TexasJohn55

Guys, this ain't helping the original poster however interesting. When he upgraded to 12v system, he had to change the bulbs, therefore power requirement was the same with half the amperage on the wires, TJ55

A fresh set of wheel cylinders and lines and master, what is to worry? Total failure is unlikely, master cylinder will manifest problems of creep at stop light or needing to be "pumped up" before total loss of braking. Just pay attention. TJ55

Leave one main cap at each end up to hold crank off seals. (Never drop all at once).TJ55 .....Plumbers Putty may work also to plug oil holes, any number of ways as previously posted here.

Have you posted in "Post War"? My 55 has plenty good brakes with factory single setup but it does have an original booster. I don't worry about the so-called safety factor of a dual. I guess that is why I don't have a lightning rod on my roof .. TexasJohn PS.....I would strongly recommend that you replace all 4 wheel cylinders, both rubber lines on front, single rubber line to rear which feeds both wheels and degrease and sand old shoes if still useable. Replace front grease seals and put back together and adjust by book method. With new wheel cylinders and lines what is to fail? The master cylinder is simple to rebuild or replace. Parts are very reasonable now and carried by local auto parts stores, ie: wheel cylinders at $12.00-$15. each, lines not bad either.

1939_buick, maybe I misunderstood this "Facebook Platform". register.pdf TexasJohn

Smartin, I get that. Same goes for jalopyjournal's H.A.M.B. I don't care for the "tone" and language on the H.A.M.B. sometimes, they don't seem to police their own ranks. Just my opinion, TJ55

I have made this my home page for awhile now. I have come to enjoy it so much. When questions get posted, they get replies and usually answers. Poor folks at "v8 buick.com" and "Teambuick" post questions, get views but a lot go for months without a response of any kind. I check in with them once in awhile but there is alot less action. I won't join TeamBuick because I don't use Facebook./ One poor guy posted about a leak at his high accumulator on the dynaflow, not one response to help. Depressing. I thought it was time to Officially say THANKS! TexasJohn55 or John or TJ55 or?

Ben, Wow, 76 is good! Hence the name "First Born". (or maybe just the oldest sibling)? My stepdad will be 80 in October and still roto-tills his own garden. He will die working. Willie, I sure like the sound of that "slap-slap-slap"! John

Bill, just like he said. You can disconnect the line and should feel vacuum at the fitting with engine running, that pulls heat across coil from the exhaust if it is still connected down there. TJ55

Actually, I am confusing the issue so I'll hush. AND, don't want to hijack this thread.

Semantics (is that the right word?). Power is measured in Watts, we somtimes use the terminology of current interchangeably which is not correct, Amperage is amperage, we say that increasing the voltage will increase the current but we mean power (wattage). Is that right? Maybe I'm confused too. TexasJohn

You can watch the effect if you hold throttle open and rotate the black housing back and forth, just mark where it was originally so you can reset it, plus one mark leaner. John

Bill, the spring is inside the black housing, it is a temperature sensitive coil. If the choke butterfly is not sticking in the carburetor bore, with throttle held open a little off idle you should be able to move it freely from open to closed and back open. The cold spring coil is what closes the choke butterfly, as the coil warms it relieves the tension and allows the choke to gradually open. John

Bravo Robert and wife, (does she have a name). She is the kind of gal a gearhead dreams of. Niice job(her and the project)! I was pleased to see you did have a tranny jack and didn't have to use a floor jack. I have done that and it ain't no fun. Regards, TJ55

John, believe me, I completely understand your viewpoint. I am not the one investing time and worry on your car,"a man has got to do what a man has gotta do." I would add that yours is a very considered and justifiable decision. Best of luck to you, hope it turns out good. TJ55

Bill, you can loosen the small screws and rotate it clockwise(toward lean) a couple notches, one notch may be enough. TJ55

John, I don't mean to beat a dead horse but that crank is not an issue. You could easily polish it up and put in a set of bearings. If nothing else, it would tell you if the knock went away and would still be driveable in the interim while giving you time to build one if desired. You will also have the chance to inspect the cam bearings to see if any spin with the cam while hand turning the engine. TexasJohn

OK Mike, thanks for the reply. I will hunt for some stiffer springs or add an extension to the hinge spring anchor for more leverage. TJ55

Where is old-tank? What is the issue, my '55 won't keep the hood open to full height, always bumping my head. TexasJohn

Re: post 65................Pan is up guys.

Hoorah! Another successful thread. TJ55

Bernie, I could have used that advice 30 years ago when I twisted my Pontiac 350 to about 4500 showing off. Just as it peaked rpm it shut down like I turned the key off. I found the rubbing block knocked plumb off the points from banging the lobes. Oh yeah, the noise ain't in the rear. TJ55

John, I can't tell from the pics, did you have a cam bearing failure? I also could not identify the parts laying in oil pan. Was the suction tube loose in the screen? Did you conclude what caused the failure, there is a lot of recirculation and trash showing in bearings. I am a mechanic by profession just to preface what I am going to say. Those grooves on your crank journals in and of themselves don't concern me. You can polish them with 320 and 400 aluminum oxide roll cloth, it comes in a variety of widths and can be split stripped to any desireable width so you can make a complete wrap on journal. Main concern on rod journals would be miking the diameter, if within wear limits, slight grooving will have no effect on reliability or oil pressure. I cannot see it all as well as you but I would be inclined to replace bearings and run it if the rod bearings miked small enough to cause a clearance knock. Just my opinion and I won't be insulted if you decide otherwise. TJ55

Todd, don't be afraid because of inexperience. Knowledge and a "can do" mentality will get alot done. Wiring up an electric pump is not rocket science. If you decide to do that just do some research and study of your own electrical schematic for your model and know that it must be on ignition switched circuit with it's own fuse, likely easier to install a relay to switch it, that simplifies the process. It takes the load of pump circuit off your existing setup and the relay will carry the additional load. Add your ground wires and fuel bowl with guage, then you will be in better position to assess need for electric pump. The fuel system integrity with your manual pump should be established first so it will function as designed, the electric pump is to stop fuel vapor lock issues and thereby improve reliability. It will not cure a degraded rubber hose at tank suction. TJ55

Thank you buick man, that is a VERY GOOD article! I once went thru 2 sets of used lifters building a 283 for my father in law in the 70's. Started first by culling those that showed wear or flatness on the scrubbing end, tore them down and cleaned them up. The main criteria I used to identify usable ones was to set them upright submerged in a can of diesel fuel, set it in a drill press, used a suitable plunger chucked up, with drill not running, used press to pump the lifter thereby filling it with diesel fuel. After it pumped up, I would put moderate pressure on the lifter and see if it wanted to bleed off. After doing several I determined a standard to judge by. A good one bleeds very slow if any. Yes you do need to "deflate" them before installing. I overhauled that engine and the lifters worked great and quiet.............Now if you find that strange, GM, in their instructions for cam and lifter replacement on the 379ci / 6.2L diesel directs you to fill the lifters in precisely that manner and install them, with specific instructions to bleed them down a little at a time with the rockers during assembly. I put a cam and lifters in mine in '86 so I don't remember all the details but I had no problems following the book method. BTW, they are roller/hydraulic. Thanks again. TexasJohn