Daves1940Buick56S

I think I know the answer here but I am looking for a sanity check: When I got my 1940 last summer it was obvious that the carpeting was rotten so I just pulled it out. What was underneath was the original rubber floor matting but in very bad shape - cracked and split. I am doing this car as a driver so I just figured I would have the matting removed and a new carpet and pad put down later this coming summer after I completed the mechanical work. So now I want to pull the inspection cover off of the floor hump so I can take a peek at the transmission internals. I was just going to cut a "flap" in the matting and then tape it back down when done, but then I started thinking (always a bad sign) that maybe I should just go ahead and rip out the matting and padding material now. Any disadvantage to doing this or should I wait on this until I am ready to do the carpet at the same time? Is it a nasty job? Cheers, Dave

Paul: I agree the odds are very low of a failure but it is not zero. And Jeff was concerned about shorts in his wiring, so it is not unreasonable to say that it might happen while under way, and if the ignition circuit is past the fuse you've got a dead engine. Risk management is especially important with this old iron, we have to be wary about putting ourselves or anybody else in harm's way when it can be avoided. I always say I don't want my last concious thoughts to be "well THAT was stupid." I am not trying to be an old nag but I sure don't want anyone to get hurt. And bad on GM for having that fusible link where it was! Definite fodder for lawyers I would reckon... Cheers, Dave

Hmmm, I would not do what you are proposing. You are putting a single fuse in the line for all the power in the car, including lights and ignition. In engineering we call this a single point of failure (SPOF) and they are to be avoided. For example, you are cruising down a 2 lane road and decide to pass a slowpoke, so you slam it back into second, pull around and...the fuse goes and you got nothin' with a Mack comin' straight at ya. Whole new category of bad day. Also, at night you will lose not only your ignition but the lights as well. Take a good look at the wiring schematic and the wiring diagrams in the shop manual. If you want more protection for the circuits *other* than the ignition and head/tail lights (don't know the '36 in particular, but the lights are hopefully protected by a circuit breaker in the switch), add in-line fuses appropriate for the max draw as close to the power source as you reasonably can, probably near the ammeter. If the wiring in the "unprotected" parts looks bad, repair or replace. Cheers, Dave

One thing as you research the doublers - the latch coil is an inductive load so you may have to ensure the doubler can handle the kickback when the current is removed. You may have to put a diode across it. I assume the 3A is just to activate the latch and is not continuously flowing to hold the latch closed. Cheers, Dave Edited: not a pure inductive load, brain lock on my part. Lots of resistance also.

OK, a couple of things here. First, the power limits of the switch are strictly related to current, or amperage. The power dissipated by the switch is I^2 * R, or (amps * amps) * resistance. Notice no volts in that equation. (There is also likely a voltage limit on the switch due to arc-over or insulator failure, but it's likely a lot higher than 12 VDC). So the 500 A intermittant limit holds no matter the voltage. Next, look at the limits spec'd in the manual. A stall torque limit is when the starter armature is held fast in place and not allowed to turn. This would be the max the starter motor can draw, and is in effect the max current draw the battery needs to supply since the other current required when starting in trivial in comparison. So for you that is 575 A. Now, the switch lists 500 A for 10 sec so you can interpolate the correct value for 575 A (remember it's current squared) and then add a safety factor since the switch parts may not respond in a linear fashion near failure limits. So I would say about 6 secs. But the reality is that 6 secs at stall would likely severely damage your starter so it's not very likely you would have more than a sec or 2 of that current once you realized it wasn't turning over and killed it. For the running value of 375 A you're still going to have a time limit with the switch. Again, interpolating the values, I would not crank it for more than 15 sec. But we know that that is an awfully long time to crank for these old cars so I would doubt you would be up against that limit anyway. Lastly, with increased resistances due to ancient wiring connections, etc in the circuitry and components I would doubt that you would be able to actually pull the 375 A / 575 A limits anyway.

Ken: Restoration Supply Company and their number is 800.306.7008 Cheers, Dave

Well, I voted many times so I am disappointed as well! But good showing anyhow. I suspect that marketing was a far bigger driver on the final choice than anything else. Since I assume that Liquid Wrench is going to use this in advertising I expect that the final choice was likely selected to appeal to a certain demographic, like the coveted 18 - 35 group. And that group would probably think a 67 Bug is a lot "cooler" than a 22 Buick! But what the heck do they know, anyhow? Youngsters!! Cheers, Dave

Wow! I got hydraulic jack oil for mine but have only put in a small amount up to now. They are not leaking as far as I can tell. Will the oil container indicate if it has sealer? Any particular chemical I should look out for? Cheers, Dave

Dwight: Why? What happened? And what did you end up using instead? Cheers, Dave

Yes!! They can empty your wallet in a flash!

Mike - I think the procedure in the shop manual calls for pulling the fan and water pump before removing the radiator, so I think the answer to your question is yes. I asked earlier this year if it was possible to pull the radiator without pulling the pump and was told no - you need that 2 or 3 inches to tilt the radiator rearward enough to get it out. Cheers, Dave

Same to you Mate! While you enjoy nice weather it is getting cold, cloudy and windy here in the Washington DC area. High of 40 F on Christmas Day I hear. Cheers, Dave

Never mind. He sold it. Sigh. Well, I did see a 39 tooth ring gear for sale for $175 (meant for a 10 tooth pinion which I have). But how risky is it to put on a new ring gear with an old, presumably non-matched, pinion?

To clarify, not the whole rear end, just the guts. Should not need to change torque tube unless new pinion won't fit I would think. But maybe I am wrong? Cheers, Dave

I have a 40 56S with a 4.4 rear. Will the pinion, gear, and carrier from a 41 Century 3.9 fit my car? Cheers, Dave

Done!

All of the above suggestions are good. I had a small D battery tray lying around which takes 4 cells wired in series (6VDC) and put that in series with the 6V car battery before going into the timing light. Worked like a champ. Cheers, Dave

I love the Bud Lite bottle caps on the radio knobs! Cheers, Dave

Larry I assume you polarized the gen, or the shop did You could check the coil - across the primary, primary to ground, secondary to 1 of the pri terms, and sec to ground You could swap out the voltage reg temporarily and just rig it in place - make sure it has a good connx to ground You need to find out if there is a heavy drain on the batt or the gen is not putting out anything - I have a wicked cool shunt device that you put on the pos term - you close the shunt, start, then open the shunt - there is a 0.01 ohm manyWatt resistor and you basically read the voltage drop and use Ohm's law to calculate current in or out. I bought this many yrs ago, maybe Ebay will have something like this? Cheers, Dave

Grant: I was afraid of that. No radio (yet). PS I finally got some pix up, sent you a PM. Cheers, Dave