Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Drew..Stumbled across this 57 Buick Special with a jag front and rear installed...just in case you need other parts...https://westky.craigslist.org/cto/4850069679.html
Does look a bit picked over.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

See, I'm not crazy after all.;)

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Sorry for being a slacker this week, but friends invited me to a Montana ski trip in Whitefish near the Canadian border and I just couldn't resist!

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

I was really curious just how much this hunk of junk axle and torque tube setup weighs, so I bought a 700 pound scale to hang off of my engine hoist point in my garage ceiling (I planned ahead when I built the garage). I weighed both the 1957 Buick set-up and the 1994 Jaguar IRS.......

Guess whose completely different differential, driveshaft, braking system, suspension system, blah blah blah, made in 2 different countries (USA vs England), 37 years apart, weighed within 3 pounds of each other??? Take a wild guess...They couldn't be any more different.... and yet one weighs 350 pounds (Jag) and the other one (Buick) weighs 353 pounds!!!!

NO WAYYYYYY. That is seriously crazy! 3 pounds! You couldn't have done that in a million years if you told 2 engineers to design completely opposite assemblies but they must weigh within 3 pounds of one another.

Hey, at least I'm saving 3 pounds.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

That is crazy!

I bet you will save even more after all the crud is scraped off.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

And gaining way more in cool! :metal:

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Scraping the crud off the Buick torque tube will only make them closer in weight!

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

The cool factor will be way up - and better ride, handling, braking, and NHV.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

NASA spends millions to save that much weight. You got a bargain!

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

I wonder how much unsprung weight you shed. As much as that car weighs, it might not matter too much.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

I'm thinking there's more than 3 pounds on it, could the torque tube actually be lighter?

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Saturday night picture time!

I've got Rosie the un-riveter working with me today.

Grinding down the rivet heads and then hitting them with the impact chisel to finish off the head. Then switch bits to punch them back through. 22 in all.

Cut the middle of the crossmember out so we could pull it out one side at a time.

Good day, lots of gunk to be scraped off still.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

...

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

We left the front cross brace installed so we wouldn't have to worry about our frame rails moving around.

One more thing removed, pretty soon we won't have any car left.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

You and Biz have really been busy ,looks like fun.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Nice progress. Rosie is doing great work too. :lol:

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

That air jack is nostalgic! Wish I had a dollar for every car I jacked up with those back in the day. "Gray" brand probably.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

I love it! I actually bought 2 from a guy on Craigslist for $150, this one is clearly way older and works like a champ, the other one sadly will only lift itself. If you try anything heavy it just hisses. I'd love to rebuild it somehow, but have no idea how it even comes apart or if anyone sells a rebuild kit.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Moving on...... at least I thought I was.

Here I am mocking up where the Jag front member will be located and I've started on a new frame rail. As I pull the trigger on the first of what will be a long night of bodging things together, I get one tack and then..... out of wire. Yes, its Sunday night at 8 o'clock. Ugggghhh.

I'll keep making parts to weld up for a little while tonight at least.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

I know that feeling.... :(

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Mine's always gas. Sorry! Looks like you're puttin' it down pretty good!

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Another year, another new driver that needs to learn on Young Frankie. Our 72 Crew Cab) Tooling around in the graveyard with my youngest, Sarah. She's done great and hasn't run over anyone - wouldn't really matter even if she did since they're in the graveyard already.

It's been our tradition to learn in the graveyard (city folks) since it's very quiet, wide open, and full of gently curving roads.

Next stop, learning permit on real roads!!!!

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

...

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Picture misfire above

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

What would you do without the youngsters? They can make life exciting. Has she put in her request for a vehicle yet? Good to see this one going forward.

Dwight

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Couldn't stand on my side, so I fixed picture. ;)

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Thanks, I had it spun- but it didn't upload that way???

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

I quit trying to figure out why tablets and smartphones do what they do.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

This chunk of frame was in my way!

Working out my new boxed frame rails, I welded the inside rail up solid to keep the front rails in place when I went to cut out the chunk, now I'm fitting the outer rail and top and bottom pieces before I weld anything else. Once I get them all fitting together well, I'll weld this whole side up solid before starting anything on the far side. That way the front rails and bumper mounts never move from their original location (in theory).

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Another picture misfire above

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

I dont see anything in the last two posts

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

HMMMM, Really? The first one I see my text and no pictures, the second one I had to resend to get the pics uploaded, but I see them now myself.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

I can't see them either

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

No pics here either .

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

I haven't been able to see any of the uploaded pictures on this site today.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Man, it's too bad y'all can't see the pictures. Supermodel friends of my wife came by today and they are holding the frame pieces up where they are to be welded in all of the pictures.

Oh well......

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Getting kind of deep in here:devil:...Jim

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Saturday night picture time!

Cardboard is probably not the strongest frame material.

I pulled out the outboard frame rail after I made templates of the upper and lower rail parts. (I just had it tacked in) Then I welded in the bottom piece and the top piece. I'll leave the side out until I mount the crossmember so I'll have access to the mounting nuts. I'll probably get it all bolted in and then weld the nuts to the inside of the frame rail, then weld on the outer frame in completely.

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Hmmm, you cant even see the supermodels in the pictures!

Re: Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super
 

Well, I didn't see the super model pictures, however the frame work is looking really good!