Introduction

Hello everybody

My father got the old car bug around 1973 when he bought (3) 39 buicks; a small 4 door, an opera coupe, and a large 4 door with sidemounts for the bargain price of $100 each. He got the small sedan running and driving with minimal effort since it had only been parked for around 12 years. We joined the local old Car Club and participated in tours and parades. Several other old cars followed. a model T ford, 31 chevy, model A's.

Dad bought the next Buick project, a touring, in 1983 from a friend who found it while deer hunting in the desert near Lakeview Oregon. The engine, axles, hood, radiator, windshield, and all brightwork had disappeared, but the body was pretty much left alone. The Oregon desert is not a bad place for a car to sit outside for 40 or so years. There is very little rust in the lower areas and even the sheetmetal floor pans are solid. The car had been identified as a 24 master and for the next 30 years we believed it so. Dad found a 26 standard parts car and transplanted the engine and axles into the 24. A year or so later he found a 24 master engine & transmission in pieces. The cam was deeply rutted where the rollers contact the cam lobes, but dad managed to find somebody that could build up the metal on the cam lobes and regrind to original profile. I am not sure what other work he actually did on the motor since I was away at school while he was working on the buick. There were no other 20's buicks around to look at for reference, so when a key part such as the rear motor mounts were missing, he had fabricate a replacement with no idea what the original part looked like, and the result was a strange looking strap that crosses under the crank case.

He cut and installed new wood for the body, but without a complete wood pattern to work from, he made a few mistakes. Dad continued to find parts for the Buick at swap meets, though he ended up with a lot of standard parts that didn't fit. notice how the windshield posts don't sit down - these are from a standard. At some point work on the buick ceased and dad moved the car outside where it sat in the rain for 12 or 15 years. After dad passed away, i started researching the Buick and eventually found the pre-war Buick forum and purchased the 1916-1932 parts interchangeability book. It took me a year to make space in my garage and finally haul the car home, and inventory dad's parts collection. After checking the serial numbers i now believe the chasssis to be a 25, and the motor to be a 24 with a 25 manifold & carb. The transmission apparently came from a different year car because the lower 5 bolts common to transmission housing and aluminum crank case don't line up. Has anyone else encountered this same problem with transmissions ? non-interchangeability seems to be a common theme with early Buicks. This chassis has the 120 inch wheelbase, which makes it a 25-45, but it has a built in trunk rack. Was this installed by the dealer or was it a special order from the factory ? Is this rack the same design as those installed on model 55 ? Its made from heavy sheetmetal, angle and round bar, and the spare tire carrier attached to the rear with angle brackets. Its pretty heavy ! its only propped up in place for the photo.

The starter generator unit is missing a cam plunger which fastens to the fork on the end of the starter crossover linkage. This cam contacts a roller on a crank arm inside the s-g to shift the brushes from start to generate function. What does this plunger look like ? What covers up the starter gear ? is the starter crossover linkage correct ?

I didn't find a crank in dad's garage so i haven't been able to check to see if the motor stuck during the years out in the rain. The motor needs to be pulled and disassembled to check the condition inside the crank case. The front and rear axles & wheels are from the 26 standard parts car, so dad must have pulled the driveline out and taken it to a local machine shop to be lengthened to reach the transmission. I searched his garage and the yard for the missing driveline, but never found it. If there was any work receipts from a machine shop we would not have found it anyway due to the incredible mess in his house.

The transmission & crank case casting numbers are not in the interchangeability book; can someone tell me what transmission this is ?

frame serial 1275278

motor serial 1221987

alum crank case casting 1653947

transmission housing casting 1813621

Kevin R

Portland, OR

Kevin:

Looks like you have quite a project on your hands. This is the place for the help you need. We were just to the Buick nationals in Portland and on the way we visited "HENTZEE" in Illinois who is finishing up a 1924-45. I worked on a 1925-45 for a fellow near me in PA. I am sure others on the forum will ad to the discussion to hopefully get you sorted out.

Larry

Kevin

It looks like its a 1925 chassis/frame. 25 serial numbers went from 1211720 to 1412093 for the masters

and a 1924 motor, engine numbers for 24 master 1087630 to 1273003 As you said it is a 25 inlet manifold, the 24 was square.

I think that trunk rack may have been a later addition or after market accessory. The Model 55 had a solid metal trunk rack with brackets to support it.

There is a metal plate over the starter gear, and a round pin with a tapered end is connected to the arm

Kevin,

Please give me a call or PM and I will be glad to help with spare parts for your 24 Buick project.

I am just across the river from you.