briankearney

Brian Here with a '38 special and haveing the engine rebuilt at CAMS in New Bern, NC. Along with needed internals I also purchased a new oil pumb from Bob's Autombilia. I'm lookng at these posts with all the oil pressure problems and wondering if there is anything specifically to look at while the engine is apart. New parts include 20 over pistons and rings, cam bearings as far as the internals are concerned and the new oil pump. Otherwise the engine was in great shape inside with little sludge and probably only 38,000 miles which showed on the speedo. Problem with the pistons seemed to have been detonation and we pulled it apart before any damage was done. Engine probably hadn't been run seriously in 25 years or so so the damage occurred sometime in the past according to what the rebuilder found, which was good for me. Any ideas that would help before reassembly would be well appreciated now. Wouldn't want to put it back together to find low oil pressure. Brian

I want to thank all who answered me here on this forum. All your info helped me make the right decision about the engine in my '38. Mike at CAMS in New Bern, NC has the engine apart and has told me it's in great shape. We will bore it to 20 over since the cylinder wear is just under .0008. I think I have that right 8 thousandths. The rod journals and main journals are all in good shape and after all is renewed I'm sure it will be a strong runner. thanks again Brian Kearney

Hi Dave, maybe something else you can help me with or maybe someone else will pick up on it. Here are all the #S from my builders plate and also the engine #. Any info you can give me from them will be appreciated. Buick Motor Div. Flint MI. 1938 MOD 41 Body # 21 524 Style # 38 4199 Paint # 519 Trim # 401 engine # is 43489353 thanks Brian K.

thanks ewing, that eases my mind a lot. I thought that might be the case but didn't know for sure. Brian K.

OK, no body mentioned that the rear end might float forward in the car when the trans is out of the car. I was trying to push the car back into the garage and much to my surprise the rear wheels are up against the front of the rear fenders. Whas' up? I had to put it up on a jack and roll it in that way. Am I in trouble or will I be able to reposition it later on. helllllllllllp. Brian.

Well everyone I pulled the engine yesterday and am I glad I did. Trying to do any sort of rebuild lying on my back would be next to impossible. Will wait now till I get the engine to the shop to order parts and or see what exactly I need as far as bearings for the rods are concerned and how much actual wear there is. There were also lots of things as far as breaking the engine down to just the block that would have been difficult in place to get to so this was the right decision. Thanks for all your help in this project. Will keep all informed as to how this progresses. thanks Brian

Ok two more questions. I'm just about ready to lift the block out. Two things left to take care of. The bell and crank has a bracket, kinda like a knee attached to the Bell housing with a bolt. I removed the bolt but the bracket seems solid I mean really solid like its part of the casting. Any ideas? And the gear shift lever, do I have to take the cover plate off to remove it or is there some clever way to pop it out of the transmission using those spring loaded pins on the side of the housing that it pivots on.I've already removed the cover pan to access the tranny. And I guess I should ask if it's ok to lift the engine on a chain bolted to the block with replacement 7/16, 14TPI bolts in the holes in the block. thanks, you've all been a big help. Brian

hey guys something I just thought of when looking through Bob's Catalog and that is engine size. He has 248 and 263 listed under my year for a 38 Special. Am I missing something here and do I have a 248 in my car. What other designations am I going to need to know to get the right parts. Where would I look on the car for series #'s or engine size or anything else I might need to know. Is theresomething like a build card that I have for my Plymouth that came from the W. P. Chrysler museum. Gave me all the info about the car.

Hi Dave, never thought you were dissing me and how dopey would I be if I didn't take all this well founded advice and information to heart. Brought the head to my machine shop guy yesterday and discussed the project with him. He was telling me about a diesel block that he bored in place, took about 5 hrs a cyl and trying to clean up the mess was staggering. I'm not in a big rush here so why would I not try to do it the best way possible. Will continue on and get the block out, clean it a little more, break it down further and then deliver it to him. Then the fun part ordering the parts. Any help there would be appreciated. Cars Inc. has everything and I think reasonabley priced also. Piston sets @ $290 and rings @ $145. I guess they have them matched for oversized if I need them for eg: 10,20,or 30 over. In fact everything they have seems reasonably priced. Looks like about $1200 for the parts and then labor on top of that. That's if nothing bad shows up in the breakdown. Thanks for all your help. Brian

simplyconnected, I am paying attention and I'm to the point where I pull the block which is all I have left or as Steve said bore or hone in place. I just finished cleaning and degreasing the block and now would like to know if there is a boring machine or honing tool that is mobile so as to use in the garage. I will do the head at the local machine shop but my real problem is in the pistons and cylinder walls. The one problem I see with doing it in place is cleaning the water jacket now and I don't think I want to take a chance and try to boil it later with some sort of cleaner, so I guess I answered my own question. I will continue on and pull the block. Am I better off trying to pull the tranny with the engine in one piece, seems the way to do it. BTW what does it weigh? Brian

Matthew, I'm in Arapahoe on the coast near New bern, so I guess I'm about 2 hrs. from you. I'll be using Mike Kutkuhn at CAMS in New Bern for my engine. He is an AACA member and a member of my local club, First Capital. He does excellent work and is familiar with vintage engines. Like I've asked I would need some specs for this engine if anyone can help. tanks for your response,Brian

I hope I have enough time left to put a 100,000 on a seventy year old car. Anyway I need some specs on this engine if possible, as I'm committed to a full rebuild at this point. What are the cu.in. on this engine, 248? Any other info on this engine that is pertinent and this model car, Special 4 doors, trunkback would be appreciated. I'm in NC and have already used Cars Inc. in NJ for some engine related stuff, starter, carb kit and Kanter for igition parts. Went to Hershey this month and saw two beautiful '38 Buicks, so I know the car has great potential as it is a complete and solid with no rust. At this point just want to get it on the road and drive it and then decide how far I want to proceed with a restoration or keep it HPOF. I have a '41 Plymouth TPC , P11 that is a #'s matching original car and I show that HPOF locally. Agai thanks for any info you can give me through this forum. Brian K.

thanks for all the info, could use some specs on my engine if possible. will try to take pics along the way and would appreciate info on posting them. The cyl. walls are completely smooth with no scoring or any kind of lines in them. three of the pistons, 1,2, and 7 seem to have small pieces missing of the edges and I can see the comp. ring where these pieces are missing. wonder where the pieces went as they weren't in the cyl. I guess they were blown out through the exhaust valve. I will try putting some 30 wgt. oil on the #1 cyl and see how fast it drains out as that may tell me why I had no comp. when I tried this performing a comp. test. the engine only has 38,000 on it but I understand that may have only been the usable life of engines of that era. Very little ridge to deal with so I guess that indicates very little wear. I guess this is a 248 ci engine but don't know for sure. It is a '38 Special with no adornments so I would like to know all I can about it. thanks Brian

pulled the head and what I don't see is now more confusing than ever but I'm committed so I'll go ahead and pull the pistons. Thinking it might be just as easy to pull the engine and work like a gentleman instead of on a creeper for the duration. Can also clean the engine and engine comparment much easier like that. thanks for the help everyone i'll keep you informed. thanks Brian

to all, Have head the valve cover off and have freed any valves that were stuck. also had a bent pushrod and straightened that out. All of the valves are adjusted properly and working. by that i mean up and down not necessarily seating although. I would think with 7 cyls. having compression I should be able to get the engine to run fairly well. I'm still wondering why the oil is spilling out of the dipstick hole. Brian

Hope someone can help. Have a '38 Special with straight 8 and can't get to rev up. runs at about 650 and revs up to about 900 but won't go any hire. All new ignition parts and a carb kit are installed. Timing advanced a little. Have better than 75 lbs. in 7 cyls. but the #1 cylinder is dead. Tried a comp. test with oil in the cylinder but still dead. Thinking it's a valve but the crankcase seems to pressurized because oil is coming out of the dipstick hole and fumes out of the breather tube. So could it be rings also? Runs smooth at idle and up to 900 rpm's but that's it. Want to make a determination as to how to proceed before I go into the engine. Any help will be appreciated. No knocking or noise out of the engine but does pop back in the carburetor(not misfiring poping) so I'm pretty sure it's an intake valve. thanks in advance captbrian38