trp3141592

Every once in a while someone posts a desperate plea to locate the center steering bearing for Buick, Cadillac, LaSalle, and Cord. They are rare, but they DO show up on Ebay. One is listed on Ebay right now at a grab-it price. Not mine, just posting info. RARE NOS Center Steering Bearing 35 36 Cadillac LaSalle Buick 36 37 Cord 900916 --Tom 2019-04-04 Edit: There are TWO of them listed on EBay right now.

Bio, Hi. If you drop the pan, be prepared to spend a leisurely half hour or so flattening the flange of the pan. These guys tend to get warped out of flat when tightened, and the careful use of a hammer and appropriate dolly will put it back in the flat again. Watch your torque when you re-install it so you don't re-warp the flange. --Tom

Hi, You can easily make your own cloth-covered welting with a "piping foot" for the Missus' sewing machine. Cloth welting is paintable and in many case more authentic than rubber. I made my own for the 37 Cord. --Tom

Ahhhh---- 37! My FAVORITE Buick!

Hi, I vote for under-sized cables. The 6-volt systems use connecting wires big enough to hold back Godzilla. Modern 12-volt capacity wires are just too thin. --Tom

Hi, Turning the factory mechanical fan around does not change the direction of air flow, but it greatly decreases the amount of air flow. There was an article in the August, 2014, Hardtop News Magazine section concerning an owner who sold his 59 Ford because he could not keep it from overheating. The cause: the fan was reversed leading to decreased air flow. --Tom

If your same-size-as oil pressure line is 1/8", I found this tubing in copper at Summit Racing: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/equ-9901/media/images --Tom

Hi, My 2 cents and well worth it... Your headlights will be fine if you have your mechanic install a relay so that the headlight current is not going through the switch. If your mechanic doesn't know how to do this, get another mechanic. Between the Cord, my 37 Buick, and my past-owned Lasalle, I often had folks ask me to "drive weddings," offering cash under the table. I avoided them like the plague. The liabilities are near infinite, as are the costs of insurance and meeting livery vehicle standards and licensing. Do your research carefully before you jump into a business with a car that is not intended to be in your business. --Tom

Hi, I vote for a collapsed flex hose. Been there--took a lot of thought to figure out the problem. BTW, you can't tell from the exterior of the hose that the interior has collapsed. --Tom

Hi, I started making my own fiber and cork gaskets after I bought an inexpensive punch-and-die tool. Trying to cut the small holes for the bolts using small snippers was not working. The hole punch set does a great job on fiber and cork. I wouldn't use it on metal shims or body-thickness steel. --Tom

Hi, Stainless tubing is a real bear to work with--it tends to crack on the re-bend as you make the flare. If you're doing a whole brake line replacement, use CuNiFer brake line (available anywhere nowadays) and buy an Eastwood flaring tool. Yes, it's a couple hundred bucks. But after you make your first flare, which will be perfect, you won't care what it cost. And you get to keep the tool for the next car! http://www.eastwood.com/professional-brake-tubing-flaring-tool.html --Tom

Hi, I sure am glad I have pre-war cars withOUT the advanced technology of the 50's! --Tom

OR--it might be a golf ball rolling around in the spare tire well... --Tom

Yep--bad ground. I had a Pontiac that made me CRAZY until an old-timer slapped up upside my head and said,"GROUND, Idiot!"

Hi, There was a thread a couple of years ago wherein a member installed a dual master cylinder in his 37 (Roadmaster, I think). It was a LOT of work. I mean A LOT of work. A REAL lot of work. More than I wanted to do, anyway. I put a dual master cylinder in my 37 Cord, largely because the state of that car's disassembly made it all easily accessible. Turns out it fit without frame or linkage alterations other than installing new steel brake lines to go to the front and to the back. So--choose your battle. Changing my Roadmaster to a dual cylinder did not seem worth the effort. I rebuilt what was original with new hoses and cylinders, and it has worked fine ever since. --Tom