itstom

Hey Guys, This may be a bit of an odd request, but a year ago I had a Christmas ornament made by engraving this drawing of our '39 Ford on to a piece of 1/8 plywood. This year I'd like to make a similar ornament with our '38 Buick coupe but can't find a suitable drawing to start with. Does anyone have something I could work from? Thanks, Tom

Thanks guys. Tom

Hi, From what I can tell from past discussions and the wiring diagram for my '38 Special, there is no ballast resistor or resistor wire in the ignition circuit. Is this correct? What would be considered an acceptable voltage to see at the coil with the car running. Thanks, Tom

Hi- I'm hoping someone might be able to identify the Buick in this photo. That's my grandparents and mom in Clinton Iowa in what they referred to as the "first Buick". I'm guessing the picture was taken about 1926 or so. Thanks, Tom

Thanks for the input everyone. It has also recently come to my attention that they have either moved or opened a second location in Wilton, Maine. Perhaps things are a bit chaotic at the moment. But judging by the responses to the question of alternatives, I guess the answer is that there are none. Thanks, Tom

So I'm getting ready to do the interior on my '38 coupe. I have requested samples from LaBaron Bonney but haven't received them yet. Meanwhile, I'm starting to come across more and more posts indicating that there seems to be some issues with them (LBB). Some posts on a Ford site of people who have multiple interiors on order but none being shipped, fabric changing color after 6 months, finding out that no fabric is available until after the ship date, etc. All of that makes me somewhat nervous. What alternatives, if any, does a guy have when it comes to interiors for a pre-war Buick? Thanks, Tom

Thanks, I thought I had seen this before, now I realize what happens. Once you search a term, I guess you are no longer in a forum. but rather you are on a "search results" page. To conduct another forum specific search you need to revisit the forum and re-select "this forum" from the drop down list. A bit cumbersome, but better than sifting through all the Riviera posts to learn about the trim code for my '38. Thanks for the tips, Tom

Hi, I have a 1938 Buick, so most of the help I need is in the Pre-War forum. But I don'y see how I am able to limit my search results to just that forum. When I use the main search field, I get site wide answers. Is there a way to filter by forum? Thanks, Tom

Well, these two guys were in the glove box when I bought the car. I never could figure out why glove box springs would be this heavy, or figure out a way to mount them. Does anyone know what they are for? The coiled portion is about 1-1/4" diameter.

Hey guys, Were springs used to assist in the glove box door opening, or was the latch mechanism supposed to kick the door open? If springs were used, a picture and/or source would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Tom

Okay. Thanks.

Hey guys, Can I swap an AAV-16 with the existing AAV-1 on a '38 Special? Thanks, Tom

Anybody have a source or this gasket? It goes between the carb (Stromberg) and choke on a 1938 Special. The last two rebuild kits I bought didn't include it. Thanks, Tom

HI Peter, Thanks for the offer! I'll check with the machine shop today and let you know. Tom

Hi- I'm having the engine from my '38 Special rebuilt. The machine shop isn't too comfortable reusing the connecting rod bolts. The engine was poorly rebuilt before I got it, and I think the bolts were over torqued. Does anyone know where I might find a set? So far I've tried (among others) Kantor, Northwestern Auto (in Michigan), Green Bay Parts World, and Dave Tacheny. Thanks, Tom

Hi- I have a mostly original '38 Special business coupe. When I acquired the car a set of Century rear end gears were included in the deal. When I looked in the service book to see what will be involved in the swap, I broke out in a cold sweat. It looks like every phase of this project requires various special tools, gauges and brackets for indicators. It seems from my search of this site that this swap is a fairly common occurrence. At least it gets suggested a lot. I consider myself a fairly competent mechanic but have not done a gear swap like this before. I'd hate to have things spread out on the bench and then find out that I do need one of those weird gauges to do the job correctly. So does anyone here have first hand experience with this swap? Did you find yourself needing one of those special tools? Do you think it was worth the effort? Thanks, Tom

Thanks everyone for the replies. Tom

Well, now this is interesting. My car is also original. Here are pictures of the two rubber washers I have left. Sorry for the crappy phone pictures.

Hi guys- I'm getting ready to put the front clip back on my '38 Special 46. The thing is, I'm not the guy who took it off. I'm unsure of what rubber washers, pads, spacers or whatever should be used in all of the 3/4 inch holes. I looked at all the rubber parts at Steele and Bob's and don't see what I think I should be seeing. At the top of one of the hood sides, where it attaches to the cowl, there is one rubber washer that seems to have a steel insert of sorts in it. The only other sample I have is at one of the brackets to the firewall there is a rubber washer that does not have the insert. Does anybody know the part numbers I need? Thanks in advance, Tom

Hi guys, I'm installing a new wiring harness in my '38 Special business coupe. In the process, I'm realizing just how bad the condition of the antenna lead is. All of the insulation is off of the coax from the firewall to the running board. Is anyone reproducing these? If not, what's the usual fix? I was thinking I might try shrink tube, slid on from the radio end. Thanks, Tom

Chris, that picture was just what I needed. And my brain cramp eased when you mentioned needing access to the battery. My car is a '38 so that access is not needed, so my bottom cushion doesn't just pop out like yours. I'll pull some more tacks and see what I can see. That picture helps me visualize the basic frame, which hopefully didn't change much. Thanks for taking the time to answer this, much appreciated!

So Chris, I'm still trying to get my head around how this is assembled. When you reassemble the seat, the movable backs are attached at their center and side pivots first, before the bottom seat cushion is in place? Then I take the bottom section, with the wrapped coils, and add it to this sub-assembly? The last step would be to attach the coils to the bottom of the frame with hog rings and then tack the fabric to the wood frame. Any pictures with the backs attached but no bottom cushion in place? Thanks! Tom

Thanks for the pictures Chris. Cool story about your '37 too.

Hi guys, New to the forum, I just brought my 1938 model 46 home a few weeks ago. It's a mostly original car with 52,000 miles on it. The motor has been rebuilt and it needs a paint job (rust free though!), and the interior is in great shape. Except for the seat cushion. The upholstery is fine, but the padding is shot. I had a '41 Ford that was the same way. With that car, I was able to remove the fabric from the seat, add my foam, and then use a piece of muslin over the foam to pull everything tight. With the muslin stapled in place the original fabric had more of a "slip cover" role and the 70+ year old fabric wasn't too stressed. Soo, I'd like to try the same thing with this car, but am not sure of how to remove the hinged seat back cushions. I have the Fisher Body "Manual of Construction and Service" which helped me get the seat out of the car, but now I'm stumped. Thanks in advance for any help, Tom

Up for sale is an unrestored Elgin 8 Day long stem clock. This clock will only run for about 20 seconds or so. The noise it makes when winding it makes me think the main spring is broken. The clock would require a 3 inch hole for mounting. $50.00 plus postage. contact itstom@att.net Thanks for looking, Tom