midman

I might be opening up a hornets nest but I want some opinions on the racket my engine makes. Here is some history. I bought the car 4 years ago. It had been sitting since the mid 60's supposedly after an engine rebuild. When I got it it needed a cosmetic restoration after a halted one. The engine ran well and quiet. I drove it around for a short distance and the car overheated. I shut it down as soon as I noticed the temperature spiking. A rebuilt radiator fixed the overheating. Fast forward to me finishing the cosmetic resto along with replacing all tune up parts. I struggled with the dual point setup a little and still am not comfortable with the second set of points. I can get them close but there is not enough adjustment to get them perfect. Anyway it starts, runs and after some tweaking of the carb does not backfire anymore but it sounds like a freight train now. All cylinders are right around 60 pounds, good oil pressure at idle. I know I have a small exhaust leak at the butterfly valve (I welded shut the pipe but there is blowby around it), but the noise sounds more to me like valves (though my compression is good). It is quieter at start up and gets louder as it warms up. The engine is filled it with 30 weight oil. I uploaded a YouTube video and would appreciate any help with diagnosing the problem. Thanks

Looks like a very nice car. Congratulations! The front end of a Packard is something.

Print of wiper motor

Beautiful car, I always liked these. Chuck

It seems there are more cars in the corral on Friday but if you don't care about that then I agree with Wellens, Thursday. Chuck

OK I have only been interested in prewar cars for a couple of years now but the more I learn the more fascinating I find these cars. As an example I just recently bought some box lots of literature at an estate auction and found some pamphlets on the "Bijur System" for different makes of cars. Never heard of it but after some Google time found out that they were pretty active in the day(looks like up to about 1920?) and it looks like the lubrication part of the company survives. Glancing through them I find again that some prewar cars were well ahead of their time. The Scripps-Booth pamphlet mentions electric door locks, dash mounted ignition switch, 12 volts, and auto start!!!! All for a car that disappeared 100 years ago. Amazing. Some of the books are for some real orphan brands, another fascinating thing about the time period, so many car brands. The booklets cover Apperson Bros, Thomas B. Jeffrey, The Winton Co., Scripps-Booth with a Hupp thrown in. Does anyone know if the Bijur was considered a premium electrical supplier or were they considered less so? Anyway I thought I would throw this out there and see what anyone else might know about Bijur.

I've always had good luck with these folks. Complete pumps or kits and nice to deal with. http://then-now-auto.com/fuel-pumps/

Well I went down to York PA this morning to see them off. I love seeing vintage equipment at speed and not just sitting static. My hats off to the men and women who keep them on the road. Here are some pics and a youtube link to a video https://youtu.be/Mu0qZv6oIgE

You can see in the pic of the firewall that I had two big holes in mine. They were covered with metal plates. The other holes on the driver side were for a heater.

Here are some pictures of mine as I disassembled it.

Mike, Sorry to to hear about your dad. I am just finishing up my 31 90 series so I can answer some of your questions. The windshield seals are available from Steele Rubber Products. Your lift mechanism looks in good shape assuming the gears are not shot. The vacuum line goes from the top of the intake (center plugged hole on yours) through the firewall, under the dash up the post to your motor. I will post pics of the exhaust valve linkage and the hand throttle linkage when I get to my computer. The hand throttle linkage goes from that little arm at the end of the steering shaft to the linkage assembly above the carburetor. You are missing a cover for your light switch at the end of the steering box. I'll post a pic of that as well. Engine is solid mount. The missing linkage at your radiator is an arm that goes from the shutterstat bellows to the shutter. You can make one if need be. Mine is back together so I cannot give you exact dimensions. Chuck

Nice, I like the old barn look, and stone accents.

I was lucky with my house. One of the reasons I bought it was that it had a foundation and slab already done ( though 20 years old) and it had roughed in plumbing! It is 28x32 so I can fit 3 cars and two motorcycles with the lift I put in and still have room to work. Putting in a bathroom and slopsink was a big plus. I made the interior height 11' for the lift. Not as big as my old 40x50 but this one is insulated, heated, has a bathroom, and has the lift, and though I would like to have more space I know I would just fill it with more cars that I wouldn't have time to get to. All in without having to do any concrete or foundation work it was about 35k in 2009 with me doing most of the work. I wish I would have speced prefab trusses allowing attic storage though. Chuck

I bought a box of early Automobile Trade Journals recently and found something in one of them I've never seen before. It looks like an ad insert for a company called New York Motorcycle Exchange and dates to around 1909 from what I can tell in the ad. Lots of old bikes and cars with the "used" sell prices in the day. Even have a couple of Cadalicks!! Don't know if it is original or not but it is old. Here is a scan.

The run of motorcycles 100 years old and older starts next Saturday September 10. From New Jersey to California in two weeks. Braver souls than I. They will be going through central Pennsylvania the first and second day so I am going to see them off in York Pa. Here is the web site for more information if you have an interest. http://www.motorcyclecannonball.com Chuck

I am going through some books I picked up at a recent auction. I'll post them here if anyone wants them before they end up on Ebay. PM me if interested. An original 1916 (I think, published January 1917) D-6-44,D-6-45 instruction book. Very good condition. no staining but some yellowing. 64 pages. $45 I also have a booklet titled THE STORY OF THE GREATEST BUICK EVER BUILT publish date 1926 so I assume it is for the 1926 or 1927 models. It is a catalog of cars and features for that year. Very good condition. No stains, no yellowing. 62 pages. $35. US post will be $6 for each or both. Other countries will be actual cost. I have a few other Buick items I will post when I get to them. PM me if you want one or both. Chuck

Tad, When I rebuilt mine the line from the glass tube to the brass tube in back was clogged. It was a PITA to clean out. I ended up buying a new assembly here. http://www.classicandexotic.com/store/c-85-king-seeley-hobson-fuel-gauge.aspx

Yep, elevator is available at the AACA museum.

Well I went to the auction and I did fit nicely but alas I was the under bidder. I bid 18k and it sold for 19. I probably should have kept going a little more but I just didn't have enough time to evaluate it and there were too many question marks for me. The hunt continues. Thanks for all the suggestions.

I plan on being there

Thanks for the advise and recommendations. I'll keep an eye out for the cars mentioned and forget about the Hup and Metz. Any other advise or ideas are appreciated. Larry, we'll have to make sure we don't both chase the same Buick! I'll update this post when I find something. Chuck

Nick, My take on it is there are so many facets to this hobby, (one reason I always stay with it). You have the nostalgia person who wants the car from their youth, the history buff who loves everything mechanical and likes to tinker (me), the person inspired by design in a time period. As long as vehicles continue to be a big part of our lives I don't see the hobby fading. Yes the majority of us are older but for me that is because I couldn't afford to be heavily involved until my kids were grown and the house was paid off. I remember in the 70's going to car shows and thinking how old the car owners were, so I'm sure it's been like this for some time. The cars will change but the hobby will live on. The high end of this hobby that everyone writes about will always be a different universe. Most of them just have a lot more disposable income and a story about a 20 million dollar car is more newsworthy than a 20 thousand dollar car. I have tracked more than a few cars that sold at auction only to sell again for tens of thousands less a couple years later, and of course you see just the reverse as well. I am not in this hobby to make money off a car or bike but I have a better argument to my partner in life if I can say I did when I tell her I'm buying another one! Chuck

I figured I would throw this out there for the more experienced folks out there. I am keeping my eye out for an earlier brass era car. Nothing special but I prefer cars that you don't see every day and I don't mind (actually I like) working on them and figuring them out so the Fords are out. I know this era had lots of orphan brands so there should be lots of choices. Anyway my requirements are electric start (so I think I am looking at 1914 up) and I have to fit OK (I am a little over 6'2" 200 pounds). Not looking to really show the car but maybe a local tour and local back road cruising. The big touring cars of the era will be out of my price range unless I find a project. The height thing will be my biggest hurdle I believe. It just seems most of the early cars are not made for the taller driver. My big Buick is snug and that is a 1931 90 series. So any general suggestions. I am putting this out there because I don't want to take trips to surrounding states only to find a car I can't even get my legs into. Examples of reasonably close cars right now are a 1915 Metz Model 20 (the friction drive is interesting) and a 1911 Hupmobile (no electric start though). Anyone have an idea if either of these would fit a taller driver. I could go the speedster route if nothing else I guess. Thanks for any input. Chuck

Tom, According to my book, not the same. The 40 is 1312980 & 81 and the 50 is 1313386 & 87

Hi Benjamin, I certainly agree with Matt, your big hurdle will be keeping up with highway traffic and stopping, slowing down safely or taking evasive action at 70 miles an hour in an 80 year old car designed to top out at 50 and slow down over a long distance. My 1931 Buick tops out at 70 without overdrive according to period literature but I worry going 55. It is much happier at 45-50, and then I am constantly on the lookout for someone stopping suddenly or cutting in front of me. Your awareness level needs to be like a motorcycle rider since most of the general public has no idea of your limitations. I like having something different versus the Model A crowd so there again Matt is right on since my 90 series Buick coupe wasn't much more than a Model A but the parts availability for the other brands is nowhere near the great support the Fords have. It took a two year search to find an exhaust manifold for my car and the other bits I found were much more expensive than they would have been for a model A. So if you don't mind a more common car the A will differently be easier to keep on the road. Good luck and let us know what you find. Chuck