70sWagoneers

An ol'-timer aircraft mechanic at work said that the bushing in the torque ball "centers" the shaft.

I'm replacing the torque tube seal on my 1937 Buick Special and noticed that the u-joint has some movement I'm not sure about. The bearings/bushing have no slop as if they were wore out but the inner cross bearings can slide in and out of their yoke outer races. There is about a 1/4" of movement north-south and east-west. I have no experience with this older stuff, but the modern u-joints I have seen have no movement like this. Am I missing something? Thanks James C 20170614_204131.mp4

My favorite electric car = Detroit Electric Speedster Looks like its an underslung chassis too!

Shoot, it even looks good without the running boards!

I just went thru this same scenario. Took it all apart and then rebuilt the Lovejoys myself. I must have tried to install everything 5 times but just couldn't get the upper pivot pin in there. Finally I figured out the correct sequence and lined everything up with the help of a ratchet strap and bar clamps! Upon installation, he top of the knuckle and the pin should be spaced evenly between the shock arm. Caster can be tuned later. I bought seals, but I was at suck wit's end that I was relieved just to get it back together! James C.

Did you have a crank seal in the timing cover? I don't remember seeing one when I took my motor apart and I'm wondering if it would be worth the hassle to retrofit an oil seal into the timing cover.

Great work!

Hah, I'm still unsure

Those are great source pictures, Grandpa. But my eyes can't tell what is what. The first picture almost look like both manifolds have a paint sheen to them. But the second picture I can tell they each have different color/sheen. So, did they mask off the exhaust manifold before they painted the engine color?? Or did they paint the exhaust manifold too and all that paint burns off? I definitely see that most intake manifolds that I can look up on the internet have some remnant of green paint but all exhaust manifolds are usually well burnt up. It just seems like an odd masking task to do. But, I wasn't there so let me know! I'm still leaning toward individually painting the manifold their separate colors before bolting them together. And then I'll machine the mounting face. Anybody got any tips on mounting this homely manifold on a Bridgeport?? Thanks James C.

I'm gearing up to refinish my intake/exhaust manifolds and was unsure of what colors were correct. I was going to paint the intake engine color (green) and the exhaust log will stay bare cast iron color. Does this sound right? The old paint is a mix-match of color. Thanks James C.

I just moved from Athens a couple of years ago. I lived in Winterville. I wonder if I ever saw you at the Varsity cruise-in?

Thanks everyone. The last post is very helpful. So, I've put new Viton sponge seals (hand-cut) in, welded the arms back on and applied paint. Since I filled with jack oil last night... no leaks!

Yes. I just finished restoring a 1917/1935 Detroit Electric. It had a 1917 drivetrain; wheels and frame, and a 1935 body. The motor (1917) says "Anderson Electric Car Co." The body (1935) says "Detroit Electric Car Co.". So it is one of the last cars built before A. Dunk bought the company in 1936 which would have said "Detroit Electric Mfg. Co."

Yes, all new cloth-covered wiring was used. I cleaned and rebuild all the connectors and electrical apparatus. Good thing it was relatively simple. No circuitboards!

I'm in Mooresville, NC..... Race City, USA. If I can tomorrow, I'll call locateballbearings.com. Thanks James C.

I went to the local bearing "distributor" and of course the dont have any seals, nor does the local industrial supply. I guess at this point Im just not sure who to ask. But Ive got the 1/4" viton sponge on the way, but if there is something better (for a decent price) or if I shouldn't use this, I'd like to know. Thanks James C

Alright, so I tried a more direct route to the seals! So I welded together a puller with some pipe and a bolt that I tack weld to the dust cap to pull it off. Works great! Didn't have to remove the shaft or the piston caps. Tho now I have to weld fill some holes in the dust caps and refinish them (maybe zinc plate?). I also need to find some gasket material; 1/4" thick. The cheapest thing Ive found is sponge Viton on ebay. Anyone think this may be too soft? Otherwise all I can find is 1'x3'x1/4" cork rubber material at about $60 which I aint gonna do!

Ive tried a small strap wrench, a large pipe wrench and a couple of other shop made "wrenchs". I got the arms off with a large puller and heated them red hot with an acetylene torch. Even with the arms off, there is no sure way to grab the dust caps. If the shaft was out I could maybe use a bearing puller (I read that on internet). With the welch plug out, there are no bolts I see. Does the shaft just press out? Thanks James C.

So I've rebuilt the engine and suspension in a 1937 Buick 40 Special. The front shocks, Delco Lovejoy 1947A and 1947B, leak out the seals. I've have been forced to try to rebuild them myself. I've got the arms off of one, but now I need to get the shaft out so I can pull the dust caps off and replace the seals! It looks like the shaft must be removed to use a bearing puller to pop out the dust cap. How do I get the shaft out??? So far, I cannot remove the large knurled end caps. It seems the only way to get them off is with the specialty tool "J-766 Knurled End Cap Wrench". One guy mentioned that they don't remove the knurled end caps , but just pry out the welch plug on top and then do whatever to get the shaft out. I may be misunderstanding him. So I pryed the plug out and don't see anything to unscrew or disconnect so I'm stumped once again. Is my answer behind the knurled caps? Any tips to get the knurled cap off without destroying it? Is there a way to replace the seals without removing the shaft? And who wants to let me borrow a J-766 Knurled End Cap Wrench? Thanks James C. J-766 Knurled End Cap Wrench is #7 in the attached picture below,

You're shop is super impressive too. Looks like tons of space! But, where is all the junk?!?

Does anyone know if this might work on a 1937 Buick Special with a 248ci engine and standard transmission? The description says 1940-1955. Or if this doesn't work, how did people fix theirs? What is it made of? Leather? Vinyl? http://bobsautomobilia.com/clutch-items/clutch-arm-release-boot-1940-55-.-tcb-403/ Thanks James Cowart

1937 Buick Special 40; 248ci; 3-speed Id like to go through my transmission while I have it out and check for anything obvious. First off, what trans is this? Is there a model number or some nomenclature to reference to if I look for parts? What years was it made and what other cars does it interchange with? Does anyone know of any internet sources for information and any specs I might want? Any internet forum references to rebuilds? Thanks James Cowart

You know what? Looking at this system... the bolt is not supposed to pivot in the top mounting hole. The idler arm is supposed to pivot around the bolt; thus the sleeve bushing and zerk fitting. But nothing fixes the bolt from rotating and it becomes the weakest link and then rotates! So to fix my wallowed hole Im going to make a flange bushing out of just mild steel. It will have some more bearing area so that will help. But can anyone recommend how to keep the bolt from spinning??

The top hole is oblong and about 9/16" at its widest. The bushing installed would only have about 1/4" length of contact with the bolt tho (3/16" of mounting tab thickness plus 1/16" of the flange = about 1/4" length).

Alright. Can anyone suggest what type of bushing I could fix this problem with? The top "dog ear" frame mount for the steering idler arm bolt is wallowed out. If I get a new grade 8? bolt a little bit longer, can I install some sort of flange/step bushing to fix the hole? The dog ear mount is 3/16" thick so I would probably have to machine down a common 1/4" long, 1/2" id bushing. And then, what material for bushing? Bronze or steel? I might just silver solder it in because I dont have a welder or torches. Let me know your advice.