Kenneth Carr

A friend of mine had a 1939 Packard with a Tenite dash. There were a number of cracks. I gave him info. on someone who has the molds for these parts; but they were not in production. He decided to sell the car. A photo of his Packard is below.

I just went there ( https://forums.aaca.org/forum/14-automobiles-and-parts-buysell/ ) and was able to open all topics and individual postings. I am using an Apple iPad. 1. Have you tried different devices? (desktop, cell phone, tablet) ? 2. Another technique would be to log out of the AACA site. Then log back in and give it another try. ( note: you may have already inadvertently logged out and this could be causing the problem.) 3. Try a different browser (Google Chrome, Safari, Explorer, etc.) 4. Finally you may want to enter your browser software Settings menu and remove (delete) all cookies. Caution: this may make it so that you will have to log back in to all other sites also as you go to them for the first time since making this change. Avoid no. 4 if you can.

This is the place I get my cables from: Quality Copper Battery Cables Made in the USA! - BatteryCablesUSA Battery Cables USA makes them up exactly as you want ... choose the connector, the length, etc. and they are made to order. They are not soldered but are well crimped. I've had two 00 cables on for about 2 years now. My car (1941 Buick Roadmaster) starts right up every time. The price is right too. I also have a knife switch shutoff. It works well and is very positive ... you don't have to guess if it is engaged or not. My main reason for the shutoff is because there is still some old wiring in my car (I did replace almost all dash & engine wire harness). If a short ever causes a fire, it won't be while the car is in the garage and my wife and I are sleeping. Positive cable in bright red going to starter solenoid. the black wire and connector are for my maintenance battery charger which I rarely need to use if I drive the car at least every few weeks. This is the ground cable. The knife switch is for safety. You can see immediately that there is no electricity in any car circuits... especially useful when I am working on the electrical system. The switch is pretty solid. I did add a piece of bakelite to part of the undersurface to make it touch the battery top and thus be more stable.

Rhode Island Wiring Service has harnesses for 1927, 1928, and 1929. They might be close. I believe they may sell just the diagram if you ask. http://www.riwire.com

Ditto what BuickBob49 said. I get mine at NAPA. It is only slightly larger than the standard size and it fits the tray in my '41 Roadmaster. I put in new 00 cables and the engine never hesitates to turn over. And as a bonus this battery looks like a battery (big, fil holes, etc.).

Thank you all. Your responses will help Len narrow this down, especially if he follows the Lowell, MA lead. Much appreciated!

My friend Len is a collector of radios and radio-related items (tubes, capacitors, etc.) made in Rhode Island. He has found that the manufacturers often may produce a variety of items, radio-related and otherwise. One company that he suspects may have had a hand in radio or vacuum tube production has stumped him. He has found only one artifact and it is an automotive accessory. Len would like to know if anyone has additional information about the manufacturer or other items they produced. I have placed below a copy of his notice and a photo of the Trouble Light that he found. If anyone has additional information about this device or the company that made it, please post responses here. Thank you! --------------------------------------------- I literally have not found anything on this company, only an artifact. The Eight in One Light Company, Providence. The artifact itself is a utility light for use in your car. The container says it can be used as a Emergency Head Light, Stop Light, Emergency Tail Light, Garage Light, Camping Light, Trouble Light, Courtesy Light and Parking Light. The company was in Providence but no address is listed on the container. It is a 6V light. That makes it pre 1955 since in 1955, 12-volt electrical systems became an automotive industry standard.

The attached photo shows the tools I have in my 1941 Buick Roadmaster. I know the jack is correct. The other tools (including the bar with a loop) came with the jack ... they were all tied together and sold as a set of 1941 tools. I have not found any information to the contrary. I suspect that the short bar is used to remove (break free) lug nuts by running the long one through it.

You chose well. Thar is a beautiful car. Welcome to the forum!

There are many car seat pads or cushions that may be suitable. The ones designed for accommodating a dog in the back seat look like they would also fit the front bench seat of a Buick. I just use a pair of seat pads designed for outdoor furniture. Try this Amazon search result: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=seat+pads+for+trucks+front+bench+seat&ref=nb_sb_noss My wife has slip on covers for her VW Beetle. To get something that may fit your car try the search “seat cover truck front bench” or just click on this link for some nice ones: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=seat+covers+truck+bench&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Thanks, Joe!

A friend of mine owns a 1947 Chrysler New Yorker 4-door sedan ( I think it is a '47). He repainted some of his dash and did a nice job. Looking at his glove box door he can still detect a slight warp along the top inner seam (he had to point it out to me before I could notice). He believes that the door is made of plastic, possibly attached to aluminum. When restoring the door there was a shallow burn mark that he repaired with some body filler. Questions: 1- Is this glove box door made of plastic? 2- Are there any accepted methods for taking out a slight warp without making it even worse? (I was thinking heat). I recommended that he leave it alone and not point it out to anyone. Photo is attached: the dirt marks on the door are from when my friend touched it with sweaty hands ... it was hot last Sunday

The separate ground wire is a good idea. Originally the metal fuel line was used as the ground. Now most cars have a rubber hose connecting the first 10 inches of fuel line from the tank to the rest of the line. That removes the ground that used to go through all the frame clamps that hold the fuel line in place.

Open the hood on the driver’s side. You will see the steering column coming out at the bottom of the firewall. Follow it towards the steering gear box. About 3/4 the way to the steering box you will notice the frame below and attached to it is a sensor with brake lines coming out of it on the bottom and two wires coming out the top. Those two wires must be plugged in tightly.

Just a caution: if the temperature gauge is working I suggest you avoid removing the sender from the block. It will likely break if you do that. Then you have to find a new one to install or have the broken one repaired. Also, as mentioned above you cannot open the capillary tube from the dash end without destroying the seal and releasing gas. Just remove the whole gauge if it is in the way.

It is a1941. The 1940 has a narrower grill. Also this car has the fender spears on the rear fenders, a 1941 feature. If you use a telephoto lens you will be able to read the model name from the hood opener at the leading edge of the hood side trim. Ditto on Ben and Neil’s comments.

Thanks First Buick for bringing this up and pont35cpe for the great answer! I never knew my car (‘41 sedan) had this feature. I put a bumper on my tool cart for when my driver door opens too wide and frequently have to feed the drop light through a window (when I remember to).

Nice job on getting that post removed and painting the letters. I have the same problem with the letters. I think I will try your method. Although both my latches are good I bought a spare pair a number of years ago. Unfortunately one of them has that same post stuck in it. If I ever need to use it I will have to drill it out too. I worked in a machine shop for 8 years. I was the office manager. I am no machinist but I sure do know what they are capable of. Machinists are some of the most highly trained and skillful professionals around. Their math ability alone is amazing! They can make anything and understand the most complex of drawings. Many times our tool maker (a master machinist) came to me with drawings that were in error. He corrected the engineers!

John ... The 1940 pushbuttons (likely from model no. 980620 radio) appear to be the same as all 1941's (model 980650) and likely the same as 1942. In 1946 Buick had two different radios: model 980690 had pushbuttons the same as the 1941-1942 models. This radio was on Buick car models 40, 60, and 90. A second 1946 radio (980744) was used on Buick car models 50 and 70 and that one had the sloped buttons. They may fit but they are incorrect on a radio with the square pushbuttons. Other models from 1947-1948 (980745, and 980798) had the sloped pushbuttons. I have not tried to put a sloped pushbutton on a radio that had square ones.

The same buttons were used over very few years. Buttons can look similar but differ in details such as a straight or sloping front profile. I will give you some specifics a bit later when I have access to my radios. In the meantime you will find lots of mostly correct information here: https://sites.google.com/site/identifyingcarradios/home/radios-1/buick-1 This extensive site is a depository for information on ALL brands of car radios. The link brings you to the Buick section.

Stuart: I checked the 1941 Buick Parts and Service Bulletins manual (abridged ed., Aug. 23, 1940 - Sept. 13, 1941) I was not able to find anything about using the jack. There sure was a lot of other stuff, though: Leaking trunk, water getting into backup lights, radio dial sticking (use white "lubriplate", not the brown stuff), leaking air cleaner .. oil all over the place .... install shield), etc.

Stuart, I do not know if Buick acknowledged the danger of their rim jack. I suspect it was replaced in the late 40’s but I don’t know when. I think I have a Buick manual that lists problem areas and solutions like when they changed the spark plug size and changed exhaust recirculation for some straight eights. I will check that. You raise a very interesting question. Please post here if you find out what happened. Ken Carr, KE1RI

Stuart : I just repair radios as a hobby. I am not a pro so I only work on my own radios. I would hate to mess up someone else’s radio. Neil’s suggestion is a good one.

Ditto on everything said above. AAA and the small bottle jack are your best bet. It is nice to have the original jack kit for display. Every owner’s manual had the inscription on the inside cover. That was done by the publisher to get your attention. There were two versions that appeared in the manuals of which there were at least 7 editions. The one you have likely directs you to page 60. The instructions actually begin on page 59. They corrected this in the 7th edition and put two inscriptions on the inside cover. They read: “Suggest you read short wave radio information page 97. For “use of jack” see page 59.” WWII was going on in Europe and people here were interested in hearing about it directly so the short wave radio option was added. This is a very difficult radio to find today since relatively few were ordered. I have only one 1942 manual. By that time they managed to begin the jacking information on one page, 60. Also the short wave radio was no longer mentioned. Instead they offered two different radios that were AM broadcast band only. The radio for models 40, 60, and 90 had the faceplate at the bottom of the radio and the radio was in the same position as for 1941. In the 50 and 70 the radio has the faceplate at the top and they project from the top of the center chrome grill rather than the bottom. I know, too much information; but, I was into radios before cars. Ken, KE1RI