neil morse

Great work, Keith and Heather! As I said earlier, I really like the approach you are taking to this project.

Thanks, Matt. That's just what I needed to know. I will keep you posted. I'm just about to embark on a transmission job with Don's help, so this will be a good time to do the plug job as well. Neil

Thanks for the quick responses, Matt and Ken. I really appreciate your advice and assistance. Assuming that I go with the expansion-type replacement plug, I see that there are two basic types: rubber (or neoprene) and copper. It's discussed in the blog post I've linked to below. The guy (who seems to know what he's talking about) says, "I have had bad luck with the rubber type: they blow back out quite often. I have had good results with the copper type (made by Dorman)." http://econofix.com/frezplug.html Do you guys have an opinion on this question? Also, I haven't tried to get a hand in there from underneath, but I don't think I can avoid having to at least disassemble the intake/exhaust system, even to stick an expansion-type plug in there. There is very little access to that spot (of course). I will do some more exploratory work and let you know. I haven't tried to do anything but photograph it because when I showed the pics I took last April to Don Micheletti, the first thing he said was, "Neil, whatever you do, don't try to clean up the area -- you'll just make it worse." Well, I didn't have to make it worse, it got there on its own. (Not that I'm surprised.)

One of the core plugs on my '41 has started leaking small amounts of coolant. I first noticed how bad it looked when I was investigating a coolant leak last April. Here's a pic of what it looked like then. It wasn't leaking at the time, but it's obvious that it had leaked in the past. Here's what it looks like now. It's probably leaking about a cup of coolant a month right now. It's located right under the place where the rear arm of the "Y" exhaust connector joins the exhaust manifold. So --- is it possible to fix this without pulling the engine? Has anyone done it? Related question: Are the "expanding" type replacement plugs that are made for a short-cut core plug repair any good? Pulling the engine on my car would obviously me a major headache, and I would very much like to avoid it if possible. However, I don't want to have a catastrophic failure of the plug either. Any advice would be most appreciated! Neil

To Matt's point, part of what we're debating here is why something of little intrinsic value becomes "priceless" because of its connection to an historical event or a noteworthy person. Take sports memorabilia, for example. Mark McGwire's 70th home run baseball sold for $3 million in 1999, and the record was eclipsed two years later. How much is that ball worth today? The whole thing makes no economic sense.

Yes, as great as the Bullitt chase sequence is, that is an amusing side light for anyone who's familiar with the lay out of San Francisco. As you say, they start in one part of town and jump to another in the blink of an eye. But it's still one of the all time great cinema car chases as far as I'm concerned. One of the things I love about it (alluded to by Matt) is how menacing those guys in the Charger look -- obviously professionals! They even wear a suit and tie to work!

How about asking them to name the Beatles? You might get a different answer.

Okay, NOW we're getting somewhere! What year is that ad from?

The claim in the ad may be true, but those guys are going to have to remove their top hats to sit in the back of that Buick! Not like the good old days when a man could go to the opera and not have to worry about where to stash his hat while riding in his limo. 😁

I just happened upon another clue to this emblem question. This is a photo I took off eBay from an ad for a '41 Roadmaster convertible sedan for sale. The car has been dismantled and there are many photos of various parts. As you can see, this emblem has the cross with equal size legs and the slightly wider stag as shown in the photo posted by Ken. I'm wondering whether it's possible that this iteration is, in fact, the original factory emblem for '39 through '41 cars, and that whoever made the reproduction that Bob sells (and that we've seen on other cars) just took some liberties for some reason and made the slight changes in the cross and stag? The colors on the emblem in this photo also appear to be a bit richer, but that may just be an artifact of the photo. More food for thought.

Is any car ever finished? 😁 As far as the emblem, I found this from the Hemmings Archives: The shield, first introduced on 1937 models, is the ancestral arms (or family armor) of company founder David Dunbar Buick, born in Arbroath, Scotland; the original spelling of his last name was Buik. Though no actual representation of the original crest has been found, company officials turned to a description in the Burke book of heraldry from 1851. The passage reads as follows: “Gu. A bend chequy, ar. and az. Detw. A Buck’s head erazed in chief, and cross couped and pierced, or, in base.” The first sentence describes the background features of the now-famous shield. The red field is derived from “Gu,” while the bend reference is for a diagonal running from the upper left corner to the lower right. Next up is “ar.,” the color silver, and “az.” translates to azure, which is the color of the checks on the bend (blue). The second sentence, part one: Buck’s head is exactly that, “erazed” means jagged edge of neck, and “chief” means placed in the upper right corner. The second sentence mentions the cross: “or” (gold was to be the intended cross color), “pierced” in the center with the red field showing behind, to be placed in the lower left corner. From 1937 to 1941, the shield was in a slender, elongated form–vertically–placed between the grilles. With the grille redesigned in 1942, so too was the shield. A more conventional shield shape that continued, with minor trim variations, through the 1950 model year, replaced the slender silhouette. The single shield was again modified for the 1951-1953 models, this time elongated horizontally. https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/buicks-coat/ This doesn't really answer your question, but it's a start! Neil

Hi Ken: This is about as clear as mud. As you know, I have a '41 not a '40, but here's what I can tell you. First, as Billy mentions, there is no correspondence between the front and rear emblems. They are different. Second, with regard to your question on the rear emblem, my car has one with the "longer leg" cross, as you can see here: I believe this is a reproduction which Bob's sells for "1939-41" cars. Here's a shot of one from Bob's in the original plastic bag: This also appears to be what is on Barney's '39. However, the photo that you posted, which also appears to be a '39, has the different cross. Just to confuse things even more, in Bob's catalog under the entry for this item, they have a picture of the one with the different cross (and different than the actual item they sell): https://bobsautomobilia.com/rear-deck-items/trunk-emblem-cloisonne-1939-41-te-391/ So there you have it. You clearly need to find someone with an original '40 emblem to confirm what the heck is going on here. Neil

Okay, I see what you're saying now. Because of the difference in the Caddy dash design, those switches were much more visible on the Caddy than they will be on your Buick. Also, I can see in the photo that the shape of the accessory switches matches the factory chrome switch, suggesting that those fog and back-up switches were part of a factory accessory package rather than after-market, like mine. That probably explains why your switch requires some drilling whereas mine was an after-market accessory that was designed to fit under any dash. As far as mounting the light, yes, I agree that it will take some courage to go that way, but it sure looks clean!

Hi Peter: My switch didn't require any drilling. It's the kind that just clamps under the bottom lip of the dash (see photo below). It's actually completely out of sight down there unless you bend down and peer under the dash, but that's okay with me. Your back-up light set up looks really great. I wouldn't chrome plate the switch if it were mine. It doesn't look like it was plated to begin with. It's hard to see what the mounting method is from the one photo you posted, but it looks like it was intended to fit under the bottom of the dash like mine. I would just install it the way it was intended to be installed, even if it's out of sight.

That is awesome, Lamar. How does the trailer hitch work? You take the trunk lid off and install some kind of fixture on the floor of the trunk?

Not to mention that crazy pony tail hairdo! 😁

What a great collection! Thanks for sharing it with us. The '34 and the '36 look particularly good -- I really like look of the blackwall tires, very few people would set those cars up like that now if they had them. And the photo of your mother with the '29 Caddy (which you posted before) is a gem.

Some unusual cars in that photo between the Eldo convertible and the Citroen DS! Also, note the "Speed Kills" on the back of the police car.

I always think of a grammar test I took in 6th grade that had the example, "The man was digging in the garden with a Roman nose."

Hi Ken: The rubber floor mat was in the car when I bought it. Given the good shape it's in, I'm assuming that it's a reproduction. I don't know the full history of my car, but it's clear that someone did a lot of work on it in the past -- probably in the 80's or 90's as far as I can figure out. I figure the mat was installed then. I think Bob's has them. Neil

Fog Light Switch I came up with a nice solution to my fog light switch problem. I really didn't like having them on an unfused toggle switch. I found this aftermarket switch (made by "Ideal") that mounts under the dash. The switch has fuse on it, and also has a bulb under the knob so it lights up when the fog lights are turned on. I guess that was to remind people not to leave their fog lights on! It's not factory, but it's period correct and works great. (The toggle switch in the photos next to the fog light switch is for my electric fuel pump.)

That is definitely a factory Highlander interior. I believe the Highlander was an interior option rather than a model, although my '48 Windsor Highlander had "Highlander" script on the dash, as seen in this photo. (Sorry for the poor quality -- taken off the internet.)

It's a '39 Ford.