Pete K.
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Posts posted by Pete K.
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Hey Wayne! I saw your beautiful Buick in Reminisce a week ago. Congratulations too! I've been getting that great magazine since their inception and I always turn to the "Name That car" page first off. Reminisce "Extra" is a good add-on to get also.
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Good job on that little flat spring Ray, I think it will do just FINE. I believe most of it's intended purpose is to steady the float in the tank.
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Glad to hear it's going well Jay, But,as the book reads to make sure you've got a .004" valve tappet clearance on that #8 valve, with the blasted engine "WARMED UP". It seems like a Catch 22, since you're doing this procedure to GET it running! So,-- would we aim for .003"?? on that #8 valve clearance, cold? One must realize here that a very slight variation on this valve clearance on the #8 will make the crankshaft turn WAY more PAST tdc than it should be!! Meaning in the long run, you'll lose you first inch of your hand spark lever, whereas engine may kick back on starting and too advanced while driving using the normal action on the spark lever. Jay, is there ANY WAY you can find even a real picture of someone's EARLY '25 engine taken apart to try and figure out which punch mark is for real? They would need to somehow measure from the hub, out to the tooth where the correct punch mark should be. I'm beginning to think we need more help here on this problem.
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I don't have the technology to measure that flat spring here, while it's on or off the unit. I estimate the tension @ 3-4 ounces. Ray, if you can't find a small rivet for that linkage if you do dismantle it, I believe you could use a similar fastener like a linkage pin and "C" clip like the ones I've seen on older carburetors. Even a small screw with two nuts would work, as long as the weight remains close. I would also go ahead and make a flat spring that mimics the broken one you have. I'm not preaching "sloppy, back yard mechanics" here. As a Federally licensed aircraft mechanic for 32 plus years, I know there is no room for guess work or careless work, but I also use common sense keeping our early auto's going, where there maybe no factory parts available. To quote the great Thomas Alva Edison, " I have not failed, I've found 10,000 ways that won't work."
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The "ARC" badge, #2, is from an old car radio cabinet, or case.. Automatic Radio Corporation.
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Here's a photo of my spare unrestored Stewart vacuum tank innards, showing the "C" spring in question here. It is brass, not soldered to any part, but Ray, it has a tiny "wave" at the top whereas the linkage rides on, creating a stiffer "fit" to that linkage and the float. From what I can see, the purpose of that C spring is to remove any excess play in the riveted point at float and linkage AND it seems to keep the float from rattling around in it's inner tank. I would try to replace that blumin' thing.--Best, Pete.
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Tony, I think he's having a problem with two marks on BOTH gears, If I read his thread right.
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Ray, the compression type fittings with the brass nipples work just fine. My Model A's use them originally to the carb & so forth with no leaks ever. Two notes here-- set the nipple no more than 1/8" from end of copper line. 3/32" is ideal, and snug up the up compression fitting. You should replace the nipple and cut off the "used" end of the line a bit if you remove the line at any time later. Although I preach this, I'm guilty of re-using these fittings if I change out a carb. Just don't tell anyone. I found a very good source of hardware for old cars, both US & Metric, a place called "McMaster-Carr". Google them and see the thousands of great things they sell!
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Jay, Not a big problem... pick your favorite punch mark and bolt up your gears. Hopefully you've got the distributor unit on block. Loosen the little port hole on your flywheel housing, DON'T remove the screw all the way. Follow the instructions for timing on page 71-73 on ignition timing in the Mechanic's Handbook. To summarize, Get to #8 valve lifter, crank the engine 'till you can just turn that lifter with your fingers, putting #1 cylinder in position to FIRE, only if you have the spark lever ADVANCED. The rotor should be right under your # 1 contact in distributor cap. If not, pick the other punch mark on cam gear and try this procedure again. This should verify where those gears mesh correctly.
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Nice job on that tank Ray! They really are very dependable when restored. I never had a problem with one on a hill either. It's funny you mention about the copper tubing! I just bought a two foot length of it yesterday at my local hardware store for use on the Dodge. I simply asked the plumbing manager there for 1/4" copper tubing. It's inside dimension is 1/4". I measured the outside diameter with my micrometer just now and it shows .312" I tried using a steel scale and it seems to be pretty close to read 5/16". Sorry this is not in Metric's. I seem to be having a real problem finding the steel flare fittings that are used on the Dodge carb & lines, so be careful when you fiddle with them!
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The little filter I was describing to use in the vacuum tank is available at Snyder's Antique Auto Parts and it's part # is A-9193-T @ $4.00 each. They are in New Springfield, Ohio, USA. Phone toll free@ 888-262-5712. Don Snyder and the girls are very friendly to deal with and very helpful. From what I've seen in books, the Stewart tank was supposed to have a short standpipe (not a filter) inside the tank at the outlet, but I've NEVER seen one in any vacuum tank I've taken apart over the years. I'm betting it WAS there, a tiny steel pipe that probably rusted out and became dislodged several years (or decades) later. Anyway, for my 2 cents, this filter is the best deal going for many types of old cars, in many different application sites in a fuel system. Our old fuel tanks and vacuum tanks are getting harder to locate and they don't get any better with age. IF someone reproduces specific tanks someday, it will be a huge money layout I'm sure. Rust in the fuel system is probably the cause and effect of half the postings on the old car forums whereas a car won't run right or quit running.
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Ray, good luck on your vacuum tank. Looks like it's really coming along. My '25 Stewart tank wasn't quite as bad as yours, but needed a lot of work too. That "C" snap spring must be there for a reason, I can't see it though...I looked at the pictures of the Stewart tank cut-a-way drawing in "our book" and was surprised to see it wasn't shown. I don't have the dedicated little reprint book on the Stewart tank. That may explain it. One very important part of that tank to work right is the complete sealing between the vacuum check valve and it's seat, up in the top of the tank cover. If you're done with the de-rusting of your outer tank, O.K.-- I was going to say that I found a good fix was to first get all oil/grease off the metal, then soak it in a can of "Evaporust". It really works well on rust but won't cut through any oily residue. Buy a "stand pipe" type fuel micro filter that Snyder's Antique Auto Parts sells and install it in the bottom outlet INSIDE the tank. The float WON'T hit the filter. I had to apply a thin coat of solder (twice), to this brass filter stanchion area since it's made for a Model A Ford gas valve but it tapped in nice and tight in my Dodge tank and works FINE. I'll never have the worry and heartbreak of foreign particles ever getting to my fuel bowl. EVER.
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Definitely the above two, and try plugging off the vacuum wiper, if you've got one and be prepared with a $30.00 gasket kit for the carb re-assembly or... buy a roll of "fuel-proof" gasket paper (the dark grey stuff), for about $5.00 and cut your own gaskets. You'll need a new heat proof gasket for the carb-to-engine gasket flange when it comes off in three pieces. The disassembly of that carb has to be done in a sequence when you remove the 4 bottom screws on the carb's rack & pinion unless you first remove the choke bell crank, then the pinion shaft packing nut assembly. the metering valve has a LEAD seat up in the shaft tunnel for the metering pin. Don't go picking at it or scratch it by accident when cleaning those parts. Also don't clamp and force too much on the cast brass parts in a vise since they're old and FRAGILE and they will snap. First before a total carb overhaul, try un-screwing the large drain nut under the bottom of the float bowl and see what may come out. There's a filter screen up in there and comes out with the bottom nut I'm talking about. If you say the engine ran fine a while back, there's no reason the parts like the float needle and seat are worn & leaking without being moved in and out. It may be dirt.or rust from the vacuum tank. If you find the tank has gotten rusty, there's a fix for that too.
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Question is, will your safety gap even spark if your plugs are hooked up & installed? It's been too many years for me to remember about those mags. Do you have ANY printed information on the magneto? I think at least one of the Dodge parts vendors sell a book on them.
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As long as the threads on plugs are 7/8 X 18 US std., they will work. The difference with each plug is the heat range of the plug itself. A "hot" plug means the heat generated by cylinder combustion built up on the center electrode has a longer travel distance up in the plug to it's surrounding cylinder head threaded hole where the coolant is.--so the electrode stays "hotter". The Dodge had Champion's in it originally. I don't think your problem is at all, the plugs. I don't know the internals of the NGK G-2Z. Some of my old cars are still using 80 tear old plugs and going FINE. My '25 Dodge is using very old Champion's C-16 C's. They work well.
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What's throwing me here is if the timing had slipped, (chain on sprocket), you would still get a cough or back fire unless the chain broke or sprocket let go on shaft. Remove one valve cover and crank engine to verify valves are moving! Is there anything you are doing different when you test the spark at the plugs and when you're starting the car? It only takes 3 things for combustion--spark, good fuel and compression. P.S., I doubt the plugs are failing under compression. The coil might.
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Mike, DON'T roughen up the fan pulley drive surfaces. It will only lead to belt failure. Think back or remember seeing pictures of those really old drive pulleys in large shops--they were SMOOTH. Your problem is at the fan hub clamping system or the wrong type belt.
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If the engine is flooding, the needle valve is either stuck, worn out or clogged with a speck of rust. It could also be a vacuum leak. I don't know the condition of your carb. At least plug the wiper line OFF at the fitting on top of the vacuum tank next time you try starting it. Put a short length of rubber tube with a screw in the end of it on that fitting. Let the wiper tube dangle for now. Setting up the carb is very tricky because it is unlike any other carb. You've got a metering pin inside the metering valve. They both can move independently within one another. The metering pin is known to break off the rack easily. The small thumb knob on the choke bell crank is the micro-tuning for idling mixture since the rack and pinion goes together in a macro way. Anyway, when you have the carb back on the engine, turn on the "gas", wait a few moments and with a small flashlight, look down into the air intake adjustment sleeve, right before it goes into the block,turn it open if it's not-- you'll see fuel running through it if carb is still flooding. Have you tested the float in hot water for leaks? ---here's a picture of a broken metering pin from the rack.
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An armored convertible!! I love it! This needs to go down with the screen door on a submarine jive. (I think poor Trident is lost at sea).
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Mike, Glad to hear this helped out. These old engines require all the internal vacuum they can muster to run right. It's a very good point you made elsewhere on the forum about evenly tightening the 2 mixing chamber screws and using a new paper gasket there. I hope others starting up old Dodges for the first time temporarily plug off their wiper vacuum line at the vacuum tank until they have verified there are NO vacuum leaks in the wiper system!
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The original belt was 1"x 34-3/4". The fan pulley is 1-1/4" wide. The "drive pulley" is one inch wide. The original flat belt was of a red rubberized multi-layered cloth. The fan pulley has to be levered up with a 2 X 4 on the timing cover and bolt tightened very tight. There can be a few things that will lead to your belt squealing. Even the fan hub itself. A temporary fix can be made with a spray can of belt dressing sold at NAPA & other places. These original belts are getting impossible to find and very pricey when found. Leather can stretch BIG time, as some vendors sell replacement belts for early Ford "T"'s, and modern flat belts don't stretch AT ALL. I would think the a fore mentioned toothed belts would be the best bet if a good original isn't located.
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Rameses32, Your plug gap is correct for magneto set up,@.022". I would check into the cylinders getting fuel, FRESH FUEL. If you're getting a good spark at the plugs, chances are your mag is OK. As I recall, the points in the mag can be finicky on an early truck I once had. They need to be clean and gapped right on the money. Check the crazy simple things first. Is gas turned ON?--- All ignition connections clean & tight? Is spark lever retarded at start? A known good condenser? Then double check the ignition timing. The carb has a rack & pinion gear inside for choke and I've seen the teeth on the little pinion gear stripped off. When one pulls the choke button out, it isn't really pulling the needle down inside the carb. Please let us know how you're coming along with the '24 start up. The mag drive plate is important to be in good shape like you guessed.
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I chose the faucet packing because of the ease of separating the twist strands, (3), from each other to get the single strand that would fit in the small area around the throttle butterfly shaft. Auto water pump packing won't work for me because it is more of a solid, sometimes square packing with what looks like some foil embedded with the graphite in the core. Plus the fact I didn't want to cut up a nice piece of water pump packing for an old auto water pump. Remember, this is not holding back hot water, just keeping the ambient air OUT. A single strand with the aid of my trusty, rusty pen knife did the trick. The key here is to get the proper size graphited string, (whereas I lucked out), pack it into opening a couple of turns and pin the bell-crank back on, but YET, not have the shaft so tight it won't turn freely enough. ---Chalk another one up for "DODGE" !!! THEY use a carb that actually has a replaceable packing at a VERY INTEGRAL area determining the final fuel/air mixture!! Owning two '31 Model A's, you can't keep a decent idle or have satisfaction at any speed when those Zenith's have an air leak at the throttle plate shaft. It's brass on cast iron. Sometimes, it's just a real MOTHER.
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Not a problem! But I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday.
Need a 1910, Model 10 Piston
in Buick - Pre War
Posted
Jerry, have you tried EGGE Machine Shop? They used to have a good variety of parts stuck away for some early Buick's.