Daves1940Buick56S

I was told the replacement blocks came to the dealers with a blank pad and a stamping kit with the number dies. The dealers were supposed to stamp the serial number of the block being replaced onto the new block. It didnt always happen. I have a black block on my 1940 as well and I fully believe it is a replacement engine.

I will be there! Money is in. Staying at the Wyndham. Not driving a Buick but maybe bring a bottle of Scotch to compensate?

OK, if it isn't running, try this trick that saved my butt when I was 19. Get 2 or 3 friends to push the car forward a bit while you work the shifter. They may have to bump the car back and forth a bit. If you can get the pressure off the gears (it's in first or reverse, right?) it will pop into neutral. To make this easier you can remove the spark plugs if you want, but I will bet you don't have to. Good luck!

Yeah. I can take the carb off pretty quickly and check it out. Probably do that later this week. Cheers, Dave

I am planning on being there!

This is my buddy Irv's 1934 Special. Previously we worked through a starvation problem that ultimately turned out to be a ton of crud in the gas tank and lines. With that out of the way, now the engine runs but refuses to idle. It has to be at 1000 rpm or more. The idle circuit in the EE-1 carb is basically out of the picture at this rpm. When it is running I am getting intermittent missing. The weirdest thing is that as choke is applied after I lower the idle speed the engine speeds up. Usually choking a hot engine results in rough running and stall. I have already overhauled the carb and distributor. Distro bench tested ok to 3000 rpm. New wires. Vac advance overhauled. Compression is good. I know the valves desperately need adjustment, but we haven't gotten that far yet. So I am thinking one of two things: My carb overhaul got trashed by additional crud as we were T/S the fuel issue, and/or a massive vacuum leak somewhere. This last is prompted by the strange choke behavior. Anyone want to weigh in before I pull the carb (again)? Cheers, Dave

There are no dumb questions, the only dumb questions are those never asked.

I think the easiest thing to do is the Optima battery. Make a carrying handle out of a couple of yards of duct tape. Put tape over one of the terminals so it doesn't accidentally short against something and put it in the trunk with jumper cables. About the same size as a jumper pack and maybe a bit heavier but lots more stored energy. You will have to charge every few months but you would have to do that with a jumper pack as well. Free advice, worth every cent

Just a data point. My friend's family was Italian (his dad was born here but both parents were still Italian citizens when the war started) and lived near Pittsburg. They had a Hallicrafters S20R and used it during the entire war to get overseas news. No one ever approached them about disabling anything. I ended up with the receiver and it was all original, but too beat up to restore. Maybe this was only near the coasts as someone said.

On the breaker cam, you can still get distro cam lube on Amazon. I would use that rather than white grease. Also, make sure the rear/trans lube is not GL5. Yes, I know some have said it's fine to use, but frankly I would rather not have to get yet another rear for the '40. Been there too many times. I like what I have now. I use GL4 in my '40 and '38. There is plenty available. I use GL1 Milleroil in the trans in my '38 and it quieted the syncros, no more biting unless I shift really fast. Cheers, Dave

Nice start! Who is your assistant? Gotta start them young! Cheers, Dave

I think the sedanets were B body only. Oops I stand corrected. The model 48 was an A Special. "Family" and Business sedanet, 2 models.

Maybe it is the DynaFlite. I love those things. Classic overengineering but they last forever. I too do any major work in the shop. I have a homemade test fixture where I can set up the distro exactly to spec and run it at 3000 rpm (crank) to check operation.

I go with steel on the brake lines. CuNi on the fuel lines and copper on the vacuum.

I do most of my own work but when I need help Bill Anderson of Early American Auto is only 60 miles away in Berryville VA.

Oh yeah...

Agree completely. The only caveat I would add is that the older rims weren't designed for tubeless and are missing that small bead near the edge of the rim. It shouldn't matter unless you are doing really hard high speed cornering, and that isn't something we should be doing anyway with cars of older vintage.

There is a choke of the"normal" type with a coil on the side of the carb. You have to fab out a stove for it but it is easy. I think someone did a post on it. I think the AAV26 is a better carb but maybe Jon can chime in here. I am most satisfied with my AAV26. It is for later model Buick 320 engines, maybe 1940 or later? Cheers, Dave

What carb is on it now? Are you going for roadability or authenticity? I swapped out my AAV2 for an AAV26 and it runs a whole lot better, and I dont have to fool with that kludged up choke mechanism.

Unfortunately no. It is the smaller 248 engine. You need the big 320 engine.

Unfortunately the '42 doesn't have that convenient opening in the floor over the trans like '40 on back. Makes troubleshooting these kind of issues much easier.

Did your question ever get answered? I think it is a GE 1007. https://replacementlightbulbs.com/lamp1007.html

I would love to come if I can work it out. I would driving my regular vehicle though. Maybe I can copilot with someone on the tour? Cheers, Dave

Looking like intermittant short. Turn on headlights with the ignition on, engine not running. See if the lights dim at the same time the needle swings to the left.

More info needed. Is this at idle or at a higher rpm? What happens when you turn on the headlights? You should see a slight discharge and then up into the charge area as you increase rpm. Also see if the nature of the full discharge swings changes. You might have an intermittent short somewhere in the wiring.