dibarlaw

Leif: : We hope we will be driving the 37 to Tennessee in September for a 1936-1938 Tour. I still have to change the manifold gaskets. I wanted to make sure I had the overheating problem solved before I did the manifold. Our weather in Pennsylvania has been the best in some years. But it is promising to be in the 90+ F heat and very humid the next week. Just in time for our "Macungie" swap meet which is usually hot and humid. My friend Terry Wiegand in Kansas has already had many days at over 100+F heat and high humidity. I had the 1925 out today for a 7 mile drive. Beautiful day. Now I have to get to those gaskets on the 37....

Yesterday I reinstalled the re-cored radiator. I had to clean up the sides and mounting area and did some touch up. When the shop put in my new wiring harness apparently they already replaced the radiator and routed the wires on the engine side over top of the radiator. So while the radiator was out I took the opportunity to route the harness correctly to the front side of the frame where the clips are. Made for a much neater appearance.Today I took the 37 out for about a 10 mile drive. 85 degree day here. Just doing weekend errands. Stop and go in traffic pulled some grades on route 30 west of Chambersburg. Had it at 50 mph for a time and my temp gage stayed around 160 through all conditions. Even after hot shut down the temp did not go above 180 degrees. The Gano filter did already pick up some stuff. Hope this is the final solution to the problem.

I had flushed out the block after the 2nd treatment of the EVAPO RUST, with about 10 gallons of water at hose pressure. All came out clean but the water had the same yellow green tint as the ER. Yesterday the radiator was plumbed in. I ran the engine for 40 minutes at idle and it seemed to not go above 170 on the gage.

Joe: Been there .. done that. I think this has happened to us about 4 times. Except once it was only a 2 hour drive. Another time it was arranged that I was to stop by to inspect a partially restored 1918 E-45 in West Virginia. We called a half hour away and all was good. By the time we arrived the owner changed his mind and would not even let us see the car. That was only 3 hours out of our way. We had a 9 hour drive back from a pre-arranged purchase of a 1923-54 sport Roadster. Agreed upon price and check in my pocket and just had to wait for the transporter. Called the owner the day before (Thursday) and said we would inspect, test drive and pick up the car tomorrow (Friday). He said that was great and would see us when we arrived around noon. Since he was self employed he would be free. We arrived at his place at 11:30 A.M. Prior to our arrival we had called every hour from 9:00 on to make sure he was available. No answer .... We drove back 15 miles to the town where his office was and was not anywhere to be found. By 2:00 we finally made contact.. He said he thought we were coming.... tomorrow.....and the car was not ready yet. He did say that he could be at his place within an hour and that we could remove the tarp and check out the car. The car was exactly what Joan and I wanted. When he finally arrived at 3:30 and we could calm down from our rage. I said I had the check and still wanted the car... lets go for a drive in it.... Then the excuses started about all the "sorting out " work that needed to be done which I assured him I wanted to take care of. But he did state that the car was drivable as per our agreement. Well, he could not even start it let alone be able to drive. So that was our 9 hour return trip experience.

I have the exact situation with my 37-41. I have the "Peep Mirror" type. I have tried it on several locations on the top edge and the front . There are areas where a clamp on mirror will not fit. Even a front seat passenger has difficulty using them.

Time for me to jump in the fray. As I just snugged up the packing gland nut on my 1925-25 after a 4 mile run to church on a 90 degree day. Motometer just above cool motor. It was dribbling out as I pulled into the garage. Lost about a cup of coolant. I watch and accept this as I still have not gotten around to making up a new shaft. My car's shaft is pretty scored up. I know it would seal better with a smooth polished surface. There must be some happy medium on this issue. I know thru the spring I drove the car nearly hundred miles total and there was hardly a drip and very seldom had to snug up the nut (usually the front one toward the radiator.) Now after my hot summer runs it always needs attention. I drove it last month to our car show at Mechanicsburg. 51 miles total and about 4 miles from the Freysinger dealership where the show is located the temp began to climb. While stopped at a red light I noticed this and hopped to get to the dealership not wanting to stop on the 5 lane urban roads. When I pulled into Freysinger's customers service bay where I was to store the car, the coolant was shooting out of the front packing. It took about a full turn to stop the leak. I had lost about a gallon of coolant. On my return trip home I made it a point to sop and check at abut 25 miles distance. No dripping but I did snug up the nut about 1/8 of a turn just to make sure. Just had a bit of a drip when I got her home. So it may be time to add more packing. Also if one looks closely at photos of 1920s and earlier cars on showroom floors they always seem to have a drip pan under them!

Dave : Clean all connections and check them for physical and electrical connectivity. My friend Dave Evans in Portland was having the same issues with his 1925-20 starter generator. Then conked out entirely trying to drive from his parking spot to the registration space at the Portland national last year. He had no tools with him and all I had was the cheap emergency kit set in my KIA. Checking what he had was pretty much original to 1925.Starter to switch. Gen to ammeter was pretty well aged and crumbling. Some loose connections. Battery cables showing signs of the lovely green Galvanic corrosion within the cable. I removed and cleaned all In could and tightened up some crimp connections. When we tried it again it turned over as it should and started but not as fast as my 1925-25 does. Since then he has replaced all the old cables and wire. He tells me now it really spins twice as fast as it did prior to the change. Starter brushes could also need attention. I had a slow turning starter on my 1937 special. Before I bought new cables I took the replacement end on the positive to battery cable, splayed out the individual copper strands then cleaning and scraping them. After I replaced the cable end clamp the starter spun as it should. If you can go one gage heavier for your cable, Do it. A little resistance here... and a little resistance there... = no start.

These tops are placed in this (Folded at rest position) at the more vertical angle is because otherwise one would have to partially raise the top to put gas in the tank. Not a problem with a touring car.

I attended to the by-pass valve before I even tried to drive to Springfield. I consulted my old 37-38 Torque Tube magazines from the early 90s about how they were to preform and how to check. I was thinking that if it was removed it may be contributing to the engine running hot (usually 185 degrees). When I opened up the thermostat housing the valve was there and all was in good shape, just needed removed and cleaned up. The spring had good tension and appeared solid.(the rest of the pieces were brass). Again, my most serious problem was the plugged radiator.

Gene my radiator man called this morning to say the new core arrived. Unfortunately it was damaged and it will go back and he should have a replacement on Monday. As a note to the EVAPO RUST treatment. When I drained out the system after 3 days the 1 gallon that drained from the block (almost 2 gallons fill the engine and head) was black. When I opened the lower block drain the chemical was still yellow green. So I attached a long hose off of the top of the thermostat housing to go into a drain pan, added the pulley and belt.and ran the engine until the temp was about 190 to get things circulating and hot. The hot EVAPO RUST that was pumped out I re-strained and returned to top off the block. I will do this again tomorrow.

Terry: 　This is what I did with the 37.　 1st　 photo is what was strained from the radiator before I removed it. 2nd　 photo is my set up with the spigot. The 6" piece of clear hose was black overnight. 3rd　 //　 is of the catch pan with the washer hose that is connected to the spigot draining into the pan. 4th　 //　　is what the E-R looked like after 3 days; 5th　 //　 is my assortment of microfiber filters. The very yellow ones are from the E-R draining 6th　 //　 is what I have accumulated thus far from all the flushing of the block and radiator.　Probably at least the same amount ended up in the yard and down the driveway.　　 　I believe I told you all I did today so the　HOT　strained E-R is now back in the engine for another try. I will probably leave it in till Friday this time and start the engine again on Thursday to repeat the hot treatment. 　Best of luck to us! Larry

Gene, my radiator man, gave me the bad news that after cooking and pulling the tanks he could only open 5 tubes by rodding out the core. So a re-core is now underway. He quoted me $460.00. The re-core for my 1925 Standard was over $900.00 for a modern type core. To night I will drain the EVAPO-RUST from the block and see what I get. I will flush out and filter the EVAPO-RUST to be reused as they recommend. It turns from a light yellow green to black as it absorbs the oxides from the iron. Stay Tuned.

I applaud Brian for putting this out before the group and agree with letting it gain some momentum on the Pre-War forum first. At the Springfield Nationals there was some discussion on this subject.in our group. I got wrapped up in other things and did not put it out at the general membership meeting. Anything that promotes bringing out the earlier Buicks gets my support.

Not to nit pick, but the article indicates that this was originally a canvas topped 4 door car (CX-25) that was converted to a UTE (pick up ) in 1931. Still it is a great family piece to have. Although Larry really does have a real Buick Truck!

I have always been partial to the early script. Some day it is my wish to have a car that wears one like it.

I pulled the water-pump apart and checked. The impeller was tight on the shaft. Good news! The radiator shop that closed had just downsized(used to do auto glass also)and moved down the road 5 miles. So the radiator is now cooking in his tank. After I pulled it last night I did an upside down garden hose flush and got another 1/2 handful of hard scale/rust. I still can hear junk rattling around in the tanks even after that. We will see what "Gene" my radiator man finds. The removal took me and my wife about 3 hours. The worst thing was removing the rear hold down for the hood center strip. Had to remove the glove box to remove the cowl vent drain and the defroster hoses to get to it. The service bulletin only mentions removing the front. I did and the strip would not budge and did not wish risking damage to the hood sides. I spoke with Terry Weigand at length about using EVAPO-RUST to do the final cleaning of the block. He is going to use the same product on his 1916's block.

will be pulling the radiator today. I know that Larry S means well but the thought of filling my system with bleach and letting it get hot and steaming or spilling over all the painted surfaces on my 37 is something that is not controllable. Ruining all the stuff I have already detailed. On his 1915 Truck things are more open and accessible. I have already done the CLR treatment and have flushed twice since. When it boiled over last night I could still smell the stuff. I would have liked to flush the radiator in place as this is an all day job of removal. Hood, stay rods, water pump/fan, thermostat housing all have to be removed and the radiator just has enough space to be tipped back and slid out. As apposed to our earlier cars. I can get the radiator out of the 25 in just about 25 minutes. About the same time to reinstall. Mark said just to pull it out, turn upside down, back flush and check for flow. He also has a 1938 and it is just as much of a terror to remove that radiator. I did buy a GANO filter to put in the upper radiator hose to be able to trap any left over crud from the block cleaning operation from getting back into the radiator. Our last old line radiator shop in Chambersburg closed up this past winter. They had re-cored my 1925 radiator and did the clean out and re-soldering of the filler neck on the 1937s gas tank. So now I have at least an hours drive to get to the next place recommended instead of 1 1/2 miles away. The most upsetting /frustrating part of this is that the shop that was doing the work on the car (promised to be ready to be driven to the 2012 Nationals) was to have all this done while the front end was off. They were also to take care of a broken manifold stud (which was done) and new gaskets installed. I already have to redo that job. They were to clean out the block before reinstalling the new freeze plugs. The radiator was to sent out and be redone. They said their "guy" said all was good except that the lower cast iron fitting was seeping and he could not do anything with it. From what I could see after reassembly the radiator looked as if it had not been touched. Same 76 year old crud and rust on the bottom tank/frame. I wish I could be a trusting person again. But I think these folks have jaded me. But to quote them when we would ask questions about why something was not done. "this isn't our first rodeo". Photos attached while the car was at their shop

I have done all as suggested. But since I will be pulling the radiator today I will check the water pump impeller also. I had already flushed the engine and radiator together and separately. One of the first things I did was to put an old fire hose that fit from the top of the water pump and let it run into a wash tub. Filled the radiator, started the engine and made sure the pump was pumping. It was moving water but I don't know what GPM output would be, It did seem sluggish to me.

Thanks all: I thought I made some progress today. I back flushed the radiator again with a pressure flusher attachment. I did get some more crud out and all seemed clear. So I buttoned it up and refilled with water. I ran it at idle for a half hour and the temp did not go above 180. So I took her for a short drive. By the time I went 2 miles it was over 200 again. Just made it back to the garage before it turned into a tea kettle again. So tomorrow we will try another of your suggestions.

I will try again... I spent nearly an hour on setting up what I had already done to trouble shoot and alleviate my overheating issues. Then all I had typed disappeared!!!!! Cut to the chase.. Today I ran the engine till it was just starting to overheat(10 minutes) Then pulled the plugs and did a compression check. A friend who does heads said that it sounded like a possible head gasket problem. No water in the oil. No white smoke. My readings. Using a rubber grommet type tester. With a threaded in tester readings should be a bit better. I did them twice. Engine has 106,650 miles on it. 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 85# 85# 85# 85# 85# 85# 85# 90# To me the head gasket should be good. I just want to cover all the bases before I pull the radiator. I believe on the hard pulls over the mountains on our aborted trip to Springfield caused some sludge from the block to stop up the radiator. Block was to be cleaned out before new freeze plugs were to be installed. The radiator was to be redone at that time also. But from my experience with the shop that did this work I am doubtful. I had already checked the operation of the by-pass valve. I have tried to back flush the block and the radiator. (Only about a 1/2 handful of sediment.)and (What came out of the block drain was very brown). I will do again today. I was planning on addressing a manifold gasket leak and did not want to do all this work to get the manifold resurfaced then new gaskets and then have to go back pull the head also. So while I have the manifold off I guess I will pull the new freeze plugs and check for any internal crud that was missed.

Third time is the charm. I finally got the 1925 to our Freysinger Buick GMC show at Mechanicsburg PA. 2013 Overheated. 2014 The clutch died. So we had a 100 mile round trip and no issues except when the water pump packing nuts loosened on the way up. Note to self. Check them every 25 miles or so. She got first place in class and oldest car.(It helps when you only have 2 entries!) Now if I can only get the 1937 happy again after our aborted trip to Springfield.

Brian: Here is a photo I took of your ride in Terry's 1920. I got to drive it last year! Larry

Hugh: During the 2014 Buick nationals I took this photo of Dan Evans's 1925 standard sedan with about 13,000 original miles. We believe that the body does appear to have original paint. It is the same Brewster green as our 25-25 is to have. From what I have seen on my 25, mine was originally black. (also available) Eventually I plan on repainting it to the green. Larry

Hugh: Leif Holmberg's photos of his car when he brought it home in 1967 show an unpainted aluminum cowl band.

Congratulations Dave! This experience is what I refer to as "BUICK BLISS" ! What a Lovely family you have. Larry