I should've done this years ago but I've told myself 'no more procrastinating!', so hopefully I can get some help from you guys.

I've wanted to rebuild my old starter for a few years now but have kept putting it off. I'm stuck actually. Somebody has to have had the same issue. Two bolts hold the starter to the bell housing (obviously) and one is super easy to get at while the other is wedged between the starter casing and the oil pan. You can't get a wrench on the bolt because the 'sides' of the 12 point end are too thick...I'm thinking of modifying a socket (or a wrench) but I'm not sure if I can get an extension on it because the starter casing...not sure what to do...

Now believe it or not I've owned my 225 longer then any other car I've had (my JZA70 Supra was a few months after...) but I don't have the knowledge of this Electra yet unfortunately so any tips or tricks on how to get this starter off would be much appreciated!

Oh before I forget it's a 401 w/ 2spd dynaflow.

 

Whatever drive tool you're using be it 3/8 or 1/2 in get hold of a universal socket the size of the head of the bolt. Usually it will allow you enough room to get in there and have some leverage to break it loose. A regular universal may not be small enough , but a universal socket will usually do the job. How about some pictures of your gunboat ? If Buick made a car that rides as good as your 225 they would sell a lot more than they do. I do remember the large tails on the 59's since they would hit the parking meters when parking. Take care of your baby , they don't make em like that anymore!

I don't remember Buick having a 2 speed Dynaflow unless you are referring to the L and D positions. I also remember driving the 55's that had variable pitch Dynaflow. In 1953 GM's Hydramatic plant had a fire and they put Dynaflows in the Cadillacs.

 

Thanks Hanky, tomorrow I'll take a stab at it. Found a socket that should do the the trick!

Thats very cool stuff, I definitely enjoy hearing about that kinda thing! Like I said im not too knowledgable (yet) when it comes to my 225 and you can bet I'll never get rid of it History definitely helps for me...I don't know...gives me something to think about and associate it with, to the Electra.

Well I'm pretty sure she has the 2 speed...the research I have done has led me to that. Mind you the transmission does say 'Dynaflow'...well my spare anyway! And just for you Hanky I'll post up an attacthment pic of my 225.

I look forward to driving her with my family...sunday cruiser is what I had in mind for now (I havent started it yet in the time I've owned it...but as previously mentioned my procrastinating is done!) and should be very reasonable to start with anyway. Until I have more time that is.

Not really the place for it but shes got p/w p/b p/s dual exhast along with air ride and pwr front bench seat. I have a dash clock but it isnt installed as it wasnt an option on this car. Original paint and glass. I have a few spare parts like a windshield and transmission, intake (the list goes on). The car was purchased brand new, locally off the lot in town. I'd like to try and find the original owner but that might be a little difficult...and I do have the original warranty book!

And sorry in advance for the iPhone pic. This was last fall.

 

The oldest Buick I can remember driving was a 1940 Buick Coupe. It had the straight 8 and shift on the column. It was a flying chassis.I didn't own it , but had driven it a lot, AND The kid that owned it used to drag race it and usually came out pretty good . It was all stock too. Did a lot of work on 50's models. They were the car to own in those days when gas was $0.19 a gallon. I think your car gets double the miles per gallon as compared to those older ones.

 

Haha wow $0.19 a gallon?! I couldn't imagine! That's awesome, the good ol' days!

The unibody on the 225 is a 'Fisher' and I honestly wouldn't mind seeing what she could do on the quarter mile. I've got a 4 barrel carb and intake for it but I think the carb is seized...get all 300+ HP out and onto the ground once it's installed! Any clue as to what the rear end gear ratio is on something like this??? I'm assuming it's just an open diff too?

Still can't believe that lol like $1.09 - $1.16 a liter is cheap here! Oh and I got that starter out...had to modify a wrench to do it! I tried and tried with the socket, and even with a 1/4" drive I couldn't make it work. So I got a little crafty!

 

Fisher Body used to be a division of General Motors. I don't know who does the bodies now.
If it were me ,I would drive that baby like it was a cream puff.It will do 60 in low with no problem, but why ask for more work when you just want to drive it and enjoy it?
As I said , they don't make em like that anymore.

 

Haha no for sure. I don't want to give myself any more work then I possibly have too! Going to pick up my starter and generator from being rebuilt today. I'm a little disappointed though, I didn't realize my Chryco generator wasn't the original :/ low and behold it was actually my spare (Uuuhhhgggg...) but whatever. I'll get them reinstalled tomorrow, what're the chances she fires up for the first time in a looooooooomg time??? Hopefully that mechanical fuel pump works :S

 

More concern than the pump is the quality of the fuel in the tank. You might want to siphon some fuel out before adding fresh fuel. Let us know how it goes, thanks.

 

Well it's been awhile now. I would've been further ahead but thanks to southern Alberta weather I had to delay my starter and generator install. To answer your question yes I'm working outside because I don't have a garage! The next house I buy will have one...

Anyways so I've had a few days to kinda mess around with stuff seeing as how that all the snow has melted its going to snow again :/ I got everything installed and double checked my wiring (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i5BrO5yV77...tra-Wiring.jpg) and believe it or not the old gal turned over!!! It's not over yet as the battery I planned on using for the Electra is apparently completely dead. Put the charger on it and of course my luck it doesn't seem to want to hold a charge anymore...

I shook the rear end a bit and tried to get an old hose into the tank. It came out dry and there wasn't sound of gasoline swishing so going off that I dumped in about 10L of fresh 87. Still nothing...leads me to believe either the fuel pump is not working or the fuel line is clogged with something...or it just needs to be primed...somehow...to get fuel up the line.

Would anybody use an external electric pump in this situation??? I did also dump some fresh fuel down the carb and I did get combustion (which sounded fantastic by the way) so I should then be getting spark. Could these old pumps be rebuilt?

Need to find a new seal for the carb to intake...

 

If you need to , you can put about a cup of gasoline into the carb with the accelerator off the idle position so the fuel can go down into the intake manifold and crank it to allow the fuel pump to pull the fuel up to the carb as you did earlier. You may need to do this a couple of times. I would caution you about putting the air cleaner back on when doing this as the system is lean until the fuel gets up there and you could get a lean backfire back through the carb. With the air cleaner on it's no big deal, but without it you could get one heck of a backfire back through the carb. I have seen guys get burned trying to do this and they started fires too!
Keep us informed on how she goes, thanks.