Buicknutty

I agree that checking things out before hand is a good idea. I always do, as that will give you a better idea what's going on, and what it needs. To plastiguage everything is a PIA, but I think it's worth it, especially when doing final assembly. Keith

Had the '56 Roadmaster out for a longish tour with a club on Sat. Cool and dreary most of the day, with only a few some breaks, but we drove on some lovely country roads. Bad news, is that when we were almost home it suddenly started running real bad, like with lost a cylinder or two. Haven't been able to check it out yet. Keith

Neat looking car, Dale. Is the drive train original? Keith

Buickkuhn; I do have the aluminum spacer with the weighted spacer, though it was seized solid when I got the car. I have checked that from time to time to make sure that it is still working, and it seems to be. The heat risers are seized, and I went through a lot of work to get freed, heat, soaking in various solvent oils, to no avail. They are however, in the open position. Keith

I did the very same thing on my '41 Roadmaster, which has the 320 engine. I believe that all the '41s have insert mains and babbit rods. Don't know why, as it seems a bit odd, but it must of made sense at the time. I also had the rods modified for inserts by Terrill Machine, and have been very happy with the results. The original babbit was still within spec for wear, but apparently it can start to fail due to fatigue after many miles, years, and dirt being pounded into it. Since I was building my car to a good driver, I wanted good reliable engine. I've done about 4,000 miles in 2 1/2 summers, so far so good! Keep us posted on your progress. Keith

That's good to know, as it was on the car when I bought it, but one never knows. But what do you think is wrong with it? Keith

Yes, the carb in question is stamped 7-39. Keith

I've never actually been to either, but I've bought more stuff from CARS, as I've found them to be better for Buick stuff. Though Kanter has lots to buy also. Keith

Well, I tried the other carb (same type, an AAV-16) and it runs worse overall, though the "surging" does seem to be not quite as bad. I blew out the passages I could get at by taking the top off (I don't want to take it all apart right now) on the rebuild, and all seems to be clear, so I reinstalled it and its' running about the same. Reading though the manuals it seems like either the main metering system is at fault somehow, or the power circuit is putting fuel in when it shouldn't. There is a piston that is held up by vacumn, and a little valve underneath that operate the power circuit, could the issue be related to wear in the bore, or that valve leaking? Needless to say, I am getting very fustrated with this. Keith

Love all those pictures. Lets hope for a long fall so we can keep posting! Keith

It will be nice to see the pictures of the new paint when your car is painted! Keith

I use an accountant that worked for me when I was the manager at a business. She is very fair, and helped with the start up of my business, and I still use her for my accounting. I knew she did a good job when she worked part time (the business wan't big enough tp justifiy a full time accountant) running that business. Certainly there are ones that are either incompetent or dishonest, so just like in the reatoration business word of mouth is the best way to sort the wheat from the chaff. I trully hope that you can make a success from this. Keith

Nice looking chrome! Good find. This may sound odd, but even though I'm a lifelong car guy, I've never been to Hershey! Keith

Well Folks, I finally got some time to get to try "carbking's" suggestion, raising the float level a bit, and it seemed to run worse, then I lowered a bit, and it ran a bit better, but still not right. Also, to make sure that the new electric pump was not putting out too much pressure, I checked it, and supplied a max of 4 1/2 lbs at the carb. inlet, which is correct for this car. The carb itself looks really nice and clean inside and out, as one would expect from a recent rebuild. Idle quality is decent, except with the higher float setting, and then it seemed to be running too rich at idle, which I think would make sense. I have another Stromberg AAV 16 (front) that I might try on it. Its' supposed to be an older rebuild, but otherwise I don't know its' pedigree. On Sat I have to fix the brakes and tie rod ends on my daughter's car, so hopefully I can get get back to the '41 after that. Next weekend I have a long tour I really want to do with my '41, so I hope that I can get it running well by then. Keith

It will be an interesting and neat car to be driving. I certainly don't see many of these around at local shows. Keith

I agree, it certainly looks like an Austin. It looks like the slot for the "trafficators", which were the flip out turn signals at the trailing edge of the front door. The hood ornament looks like a mid 50's Chevy, instead of the flying "A" that an Austin of that vintage should have. Keith

Nice work on the clock, I'll look forward to seeing it in the Bugle! It sure is getting rather fall-like here in Ontario too. Nice to hear you had great summer cruising, and nice to hear from you back on the forum again! Keith

I'll second John's suggestion, if the carb is out of gas a bit down the carb throat is a good idea, I always put the air cleaner back on, so in case of a backfire it won't set the carb on fire! The air cleaner is an efective flame arrestor. I learned the hard way, a very long time ago now. If it won't keep going, then "Wheelnut's" is good too, as it doen't take much of a leak on the suction side to stop it from working right. Also, check for gas leks around all of the fittings when you do get it running. Keith

Well, glad you got it running! The oil pressure and genreator output are partly dependent on engine speed, so at low speeds you with have less oil pressure than at higher speeds till it reaches its' max. I cannot remember the specs for your car, but maybe around the 35 psi range driving at 35-40 mph is normal. Others will probally chime in with better info. Also the grade of oil makes a difference in oil pressure. Give the baby a fresh oil change, likely 30 grade is correct, but I'm not positive. Cold pressure will usually be higher than hot, especially at idle. Also, sometimes the guages can be inaccurate, if you have serious concerns you would need to check it with a properly calibrated guage. Likely you don't need to go that far though. Cold start oil pressure will be high, and as it warms up it will drop back, the main thing is that you do have oil pressure, especially hot. If it were to go to near zero hot, while driving, you likely have worn bearings. Even if you are just a bit under spec., you should be fine for normal driving. Using the next higher grade of oil will help in this situation. Put fresh oil in it and give us some more info, when you can. The charge rate depends on engine speed, regulator cutout settings, and how much the battery is depleted. Just after starting, it will be high, near the max side of the guage if its' working right, and will drop back to the middle position after a few minutes. At slow engine speeds, it won't charge much, even if it needs it, but will go higher when you speed up. Sounds like yours is working properly. As long as it charges, that's good, but if it keeps charging hard, for a long time, it might mean the reglator isn't working properly, unless the battery is very low. Hope that this helps a bit. Keith

You are a braver man than I, as I didn't keep a running total. I knew that the total was going to be scary! The good paint IS expensive, but that's what I used on my '41 Roadmaster. Its' not like these cars are average cars that get fixed up from whatever has happened to them, and then driven for 5-10 years, tops, except in rare cases. Our cars might be sporting this same paint 20 or 30 years from now, so I think that its' worth the money to go for the top line materials. I also went through the same kind of reasoning that "Yellowriv" did, and decided to use base/clear, for its' durability and so that I could buff out imperfections. My car is also a driver, though I want it to be authentic and correct, my plan was to drive the car a fair bit, so practicality and durability were important considerations. I have put nearly 4,000 miles on my car since the end of June '11, when it was first licensed after restoration. Keith

We had the '56 Roadmaster out for a 60+ mile tour today. It was supposed to be a vintage car tour, but I was the only one that drove any vintage iron! Everyone else was afraid of the weather! We had a nice drive in the country, visited a car and toy collection, then lunch and home. Keith

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! Keith

Had the '41 Roadmaster out this afternoon, and got caught in a rainstorm! Cool. windy, and now wet here in Toronto. Planning to take the '56 Roadmaster on a tour tomorrow. Keith

Well, its' great that your wife will drive the '41, my wife does drive the '56 Roadmaster, as it has p steering and brakes, with dynaflow, so it nice and easy to drive. Don't think she will ever drive the '41, but my 22 yr old daughter is learning to drive the '41! The parts are looking really super with the clear on them. I've painted my own car, and used the top grade clear coat on it, and that's what I would do on my woodgrain. Though I don't think that the factory jobs were ever that glossy, it is a very nice look, and one that I would like too. Keith

Nice to see your wife pitching in to help. My wife has helped me countess times, but I have no photos to prove it. She has said that she didn't know that was what was in store for her when she married me! Anyway, hopefully I will start to pay her back by getting back to work on her '68 Wildcat this winter. Keith