Source for '31 344 ci internals

I'm hung up, pre-war guys! I'm moving into the realm of having a spiral drive gear custom cut for the oil pump drive in my '31 model 87. (Not the meshing pump gears, the single one at the camshaft center.) Non of the dealers I've contacted can help; Egge had one on the books but it turned out to be unusable. Mine is knife edged and not worth putting in. Anybody got a source or a good used gear? I've got some '32 mechanicals I'd sure be willing to part with...a 50 series engine, a 60 series engine, a 50 series transmission, front and rear ends for both. Even some Joe Krebs reproduction hubcaps and center covers for wood wheels. (I got wires.) HELP!!! Any assistance or ideas greatly appreciated

Steve Gorthy BCA #44510

Have you checked for interchangeability with other GM engines?

Contact Paul at the 1933 Buick Registry - he may be able to help.

http://www.1933buickregistry.com/new-1932-buick-parts

The parts book lists

1.643 Gear, oil pump driven ( upper )

1.659 Gear, oil pump idler

1.709 Gear, oil pump driving

Not sure if you are after Gear, oil pump driven ( upper ) or Gear, oil pump driving.

1.643 - part no 1235063 1931 - 32 - 33 Series 80 - 90; 1934 - 35 Series 90

1.709 - part no 1249308 1931 - 32 - 33 Series 60 - 80 - 90; 1934 - 35 Series 60 - 90

This opens the field a little more for possible sources and if it is 1.709 Gear, oil pump driving there will be one on the 1932 60 Series motor you have which should be the right one.

Good luck

Thanks, gentlemen. My interchange manual doesn't list the drive gear on the end of the shaft where it engages the cam, just the two meshing gears inside the pump housing. (if I'm reading it right.) Stuart, you're right about the possibility of the 32 series 60 being interchangeable. When I saw that the 60 series listed the "oil pump gears", as the same, I thought, "aha, maybe the same oil pump." But what I found when I looked again after taking the pump out of it was that the driven and idler meshing gears were, as stated, the same, but the single drive gear on the other end of the shaft was different. So I now have two pumping gears as backup, but still not the one I need. And I'm with you on the numbers...clearly what I need is either the "oil pump, driven upper," or the "oil pump driving" gear (I suspect it's the former on account of the "upper.") But it's hard to tell what's meant without a picture. Is 1.643 a Chilton number and 1235063 a Buick number? Mark, after tearing into the 60 series motor, I'm pretty well convinced the only interchange is between the four years of the 344...though most stuff on the outside of a 29, 30, and 31 car is the same, every mechanical item underneath on the 80's and 90's is orphan as to interchange.

I read in the Bugle that the executive in charge of developing the "monster" eight running gear through a hissy fit whenever anyone on the design team tried to use an off-the-shelf component anywhere in the project. So most everything fits only 80/90's. Thanks much for the suggestions and I shall keep digging.

Is 1.643 a Chilton number and 1235063 a Buick number?

No, 1.643 is the Buick group number ( oil pump driven gears for various years ) and 1235063 is the exact part number for your specific model i.e.

Group number 1.643 - part no 1235063;Gear, oil pump driven ( upper ) 1931 - 32 - 33 Series 80 - 90; 1934 - 35 Series 90

Stuart, thanks again for the information.

Buick friends, I found a gear cutting business about an hour from home who says he can cut me a blank with the right spiral teeth on it to mesh with the cam. I'll just have to machine out the rest of it, which is do-able. He needs to inspect the cam itself, which I can take care of. Another hump, I think, surmounted. Stay tuned for further installments of "New Advances in Buick Therapy for the Mentally Impaired." If anybody needs one, let me know because this would be the time to double up on production and reduce the cost. (Unkown cost at this point.) Thanks to Mark and Stuart.