39 Again

I could use a little help with the placement of my four gravel guards. I thought we photographed every part when we took the car apart but apparently missed these. It's a puzzle I could eventually probably figure out, but a pic or two would be of great help. Thanks Tom

Push/pull dash mounted switch for headlights , etc

I need the fast idle link for a Carter WDO 419S carb. Will also consider buying core. Also need a crankcase breather tube that fits into the breather on passenger side of block .248ci. 1-1/4" ID.

Leif I happened to be looking for an old picture of when I disassembled my engine and ran across this pic. It made me think of your post about the clutch position. I don't know if this will help at all, but as you know, mine is a 39 model 40 and as far as i know this is original. The pic was taken while mounted to the motor stand with the bell housing still in place...clutch released. The second pic shows the linkage as it was removed so you can get an idea of the adjustment. When it was running before tear down, the clutch lash seemed ok. Talking about clutches, I wasn't thinking when I removed my pressure plate from the flywheel 3 yrs ago and I can't find where I match marked them. The flywheel and PP are balanced at the factory and should be matched according to my manual at disassembly. I can't find any pics that show any matching identifications to cheat. Anybody know how important it is to have them matched? I could probably find some way to have them balanced to the original position before installing my new clutch disk. Thanks, Tom PS. Let me know if 2 pics don't load.

Thanks to all that responded with good tips. After several waves of holiday guests left, I got back on my project. Checked calibration on my torque wrench and it was spot on. My brother, who was a 50's hot rodder straight out of movie "Grease" was my car mentor growing up. He spent his career with company building pumps and pressure vessels for nuclear and petrochemical industry. He did a little research and sent me a reference on bolt torque....very technical and more than needed, but helpful. Also consulted a couple of my old mechanical engineering books collecting dust on shelf. So after all that, I used thread sealer and added a small dab of lube on end of bolts. Set the torque at 30 ft-lb...low end of range spec because I was using grade 8. Everything worked fine. Also, I set the lash at .018" cold so hope this will work well for starting. If anyone wants to opine on the lash, I'm all ears. Again, thanks for your help. Tom

Could use some help folks! Was assembling my rebuilt rocker assembly back on the rebuilt engine. Used the original B bolts and new lock washers. On about the third set, I twisted a bolt off with my torque wrench set at 35 ft-lb. I had retrieved a couple charts off this forum showing the torque spec as 30-35. All the torque specs appeared to be in ft-lb but it didn't actually spell that out for each category. I got the bolt out with an easy out thankfully. But now I'm spooked because I don't want to over-tighten the aluminum alloy stands to the head. So does someone have a reliable spec on the torque for those bolts? I thought I'd replace the old B bolts with grade 5 or 8 but now I'm worried about having too much clamping force at a given torque because of the higher tensile strength of the newer bolts. Did I misinterpret the spec? Should it really be 30-35 in-lb? Dry assembly or lubed? Any help would be appreciated . Thanks Tom

I 'd appreciate help in finding a vendor for firewall grommet shown in attached pic for my 39 41s. Have had no luck with normal rubber vendors for this oval piece. Thx! 39 Again. (Tom)

Thanks to all... An update that may be of value to someone else like me who doesn't have quick access to a shop to do it for you. 1. Made a soaker container out of 1" PVC pipe & repeatedly soaked shaft in solvent. Shaft was essentially plugged! 2. Drilled hole in one plug & tapped opposite plug out with long 3/16" rod. 3. Reversed & tapped out opposite plug. 4. Used rotary brushes & cloth on end of my gun cleaning kit chucked up in hand drill to clean. 5. Used small caliper (22) pistol rotary brush, 1/16" drill bit & swabs to clean small holes in shaft & rocker arms. Inside of shaft now looks like looking down a shotgun barrel 😆. I honestly don't know how the engine ran as well as it did as gunked up as everything was. 6. Chucked up the shaft in my wood lathe & polished it up with scotchbrite pad, careful to maintain O.D. 6. Honed the rocker arm tappet surface using a fine flapper wheel in my drill press. Made a fixture to rotate rocker arm to maintain convex surface while honing & to assure tappet surface was parallel to drill press arbor. A bit of shade tree mechanics but they look great so hope they function as well. 7. Local parts stores didn't have plugs nor a source. I ordered them from Classic Industries. Nominal 1/2" freeze plug from Chev truck mic'd out exactly like the 39 Buick. I pressed them in using a metric socket on an extension that matched the edge of the plug very well. So far so good. Cant wait to put it back on engine. Pic of rebuilt head below. Hope this might help someone in future

I'm about ready to reassemble my rocker arm assembly, anxiously awaiting my rebuilt straight 8 back from the machine shop soon. Does anyone have advice on removing end plugs to clean inside of shaft? Also wondering who might carry replacement plugs. Thanks in advance. Tom

Bob Sorry to hear of your health. I am interested in 39 Buick parts list. I live in WA. & will soon be traveling close to Rainier. Please send info to tommie276@gmail.com Thank you. 39 Again

Need front bumper that can be replated. I have good bumper guards

Does anyone have any information on 39 Special motor mount specs? Mine are badly deteriorated and hard to tell what they should be. Interested in thickness of rubber and durometer. My manual says the 39 was different and it looks like they were perhaps a design used for just that year. Thanks

Thanks again guys!

Thanks to 1939 Buick, Gary and Leif. Your attachments and photos helped me a great deal and kept me from ordering some wrong parts, despite what the catalogs say. I took a better look at the mount for the lower bumper and I can see that it is a "bugger" to replace. Might have to call the surgeon who just replaced my shoulder since my 39 is not too much older, but hopefully a bit rustier! Thanks again as I am new to this forum. I'm restoring the 39 Coupe that is just like my first car that I sold for $175. If only I had known............ Here's a pic of my bumpers. Looks like the lower one is different than the one Gary has - more cone shaped. But it is held to the LCA with the riveted clamp as you described, not a threaded stud like I had shown in my post. Now I'm wondering if the replacement like Gary has, which I believe is a LB370, is the same height as the conical shaped one on my car. Since it is still held in with rivets, I assume it is original and it looks like the one in the parts book that 1939 Buick gave me. Again thanks to all! Tom

Rebuilding the suspension and steering on my 39 Coupe 40. A bit confused because Old Buick Parts and others list 2 different LCA bumpers. I can only identify one type on mine but wondering if I'm missing one as there was an upper bumper missing on one side. Bottom one (B) below looks like mine, but not sure where (A) goes if at all. Any help appreciated. (A) LB370 Control Arm Bumper 1937-40 Buick Lower $53.00 (B) LB396 Control Arm Bumper 1939-56 Buick Lower $16.50

Looking for fenders for 39 Coupe with minimal rust