How about Black Sunshine? :Brow:That thing would look wicked in triple black or even red for the interior.
Actually, I did not mean 'Death' to be the literal name of the car, but it could work. 'Grim Reaper' has been done before, which is something this build never has been- therefore I feel I should say 'no' to that suggestion. Still have 18,000 things to do: fabrication, parts buying, hard labor, etc. Have my Stage II heads, T/A intake, roller rockers, valve covers, timing cover, & block girdle. Front end is all new w/ Kevlar shoes, quicker steering (only 3.3 turns L-t-L stock). Aiming for high 10s in a street-friendly machine. Mostly stock exterior, period interior, none of the ususal kustom Krap like dummy spots or cruiser skirts- this one's being built to run. Going to order T/A 3" headers so I can alter whatever is necessary and an UltraBell. Need to mock up the front clip too. All plumbing -due to chassis alterations- has to be fabricated from scratch (exhaust, fuel, brake lines). Fun, right? Who's willing to work weekends for pizza & beer in central Jersey??
Awesome decision. They will only detract from the "death" tone. p I can't wait to see this thing. Please keep us updated with pics! Too bad I moved! o No:
>>"That thing is awesome, what the heck is it?"<< 1959 Buick Invicta. Big angry brother to the Wildcat.
It's not Death, its CarEvil..... you need to put some "Devil's Eye's" headlights on it with switchs for the LED's that make the red rim come on. Think BMW with the "halo" around thier lights... now make the halo red, its just an LED and a lightpipe. Man I love the look of these cars, though I'd put a later frame under it to free up the room and make engine fitment easier.
Frame-wise- it would be near impossible to get a wider frame than the factory one. No worries- 455 block has already been fitted and it swims underhood. I'll plug up some of the space with 3" headers, tho.
I'll excuse you only because you're FROM New Jersey. :laugh: Actually, I lived off the beaten path a bit. Not near any "exit". Now I'm REALLY off the beaten path. :eek2:
I've seen one on a 70 Wildcat frame but anything perimeter rather than X-framed. Sill baddddd machine. Going to paint it gloss black with red pinstripes?
'59 uses a fully-boxed perimeter frame. It was called a 'K-frame' and had a factory 'driveshaft loop', tho that K section has been removed. Loads of room underneath. Silver pearl metallic, no stripes, scallops or flames. Black & silver interior. Don't have a ton of pics- I need to roll her outside so I can fit the whole car in the lense! One mo': BTW- I am 10-15 mins from Exit 9 if anyone's heading over this weekend....
Sounds very cool. Didn't know that about the early stuff with the close driveline. What are you using for a rearend, 9"? I guess a 61 shares the front suspension but on an X-frame.
Not positive what's different between '59 & '61 front suspension, but I had thought starting in '60, Buicks lost the previous year's forged lower 'wishbone' A-Arms. Is '61 indeed an X-frame? '60 is perimeter, too. Weird... Rear is a truck Dana 60, 3.73 gears, Moser axles, 4-pinion posi, fully-adjustable 36" custom ladder bars, Panhard bar, HAL Qa1 adjustable coil-overs.
No lower A-arms on a 61-64 full sized or 63-70 Riviera. Uses a lower I beam single link with a brake strut rod located behind the spindle, in 62 they switched to the strut rods being in front of the spindle (tension rather than compression). I nearly bought a 61 LeSabre Wagon and got to crawl under it and look at the oddball suspension and steering aswell as the X-frame and open driveline. Sounds like Buick did all sorts of weird things around the late 50's early 60's.
