Back in the late 60s a friend went to Detroit to interview for a job at Chrysler's (That's what they call Chrysler in Detroit - Ford is Ford's). They gave him a guided tour of the place and it was "all hands on deck" in the offices. My friend Dan asked why the panic? It turns out that the supplier of a specific water pump seal had had a fire or strike or some issue that prevented their producing the seals. No water pump seals, no auto production. Someone had been busy with the cross-reference catalog and had found that a particular Buick straight-eight seal was the same. Chrysler had an actual telephone bank set up, calling just about every seal supplier, auto parts store, and Buick dealer in the country trying to find seals. He later told me that they pulled it off.
Chrysler's (That's what they call Chrysler in Detroit - Ford is Ford's). Thats sounds like a primitive dialect of Ebonics John! Could you imagine pulling that off today? Everyone farming the stuff out; "Is that a Mutchbootchi or a Excalade motor...?". OOPS! The Mexican units used a different carbon ring depth that the Taiwanese units. NO GO ! Our Buicks with or without ACs' pulleys difference are enough for me. ws
Oh...CRAP! You know...yesterday I was reading this and looking at the pics of your brake lines to see if I saw anything that might help you. I looked at that brake hose, and I thought to myself, WOW...he didn't change the hose! I knew it was old, I know it's a tough hose to get off when they are old. I also knew it's very common for them to collapse internally, I always change them if they are original and I'm doing a big job like that. Anyways, I didn't say anything about it because I knew you were about done back there. On the Olds site, they have an acronym, MAW. MAW means Might As Well. It's always like I was back there doing the diff and figured I MAW do the hose, lines, cylinders, springs, next thing you know it's a frame off! Glad you fixed it, now you can lose sleep over your front hoses!
Hey Frank, MAW's always right ya know? You do know that when I get that swapped out, Im gonna disect that puppy like a frog to examine the inside. Picked up the new one this morning but we had a snow event last nite/today so meant a different direction. Now for an OPINE... The 1972 XGS didnt come with front disc brakes, but has them now. It appears to be a totally correct install, now down to even the pedal pad (Thanks again Hector!) . Theres even a Prop. Valve on the frame. Did the drum fronts utilize that valve or did that use a 4 way "block"? Back in the day (still hate that term) women werent allowed to drive as in was a very "unfeminine" thing to do. IOW a MANS job. The old timers were wearing dusters and gloves and goggles. It actually took work to drive them buggies, kinda like a locomotive engineer. Pat always asks me "Mind if I drive the Bad Lad tonight?" and I still go throught the pre-flight instructions/walk through with her. So in a word, "YES", Ill be swapping out the new front hoses probably next year. Plans are that and caliper and bearing service and to pull the front clip for some more core support work and get the whole she-bang aligned (sheet metal wise) and maybe some fresh paint. TTFN, MAWWYIT ... did that three times and never again LOL... Love them acronyms. ws
Well MAW came through... had a pal help out getting that hose changed. The frame clip is kinda difficult to reach and this guy is determined (altho no mechanic, he listens!). Decided to get all the rigid brake lines connected before mounting the junction block and go from there. Those lines are a PITA to align and get started. So everything is in place and theres a knock on the door. Who's there??? Its me, Wun Fun Tung. just what I needed; The Chinaman. So Im still underneath making up connections and found out WFT miscalculated part of the assembly. Metric brake pipe connections? Not that simple. The "T" block bolts onto the differential housing with a 5/16 NC bolt, with a 3/8" dia shoulder on it. Hmmm. WFT had drilled the block out to only 5/16". Had to take it all apart again to drill the block out to 3/8. WTF?? After installed, we bled the brakes and used almost 1/2 of a large bottle of juice. A few minor snuggings on the fittings and we were golden. I took the dikes and cut the ends off the old hose and neither end (fiiting) would pass a 1/16" steel wire through. I also sliced the hose open lengthwise and found the entire length swollen and disintegrated. I sure missed the call on that one! I wouldve done this job when the gear was out; way more room! So much for today. Wheels and stuff tomorrow then back onto the MAD DASH... ws
YOU BET! Maybe new ones next year with some Buick red engine paint! Theyll compliment the drums on the back. Love, honor, and cherish those racks you get to work under!~ If theres still time after the dash re-install, I may get to the bearing service yet, but Im running outa steam/propane LOL... ws
So...you finally got your juices flowing Bill? It looks good. Original hoses have only 1 crimp near the fitting(s), you can see the new one has 2. Probably a safety mandate in later years. All hoses are dated. I love that you take the junk apart, like dissect it and take pics for us. The fronts, I see a couple things. Your rotors are original (I know not for the car). You can tell because of the groove in the center of them, that's for wear. Amazingly, they look good. The back hose always seems to crap out first, but you can be sure the fronts aren't great either. Looks like the stabilizer link is bent and the grommets rotted. That's another cheap MAW project for you! BTW, no C-clips on an Olds or Buick, that's a Chevy thing.
All my stuffs done on a concrete floor in my little garage or in the driveway .... a lot of the guys use the work shop, but I never know if I'm going to get something all the way done in a weekend as it's usually something that snowballs or needs mods/fabrication. They kinda frown on dead old Fords cluttering up the Chevy shop during the week despite the fact that they class the joint up
LOL!! I understand completely! Could you imagine having your own small shop and having to work prone all the time? Creepers are just another chinese instrument of torture! Yo Frank... I didnt look for a date code on the new hose. Chinaman may use hen scratching instead of Boulean dating. That front bar wa in really sad shape when I bought the car in 11/13 and that was one of the first jobs I undertook. Still need new bushings on the frame mounts though. I seem to recall these were a bastard size like 13/16 or 15/16. Im gonna look into that as i am now older and wiser hahaha. The oldie pics are from January 2014; youve come a long way baby! Never a dull moment! Thanks! ws
Right, I remember you worked on the bar before. One thing about that rear hose. There originally were a lot of different hoses made that were different lengths, had different fittings, etc. Some Chevy 12 bolts + Pontiacs had a bracket that attached to one of the diff cover bolts. That bracket moved the fitting and hard lines back, the hose fitting attached to the bracket not the top of the diff, so it used a shorter hose. I'm sure they are making less hose numbers now. Anyhoo, make sure you check the full range of movement for the diff up + down (especially down like hanging from the shocks) for tension on the hose. The shocks now are the same, like universal, longer than originals fully extended. When you jack up the car by the bumper (not that anybody here does!) the diff hangs lower than it did originally. More info on the Type O...I know in 1969 on a 442, cars made in the US used the Type O. A 442 made in Canada used a Chevy 12 bolt. I know many Buicks were built at GMAC plants that built other makes of cars. That's all I know...
RE; Length... Very good point made Frank. Both measured axactly at 13-3/4" end to end, and the rear end is hanging free on the four arms. The hose has plenty to move. The worst part was getting that carrier bolt in with the pipes attached to the block. Its one of thos jobs that all by feel and left handed to boot. Catch the thread by a hair, then grab the 1/2" wrench only to have it pop out. Still beats trying to align the tubes to the block! To this day I am still surprised with GMs standardization plan, that theres so many different yet interchangeable parts/assemblies involved, with neither being any better really than the next. Well maybe a chevy 10 bolt behind a 427 (not from the factory tho!) Pat ordered me to stay in and warm up today. Oatmeal with dates and raisins as we speak. Toes are feeling warmer already LOL...candy corn for desert shown below!! ws
Just boppin' along yesterday... A$$HOLE ME, I get outside and step on the pedal to make sure theres no air in the system from the other day. Thats problematic when theres no drums on the back. Minor setback LOL...Re-adjusted the brakes after re-centering the assembly. Went over all the hardware yesterday for a final check. Got the wheels back on. (Man! Them Cragar unilugs really suck! Fun on the roadside?). Since the car was wayyy in the air on jackstands, it was a rigging nightmare to get a 2nd floor jack in and up and down etc to get the weight off the stands to release without the rear springs losing position. Once on the ground, about 30 psi in the air shocks cured the little bit-o-sag in the back. Thats gonna be set to perfection when moved outside. Still need to tighten the lower mounts (as per instructions) and go over the lug nuts with a bar. A 1/2" ratchet aint enough. The sway bar was an issue. Being trapezoidal, it had to be inserted "just so". Got that into position and held with a few phillips head screwdrivers for bolting. The rear holes were spot on with no shims, yet the front on both sides was open about 1/8 to 3/16". Hmm I just tightened up the 3/8" bolts which cured it. Glad I boxed the arms after all. Assembled with new stainless hardware with a dab of locktite on each. Drive shaft with 2 new joints went in easy. Used a little Lubriplate in the seal area on the yoke for good measure. Had a problem getting the one U bolt in until I remembered the shaft has to turn to open the gap on the bottom. DUHHH. U bolts were wire wheeled clean as new with a drop of oil on each. Nuts run down to the lock washers finger tight. Im lovin' that. Need to double check on the ground. Kinda hard to hold a peg leg with yer foot and tighten the nuts proppa. Gonna straighten up the shop and then its back to THE MAD DASH. Need to clean and prove all the bulbs and contacts on the gages. Probably new bulbs since changing them sucks so bad! Going with clear incandescents instead of red. Simple and OEM is the rule of the day. ws
Was pretty busy yesterday, capped off with a folk music show last night from 7-9pm (unplugged) with some good stuff. The event cost a sack of canned food for the needy. A most enjoyable evening in a chalet (park district) overlooking the Big lake. Managed to get a few shop hours in finishing up. Tightened the lower shock mounts, checked the rear spring towers and rubbers, torqued the rear lug nuts, and lit up the dash with new bulbs, and proved. I did notice the gas gage was wayyy past the full mark. The one pic shows the dash as removed reading about 7/8 of a tank. The book says this is not uncommon. Is there anyway to bench test the gage before the install. It was dead on before. If it tests good, then its a Mad Dash to get this thing all back together. A few years ago, it was out and I found a dash pad clip on the floor. Managed not to lose it after 3 years and melted it back in as well. A little propane torching and pliers goes a longggg way! ws Im pretty good with the results, but flash pics underneath really highlight missed paint areas, dirt, and so on. WIZZ on the judges! ws
Still awaiting an answer on how to bench test the fuel gage before the re-install. The rest is just for fun! Dont forget the 1782 views too! Take a look at the bottom right hand corner of the following Link to the hatteras Yacht owners forum. http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/ THE BIG CHILL! and I CANT TAKE THE STRAIN are the top 2 runners for 12 years come next April. Then there was the Chris Craft Roamer forum, but I was BANNED for life from them, MTFCA and FordBarn are out since I sold my last Model T. Always have to make time for comraderie, ya know? The following is a forum I own. Theres a few added sections that youll need approval from MOI to join and view since thats REALLY adult oriented with French linguistics etc., and our motto and creed? NO MODERATOR interuptions or censoring whatsoever! So, IF YOU DARE: http://flybridge.proboards.com/ That was a net result of myself and several Hatteras members being sent to "BAND CAMP" for various infractions "to the rules" by over zealous moderators working for "The Greater Good". You hafta find the humor in everything, or lifes gonna spin you around and take a big bite outa your----------- ws
Did the fuel gauge work perfect before? Is this a new problem? The test is to disconnect the single wire brown or tan color in the trunk. That should be near the latch in the trunk (I think). With the key on you ground the end of the wire that comes from the front of the car and the gauge should go to E. If it doesn't go to E, I think it's an open circuit in the front someplace. You were messing around with the rear a lot. There's a ground wire that comes from the sender and grounds right behind the rear. Could be loose, could be broken. You could have disturbed the wires on the sender, too.
Naw Frank... this is all ON THE GAGE itself. It has always worked and is accurate, but doing the testing the other day, I may have flashed the gage off one of the pin connectors on the back of the instrument. I was checking the new lamp install and noticed the gage wayyy full. Could've happend with the ohm meter or a 12 volt zap on the lLLUMINATION pin for the cluster. Needless to say, you have to look at the book upside down and backwards to read the correct pin order. Who do I look like? DaVinci or somebody? (he wrote his equations in "mirror writing" to deter idea thieves!) Just hope I didnt fry anything internal before it goes back in. Any ideas on how to energize it on the bench to test it? ws
Here they come spinnin' outa the turn... And its Bag-o-Bolts by a nose; a photo finish! Just need to cool down after that 10 furlong race! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Plus a video at the bottom of the dribble puddle... Did all my preliminary testing on the gas gage today. As combersome as the bezel is, I pulled the gage outa the cluster for testing. All the help from the guys down in Sparkies' Corner confirmed its working as designed! The worst part of the job was actually installing the driver side AC duct hose to the bezel and then installing the bezel into the dash frame (read:cowl). Theres actually a corner blended into the cowl to run the vent hose, and put a 90* bend on it and then have it drop down to the plastic plenum. Once thats in, the fun begins making up all the connections, speedo, and finally (DRUM ROLL!) AC control panel ! Hooked up the battery, and everything worked with one exception. The wipers only run on low speed, park satisfactorily, and even the washers work. It aint the ground; maybe a dirty switch contact? Thats gonna get addressed at a later date. I just wont drive in the rain LOL. Tomorrow I'll do the radio install, the dash pad, and the new glove box liner. Yay! Oh, and the AC crossover plenum. BTW, when did they stop putting CROTCH COOLER VENTS in the plenum(s)? My hotty sister in law used to love them in the summer blowing cold air where the air dont ciculate... She had a '66 Riv with chrome vents "down there". Ahhhh... I was so young back then. I think the last job for this year is gonna be the AN6(?) replacement trans cooling lines through the frame rail. Looking forward to that along with a full trans service with governor and modulatificator job. Nighty Night! ws
Good deal, so what do you think the problem was with the gauge? And what's up with that naked fuse box red wire stuffed in the box? Is that like that for Valentine's Day?
