I'm looking for some help on finding some shops or a shop that is in the chicagoland area that knows buicks. I know of about 20 that know chevys. I just bought my frst Buick "GS CLONE" , would really like to find a shop that showed some true interest in my questions and needs.
chicagoland buick.org These guys are very helpful. As it seems all Buick people are. http://www.chicagolandbuick.org/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi Loyd has generally responded to my questions. Down here in Southern Indiana, I could set you up with a former driver for Fred Catlin. He works on my 72.
Good luck on the search. I have made inquiries myself for a number of years and continually come up empty. If your looking for someone to build you an entire engine, there are some very competent individuals, Andresson for one is highly recommended. But if your not looking for a total rebuild and overhaul, the pickings are slim from my experience. I am not telling you this to discourage you, but to encourage you to CONTACT ME as soon as you find someone you like, that is competent. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that the learning curve for finding the right wrench is steep and expensive. Then again, I may be just unlucky. When I recently rebuilt my engine, due to spun cam bearings, out of spec crank, and other various ills and errors, I used Gary Foster from Fort Dodge Iowa. He does the engines for Dave Kleiner, a restoration guru for Buicks. He did a very good job, kept costs in line and was very interested my happiness with the end result. He was patient, which came in handy with the mess he cleaned up. His number is (515) 955-3568, he spent several hours on the phone with me trying to help me with my car before I agreed to pay him dollar one. By the way, there is a Buick swap meet in Wheaton at the DuPage County Fairgrounds on March 23rd which is purportedly a must attend. I will be there for the first time myself, but have been told its worth the effort. Good luck and if you need anything, contact me.
:beer THANKS ALOT ROBERT, I will be in wheaton the 23rd for the swap meet for sure seeing as its 5 minutes from my house. If i find a good shop i will let you know.
What kind of car you have and what are you looking to do with it. If your in the market for some 455 heads I have a set, new TA stainless valve, new guides, new springs and hardened valve seats, never used. What year, color, you know the drill. Will you be driving her to the meet, what with all this "hot" weather we've been having.
I have a '72 Skylark with a 71 Electra 455, so I'm told. The guy I got my car from didn't have it very long, he lost his job. He didn't know too much of the car's past . You can tell it sat for awhile, there's a lot of dried out weatherstripping . The interior is my current project, I'm going bright white. The exterior was painted about 6 months ago, metallic blue. New flowmasters were put on , it has chrome weld wheels, gs hood and badging and a black vinyl top that could use replacing. I got her some new wires, plugs ect... , oh yeah and a kick a$$ sound system too when I first picked her up. The carburetor is #1 priority right now, I have a 600 cfm paperweight on her and she's starvin'. I will be looking for some basics at the swap meet, oil pan, valve covers, new steering wheel. Just want to have her in good shape for some cruising this year. I will bring my car to the swap meet if the weather is right and I get my new carpeting in time. I'm waiting to put the interior back in.
