OEM parts, part 2

[electra225]

I didn't want to hijack Chris's exhaust system thread. My Buick has a flexible cable that runs from the turn signal accuator to the turn signal switch, farther down the steering column. 1963 was the first year for tilt wheel in a Buick. This cable is unique to the 1963 and 1964 model year Buicks, allegedly those models only with tilt wheel. The standard columns use a metal rod from the accuator to the switch. The other GM divisions use these cables, but information on interchangeablilty is vague at best. Some say Riviera cables will fit the big Buicks, some say no. Some say all GM cables are the same (which makes sense) some say not. The stop lights on my Buick are intermittent due to this cable not moving the turn signal switch to the correct position to let the lights work. Sometimes I have turn signals, sometimes not, sometimes one or the other side will stay on and it takes an act of God to get it to quit blinking. Needles to say, this is not a safe condition. I finally found a cable out of a '63 Buick with a "blank" (floor shift) tilt column. It is used, but is guaranteed to be in good condition and will work. I'd rather have a new one, but I can put this cable in, remove the big spring on the turn signal switch that causes the cables to break in the first place. Then I will take the old, broken cable to an outfit I just found out about and have a new, all-steel cable made that will last three lifetimes and guarantee the fix. I can't believe how the vintage car parts industry has fallen into such vague information and "I just want the money" mentality. GM not only does not make this cable anymore, they also don't make air filters, fuel filters, oil filters, spark plugs for a 401. Firestone does not provide tires in the correct size with the correct whitewall width anymore. I CAN still buy a Delco battery, although they are made by Johnson Controls. 401 valve lifters are made by Johnson Controls, as well. I need a heater control valve for my car, but those have been totally unobtanium for almost 40 years.

[TC Chris]

If we're going to drive old cars, we have to be ready to improvise, right? Creativity rules. I'm hoping that when I dig into it, my Chevy's heater leak will be in the water valve or its connecting links, not the core. The core is unobtanium, apparently a special version for that year so nobody makes new ones. And as we have discussed, local radiator shops are equally rare. But digging into heater cores is about as much fun as cleaning the house gutters, so I keep putting it off. The Chevy is a summer car anyway.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

It's hard to believe ANYTHING is obsolete for a Chevy. One can go into Impala Bob's or one of those places with an idea and a credit card, then walk out with enough parts to make a new Chevy. That is why I enjoyed restoring Buicks and Packards so much. You had to be creative to put one together if it needed very much. There was a time you couldn't buy engine bearings for a Packard V-8. The machine shop guy I used found that Case tractor engine bearings would work in a Packard V-8. The Case engine was a four cylinder, the Packard a V-8, so you needed two sets of Case bearings to do a Packard engine. Trunk lids for '57 Buick Roadmaster and Super models were hard to come by, so we used the more-easily found Cadillac trunk lids. We had to use our imaginations to make them work, but that was part of it. In fairness, we had a network of parts suppliers so we didn't have the hassles finding parts I've had with that silly cable in my Buick. I don't think I'd enjoy the restoration business as much now. Most of the suppliers we depended on are long gone by now. There was a radiator shop in Mesa that would put a five-row aluminum core in a Buick radiator and make it look dead stock. His "heavy duty" radiators would keep an old Buick straight eight cool enough they wouldn't vapor lock so bad when it was 110 outside. I have one in the Buick and you can't tell it from the original copper three-row. A 401 will run 230 degrees in traffic when it's 110 outside. The "big" radiator lets it run not over 210, which is very acceptable for short spurts, you wouldn't want to run one that hot steadily. You can also run the six-blade clutch fan blades from Oldsmobiles and Chevy big-block trucks on a Buick V-8 which helps considerably. The issue with that is the big fan will suck the fiberglass fan shroud into the fan if you don't keep an eye on it. They also make a lot of noise, which isn't very "Buick-y".....