ROD W

The gearbox looks the same as this one, which has BOHNALITE written on it. A Google search found this was The Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation who made aluminium and brass specialty castings for Packard and other auto companies. Also sponsored the Bohnalite Special which raced in the 1934 Indy 500. using Bohnalite cylinder heads and pistons.

A Google search found it was a company making Brass and Aluminium parts for a number of other company,s. Bohn Aluminum & Brass Corporation

Morgan, What sort of price would you be looking at for one that isn,t working. I wouldn,t mind having a clock in the dash. I only have a clock in the rear view mirror.

I have never even seen those before,? What material are they made of.

Gavin, Thanks for the update. We all love to see how a restoration is progressing. In an earlier post, I could see a round petrol tank. This is probably out of a later 4 cylinder car as the 6,s had an oval tank.

Philip, New coil showing 17k on the secondary and 1.2 ohm on the primary. Ensure you get a coil that says with resistor as this gets the primary resistance down to the 1.5 ohms which is suitable for a 6 volt system. My 1920 Buick would idle nicely, but run very poorly and smoked on higher revs. Checking the secondary resistance and couldn,t even get a reading. Surprised the car even ran.

On a 6 volt coil the primary winding should be reading 1.5 ohms when set at 200. The secondary should be reading from 4000 - 10,000 when set at the 20k

These mailbox coils have the resistor at the front of the coil. The resistor limits the current flowing through the coil when the points are closed so the coil will not get too hot. In this coil, the resistor is broken and a external ballast resistor has been added. If a newer coil is used, ensure there is a ballast resistor in place.

Thanks Terry, I just use the name that sounds appropriate at the time. I should look up the manual for the proper name.

Even though the 1915 has the starter commutator at the back of the s/g and the generator commutator at the front of the s/g it still has a similar set up to engage the starter gear and the starter brush. Also check that the one way clutch is actually working. Turning in one direction and locking when turned in the opposite direction.

On removing the screw, found it does not allow for adjustment but a location pin to align the lever in the correct position. But if this pin has come out or is loose it would allow the lever to slide on the shaft.

Mark, On the 1920 and I feel the 1915 would be similar, there is adjustment on the shaft that engages the starter gear, with a lock nut. Maybe the locknut is loose and the lever is sliding on the shaft. There is also a small amount of adjustment on the shaft that engages the starter brushes. This lever simultainiously engages the starter gear and the starter brushes.

I know a number of people with pre 1925 Buicks, on this Forum have done a lot of work on their starter/ generators and have a good knowledge of there workings, But I would like to give a step by step explanation of the S/G for those who find them a bit of a mystery. I am not an auto electrician, but have been lucky enough to be able to play around with these S/G for close on fifty years. My experience has been on the S/G from the late teens and early 20,s, so the earlier one,s starting in 1913/14, will look slightly different but function in the same way. I will include a bit of physics to help understand the workings of a DC Motor. All this information is available in the Buick Reference Books and Workshop Manuals for each year, but can be fairly difficult to follow. As stated it is a combination Starter motor and Generator and has three functions. 1- Starter Motor to crank the engine. 2- Generator to recharge the battery and provide for the lights 3- The Generator also acts as a motor to align the gears that connect to the flywheel for the starting operation. The s/g has two basic components 1. The iron frame which provides the magnetic field and 2. The Armature that rotates in the magnetic field. DC MOTORS When a current is passed through a conductor in a magnetic field, it experiences a turning force In the Delco s/g there are two field coils. One for the generator motor ( this is a shunt motor, meaning the field windings are in parallel to the armature ) and another for the starter motor.( whose field windings are in series with the armature ) The armature also has two sets of windings , one for the starter motor and one for the generator, with their respective commutators. The two motors operate very differently due to the positioning of their field coils. STARTER MOTOR This motor has the field coil in series with the armature. When the field coil is in series it requires a load to limit the speed of the motor. In our case the cranking of the engine provides this load to stop the starter motor turning too fast. If you bench test the starter motor, only provide power for a very short time so the motor is not destroyed by spinning too fast. GENERATOR MOTOR In this motor the field coil is in parallel with the armature The advantage of this is that the motors speed is self regulating, so it will not get faster and faster, It does not need a load to slow it down. This is evident when the ignition is turned on and the generator can be heard motoring. 1918 -1921 S/G 1922 -1925 S/G 1925 Armature with both starter commutator and generator commutator, , inside Iron body showing iron core that field windings wrap around.

Hugh, I will order a set. Can you ask if there is asbestos in them. If there is I couldn,t get them into Aust. Rod

Kennybubs, That,s a 2010 posting, but it looks a pretty nice cap

Larry, No I didn,t get a round disc with it. Size and photo would be appreciated.

How to use

Received my Buffum Valve Remover today, so now I can throw away the crowbar

Budd, I have seen top hold down clamps, cap wrenches and service manuals on Ebay recently. Don,t know if 23 had the clamp type hold down or the small rest type. Mine are 7 inches long on my 1920. Brian H should be able to send you a photo of his and the size. Buick Heritage Alliance also sell the manuals, but a reliable sauce has told us it can take 3 - 4 weeks.

Here,s a windsceen on Ebay. Looks like a Master, $350. In Vintage Car and truck Parts, Accessories

Gene, It was a 1925 standard Buick. Photo taken in 1970. A friend from school helped me get it running. He had a 1924 Dodge and showed me how to tune the car, being more mechanically minded than me. The starter didn,t work so always needed starting by hand. It would only start when the engine was cold. So it spent many nights down the back paddocks.

Kyle, The main difference between the earlier S/G pre 1921, and the later 22 - 25 is the orientation of the armature and commutators. The earlier had the commutators on the distributor side of the s/g, where as the later had the commutators at the back of the s/g ( much easier to get to )

I didn,t realize the mailbox coils also incorporated the condenser/capacitor

As gossp said, it is a 1913 Model 31. 1912 had the windscreen at the front of the cowl and the earlier cars did not have front doors except the Model 39 in 1911, but this was a much bigger car on a 116 inch wheelbase. It is not a 1914 as they had electric lights.

Here,s a 1919 -20 wiring diagram. Very similar, only 1918 has the push pull switches where as 19 and 20 have the combination ignition switch