By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

As you may have noticed by now, we like El Caminos. Neil bought this straight, rust free V6 car on eBay in January of 2007 and immediately ripped it apart. On July 4 it went out on its maiden voyage with a stout Buick 455, Tremec 5 speed, new paint and interior (Acura CL bucket seats and Dakota Digital instrumentation). Pretty damn sweet. Be sure to check out Neil's ride page for plenty of nice shots of the restification.

By John Coyle

Editor

Now, I'm not really meaning to compare Buick to David Hasselhoff. I'm sure the Lucerne has a lovely singing voice, and could eat a hamburger without requiring a car wash afterward. But given the aging demo the marque tends to attract here in the States, I have wondered why the company hasn't been put out to pasture, like Oldsmobile. One of the big reasons could be that the Buick brand is increasingly associated with young people in China, and unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, you know the domestic market there has huge potential for American companies. For more info, check out this video the General just posted from the Beijing Motor Show. 

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Just like high-dollar winos like to carry on about specific vintages, a lot of gearheads are partial to the cars of particular years. While I love cars from all over the map chronologically, I find there are certain years that just produced a disproportionate number of awesome rides, and for me one of those years is 1958. '58 was the peak year for that gaudy, quad-headlighted, over-chromed late-50's excess that so many people find god-awful. But I love it, and was stoked to see a number of these massive '58 hulks at the Shifters show. Check out my walkaround video of this Buick, and get a load of the crazy custom-built removable vinyl fastback on this Chevy. And you sure wouldn't want to run into this colossal Olds if you were driving a modern car. How about you—do you have a specific favorite year for cars?

By John Coyle

Editor

Most of the time "artists" get their pampered little mitts on a car, the results are pretty lame. But I think Montreal's Michel de Broin hit it out of the park with this people-powered Buick Regal. While it would probably look better with a coat of candy and some "26s, it's set up so four passengers can pedal. Sure, it won't break any speed records, but I think it'd still be a fun to grab three friends and go for a "drive." Predictably, the local cops didn't agree, and the car was pulled over and impounded on its maiden voyage. You can kind of see their point, because while the propulsion system may be different, there's still plenty of car left, and in the wrong hands, it could cause some serious damage. But fortunately, the story has a happy ending—all the charges have been dismissed! Check out the video for some footage of this baby in action. 

By David

aka Highspeedhijinks

Those of you who've been following this series on engine reconditioning know that we're on the home stretch. By now, you should begin seeing the fruits of your labor and noticing a real difference under the hood.

Each car is different and will require varying amounts of time for reassembly. Back at step one, your research and documentation should have given you an idea of what will require being torqued to spec or synced up for proper timing. For the Buick, I pulled the distributor out and removed the intake, so it took me a little extra time to make sure everything went back together right. This is the time to reference those pictures you took and to double check anything you're not sure about. Try not to end up with any extra parts! I wound up with two small brackets and I have no idea where they came from—I couldn't even find them in my pictures. This isn't a situation you want to find yourself in.

By David

aka Highspeedhijinks

Out of all the steps in reconditioning an engine, reconnecting the hoses and wiring can be the easiest part or the hardest depending on what type of engine you have. For cars with huge engine compartments like the Buick, it's a cake walk—for those of you out there with MkIII or MkIV Jettas, I feel your pain.

I'll start with what I consider the the toughest part, the wiring. On some cars you might be lucky enough to skip this step if your harness is covered in conduit. Conduit is very easy to clean and as long as it's not cracked, it doesn't need replacing. The Buick in this case had wiring wrapped in 38-year-old electrical tape soaked in oil. To begin, you're going to have to peel all that rotten electrical tape off the harnesses. Work on one section at a time to keep things simple. With the tape removed, check thoroughly for any corrosion or broken insulation around the wiring. If you notice that a wire has green residue on it, it's corroded and needs to be fixed now.

By David

aka Highspeedhijinks

In the last post, I reminded you that good prep work is a big factor in a good paint job. With your surfaces ready to prime, here's a few timely tips for working with spray cans. I always preheat my cans with warm water for several minutes (especially if it's colder than 70 degrees out) and shake them thoughly for at least 30 seconds. The first spray out of a can usually contains more propellant than paint, so hitting a piece of cardboard first makes sure that nothing by paint comes out when you're ready. Primer is very forgiving, but for the most even application, it's a good idea to spray like a typewriter: start at one end of the object you're painting and spray in one fluid motion than the other end. Let off the spray nozzle, return to the same side you started on, and repeat. Once you've coated the piece from that direction, allow the primer to tack up for a minute and then resume spraying, this time from the opposite side. Go back and repeat these steps untill you think the piece is throughly coated. Spraying in short bursts like this instead of holding the nozzle down on the can allows for more paint than propellant to leave the can. If you just held the nozzle down and sprayed wildly, there'd be half a can of paint left with no propellant to push it out.

Continue reading after the jump...

By David

aka Highspeedhijinks

By far the toughest job in your engine recondition project will the endless cleaning that you'll have to do. This job can be made simpler though by making what I like to call "baths," containers of chemicals that you can soak your dirty parts in to break up the grime. My baths usually consist of degreaser, cheap fuel injector cleaner, a can of Seafoam and enough water to cover the parts. Note: whatever chemicals you use, read the the warning labels carefully, because combining certain cleaners can produce toxic or even lethal fumes. Always use adequate ventilation—work outside if at all possible.

Some scrubbing will be required to clean the parts, but it will take way less time an effort after they've soaked overnight.

Once the parts are clean of dirt and debris, it's time to tackle the painted parts. The parts on the Buick's engine had endured several re-coats over the years, so I had several layers of paint to remove and required paint stripper. Once brushed on, it only took several minutes to remove the now 38-year-old paint. Other good methods of removing paint include using a die grinder, a wire wheel, sand paper, or even a pressure washer. Continued...

By David

aka Highspeedhijinks

Many of us have owned a car that's great but needs a little help under the hood. You don't want to rebuild  the engine or swap it—it just needs a little reconditioning. Each day this week, I'll be covering one of the basic steps for reconditioning any engine on a reasonable budget.

The first step to doing a good job is to do a little research and documentation before you start. Knowing exactly what engine you have will save you a lot of hassle at the parts counter. For instance, the car I'll be using as a reference, my grandfather's 1970 Buick LeSabre, has a 350ci engine. It's not the same as the common Chevy 350, though, so I have to be careful to make sure the parts guys know this when they give me my gaskets. You 4 cylinder guys know that not all 2.0 litres are created equal.

Now that you know what you have under the hood, you've got to decide how far you want to go. Base this decision on how long the car can be down and your own mechanical ability. With that information figured out you can then start making your list of items that you're going to need. On my first trip to the parts counter, I got hoses, belts, intake gaskets, caburator gaskets, vacuum line, paint, a case of brake clean and a 5 gallon jug of concentrated degreaser. That brought me to about $110.00 to start. Continued...

By John Coyle

Editor

This afternoon, Buick held a luncheon for journalist at Cipriani in Manhattan, and even though I'd basically come straight off my red-eye—stupid, stupid layover in DC—the event was still pretty cool. Initially, I was focused on getting shots of the Riviera and Velite Concepts, but the Y-Job parked right by the door stopped me in my tracks. Designed by the legendary Harley Earl, the Y-Job is widely regarded as the world's first concept car, and in person, the machine is simply stunning—it's nearly twenty feet long! Of course, I did make it back to check out the current concepts, and I was pretty impressed. Personally, I'd love to see either of these cars make it to production. Check out my walk-around videos of the Riviera and the Velite and make your own decision. More pics after the jump.

By John Coyle

Editor

This morning, when my alarm went off, I briefly thought it was Saturday. Don't you hate it when that happens? Here's the news: 

• The General is going to start road testing the Volt's new battery packs in June. Since its already flashed pictures of the concept everywhere, I wonder if it'll leave all the ugly body cladding at home. Regardless, I can't wait to see some pics of this baby in the wild. Automotive News
• Audi's mighty diesels have won the last eight years at the 12 Hours of Sebring, and its chances this years don't look bad either. Allan McNish and his R10 have the pole for Saturday's race. Auto Observer
• Ford and GM stocks hit historic lows today, but the bright side is that, well, I guess there is no bright side. The funny thing? No one was blaming the new CAFE standards. Freep
• General Motors has just recalled 200,000 Buick Regals and Pontiac Grand Prixs because an oil leak can cause the cars to catch fire when parked. Curiously, there's no explanation for why the oil is leaking. Detroit News

By Jen

Editor

Visually, I think this is just about the best treatment I've ever seen on a Buick Estate Wagon. New CarDomain member Bear has put a lot of work into this ride, incorporating styling touches from a number of other cars including a Dodge SRT-10 hood scoop and Impala sport mirrors. Check out the custom interior, and what he's doing with his work-in-progress sound system. Next, he's dreaming of a 502 swap, which would truly make this big Buick a sled to be reckoned with. Do it, man!

By John

Editor

Looking at the old badging is one my favorite parts of car shows, and this site has a cool page documenting how emblems have evolved over the years. While BMW's spinning prop has been essentially unchanged since the '20s, and Aston Martin has used the same winged badge since the '30s, brands like Buick and Mazda have seen dramatic changes, and the story behind the Cadillac logo is pretty fascinating. What's your favorite?