Me and my beautiful 1956 Buick

[carbking]

Reaming is done to the bushings AFTER the bushings are installed to obtain the final clearance. Reaming the throttle body might also result in reaming one's wallet!!!!!

 

Machining the throttle body for the bushings, IF YOU WANT GOOD RESULTS, should be done with an end mill in a milling machine, or at worst, a very high quality drill press. A DRILL BIT SHOULD NOT BE USED!

 

Lots of carburetor throttle bodies are unnecessarily bushed!!!!! Check the original manufacturer's specifications, AND MEASURE! (Using one's index finger to move the throttle shaft back and forth is an insufficient measure  ). And certainly not all tolerances are the same, even within the same manufacturer!

 

Jon.

Edited December 19, 2018 by carbking (see edit history)

[carbking]

The above post was made in a hurry.

 

Adding:

 

The reason for never reaming the throttle body, and for not using a drill bit is quite simple. Pretend that your are Superman and have X-Ray vision. If you ream the throttle body through, and install the bushings, with your X-Ray vision looking down on the throttle body, you can see two tiny triangles on each side of the bushing where the flat end of the bushing meets the curvature of the throttle bore. These are sufficiently large to allow internal air to bypass the throttle valve. This often will result in a very high idle, as too much air will be present at idle. Additionally, trying to adjust the idle for the extra air may mean closing the throttle valve to the point where there is no mixture flow in the idle transition circuit, thus causing a hesitation when accelerating from the idle to the off-idle or idle transition circuit.

 

When using the end mill, measure the distance from outside the throttle body to the throttle bore so you can leave approximately 0.030 inch or more to maintain the curvature of the throttle bore.

 

Since the drill bit is cut at an angle, using a drill bit will leave a cavity with edges between the bushing and the remaining material. Carburetors are certainly not rocket science, but they do require correct maintenance.

 

With no offense meant to anyone; this is a procedure that is best left to a professional with the correct machines. No, I do NOT offer this service!

 

I have been asked many times over the years to offer a kit for installing bushings. My answer has been "if you have the machines to properly do the work, you don't need the kit; and if you do not have the machines to do the work, you definitely do not need the kit"!

 

Jon 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2018 by carbking (see edit history)

[Beemon]

Jon, thank you for your insight and expertise! It basically just solidified my stance on the whole thing and confirmed what I already speculated. By the way I meant to call you yesterday but I missed the time zone cutoff. I assume I'll be waiting until Monday? Or can I email order and be fine? 

[carbking]

Ben - I am an old geezer that doesn't dislike telephones as much as I detest the necessary evil of email

 

To protect the integrity of our computer systems, emails are sent to an off-site computer and checked Sunday afternoons, TIME PERMITTING. If time doesn't permit, then next Sunday afternoon.

 

Would be best if you call Monday.

 

Others:

 

After re-reading my posts, it seems I neglected to post clearances. As a general rule, both the Rochester 4-Jet and the Carter WCFB used 0.004~0.006 as a design tolerance. Additional field wear of 0.003 is acceptable. So if the clearance as measured with a dial indication, not click-click, is less than 0.010 best to leave alone. I have yet to see either the cast iron WCFB or the cast iron 4-Jet require bushings. The earlier WCFB and 4-Jet has aluminum throttle bodies, which occasionally do need bushing (very rare). The Carter AFB is a different animal with the huge aluminum throttle body; and initial tolerance of 0.016~0.022 were used.Will the throttle body suck some air before it heats up? Sure. Did the engineers allow for this? Guess what? The automatic choke is heat activated to the warm of the engine, NOT a timed electric, and increases the mixture until the engine warms. Sometimes engineers really do know what they are doing  I have yet to see a Carter AFB that required bushing.

 

On a personal note: when I bushed my first carb (for my own car, experiment on my own before doing for customers), I set the tolerance at 0.004 just like the minimum design. Now, I have some pretty good machinery, and I think I am pretty cautious; but I do not (for the most part) have production quality equipment. The first time the engine warmed, the throttle shaft seized in the throttle body. Took out the shaft, and resized to 0.005 clearance with no more issues. So from then on, I used 0.005 as my standard.

 

Since this is concerning Buicks:

 

Buick used the Stromberg type WW for years. The WW was an excellent carb, but with the Achilles heel of an aluminum throttle body. The first rebuild of ANY Stromberg WW should include bushing the throttle body. After that, the WW is virtually bullet-proof. Same 0.004~0.006 for the WW.

 

Finally: if the tolerance exceeds the limits:

 

BEFORE bushing the throttle body, disassemble the throttle body, removing the throttle shaft (FILE THE BACK SIDE OF THE SCREWS OFF FIRST!!!!!). Now measure the out-of-round of the throttle shaft. Much easier to replace the shaft (although they aren't inexpensive) than bushing the throttle body. Fix what needs to be fixed.

 

Jon.

[Beemon]

I've been on the hunt for a fill plug for the differential after I noticed some seeping. At first I thought it was an M20x1.50 plug but quickly found out the threads did not match up. Next I checked 3/4" bolts both fine and course. Nothing. Then, i went to the pipe section. Turns out the differential plug is 1/2" pipe thread. And of course you either get the square plug or the allen plug. Neither of which have a flange for a gasket. 

 

Also, gaskets for these are available but they are thin both in OD and thickness. At first I thought my gasket was hard and unusable, but the gaskets available were just as hard so I've decided to reuse mine. 

 

About the plug: it looks like grandpa lost a few battles servicing the rear end. He filed down one side to get on it with vise grips. Im starting my internet search now, see if I can find anything out there. It might unfortunately be a custom machine job when I go back to school. 

 

About the seeping: I've noticed that the driver side axle has been leaking. Fortunately the drain hole is doing its job and it's leaking down the outside of the backing plate and not the inside, so the shoes are safe. I checked the fluid level and it's still at the top so everything is still ok but it looks like I'll have to add a vent at some point. I was informed 55 has a diff vent but I know 56 does not. Seems like a silly thing to regress on but maybe the sperm whale miracle oil that was meant to be lifetime didnt react the same as a non-newtonian fluid. 

 

If I can't find anything, I think the best course of action will be to buy the M22 plug and use a 1/2" pipe die.

[1956322]

Hmm you sure you don't have a vent cause mine definitely does.. Driver side up top of course.. They tend to get greased over...

[Beemon]

5 hours ago, 1956322 said:

Hmm you sure you don't have a vent cause mine definitely does.. Driver side up top of course.. They tend to get greased over...

 

Is this it on top of the axle section? Because i have nothing on the actual carrier housing. 

[EmTee]

12 hours ago, Beemon said:

Turns out the differential plug is 1/2" pipe thread.

 

If that's the case, shouldn't the threads seal the hole without a gasket...? 

[1956322]

Yup that's it

[Beemon]

4 hours ago, EmTee said:

 

If that's the case, shouldn't the threads seal the hole without a gasket...? 

 

Yeah that's plan B. The metal is kinda thin, like 1/8" thick so it might bottom out but I was looking at my 02 Jeep this morning and it uses a 1/2-14 NPT plug as well that has an opening for a 3/8" ratchet so I might go by the Mopar counter today. It is yet to be determined if its NPT or NPS.

 

2 hours ago, 1956322 said:

Yup that's it

 

Wow I've never noticed. I was doing some research and found the breather to be a GM standard thing. I guess I can either get a plastic one or, the Chevy resto guys have the original stamped metal available. Is there a way to pop the top and clean it without removal? 

[1956322]

That I'm not sure about I guess I'm theory you could bend the cap off most likely destroying it in the process

[old-tank]

14 minutes ago, Beemon said:

Is there a way to pop the top and clean it without removal? 

Pry it off, insert wire to verify that it is open, tap on when finished.

[Beemon]

I got the cap off and stuck the wire in. There wasn't much resistance so I'm thinking now the axle gasket must just be bad. That's a nice sigh of relief and I was already planning on pulling the driver side axle. Passenger side is dry so best to let sleeping dogs lie. 

[Beemon]

Here we are at the crossroads again. 

 

I contacted Scarebird and they shipped me replacement bearing spacers. This is after I noticed grinding noises coming from the front end ball bearings. My originals are pretty much done for, they had sat out and pitted since before I got to the car, back when my grandfather was using the car as a lawn storage and after my uncle put it on jack stands and pulled the hubs and dismantled the engine. I bought replacement National bearings from Rockauto and have been using those instead for a while - they're the ones with the plastic cages. Well, none of them have broken but after pulling the hub today, I've noticed the inner bearings are loose (the inner race can be removed) but the outer bearings are tight (can't remove inner race without force). At one point, the inner bearing outer race had lost its press fit and was free spinning in one hub. How do they get away with selling this junk? 

 

Anyways, this brings us back to the Scarebird spacers. Originally I wanted to use BR5 bearings but their spacers utilize BR51 bearings because the bearing surface is not long enough for the BR5 to sit without flexing on the spindle. I can confirm this is the case. I could chuck the spindle in a lathe, turn down the race surface and press a longer surface onto the spindle, but that's a lot of work. Ball bearings are also known to not play well with radial tires due to their flatter ground contact. 

 

So here's the dilemma. I've heard the stock master cylinder can be used with disk brakes and I still have my original scarebird kit. I ran the calculations with a colleague who has been doing the cockpit control systems, specifically the brakes, and it had been determined it should work fine. When I had originally gone this route, I never used the stock master.  I also feel this to be the preferred way to go due to availability, especially slotted and drilled rotors. However, i also have late buick front hubs that accept the BR3/BR51 bearings. This would retain the drum system with tapered bearings. The Roadmaster drums are a safe route and I know they work. However, the hardware is expensive and is getting increasingly harder to find over the counter. Although i have self adjusting drums, the spring kits have been difficult to track and I don't know anyone local that specializes in custom friction material. Three distributors of semi parts either use NAPA fleet shoes or use OEM supplied shoes. Big trucks are also going disc now, too.

 

So I figure I'll give the Scarebird kit another shot the next couple of days. Worst case they do not work and I move back to drums but with tapered bearings. 

 

By the way, if anyone is interested, they do sell the spacers outside their kits. You just need 61 to 72 I believe front hubs. These are always attached to the aluminum drums so they can be expensive unless you find a broken pair in a junkyard. 

 

Semi related, but I have been having brake pressure issues, too. Recently I've had to press the pedal twice in some circumstances to build pressure. I hope this is just air trapped in the lines, though i'm not sure how that could have happened. Wheel cylinders seem fine, but since I got the Roadmaster drums, I've been using the hardware that came with the kit, aka used front hoses. Im hoping I can isolate this issue by doing this disc swap as well. 

 

So many things to do this winter break. Rear axle gaskets are next on the chopping block with my cereal box special gaskets. 

 

Oh! Merry Christmas and happy birthday to me, I also scored a 59 to 60 spin on housing. Say goodbye to the cartridge filter. 

 

I hope everyone has a happy holiday and Merry Christmas! 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Ben

   Having to "pump" the brakes is indicative of them needing adjustment..   I will be following.  I always look forward to your adventures.

 

  Ben

[NC-car-guy]

3 hours ago, Beemon said:

Here we are at the crossroads again. 

 

I contacted Scarebird and they shipped me replacement bearing spacers. This is after I noticed grinding noises coming from the front end ball bearings. My originals are pretty much done for, they had sat out and pitted since before I got to the car, back when my grandfather was using the car as a lawn storage and after my uncle put it on jack stands and pulled the hubs and dismantled the engine. I bought replacement National bearings from Rockauto and have been using those instead for a while - they're the ones with the plastic cages. Well, none of them have broken but after pulling the hub today, I've noticed the inner bearings are loose (the inner race can be removed) but the outer bearings are tight (can't remove inner race without force). At one point, the inner bearing outer race had lost its press fit and was free spinning in one hub. How do they get away with selling this junk? 

 

Anyways, this brings us back to the Scarebird spacers. Originally I wanted to use BR5 bearings but their spacers utilize BR51 bearings because the bearing surface is not long enough for the BR5 to sit without flexing on the spindle. I can confirm this is the case. I could chuck the spindle in a lathe, turn down the race surface and press a longer surface onto the spindle, but that's a lot of work. Ball bearings are also known to not play well with radial tires due to their flatter ground contact. 

 

So here's the dilemma. I've heard the stock master cylinder can be used with disk brakes and I still have my original scarebird kit. I ran the calculations with a colleague who has been doing the cockpit control systems, specifically the brakes, and it had been determined it should work fine. When I had originally gone this route, I never used the stock master.  I also feel this to be the preferred way to go due to availability, especially slotted and drilled rotors. However, i also have late buick front hubs that accept the BR3/BR51 bearings. This would retain the drum system with tapered bearings. The Roadmaster drums are a safe route and I know they work. However, the hardware is expensive and is getting increasingly harder to find over the counter. Although i have self adjusting drums, the spring kits have been difficult to track and I don't know anyone local that specializes in custom friction material. Three distributors of semi parts either use NAPA fleet shoes or use OEM supplied shoes. Big trucks are also going disc now, too.

 

So I figure I'll give the Scarebird kit another shot the next couple of days. Worst case they do not work and I move back to drums but with tapered bearings. 

 

By the way, if anyone is interested, they do sell the spacers outside their kits. You just need 61 to 72 I believe front hubs. These are always attached to the aluminum drums so they can be expensive unless you find a broken pair in a junkyard. 

 

Semi related, but I have been having brake pressure issues, too. Recently I've had to press the pedal twice in some circumstances to build pressure. I hope this is just air trapped in the lines, though i'm not sure how that could have happened. Wheel cylinders seem fine, but since I got the Roadmaster drums, I've been using the hardware that came with the kit, aka used front hoses. Im hoping I can isolate this issue by doing this disc swap as well. 

 

So many things to do this winter break. Rear axle gaskets are next on the chopping block with my cereal box special gaskets. 

 

Oh! Merry Christmas and happy birthday to me, I also scored a 59 to 60 spin on housing. Say goodbye to the cartridge filter. 

 

I hope everyone has a happy holiday and Merry Christmas! 

I'll be following....

[Beemon]

4 hours ago, Ben Bruce aka First Born said:

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Ben

   Having to "pump" the brakes is indicative of them needing adjustment..   I will be following.  I always look forward to your adventures.

 

  Ben

 

Hmm, I am wondering if the shoes were getting stuck on the backing plate then or something else? Absolutely zero leaks in the system and im pretty good about bleeding. 

[Beemon]

I found the culprit, passenger side wheel cylinder was leaking. There was quite a bit of fluid seeping out at the back.

 

Also attached is the wheel spacer for the BR51 bearing to ride on. As you can see, there isn't a whole lot there for a spacer and a bearing. Im not sure how the Wilwood kit gets around this but I would figure it's pretty suspect. 

 

Since the wheel cylinder was toast, I figured I would move forward with the disc brake kit. I bought this kit back in 2012 I believe? But I didn't set it up until 2015 where I tried a dual remote master cylinder. It was an awful thing to try and put a dual master cylinder in the stock location and to my defense, it was when I was very naive in both schooling and understanding. So I took them off back in late 2015 after licensing the car and have been using drums since. 

 

Wheel bearings these days are probably the biggest expense for any type of hub rebuild if they're ball bearing type. I bought Nationals in my previous post to replace badly worn originals and as I was pulling the hubs today, I noticed the same race that spun inside another hub was free floating in this different hub. I just couldn't believe it, I figured it was the hub but now I see the bearing race has bad machine tolerances. On the opposite hub, the outer bearing inner race was locked in there right and would not come out without force. The other side was a bit less tight but required some force to remove. The inner bearing inner races both fell out without resistance. Going back to ball bearings was not an option for me. 

 

As I stated earlier, which is now my plan B if anything ever arises again, is to use 1961 to later front hubs that were paired with the aluminum drums. I have a set and I mocked them up, the spacing is perfect. However, I was curious about the kit. I spent this money way back, after all.

 

For the tapered roller bearings, I followed the instructions from a mid 60s shop manual. Tighten to 19 ft lbs while spinning the hub to set preload, then back off and re tighten to 11 ft lbs, then back off to nearest cotter pin hole. This more or less set the nut nearly hand tight

 

First impression was that the brake pedal, when bled, was tight and firm. This was obviously to be expected but now brake feel was instantaneous versus the slight delay with drum brakes (I've been using auto adjusters so I know the adjustment was the best it could be). I live at the top of a steep hill with nothing but a guard rail at the bottom leading to a 30 foot drop. Going down the hill was no problem, so I tried emergency stops. The brakes locked up with no issue at all. The brakes are extremely touchy now, moreso than the drums so it's safe to say they are staying. 

 

Some concerns:

 

First, even though it's worked out on paper (MatLab code) that the stock master cylinder should work, it is still yet to be determined how highway driving will pan out. Remember that this master cylinder was designed and intended to be used with wheel cylinders, where this combination was carried out up to the 70s when discs started to take over. In a similar setup with a 1:1 pedal ratio of the 56 Buick power system, it is equivalent in function to a late 60s 1 inch bore master cylinder with a 4:1 pedal ratio or equivalent. The stock master is also made for low vacuum conditions present with the 56 322 engine. In comparison, disc brake cars of the early 70s and up used a 1.125 inch bore master cylinder. It seems to be looking like the simulation data in terms of functionality so I am not too deeply concerned about it. 

 

Second, the king pin suspension was not designed to take brake dive like a modern car. If you read the 57 shop manual literature, with the ball joints and new front end geometry, the Buick engineers were able to rotate the backing plates 15 degrees to counteract brake dive and rotational inertia. It is yet to be determined how this will affect the 56 kingpins. Though, considering the kingpins are semi solid tubes of steel, I doubt there will be enough twisting forces to damage them or the extra thick A-arms. 

 

Regardless of these two issues, the brake system is phenomenal. A word of caution, I would not use discs with a manual master cylinder, especially with a poor brake pedal ratio. This kit works well specifically because of the power assist and to some lesser degree the bore of the master cylinder. Without that power assist, you're in for a rough time. Drum brakes are self energizing and don't require as much pressure to stop. Of course this relates to linings, etc.

 

Anyways, if I had more money, I would gl with drilled and slotted rotors, which are readily available. The pads I'm using are NAPA's best semi metallic pads.

 

Tomorrow I'll be swapping oil filters. 

[NC-car-guy]

I have an f100 with manual disc/drum setup and a fiat with 4 wheel manual discs. Lol

[1956322]

I'll keep it short.. Stay away from drilled and slotted.. Sounds great but in practice not so much..I  can  also tell you highest driving with this set up is no problem 😊 

[Beemon]

5 hours ago, wndsofchng06 said:

I have an f100 with manual disc/drum setup and a fiat with 4 wheel manual discs. Lol

 

It's a little bit different, those cars were made for those systems and probably have a really high pedal ratio with a 6:1 unless you did that mod yourself.

[NC-car-guy]

10 hours ago, Beemon said:

 

It's a little bit different, those cars were made for those systems and probably have a really high pedal ratio with a 6:1 unless you did that mod yourself.

Right but I'm saying that you make it seem like it's impossible but now it sounds like your own calculations say it is possible. Personally the vacuum booster is meaningless to me.

[old-tank]

24 minutes ago, wndsofchng06 said:

Right but I'm saying that you make it seem like it's impossible but now it sounds like your own calculations say it is possible. Personally the vacuum booster is meaningless to me.

It is good to know that the disc conversion works with 56 power brakes (and maybe 55 power brakes since it is similar in function but not location).  I did see that conversion on a 55 manual brake system and it did not work well:  seems that only the rear brakes were functioning while the rotors were only warm after some hard stops that were scary; may be a difference in pedal ration  along with MC bore size on manual vs power brakes.

[JohnD1956]

@Beemon Can you explain that pedal ratio concept in terms a non engineer might understand a bit easier?  I am not able to figure out where this measurement is taken, and how it is calculated, and how it impacts the situation, nor how it would be increased or decreased?  Thanks

[Beemon]

1 hour ago, JohnD1956 said:

@Beemon Can you explain that pedal ratio concept in terms a non engineer might understand a bit easier?  I am not able to figure out where this measurement is taken, and how it is calculated, and how it impacts the situation, nor how it would be increased or decreased?  Thanks

 

John, when I say 6:1 pedal ratio,  think of it like this: 

-*------ 

 

The asterisk is the pivot point. The short end is attached to the master cylinder and the long end is the pedal end. The 6:1 ratio is indicative of long end being 6 times the size as the short end. This gives the mechanical advantage of increasing the torque (radius x force) applied. If you put 50 lbs on the pedal for instance (length of 6 in for example), the torque is 300 in lbs or however you measure. This is transmitted to the master where it's the same torque but with a 1 inch distance, giving you 300 lbs at the top (300 in lbs / 1 inch is 300 lbs). Hope this helps. 

 

Matt, the calculations were done with a power booster. I could see about the manual but I do not know the bore and length. Its also a completely different system. In this application it seems the brake booster is taking up the majority of the work. 56 manual system is also 1 year only and that is what I'm basing my opinion on. 

[old-tank]

HERE is a good explanation of pedal ratio, bore size, pedal travel, etc.

Now I have a question for our resident engineer:  the bore size of my 55 with manual brakes is one inch; the rod size (that displaces fluid) in the power brake master cylinder is 5/8 inch....does the rod size in a displacement master cylinder correlate with the piston/bore size in a manual cylinder?

[Beemon]

Willie i meant to give you a more in depth response earlier but I've been moving non stop with the holidays. 

 

There's a few things that come to mind. Basically boils down to displaced volume and force/ pressure applied to the cross sectional area. Your master cylinder pushes the fluid as I'm sure you're aware, but it needs to push enough fluid to displace all 8 wheel cylinder pistons with enough force to stop the car. My theory is that the power brake units have the smaller pistons but displace the same if not more fluid than the standard brake master cylinder piston. You would also have to factor how far the pistons in the wheel cylinder displace, too. Most of the time this can be approximated as small increments if the shoes are properly adjusted. If the column of fluid, for the sake of simplicity, is considered as a bore, then the smaller piston with the same pedal ratio would generate more pressure since pressure is force divided by area. More force is required to displace more fluid per unit volume with the shoes on the drum acting as a resistive spring in a non compressible hydraulic system. A larger bore will have more surface area and can displace more fluid if the stroke is the same, but requires more force to equal the force of the smaller piston. 

 

Basically, it is more difficult in this scenario for the manual master system to engage the brakes than the power system if we are to assume no power assist. However, with the same stroke the manual can push more fluid but will require more pedal effort. This is why manual systems before power became standard were usually 6:1 pedal ratios and power were 4:1.

 

This of course excludes the self energizing function of drum brakes and is probably why the difference is negligible. However, it became an issue in the early 70s when discs were introduced and it called for larger brake boosters and master cylinders.

 

In regards to brake line sizing, the formula papers I've read seem to only reference sizing as a way to battle burst pressure.

 

I can get you a more inclusive answer once I'm back at school. 

 

***

 

In other news I've been looking for a suitable oil filter for my spin on conversion. I originally bought the OEM 1049 filter from the NAPA warehouse but was immediately disappointed it did not come with an anti drain back valve. For those of you who do not know, it is a one way valve that not only holds oil in the filter, but also a column of oil in the upper oil galleries from draining back through the filter. Without the ADBV I might as well keep the canister oil filter and live with 20th Century noisy lifters and dry starts. This was a no go for me and I found part number 1522 for LS V8 truck engines a suitable replacement. 

 

Note it is smaller, does not have a pressure relief valve (this is good because it's built into the adapter housing) and has an ADBV. The 5.3L oil change interval is 5000 miles, which is better than a 56 Buick's OEM interval. Oils and filters are much better than they used to be and the NAPA/Wix filters use a synthetic paper filter. The 1522 is also over the counter and the 1049 is special order. I believe this combination will work better than the OEM spec filter from 70 years ago. And as demonstrated, OEM filters have gotten better and smaller with longer change intervals than their old counterparts. 

 

Tomorrow hopefully I can get to doing an axle seal job and oil filter adapter swap. 

[Guest]

Thanx 4 the info Ben! Im going to switch to that 1522 Napa gold as well. That adbv is a great advantage, especially when one considers the fact that the most engine wear happens during cold start, or so Ive read anyway. Ive been using the Napa gold ever since I found out they were Wix brand filters, but stuck a different brand on impatiently for startup after pan and pump removal and cleanup. Bought my 55 without running it cuz it was worth getting regardless, but was happy when it seemed to run well. Heading 2 Napa mahnyawna!

[Beemon]

Greg if you find a larger filter, let me know! I did find a filter that was the same dimensions as the 1049 but it had a different thread pitch. I guess I could have tapped it but that's a huge scare. I've heard if you shoot shaving cream in the hole, you can just vacuum it all back out... the 1060 filter is the same thread pitch but the gasket seals the outside lip of the adapter. Pretty sketchy, didn't want to risk it. 

[Beemon]

One of my first posts on the forum was about a LuberFiner 200s bypass filtration system. It's long been obsolete and filters are not readily available for it. My grandfather was a firm believer of bypass filtration systems, and although he changed his oil religiously, he had a truck shop install the system on the Buick. 

 

I had some plans for it originally but I kept it on the car just because he's always asked. After he died, I thought about turning it into an urn but it wasn't my place to do so. It's been empty and cleaned out and I've used it as a chiller on some occasion, but I've always come back to my grandfather insisting on added filtration. So, after his passing, I came up with this. 

 

It's a 99% 5 micron nominal filter. It's probably better than the 200S ever could be and it's smaller. The filter media is a cellulose blend, which makes it capable if filtering high humidity condensation and probably fuel from the oil system so sulfuric acids and other nasty byproducts don't have a chance to form. This car went almost 300,000 miles in the 22 years it was on the road since brand new and my grandfather associated it with the annual filter change of the Luberfiner. 

 

I don't want to get into the what works, what doesn't work, why would you do that aspect of this mod, but I figured I'd post about it still. I much prefer the period correct look of the Luberfiner but my grandfather was very insistent I keep some type of bypass system on the car. 

 

Hope you guys enjoy. I haven't installed it yet but hope to today or tomorrow. 

[Beemon]

@2carb40 if you haven't yet, check out filter 1258. It's a bit bigger than the 1522. Luckily my fiance's 07 Pontiac uses the 1522, too, so I lucked out. 

[Guest]

Thanx for the additional info. Nice to have a size choice, all else being equal. I wonder if the size difference affects flow volume between those two filters. There is also a "beta" rating which relates to the amount of particles that are filtered per cycle through the filter at the rated micron size. Filters for NASA are of necessity higher Beta rated for instance than auto engine oil filters which are a bit of a compromise in terms of micron size particles per run through to ensure enuff flow. Its a bit of a task to obtain that rating on a specific filter. The filters on the hydraulics on the Toro stuff I worked on had to have very high quality filters to avoid having sticky control valves and hydrostat damage. 

[Beemon]

The beta ratio for the three filters are the same and are posted on the NAPA website. 2/20=6/20 for the beta ratios. 

[Beemon]

I picked up this steering wheel off of "my" parts car 56 Special, and this bypass filter from a 56 Hudson, all for $60. Seriously there isn't a single crack on the steering wheel anywhere. It has been nicked in a few places given the nature of junkyards, but otherwise it's perfect. I was skeptical about it at first, but then I realized all the knobs and switches are also black plastic, it won't look too out of place. I will miss the ivory wheel. 

 

Here's what I was talking about in terms of my steering wheel spokes being messed up. The horn ring is bottomed out at the bottom, but centered on the column, so it's not free floating on the spring like its supposed to. 

[Beemon]

Also, at the request of my sister, I've decided to name the car Viola.

[Beemon]

So it seems I've got more work to do. Upon removing the contact ring and plugging in the horn at the steering column, it went off as soon as the plug touched the terminal at the column... I stuck my finger in the hole and the ring from what i could tell was in the right place (i remember reading John's had slipped down the shaft). Since I'm planning to replace the steering box, this is probably the time to pull the steering column. Here's hoping 56 is the same as 55!

[EmTee]

10 hours ago, Beemon said:

I will miss the ivory wheel.

 

Why not paint it?  There's some good epoxy 'rattle-can' paints out there these days.  Or, find a local auto paint jobber and have a spray can made up of the proper color (or close approximation) acrylic enamel.

[old-tank]

1 hour ago, EmTee said:

12 hours ago, Beemon said:

I will miss the ivory wheel.

 

Why not paint it?  There's some good epoxy 'rattle-can' paints out there these days.  Or, find a local auto paint jobber and have a spray can made up of the proper color (or close approximation) acrylic enamel.

 

The black wheels seem to hold up better than other colors...change the color

 

7 hours ago, Beemon said:

So it seems I've got more work to do. Upon removing the contact ring and plugging in the horn at the steering column, it went off as soon as the plug touched the terminal at the column... I stuck my finger in the hole and the ring from what i could tell was in the right place (i remember reading John's had slipped down the shaft). Since I'm planning to replace the steering box, this is probably the time to pull the steering column. Here's hoping 56 is the same as 55!

 

If plugging causes the horn to blow with the steering wheel off and you are sure that the wire is isolated at the steering wheel end, then the ring is probably broken and shorting. 

Replace the ring.

[JohnD1956]

8 hours ago, Beemon said:

So it seems I've got more work to do. Upon removing the contact ring and plugging in the horn at the steering column, it went off as soon as the plug touched the terminal at the column... I stuck my finger in the hole and the ring from what i could tell was in the right place (i remember reading John's had slipped down the shaft). Since I'm planning to replace the steering box, this is probably the time to pull the steering column. Here's hoping 56 is the same as 55!

 

If you meant my steering column ring , it was pushed up the shaft, and the plug was not touching the ring.  

 

Are you saying you installed the steering wheel and the horn ring.  and then when you attached the wire to the plug at the bottom of the column, the horn sounded?  If so, did you remember to leave enough gap at the horn ring on the steering wheel?  It may be that the ring is too tight, and you just need to back off the nut (holding the ring)  a little.  If I recall correctly there is supposed to be a 1/4 " gap for the horn ring at the steering wheel so it can rock on the spring. 

Edited January 20, 2019 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[Beemon]

So, let me clarify. The steering wheel was off and when I plugged in the terminal, the horn sounded. This is what I meant by "i hope 56 is like 55". After reading Willie's website (thank you keeping this information available), the solution was for a 56. I will keep you guys posted. 

 

About the color, it's not bad.. paint isn't out of the equation yet, but it does fit with the black knobs... at least the horn button now sits flush at all the spokes! I've hung up the old wheel someplace nice as a reminder some day when I can afford a wheel restoration.

 

Replacing the wheel was pretty straight forward. There is an index on the wheel and a punch mark on the shaft that needs to be lined up. On my car, the index was one spline to the left of the index mark on the wheel.

Edited January 20, 2019 by Beemon (see edit history)