JRHaelig

Jeez - Barnfinds is on roll this morning: https://barnfinds.com/style-leader-1933-graham-blue-streak/

Regrettably not mine, but I know somebody here was hankering for a Cord https://www.ebay.com/itm/273955444464

My '39 was running well for the past year or so until it developed a new habit of stalling when the engine is at operating temperature for 20 minutes or so. It will start fine and run fine until then. The first symptom is sputtering and hesitation in the upper revs of second gear, which calms down once in third and the revs reduce. Then in short time, the problem surfaces at lower revs, followed by stalling. 20 minutes on the side of the road and we are ok again, albeit the problem re-surfaces a bit quicker as the engine is already hot. I use a toggle switch as an ignition switch after the column mounted switch gave up. This could be a significant clue as the car was showing same sputter/stall before I substituted the toggle switch. This toggle gets noticeably warm to the touch during operation I have a freshly rebuilt carb (done after this problem started) new coil - installed prior to current problem new condenser - installed after current symptoms surfaced electric fuel pump - installed prior to current problem (should rule out vapor lock - no?) It's pretty frustrating to go from a reasonably well-running car to one that can't be driven more than 20 minutes. I certainly think it's something electrical as impacted by heat, though. Is there a resistor that could be failing? What other thoughts might you guys have? Thank you as always -

As you know, my latest issue, err..."challenge", on my '39 Special Business Coupe has been the manifold & exhaust leak. The very last stud hole on it had wallowed out - leading to the leak - and needed to be re-tapped to 7/16ths. With the manifold assembly removed I commenced the job. Since the Tee handle on my tap wouldn't turn without hitting the firewall I decided to use a little 1/4 inch open end wrench on the shaft of the tap. Well, due to its inadequate size, quality and dubious point of origin - coupled with my lack of experience as to when to stop turning - the side of the wrench blew off. I finished the job with a beefier Crescent wrench and went on about my business. Next day I went out to inspect my handiwork and found the launched piece of the wrench.....inside of the adjacent intake port!. I quickly and carefully plucked the demon from the port and thanked my lucky stars that it didn't continue its journey on into the cylinder. Moral of the story? There are many. Pick your favorite. My mission continues...…….

I've been messing with old cars long enough to knowthat things are rarely as bad as they seem. They're usually worse. On my 1939 Buick straight 8 I've had an exhaust leak at the last cylinder since I got the car started. Not the end of the world, but I figured let's put a new gasket in and fix it. Well, my old pal "root cause" showed up. Some how the back end of the manifold is way off - like a pregnant 1/16". Little wonder that the gasket gave up. That last manifold bolt hole had wallowed out, so I re-tapped it at 7/16ths, and now I see this! So - can the manifold set be dressed enough to fix this or do I just put it back together and wait for the new copper gasket to blow out?

I was thinking about that, too. Add 1 section of the old gasket on that port, but wouldn't it blow out, or do you think the compression from the torqued manifold would keep it intact?

I read about those....after I got the copper from Cars Inc. Will REMFLEX take up that much slack?

I've been messing with old cars long enough to know that things are rarely as bad as they seem. They're usually worse. I've had an exhaust leak at the last cylinder since I got the car started. Not the end of the world, but let's put a new gasket in and fix it. Well, my old pal "root cause" showed up. Some how the end of the manifold is way off - like a pregnant 1/16". Little wonder that the gasket gave up. That last manifold bolt hole had wallowed out, so I re-tapped it at 7/16ths, and now I see this! So - can the manifold set be dressed enough to fix this or do I just put it back together and wait for the new copper gasket to blow out?

Hi, Rusty Welcome, from a fellow '39 Buick owner. Be sure to check in with the pre-war forum in the Buick section below. Great bunch on all fronts, with centuries of combined experience. You know the drill, though.....gotta see pictures!

Or this set that I have on my '39 Ford pickup. https://www.tires-easy.com/6.50-16/power-king-tires/super-highway-ii/tirecode/WLD32?gclid=CjwKCAjwq-TmBRBdEiwAaO1en9iofNSCVKFvbtszSS0aXQjmFeo4SBZV8woAFMHnO_oAk93vJob-0BoCtz8QAvD_BwE

Well, I put a new tank sender unit in (Cars Inc). It was a 1958 model, which they said was the same except it had the sock on it. I had gas in the tank and my gauge went from showing "E" to half-full, which was encouraging. That is until I got gas. Filled her up, and all I get is half a tank reading. When I disconnect the sender pig-tail in the trunk the gauge jumps to Full, as I believe it should based on other posts. The sender is grounded by new 12 g. wire to a frame bolt, which I just sanded to shiny metal. Voltage at the pig-tail is not quite 3 volts, though. Being as ignorant as I am...3 volts is half of 6 volts, which might be equal to about half a tank. I know the gauge measures by ohms of resistance, but that's where the ignorance kicks in. So - what say you...1) run a new wire from the gauge to the sender, 2) scrap the dash gauge for an after market hidden in the glove box or 3)some other thoughts? Many thanks -

Anyone who is wearing out brake drums is maximizing their enjoyment over investment. This is fantastic, and I think that legitimately opens the door to non-factory safety improvements - not that anyone needs justification. Have you checked the Hollander interchange manual? How about the re-coring services - are they as durable as advertised? Next up would be the more visible disk brake conversion. Enjoy the driving and best of luck!

I have never used it, but..... There are a number of comparisons available on YouTube. I was going to post a link, but there are so many to choose from. From what I have seen the really professional stuff looks great, but the supplies and equipment are expensive. Counts Kustoms in Vegas showed some being applied on one of their TV episodes. The rattle-can types are noticeably lower in quality. Both the professional and rattle-can versions require a very smooth black base coat in order to work well.

I did try the stove putty. It was a good effort, but the soot and whatnot kept it from lasting. All nuts came loose ok, save for one that backed the stud out instead. I torqued them back after determining that they weren't going to be a problem. We'll see how it goes in a couple of weeks. Thanks all!

I have an exhaust manifold leak on the #8 cylinder. The last stud is loose & has wobbled for a while. Soot is showing and fiber gasket material missing. In short - I need to replace the gasket, so I bought a nice copper one to coat with graphite/oil and mount on up - including the belleville/spring washers.. I am planning (hoping) to either grab a few good threads on the bottom of that #8 stud hole (preferred), or tap it a size up. The job is inevitable (I could live with it, but why?) but I do have to ask - how big of a Pain In The Asterisk is this job? My first review looks like there are no holes in the manifolds by which to hang them on the studs....only the half-round tabs. Looks like that makes alignment and snugging a 6 handed job. This is a single-carb unit, so are the intake and exhaust portions linked together? My little bit of research so far indicates that manifold gasket replacement is common enough so that is shouldn't be overwhelming for me. Any words of encouragement?

Well I hope you get it. I like them a lot, too. That car has the great combination of being a 2 door and having the best hind end of the series (rounder than the 51). The club seating would hit it out of the park. The only questions is can you live with the interior & paint? I think those couple of dings could be worked out really well. As a delivery agent you must see lots of enticing offers - if this is the one - then good luck to you.

Hi, Jeff - If you are on a budget for the foam you can check Home Depot for the thick pieces for the seat and back. They have a nice stiff 3 inch thick that's maybe 27 wide and 60 long. Should be about $25 each - half of the mail order I found. Squeeze a few from their pile. I found some that were stiffer than others. I also built my base up by stacking the 1.5 inch pink rigid foam insulation. Cheap, durable, easy to form.

I know the gentleman is trying to sell this truck, but I have to throw in my "this is the one that got away" story. 6 or 7 years ago I started looking for a pre-war truck and on my second day of looking a beautiful red & black '37 Dodge jumped out of Craigslist. Close by, good price, great look. "This is easy" I said. No need to jump on the first one, so I passed and kept looking. Took me about 2 years to find the Ford that I bought. While I love my Ford - that Dodge remains the one that got away.

Mr. Feeney - I was bopping around the forums here when I noticed your speedster. I wanted to commend you on how nice it came out. I was at Hershey a few years back and really admired a wooden job a guy had built on a Model T chassis. Looked like a Chris-Craft boat on wheels! Great job by you - and maybe in a few years I'll stumble across a spare chassis & engine and have a go at one myself. Happy motoring - John

These are shots of an un-moved assembly. Hope this helps with orienting everything. Ask for more if you need them......................

Hey, Matt - I'd go easier on this fellow if I were you..... He may be a Civil War vet whose other car is an 88 MPH Delorean !!

Hi - I had my '63 Lincoln transmission done by Fisher in Fairfield, NJ. I was very happy and they work on a ton of classics. https://www.fisherautotrans.com/ Best of luck to you......... John

You gave us a teaser about your first drive....did you make it? If you didn't - here's mine to give you another shot of motivation. Not quite the Wright brothers, but it was still pretty cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTDyJg98f5g If you did....WE WANT TO SEE IT!!!! All kidding aside - best wishes on your first trip. Give us that update..............

That's great news. Good job diagnosing the real problem. Hopefully the internal cable is not too compromised. Can you pull it completely out and be able to get it back in OK? It would be good to get as much abrasive debris out of the casing as possible (jets of WD-40?), then clean & lubricate the cable. Some people might say grease is too heavy, but I would consider it as a protective measure over its lubrication role. Anyone disagree? Do you have the repair manual to walk you through the installation & adjustment? From reading it the sweet-spot might be difficult to hit. If you need replacement springs, especially those detent horseshoe springs, (see fig. 7-10 on post#2 above) Bob's has them whereas other suppliers don't. Good Luck!

You'll be fine - there's so much torque that even if you've never driven a manual before you'll get the feel very quickly. Also - I see that you are planning your first drive to be merely "towards the parking lot" May I recommend putting a finer point on that and make your goal to actually arrive at and into said parking lot? Oh, and if you have yet to actually leave the driveway - be prepared to giggle like a schoolgirl. We all have on that first real drive- and half of us still do!! I might just do it again this afternoon.