ramair

George, my limited experience driving a dual valve is similar, they do like to climb hills fast and go down the other side even faster, whether you push on the brake pedal or not, now if you are serious about slowing down you need 3 hands, one to hang on to the steering wheel, one to pull on the emergency brake and the other to shift down, all joking aside, great car, probably the most refined powerful car built before 1920 , handles well , fairly light weight for a large car with the cast aluminum body.

George , it depends if you have a series 5 or not ?

George, my truck has been accepted at Ironstone. We will be on the Friday tour and dinner that evening then at the show on Saturday. I really am looking forward to this show as it is one of my favorites. I look forward to seeing you there, today’s progress picture,

When I was in high school in the mid seventies I was looking for a car to buy and our family always bought GM cars and pickups. I came across a 5 year old used 1968 Oldsmobile Toronado for $850.00, did I mention it was during the gas crisis, it was projected that gas would exceed $1.00 per gallon ( heck I think that does not even cover the tax in California today) that car ran like a striped xss ape. I took that car up to its maximum speed that the 400 hp motor would go. The funny thing was that it probably took 35 seconds to get there, but once it started floating and drifting I cut the power and it seemed like a eternity to drop speed 10 or 15 mph before I felt like the steering wheel actually was hooked to anything! I drove that car for 3 years And sold it for twice the money I paid, thought I was a genius and also found out it was one of 111 Toronado built in 1968 with a w series package Olds called it w-34 force air induction ( I shortened it to common name people use, Ram Air, for my handle) this was not just a horsepower add on, the package came with a high stall torque converter on the turbo 425 front wheel drive transmission, special cam with .472 lift, special advance curve distributor and a front grille that would swing open to allow more air to the engine. The engine produced 400 hp and 500 pounds of torque out of 455 ci. Road and track tested one of them and it would do 0 to 60 in 7.5 seconds with a max speed of 132 that’s 4,400 # of car. if you look at all the cutlass 442 or hurst packages you will see that this beasts horsepower/torque exceeded them all. Anyway after 25 years of kicking myself I found another one, this one is a garage kept one owner car with original paint and interior a very low mile car that is in such great shape. I occasionally take it out on a nice road and push down on the gas pedal, but i am smarter now, I let up on it much earlier

Cristech, my family came from Northern Italy near Torino, Griva is not a real common name in Italy , but it goes back 4 or 5 centuries and then we lost the trail. My grandfather use to tell a story that he thought that there were a lot of people in Greece by the name of Grivas and perhaps when Alexander the Great conquered Italy, he might have left some staff? No offense taken on how the mats in my trucks were preserved . I can tell you are proud of your ancestors as I am with mine. I think how hard it had to be to leave your home and wave goodbye knowing that there was a good chance you would never see those family members again, I think of how many sacrifices were made by so many, of course today in our modern life, we are much better than that, we work smarter not harder, we are in a hurry so we don’t have to use manners ect. By the way my grandfathers full name was ErmeneGildo Bautista Griva

Scuba nut, thank you for the compliment, actually the only reason it has moved along is the example others have set on this forum along with their help and advice. Having a best friend that restores cars for a living is pretty important also. I had to laugh when I read your quote “I hope you live long enough to drive that car”, I hate those backhanded compliments. A good response might be “I hope you live long enough to see me driving my car and my smile thinking of what I accomplished “ oh by the way I am 63 and feel that I need to pickup the pace. I have 10 more projects I want to finish and using that last one as a example I will have to live another 500 years! I will include a picture of my next project

Cristech, yes you are right our family has not been blessed with tall people probably our Italian connection. I have a picture to share of my grandfather and one of his Buick’s . No I don’t have that exact car , but the Garage in the background houses my 1915 Buick on occasion and my 1928 Buick . I started thinking more about floor mats and it really must have been one of the first items to be trashed ( exception on my White and IH). I think you came up with a plan A and plan B, personally the mat that lost some points has the look and flavor of the factory original, crack or no crack, just my humble opinion. With that said I am still working on plan A. How would i find the reproduction that you ended up using?

Hi all, I will throw in my 2 cents for what it’s worth. I do like Pebble a lot , it of course works great for me as I live exactly one hour away, except during car week so let’s make that 2 1/2 hours away for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I have been lucky enough to go on the Tour d’Elagance a couple of times which I love . At the actual Concours on Sunday I am not sure what I like best, either seeing the original design and craftsmanship of these cars or the skill of the restorer. A close second is the one chance a year to see old friends, new friends and make friends. My way of thinking is cars are just cars without the stories of how they were made or who owned them or how they were found, what it took to get them back on the road. So it’s really about the people. I now want to mention that there is a show here on the West coast that is lesser known that is a jewel as it kind of answers some of the concerns that I have been reading here. I am talking about the Ironstone concours d’Elagance in Murphy’s Ca. In late September. This show is celebrating its 25th year , it has about 300 cars that have something for everyone horseless, nickel, classic , postwar, sport, European ect. This is a place that you will find very nice home restoration to pebble beach quality, what you will not find is modified, hot rods or restorods. The guy who puts this show together is Chris Bock, he is the chief judge at Pebble Beach so you know it is done right. This year I will go up on Thursday and enjoy dining in Murphy’s, Friday I will go on their car tour up to a lake and have lunch on a houseboat, Saturday is the show from 9:00 to 4:00. It will cost me $75 to show my car, they throw in 2 entrance tickets. General spectator tickets are $25 . The only issue is hotel rooms, they are not expensive but within a month of the show all the one that are close by book up. Last month I booked rooms in Angels Camp about 10 miles from show in a very nice hotel for $200 per night, worse case there are plenty of hotels and selection in Stockton which is a 1 hour drive. So if you do the math you can take a friend , show your car, have a great meal, stay at a decent hotel for the cost of 2 tickets to Pebble. I say this not to knock Pebble (see above) i am just saying that there are some options that are overlooked

Chistech, my engine has the GMC version carb which is a Zenith model 20 with a manual choke, the other difference as far as performance is it has only a mechanical spark advance compared to the 1936 olds car version. I have only 4 or 5 engine starts so far along with a 1000’ test drive, so unsure how it will act as far as evaporation of fuel. I do have several antiques with the electric booster pumps and I have to say that by pushing that button for 20 seconds they not only start right away, but I think the starter and battery will last longer and perhaps less cylinder wash from constant cranking while pumping gas pedal. My plan is to take it to the concours d’Elegance at Ironstone in Murphy’s ca. In late September. This year is the shows 25th year ,It is a well attended show that attracts around 300 cars, beautiful setting , many of the cars that you see around Pebble appear there. You will see a lot of preservation cars along with a range of nice to perfect restoration on antique vehicles of all years. What you won’t see is modified, hot rods or restoration-rods. The guy who helps put this event together is Chris Bock and he is the head judge at Pebble Beach. The crazy thing is they have a commercial class , oh and it cost $75 to enter your vehicle and that includes 2 adult tickets and if you want to just go and be a spectator it will cost you $25 . Anyway after the show I plan on hiding and installing a 6 volt fuel pump with a hidden switch. Thank you in advance for looking for the mat with the right texture. It has been a wild goose chase trying to find someone with a remnant on their truck. I do have a few different brand trucks, a 1941 international KB6 and a 1961 White, we bought both new. I will include some pictures as they both have their original mats, something to be said for living their lives in a shed.

Wayne, I smile every time I drive a big six. The backstory is my great grandfather was a farmer and dairyman with roots going back to 1868 in California. By 1888 he was leasing thousands of acres in southern Monterey county from Rancho Zabala , a Spanish land grant that is still owned and farmed by the Zabala family. Our family farmed that ground for twenty years until my great grandfather bought the ranch next door in 1905. It took a while to have enough money to buy a car as work horses, oil engines and tractors were needed. So finally in 1916 my great grandfather bought a 1916 big six Buick and I always wondered why he kept buying Buick’s, I know they were great cars and all, well a local girl named Marcela Zabala married Charles Howard of Howard Motor Car . Marcela made a bet with her husband the a little race horse that Howard wanted to buy could not win a race, many already know that I am talking about Seabiscuit. I think I have gotten off topic here so If you have a chance PM me as I am curious which of the 20 or so running big sixes you have driven

Here you go

Greg, just sent a address book share for phone number. Let me know if you don’t get it, also I will look and see if I have some before pictures of my wheel to share

Wayne, I wish the Pope was mine, but I did not have a car at the show, many of my friends had early cars there, the 1914 Pierce, the 1914 Packard Six and the 1925 Pierce. Actually I have personally solved the whitewall / black wall problem, I own 8 cars, the 1915 Buick big 6, the 1916 Buick big 6 , the 1936 GMC and the 1993 Allante are black wall. The 1928 Buick country club coupe, the 1938 Packard super 8, the 1939 Packard twelve and the 1968 Toronado have whitewalls. So as long as I do not buy another car, I am at 50/50. In my comments about whitewall verse blackwall I was just kidding in light of the fact I met some of the forum members that spar back in forth on the forum all the time on this subject. I have included a picture of my Buick with whitewalls, I bought the car with the tires that are on it. I think the 128” wheelbase and dual rear spares give it that “Packard” look that led to the Packard lawsuit that Buick lost

I had a great time at Pebble, especially so because I was able to meet a few forum members in person. My only regret was not being able to fully resolve my misconceptions about whitewalls verses blackwalls

To all that are here at Pebble, please stop by and say hi, I would love to see some of the best and most generous friends on the greatest forum. I am based out between the green 1914 Packard and the blue 1914 Pierce . I will gladly pour some wine from our vineyard ( for the one person that would rather have another type of adult libation I will happily stand in line at the bar for you) , Michael

Jack, thank you, I live and work in agricultural part of Monterey county Calif. there are several companies here that sell conveyor belting used on field harvesting equipment. Years ago I found some thick belting that I needed on a early White truck that I was repairing. I will check and see if they might be of some help. Thank you again for the suggestion.

Chistech, yes the Oldsmobile is very quiet and perky. It fired off after sleeping for 65 years almost instantly. When hot it runs with 38 pounds of oil pressure. I have a video on my phone of how quick the engine accelerates . I tried to post it without success, so I will include another photo when it was out of car

Great morning at the tour, I have never met Ed, but he has to be somewhere near this, kind of like a moth to the light

I had a great job done by The Steering Wheel Guy in Oregon, his name is Jim and his price was very reasonable . I have included a picture of my 1936 GMC pickup, I believe the Buick wheel to be similar to this one. If you private message me I have permission to give you his phone number,

Started it and drove around in a circle outside! More fun than I should be entitled to.

Past week update, thought we would be out driving by now, we had some throttle linkage issues, along with some headlight conduit that was to short. This coming week will be a short one as it is “ car week” here in Monterey county.

Dandy Dave mentioned a 1915 Buick tank, I have been trying to find a 1915 tank, I believe they are one year only.

Thank you all, Nickelroadster thanks you for the tip. The two places that Had bulk mat were wrong, one had a pebble pattern which reminds me of my 1958 Ford custom 300 that has original interior. The other one is from Jim Carter truck parts and it has a really wide rib pattern. Next week we will finish truck hopefully and I will post some more pictures

Really pleased with the pinstripe application, right side done left side will be finished in a hour or so. Next week fenders , headlights , door handles and a drive around the block. Imagine I started this 2,608 weeks ago!

Matt, I am not a trained mechanic, but as a farmer using centrifugal water pumps I can tell you 3 things about them, number 1 , a few thousands extra gap between the impeller and the volute can make the difference between lots of water and pressure pumped and not. Number 2, they can trap air and when they do the air stays there, many of our water and sprayer pumps have a bleed valve ( not saying you should put one). Number 3, centrifugal pumps push water easier than they pull water, so any restrictions will effect performance. My suggestion before you pull everything apart is this. Get yourself a 55 gallon drum, cut the end off that has no bung, turn it upside down on a strong 2’ tall table next to the car, take the bottom bung plug out and weld a nipple onto the plug that matches your engine water pump inlet hose. Screw it back in the drum and fill half full of water, the only challenge is to buy some crappy hose to put into top of drum. This will tell you a couple of things, your pump is either going pump like heck or not, so you can check that off and if it does pump good and still gets super hot right away you’ll know there are deeper gremlins at play. I know that this will eventually get hot as we do not have a fan and fins, but I have used this methods before and with no engine load it should be fine for awhile. While you are at it you can also use this to test flow through on your radiator. Just stand radiator below drum, attach hose to top of radiator tank, pinch hose or install valve . Then fill drum with a known amount of gallons, you can open up the flow and a radiator like that should allow all that water out as quick as shxt through a goose. Now the small print warning, water may be hot and can burn, water hoses under pressure if unsecured can spray hot water were you least expect it, water and steel drum can be heavy and can tip, metal table that holds drum should be engineered, built and welded by certified experts. Only One of these warnings was thoroughly ignored by me, some day ask me to take my shirt off, or NOT! I hope this helps Matt,