Hubert_25-25 Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 The 1925 Buick parts book calls these "friction shoes". These friction shoes that add a little friction to the spark and throttle levers. Are these supposed to be installed dry or greased? Thank you, Hugh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 IMHO If they are called friction shoes I would think they should be installed dry. We don't oil our brake shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cxgvd Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 I do not have an answer for you except to say you should experiment. If dry, do they levers move freely without noise and keep the levers in place, then fine, dry. if not and the levers are herky jerky then some lubrication, maybe anti-seize compound. Good luck and let us know what you find out. Gary 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROD W Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 I have never even seen those before,? What material are they made of. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert_25-25 Posted June 7, 2018 Author Share Posted June 7, 2018 The shoes are aluminum and the stationary hub is aluminum. The surface of the shoe appears to have a little gauling, which is part of the reason for asking the question. Gary is asking my question, as I would want it to be a smooth action, but from the looks of my friction shoes, some light sanding of the friction shoes may be in order. I was not sure if I put grease on these if that would go to far the other way and they would not hold well. There is a lot involved in rebuilding all the throttle and spark parts. and I don't have the engine in the car to test the operation either. Hugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif Holmberg Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 No grease on my shoes,but I can`t remember if its aluminum or other material?(maybe brake linings material?) Leif in Sweden. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 On my '18 they appear to be a sort of Bakelite. If they get sticky, I rub a touch of Vaseline on the aluminum surface the run on. I'd be surprised at aluminum because aluminum on aluminum is a bad wear combination - but I dont really know about the newer cars. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 The shoes on my 1925 are similar to Masonite or a fiber composition. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert_25-25 Posted June 7, 2018 Author Share Posted June 7, 2018 I will need to look at these shoes in more detail. I may have aluminum that is rubbed off from the stationary hub surface onto the friction surface so I thought they were aluminum. I will report back after I have had a chance to look at my parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Wiegand Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 The rub blocks on my cars looks similar to soapstone. That is just a guess at this point. Terry Wiegand Doo Dah America 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradsan Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Ours were like Larry's. Some sort of layered fiber material. Exposure to the elements had them mostly falling apart. Had my favourite retired machinist turn a full circle of material out of plastic ( Delrin?) with inner step on the ID and then I just cut out sections as needed. One circle will do about 2 cars. You'll see what I mean if you look at it! With the plastic , I don't think you need any lubrication. Brad 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert_25-25 Posted June 10, 2018 Author Share Posted June 10, 2018 Thanks to all for your advise. I was able to clean these friction shoes up today. They are some sort of fiberous material. Today we would use a hard plastic. They are solid material and not the same as aluminum to minimize gauling. Mine still look good, and I plan to just clean things up and install them dry. In typical Buick fashion, these dimensions are 1 year only (1925) and fit a Standard only. Hugh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert_25-25 Posted October 16, 2023 Author Share Posted October 16, 2023 I have opened the spark and throttle section of the steering wheel on this 1927 Buick Master that is in my shop. (I think it is a 1926 spark and throttle, because there is no light switch). 1) I have not yet determined if I will loosen the gears at the base of the steering column, but I would like to because the grease is decades old. That would allow me to pull the tubes out for cleaning and adding new grease. I just have to be careful not to break any gears. 2) These parts are in order, and this is a different set up than is used on my 1925 Standard. There are no friction shoes here. There are 3 brass rings and their purpose is to prevent one lever movement from effecting another. Then there are two screws in the cover. The system needs a little drag to hold the position of the throttle against the throttle spring force. Are these 2 cover screws "adjusted" to put drag on the levers? Are the brass pieces supposed to have grease? Thank you, Hugh 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garnetkid Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 That looks the same as on my 25 Master and I do use the screws for proper tension. Leon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Nelson Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 Hugh, I have mine apart and there are a set of 6 springs that are in sockets in the bottom ring that the 2 screws that hold the whole thing together go into but I don’t see those pictured in your photo. They provide the tension between the brass discs and the controls. John 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert_25-25 Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 John, This is all I have. That makes sense that they used springs. Do you have any photos of the springs and any dimensions on any of these springs? Wire size, diameter, length? Do you think this was all put together dry, or did they use any grease? Thank you, Hugh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert_25-25 Posted October 25, 2023 Author Share Posted October 25, 2023 John Nelson sent me these photos and dimensions. Springs are .17 OD x .47 long. I need 6 of these and will need to find a source for them. I do know to be careful that they are not too strong, because I have seen the spring holder in pieces in other photos on the forum. Thanks John. Hugh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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