On this episode of HOT ROD Unlimited
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MotorTranscript
00:00 Welcome to the Hot Rod Magazine shop where we have a small collection of really ugly convertibles.
00:05 This episode of Hot Rod Unlimited is about the '66 Buick behind me,
00:09 and what makes it really cool is that it sat buried in the desert for 33 years
00:14 until we dug it out, got it running in two days, and drove it all the way from Phoenix to LA.
00:19 Check it out.
00:20 One of my best known accomplices is Rick Payway, who's the editor-in-chief of 4WheelOnOffroad.
00:29 This Buick has been sitting in Payway's backyard since 1978.
00:34 His mom bought it when it was a couple years old.
00:36 Her and the rest of the family drove the thing until the forward gears and the trans went out,
00:40 and so they literally just shoved it in the backyard with the top down and left it sitting there.
00:45 It's been there ever since, untouched.
00:47 And so we thought that naturally made it a good idea to fly here to Phoenix,
00:52 fix it up in a couple days, and get home before Sunday, which is Mother's Day,
00:57 because our wives will kill us if we're not there.
01:00 This thing is actually a Buick Special and not a Skylark,
01:05 and oddly enough, this is one of 2,036 1966 Buick Special convertibles with a V8.
01:13 So before we got here, Rick actually undug the car and got a few things done.
01:18 Here's the water pump that was on it.
01:21 It was a little frozen.
01:22 I have to admit, if anything is going to stop us here, it's the cooling system.
01:25 It's fine. It's mint.
01:26 The engine in this thing, 300 cubic inch V8.
01:29 310, it says.
01:30 That's the torque rating. That's what Buick did.
01:33 This is almost too nice to really be an adventure.
01:36 I'll be highly surprised that these seat backs even make it home, since that side's already broke off.
01:41 That side's not really as bad.
01:43 Oh!
01:44 So, uh...
01:45 Do it again.
01:46 Yeah. Don't bother upholstering.
01:48 Um...
01:49 We can fix that.
01:52 [Music]
01:56 Wow, nice floorboards in the back.
01:59 Some Legos.
02:00 [Music]
02:03 I think the market research really failed when they named these shock absorbers.
02:07 They're the Delco Pleasure-izer.
02:09 [Laughter]
02:12 The bummer is that Rick actually had this running before we got here, so that we know it runs,
02:16 but this will be the first time we've seen it.
02:18 Fire it up!
02:19 [Engine starts]
02:21 Mint!
02:22 It's flawless.
02:23 It's flawless.
02:24 It's not smoking.
02:25 It doesn't smoke.
02:27 But I say you're a smoking car.
02:29 Okay, it's steadily pouring gas.
02:32 Fuel pump's leaking.
02:34 It's like swedged together, two metal pieces, and the seam is just sort of weeping onto the ground.
02:40 That's why we have an electric fuel pump.
02:43 [Music]
02:50 They're mint.
02:52 The brakes are literally like new.
02:54 All right, what's happening?
02:55 We're draining the motor oil out of the diff.
02:57 Really?
02:58 Yeah.
02:59 Well, it's probably a high-performance limited split.
03:03 Yeah.
03:04 [Laughter]
03:05 Strange, isn't it?
03:07 Dude.
03:09 That doesn't taste right.
03:11 [Music]
03:15 It's about 10 o'clock at night, the end of the very first day,
03:18 and we decided to pack it in because we're kind of tired.
03:20 Got a lot done on the car.
03:22 There's a lot of mysteries left ahead, and we'll find those tomorrow.
03:26 [Music]
03:39 [Engine revving]
03:45 [Tires screeching]
03:47 [Music]
03:50 You like it?
03:51 That sucker enjoys.
03:52 It's almost too nice for the car.
03:54 [Music]
03:59 Taking apart the brakes, and I'm pulling the inner wheel bearing like that by using the nut.
04:08 This side's looking pretty good.
04:09 Finnegan, apparently, un-good.
04:12 I wiped all the rust out of it after I took the dust cap off and found that.
04:16 She is not good.
04:20 Needs cleaning and packing.
04:22 We can do that.
04:24 Genuine made in USA bearing.
04:25 You don't see that anymore.
04:27 [Music]
04:31 That's it.
04:33 [Music]
04:36 Oh!
04:38 Miss Peiwei had a lead foot.
04:39 Look at that.
04:40 Oh, yeah.
04:41 [Laughter]
04:43 Fail.
04:44 [Laughter]
04:46 I vacuumed most of the floor out of it.
04:52 That's one hell of a shop vac.
04:53 Sucked the whole floor out of the car.
04:55 We couldn't find a rear diff gasket, but Velcro sells this stuff.
05:01 You can make your own.
05:02 I was smart enough to actually order new brake parts from Robestus before I left,
05:07 so these were here waiting for us.
05:10 It's perfect.
05:11 Good.
05:12 You're going to have to adjust the rod, of course, but I would say it's going to be bolt-in.
05:16 All right.
05:17 Not a problem.
05:18 [Music]
05:24 That is a wrap on assembling the brakes.
05:26 The thing is we don't yet know if the wheel cylinders leak yet or not,
05:29 so I'm not going to finish this all up until we get the master cylinder on the thing,
05:33 try and bleed it, and see if we pop all the seals out of it or not.
05:35 What are you looking for for the floor?
05:37 Stop sign.
05:39 Yes!
05:40 [Music]
05:45 Yeah, that's only going to cover this side, really.
05:48 Whoa!
05:49 That's for this side.
05:50 [Music]
05:53 Like a glove.
05:54 We have ignition.
05:56 And we have fuel pump.
05:57 Ready?
06:00 Money.
06:03 The choke idle up is actually working.
06:06 Is it running off with the bowl or is there--?
06:08 It's off the bowl.
06:10 It's coming.
06:11 Wow.
06:12 [Machine running]
06:16 There it is.
06:17 Woo!
06:19 Look, it turned clean.
06:20 All the varnish is gone.
06:21 No way.
06:22 Look at the dirt.
06:23 Look.
06:24 Oh, it's going to dirt up real quick.
06:27 Yeah.
06:28 Whoa!
06:29 Stop!
06:30 Give me a hammer.
06:31 Give me a hammer.
06:32 [Machine running]
06:40 It sounds funky.
06:41 Boy, that was close.
06:42 Woo!
06:43 That was close.
06:44 Woo!
06:45 Good thing we know what we're doing there.
06:46 The needle and seat stuck and it started to overflow the float bowl,
06:49 at which point most people would panic and have a fire,
06:51 but we knew what to do, which was to hit it with the jack handle.
06:55 Did you notice the well-orchestrated coordination?
06:57 Because Rick and I have been here before.
06:59 See, I went straight to keeping it running while the gas was guzzling down the carburetor,
07:04 and he went straight for the implement of bashing, like a well-oiled machine.
07:09 What we did is basically get the brakes working.
07:11 They self-bled.
07:12 We didn't even have to open a single bleeder screw,
07:15 and we vacuumed the floor out of the car,
07:18 and we got fluid in our new transmission.
07:20 We got it running.
07:21 We got fluid in the rear end.
07:23 It's virtually restored.
07:25 We'll see if we can drive it tomorrow.
07:27 [Music]
07:29 Our floor has a little more ventilation than I normally like,
07:32 you know, even in a convertible.
07:35 So, $20 grinder from Harbor Create with a cut-off wheel,
07:40 cut all the rust out,
07:41 and then we're going to bend up a not-stolen stop sign to fit the floor.
07:48 We'll tech screw it in, dialed.
07:50 [Music]
08:01 It's bent nice. I think it'll work.
08:02 Let's go find out.
08:03 [Music]
08:17 Now we just have to throw our seat in it,
08:19 make sure that the electrical system works.
08:21 We don't have any brake lights or headlights right now,
08:23 and then I think we're ready for a road test.
08:25 [Music]
08:29 Oh, yeah.
08:31 Look at the action on that baby.
08:32 Got to put on the hubcaps.
08:34 Looks ghetto without them.
08:35 Ignition. Clear.
08:37 [Engine starting]
08:38 Got it.
08:39 It moves.
08:43 Yes!
08:44 [Cheering]
08:46 I feel safe in this. This is good.
08:48 Where does the gas pedal go?
08:49 Oh, there it is. No pedal.
08:51 Woo-hoo-hoo!
08:52 Moves out!
08:54 [Music]
08:59 Yes!
09:00 Utterly flawless!
09:01 Flawless.
09:02 Wow.
09:03 This is a thing of beauty.
09:05 I told you.
09:06 Would I sell you a bad car?
09:07 Wow.
09:09 Oh, that was awesome.
09:11 To drive this car again after 34 years.
09:14 Yep.
09:15 This is just a feel-good car.
09:16 I mean, chicks dig you when you have this.
09:18 [Engine starting]
09:21 Okay.
09:22 We just made the glorious maiden voyage.
09:25 It's time for some celebration.
09:27 [Music]
09:33 We're out on our first big drive,
09:35 hunting pawn shops and yard sales in the Buick,
09:37 and we got on the freeway and it started to surge.
09:40 If you got into it, this filter is clogged
09:42 with all that junk right there that was in the gas tank.
09:46 And that's why we have one, two, three filters on it,
09:50 because we knew that was going to happen.
09:52 That looks like the bottom of a fish tank.
09:54 [Music]
09:59 Sir.
10:00 [Engine starting]
10:02 Yeah, yeah.
10:03 I'm happier.
10:05 On to more adventure.
10:07 [Music]
10:12 Wow.
10:13 There's brake fluid pouring off the underside of the tire.
10:16 Look.
10:17 [Music]
10:22 The thing that makes me dumb and lazy
10:23 is that I anticipated the brakes being junk on this thing.
10:26 So I ordered all the parts from Raybestos,
10:29 and we only used the master cylinder,
10:30 and now I'm paying for it.
10:31 So we're going to go through all the cylinders,
10:33 at which point we might as well change
10:34 these old, dry-rotted, cracked hoses as well.
10:38 Either we have this covered,
10:39 or this is going to domino into disaster.
10:43 Okay, see, this one's not leaking yet,
10:45 but it will soon enough.
10:48 [Music]
10:59 Finally, we got this '66 Buick convertible
11:02 ready to hit the road after it had been parked
11:04 in that backyard for 30 years.
11:06 Here we go.
11:07 [Music]
11:10 See ya!
11:11 [Music]
11:19 Well, that was a thrash,
11:20 but we really dig this turd now.
11:22 As a matter of fact,
11:23 we're going to use it as a project car.
11:25 We're going to keep it looking the way it does,
11:27 but we've already put a CPP suspension on it.
11:29 We're going to do a few more things
11:30 and hit the autocross,
11:32 and when we do,
11:33 you'll see it here on Hot Rod Unlimited.
11:35 [Music]
12:04 [Music]