dibarlaw

I believe that this is the model 47 owned by Cliff Fortier. A beautiful mostly original car and well traveled. As Cliff participates in many of the BCA tours. Below a photo of our Pre-War group during the 2013 after tour at the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum. Cliff's car is on the far right.

Thanks for the fall photo Dave. Drove the 1937 to our Mason-Dixon club meeting yesterday. 100 mile round trip. We had to wait about 10 min in traffic to have a accident cleared and temp went up to 200 degrees. When we got to York Pa. she did a bit of a spit up. After then meeting I filled the radiator with a little over a quart of coolant. We did the 50 mile return trip without incident. It did not overflow when I put it back in the garage. So another successful round trip. Always frustrating for me is that even the members who live within 10 miles of our meeting will not drive their cars there. Larry

John: I keep putting these photos into a file since you take better ones than I do. Looking great! But still enjoy seeing it in the metal! Larry

John: I was talking to my students about the 23 today. So I showed the U-tube videos you made. They were impressed. Tires are looking good. I will look forward to seeing you at Hershey. Larry

John: I just e-mailed you about the 1910 we looked at. Sorry about your luck. I hope the new unit goes in easy. I always love to see the photos of your 23. What "tire polish" are you using on the tires? I bought my new 550x21s from Universal also. No mater what I have used to scrub off the mold film it still shows up. I have tried several dressings and they just add a bit of gloss. I like a smooth matt finish as you do. I guess I will have to keep scrubbing. What is usually left is a brown /gray spotty film.

You can get a 9mm set from BOB"s Automoblia, (about $50) a Buick parts supplier or Restoration Supply both in California. I made up a 7mm set from a roll of Packard copper core wire. I wound the wire core around the terminal connectors and soldered to fit in the cap terminals. Cost about $5.00!

The 1921 model 45 calls for a 33X4 tire which equals a 25" rim. 34X4 1/2 also equals a 25" rim. Should work fine. I am not sure about the speedometer cable. Terry Wiegand has a 1920 and a 1922 and should know. We will see if he jumps in.

Dave : Brian speaks the truth! I just had 4 new tires put on my 1925 and thought I would try my spare and found that it was 5/8 of an inch out of round! So even if I had a flat and had to put on the spare there was no way it would go on. One of my rear tires was 3/8 out of round and the car had a decided hop. To remove it from the felloe I to drive and pry it off. Dave B from D.C. traded me 2 "rounder" rims for my old tires. I had the rims powder coated and now all roll along much nicer. But even with my rim spreader it was quite a chore to reinstall the tires. The new type flaps wore out my hands trying get all lined up and put together. I could not understand why, how easily it was to break down and remove the tire. The old Dunlop tires and tubes did not have a flap on the rim. They had used duct tape! Larry

Went to take the 1925 to local car show on Saturday but steady rain most all day. (I put the top down in May and put it back up in October.) I did not feel like wearing a rain slicker through out the day. By 3:00 after the show the sun came out so I took my daughter for a 3 mile drive to get dinner. On Sunday we took Beulah (the 25) to church then a drive around the country side (about 10 miles) an a crisp clear blue sky day. In the afternoon we drove the 1937, 23 miles to give her some exercise. Ah ... Buick Bliss!

Neil: Great to hear of your progress with your steering issues. My 1937-41 still has some wandering issues. While we were on the After-Tour with you at the Vagabond-Lodge I remember you asking about the heavy steering. This made me re-evaluate how my car was steering. Larry and Joan (Red KIA from Pennsylvania).

Dave : Paint looks a bit rough. The water outlet has been pieced together. The original was nickel plated sheet metal and rusted out. New ones can be fabricated and look beautiful. $$$$ Cap, rotor, points etc. $$$$ Keep at it. Larry

Dave: I just looked closely at your photos. In our phone conversation you said that you thought they had the engine covers. I did not see the splash pan on the distributer side. Any on the carb side? Check to see that they have all missing parts. The 1922-45 John Fesser and I worked on in Baltimore 2 years ago was sold with missing parts and without spares that the owner (at the time) said he had and would go with the car. I have a lot of pictures of that car if needed. Larry

Dave: I have a partial 1921 Reference book if needed, and the Push rod clearance is to be .010 hot. Or as it states on page 23..."Best results may be obtained if the above adjustments are made while motor is idle and no one but an expert should attempt adjustment with motor running." Did they accept your offer? Larry

Brian: Welcome to the land of endless adventure!!! A 1937 model 44 is a nice find. And will take some love and understanding. Just remember at the onset it will not always love you in return. I have had my 37-41 for 27 years and we have had our ups and downs. Best wishes for a good relationship and count on us from the forum to give you a hand. Larry

Dave: These are from a 1921 model 44 roadster to show what the drivers and engine compartment should look like. To redo the sockets, bows and a new top would be over $4,000. So factor that in to your decision. Missing parts take a lot of searching. But they are great road cars. Best of luck and keep us in the loop. Larry DiBarry

ford40 If all the push rods and the rockers are exposed that means that the covers are missing. Very tough to find! Give me a PM since I am originally from S-W, PA. (Monongahela) Larry

Terry : This is not a Standard engine. This does have an aluminum crankcase and no front water outlet from the head. Larry

I have a 37-41 and I had the same problem after I sent mine out to be powder coated. So I took a run out to the garage to get some photos for you. Good luck: Larry

Drove our 1925 to the beginning of the school year faculty picnic. 15 mile round trip. As you can see by the photo she marks her territory. Still foaming up but did not overheat!

Kevin: So glad you got the shell. I put in the first bid. The same seller also had a Re-cored? radiator missing the filler neck. I was bidding with the hope that the gentleman selling his fathers 1925-45 (local to me) would finally agree to sell it to me. Holding to their price. Comment "not eating any thing". Their car has a rusted out painted shell. I drove the car again last weekend. After a scary ride with hardly any brakes and steering, I knew I offered too much! Last summer Tom Black from New York had tried to find a home for a fairly complete 1925-54 roadster chassis/engine. I contacted all I knew at the time with a 1924-1925 big series car to see if there was any interest in these parts. Tom was trying to sell it for another fellow indicating that if it was not sold in a certain amount of time all would go to scrap. I don't' believe there were any takers... The 25-45 I drove last week.

John: Glad to see you had arrived home safe and sound. Sorry that we couldn't have spent more time together at the Nationals. We got home on the 6th in time for me to be back at work for the 7th. 7,177 miles but it was a trip of a lifetime for us! I like the new addition. I had been looking for the same type of set up for my 1925. Every time I found a period type of flash light in useable condition the price was out of sight. I will keep looking. Larry

Kevin: Here is an outside photo of a Model 45 showing the top of the "lug" part of the plate peeking out toward the rear corner. Also gives a reference as to placement of the top prop stud. Thanks for the update. Did you get the re-plated radiator shell that was on e-bay 2 weeks ago? Larry

Ralph: Great car with tremendous potential. I wish my father had been a car guy. When I was 14 (1969) I never saw these cars around to be worked on. But at 15 I bought a 1937 International Pick Up to get running by the time I would get my license. All my father wanted for me to do was for me to get rid of it. He didn't believe in resurrecting the older cars. I teach Tech Ed at our high school and also wish some of my students had your enthusiasm for this hobby. All the advice presented so far is sound. We will look forward to hear more from you about your projects. And help when we can. What model is the 1922? Many on the forum have these cars and are quite knowledgeable. Best of luck and keep in touch. Larry

rgwinn1: I have been looking for a gage for my 1925-25 since I bought it 2 years ago. Very simple wire rod and cork float. I had to make a new knurled bezel. The old one was crushed by someone trying to remove it with a pipe wrench. Also had to try to get the threaded neck close to round again. I was lent a gage from a 1924-45 to try to pattern one after. It is close but larger in diameter. I believe there is a reproduction service that does the domed gage face. I did find it on e-bay and believe they wanted over $200 for it. Way out of my price range! This is what I have done so far. The first photo is a sketch of what I believe will work. 2 is of the newly made Bezel. 3 and 4 are of the borrowed 1924 2 1/8" unit which is too large. In the mean time the wood stick works. #5&6 pictures my friend Leif in Sweden sent. Last an out of focus example from an impeccably restored 1923-39 sport roadster.

Last week I got to drive Terry Wiegand's 1920 Coupe on our way back from the Nationals. Then after returning home took our 1925-25 Touring for a 22 mile limbering up cruse. I had rebuilt the clutch before we left to go to Portland. Now a joy to drive. Today we drove our 1937-41 out to visit a gentleman near Gettysburg whom Dwight Romberger and I helped to get his father's 1925-45 running last year. He had done some more work on it to get it running better. He invited me to drive it today. I never pass up an opportunity to drive an old Buick. Scary ride. Hardy any brakes and very loose steering. Still needs more work!