Secret experimental 1964 GX 455

[Loren At 65GS]

 Great seat belts. I'm still looking for two more for Roxy's Riviera.

  Loren

[yachtsmanbill]

Thanks! But how do they work??   Bill

[yachtsmanbill]

No seat belt instructions eh? Still waiting on word about steering column adjustment vs. rag joint.  I pulled the wheel today and loosened the coupling on the rag joint. gave the wheel spline a rap with a plastic mallet and the lower flange went right where its supposed to be. Tightened it up and put the wheel on and once tight the rag joint was pulled way up again. I went through this about 3 times today.

Does the sheet metal screw/clamp at he bottom of the column hold that adjustment? I hate to sacrifice another day to pull the column out and another to put it back in. Theres bigger fish to fry right now. Answers? Comments?? Questions???

Also put the wiper motor and pump back together... Johnny did a great job pulling and tossing the parts. I managed to find the 3 special hold down screws, but no grommets. Those are special as well. Theres a sleeve inside so you dont overtighten and it makes a ground as well. Pulled a set off a 1972 spare wiper motor and it was a spot on fit. Had to adjust the ground strap for a better fit. Pulled all the plugs apart and wire brushed the connectors. Need help on that column problem!   Bill

[WkillGS]

....
Does the sheet metal screw/clamp at he bottom of the column hold that adjustment?
....

Yes! As Brian mentioned, that clamp is what maintains the gap at the steering wheel collar to column gap. Just be sure everything is in it's proper place... the turn signal switch and the thingy that trips it.... it's been to long for me to give more details!
The u-clamp which holds the column to the lower dash gives a little adjustment of the column to the rag joint. Get the car on all 4 wheels before you mess with that. Jackstands at the cowl will allow the frame to flex a little and affect the column to steering box length. Jackstands there will certainly affect front fender to door gap clearance!

[yachtsmanbill]

Yeah... I understand the sag for body panel gaps; I need to keep it in the air for the U joint centers' measurement. Once that and the rear 1/4 brake line is done, and rear shocks, it can be set back on her feet. The only alternative is to get the jack stands farther forward like under the front sway bar.   ws

[TrunkMonkey]

The gap between the wheel and the cup is adjusted by moving the shaft sleeve (the part that the steering shaft is encased).
it is the "tube" that goes through the firewall.  You need to loosen the bearing retainer in the engine bay side where the tube is located. There is a clamp in that side. Loosen it  Then you need to loosed the clamps and attaching hardware on the dash side and you should be able to move the tube towards the steering wheel.

Look at it and see if you can figure it out. If not, post back and I will try and get pics.

And, yeah, try putting a pervertable on jack stands and the various "shifts" to all things that matter.

I did some work, then put the beastie on the ground and all sorts of things went wonky... 
 

[elagache]

Dear Bill, Walt, Michael and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

No seat belt instructions eh?

Unfortunately I can't help you because my wagon is a Special and didn't have retracting seat belts.  In addition, the belts were black instead of chrome.  I didn't even know retracting belts were available in 1965 so I ended up upgrading the seat belts in the front by adapting the 1968 retracting type.  At least the 1968 belts I found were also black.  I put the original 1965 belts in the back seat and 1968 belts look close enough to be period correct and consistent with the Special trim level.

The Skylark and higher trim levels had retracting seat belts apparently since 1964.  So can anybody explain to Bill how they work?

Cheers, Edouard 

[yachtsmanbill]

Mine has the "open bale" type of retractor at the door sides. Those have to get fully extended and clicked to the chrome part and pulled tight.  The chrome part looks like it should have a trap door to lift and release the belt for adjustment. Chinaman was involved in this design before the Judges sent him to the gulag for life.

Put out a Mayday for some wiper washer hose clips and a nozzle... found the stuff including the screen and all the screws while excavating the archaeological site in the trunk. The mayday was rescinded. So the entire cowl is back together and painted even.

Pulled the steering wheel again this morning, pushed the shaft down so the rag joint was closed proppa, and then adjusted the lower stalk clamp and re-assembled. Its all good now.

I also played with the new 1969 dual master cylinder. I just bolted it up before, like 2 months ago and just discovered the pedal was as hard as a rock. Pulled that all apart again down to the pedal linkage and taking the booster off the firewall, and found the push rod to be too long. The dual unit takes one that 1-3/8" shorter. I had a spare from the '72 XGS to compare and swipe an O ring from. The r&r piece had one O ring and the OEM had 2 and one of those was cracked. I cut it off to length, and spun the nose round in the lathe.
Pedal job is history now, including adjusting the stoplight switch etc etc...

I made up some bad words today LOL...   ws

[Loren At 65GS]

Thanks! But how do they work??   Bill

 I imagine that these do not have retractors . 
If you are referring to being able to pull the belt through the buckle , I have found that old belt webbing gets stiff and will not pull through the buckle .  Another issue I have come across is that the part inside the buckle that keeps the tension on the belt, becomes corroded and will stick to the belt webbing.  With a couple of pointers from Dan A , I finally came up with a process to disassemble the buckle and not damage it in the process .  Then the internals can be cleaned.  Some guys will clean the belt webbing , but not what I would suggest though to have safe belts. Old belts deteriorate, the webbing and especially the stitching.  It is wise to have new webbing installed if you want to use the original hardware.
 There are companies that install new webbing.

  Loren

[Loren At 65GS]

Does the sheet metal screw/clamp at he bottom of the column hold that adjustment? I hate to sacrifice another day to pull the column out and another to put it back in. Theres bigger fish to fry right now. Answers? Comments?? Questions???

 Need help on that column problem!   Bill

  Yes that clamp holds the adjustment.  Both Walt and Michael have made good points. Having someone pushing down on the steering wheel while you adjust that clamp will make it easier too.

  Loren

[yachtsmanbill]

So once the wheel was off and the clamp loosened, I was able to tap the stem down with a mallet and have it hold position until I could tighten the clamp in the corrected spot. Then the wheel went back on and everything was hinky-dinky...

 So whats the secret to disassembling the buckle? Both of the fronts(maybe the rears too?) are in the last known position from 38 years ago! Ive tried to relieve the pressure by pushing in one and then both tabs to no avail. The release part is good with the half that you lift to release, but towards the secure side looks like a trap door (with the tri-shield) that will either open, or slide back 1/8". I can just move them with a screw driver and dont want to damage either one. I dont use them personally, but if Barney Fife is being nosy, I want to be able to click it to beat the ticket LOL...  Bill

[elagache]

Dear Bill, Loren, and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

. . . .
I made up some bad words today LOL...   ws

. . . . Isn't it great how working on classic cars brings out the creativity in all of us! . . . . . . . . .

So whats the secret to disassembling the buckle? Both of the fronts(maybe the rears too?) are in the last known position from 38 years ago!

So did your car have rear seat belts?  Biquette certainly didn't. Dad bought some aftermarket belts probably around 1970 for us kiddies.

Ive tried to relieve the pressure by pushing in one and then both tabs to no avail. The release part is good with the half that you lift to release, but towards the secure side looks like a trap door (with the tri-shield) that will either open, or slide back 1/8". I can just move them with a screw driver and dont want to damage either one.

What are you trying to get dismantled?  Is the problem that the belt webbing is stuck in the last setting of 38 years ago?  Here is a side view of Biquette's original seat belt buckle:



I believe the outer plastic case is held by the large rivet at the right.  I don't know how you could remove it.  Perhaps some one else knows how.

If the problem is the webbing perhaps you can work the fabric free.  The mechanism is probably the same as Biquette's:



You might be able to get some lubricant in between the outer casing and the inner steel structure that has the sliding adjustment.

There is a lot of safety information printed on the back of Biquette's buckle.  Here is a photograph of that for posterity:



Even if this isn't a that helpful perhaps it will stimulate a more constructive suggestion from another board member.

Cheers, Edouard 

[yachtsmanbill]

Beg to differ LOL... With yours, you hold the buckle perpendicular to the belt and it'll slip through. Turned flat and latched, its immobilized. With mine, both the belt and the whip go through the bottom of the buckle and you feed one end in and pull the other end out; I think. Hmmm. Its a Houdini job!

So today I joined the fan club; my own! The fan that came with the 455 was a 19-1/2 (20") fan and the shroud for '64 was 18" . I had to trim the fan down to about 17" to accomodate engine torque. Laid it all out and made accurate cuts, cleaned, painted and installed. Also had to make water pump studs. Todds' die cast co. was out of them, and nobody in town had studs. Done.

Trip to Crack Auto for 25 feet of 1/4" brake line to the rear, and the hose above the differential, a T-stat and a gasket (not included anymore; dang chinaman).

Started to play with some wires. Going with a one wire alternator and an HEI, so the resistor wire for the coil has to come out and a regular wire goes in. I hope the plug comes off the ignition switch. Yeah or nay??   Bill

[Brian]

Bill,
  Hint:  Remove the lock cylinder, then take off the retaining nut to remove the ignition switch from the dash before trying to remove the connector on the back.  Connector has three latches on it that are pretty much impossible to un-do with the switch mounted without destroying them.

[yachtsmanbill]

Thanks Brian.. is that the paper clip trick? After the cylinder is out, does the ring just unscrew like the glove box?  Im guessing the resistor wire for the coil comes "hot" off the switch. At least thats what the book looks like. Thats gotta get swapped for an HEI 12V wire (non resistor). A bulkhead connector swap would be sooo much easier. Let me know whatcha tinks OK?

Picked up 2 new wiper blades yesterday. A direct fit into the stainless TRICO arms. That was a painless job. Cant put the arms on until I'm sure the splines are timed in the down position. Maybe a battery charger job today...  Bill