neil morse

Prince Edward with Wallis Simpson. Dude knew how to dress, you gotta admit! 😄 Also obviously had good taste in automobiles.

Yes, it's stamped on the data tag. But look at how and where it's stamped. It looks to me like a mark that was stamped with a die after the data tag was already attached to the car. Just my $0.02. Maybe someone can enlighten us.

Bogart's Plymouth certainly had the bumper guards in front. He drove a similar car in "High Sierra."

Bogart special!

On my '48 Chrysler, there was a marking on the firewall in white paint that read "OK final." I always figured this was a quality control check mark that was put on a car after a final inspection. Is the "OK" on your car possibly the same thing?

From Wikipedia: Welch plug[edit] The Welch plug is a type of core plug that is made from a thin disc of metal. The Welch plug is dome-shaped and inserted into the casting hole with the convex side facing outwards.[5] When installed by striking the Welch plug with a hammer, the dome collapses slightly, expanding it laterally to seal the hole. This differs from other dish-shaped core plug designs, which form a seal when their tapered sides are pressed into the casting hole.[6] The Welch plug was originally designed in the 1900s at the Welch Motor Car Company in the United States. Prior to the invention of the Welch plug, the core holes were sealed using pipe plugs. During the testing of a car, one of the pipe plugs backed out. In order to get back on the road, one of the Welch brothers installed a press-fit quarter or half dollar coin into the hole using a hammer. The design of the Welch plug was refined based on this principle of a press-fit metallic disc.[7]

It's called a "welch" plug.

There are no "freeze plugs" in the transmission, as far as I know. But I think you might be asking about the hole in the transmission case where one of the selector shafts goes through. This is plugged with something that's kind of the opposite of a "freeze plug" because it's inserted the opposite way -- there's a name for this, but I can't think of it right now. Anyhow, all I can offer is this post from my thread (again, click on the arrow in the upper right hand corner to get to the right post).

I definitely had the cork seal you are showing that fits into a groove in the input shaft. I assume this is the smaller of the two seals shown in the plastic bag in the picture of the "kit" Chris showed above. I was thinking you were talking about an additional seal for the support tube itself. Is that the larger seal shown in the "kit?" Yes, pulling it all apart a second time to fix a leak would be brutal. As I said, my clutch is dry, but there's a small amount of transmission oil getting into the clutch pan. Probably not completely correct, but definitely not worth tearing it apart again in my opinion.

As you may recall if you looked at the posts from my thread about the transmission job, the spring washer on my car was in three pieces (!), which was the reason that my car had a tendency to pop out of third gear. I did not have to replace either the clutch plate or the pressure plate on my car. They were both in very good shape.

Hi Chris: Okay, having given it some more thought, I think you raise a very good point. The clutch stays dry on my car, but there's no question that some transmission oil is getting into that area because I see it accumulating in the clutch pan and draining out the hole in the bottom. There was no seal around the support tube on my car when I took it apart, and I was not aware that one was required. Like Justin, I did not see it on Bob's site so I was unaware of it. You very well could be correct that I should have installed one.

On my '41, there is no seal for the support tube. The tube is held in place by a spring washer.

About the engine color: I thought it was all black when I first glanced at the Ebay ad. The '41 engines were red (except the very early ones, which were gray like the '40s). A black engine usually means a dealer replacement. When I looked at the pics of your car more carefully, I saw that it's only the valve cover on your engine that's black. The block and oil pan look freshly painted in the correct Dante red. Usually, when someone rebuilds one of these engines they top it off with a correct red valve cover with reproduction decals. I guess the former owner of your car decided to go with a black valve cover instead. But it's interesting to hear that it's got the original engine.

Also, the BAT car has a different sticker on the door frame, and the "mid windscreen radio aerial" was standard on all Buicks with a radio.

I don't think it's the same car. The one you posted is a club coupe. This car is a business coupe. This car lived its whole life (until now) in Minnesota. The car you posted is from Kansas. This car has an oil breather cap on the valve cover. The car you posted has a closed cap on the valve cover (indicating a draft tube). This car has a brown interior. The car you posted seems to have a grey interior. However, the presence of the black valve cover (unusual) in both cars is suggestive. Maybe the new owner can shed some light on this. Just my $0.02.

Haha -- that's kind of what I figured when you said you were in New York. 😄

I just went back to the Ebay listing to look at the photos again, and I watched the video for the first time. Wow -- the engine sounds just great. It looks like it's running fine and has a new set of radials on it. Are you just waiting for better weather to take it out? The dealer took a ton of great photos of this car -- anyone who's interested should click on the link I posted above and then click on the Ebay link. Scroll down to the bottom of the Ebay listing and you will find the photos and also a short video. I have never seen a '41 with all of the belly pans around the engine intact like this one. They're all gone on mine. Enjoy the car and please keep us posted! Neil

It sounds like you handled the situation perfectly -- pretty much consistent people's comments on the thread about your car when it was for sale. Congratulations, you have saved another great car!

That's what we did, and it's shown in one of the videos that I mentioned above.

Welcome to the forum, Peterjohn! As a fellow '41 Super owner, I can say you have come to the right place. This forum is a fantastic resource with a great bunch of very friendly and helpful people. You will get all the help you need on any subject -- believe me because I have experienced it first hand. Just to let you know, your car was already the subject of some comments on the forum before you bought it. Here's a link to the thread I started when your car was being advertised for sale. Please don't think we were gossiping behind your back -- we had no idea at the time who would end up with this car. It's great that you turned up here. I urge you to start a thread on the "Me and My Buick" forum -- we would love to know more about you and your car. Neil

Thanks, Mark, but I have been assured by a reliable source that the '41 248 has only four plugs -- the three on the left side and a fourth at the rear of the head. I've heard stories about people cutting a hole in the firewall to get at that fourth one, but I think we've come up with a better solution!

Okay, after a lot of helpful consultation with knowledgeable folks, I have decided on a plan. We will leave the manifolds in place and pull the cylinder head. This will give access to all the core plugs, including the one in the rear of the head that's right up against the firewall, and also avoid the danger of cracking the manifolds and/or having to plane them. For people interested in "the rest of the story," I will post a detailed report in my thread on the "Me and My Buick" forum when I get everything I need assembled for the job.

I took the gear box out of my '41 and rebuilt it with a lot of help from my friends. If you check my thread here, I think you will find a lot of helpful information, including several videos. Just click on the arrow in the upper right-hand corner to get started in the right place.

Thank you, Gary. I will send you a PM. You are very kind!

Does anyone know what size plugs I will need for the 248?