Bob Engle

I plan to attack this project this winter. I have no idea what I will be getting into yet . Bob Engle

I just purchased a 1917 /d/45. It is an unrestored car. I hope to have it ready to show at Hershey in October, The 1917 is very similar to the 1916. You are welcome to come and look at my car and hopefully you could get a ride in September. I live near Winchester Va which is probably a 3 hour drive for you. Let me know if you are interested. I can send photos, and contact information. I like to share my cars with everyone, especially children. They love to ride in the rumble seat of my model A Ford coupe. Cars of the teens vintage are pretty much cruisers at 35 MPH. much above that speed can be damaging to the engine. there are lots of lubrication points that need attention every 100 miles. The brakes are mechanical rear only. There are no shocks on the car. No brake lights, no turn signals. They have great torque so they can pull hills quite well. The instruction manual for the 1917 cars is very entertaining reading and would give you a good idea of what it would be like to drive one of them. Reproduction copies are available for a nominal cost. Let me know if you are still interested. Bob Engle

Old safety glass will almost always show bubbles and discoloration along the edges. Single pane glass will not show these age defects. Bob Engle

Looks very similar to the 1917 parts. I did have to make the lock tab washers by hand as you suggested. I ended up at 80 ft-lb of torque. I think a chronic problem in these differentials is the pinion gear loose on the taper. The bearing surface on your pinion gear does not exit on the 1917's. The taper on the shaft is shorter and steeper. The pinion bearing surface is part of the shaft in 1917. Thanks for sharing your experience. I neglected to take photos of the part disassembled. Too anxious to get it together and get some driving time in this summer. Bob Engle

I got my pinion shaft and ring gear carrier back from the machine shop and am beginning reassembly. When I disassembled the unit, the pinion nut was loose and the shaft taper was worn. There was no locking device on the the shaft for the pinion gear. There was a stake mark on the pinion nut. What should the 7/8-14 nut be torgued to? Is staking the proper locking method? Bob Engle

You can see the two contact points on the bottom of the bulb. there was a rear view mirror mounted on the side of the lamp housing. It was added quite a bit later as it was attached with a phillips head screw. I will change the screw to a period correct on on reassembly. I won't be able to take measurements on the rear track as the differential in in pieces right now waiting for parts to return from the machine shop. I will be curious to see what it measures. I was surprised to hear that the 34 x 4 tires are unusual for 1917 D45's. The Standard Catalog of American Cars list the 1917 D45's with that tire size. Bob Engle

On the optional spot light, from the photos you can see that by turning the handle on the back it make s contact with the two terminals on the back of the bulb. I think I will wire it direct to one of the light switches on the dash switch panel. I don't know how I will route the wires into the under dash area. The lower edge hood welt is pop riveted with the white material. I think some type of tubular or split rivet in brass or nickel with a brown or black welting would have be correct?? Bob Engle

Here's confirmation of the 25" inside rim dimendion . The photos on the front end are taken close to center and indicates 61" outer edge track. With the positive camber it is probably 60" at the road. Does this mean optional larger dia. wheels and wider track than standard? Bob Engle

Terry: Thanks for the response. The inside of the mounted tires is 25 ". The inside diameter of an unmounted tire is 26". The centerline (center of tire tread) on the front wheels is 56". Adding 4 " for the tire would give me 60" of tread width. I'll take photos tomorrow an post them. This is part of the fun of discovery about these cars. I didn't get a show car, but I hope I got a fun driver with stories to tell. Bob

Every day I spend some time going over my new acquisition. It is an unrestored car; however there are many signs of work having been done on the car. You can imagine how many mechanics had their hands on some part through the years. We all know, many shortcuts and changes were made to improve?? or make repairs easier. My goal is to keep the car in as close to original correctness but also leave it in its current condition except for areas that affect driveability. Some current questions are: I have some brass grease cups and some nickle plated cups. What is correct for the car? The lower hood lace was replaced with some white leather material and was attached with pop rivets. What is the correct material and type of rivet to attach the material? There is a lamp attached to the driver window stanchion, but the wiring is cut off at the lamp. What was the correct routing of the wiring? and where was it's connection? The current tires are Firestone 34 X 4. The only replacement tires I see listed are 34 X 4 1/2. Will they fit properly on the rims properly? Will the current tube fit the 4 1/2 width? I replaced the broken front spring leaf. I had Stanley Springs in Harrisburg PA make the new leaf. It assembled easily and the cost for the leaf was $100. I would recommend them to anyone that needs springs and live near Harrisburg, PA I have found that when you can deliver parts to vendors directly, the results are many times better than when parts are shipped. I'm still working on ring and pinion repairs. I hope to get the car on the road mid August and shake it down before Hershey in the fall. Bob Engle

I have the wiring diagram. I am just trying to determine what has been changed over the years. If you notice in the photos, the ignition switch is not flush to the panel like all other switches are. My opinion at this time is that someone changed the pull lever on the ignition switch so the ignition can't be locked as there is no slot in the bottom of the pull lever for the lock plate. You can see a difference in the color of the ignition lever as opposed to the light levers. The rivet heads are different size also. Bob

Today I noticed that the 260 weight gear oil is leaking out the pitman arm seal and down onto the frame. How big a job is it to replace this seal? Bob Engle

Today I began working on the electrical system. I replaced the bulb in the taillight and inspected the wiring for condition. Then I started to check out the electric fuel pump to see how it was wired into the system. I found the main power wire from the coil power connection to the pump in the rear was in terrible condition. There was over 2 feet of exposed wire. I have decided to mount a toggle switch under the dash for the fuel pump and pick up the power from #3 terminal. This way I can fill the vacuum tank before attempting to start the car. The fuel pump feeds into the vacuum tank and the vent line was converted to a return line to the gas tank. The vacuum port in the tank was soldered shut. there is no mechanism left in the vacuum tank. While working on the wiring for the fuel pump, I wanted to understand the electrical panel. I numbered and removed the 7 wires and removed the panel from the dash. I have attached some photos of the unit. I was trying to understand how the unit was operated without a key. It appears that the ignition knob linkage was modified to prevent the slide plate for the lock assembly from engaging the bottom of linkage. Pushing the ignition knob in disengages the electrical contacts but the unit can't be locked. I don't think I will attempt a correction on the switch at this time. I will most likely install a battery cutout and won't depend on the switch to kill power. Headlight operation will be my next challenge. I'm not real sure on the process to get the headlight lenses and reflectors removed. Bob Engle

You won't have much luck dealing with DMV's for information. Your best bet is to find people that knew about the car and owners. You can attempt to ask for info from car clubs in the area where the car was last known to be. You can check with AACA to see if the car has a junior, senior, or HPOF award and the location of the car show where they won the award. Talk with the previous owner again. He should know Who,Where and When bought the car. Bob Engle

Thanks Brian

Thanks, you confirmed what I thought. That timing gear housing must have a lot of junk accumulated over the last 100 years. Bob Engle

I'm in the process of learning about my 1917 D45. I am changing out all fluids. Is there a way to drain the fluid out of the timing gear case? There is nothing obvious on the bottom of the gearcase. There is a fill plug on the left side and a plug on the right side top above the the water pump drive shaft. The instruction manual say to fill to 1" below the fill plug on the left side. Bob Engle

Tough place to get a good photo> It's the lower plug that is leaking. Bob Engle

Going through things on my new acquisition, I found the front lower freeze (core) plug weeping. It appears to be a 1 1/4" cup type. Is there anything unusual about changing these plugs in this car? I have no experience with anything older than my 32 Buick Bob Engle

Thanks Terry, I thought there were the grease cups on all bolts as the lube as the lube instructions talked about all fittings. I do NOT have the DELCO Key and would surely like to have one. I have come up on another question. I was able to readily remove the right rear wheel and brake drum once I got instructions on removing the axle. The left wheel doesn't want to cooperate. I've got the axle out, but the 2 1/2' NUT does not want to break free. I've got the locking trbs bent out of the way. Is it possible that it is a left hand Thread?? Thanks again, I'll look for the PM. Bob

My first question Is the lower shackle bolt correct in this photo?? The Instruction book talks about a grease cup at this location. If this is just a 9/16" bolt, I can replace it with a stock bolt. The top bolt is 3 3/4" from shoulder to thread end. It is 9/16" X18 tpi. I could use 2 or 3 is the lower bolt is supposed to be like the top. I could also use the two U bolts that mount the spring to the front axle. It is 9/16" threads with a 2 1/16" inside width and 3 1/2" depth Last item are rear axle bolts and acorn nuts 1/2" 20 tpi 2 7/8" over all length 2" from tapered shoulder to end. I could use 2 of these. Send me a pm with pricing if you want to part with any of these parts. It would save me a lot of lathe time. Bob Engle

Glad to share photos. I am by no means knowledgeable about this 1917 Buick. Part of the fun of a new car is learning details about the car. This car has supposedly spent it's first 88 years in California and then 12 years in a heated garage in Michigan. The front seat cushion and back have been recovered in vinyl and the rear cushion has been recovered in vinyl while the rear back is still original with a large tear in the leather. I've begun cleaning and conditioning the leather to try and keep original. The top was replaced at some time, but does show lack of care. Teh hood appears to have been repainted, while the rest of the body appears original. Speedometer cable is disconnected. so I will have to test the speedometer to see if it's operable or whether the problem is the cable or drive gear. The car is unrestored, however like all very old cars, maintenance and repair means some deviation from original. At this point, I don't know what is correct and what is not. I do see a lot of zirk fittings instead of brass cups. You will not hurt my feelings by questioning anything about the car. You all can help me increase my knowledge. My plans are to get the car driveable and enjoy driving it to local car shows. I hope to put it in HPOF at Hershey this fall. Please share your thoughts on the car. It will be appreciated. Bob Engle

Thanks for the chart! I am somewhat confused about what is correct. My car has Type Z 32115 where the spring mounts to the frame at both the front and rear end. At the lower back of the front spring the bolt is Type X 36510. However, the Instruction manual for the 1917 D4 series under lubrication says to turn the brass cup 1/2 turn for lube, two cups at the rear and one at the front. My car only has one cup type lubricator at the rear and one at the front with no provision for lubrication on the lower rear. My goal is to keep this car as close to original unrestored as possible. I understand that with a 100 year old car, it is possible that some things have been changed or eliminated. I do know that there are some locations where the brass lube cups have been replaced with zirk fittings. I do suspect that any used bolts will have significant wear, so NOS or new manufactured parts ore the only goo alternatives. I am surely not an expert on this car, but I am working to learn evrything I can about them so I can enjoy driving it and occcasionally show it in Preservation or HPOF. Bob Engle

I removed the broken front spring and have a new leaf being made. The spring shackles have a fair amount of wear and I was wondering if anyone has reproduced these spring shackles? If not, I will have to make new ones myself. If I make them, would anyone else be interested in having some new ones? It's easier to make a batch than to make just a few. To do a complete front spring shackle replacement, It take four long bolts and two short ones. Bob Engle

It sure will affect running as you were probably pulling air in that opening bypassing the carb. It would not cause the blue smoke. It would make the engine run very lean. Bob Engle