My Four Door Special Project

[dvonk]

here is a link to a YouTube video of my 1958 Special--around the car and under the hood. i have a few other videos of my Buick on there as well. they are back when i had it at the storage unit, and (unfortunately) are made with a digital still camera, and are thus poor quality... they get the point across though. let me know what you guys think.

[kevinm22]

The video is very cool! Keep it running...don't do as I did and start taking stuff apart. Mine sat that way for 14 years!

[ceejay]

Hey we haven't seen an update on your project in a while.... would love to see some photos and videos.

[dvonk]

hi guys, sorry my thread has been so inactive lately... ive been busy with, well, life mainly. in recent news, i traded in my crappy hyundai for a 2000 Jeep Wrangler; i love it! now i will be able to drive in the winter and my girlfriend wont have to chauffeur me around!

the ol' '58 Special has been on the back burner, but i still love her. the past couple days i have been bringing her clearcoat back to life (it was horribly oxidized) with some polish and a random orbit polisher. it is slow going and i still have a ways to go, but having parts of her start to glimmer when i walk in the garage puts a smile on my face.

i *hope* to be able to get more done before it starts getting too cold, wish me luck! i hope everyone's projects are going well.

-David

p.s... enclosed is a picture of my new Jeep!

[dvonk]

hello gents!

after a lengthy hiatus from the Special, today i finally replaced my dead starter with a spare i got on ebay (in may of 2008 ). i was actually out in the garage for a different project... but, after searching extensively for a particular tool to no avail, i randomly turned my frustrations on the non-functional starter.

the new starter turns the engine over quickly and fires it up promptly. i am quite pleased, after dealing so long with the old starter that only got crappier over time. i have since read that a low-charge battery can actually damage a starter, so i plan on keeping my battery fully charged henceforth.

in other news, i finally got a new cell phone (after 4 years) and upgraded to the new iPhone 4S, which shoots HD video. so, without further adieu, here is the first video of the Special ive uploaded in HD!

http://youtu.be/D6JnKtIatsg
(turn up the volume; sorry, its quiet)

[Smartin]

Awesome! Onward ho!

[dvonk]

i just remembered that i had forgotten to post an update from a year ago; i installed a spin-on oil filter adapter on the 364. here are a few photos from the project:

Step 1: assemble the necessary equipment

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Step 2: dont forget a quality German beer!

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Step 3: remove old oil filter canister

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Step 4: say goodbye to the messy old oil filters!

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Step 5: clean the oil filter attachment area (looks like i need some engine degreaser too! )

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(continued on next post )

[dvonk]

Step 6: apply RTV as directed and install spin-on adapter

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Step 7: spin on the new oil filter and add fresh oil. done!

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since its been a year since installation, i can say that it is working fine. i havent needed to change the oil or filter yet due to my dead starter not letting me run the engine much, but i can say for a fact that it will be much simpler than the old canister oil filter.

let me know if you guys have any questions!

[Smartin]

Sweet!

[indianchief38]

hmmm
i think it´s time to clean the engine mr

[dvonk]

i know, right?

i always get side tracked with everything else... not to mention house projects, and training for my new job!

someday ill have spare time again.

[dvonk]

so, being a project car, my Special doesnt have a "showroom" paint job by any means. its pretty tired & dull with oxidization, but id still like it to look as nice as possible. ive tried several kinds of polishes, but nothing ive tried really cuts through the oxidization as well as i would like. the other day i bought some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound on an impulse, and i was quite pleased with the results:

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would you believe it, the picture on the bottle is actually representative of the results. what a novel idea!

so, now i only have the rest of the car to do!

p.s... i tried it with a power buffer, but it doesnt seem to work as well as by hand.

[Smartin]

Awesome! I may have to check into that.

[dvonk]

today i installed a bunch of LED lights in the Buick to replace some of the incandescent ones... details here.

[Smartin]

Nice! I thought about converting mine, but that would mean I'd have to pull apart the dash...again.