I went for a little spin......

[electra225]

...in the old Buick this afternoon. The insurance company needed mileage off the car, so I had to go to the storage facility, untarp it, uncover it twice. So I decided to just go for a little drive to exercise it a bit. It hadn't been started since the latter part of August. I had to prime it to get it to start. It loses fuel pump prime occasionally when it sets for a spell. The lifters made not one peep, not a single peck. Synthetic oil apparently is the cure for noisy/sticky lifters when the car sets for an extended period of time. I don't see any leaks, and the oil is still full, so, apparently synthetic oil isn't hurting anything. Radial tires are the biggest improvement in this car since it rolled off the assembly line. Synthetic oil may be the second biggest improvement. It sure drives nice. You have to drive the thing like you drive a dump truck in city traffic.

[walyfd]

I closed the vent windows in the 62 and that was about it. My attention is on that Garrard record changer and I'm actually enjoying the change of focus...

Time to let the cars hibernate and get back to HIFI goodies. Besides. I STILL don't have the tires I ordered in March...

[electra225]

I saw a red '37 Ford coupe with a modern Chevy V-8 and a 4L80 in it. I asked. Then I saw a red and white '56 Bel Air 2-door sedan that is local. I saw a '68 Buick Wildcat that is also local. And a couple golf carts and a Can Am three wheel motorcycle. It's 82 here today, so there are lots of folks out with their toys. This is the time everybody is getting their collector cars out of storage, ready for car shows in the winter. My neighbor at the storage facility is a '65 Mustang fastback, black with red interior and a Hi-Po 289. Factory hung-on AC, power steering and power brakes, fairly loaded for a '65 Mustang. Beautiful car.....

I hope you'll share your Garrard changer project with us. And all the other projects you'd care to share. One of us doesn't have a shop so we can tinker with electronics. (Whine, whine)

[walyfd]

"WINTER CAR SHOWS"... and 82 degrees. I put the storm window in the front door today, too. Hershey weekend used to mean flurries which we haven't had yet... nor a killing frost but it's on the way.

My "shop" is the kitchen table! I work an hour or 2 then put it away before I go batz. I still have to get back to the Sony r2r from the console that I put off when I got the car.

I did get great news today... John Oldenburg repaired the guidematic in probably 2 hours yesterday. I couldn't get it to work at all. If you have the headlight dimmer on any car, send it out and get it working!!!

[electra225]

My Electra has the headlight dimmer chassis under the glove box. Four or five tubes, unknown types with only GM part numbers on them, but with RCA EIA codes. I'd like to have a chart that converts GM part numbers on tubes to common tube types. Both my Guidematic and Twilight Sentinel work correctly. The Guidematic, of course, turns on bright lights when you meet a car or a road sign. The thing I have problems keeping working are the front cornering lights. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. I believe the turn signal switch to be maladjusted, but nothing I do seems to help. Your Cadillac still has the type of Guidematic with the chassis under the hood, with a vibrator power supply, right?

[William]

It's funny when you think about it. In the summer we Northerners get our toys out of storage and enjoy them during our nice weather. You South and Southwest guys have your toys stored. Now, we are putting our toys away and you are getting yours out. There is something OK with that, and not OK. I think I'm jealous. Really, I guess I'm kind of glad it works that way. While in AZ during the winter, I get to enjoy lots of car shows.

Bill

[electra225]

The car shows are starting up around here now. I got a notification just today of three that are fairly local. COPS has the best one around here. It's put on by the auxilliary of the local Sheriff's office. If you have a COPS sticker in your window, you might get a warning instead of a ticket here in our local county......

[walyfd]

Autronic Eye is the system with the vibrator and box-o-tubes under the hood. That ran from '53 to '59. I have it in my '57 and it's the ONLY thing that hasn't broken on that car. Always worked flawlessly.

Guidematic came out in '60 and had an odd "safety salute" feature that momentarily held all 4 beams on high then dimmed to low. It didn't work for long so there was a service recall to disengage a resistor or something. Then it went high, low like using the foot switch.

'62 was the first year with an OFF position on the eye. They really put a lot of attention in this feature. Of note is that both Ford and chrysler bought these from GM but. I believe it was actually RCA who designed it (autronic eye version) and sold it to GM... I've seen late '60s lincolns with the eye mounted on the outside of the car on top of the fender... no idea how they didn't short out.

As for the cornering lights... that was a 62 cadillac first along with dual master cylinder brakes. They come on only when park or headlights are on and a turn signal. If it's intermittent, it's probably in the turn signal switch and harness to the light harness in the column. They had to add a wiring guide to hold the harness in place because the wires were getting stressed from rubbing against the column. Those turn signal switches are an octopus. Plus, you have to pull the wheel to get it out.

Check your grounds on the lamps at the fenders first. Years of mud and crud are lethal to the lamp housings and the sockets. I got a lot of lights working just by wire brushing bulbs and sockets. The worst are the fender top turn signal indicators...

[electra225]

The Electra has had a body-off, rotisserie OMG restoration, so I wouldn't think mud and crud would be a concern. Cleaning/checking grounds is still a good suggestion, one I had not considered. This car uses a two-wire harness from the TS switch to the cornering lamps. The TS switch is the same whether you have cornering lights or not. TS switches are different between tilt wheel and non-tilt cars. The TS switch is mounted down low on the column, accessible after you drop the column down a couple inches. There is a cable from the TS control under the steering wheel that runs down to the TS switch. This thing is known to get wonky, particularly on a tilt column, which this car also has. My thinking is that I need to replace the control cable, and probably the TS switch. Then clean and check the grounds and figure out where the "master" ground is for the inside of the car. The tach quit about two years ago. I'm getting signal from the distributor, verified by a dwell meter. IF I run a ground to the battery the tach works. The tach is mounted in the fiberglas console, so a wonky ground is a good suspect. IT may have bearing on the cornering lights as well.

[TC Chris]

While you guys are cruising in your high-end and yachts, I'm occasionally running around in the Chevy. What with the work on my Mom's estate, and hauling the boat out, and then the usual every-day-it-might-rain status of fall weather, it had sat for several weeks. Previously it has started on the first crank even after sitting but this time it waited until the second crank. Not bad for an old car with a carburetor. We are all spoiled by our modern fuel-injected, computer-controlled models of perfection, aren't we? I have been hauling gas for the Chevy down from where I live because I can get no-ethanol "rec gas" at a local station here. Ethanol is nasty stuff for carburetors and fuel systems.

Last year the last drive was on Jan. 1 or 2. The car lacks heat because I bypassed the leaking heater core but it's actually not uncomfortable even in Jan. Global warming may be screwing up the earth but at least it lets us drive longer in snow country.

I've decided to have the trim shop put a new top on it this fall when I drive it over for the upholstery repair (seam has parted). The original top looks good, at least under a 30-foot rule, but it's fragile so I have not been putting it down. The real fun of a convertible is having the top down, isn't it? The shop guy was talking about a glass rear window but I prefer vinyl--the glass ones have a smaller shape and would be funny looking on a '61. Vinyl should be OK because the car lives indoors and hibernates in the winter. The current window, not very clear, is a replacement. One of my brother's friends long ago decided to be helpful in the winter, so he banged on the window to make the ice shatter. What shattered was the vinyl. Oops.

At 74-1/2, I'm as close to being 100 as I am to being 50. Wow, talk about a reality check. Between working F-T, getting a pretty hefty Social Security deposit each month, and having started an IRA at an early age, it's starting to look like I'll not outlive the money. So might as well spend some on the convertible top, and then on the '38 Buick.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

One of the best, most satisfying restorations I did when I had my shop was on a tan, plain-Jane low option '61 Buick LeSabre four door sedan. Power steering, brakes, radio and Dynaflow were about it's only options. Two-tone brown and white interior. I tried every trick I could think of to talk the owner out of dumping almost $100,000 into a $10,000 car on a good day. No matter. They guy had the money, he bought the car new, and he wanted it like new, the best, no holds barred. Rotisserie body off restoration. He wouldn't even let me replace the 364 V-8 with a 401. Wouldn't let me put on dual exhausts. It was a nice, solid, unmolested car, well cared-for, gently driven. It just needed one of everything. I see the guy who owns it at car shows occasionally. That is truly one of the ugliest Buicks I have ever seen. My forte was doing Wildcats or Electras then loading them up with every option I could find. I'd paint them with a color that would make them "pop". Nobody I know has more fun with their car than the guy with the '61 LeSabre. Fancy is not what makes people happy with an old car necessarily. It's all about memories and the desire to have something different, something unique. And having fun. If they are not fun, they are too much trouble to live with many times.

[Firedome]

I'm totally on board with that guy. I'd much prefer to see the plain Jane models, like the ones that most people drove, than over-optioned cliche models that one always sees at shows. I'd prefer to see a 6 cyl base Camaro or ohc Firebird than an SS or Trans Am. A '66 Falcon 4 dr over a Cobra. A LeMans sedan over a Judge. Nothing wrong with a Wildcat, Starfire, 300-G, or '61 Lincoln, nice cars, well equipped and optioned, why gild the lilly by loading on ever gee-gaw and trinket in the catalog.

I picked a plain base model (not Supreme) Cutlass Holiday Sedan 4 dr hardtop to be my last vintage car because you never see one and my last old car had to be an Olds. A/C, PS, PB, AM radio (I may add FM) and heater for some comfort/convenience, but that's it, no power windows or seats, no big engine, stock tires and factory steel wheels with standard wheel covers, no performance mods, no upgrades. Vinyl top. That's how most of them came. Being a base model It doesn't even have the fake wood-grain trim on the dash. The drum power brakes, totally rebuilt and properly adjusted, work just fine. The stock rebuilt non-emission controlled 350 2bbl single exhaust has plenty of power. It's just a nice driving and handling car, sensibly sized but with enough space to take a few folks along for the ride and easy access to the back seat, with peak GM styling.

It's easy to spend ridiculous money on a restoration, so the plan has been to slowly upgrade the car to a nice looking and running driver starting with a super-solid Oklahoma car, and end up with something like most folks drove when the car was a few years old, not better than any Oldsmobile ever produced from the Lansing factory. If I re-do the seats to change vinyl to cloth (I hate vinyl) when it's done I'll have about 16-17k in a car that's worth 9 or 10 at best, and it won't ever win any awards, but I don't care, it's all about fun and memories of past days, and it works on that level. I'm hoping one of my 3 kids will want to keep it in the family.

[walyfd]

I appreciate the basic models but i like the toys. I added factory cruise to the '62 Fleetwood because I found a complete unit very reasonably, plus it was available as a dealer add on. I also added the vacuum trunk release without the pull down that was another dealer option. It was an easy $60 in parts since it already has vacuum locks.

Oddest thing is the standard 2-way seat. Car has evey option in the group but 6-way seat and I'm not adding it. That was a factory only option. Once I restuff the seat it won't be a problem not having the tilt.

[Hydrolastic]

Oh boy, A little contact brushing contact cleaning.... "Positive ground" is all i have to say worst british idea on the planet. The positive side corrosion happens on the grounds! Its not uncommon to have the windshield wipers come on when you hit the high beam switch or some other wonky thing. Hydro

[TC Chris]

As to cars that regular people drove, I had a '69 4-4-2 that I got about 1974 and drove daily until 1980, when premium gas got de-leaded and very expensive. Then it went into semi-retired status as a fun car until 1994, when the proceeds of its sale paid for my move for a new job. Besides, the move meant I couldn't handle all the vehicles.

But before I had it, it was a family daily driver. My brother talked my mother into buying it. The only fancy option it had was AC, the first ever for my parents. It was just regular transportation. And it looked good in a parking lot.

The '65 Starfire I've still got was another daily driver. No AC or other options on that on either.

Regular cars, just a bit cooler than the 4-dr. sedans, and happily, either one was brown.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

There is a '64 Impala SS here in the Valley, equipped with a 250 Cid Six and three on the floor. No tach, no PS, no PB, no radio nothing. Special ordered from what was the forerunner of Lou Grubb Chevrolet. The same guy has a '67 Chevy 1/2 ton PU with no factory options. But when it comes to Buicks, I like it to have all the toys. My Buick has every option except cruise control and power wing vents. I removed the factory cruise control, because it is dangerous. There is a cable from the transducer that gets tangled up in the spark plug wire retainer and can hold the throttle open. I have the power wing vents for the car that I got from a Cadillac parts car. That's the good thing about restoring an Electra and wanting to load it up with options. You can find them on a Cadillac and they will fit 95% of the time. Buick Electra used the GM "C" body shared with Cadillac 62 and Olds 98.

[walyfd]

Disassemble and clean those vent window motors before even trying them. The gears are notorious for stripping and they're not easy to find anymore. Delco must have used the same grease as the record changer companies. I had to rebuild the passenger gear where some of the teeth were stripped. Letric Limited was sold out and that was 3 years ago...

But, heck, I can't even get tires...

[TC Chris]

Disassemble and clean those vent window motors before even trying them. The gears are notorious for stripping and they're not easy to find anymore. Delco must have used the same grease as the record changer companies. I had to rebuild the passenger gear where some of the teeth were stripped.

The manual cranks aren't much better. They don't budge easily on my Chevy. SO TELL ME: On 'late '50s, '60s GM vehicles with crank-type vent windows, which was does each crank (driver, passenger) turn to OPEN the window? I don't want to destroy them by cranking the wrong way. I got the driver's side to open but immediately forgot which way I had cranked to open & close.

Of course, that Chevy also has the big footwell vents, a wonderful design that gives a great blast of air to keep you cool even on a hot day (as long as you're moving, that is).

Chris Campbell

[William]

Chris, I'm trying to remember, and will probably get this wrong. I believe you crank forward to open, and backward to close.

Bill

[electra225]

I don't meant this to sound haughty or big-headed, but it's been so long since I owned a car with crank windows, I really don't remember. I'd say Bill is right, it sounds right. I've had cars, or they have been in our family, with power windows since grandpa's '56 Century.