider than in the first picture. grab a measurement on the two. Also,you haven't tried to bleed the brakes yet have you? You might try loosening the bleeder screw and pushing both pads back to the cylinder. Anyway, nice project and good luck!

 

looks perfect, you see the differnce in the adjustable screw near the bottom.
you need to widen it....that will help braking power.

 

x2 on the wheel cylinder, maybe it is just an optical illusion!!
And crack open the bleeder screw and see if it relieves some pressure!
When you say the drums are tight, are they hard to get on, or hard to get them to turn?
I wouldn't worry about it, until you get everything together, bled, and bedded in. just need to get all parts working in harmony!

 

The new wheel cylinders a tiny bit larger than the old ones, I'll measure tomorrow how much. I figured I could just make up the difference with the adjuster screws. By tight I mean I it takes hitting the drum pretty hard with my palm to get them on and then I have to muscle them over to fit over the hub then some more pounding to get them set the rest the way. Once they are on they are impossible to turn by hand and they have to be pried off with a screw driver.

I'll try the messing with the bleeder screw tomorrow.

Thanks,
Ryland

 

Also those shoes may not be centered up exactly. If you are able to push the shoes in a little at the top where the wheel cylinder is, that may be helpful too.

 

How does one center the shoes? I can't find it on google.

Thanks,
Ryland