Beemon

I may need to recheck this, but I'm pretty sure it's 450RPM in gear. My grandpa always set the idle to 600RPM in park, which drops to around 450-500 in drive. Again, eye-balling or "winging it" on a vintage engine is not the best route to go. You really need to get the right tools to know what you're doing with that old engine. Get a $20 tach off Ebay and verify dwell, then get a timing light and verify 5 degrees on the balancer with the advance unhooked, then verify the advance works, then verify RPM. Get a vacuum gauge to dial in the carb idle with the tach in tandem and you will be set.

Hey guys, just wanted to throw this out there because as far as I know these are new repros on the market. I bought the coil capacitor, generator capacitor and voltage regulator capacitor from Corvette Central, a pretty big Corvette parts dealer. I checked the capacitors for their true values and did a leak down test and all the capacitors are where they should be. Before, the original radio was struggling with popping because the over the counter .18-.23MFD ignition capacitors couldn't keep up. The OEM capacitor rankings are .3MFD for the coil and alternator and .5MFD for the voltage regulator. Crystal clear radio now! Good thing those Corvette guys are over the top, right?? They even have repro ignition ballast resistors (no fan resistors but I'm told they may be coming). Some of you guys might not care, but it sure made a difference for me. Enjoy!

Are you backfiring? You mention loss of power, have you thrown a vacuum gauge on it yet?

When you get to the wipers, look into Kent Jaquith of Clean Sweep Wiper Motor in Redmond, Oregon. I've had some ups and downs with my vacuum wipers, but they perform flawlessly when sealed properly. You just need to build up confidence! Driving on I5 and I405 in the rain through Seattle and Bellevue respectively has turned me into an unstoppable motorist. I've only hydroplaned maybe two times on the highway lol. The trick is to drive aggressively enough the people give you a wide berth because they don't want 4000lbs of steel coming through them... and have to pay insurance. maybe I'm just young and dumb... ?

Speed signs are just a suggestion. It never hurts to have spares! Just be thankful you didn't take the Special.

Sorry to hear about that, you left that bit out on the Facebook group. Working and growing up in Kent, I know a couple of guys if you plan on setting up a hunting party... At least you made off with the steal of a life time for $200. Most people would settle for nothing less than $1000 for all 3. Does the engine turn over? If you're interested, I have a set of 401 rockers that are 1.6:1 lift versus your stock 1.5:1. I'll be home the weekend of the 27th. They're yours if you want'em.

John, your Buicks are so photogenic! I finally have one to contribute:

Today I went with a group down to the Snake River. Made it just in time for the sunset. The tire tracks in the gravel may or may not be me... Also is anyone looking for a 1949 Buick Special? Minimal surface rust, paint OK, restore or rod. $5000 OBO.

Greg, did you ever find out if the 57 and 56 Dynaflow are the same size from bellhousing to tailshaft?

In what condition and how much?

That red and white 56 Century with the Roadmaster bomber sights looks real clean. I think I'll be looking for some bomber sights after graduation (or before if they're inexpensive ). Thanks for the pictures, Lamar! I can't wait to go to one of these shows some day.

Find a late model aluminum alternator bracket off of a 401/425 and use the head bolts off the donor engine.

The carb is a late 55 4GC.

After doing some testing with the vacuum gauge, my switch is flawless (except when turned ti 'Wide', which is to be expected since it is a controlled vacuum leak to the top of the wiper motor), my wiper motor drops engine vacuum by 2"Hg (I am pretty sure the rear rubber control switch just needs to be re-lubed with some type of vaseline), but the washer jar has a drop of 5"Hg when not turned on, telling me there is a leak here. Vacuum lines are fine, no holes in them. So, does anyone have any experience with rebuilding the windshield washer pump with the vacuum coordinator? Kits are available, but from what I understand I need a rivet gun. Couldn't I use some really long machine screws? Also unrelated but my windshield squirters are plugged. I get fluid when both are removed, but nothing when on the car. Is there a surefire way to clean these out or is it impossible and should I just opt for some repros? Thanks guys.

This is by observation, but they are almost identical aside from the fuel enrichment process. Basically, the WCFB uses two step up metering rods that are actuated by the throttle arm and the 4GC uses a single vacuum operated metering rod that falls down on a needle inside the enrichment jet at low vacuum (part/full throttle). The 4GC also uses lead plugs in the machine passages to seal them whereas the WCFB used what I think are rivets. In short, the lead is not friendly with ethanol and tend to leak and can potentially dislodge and fall out. I'm sure carb king and probably fill in more for you.

Thanks Matt, I figured as much. Here's hoping I can re-use them... lol. Willie was right, I should have just ripped that flapper valve out when I had the chance. Maybe this will give me the excuse to put my single exhaust manifold on in place of the flapper manifold (if the pipe lines up).

Right, they might seem loose because the flexed under heat - you want them to return to their natural resting point when they cool and re-torquing them will cause them to bend and possibly crack. Yeah I had used RTV on the first engine, and when we took it apart, there were obvious black charring around the edges where it didn't quite make a positive seal. I didn't remove the manifolds on this engine when I got it, but it's coming from the passenger side and when I got the engine, these bolts were loose. I don't know if the RTV will solve this issue, but I'd rather just throw those gaskets on and be done with it. I don't know what the head surface looks like yet. I think the issue with my first set was that they were off the block for 30 years. These ones don't seem to have been removed because they still have the French locks on them, but the bolts were loose on one side... That's another thing. On my first block, I used bolts and lock washers. On this engine, it has the French locks. Does it really matter which way you go? I figure with the French locks, you can re-use them and torque down without having to worry about the bolts coming loose from vibration. Also, is it going to behave like an intake manifold gasket where I can get away without using sealer or should I use some high temp RTV with the gaskets? Thanks guys.

Plus 1 to what Willie said. If they cap isn't centered squarely on the top of the distributor and the rotor makes contact with the pins, it def makes a chirp noise.

For those of us that have had the pleasure of running a 4GC on our 56 Buicks, we all have a story to tell... hesitation, bog, etc. I was doing a bit of reading today in the Product Service Manual and apparently they've always had a bog, even new. The engineers at Buick outlined some tricks to help weed out these hesitation issues, which mostly have to do with shortening the pump shot of the accelerator pump. Might be old news to some, but thought I'd share. Coincidentally, and unexpectedly, there is no mention of making changes to the WCFB, the superior carburetor. I hope this helps some. I've always heard the 4GC was comparable in form and function to the WCFB, but it seems to not be the case here.

This last weekend I went to the first annual "Generations Collide" car show put on by the school's car club. At one point during the show, I was exhibiting the different stuff that was otherwise different on modern cars, and when I got to the choke heat stove flapper on the exhaust manifold... the thermostat spring was gone! Lol, I'm not sure exactly when and where it fell off, but I've been driving around with single exhaust for I don't know how long. I'm heading back home the weekend of Halloween, so I'll be doing a manifold swap. I also have an exhaust leak I can't seem to shake, so I'll be installing gaskets until I can have the manifolds planed. I've been told gaskets will crack the manifolds, but other makes and models ran cast iron manifolds for years with gaskets without problems... seems kind of like an old wives tale? The first year I had the car on the road I used the gaskets from the engine kit without issue, until I removed them because of some information I read on line. I understand the cast iron will flex and that being mated to the block restricts it from flexing vs a gasket surface.

At least for me, vacuum measured across the wiper system has a 2-3 drop in vacuum when hooked up. Putting a one way check valve before the system ensures any type of loss will not change the dynamics of the engine.

Putting a 1-way check valve in the vacuum wiper system may help with hesitation issues, too.

Where's Ginger?

I have never seen pants like that before.

Today was the first ever car show sponsored by the car club at the university. They called it 'Generations Collide'. It was pretty fun, although this trio showed up with 1930s trailer queen hot rods and just completely stole the show from others I felt were more deserving. When came time to leave, their cars barely ran.. it was quite interesting.