midman

The engine is really starting to run well as she starts to break in. The timing and carb are good now though I hate that Marvel leak at shut down. I am getting vapor lock during my last two break in runs though. It’s hot out here but not crazy hot. I think the 1932’s had a shield to help with this so I might fabricate one. Any other ideas out there other than shielding or wrapping the fuel line. Other than that she’s coming along Chuck

Rebuilt the Marvel........again. The venturi are good. Tweeked the timing a little more. It’s running better. Still have to choke it slightly under load, but better. I’m still chasing a vacuum leak I think but I can run it up and down the road. I’ll check the plugs in the next couple of days and see how they look. Thanks for all the suggestions. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.

“I won't offer you candy from a windowless van but perhaps I can entice you to the dark side. “ Yea, I’ve been thinking about that.

So the car is running but I am struggling to get a good idle and under load I need to choke the engine to keep from backfiring through the carb. I double checked my timing, valve adjustment, and tried setting the carb. I can make it worse but I can’t make it better. As soon as I think I have a good idle it starts stumbling and wandering again. I’m done today but I’m thinking of two areas to check. 1. A vacuum leak on the intake side. 2. My distributor shaft has some play in it so I’m going to try to get to the bottom of that though I don’t know that it could be causing my issue. I was having this problem with the car before I rebuilt it so it is frustrating, but at least I don’t have the rod knock any more. Any other thought or ideas out there?

It’s alive!!!!!! The filter in Bob’s housing is a NAPA 1061, threads right on, the Baldwin replacement is a B6, same thread size, will not screw on. Couldn’t figure out why so I’ll just keep buying 1061 filters. Anyway, finished timing, cold adjusting the valves, 12 guards of oil, and coolant, preoiled the top end, filled the fuel bowl and carb with gas, cranked it a few times then switched on the ignition. Small shot of starting fluid and boom she started right up! I was suprised that there was zero smoke out of the exhaust at start up. Have a small oil leak at that darn filter housing and a couple small exhaust leaks but oil pressure is great, no fuel or coolant leaks. Thought I had my camera on video for the start up but I still had it on camera. Anyway, have to fix the few minor things, put the rest of the car back together and start driving it to break it in. Hallealuah! Chuck

I’ve seen the complete gauge set for sale occasionally, usually around $250 for used unrestored for the the whole thing. I’ve never seen a restored gauge for sale. Chuck

I did mine with a modern lip seal a few months ago. I might still have the part number but I did what has been suggested and ordered it from measurements. I’ll check for the number when I get home on Monday. Chuck

The guy who turned down 250k, had 230k in the trunk.

Finally had a chance to start hanging everything back on the engine. It might be ready to fire up next week. Got the manifolds, steering box, fuel pump, generator, water pump and distributor installed, along with the starter and starter pedal, steering wheel and light switch. I'm having a problem with the filter housing I bought from Bob's way back. I wrote down the filter number (but stupidly tossed the original filter), but the replacement filter I bought does not thread on though it crossed from the Wix number that was in the housing originally. It is definitely 13/16-16 and that is what the new filter is but it does not thread on. I have another 13/16 adapter for a tractor and the filter threads right on that one. Maybe I wrote the original number down wrong. I had #5106. Can anyone verify that? I'll call Bob's tomorrow and see if they'll tell me. The one on the right is the one from Bob's housing. Anyway, other than that things are coming along.

Hi, Your car should be negative ground like cars of today. This might be a silly question, but did you check the charge level on the new 6 volt battery? Just because you just bought it does not mean it is carrying a full charge. Good luck.

Bob, Thanks for the thoughts. I am going to try your suggestion. Much appreciated. Chuck

I’m working on reinstalling the engine on my 1931 90 Series and I have a question I know you guys can answer. My original exhaust manifold basically was in pieces when I got it and I have been lucky enough to scrounge up a few spares. My guestion is, knowing the manifold has to move some, are the intake and exhaust manifolds supposed to be exactly the same thickness(the part where the slightly cone shaped washers go)? I am assuming yes but my exhaust manifold was surfaced flat and is now about .71 and intake is .75. Should I have the intake surfaced to match or do you think I am safe?

The motor is in! The lift handled it fine but it was slow going. Without taking the fenders and such off it was tight. Lining up the torque tube too...…..ughh! It would have gone much easier with 3 people instead of 2.. But, its back in so now the reassembly of all the hang ons begin. Ballparked the valve clearance for now, installed the generator and distributor (went over the distributor first and it was packed with old grease in the centrifugal advance. Don't think those weights were moving much), set up the timing, installed the starter. etc. Gonna finish the passenger side stuff then move on to the drivers side. I'll post as I go.

Well, after what seems like forever I think I'm ready to swing the motor back into the car next weekend. Installed the clutch which I did nothing to, as it looked brand new with good discs, springs and levers. Installed new throw out bearing. I shimmed up the closest bearing I could find and a new pilot bearing. Rockers all gone over and with the replacement pushrod (thanks Roger!) and pushrod spring cap (I fabricated one from 24 gauge steel) the head is pretty much done. Upon closer inspection of the old spring cap, I see that parts of it had broken away which very well could have been what killed my mains and rod bearings that were damaged. I can't find my cylinder head to rocker oil line. I am going to have to make one up I guess. I bagged and tagged everything I thought but it is not there. Anyway I can swing the block in without it. Transmission mounted. I just have to finish up all the bolts. I had removed the engine with the steering column in, big mistake. It should be much easier now since I removed it for resealing the steering gear. Hope my engine lift can handle it. I installed the head so I could work on it without killing my back, but it is going to be a lot heavier than when I pulled the engine. Back then I pulled the head separately.

Pete, I went through the drawings and unfortunately I do not see anything for the steering column area. I have mine apart right now so if you let me know what you are looking for I can take pictures or get dimensions. Chuck

OK, Got a bunch of work done. Reinstalled the bellhousing, flywheel, oil manifold, front cover and oil pan. Installed the pilot bearing and clutch and the cylinder head. New head bolts, not high crown bolts like the old ones but this engine has been apart a couple of times at least so I was not comfortable reusing them. Rebuilt the rocker assembly and started installing the pushrods. Unfortunately I found a pushrod with some damage I missed on disassembly. I am not comfortable installing it so I am trying to track one down. hopefully one of my sources will have one. The pushrod spring cap was a little mangled so my guess is it was cocked on installation sometime in the past allowing it to rub against the rod. Oh well, the install is stalled again during the hunt.

Seems I had the answer to the wayward plug on my computer all along. No one knew where the plug went so I was stumped. I had gone over that block 50 times looking for where the plug might go. Then I remembered when I bought the car I also got a pile of blueprints, so I figured I better start searching. I had donated the plans to the Buick Heritage Alliance and they gave me scanned copies. I went through every engine print I had, blown way up and started searching, inch by inch, and there it was. It was on the rear main bearing, I had been scouring the block. So after installing it I started reassembling again and I'm almost back to where I was 2 weeks ago. So glad I didn't have to tear it down any further.

Rick, Look over the body. It is wood framed with a sheet metal skin. If the wood is rotted be careful. In a closed car check above the windshield. In all cars check the door fit and the framing behind the rear axle for wood damage. Make sure the exhaust manifold is not cracked. A common problem with these cars.

Nick, I have a couple of 31 radiators. I’m not sure of the differences between the series as far as size, etc. Maybe someone who knows can share the information here. Do you have the measurements of the radiator you need?

Well , I was just about finished buttoning up the engine when I found two pieces I missed. Rule number 1 make sure you have everything cataloged . Anyway one piece was a threaded plug for the rear of the cam (add 4 hours or work re-tearing down the bottom end, bell housing flywheel, etc.) The other part is this small plug which I can not find where it goes. The machinist removed it but he does not remember where it came from. It is just .48 in diameter so I am assuming it is in the oil galley lines but I cannot find an obvious location. I am not going to button this up without finding its home. Any ideas out there.

Somebody mentioned what it would be like to restore newer cars. It will take someone with a computer circuitry background I think. Rebuilding ECU,s, transmission modules, etc. For example, I always liked the R129 SL500 Mercedes 2 seaters. They are dirt cheap now ( 100k 20 years ago), less then 10k sometimes now. Well I bought one dirt cheap with 50,000 miles, 20 years old. It came with one key which has a chip. I went to get a spare and guess what, no longer available, so if/when the key fails I have a 4,000 pound yard ornament unless I can find someone that can figure out how to bypass the anti theft system, which doesn’t look promising at this point. Maybe I’ll look into what it takes to get around or repair these systems as a lot of cars of this vintage will be considered collectors cars in the not too distant future.

Ahhh, how quickly we forget.

Spinney, I had one of the rod bearings off but neglected to get the number before I installed them. I'll try to get them from the machinist and I'll post it here if he comes through. Hugh, No shims on the mains. I used 5/16 rope seal on the rear main. Chuck

Dave, Here is a little clearer picture of the plate and ratchet. I am putting my drivetrain back together now so my tranny is out. Mine is a 90 series but yours should be pretty close. There is a screen tacked into the metal plate on the back side as I remember. I have a brake lever smaller than mine but I'll have to find it to get measurements. I would be willing to sell it if it would work for you. I'll track it down this weekend and measure it up and get you a picture. Chuck

Anyone know what the Buick went for?