kgreen

No. See Shooteys response above and the photo below of a ring gear from my parts car showing the gear teath count confirming the 3.6 rear end:

Thanks for hosting a great even Lamar. We had a great time!

I had a '64 and the only common point to share about it was that many controls are vacuum operated and the original vacuum lines will leak as they harden and split.

May your list stay long and your results fruitful. If my list ever runs out, it's because I'll be sitting in a corner drooling and not knowing when my last meal or diaper change occured.

Looks like most of it comes off with a couple wrenches. Then the scarce items like the fold down rear bumper guard can all be sold separately to make back 10% of the cars putrchase price.

The 248 engine has a different set up than the 320 engine. Both must have a good vacuum. For the 248: remove parts and remember the position of the cupped ball retainer. The retainer goes in two ways but only works one way. Clean the interior of the switch with a suitable solvent being sure airways are not plugged. New gasket, reinstall. If you have gasket leakage within the carburetor, your problem will persist. Make sure your carb is in good working order. For the 320: This switch also works on vacuum but cannot be disassembled and cleaned effectively. At least I couldn't do it thoroughly enough for my satisfaction. They get gummed up and dirty. I replaced mine for a sure fire fix. If you do take it apart clean it liberally with solvent and carefully clean the contact. I am not sure if there is a critical gap for the contact but the contacts of course must be clean. Here are some views of the vacuum switch for the 320. As I recall, there is a thin rubber diaphram that becomes unusable once it is removed. I am unaware of a rebuild kit.

Belleville washing positioned cup inward, no lockwasher. Is this what you were looking for?

Full rebuild kit available from Northwest Transmission: http://nwtparts.com/index.php?route=common/home Not sure what you mean by third gear scratches. You may be in for more parts than a rebuild kit.

Great old topic, if I might hijack with a question or two. Could I get an identification of the vibrator by location, photo or description? I have two radios and have never put power to either one. I was sending one off for a rebuild and debated sending the second one. Problem is they are very heavy units so shipping cost will be rather high. If the vibrator is such a hard to replace part, I could remove it from one radio and send it along as a possible spare, if I knew what I was looking at. I have identified D&M radio restoration out of Greenville, SC to make the repairs.

@JohnD1956 you know John, I can't wait to drive it. However, I find my time working on the car very relaxing. A finished car won't take this much effort so I wonder what I'll do to relax at that time? I do think this is the last one I'll ever do that requires this much effort.

I tap it in with a rubber mallet until it hits the stop. The ridge on the cap does not corespond to the depth of the recess on the hub. So long as it is not loose, it's in far enough. At the depth you see mine, it does not interfere with the hubcap either.

The brake shoes that I picked up at Hershey two years ago looked proper, but just would not fit. The forks on the adjuster didn't fit fully onto the shoes and spread the shoes out far enough that the drums wouldn't slip on. The arch of the shoes was also off with only about 2-3 inches of the mid point of the shoe making contact. The new shoes from Just Brakes fit much better, but still needed adjustment. The adjuster fit well and the arc was spot on. The shoe width was too wide creating interferance on the inside face of the drum. You can see the shiney spots on the tips of the fasteners. THe photo below shows the contact on the brake shoe. I used a flap disc sanding wheel to trim the outer edge of the shoe. I debated admitting this for possible concern for safety, but after having two sets of shoes that didn't just "drop in", I thought others may have experienced this. The rear axle bearings and seals had been replaced when the axle was out of the car, now replacement of the front wheel bearing and seals is complete. When I bought the car it had the narrower front drums from the small series car installed, thanks to my access to a couple parts cars, the brakes are now correct. If it seems like this recontruction is going slow, well, it is. I'm still working full time or more. I have made significant progress though as the wiring is 95%, the dash is nearly complete, the pnumatic lines for the convertible top are complete and most of the engine is complete. Other progress this weekend includes completing the emergency brake linkage and gas tank install. I had the tank dipped and coated on the interior. I used a hammered silver paint to approximate the look of a galvanizing. Close, not factory, but I count myseldf lucky to have a decent tank given that 1940 Buick tanks are not reproduced. I've had three of them go through my hands that I couldn't use either becuase of rust of severe physical damage.

Here you go Brian,. I don't see what you are referencing with the "subject hubcap", but this is the parts number list from one of the manuals that I have. I've not looked, but where do you find the serial number on a hubcap?

Is your AACA graphic custom made from a shop local to you?

It slides off with less effort if the hood is opened slightly.

I sure hope my car never makes this thread!

Experiencing the moment now as I am taking weeks to get my brakes correct. Install, uninstall, repeat. I'm having trouble getting the shoes to fit the drum; might be the fault of Chinese repop shoes. It took an hour to install the oil presssure line from the gage to the engine the other night making sure the routing was correct and that I didn't kink the line. Took a full day to wire the trunk using original connectors and routing the wire properly. It helps that I am not facing a self imposed deadline, but if I took shortcuts I could finish my project much earlier than it appears to be the case at this point. In flight school they called it "get there itus" suggesting that ignoring the process could be fatal.

I have one similar to this: VEVOR Manual Trailer Dolly, 10000 lb Load Capacity Trailer Mover Valet with 2-5/16 in Ball. It can only be used on level, paved ground. I live at the end of a 30 foot diameter cul de sac and no option to turn the vehicle and connected trailer around in my drive or a neighbors drive. In my case, I have to back my trailer out into the cul de sac, disconnect the trailer from the truck, turn the trailer 180 degrees with the trailer dolly then reconnect the truck that has had its position reversed. I am very capable of backing my trailer into tight spots such as the warehouse with 5-inches clearance on each side of the trailer, but my driveway is impossible.

The electric (battery) functions automatically; I can encourage battery power under decelleration and with braking. The electric does not engage at highway speed and I'll get between 21-22 mpg highway mileage average at the end of an 8-hour trip. The electric function is best in city driving and on secondary roads where I'll get up to 25 mpg. I was driving secondary roads from Franklin, NC to Nantahala two weekeds ago and traveling over the hill/mountain country my average was a couple tenths over 25.

When in tow mode, the batteries do not come into play. Range when towing at about 9-10 mpg is about 300-350 miles. Range when not towing is 600 miles

My tow vehicle is a hybrid F150 and an aluminum 22-foot trailer. In tow mode, the truck does not rely on battery power. This holds the 40 Buick nicely. I had just picked up the car from Dan in Pidgeon Forge, TN.

Very useful:

Todays task was finishing the trunk wiring. Had to salvage old connectors, probably don't need to warn others that they should save everything when disassembling the car. The one head's up I'd give someone doing the same task is that the rear harness needs to be weaved through all the nooks and crannies before soldering the connectors. Fishing wires through the rear deck lid wasn't so bad if I worked hole to hole rather than the entire wire route. Didn't realize this phase would take the entire day, though I am recovering from a cold and have low energy. No pix either - what's to see as the wires are now all concealed? Next task is to finish the dash knobs and engine specific wiring. Thanks for following, I hope I'm helping anyone with this similar year car. (Grant that means you, now get out of the hospital and back to your '41!)

After looking through your photos, I can see that the Buick engineers were very busy changing almost every aspect of this car in the two years before manufacturing the 1940 models.

Hey Matt, I'm looking at your differential cover plate and the position of your drain. Is it in the lowest position, that is straight down? I ran into a guy that has his rotated to about the 8:00 position and I wondered which is correct. He said his car came like that and the higher oil level allows the lube to travel to the outer axle bearings. Any comment, I'd like to hear from you. Ken