hello just picked up my 1957 buick special coupe been sitting in a barn for 15 years before that it was a garage queen. car does not run and that wonderful slush omatic auto leaks like a Harley. I am having an issue getting the hood to pop open it did befor i drove it home but now it wont any tips or pointers would be great.
I'm just guessing here.. If you can get to the latch from underneath and remove the bolts from the latch. wd-40 on the moving parts. or the trusted "fonzy" bump at the latch point. you also may be able to operate the latch from underneath. Like I said...just guessing. GL
got the hood open and off started getting the radiator out had to stop and get ready for the snow will post some updates soon
It looks good. Two door hardtops are a dime a dozen but two door sedans are a lot more rare. Keep us informed of your progress and remember you can never post too many pics. Good luck....:laugh:
Congratulations !! I like the color !! red wheels on a blue Buick are cool don't use wd-40 on the hood latch or hood springs save the wd-40 for drying out water drenched electrical components Use white lithium grease on all the hood moving parts ... LOTS of grease !!! The Dynaflow gets a bad rap. Mine might be leaking right now. If it is it's first drop to leak in 14 years (since a rebuild). The Dynaflows really quite durable and a very unique driving trans The '57 Dynaflow(yours) is improved over the '55 Dynaflow(mine). The '57 has variable pitch in both Low and Drive (making it a virtual four speed). Don't leave it in Low above speeds of 30mph The '55 only has variable pitch in Drive. When everything is right with a Dynaflow, A loud clunk when going into or out of reverse is normal
Any car that has sat for 15+ years is going to have seal issues. I would be prepared to replace every seal in the car. Some may not leak immediately, but they can't help but to have dried out. I would get in the habit of automatically replacing them in anything that you take apart. That goes for gaskets too. If you are planning a total restoration, nothing more needs to be said, but if your idea is to get it running and drive it, I would take a very close look at all of the block core plugs. I would assume that the radiator needs to be recored/replaced. I would replace the water pump while you have the radiator out. All belts and hoses should be replaced. I would pull the generator apart and at least hit the commutator with some commutator sandpaper and replace the brushes. The fuel pump has gotta go, and I would drop/drain the fuel tank and carefully inspect the fuel lines. I would rebuild/replace the wheel cylinders and replace all flexible brake hoses. I would also repeatedly stomp on the brakes as hard as I could. If it has power brakes do so with the engine running. If any brake line fails, I would replace them all. Perhaps this is obvious stuff, but I have seen a lot of deathtraps that were cars that had sat for prolonged periods of time.
I am going for the rat rod look for now just to get it back on the road i am sure i am looking at 4-5k after i disc brake convert the front and clean out the gas tank and reseal the motor and trans along with new fuel lines ect ect okay make that 7k.. But this car has history with me so money is but is not an issue. I use to sit in this car as a kid and would always say one day i will drive this car and finally after 12 years of nagging my dads friend we came to a agreement and now we are to this point of finally giving the car a new life.My dads friend grandfather was the original owner he handed the car down when he passed and my dads friend drove this car in college and when he left the university of Maryland he parked it at his brothers house. It lived in that garage until 2000 them he moved it to a barn until now. So yea all i want to do now is get the motor to run before i pull it just and move on to the money pit stage but i have not had a chance to even clean out the interior to check the floors yet so i am still uncertain how deep I am yet. Dont worry I will post more photos when this stupid snow goes away and i am home.
Very Cool. I too have a 57 Special project. I had a very rusty frame that was not worth the effort to repair. I put my body on a 92 Caprice frame. Making mine a stripped down simple street/ strip car. Good luck and have fun with it.
Be careful with that latch. They're likely to do just the opposite, too. Spring open unexpectedly. Grease and proper adjustment of the latch and hood are the best preventative.
It's a great style ! The rear window is really cool. A much nicer looking car than the ubiquitous '57 chev
