26-25Buick

Hugh I’m away for a few weeks so if no one else comes up with the measurements you need I’ll see if I kept my old spring. I think I did.

Hugh The spec in the book for the ‘26 is correct. The original spring in my pump was broken and had managed to wind itself in to itself making it too short and of course it wouldn’t compress. Luckily I had a spare pump and the spare spring compresses as per the specifications and the resting length is right.

Hugh, My starter crank seal doesn’t leak either and it hasn’t been touched in over 50 years.

Hi Trev, There was some discussion about this motor in a previous thread which might help with your identification http://forums.aaca.org/topic/298066-mystery-buick-for-sale-on-prewarcar

Just come back from a great weekend touring the back roads of country Victoria with the folks of the Wangaratta car club. The Buick performed flawlessly for the 150 miles but when we got home we were greeted by a trail of oil drips on the deck of the trailer. The oil appears to be dropping from the rear spring cup and the drip tube on the brake drum. Before the weekend it didn't drop a drip but now it's a healthy amount. Any suggestions where it's coming from and why it is coming out from under the spring cap?

I'll take this slightly off topic but does anyone know who makes new good quality wooden steering wheels? I have the hub and spokes but the wood I have is badly weathered and likely result in many splinters if used.

Being located overseas I've bought many parts from US sellers using both eBay and PayPal and in the most part been very happy with what I've received. Not once claiming a refund. So I would bet that for every bad transaction there is a significant number that go without a problem with both the seller and buyer being very happy with the outcome. To say I'm not going to deal with one form of payment or another is fine and it's the sellers choice but I think the answer is different depending on the value of the item and not one size fits all. For instance I'm not going to run to the bank for a wire transfer for $25 but I would certainly do it if it was for $25,000. I'd hate people to think that dealing with overseas sales was a high risk enterprise and should be avoided. Hey we aren't all scammers and in most cases it's the only way we can get parts for our beloved cars.

Larry, i had the same experience as Hugh. I was rejected by the group the first time and accepted the second. I suspect it's a time issue, in that the Moderators only have a certain time to approve you or Yahoo automatically rejects the application. Given this isn't a high traffic site.......well you know. I think the advantage with the 1927 site is the advice is more tailored rather than trying to cover the larger range of prewar Buicks but as Hugh says it does mean at times there is very litttle activity. The smaller audience also means you miss out on some alternate opinions and options that a diverse group like this forum brings. That may be why you some times see the same questions posted in both locations.

Hugh To be honest I don't know how effective the air cleaner design was but over time I do get a collection of dust in the collector can so at least it does do something. Perhaps Buick was actually on to something with this design as Toyota used a similar design on Landcruisers and Hiluxs right through to the mid 2000 and may even do so today, they just improved on it by adding a paper filter after the large particles have been spun and dropped out.

Trolling through the various ads searches this morning and this appeared. These aren't mine and on the other side of country to us but may be of interest to someone https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/inglewood/oil-coolant-liquids/1924-25-buick-ash-wire-wheels-4-off-aluminium-nut-locknuts/1155871947 In case you're wondering Gumtree is our equivalent to Craigslist

Definitely negative ground

Tim, A few lessons I just learnt doing up my 26 pump. Make sure that the plate at the bottom of the pump is flat and the gears are flush with the bottom of the pump casing. A few thou out seems to make a big difference. Also check the relief spring as my spring was broken and had worked its way back in to each other, shortening the spring by about 3/4". Check the pin at the top for wear as well. I'm told you can bench test your handy work with a pressure gauge and a drill if you have one but I didn't have the fittings to do it. These relatively small fixes saw my pressure go from running 16-18PSI and dropping at temperature to a healthy 34 at idle to 36 at speed.

Terry, I feel for you. It's a stressful enough time waiting to get all the clearances here without adding yet another approval. From a previous import I knew the import approval document does have the statement banning the importing of asbestos containing material however I hadn't heard that they implementing testing. Our experience has been very different to yours as for our import in Dec from MO there was no request for this and although it took 2 weeks, yesterday they cleared another car for me, our 1912 Cadillac import from OH. It required the car to be inspected 3 times with multiple washes and vacuuming for "dirt and mud" but it got through. In my case the onus was on the importer to get the approvals as I bought the cars in as landed packages so I don't really know what he had to do, but Im pretty sure it was nothing like your experience.

It is certainly difficult to overlook the price when you have a Buick at Cadillac money especially when this one is listed https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/142412808104 also but at quite a bit less. I thought it was expensive too, but at least it is running. The non-runner part here is certainly a red flag especially given the Model 29 is also with a dealer and you would think he would do just about anything to show a working car. With really no idea what condition the running gear is in, in my opinion reduces it to the value of the body only, or would you take a gamble if the price was right? Would an order of magnitude lower in price start to interest you? So do we think the Model 29 is mutton dressed up as lamb or just poor knowledge of the brass era Buicks?

Disclaimer: This vehicle is not mine and the intent here is not to run this car in to the ground but rather learn the pitfalls of the early Buicks Now I've always dreamed of owning a brass Buick and there has been a 1912 Buick Model 29 for sale on eBay (http://m.ebay.com/itm/1912-Buick-Other-Model-29-/222548480376) for awhile so I thought it might make an interesting topic to comment on to get people's thoughts on why it hasn't sold. If you could ignore the price because it's only worth what someone will pay based on what they know and see, but are there some obvious flaws to watch out for with this model that this one may or may not exhibit? I'll start it off with what I know and what I think I can see. First up it's being sold as a non-runner because it hasn't been started for a number of years, so you are unlikely to get an opportunity to see or hear it running as it will require a full service. That clearly would affect what people are willing to pay for it. Looking at the rockers on 1 & 3 exhaust & 2 inlet they are not sitting on the push rod straight and in one of the photos #3 exhaust push rod doesn't look straight. Does this suggest that you could have stuck valves and was that a common problem? The other thing which strikes me is the gaps in the spokes at wheel hubs which suggests they might be very dry and one appears to be sporting a crack in either the spoke or the paint work? Is that also a weakest with the early Buicks? I'm sure there is other things to the more trained eye amongst you

25 Buick, There was no Buick dealer network in Australia until late 1926 when GM-H was formed so before then it was the individual dealers importing the chassis and fitting bodies from various coach builders, mostly Holden admittedly but there were some others as well. I suspect therefore the dealer got a lot more say in how the car would be finished and you saw individuality not only between dealers but also Australian states. For example ours is an early 1926 from a Victorian dealer but that may not be an indication of what the other coach builders were doing at the time. Anyway what I'm working around to is our Standard has a wooden facia (I'm no wood expert but I think it's probably a Queensland Maple - a softwood) and the doors tops are the similar although they are a hardwood of some type.

The Holden coach badge on our car. Engine numbers on the Australian cars by 1926 were certainly within the published ranges you can find on the Net and in books and aligned with the American ones

Rod, When I saw this advert I immediately thought this is going to be quite polarising. I personally couldn't live with it even if it had black fenders as I've always tried to keep my car as original as possible but I'm certain it will appeal to someone. The colour and the rest of the restoration just deviates too much for my liking. With the strength of the Australian vintage car market being what it is this car could be on the auction site for awhile.

Dave, A photo of where you find the Holden badge on the tourer

Welcome Jim. It depends which gasket is leaking as the description is a little general however Olsons Gaskets maybe a place to start as they have a good range or can make to order.

Grant, here is a photo of my tag in the right hand front wheel arch. The photo is taken from behind the wheel looking forward towards the chassis.

Hugh, I'm going to try the same thing as I can't see anything else but it's on there tight at the moment

Exactly Hugh it is these 2 parts. My '26 parts book has those listed on different pages so wouldn't have posted nearly as well as yours did. Looking at the mast (#180041 above) I still can't work out why my case cover won't budge as there is no thread shown. No sign of a pin that I could find either, it just seems to be jammed on. Any suggestions welcome

Grant , the 26 has it in a few places. There is a metal tag inside the right hand front fender on the outer side of the chassis rail and it's also stamped in to the top of the left hand chassis rail by the battery. I would suspect the right hand tag is susceptible to over zealous sand blaster as its relatively light weight so it could be missing or even painted over given where it is. If no one posts a photo of the locations by the time I get home I'll put some up for you later

Very helpful Hugh. I've sent off an enquiry to Jesser to order a key as I don't have one. Another question. How do you get the case cover collar (part #163049) in the top of your circle under the dust cap (part #151471) off the mast. Mine must have put a fight before as it's showing the scars of some previous attempts. Is it a screw or a push fit?