B-58 Special 2-door riviera

[ang01101979]

Hello everyone. I am happy owner of B-58 Special 2-Door Riviera (46R). I dreamed about really rare american car from 50-th since 2006 when my friend bought Buick 59 Electra Convertible. That car looked like from another planet! At that moment I was with red Camaro 1988 5.0 TBI. We “loved each other” over 4 years and I invested in this red devil price of steamboat)). Not so bad project I would say but after impressions from B`59 I decided to change the hobby direction in way of true Elvis`s age. That is why I began to monitor the market of old buicks and finally bought 58 Special in 2009. All 1958 buicks are really distinctive. They have less traits from beginning of 50-th but at the same time they are not so “linear” and aggressive like 59-th. I like design of B-58. Due to some reasons after purchasing my Special was stored for 2 years. Just last summer I started to make some works with him. Car is almost 100% completed with original parts. 364 engine and Dynaflow transmission are there. Here are several pictures from local car show last autumn.





Right now I am in process of inspection my Special. Some works are already covered and a lot of them are coming). I think this forum is good place to talk about details of 58 and probably someone will help me with some issues what I get and will have).
PS I am not from english speaking country so sorry for possible mistakes.

[ang01101979]

so what did I have at the moment of purchase?

just briefly about issues:
cracked windshield
cracked driver side window
strange work of carb (cars tried to die during gas pedal pressing)
poor brakes. feels like power brake does not work.
some loud sounds from the end of car on the way
dead battery
old tires
not working wiper and no washer system at all
broken wiper arm
not working fuel lever gauge
broken and not original driver side mirror
broken weatherstrips due to age
car needs new paint
lack of chrome at the rear bumper
now working brake lamps and instrument cluster light

some pluses:
car is almost completed. actually nothing is really missing.
it has power brake, power steering and underseat heaters
solid body and frame taking in mind age of car. it needs minor welding works.
good redone interior with small issues
engine starts very light and works quit and stable at idling

that just what I saw during brief inspection.
the idea is to convert this car into the good driver during this season and probably next one for not so far from the garage trips. during this time to fix most technical issues and to change required parts. after that I will be ready to start body work and car will get new paint. there is a plan what we have now. I am not talking about 100% original restoration I want to get a car suitable for comfortable adn safety trips.
so lets go item by item.

[Smartin]

Welcome to the forum! Nice Special

[dvonk]

a beautiful example of a Special, much nicer than mine!

welcome to the forum!

[ang01101979]

Thanks for warm welcome.
We started from the brakes. The reason of poor brakes was broken vacuum accumulator. It had a lot of rusts and holes on top. I did not find new replacement at the market so we decided to make it new locally. The first idea was to use a body from fire extinguisher)). But finally we agreed to create top and bottom of the accumulator using 60-ton extruding machine and special made former block (I have some way to former army factory). Cylinder was made from the list of steel. Three parts were welded to each other. Old brackets were welded to him as well. To obtain the air tightness mixed epoxy was added into the new accumulator. It was shaken well + got small pressure inside by air compressor. So epoxy filled all holes inside the accumulator and after several hours on heater he was ready to be painted and installed in B-58. I spent some unforgettable minutes with screwing upper bolt of accumulator)). Finally I won the battle and new brilliant accumulator was right placed. If someone wants I can make a photo.
Also I have inspected rear brakes. Drums were removed very easily. Everything inside the drum looks good. Clean, no rust, nothing is missed. New shoes and brake cylinders are not required but I already ordered them and will replace for sure. Front brakes are not inspected yet due to I have no new bearings and seals. They are also ordered and will come.
During testing car on the road broken generator was detected. It does not charge the system. I thought to convert it to alternator if any serious problems with him come. But after disassembling and inspection I decided to leave it as it is. Nothing critical was detected. Generator was cleaned, got new bearings (they use standard x203 bearing – it can be purchased locally at cheap price) and new brushes. After assembling it was tested. Once again – it is easy. We just connected him to the battery 12V and he have started to rotate. It means that he is ready to work. He was installed back and tested once again. It is ok. One more issue is gone.
Car had only one not original rear view mirror on driver side. It is old and nothing can be indicated via him. That is why I purchased new closed to original mirrors for both sides – it really makes sense due to safety reason. They will be installed as well.
Next step. Not working wiper system will be upgraded with new electrical motor. Electrical washer will be added as well. Right now car has no washer at all. Everything for conversion is ordered. When it comes I will reserve some time for installation. I will put some notes after I close this item.
Carburetor. Car has 2 BBL Bendix Stromberg carb. To be sure that everything for repairing I have – I ordered completed repairing kit for $$$ and required literature. I have no deep knowledge in carburetors system so I have found a dedicated guy. I removed 2 BBL from the car and came to him. He removed first cap, inspected the device and replaced needle and seat, gasket and acceleration pump rod. During this procedure he cleaned the carb via air from compressor. When it was assembled back he gave me him and said that everything is done. “Just plug and play” he said. So most parts from the kit were not used. I put carburetor back under the hood and just started the engine. “Plug and play” really works. Some small adjustments were really needed. Engine works good. I think after some road tests I will provide some additional adjustments. Any way – we will see.

[ang01101979]

Next thing what I have is cracked driver side glass. It has a lot of cracks on inner side. I removed the door cover. The reason of problem is broken rails which are located on the bar of vent window mechanism. Actually both of them (top and bottom) are damaged due to out-worn seals (window channels). I took out the driver window, completed vent window mechanism. Damaged rails were removed and repaired. New window channels are ordered and they are coming. Due to I have handy access to the door handle I removed, cleaned and oiled it. Existing handle gaskets are damaged due to age. New ones are ordered as well.

I spent at least one hour or even more with removing driver glass from the frame. The idea is to save old glass "as is" – it will be a template for new one. I will try to make new glass locally. Old seal located between glass and frame became like a stone for 50-years). I used kerosene based liquid to make seal more flexible. And with heater help I finally removed a lot of mass of old seals and disassembled the window. Window frame looks very good and I do not need to do anything with it.

Coming back to the wiper. I identified that I have two different types of wiper arms. Passenger one has CAM-O-MATIC option. Driver arm has no. And driver side has broken spring. New spring was made locally and installed. Actually I want to get both of them as CAM-O-MATIC. I got completed package of CAM-O-MATIC items located on the spindles. But I cant find a good wiper arms. Is it really rare? I am monitoring e-bay last two-three months. Only two lots were proposed. One was really good but I lost it. The second one was even worse but I lost it again). One seller said that AL-175 Trico package mentioned for buick 55-56 with CAM-O-MATIC according to him Trico book will be applicable for B-58 due to they are adjustable. But I am not 100% sure. Can I ask advice from the B-58 gurus about right solution for wiper arms in my case?