[Center Steering Bearing]

Every once in a while someone posts a desperate plea to locate the center steering bearing for Buick, Cadillac, LaSalle,  and Cord.  They are rare, but they DO show up on Ebay.  One is listed on Ebay right now at a grab-it price.  Not mine, just posting info.  

 

 RARE NOS Center Steering Bearing 35 36 Cadillac LaSalle Buick 36 37 Cord 900916

 

--Tom

 

2019-04-04 Edit: There are TWO of them listed on EBay right now.

[Crank seal under timing cover - '53 Special]

Bio,

 

Hi.

 

If you drop the pan, be prepared to spend a leisurely half hour or so flattening the flange of the pan.  These guys tend to get warped out of flat when tightened, and the careful use of a hammer and appropriate dolly will put it back in the flat again.  Watch your torque when you re-install it so you don't re-warp the flange.

 

--Tom

[1925 Buick Fender Welting]

Hi,

 

You can easily make your own cloth-covered welting with a "piping foot" for the Missus' sewing machine.  Cloth welting is paintable and in many case more authentic than rubber.  I made my own for the 37

Cord.

 

--Tom

 

 

 

 

[Two 1937 Buicks]

Ahhhh----  37!  My FAVORITE Buick!

[Battery 37 special]

Hi,

 

I vote for under-sized cables.  The 6-volt systems use connecting wires big enough to hold back Godzilla.  Modern 12-volt capacity wires are just too thin.

 

--Tom

[Show Us Your Fan !!!]

Hi,

 

Turning the factory mechanical fan around does not change the direction of air flow, but it greatly decreases the amount of air flow.  There was an article in the August, 2014, Hardtop News Magazine section concerning an owner who sold his 59 Ford because he could not keep it from overheating.  The cause: the fan was reversed leading to decreased air flow.

 

--Tom

[Vacuum Advance Steel Line]

If your same-size-as oil pressure line is 1/8", I found this tubing in copper at Summit Racing:

 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/equ-9901/media/images

 

--Tom

[conversion kits for 41 buick limited 90 limousine]

Hi,

 

My 2 cents and well worth it...

 

Your headlights will be fine if you have your mechanic install a relay so that the headlight current is not going through the switch.  If your mechanic doesn't know how to do this, get another mechanic.

 

Between the Cord, my 37 Buick, and my past-owned Lasalle, I often had folks ask me to "drive weddings," offering cash under the table.  I avoided them like the plague.  The liabilities are near infinite, as are the costs of insurance and meeting livery vehicle standards and licensing.  Do your research carefully before you jump into a business with a car that is not intended to be in your business.

 

--Tom

 

[1955 Super - Single Brake Lockup]

Hi,

 

I vote for a collapsed flex hose.  Been there--took a lot of thought to figure out the problem.

 

BTW, you can't tell from the exterior of the hose that the interior has collapsed.

 

--Tom

[73 Buick differential cover gasket]

Hi,

 

I started making my own fiber and cork gaskets after I bought an inexpensive punch-and-die tool.  Trying to cut the small holes for the bolts using small snippers was not working.  The hole punch set does a great job on fiber and cork.  I wouldn't use it on metal shims or body-thickness steel.

 

--Tom

 

 

 

 

[Stainless steel brake lines]

Hi,

 

Stainless tubing is a real bear to work with--it tends to crack on the re-bend as you make the flare.  If you're doing a whole brake line replacement, use CuNiFer brake line (available anywhere nowadays) and buy an Eastwood flaring tool.  Yes, it's a couple hundred bucks.   But after you make your first flare, which will be perfect, you won't care what it cost.  And you get to keep the tool for the next car!

 

http://www.eastwood.com/professional-brake-tubing-flaring-tool.html

 

--Tom

[Problem Bleeding rebuilt original Master Cylinder power Vacuum Booster - 1956 Century Riviera 60 series]

Hi,

 

I sure am glad I have pre-war cars withOUT the advanced technology of the 50's!

 

--Tom

['55 Special "clunk"" when slowing to stop. OOPS!!]

OR--it might be a golf ball rolling around in the spare tire well...

 

--Tom 

 

[help me figure out the electrical gremlins]

Yep--bad ground.  I had a Pontiac that made me CRAZY until an old-timer slapped up upside my head and said,"GROUND, Idiot!"   

[MASTER CYLD. 37 SPECIAL]

Hi,

 

There was a thread a couple of years ago wherein a member installed a dual master cylinder in his 37 (Roadmaster, I think).  It was a LOT of work.  I mean A LOT of work.  A REAL lot of work.  More than I wanted to do, anyway.

 

I put a dual master cylinder in my 37 Cord, largely because the state of that car's disassembly made it all easily accessible.  Turns out it fit without frame or linkage alterations other than installing new steel brake lines to go to the front and to the back.

 

So--choose your battle.  Changing my Roadmaster to a dual cylinder did not seem worth the effort.  I rebuilt what was original with new hoses and cylinders, and it has worked fine ever since.

 

--Tom

[58 buick transmission push me around]

Hi,

 

Don't forget to change the rubber flex brake hoses during your brake job.  These things swell up on the inside and cause a lot of Gremlin-activity.

 

--Tom

[53 Roadmaster brake smokeout]

Hi,

 

This is a not-unknown problem with 1953 Buicks with power brakes.  The Kelsey-Hayes brake set-up has a design flaw that allows exactly what you are experiencing. 

 

I don't make recommendations on brakes--too much potential liability--but you can search the Buick forum for other owners' solutions.

 

--Tom

 

[Need Help Finding Paint! - Garnet Red (1957)]

Hi,

 

You can try this source:

 

http://www.autocolorlibrary.com/aclchip.aspx?image=1957-Buick-pg01.jpg

 

--Tom

[steering knuckle support lower bearing help]

Hi,

 

You can get a 20-ton press pretty cheaply from Harbor Freight...

 

--Tom

[Noise from '31 Model 57's Straight 8]

Hi,

 

Quote

Try , while running, pulling sparkplug wires one at a time.  Does noise change??

 

If you pull the wires off the plugs, you'll quickly learn that that is a bad idea.  Use an insulated plug wired puller to grab them.

 

Been there.

 

--Tom

[1941 Buick shift linkage]

Hi,

 

Had a Chevy that would not go into gear(s)--the bushings in the linkage were worn VERY oblong.  New bushings took out all the slop and the links worked perfectly.

 

--Tom

 

PS: could be worse--you could have a "remote shifting" Cord that won't go into gear. THAT can be a nightmare.

[1950 Buick stalling/dying at idle]

Hi,

 

How about a float that doesn't float?  I had to replace one of mine because it would sink, leaving the needle valve open.

 

--Tom

 

[810/812 fiberglass fenders]

Plymboy--

I bought a very good pair of new fiberglass rear fenders a few years ago from a gentleman in Michigan.  He also made front fenders, which I didn't need, but which I admired when I saw them.  

I won't publish his email address here, but send me your email address and I'll forward it to him.  If he is still making and selling fenders he can contact you directly.

I am at [EDIT] thomasrparkinson at yahoo.com  (don't forget the 'r'.)

--Tom

 

[The fuse is good...right?]

Hi,

 

Back in the drinking days when we had little money and even less taste, we college boys encountered some swill called "Yachting Club."  Its SOLE attraction was the price--$1.00 a case.  It was memorably awful.

 

But we drank it!  

 

--Tom

[62 leSabre trans Qs]

Hi,

 

Re: windshield 

 

windshield.. OUCH! $800 for a new one! really? holy crap!

 

 

Rockauto shows the 62 Lesabre windshield available at $305.

 

--Tom