trp3141592

Hi, Terrill Machine in Deleon, TX, will rebuild your vacuum advance, but it's no cheaper than Kanter. I have had fuel pumps and vac's done there with excellent results. --Tom

Hi, GM had a way of hanging the wiper motor on a string and then building the whole car around it. For my 37, the radio had to come out in order for a lithe and flexible teenager to reach up there and install the arms and the clip. Once you can get your hands on the motor output shaft, it's a relatively easy matter for a teenager trained monkey to slip the clip onto the pivots. To be sure the motor was properly "set" for attaching the arms, I applied vacuum to the motor and set it to the off (parked) position. With the wiper blades also at park, it was obvious which arm went where. The darned on/off linkage got in the way of all progress. As designed, it has to be installed to the motor before the motor and clip are installed. Impossible. I made a new linkage with two snap-on/removable ball joint ends (http://www.mcmaster.com/#rod-ends/=wmjzo9) and 3/16" brass rod (also mcmaster). This allowed me to place the motor and the arms without fighting the linkage. In all humility, this was a masterful stroke of genius. One other thing I did was to replace the slot-head motor attachment screws, which require three hands and a Star Trek anti-gravity device in an impossible space to install while you are upside-down and discovering back pain you never knew could exist, with 10-32 threaded shaft knobs (mcmaster.com, Lowes, most hardware sources) that can be handled with one hand. HUGE aggravation difference when installing the motor. I loosely "started" one knob on one end, slipped the motor up and onto one mounting fitting (driver side as I recall, and balanced it on the other mounting fitting while I got the other knob in my hand and managed to start it in the threaded hole on the motor. Then I "easily" tightened them both. NOTHING about dealing with a wiper motor is pleasant. But it can be done. And next time will be easier with the knobs and removable linkage rather than slot-head screws. --Tom

Hi, I hope everyone doing this job knows to use Never-Seize on the threads when re-assembling this beast. The next time it has to be done, you will be blessed--not cursed--by the mechanic doing it. --Tom

Hi, As my Old Man Pappy Maverick used to say, "There's more than one way to roll a Seven..." --Tom

Hi, Thread 12: it is 1-3/4" Thread 20: Go get a 1-3/4" socket from Sears. Grind either hex or oct flats on the small end. --Tom

Hi, @Bob, All I can tell you is to look at http://forums.aaca.org/f162/how-do-i-remove-brake-booster-261071.html threads 12 and 20, and decide if that's good enough info for you. --Tom

Hi, A prior thread had a statement that it is 1-3/4". --Tom

Hi, Another possibility if you can stand it: Cracked distributor cap, or a carbon track on the inside or outside of the cap. I have experienced both. --Tom EDIT: Two other thoughts: 1) Pull off the ignition wire side cover and fire this thing up at night--ie, in the dark--and see if you're getting a light show of misdirected ignition sparks. It could be that your wires are shot and either grounding or talking to each other. 2) Have you installed new "old NOS" spark plugs, maybe from an EBay vendor? I did once, and found that all the porcelains were cracked. --Tom --Tom

Hi again, This site lists the wrench--I have no idea what the price is, and no idea if the vendor is reliable or not. http://www.penybonttools.com/toolsj1toj10000.htm --Tom

Hi, There is a lengthy forum on this topic--Buick's WORST design IMO. http://forums.aaca.org/f162/how-do-i-remove-brake-booster-261071.html --Tom

Hi, Chstickl--have you considered the notorious coolant by-pass valve located above the water pump. This little guy causes more overheating than a solar flare! check this thread for information: http://forums.aaca.org/f165/buick8-overheating-coolant-bypass-valve-377149.html --Tom

Hi, That subway fire was actually in 1915. The photographer mis-labelled the photo--not uncommon at the start of a new year! --Tom

Hi, 1. Worn universal joint in drive shaft. 2. Worn pinion bearing in differential housing (your replacement pumpkin). 3. Weak front and/or rear shock. 4. Gremlins. --Tom

Hi, Beware if buying "new" ones. Not long ago some person with no scruples was selling dog-dish caps on EBay with stylized "KUICK" instead of "BUICK" on them. He photographed them carefully to hide his deceit. --Tom --Tom

Hi, My weapon of choice is left-hand drills. They are not extractors, which jam and break, but drills which don't. Harbor freight, McMaster-Carr, even Sears have them. --Tom

Hi, Amazon offers a 5/16" close bending tool. I don't know how good it is--it doesn't look like it would be friendly with stainless. But it should work for CuNiFer tubing. It is their listing of: [h=1]V8 Tools (V8T809) Inline 5/16" Tubing Bender/Plier[/h] --Tom

Hi, Did you see Eastwood's bending tool #49074 that works mighty darn close to a fitting? --Tom

Hi, For $800, hop in a pickup truck and go get it. It's an 11 to 12 hour drive. --Tom

Hi, Not to be condescending, bear in mind that when drifting a pin, you want to use a heavy hammer, not a light one. Heavy hammers MOVE things, light hammers BEND (mushroom) them. --Tom

Hi, Since you are using 5/16" brake line tubing, I would suggest the Eastwood #12435 bender. Call Eastwood and inquire about a package deal--they may throw in the bender fo' free. --Tom btw: I do not work for or have any interest in Eastwood. I just found their flaring and bending tools to be the best available.

Hi, 1. The Eastwood brake tubing flaring tool WORKS--first time, every time. http://www.eastwood.com/professional-brake-tubing-flaring-tool.html When you have made your first flare--and it will be perfect--you won't care what the tool cost you. If I had my money back on all the cheap flaring tools and ruined tubing that I have sent to the dump, my Eastwood tool would be free. 2. CuNiFer tubing is all it is cracked up to be. Forms beautifully, doesn't rust, bends without kinking--but buy a good bending tool anyway. You can straighten a section of the coil tubing by rolling it between two wood planks, or you can buy a straightener, or you can make a straightener. Check the tools out on youtube. --Tom

Hi, For a stubborn fitting, make sure you are using flare wrenches and are double-wrenching. They grip the hex head at 6 points and are less likely to spin the hex smooth. I would count on replacing all the brake hoses--after so many years I would not trust my life to them. The replacement rubber hoses on my LaSalle lasted 25 years, but then they had to be replaced after that. You haven't mentioned your wheel cylinders. They are likely corroded and pitted inside. If replacements are available, that's great. If not, they can be sleeved with stainless at any number of places. I use brakeplace.com to sleeve mine. --Tom

Hi, I cannot make your decision for you about making your own brake lines. I do offer the following for your consideration. 1. Replace the rubber hoses with DOT-standard hoses. Avoid the $20 Argentine-made crap from Ebay. You should pay 80-90 dollars for a set. 2. Do not try to make your own stainless steel hoses. Stainless steel tubing breaks when formed, particularly in the double flare. Making stainless brake lines requires special consideration, tooling, and skills. 3. If you decide to make your own: a). invest a couple hundred bucks into the Eastwood.com brake tubing flaring tool. After making one flare you won't care what it costs--it's that good. See it at work on youtube. Too expensive?--you can always sell it when done for about 2/3 of what you paid for it. . use CuNiFer brake tubing, easily available at parts stores. It is easy to form and highly resistant to corrosion. 4. If you are doubting your abilities, don't do it. Your brake system is a single-cylinder system, and one brake line failure equals "no brakes." Hire it out to a dependable mechanic. Just my 2 cents, based on experience. --Tom

Hi, The last Tsar had at least two conversions of Imperial cars to tracked vehicles. The conversions were designed by Adolphe Kegresse. One was a Packard Twin-Six open car and the other was a Rolls Royce. The Rolls survives; don't know about the Packard. --Tom

One of the pages states that Studebaker did not have safety glass in the side windows. Wow--I can hardly believe that to be possible!