Daves1940Buick56S

Cool! Is the tank under the hood the gasoline tank? Also, in case someone knows, I have always wondered about the Buick planetary transmission. Was it similar in operation to the Model T's? It looks like the pedals are, left to right, brake, low, reverse (different from T's low/high, reverse, brake). Was the Buick the same as the T in that "clutched" position was halfway in between low (all the way down) and high (all the way up) on the low pedal? Cheers, Dave

So just a question as I have little experience with multi-carbs. If you set both as primary, does that mean changing the linkage so that both open in parallel as opposed to serially? And does that also mean changing the secondary carb to a primary type with the choke? I would suspect that average gas mileage would suffer a bit - does it? Cheers, Dave

Rocketsled: Yeah, it sounds like being incorporated into a larger business is what you might want to do, but keep in mind the way you described it, it won't be "your" business even though you are defacto running it so you may not be able to do the things you might want to do. Also, since you are bringing something to the table, i.e. your skill and contacts, I would not just go over to this guy as an employee. Once you do that and he establishes the "new" shop you may find yourself expendable. I would do something like have a direct contract with the guy, or you form an LLC and have him contract with your business, providing space or whatever you agree to. Get legal advice, it's worth every dollar. You want to protect yourself, he may be a great friend but in the end Business is Business. I have no experience with resto businesses other than a customer, but I grew up with my family running a small (~4 employees) service business and I learned a lot about it from my Dad. FWIW here are some other thoughts in no particular order: 1. The Lewis business is closing, but are they selling it or just closing the doors? If they are selling it as an entity and you could buy it as a whole it would make it easier to start. 2. You mentioned the email/customer list. This is vital. If they want $ for it, pay it unless they put an exorbitant price on it. 3. Someone above mentioned trying to keep the old name. If you can, try to work a deal with the heirs to enable you to keep using the name, for a limited time at least - maybe a year or 2. Then you can transition once your reputation is established. 4. In any case, any arrangements you have with the heirs need to be in writing in a contract so there are no misunderstandings. A lawyer is necessary here. 5. Capital equipment. Is there any in the old shop that you need? Try to work out something so you have right of first refusal. They may want to sell it as a single entity, if so try to meet their price and then you can part out and resell what you don't need later. 6. Shop/lease. If the old shop was in commercial space and they had a good deal, see if you can carry on in the old location, at least for a while. It helps with the transition, once you have rebranded you can go where you want and your customers will follow. Also if you buy the capital equip you won't have to pay to move it right away. 7. Money. You are going to need enough to carry you for a while, you don't want to be dodging your landlord's calls right from the start. Hope this wasn't a downer - my Dad ran his business for almost 30 years and did pretty well. And he really, really enjoyed being his own boss. Good luck! Cheers, Dave

Robert: Assuming my memory is not faulty, my 53 Special had a larger clock, the same diameter as the speedo - abt 5 inches? The higher series had the smaller clock as Ben says. However, that's just the face and mounting - the movements may be the same between the series. Cheers, Dave

Did some digging. Apparently the 775 refers to porcelain type. The size is 7/8". The Radd is from 1920, and its claim to fame was a special plate at the bottom of the plug with several small holes in a star shape that was supposed to enhance the spark to the ground electrode. Mine has this as well. I guess it fit all autos of the day. Cheers, Dave

Talk of spark plugs caused me to go take a look at a plug I have on my general memorabilia shelves. It is a RADD 775, new in the box. Pretty large. My step-grandfather had it for one of his cars abt 1920. Anyone know this plug and what it may go to? Cheers, Dave

Mike: Yeah, nothing close. We ended up going with the drill-out option, a machine shop is enlarging the holes just enough to take 3/8 bolts. Should be done today or tomorrow, then he has to reinstall the rear and we are almost done! Tranny went back in yesterday. I had to replace 4 of 6 gears. and all bearings. Also all new bearings on the rear as well. Cheers, Dave

Don - OK, understand. And my guy has also nixed this option as well. Looks like he will take it to the machine shop. Sigh - most expensive rear end rebuild ever! Old-tank - Agree, but this one is a bit rarer - a 3.4. If we run into any more trouble I may have to fall back to the old 4.44. Actually I thought I was getting a good used rear that I could at least get by with for a few years, maybe leave the rebuild for the next owner. But the carrier and pinion bearings were shot so it went from there. I suppose we could just leave it as is but my mech said that the loose rivets were causing 4 to 5 thousandths of slop making proper adjustment very difficult, probably leading to more problems sooner rather than later. Hey, it's only money, right? Cheers, Dave

Don - since welding is way outside my wheelhouse - are you talking distorting the gear or weakening or even cracking it? Or something else? Cheers, Dave

Yeah I understand. I spoke with my guy this morning and he is looking at leaving the rivets in place and welding it to the carrier. Yes I know that is a one way option but it's not like these rears are unobtanium. Another option is having a machine shop drill out the holes for a close fit with 3/8 bolts. Cheers, Dave

Cool! Where did you get the sleeves or did you machine them yourself? Cheers, Dave

Stuart, yeah, I did see that and when he said he got 5/16 bolts I figured we were good to go since they are apparently good for a 36. I guess I am surprised that they apparently went to a larger size in the interim. Cheers, Dave

Sigh. May have to, I guess, I will talk to him abt it tmw. Cheers, Dave

Cross posting from Pre-War. I have a 1940 56S but got a 3.4 pumpkin (from a 54 Century I think) to replace the current 4.44 rear. The replacement 3.4 rear has loose rivets holding the ring gear. The mechanic who is working on it got 5/16 bolts to replace those but today he finally got out one of the old rivets and he measured at 11/32. So the replacement bolt would be too loose. No 11/32 bolts at Fastenal. He is stuck - any ideas out there? Cheers, Dave

The replacement 3.4 rear that I got has loose rivets holding the ring gear. The mechanic who is working on it got 5/16 bolts to replace but today he finally got out one of the old rivets and he measured at 11/32. So the replacement bolt would be too loose. No 11/32 bolts at Fastenal. He is stuck - any ideas out there? Cheers, Dave

Lovely!!

I did this recently as well. Here is a hint: use a 100W gun. If you use anything less, it will take too long to heat up the solder on the ring and you might overheat some of the rubber components down there. Take off the contact (2 screws) at the steering box end of the column and rotate the steering wheel until the solder spot is exposed (there will also be a vertical slot for the wire to pass thru to go up the center of the shaft). Get some solder wick at Radio Shack, double it over a couple of times to increase the surface area (you want to get the old solder away quickly), place it on top of the solder spot, and the place the hot iron on that. It should heat up pretty fast and you will see the solder being taken up into the wick. Don't let it sit too long (max of 15 secs). If there is still some left, cut off the used part of the wick and repeat. The horn wire will come loose during this process. To save yourself some grief, carefully solder a 6' length of wire similar (wire gauge and insulated) to the end of the horn wire that you just pulled loose, then withdraw the old wire out from the steering wheel end of the column. The wire that you soldered on will go up with the old. Once you get it out at the hub end, you can cut off the old wire. In this way you can avoid snaking the new wire down by hand. Solder on a new button contact at the steering wheel end, size (leave a little bit of slack for turning the wheel), cut and strip the other end of the new wire solder to the solder spot you wicked out earlier, and you are done. If you bought a "put together" wire with the hub contact already on, just solder the stripped end onto the end of the wire you just pulled up, and then go back to the other end and pull that wire back down, so the stripped end of the new wire/contact assy is at the steering box end of the column. Place the contact properly in the shaft end, size the wire (leave a little bit of slack for turning the wheel), cut, strip, and solder into the solder spot you wicked out earlier. Voila! Make sure you check for continuity before declaring victory. Also shorts. And make sure the horn contact wiper and column contact bushing are clean. I made it sound more complicated than it is. It took me less than 30 minutes to do this. Cheers, Dave

Thanks! I actually keep a *lot* of stuff, but I especially have negs/transparencies going back to my long-ago youth. Our heirs are going to have an interesting job going thru everything! ;) Cheers, Dave

Attached is a picture of the car that got me interested in 1940 Super coupes. It was taken at the 1974 Victor, NY Auto Show, in June 1974. I was going thru some of the 100s of Kodachromes I took at car shows in the 70s and 80s and came across this. Enjoy! Cheers, Dave

51b I ended up closing on the other deal since I could not get in touch with you. So hopefully I am all set. To all thanks for looking. Cheers Dave

51b: Have tried several times to call but no answer. I have an offer pending on a NOS cluster but am waiting to talk with you before I close. Is yours NOS or used? Let me know what is a good time to call today or tonight. Thanks, Dave

OK, will call

Looking for a cluster gear in good condition for my manual trans. Part number is 1310985. Thanks, Dave

BTW, thanks for the replies! You guys are great as usual... Cheers, Dave

OK, some better pix attached. My mechanic is going to overhaul it with parts from Northwest. Getting another one is too much of a crapshoot at this point, at least with this one I know where we are. Probably replace the bearings, seals, and at least some of the gears. On the new rear, side bearings shot but he can replace. The rest looks good. It may whine a bit at first but the reduced revs of the 3.4/1 will help extend the life of my engine. Clutch was down to the rivets but no damage to flywheel. No oil on the clutch so it was just slipping due to wear. Do any of the replacement discs have the slinger plate? It appears to be an idea whose time came and went... Transmission pix: