Niel Hoback

I'm talking 1955 Special. I parked on wrong side of town and couldn't get it started when I wanted to leave. I took that switch apart several times and put it together again to no avail. Sitting in the car trying to think, I noticed it was in drive. Moved the lever to park and it fired right up.

Buicks had the Carter system through the 50's. The switch is a vacuum operated ball bearing in the throttle body. You needn't floor it, just a bit of throttle angle and the ball drops energizing the starter. When the engine fires, it sucks the ball off the contacts and turns off the starter. Its wired in series with the neutral safety switch.

Is there a clutch cover on the bottom you can take down?

Yes, you need the spring. Get one from an old hose if you can't buy one.

Holy Mackeral, Andy!! Was anybody looking at the cars?

No, they don't. That's why we are here to see how close we can come.

If the car was perfect and didn't need anything, what would you do? It's supposed to be a hobby.

Maybe it hurts now, but you will see the wisdom of the decision later. Please don't take offense at this, but it just doesn't sound like you have the basic mechanical experience to wrap all of your assets in an old car that you already know needs work. After your schooling, a decent job will come along and you will have the resources to buy a car you can enjoy without worrying about being able to afford it.

Hey! So did I ! It works pretty well, too!

Your car is really shaping up nicely. The front parking lights are working correctly. They come on in the middle switch position and go off when the headlights are turned on.

Aluminum is a pretty soft metal for that application.

I think your dream means you should stop eating whatever it was you had before you went to bed.

Turn the idle speed up?

Once again I suggest that when these cars were new, it was a common practice to block the brake pedal down with a stick against the seat bottom when leaving the car for long periods of time. The pressure keeps all of the cylinder cups expanded to seal them tight against the cylinder walls. This helps prevent fluid leaks and infiltrating air. Don't forget to take the battery cables off, too.

That's something at least. My neighbor has a good alarm also, the prettiest German shepherd I've seen with a bark that will shake the trees. It works whether anyone is at home or not.

Originally, you would have two keys, one for the doors and ignition, a one for the trunk and optional glovebox lock.

It wouldn't be that hard to make a bearing retainer plate from flat plate. But the backing plate also holds a seal that keeps bearing grease in and dirt/water out.

If this helps any, I use the hydraulic switch to control the center stoplight and a mechanical switch to control the stop/turn/tail lights on the fenders.

Joe, get off the computer. You've got work to do.

He shipped you his back seat. Mine will be there next week. The fronts will follow.

Indeed, the rest of the state would rather we have no time at all.

As of now, I can't say that I will. For me, August is a long way off.

Nice pictures. Thanks.

That's true, Tim, they do check before registering, for previous registrations of that number, and condition, but Indiana plates are not expensive even for a pair. I have two nice pairs that are in very good to excellent shape that I came from swap meets and even asset from an antique shop. Being "frugal", (read cheap), I doubt that I paid more than $20 per pair. My problem with the state is that they require registering as an antique auto, they issue an antique plate that must stay in the car while you run on YOM plates. Antique registration allows only for occasional use limited to parades, club activities and "testing". I drive mine regularly and cannot be restricted.

http://www.in.gov/bmv/2654.htm This link clearly shows that I was wrong. You only need one plate to register. Sorry for the panic.