Daves1940Buick56S

419S used anti-percolate valves that were removable and adjustable. 440S and 474S has them sealed. 474S used different choke linkage arrangement. Take a look at the attachment for part number differences. Carter WDO Sheets All001.pdf Cheers, Dave

Thanks, Mike and Mark! I will try that - tomorrow the carb comes back off so when it goes back on in a couple weeks I will try that. I hope it is just the belt (although that is not old, either) - I really don't want to pull the pump again! Cheers, Dave

Jon: Yeah, looks like I have to take it off again. I have an electric vac pump so hopefully I can rig it up for some bench testing to see what is happening. Earl: Actually, 440S is correct for my engine serial number. I am about 1500 below where the 474S starts at 3976130. I have a second 440S that is in the process of an thorough cleaning and overhaul (doesn't seem to have been used much but it sat on a shelf somewhere for a loooooong time - lots of white powder from surface oxidation). Another option would be to give in and get a WCD since this is a driver anyways. Cheers, Dave

About 2 years ago I swapped out the water pump when I did the replaced the radiator. It's a rebuilt from Bob's and it seemed fine when I put it in. I have probably run it about 30 or so engine hours - not enough miles yet to bother counting. So today as I was working my carb/choke issues I heard what sounded like an intermittent squeal (not like a belt squeal, more like a bearing getting ready to fail) coming from the front of the motor. This is about at 450 rpm. If I increased rpm it seems to go away. So I got a wooden rod and placed it against various components and took a listen, and confirmed that it's definitely coming from the pump. Is this pump already on its last legs? I don't really want to rush out and replace it but I don't want it stranding me either. Thoughts? Wait to see if it gets worse? Cheers, Dave

Last year I made a Frankencarb by using the air horn and choke assy from a WD0 448S carb on my 440S carb. This was because my original 440S air horn was missing many of the choke linkage parts and someone had adapted it to a manual choke. I acquired a 448S and was able to make the switch to get auto choke function back. Well I finally got a another 440S and using the linkages from that I was able to put my old air horn back on and de-Franken the carb. So I made the swap and put it back on today and it seems to be running much worse! :mad: Runs terrible when cold and not great warm - I seem to have lost 2+ inches of merc on the vacuum. The only things I changed besides the air horn was a small adjustment on the tang that lifts the metering rod assy (I used the right gauge for this) and lowered the bowl level back to 3/16" (my mech had raised it to 1/10" to get better high speed performance). Other than that the carb is the same as before. I guess I need to look for a vacuum leak somewhere. Could a warped air horn assy be causing this? I do have another air horn to try if I think I need it. Cheers, Dave

Louie: will do! Cheers, Dave

Did you see the wristwatch hanging from the left ashtray? Clock no workee either! Wonder if the watch goes with the car?

I am looking for the 2 springs (6.255 - 1310219) and, hopefully, the 2 bearing cups (6.241 - 1305264) for the drag link for my 1940 56S. I am located in Rockville, MD. You can PM me. Cheers, Dave

Before I put this in the WTB section, I thought I would try here first. I am looking for the 2 springs (6.255 - 1310219) and, hopefully, the 2 bearing cups (6.241 - 1305264) for the drag link for my 1940 56S. Cheers, Dave

"Yes, we are not going to stop the rain - but hopefully we can tread water for now, at least among those of us who treasure originality." Well said, Marty!! Since mine is a driver I am not fanatical about any small changes I do to make it a bit more reliable (radiator with more modern core, etc) but I always take pains to make sure any changes I make are totally reversible in case some future owner wants to go the 400 pt route. Cheers, Dave

Too bad, Tom. And likely after he passes the heirs will think it's worth $30k, and it will sit for a couple of more years. Sigh...

Thanks Jon! I will be getting in touch next week. Cheers, Dave

I picked up another WDO 440S carb on E-Bay. It has all of the parts so I am going to use the choke linkages to get rid of my current Frankencarb and restore my original 440S to regular operation. But I also have decided that although the carb is pretty cruddy, it looks totally salvageable so I will probably get a kit from the Carb Shop and make it into a hot backup. But I really need to remove the choke and throttle plates to get it thoroughly cleaned out. So: 1. What is the screw size? I know I have to grind down the staked end of the old ones. I read somewhere that the choke screw is 3-48 and the throttle 4-40? Anyone know? Hopefully the Jon at the Carb Shop will have these. 2. The copper rivets (idle port plugs) above the idle screws. Anyone know of any good tricks for getting these out? Cheers, Dave

Just wanted to pass on Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my Pre-War Buick friends! May all of your Buicks run smoothly in the coming year! Cheers, Dave

Hey! We '40ers are pretty nice and helpful too!!

Thanks Mark!!

Sorry photo error

Bingo! Thanks, I was thinking the 40 Chevys had horizontal tailights. Also the filler looked strange but here it is... [ATTACH=CONFIG]285523[/ATTACH] Cheers, Dave

This is one of several cars I can't ID. It was taken about 1948 in Alexandria, VA in front of a company I later worked for. I think it's a 1940 Olds coupe, similar to my Buick, but 1) rear of front fenders look strange, 2) filler cap in rear quarter panel, and 3) what look like turn signal pods on the front fenders. Could this be some sort of Frankencar? Cheers, Dave

Tyler If you have the car up on blocks or something anyway to pull the pan, pull the lower cover off the clutch and you can turn the flywheel by hand. You could alternatively put a remote starter switch across the vac switch terminals and bump it over. The easiest way to get them where you want is first get #1 to TDC by using the flywheel mark (inspection hole near the starter, you may still have the hole cover installed, it just pulls off), then turn over 90 degrees (1/4 turn) and that should be the right spot. You probably have Carter WCD's. Oil: yeah, lotsa opinions. No, straight 20 is likely too light. Probably straight 30 wt is good until you see if you need to go heavier. Since you will have the pan off, look at Flyer15015's posts on what he did to his oil pump, I ended up doing the same, although with not as good results likely due to looser mains. Cheers, Dave

Other answers: Plugs AC 45 or 46. Plug gap 0.025" Dwell abt 30 deg. Timing 4 deg BTDC although some advance it a little further. Check for proper operation of your centrifugal and vacuum advances. Shop manual thru Bob's or Cars. Is it running now? Does it turn over? Cheers, Dave

Welcome! I dropped my pan this summer as part of redoing the rings. The trick is to have #1 and #2 pistons at equal points in the cyls, at the 1/2 way point. Then the pan comes back easily. The 4 front pan bolts can be accessed from below thru holes in the front crossmember. The next 4 (2 ea side) are a bit tricky but I got good results using 1/4 inch drive socket, universal, and abt 8 inch extension, approaching from below and behind. The rest are cake. If the engine hasn't been worked on in a while there will likely be tons of goo on the bottom and it's a very dirty job. While the pan is off be sure to pound out the dimples around the holes, and when tightening torque to 10 lb ft. Since you are pulling the pan, why not do a compression test first? That should tell you if you are going to be looking at rings and/or valves. Cheers, Dave

Very nice Jon!

WOW!!!

OK, understand now. Thanks Larry!