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gregleck

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About gregleck

  • Birthday 06/30/1960

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  1. Sound advice, but ... ... I know this car inside and out, have spent hundreds of hours redoing things and adding all sorts of original parts and period correct aftermarket parts. Plus, have been looking for another one for the last eight years - Hemmings, Bring a Trailer, Craigslist etc - and not very common, at least the model and condition I am searching for. Most collector cars which are customized to the owner's taste and level end up being underwater in terms of cost recovery. They are, after all, just inanimate collections of metal, glass, rubber, etc. But they become imbued with experiences, memories, and emotions that draw us to them and value them more than the economic sum of their parts. If that were not the case, forums like this would not exist.
  2. Motor mounts are NOT the same. Will need to make some other modifications as well. However, I spoke with Dave Tacheny this morning who told me the engine in question, from a '53 Buick Special, was probably from a car with factory automatic transmission. It currently has a flex plate mounted. Dave said it COULD be swapped into a '37 Buick Special with standard transmission, but the crankshaft would have to be re-engineered and modified. NOT a simple swap. And yes, I am being given the shaft, but not by the engine rebuilder.
  3. Here is an update. 1. Divorce proceedings now past EIGHT YEARS (no kids involved, by the way). Procedural rules of the court state a report is issued after 30 days of the last hearing. Last hearing was NINE MONTHS ago and no report. Lawyer knows of three other cases which have been waiting over two years for the report. All in front of the same individual, who apparently does not even work for the court anymore. No one wants to complain for fear of retribution. And apparently higher ups in the court have no way to pressure this individual since she is no longer employed by them. To top it off, wife, who had nothing ever to do with the car, has put in a claim for possession. Merely out of spite. 2. Bought a 1937 248 engine from Dave Tacheny. He was told it was running when taken out of the car. After arrival, had someone open it up. The valve train is in pretty rough condition with 3 severely bent push rods and a fourth that was broken & welded back together. The rocker arm shaft is badly worn and appears to have been assembled wrong at some point in the past, which likely caused the bent pushrods. I put down a $4,000 deposit for a rebuild. It is now two years later, engine apart but pretty much no progress. Have heard nothing in a year. Was told to expect about $10,000 bill, total. 3. Bid on a rebuilt 248 cid engine from a 1949 Buick Super, thinking it might be easier to drop it in instead of waiting for the rebuild. Dropped out of the bidding at $3700. Still don't have the car, though, so just as well. 4. Am continuing to look for engines, though. Will a 1953 263 engine swap in to 37 Buick Special? I am guessing yes, as long as the modifications (mounting plate, peripherals, etc) are taken care of.
  4. That's it! As soon as I saw the website headliner photo I recognized it. Thanks, Ben! Also, thank you 54Coupe - the Facebook group Straight Eight Flathead Engines looks helpful as well. Greg
  5. I own a 37 Buick coupe and I am currently rebuilding the engine. I am very familiar with the 37–38 Buick group since 2015 and have a lot of their publications, the torque tube. The club I am looking for is not limited to one make only.
  6. I recall seeing a web page for a club for those interested in straight eight engines, or for those who owned a car which had a straight eight engine. I tried to find this again on the web, including using terms like "str8" or "I 8 engine" but had no luck. Other clubs did come up on search, but they were not exclusively for straight 8 engine owners or enthusiasts. Can anyone help?
  7. When a college student in the early 1980s I needed to replace the ball joints on my 1962 Olds Dynamic 88. Sent away to Kanter Auto Parts and in due time they arrived. Then was told they were wrong because the thread was right-handed and I needed left-handed thread (or vice versa, don't recall specifically). I don't know if it was because they sent the driver's side (left side) when I needed the passenger side (right side) or if two different versions existed for that year. Now, I need the left (driver's side) lower ball joint replaced and am looking for the part. 1. Is the right and left lower ball joint the same, or do they have different threads? 2. If the same, did they produce both left and right-handed versions, or am I misremembering an event from half a century ago? 3. Can the ball joints be interchanged with 1961 or 1963 full size Olds models? Thanks, Greg
  8. Exactly. Am waiting for new BA15d socket to arrive. Hopefully that will solve the problem.
  9. I found a 3000K LED bulb which produces a warmer, slightly yellow colored light, as opposed to the blinding white 6000K bulbs which are out there. I've heard many of the complaints about bright oncoming lights actually are because these 6000K lights are more likely to blind drivers. The bulb I decided to use has eight LEDs on two sides; two rows of 4.. On low beam, the row on each side closer to the top of the bulb lights up. On high beam, both rows of four light up. They were designed for the Ford Model A and are simply plug and play. They have a BA15d base. In my case, I had the same problems as above - one headlight worked fine, the other was erratic. On the second socket, it will work, but commonly illuminates high beam only. If it does happen to illuminate the low beam, after it is switched by dimmer switch to high beam it remains, there, and does not return to low beam when the lights are switched back to low beam. Other times, when low beam is activated, the low beam diodes illuminate but the high beam row of diodes flickers. I can also create flickering by moving the wires leading into the base, which leads me to believe there is a short in the socket. When I switch light bulbs, the problem is created in the same socket, so it is not a problem with the bulbs. I don't see how the socket can be disassembled, so now I am stuck waiting for mail order. Went to two auto part stores. Was told I need a specific model year and make (Mine is a custom) and one counterman told me he never saw such a socket in his life. Things sure have changed since I was a kid...
  10. Late to this thread but wanted to relay my own experience. Bought a replica. Has 3-1/2 inch whitewall radial tires. Looks great. Did not even realize they were port-a-walls until I went to buy new tires. I put 6,000 miles on these tires, at speeds up to 80 mph. No wrinkling, no grooves in the radial tires, no flapping, no problems. I do not know the brand, or who installed them, but whoever did it did it right. Do they get dirty? Of course. Just clean them when needed.
  11. Two more points for anyone who finds themselves in this situation. 1. Although the boosters are not interchangeable, they can be made so by taking the plunger out of the Bendix master brake cylinder and installing it in the Moraine brake booster. 2. If you are replacing an aftermarket brake booster, or a post 1964 booster which was put in your older car, the newer boosters contain a vacuum suspended check valve inside the booster. The older boosters do not have these and rely on an inline vacuum check valve located in the vacuum line between the engine and the booster. You can see the location in the photo of the red car above. So by going back to the original design, you will need to install the inline check valve since the newer boosters did not need them.
  12. Wouldn't dream of it. Once it is out I will tear it down to see what happened, then have it rebuilt. I actually found a 1937 248 engine. It is running but I will still take it apart to replace the babbited pistons and use metal insert bearings. Thanks to all for the tips and tricks!
  13. Would anyone have a part number for the high pressure hose for the power steering pump used in the 1962 full sized Olds? Most likely the same as the 1961 models. Tried Fusick, currently out of stock. Computerized systems at auto parts stores state "part not used on this vehicle." Thanks, Greg
  14. Lots of loud noise. Exhaust manifold is also cracked. Someone who rebuilds prewar engines took a look at it - put a long piece of wood against the block to use as a listening aid and the knocking seemed to originate down in the crankcase. I purchased a lot of odds and ends from Dave back in 2014-2015. Is he still active?
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