Jack Worstell

Jim Nelson........In your 38....did you use an OD set-up from Lloyd Young ( near Columbus Ohio ) ? Did you retain the governor/kick-down elements ......or did you delete them and go to a more so "manual" system ? When will you publish a write-up of how you are doing this ? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

Gary....it's easy enough to hook up power and ground......but do you have an antenna for it ? Hard to really test without an antenna, And I don't think ( but not sure ) that the antenna port in the radio will receive a modern RCA male jack. If you haven't installed it yet....it would sure be good to replace the vibrator with a solid state one. And replace these capacitors : the buffer capacitor any electrolytic ones and any paper ones and any coupling capacitors. If Larry can post his info....you will have a good start on how to do this. Jack Worstell

Steve and Matt Thanks for your photos of alternator installations......a big help. We would like to install a Gener-Nator unit but from what I hear these things are really expensive. But maybe a PowerGen ??........still about $400 But for now we are thinking about a 6V Delco Remy CS 121....these are about 1" smaller diameter than a 6V Delco Remy 10Si. ....... It should be easier to mount the CS 121 ( so far as I know the CS 121 and the 10Si are the only commercially available alternators that can be converted to 6V either PG or NG ) Jack

Maybe someone can help. It seems to me that PowerGen and Gener Nator are not the same thing. PowerGen units look like generators but for any specfic application are usually not quite the same dimensions ( and may differ in other details ) as "original". Price about $350 to $450. Come in 6V and 12V and PG or NG. There are about 8 different models of PowerGen ( if 6v/12V and PG/NG permutations are ignored ) Gener-Nator units are built using the same housing as "original" and thus all external dimensions are the same. So these would be more so "custom" than PowerGen units These come in 6V and 12V and PG as well as NG. Not sure about the price but I think much more than PowerGen and maybe pushing $1000. These..... since they use original housings........ are true "bolt-in" Because original housings are used I guess you could say there are hundreds of different models Can anyone confirm this ? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

Thanks Bill. I guess I have to remove the radio so I can open it up to get to the label ?? I think I'm going to have to put in a solid state vibrator replace the buffer capacitor any electrolytic capacitor any paper capacitor. By chance do you know if any of this can be done without removing the radio ( my buddy keeps the car at his place about 30 minutes away....so it's not handy fro me to look at. Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

Robin....the car came with a radio and a heater. We have added an overdrive ( via Lloyd Young ) driving lights fog lights back-up lights and turn signals. So the 27 amp generator is now borderline. We don't like to depart from originality ......but still we want to enjoy driving the car. Jack

Just a clarification......the intent is to keep the car 6V. The Delco Remy 10Si and CS 121 ( and probably the CS 130 ) alternators are available in 6V versions. No doubt there are also other 6V alternators I would guess. Matt yes...I would appreciate photos. You have a 320 engine and we have the 248 but I doubt this would make much difference so far as the mounting arrrangment. Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

We would like to put an alternator in a 1937 Special. Any tips ? Anyone tried a Delco Remy 10Si or a CS 121 or a CS 130 ? Any problems mounting the alternator ? Photos ? Thanks Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

The factory radio in a 1937 Buick Special.............can anyone tell me the manufacturer and the manufacturer model number ? Thanks Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

....Sorry......I'll try to be more specific. The channel for the main glass, all four doors. The vent windows are OK. The vertical dividers ( between the vent glass and the main glass) are also OK. I'm asking about the four pieces of channel, one each for the four main pieces of glass. Jack Worstell

We want to replace the window channel ( only ) in our 1937 Buick Special. Hints on how to do this ? Does the window glass have to be removed ? If so.....how is this done ? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

The ammeter in a 1937 Special....is the range 30-0-30 amps ?? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

Dave.....the halogen bulbs for the instrument panel....where did you get them ? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

Isn't POR 15 UV ( sunlight ) sensitive ? And therefore a topcoat is almost necessary ? To topcoat POR 15 it almost has to be done while it is still tacky....so I've read. Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

Anyone know of a source for a substitute for #55 bulbs that are LED bulbs ??

The small park lights that set on the top of the front fenders......what is the size/type of the bulbs ? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

I can't see where step #2 of the above procedure is necessary. When I do this.... I do step #1 then start the engine and "rev" it a bit .....if the dash ammeter shows good charge then I know the generator is good and it must be the regulator or wiring or connections or (?). Or course step #2 will help give you a more accurate determination but you need a good high capacity ammeter and the test takes longer.. I skip #2 and am satisfied with "good enough" Have you checked to see if the base of the regulator is well grounded ? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

LV Dave.....so now I guess all bulbs in your car are halogen ?? No LEDs ? And no incandescent bulbs ? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

ply33......Your comments above are very interesting. It's the first time I've ever seen an attempt to compare incandescent vs LED and incandescent vs halogen in a quantitative way. I've always thought that LEDs draw much less current ( on a CP basis ) than incandescent bulbs......based on reading many many comments ( all non-quantitative ) on the subject. but this is the first time I've seen a quantitative (4X) factor cited ..... Do you have a reference for this ? I've seen comments ( non-quantitative ) containing inferences that halogens pull more current than do incandescent bulbs........... I've often wondered about the basis for this. Your factor of 40% less ( on a CP basis ) is the first time I've seen a quantified comparison.....and somehow I'm not surprised that halogens are more efficient. Again...if you have a reference I'd be interested in seeing it. It would take the guessing out of all of this if the manufactures would cite CP/watts/amps for all of their bulbs....sometimes I see this given....but usually only part of this info is given. And something else they should always give is the "color" level.(eg there are many different "whites") Case in point: we used 'white' LEDs to replace the regular 1154 brake/taillight bulbs in our 1937 Special. But these...behind the red lens..... gave a gnarlish orange-red appearance. Luckily we then found "red" LEDs 1154 replacements....and these worked out very well. Thanks for the clarification on this issue. Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

Dave....I guess you found halogen bulbs for both the headlights and for taillights/stoplight ? Where did you get them ? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

Dave.......did you get halogen headlight bulbs from the outfit in Australia ? How much brighter are they than "standard" headlight bulbs ? Jack

Just recently we installed red LED bulbs for taillght/stoplight on our 1937 Special......these look to be twice as bright as ordinary 1154 bulbs! http://www.ebay.com/itm/161588651951?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT ( we found that "white" LED bulbs don't work out so well.......when put behind the red lenses the resulting appearance is a sort of red-orange....doesn't look right.) We haven't finished installing the turn signals yet.....so I don't know if these LEDs draw enough current to "fire" a flasher unit We only made the switch just a few days ago....but so far so good. Jack Worstell

Dave...I'm guessing that you have the 12ga wire to the OD solenoid ( via the OD relay) hooked up as "battery hot".. But the power wire ( wire"A") to the relay itself... do you have it hooked up "battery hot" or "ignition hot " ? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com

Thanks Don...good info to know. I don't plan on taking the switch apart......but if it ever comes to this....I will know about the contact orientation. And I like your way of adding a cut-off switch, Jack

Don....the only reason I'm adding the relay is to protect the ignition switch. so your comment about adding a relay to your car and this causing a problem with the ignition switch is disconcerting to me. The pull-in current of the relay I will be using is only a few tenths of an amp.....maybe 0.3 amps. I thought this small added load wouldn't be a problem for the ignition switch.?? By chance....do you know the pull-in current for the relay you used ?? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com