Making do with what I have!

[Squankum]

I just noticed this article that my Carpenters Union wrote about me from 4 years ago when I was getting my Journeyman Scaffolders ticket.

http://www.albertacarpenters.com/members/15minutes/drive-to-learn-paying-off

I'm glad you took that incident and put your energies into a constructive direction! No job is worth dying for.*

I just found out last night that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. may have issues with an accident in his past:

http://jalopnik.com/5900621/see-dale-earnhardt-jrs-secret-race-car-graveyard-with-google-maps


.

 

[ADSR]

I just noticed this article that my Carpenters Union wrote about me from 4 years ago when I was getting my Journeyman Scaffolders ticket.

http://www.albertacarpenters.com/members/15minutes/drive-to-learn-paying-off

Good on you, brother. Safety is so important. No job is worth getting killed over. Those pics in Nanaimo are breathtaking! There's not much work here, but it sure is beautiful

 

[sean Buick 76]

I love the old Car Graveyard pics. Here are a few I like:

 

[1/2 Cup]

Awesome Sean and thanks for posting.

 

[sean Buick 76]

A few more favorites:

 

[Sunbimmer]

Fantastic pics ....my favorite the one with the Peterbilt.

 

[sean Buick 76]

 

[BBChevro]

Great pics Sean, I always love looking at old-truck ****.

The scenery around your old family home is spectacular.

 

[taumac]

Yes, the more space you have, the more stuff you wind up with!

See also, George Carlin, "A Place for My Stuff"

.

I just laughed my *** off. Carlin is the best.

 

[Gear Wolf]

I loved working on pushrod's with my old man way back. You can make great power!

Really great thread!

 

[caesar2001]

Sean,
Seeing what you have done with your Skylarks just makes my desire to own one of my very own that much stronger.

Now if I can only convince my wife to let me buy one...

 

[Squankum]

I love the old Car Graveyard pics. Here are a few I like:

That's not too far from me. And Reidsviille's not far from Danville. I'm not about to start jumping up and down and researching whether that was Wendell Scott's car or anything.... Or what Petty cars looked like in those days. But it would be fun...

All these old cars sitting around, well, there are grim economics involved. Cars were produced and then became not worth fixing. And obsolete. Then there's the price of gas and how far it is to a scrapyard, in the case of Alaska, and maybe where you are.

And when it comes to rural areas, there's the price of land, if you want to store dozens or hundreds. Let's just say that people in remote areas really have a lot of places for their stuff.

 

[sean Buick 76]

I made a video of the car today! I was doing some tuning of the carb and timing today and it is running oh so sweet! A bit more tweaking to do but I am really happy with it so far! I did not rev it over 3500 RPM so I did not piss off the neighbors too bad but it sounds bad *** in person! The idle is not too loud at all and will be even milder with the tail pipes.

I am placing an order in a few days for some new parts for it:

- Dual 3" tailpipes to get the exhaust out to the bumper
- New Moser axles as there are currently the stock axles just shortened and re-splined
-Rear end girdle cover
-new windshield
-New carpet
-And I am rounding up some windshield wipers, and interior pieces to get it looking better and street legal again.

My new engine is still under construction in Ohio, but they are making progress on it as we speak.

Video at the start and end with pics in the middle:

 

[longlivepunk]

Ha, I think I used to have that same boost-guage in my old Miata! (Laugh if you must, but that little red rocket smoked a lot of unsuspecting guys) Anything new in the garage, Sean?

 

[1/2 Cup]

Thanks for sharing the video Sean, your right it sound mean, luv it.

 

[Squankum]

Sean:
You seem to get some sunshine up there in the winter, it's not all gloom and gray?

Something to consider in future garage builds is a solar wall. Low tech, simple stuff!

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=224095

http://www.solardirect.com/pv/consumer-ready/solio/solar-intensity-maps.html

_

 

[sean Buick 76]

Thanks for the info about the Solar! I will for sure integrate Solar into building my new shop at the acreage. Yes we get a ton of sun here. I always have a sunroof in my daily driver vehicles!

 

[sean Buick 76]

Well I know it has been a long time since I last updated this thread...

I have not done any work TO my garage however I have been doing a lot of work IN the garage. I am still saving up $ towards building a big shop at the acreage but it will still be a while till that moves forward...

Been off roading a lot for both work and pleasure. It is a lot better now having a winch and 200 feet of pull ******** board so I can go further into the bush without fear of getting stuck. I still travel with another truck when possible though.



I have been doing a lot of work on the SKylark, getting it ready for a paint job next month and right after that it goes onto the chassis dyno to do some tuning and measure the HP and Torque at the wheels.

I will post up pics when it gets back from paint.

Baby Shane is growing up quickly, he likes to get behind the wheel of our vehicles:






The car:

 

[ADSR]

awesome pics, brother!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Absolutely fantastic Sean, many thanks for the update.

Young Shane is most certainly sprouting up, keep up the great work.

Regards

 

[HSpencer]

You have a great looking truck. I just had the "stepper" motors on my dash rebuilt on my 2004 Silverado. No big deal or anything, and the cost was only $125.00. However, every now and then my entire dash will just stop working (rare, but does and comes and goes.) Nothing on the dash works when this happens not even the RPM or gear shift indicator. Have you had any of these problems on yours?
Someone said it would be the key switch, someone else said the soldered connection to the dash, another said the fuze, and etc.

I think the problem is rampant in 2004-2006 Silverados. Maybe your being a mechanic can shed some light?

Best Regards
Herb

 

[sean Buick 76]

Hi Herb, i have not had that specific problem with my truck but i will ask a few friends for you... Ironically today my transmission shift indicator light randomly started working after being out for 3 years...

These trucks are known for some electrical problems, but otherwise they are great.

 

[rixtrix1]

Absolutely fantastic Sean, many thanks for the update.

Young Shane is most certainly sprouting up, keep up the great work.

Regards

Ditto, Shane. Thanks!

 

[sean Buick 76]

Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been getting stuff done just no time to post updates... No work to the garage but it is working GREAT!

I got some work done on the old Jeep pickup last week, cool old truck!

Some of the stuff I have been up to is staining the back deck, scrubbing and cleaning the siding of the house etc. nothing worth taking pics of but stuff I needed to do.

I am still getting the car prepped for paint, I have spent a ton of time doing boby work, priming, wet sanding, priming etc. I have also been cleaning, scrubbing, wire wheeling etc on the under side so I can paint that too.

I removed a ton of trim, and other parts as well as weatherstripping to prep for paint. Removed the fiberglass bumpers and painted them today, I think they look good.

Still waiting on a hood scoop to get delivered and a few trim pieces but I have almost everything I need.


Looking naked without the headlight bezels and grille.



This is after painting with plastidip metalic alum metal simulating paint, this stuff works amazing, no blotches or runs like typical spray paint leaves. I would prefer chrome but there is no economical simulated chrome painting around here.



Getting ready to use POR 15 rust paint but i need to keep prepping:





The car is running well, and hopefully soon after the paint is done I will get it on a chassis dyno to measure the HP at the rear tires before i swap in one of my better engines.

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

[rixtrix1]

One of the few times when one pair of ramps just isn't enough. Looking great without snow, too.

 

[caesar2001]

Looking good Sean.

I especially like the look of the plastidip. I am a fan of chrome as well, but as my dad has always said "chrome doesn't make you go faster".

 

[metalhead140]

Love that Buick! Tough as nails.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Hi guys! Feel free to un subscribe from my thread if you are not into the car updates, or stick around and see the projects i am working on... Might be a while till i do any actual garage updates.

I completed some much needed work to the fiberglass hood and trunk. I attached pvc pipe on the under sides using epoxy so that i can sit the them on the ground without damaging them. They are light wich is great for racing but they are also fragile. I used the end caps for the pvc so I had more surface area to epoxy and it worked perfect. I had to be SUPER careful on the placement of the pvc to ensure they didnt hit anything in the engine bay.



I also wanted to re enforce the trunk lid at the bend as it was a weak point. I used 3 thin steel flat bar cut to 8" sections and bent to the perfect angle and fiberglassed them to the trunk. Now its all sturdy and the bend matches the body curve where as before it was off.









The plastidip painted bumper:

 

[BBChevro]

Hi guys! Feel free to un subscribe from my thread if you are not into the car updates, or stick around and see the projects i am working on... Might be a while till i do any actual garage updates....

Nah, I think I'll stick around.

The PVC "legs" are a great idea to save the edges of the hood & trunk lid, it was always a bit of a dilemma wondering what to do with the panels when they're off the car.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Me to Mark, its always great to see what Sean is up to.

 

[caesar2001]

I'll stick around as well. I am big fan of the Buick Skylark. I'm currently looking for one to play with.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Thanks guys! I promise to get some great video with quality audio when I hit the dyno machine!

 

[TXNinAZ]

Very cool, Sean. I love when people pick up on something less common as a passion- lots of Mustang and Camaro guys out there, not so many really into Buicks.
Oh, and my father in law is from Duncan! Love visiting Nanaimo. My wife is sure to make at least a few batches of Nanaimo bars at Christmastime. Good luck with getting the car ready.

 

[BuickFarmer]

Baby Shane is growing up quickly, he likes to get behind the wheel of our vehicles:








Sean, this wouldn't happen to be your living room would it. How's my Shane Buick doing by the way?

 

[sean Buick 76]

Lol thats hilarious!!

Shane is doing awesome, he is super high energy like me and it is keeping Leanne busy while I am at work.

Its tough to find time to get projects done and my priorities are different now but I love it!

 

[Squankum]

Wow, he has progressed from "all babies look like Winston Churchill" to the person he's going to be, very quicklyi!

I like the PVC supports for your fiberglass, but if it were me, I would have Swiss cheesed them with a drill. That's just me. I used to be a weight junkie. My co-conspirator at the time made an air intake pipe for the racecar car using 4" PVC pipe, but he turned it thin on his lathe first.

Someday, you will have a lathe, and you will find out how many things you needed to do with a lathe.


_

 

[sean Buick 76]

Thanks, yes Shane Buick is growing quick!

Lol yes I am sure Mark who added the fibreglass parts would cringe at me adding 2 pounds of weight to the car... Speaking of weight i took the doors off today to rebuild the hinges and make them nice and tight. Heavy doors! Fiberglass doors would save a chunk of weight but its light enough at 2980 pounds so leaving well enough alone.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Nothing to exciting here but getting things done before the car goes in for a paint job.

Removed the doors from the car so I could properly paint the inside of the doors and jams, and rebuild the hinges to tighten them up. The doors now line up perfectly where before they sagged 1/2" at the rear.

Removed the 45 year old hinges, zip cut the old pins and pulled them out. This is a better approach than beating them out. Then I pressed in new bushings and test fit the new pins, then cleaned everything up, primed and painted them, and then painted the inside of the doors, and door jams, let them dry and put it al back together, adjusted the door alignment and done.

Now the painter can paint the car without opening the doors, trunk or hood as I already painted those areas with the same paint. This saves him time and me $ as he took $700 off the price since I did this work.

45 year old loose hinges:




Easy to remove:



Notice the markings so I do not re-instal them backwards:



New custom carb for my June 20th chasis dyno testing for rear wheel HP.

This carb is custom engineered and calbrated for my car taking into account everything from vehicle weight, gearing, engine specs, boost levels, elevation above sea level. Hand built and worth every penny of its 1200 cost.



These carbs are proven to run within 2% of optimum right out of the box, and it comes with a full kit to re calibrate if needed. Most fuel injection systems can barely gain a few HP over these carbs.... No computer or extra wires is a huge plus, and we use exhaust air fuel measurements, exhaust temperatures, and many other things to monitor the tune during dyno testing to sneak up on a safe powerful tune:

 

[sean Buick 76]

I whipped up some 10 minute sawhorses last weekend and today I built a foldable top for them:



Finished here:



Folding top upside down:



Half folded up:



Fully folded so it takes up less storage space:

[/UR

I used dowels to locate each corner:

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/seanbuick76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_26661_zpseb47eac4.jpg.html]



About 1 hour and its easy to set up or store away

 

[1/2 Cup]

Well done Sean, look fantastic.