neil morse

More than $12? I'm not getting what you're saying here, or why you are wishing me good luck. I'm just trying to find out if anyone knows whether these were standard on the 41's.

I was looking for something in Bob's online catalog, and I happened upon this item. http://bobsautomobilia.com/fender-lamps-pads-and-items/1941-fender-lamp-defusing-lens-.-pld-41/ Does anyone know what this is about? Was this an original part on the '41's? My car doesn't have these, and I just assumed the parking lights were white/clear the way most cars were, as far as I know, until 1968 or so, when front turn signals were required to be amber. Whether these are authentic for the period or a "modern" addition, they seem like a good idea.

New Sending Unit -- It Works! I got my new sending unit from Bob's this morning, and hurried down to the garage to try it out. I connected the positive wire from the gauge, and used an alligator clip to run a ground to the body in the trunk. I turned on the ignition, and was very happy with the result. Here's what I got with the float all the way up. Here it is at about halfway And here it is with the float all the way down. Before I button everything back up, I will rig up a longer wire so I can see the gauge and the float at the same time without running back and forth, and make sure it is properly calibrated. It seems about right, but you can bend the wire holding the float to adjust it. Here's the old sender I took out of the tank. It wasn't properly grounded, but just out of curiosity, I tested it and found it was not working anyway. I got a kick out of the corks used for the float. Imagine how much wine those guys at the Buick plant had to drink to get all those corks!

Thanks for the encouragement, Matt. As I said at the beginning of this thread, I got this car to have fun with in my retirement, and so far I'm having a ball!

I can see why people would go that route. I'm just more comfortable putting the original tank back where I know it fits.

I found a local shop that quoted me a decent price to sand blast the inside of the tank down to the bare metal and coat it, so that's what I'm going to do. It's not cheap, but it's worth it to me for peace of mind. In the meantime, I did some work on the outside of the tank with a product called "Prep & Etch." This stuff requires very little effort and does a great job. I think it chemically converts the rust to something else. You paint it on generously, leave it for a few hours, and then just wipe it off with a wet rag. If you keep at it, you will eventually get down to the bare metal. With smaller parts, you can just soak them for a few days. This is what the tank looked like when it came out of the car And this is after just one application, which I only left on for an hour or so. (Note lovely assistant, Stella.)

Thanks, everyone, for your helpful responses. Here are a few photos of the inside of my tank. Unfortunately, it looks like I need to do something. I am loath to try to coat it myself. I am exploring the cost of getting it rebuilt, but as I noted above, I am intrigued by Dennis's suggestion.

Now that's an interesting alternative that I had not considered. Is this what you're talking about? http://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=130/category_id=133/mode=prod/prd130.htm

I'm becoming a big fan of PB Blaster. I went back after the screws had soaked for about five hours, and they all came out without a problem.

Gas Tank Drop Today I started my most ambitious project to date -- dropping the gas tank to deal with a non-functioning fuel gauge. I know that's just another day at the office for many of you, but I was a little intimidated. It turned out to be much easier than I thought it would be. Following the suggestion of my mentor, Don, I used a floor jack and plank to support the tank while I loosened the straps. I dropped right out easily. I'm so glad that I have a '41 where the fill pipe is a straight shot under the fender, so no bizarre twists and turns like I saw on Gary W.'s thread. Not knowing quite what to expect, I had originally thought I would just drop the tank enough to run a separate ground from the sending unit to see if that took care of my problem with the gauge. (I have already confirmed that the dash unit is fine -- if I ground the wire to the sending unit, the gauge goes to empty). But it turned out to be so easy to get the tank completely out, that now I will be replacing the sending unit as a proactive measure. However, the first problem I have encountered is that I can't move any of the screws holding the sending unit to the tank. I gave them a good soaking with PB Blaster, and will try again in a few days. However, I'm a bit dubious if I will be able to get them out. I do not have an impact wrench, but I thinking there may be one in my future. I bought new hardware from Bob's to reinstall the tank. But as long as I have it out of the car, I'm thinking I should go ahead and have it cleaned out and reconditioned. I found an outfit called "Gas Tank Renu" online, but there are no dealers near me. Any thoughts? Is it worth paying to ship my tank to Stockton (not too far from the Bay Area) to get the "Renu" treatment?

Okay, thanks for the clarification.

Okay, now you are really confusing me. What rear end do you have in your Special?

You seem very defensive. Why? Did anyone challenge the bonafides of your representations? Not from anything on this thread.

No need to apologize -- it must be rough only seeing the site through a cell phone. I'm pretty new here myself, and I agree that this site is a fantastic resource filled with very generous and knowledgeable people. We would love to see some pics of your car, and you might consider starting a thread in the "Me and My Buick" section.

And just another thought, Dan. Have you used the "search" feature at the top of the page? It's a great way to find what others have already posted about a topic you are interested in.

Sorry, I didn't mean to challenge you at all. I was just confused by your post since it said the opposite of what I have read from others.

I'm happy to help. You should also read Dave's great thread on rebuilding the gauges on his '40.

Ben, I think you meant to say that the Roadmaster will run 65-70 all day, correct?

PLASTIC PARTS LIST JUNE 2015.pdf

I coincidentally just got a list from Skip Boyer of the parts he offers. He does not do the gauge faces, but this set is available from Bob's (it says 41 to 47, but I'm pretty sure they are the same as 40): http://bobsautomobilia.com/dash-and-steering-control-items/plastic-instrument-face-inserts-1941-47.-dp-417/ Skip's list doesn't mention a horn "button," but does include "Horn Ring Plastic (cream)" for $45.00 if that helps. I will post Skip's list here if I can figure out how to do it.

Thanks for pointing that out. I asked Eric Hirsh about current draw (apparently not an issue), but I did not ask him about heat. I will talk to him and see what he says. However, I'm not too concerned with regard to my car since I rarely drive it at night. So the lights are only going to be illuminated when I'm turning or braking. And turn signals and brake lights were the principal reason that I decided to switch to halogen in the first place -- I want to make sure other drivers can see what I'm doing.

The cylindrical one with the silver-colored base is the halogen lamp.

Halogen Bulbs As I mentioned earlier, I ordered halogen bulbs for my tail/brake lamps, rear turn signal lamps, and front parking/turn signal lamps. I installed them today. I was very impressed with the quality of the lamps supplied by Hirsch. Here's a comparison of the old incandescent bulb with the halogen bulb for the twin filament applications. Just a plug-in substitute -- couldn't be easier. It's difficult to get a good photo that really shows the difference. The difference seemed to show up better in a photo with the parking lights because of the clear lens. Here's the halogen on the passenger side and the old incandescent lamp on the driver side. Hirsch claims the halogens are "almost" twice as bright, and I would say that's accurate.

Temperature Gauge Repaired Good News! As noted previously, I sent my NOS temp gauge off to Vermont to be examined by Roy Martin, "The Temperature Gauge Guy." Roy called me to say that the problem was only a matter of calibration. All he needed to do was tweak the Bourdon tube at the gauge head, and all was well. He charged me $35.00 plus $10.00 for return shipping. As shown by the photos below, it now registers at the bottom at room temperature, and the top (220 degrees) when the bulb is immersed in boiling water. I'm very happy with his work! At room temperature with the bulb in a pan of boiling water I heartily recommend Roy to anyone who is looking for help in repairing a temp. gauge. Roy Martin 172 Laurel Hill Drive South Burlington, VT 05403 802-862-6374