raydurr

Grant. I don't recall a felt on my 29 Master. I think everything is metal to metal.. There are different thickness paper shims than can compensate for wear in the ball area when removed. Last thing you want is a ball adjusted too tight which will lead to deep scaring and even more leaking. I did consider replacing the leather with some type rubber and proper fitting narrow clamps. This would hold any oil in a clean fashion. I decided to keep the leak for sake of originality.

Terry what I had in mind is the total cost to get the engine in like new condition. Do a cost comparison on more obscure parts of a Buick. Just say the engine has a rollerized cam shaft with bad followers and a cam that needs reconditioning it will be super expensive to go back with new parts. Then you have the clutch with multiple frictions. After being hot several times the pressure plate should have the springs checked or replaced. The cost to completely recondition , not patch, is rather expensive and time consuming. Timing gear is not cheap for what you get. Oil pump gears and labor associated with making it like new is pretty steep. The gears may not be completely worn out but if you are already spending several thousand dollars I would. On the Buick ,the pistons will probably be a modern aluminum which should require the engine to be balanced. This is more $$$. Proper cylinder head reconditioning is a must. Buick vales, guides and springs aren't cheap. The gasket set for the engine is pretty steep. Lets surface the manifolds and cylinder head. Are the rockers in need of service or replacement? Is the crank, block , rods and other hard to locate parts reusable? Then last but not least, basic machine shop labor . I wouldn't let just anyone do my babbit work. You might could rebuild for $2000-3000 if really lucky but I would consider it a patch and not a real rebuild. Just the cost to recondition the carburetor, fuel pump, distributor , water pump and radiator is expensive. Would you overlook these things at rebuild time? I wouldn't.

I would proceed with caution on rebuilding a early Buick engine. If the engine is runnable , run it. The cost to correctly rebuild one of these could easily hit $10000. You may be forced to reuse questionable parts or have custom parts made. These Buicks certainly aren't a Ford or Chevy at rebuild time. One thing for sure is that they don't need as much care as the throwaways do. The Buick is the equivalent to a truck or industrial engine. One observation is that until you redo everything that the previous owners before you messed with , you will have surprises. I hate going behind people that do sloppy work.

Grant there isn't a seal that I am aware of. My 29 leaks badly when completely full . I run the 600W oil . If I run it slightly low this seems to help. The ball pivot on the torque tube is the only part that seals. The leather wrap prevents the surfaces from being exposed to certain elements. I also use a large shop floor cookie sheet to catch excess. The transmission is the only leak my car has.

Sorry about your misfortune. The 1929 Buick pump is different. The lever housing is quite different. The top, I think is the same. Please refer to a pump that I have listed on Ebay. The item number is 142286444235. You will easily see the differences. You may contact Tony Bult Buick club member.

Radials- if over 4-5 years you are on borrowed time. They can separate on a spare rack and have never touched the ground. Bias-I have ran 50 year old bias tires with good success. I didn't do super long runs in the Texas heat but they held together year after year. I finally changed them after the fabric was visible through a few cracks. I feel that bias tires stored indoors away from UV could be safe for years.

My 29-41 has done this after being parked for 10+ years. The clutch frictions like to stick to the steel facings. I have freed stuck clutches by driving the cars while holding the clutch pedal down and gassing the engine. I freed the clutch in a Model A by having the car on jack stands while running the car in high gear , holding the clutch pedal down and stomping the brake pedal and quickly hitting the park brake. All this has to be done running half throttle or so. Be careful to not be too aggressive as the old cars don't have hardened driveline parts. I bet yours breaks loose pretty easily.

I second using Tony Bult . Sometimes he can be a little slow but he is very knowledgeable on the Marvels used on 1927-1930 Buicks . He has spare parts and carbs on hand. I sent mine to him to work out a few issues. He even test ran it on one of his own cars before sending it back. Find someone else who does that. If you need a fresh fuel pump for a 29 let me know. I have one ready to go. Everyone needs a spare.

Car probably has points issues at the least. I would check for proper adjustment first. I would then move to sanding or replacing the contacts. The contacts are the issue most of the time.

I would start by verifying spark to the distributor. Remove coil wire from distributor cap , turn on ignition switch and have someone spin the engine. There should be a strong spark with the ability to jump at least 1/2 inch. If there is not adequate spark then its probably ignition. When attempting to start a cold engine do not hold choke closed continually for too long . I like to choke it hard a few seconds then open quickly to give it a breath of air. Starting techniques can vary between cars and conditions.

Be aware that all engine stands are not created equal. That Buick engine is not only heavy, it is long which puts extra strain on the rotating head and pivot. It is also TALL which can be difficult to manage when rotating the engine. I cannot stand the new import stand which I believe are made for Asian engines. For years I have used a 1970s vintage Walker 5/8 ton USA made stand. These can still be located used. I have had large ford and GM truck engines on it with ALL the accessories. Yes it was loaded but I never felt unsafe using it. A stand like this should be the minimum for the Buick engine. A failure could result in an injury or months of setbacks. Play it safe.

I would like to add some of my experiences with my 29 Buick carb. If the car sits for several weeks the jets seem to partly stop up resulting in the lean/ back fire pop. Sometimes it clears up with some aggressive driving while pulling the choker closed suddenly. Also the air valve tension controlled by the large 1 inch diameter screw may need a very slight adjustment. A little goes a long way here. A steady, full volume fuel supply must be maintained. A weak fuel pump or blocked line can cause this condition. A fuel pump with an old rebuild can be affected by modern fuels. Distributor wear is a very real situation .Worn or improperly adjusted points. Intake manifold gaskets should be checked. Check the heat tube. Last but not least , make sure all the fuel is fresh. Old fuel does not vaporize like fresh fuel does. Good luck!

Tad , it could be several things causing this driving condition. A very common issue with the Marvel carb and heat riser is the development of pin holes in the heat riser tube. It is a sheet metal tube pressed into the heat riser housing. It allows exhaust to enter the intake charge. It will only get worse until the heat tube is replaced. The Marvel carburetors are prone to many issues as well such the venturi flap sticking. You will probably have to start a systematic elimination of all things ignition and carburetor/intake related to resolve the issue.

Dave hope it all ends well. An elder of mine once told me that the only people that do not make mistakes are people who don't do anything. This is still true. Sometimes the harder I try to have nice things the more mistakes I make.

The timing indicator on my 29 is on the front of the flywheel housing ,behind a swing away cover. The most common causes of overheating on the Buick in lines are blocked radiator passages and blocked coolant passages in the block water jackets. In this forum you will find many discussions regarding this topic. Since you appear to have the manifolds removed, I would also remove the long coolant cover to inspect and remove any possible gunk. There is usually quite a bit . Good luck!

Is the vibration engine , driveline or chassis? The pulse rate or frequency can help determine this. Drive car at 50-55 mph then pop transmission in neutral. If the vibration persist even though engine is now at idle, then problem is driveline or tire related. Tire or wheel vibration seems to have a slower, steadier frequency. Driveshafts can almost have a buzz. Did vibration begin after some repair or modification was performed?

Heat shields should deflect or absorb radiant heat only.Heat transfer from block or contact with other components will occur with or without heat shields. A gap for air flow between the shield and the subject part should be maintained.

My headlamp plug configurations sounds to be the same as yours. All parts were stripped . Parts were masked to ensure good connection once reassembled. Power supply to bulbs appears to be strong and even. Bulbs usually fail when driving. No vibrations or adverse road conditions.

American made , NORS bulbs from different sources.

All wiring has been replaced. Battery connection is clean and tight. Generator output appears to be steady according to the ammeter . Headlamp switch has been reconditioned. No electrical gremlins whatsoever other than the headlamps bulbs failing.

I have been having headlamp bulbs burn out for sometime. I have 21 CP installed now, which have burned out. I have lost no other bulbs. I have checked my charging system output with a voltage meter. It shows 7.6 volts as a maximum reading with engine revved up. What should the maximum permissible voltage be?

What is the thickness of an original manifold washer? The .070 seems thin.

It's possible that mine is plumbed wrong. Been running it like this for years. Before I owned car it had no filter. My filtet had no markings and I had no resources at the time to investigate proper install. Good luck.

Check this out.http://www.29buickphotos.com/Repairs/Oil-Filter-Info/i-3P5CJLn

According to my Fluke meter idle voltage is 7.0 and revved I see a occasional max voltage of 7.6. No other bulbs are having issues, only headlamps.