Bloo

The pressure plate may not be running-releasing true? I understand they are very hard to adjust level. The carbon bearing itself just slides around on the that flat thing on the pressure plate, and probably doesn't care that much about centering.

You have to want a model T because you want a model T. Most 1926 cars will be pretty slow. The T was a 1909 design with a few improvements, and the Ajax was an all-new car from a company that put an emphasis on engineering. It probably has a bunch of main bearings, four wheel brakes, and maybe even full pressure oiling. Not to cast any shade on a T, as I would love to have one, but if those were the choices I would be tripping over myself to get this instead.

First check the distributor grounding. I do not recall which style distributor the 1956 uses, but either will have a ground wire for the breaker plate to deal with the motion of the vacuum advance. It is a special flexible wire interwoven with copper and spring steel to deal with the constant flexing. It is still needed with the Pertronix. Florian has stated that the points would have to be bought and shipped from the US. Let's not make this about the pros and cons of Pertronix. Removing it for testing would be a good first step if it were practical to do so. It could easily be put back after the car is fixed. Electronic ignition of any brand can trigger improperly. Look inside and outside the distributor cap for cracks or carbon tracks. It might be trying to fire 2 cylinders at once. Make sure the carbon button in the cap is present and can touch the rotor. Ohm test the plug wires. I believe 1956 Buick still had the plug wires under a metal shield. Defective ignition parts can raise the voltage and cause cross firing or arcing under the shield. Temporarily bypassing them with some new cheap wires is the easiest way to eliminate them as a cause. When pulling a spark plug wire increases RPM, it is most likely a mechanical problem, I have seen it when bad fuel has caused valves to stick and bend a pushrod or several. If an exhaust valve will not open, the engine will behave this way. I see this has been checked. Compression and leakdown tests should be the next step.

Nothing i can think of will devalue your car as fast as converting to automatic. Chrysler pushed automatics and most of the cars are automatics. Sticks are uncommon by comparison, and don't turn up much. It matters which engine series you have. The transmissions are not all the same. An automatic transmission to fit behind a 1961 engine (without changing the crankshaft and the attendant major overhaul) *IS* a pushbutton transmission, with a parking brake drum on the tailshaft and no "park". That's what they were. The only exception might be if you have a slant six, and an all-aluminum transmission with the bellhousing cast on, then *maybe* some later transmissions could bolt up. Not sure about that. If so, the driveshaft would have to be changed. You would might wind up without a parking brake. The issue is that the new aluminum transmissions for the V8s (A-727) arrived in 1962, and everything changed, including the way the transmission attaches to the crankshaft, and the driveline mounted emergency brake, which had been functioning as "park" as well as an emergency brake. The bellhousings are cast on, and are different on an A engine than a B/RB engine. Aluminum transmissions behind a slant six (A-904) existed in 1960 and 61, but for Valiant and Lancer. I'm not sure about the big car. 1965 transmissions for all 3 engine types use cables just like the pushbutton setup, but have a column shift. They also have a modern slip yoke at the tailshaft. 1966 and up shift with a linkage and also have a slip yoke. 1964 and earlier are all pushbutton with no slip yoke on the tailshaft, and use weird non-standard u-joints. The kickdown linkage on a Chrysler automatic controls the shift points and internal clutch pressures. Getting it set up right can be a real bear on a conversion. It must bottom out at full throttle for the kickdown, and still have the right ratio so the car shifts right and it doesn't hold the throttle open. If you leave it disconnected, it will damage the transmission quickly. Don't even go on a short run like that. Get alll the linkage off of the car the transmission comes from. Get it all the way to the carburetor. Get the carburetor too if there is anything different about how the linkage attaches. Good luck on your project.

What car is this?

Normal charging voltages vary by a tenth or two, but 7.5v is typical.

I believe there may have been an earlier thread on this same car. Has it been verified that the coil has power on it's positive post while cranking the engine? This car should start with a tap of the key after touching the throttle once to set the choke.

Sounds like the voltage regulator is set a bit low, but that is probably a separate issue. The cut in voltage of the cutout could be set too high also? You could try to measure the voltage at the armature terminal and then raise rpm extremely slowly, maybe with the idle screw(?), and see how high you can get before it cuts in. Other than that, make sure both the generator and the regulator are well grounded, and that the pulley is the right size. Generators are famous for not keeping up at idle. That may be all you can do.

Please clarify what we are talking about here. Is this a voltage regulator or is it one of those generator cutouts with an alternator diode in it?

Do they now? That's interesting. When I asked a couple or three years ago, there were no patterns for 1936. All models?

I don't think anyone has wood patterns for these cars. If you find out someone does, please post. Hopefully someone can take measurements for you though. You should mention if it is a Standard or a Master, as most parts of the car are different. If you have not already done so, try posting this on the VCCA forums http://vccachat.org . There is a fairly good chance someone will have a car like yours. Good luck with your project.

So fix it. They aren't complicated. Inspect the brushes and commutator. Only replace brushes if they are over 50% gone or so, The new ones will have to break in to the commutator, and will lose significant length right away, so keep that in mind when you inspect the old ones. Look at the bushings, check for slop, replace any that are sloppy or that you can see sideways wear in. When you inspect them you will see what I mean. Twist the drive gear. It should turn one way but not the other. It should be draggy and tight in the direction that it will turn. If it is loose, it will most likely still work as long as it stops in the other direction, but no guarantees. Inspect and most likely replace the copper bolt. Put in a new brake washer. Those are always bad. I see that starter in the picture has the 2 bolts holding the plastic piece in. I think those have a gasket(?). If your other one is really from 1966 and does not have the 2 bolts, you'll want some rope caulk from the hardware store to seal around the plastic.

Does that distributor clear your firewall and hood bars? In any event, take it off before you drop the engine in.

LA engines do still oil through the shafts like the older ones. The top end oiling may depend on the cam turning(?). I would dump some oil on the rockers to get it through the cam break it in, and check it afterward to see if it is oiling. It's probably fine.

AM radio programming in my area, even at night is so bad I don't bother anymore. My 36 Pontiac has a delete plate and I am not looking for a radio. That said, these original radios have a bit of atmosphere that a modern substitute can't quite add. like that Bwommmmp! noise the vibrator makes when it starts, the slow fade-in of the music, and the faint smell of dust on hot tubes and wax. If you want the phone to come through it, an input could theoretically be added. Better yet input devices exist that only require plugging in series with the antenna (and probably resetting the antenna trimmer). For service information, the Photofact may be available on Ebay for less money than some other sources. It is worth looking. You'll need the model number of the radio.

It was "if the key won't line up" and it was pure brain fart. Cotter key is also my default, but as you know these axles also have a key and keyway in addition to the cotter pin or key so that didn't make a lot of sense.

Go ahead and test the tubes. You can tell nothing by looking unless they are white and powdery inside. Black/silver/burned looking is normal. White and powdery is bad. Don't put too much stock in what the tube tester tells you, except for shorts and gas. Even then be skeptical if you are not very familiar with the particular tube tester and it's known faults. In particular, don't go out and buy a bunch of new tubes because the tester said one was weak, or to "start out new", unless you like throwing money away. The chances of it doing any good are close to zero, unless a tube is completely burned out, and wont light up or move the needle on the tester at all. The tube tester should sort that out. Tubes are the absolute least likely thing to be a problem, except maybe the 0Z4 if it uses one. Those had a shorter life than the rest. It is a gas tube and has no heater inside to light up like others. The gas lights when it ionizes, but you may not be able to see it. The paper and electrolytic capacitors have an extremely high probability of being bad this many years in, and they should really be changed before you even attempt to run it. At the very least, you must replace the buffer capacitor for the vibrator. it will ruin your vibrator if it is bad and it *IS* bad.

It is not meant to be serviced or repaired. If you are crafty and read up on balanced coil gas gauges, anything is possible. You feed the gauge 6 volts and a good ground. It grounds to the instrument panel somehow when it is bolted in place, and a close inspection should show you how and more importantly where the gauge gets it's ground. If you then ground the wire that normally goes to the sender the gauge should go to "E". Leaving the wire ungrounded should peg the gauge. 30 ohms of resistance to ground should make it go to "F". Usually they work or they don't.

About 19-1/2 feet.

Are you sure you have the three pins in the right order on the sealed beams? The pinout does not hold true for the different sizes and shapes of sealed beams. 5-3/4 is definitely different than 7", and if you have 7" with an H4 conversion, the pinout is like 5-3/4.

How is the rear crank seal doing? If there is any doubt, you might want to scrutinize it. They are infamous for leaking a lot. It is a rope seal. There is a split lip seal available for.... I think a 90s 318 Magnum? Something like that. It isn't supposed to work in these oldies but it usually does. You need to make sure the seal surface on the crank is decent and round. It didn't have to be that perfect for the rope.

It is possible to leave the gear shaft for the distributor out and spin the oil pump 'with a drill somehow. I've not done it lately, and can't recall if it takes a special tool. Pack your oil pump with vaseline, or engine prelube, or transmission assembly lube, so it will create a vacuum and suck oil up right away. Pre-fIll the oil filter with oil. Normally after doing some engine work, or a long sleep. I would just take the plugs out and spin it over with the starter until the oil light goes out, then hook everything up and start it. One caveat though, you might not want to do it like that if the cam and lifters are new and need to break in. In that case, you want to avoid cranking it much. Start it and get it up to 2000rpm as quickly as possible, so the cam and lifters get oil splash from the crank before the break in lube gets wiped off of the cam. The drill method might be worth investigating if you have a new cam.

Well someone thought it was for a 1938 or 1939 320ci straight eight (Century, Roadmaster, Limited) when they wrote on it. "1938-9 Big Ser" (big series). The part number on that tag might confirm or deny it if anyone has a parts book handy. That is the thermostat housing, not the thermostat. You are looking at a bypass valve. Allegedly there is a problem with the design. People have been replacing that valve with a freeze plug with a hole drilled in it, to mimic Buick's own fix from a few years later. I don't know how big of an issue that is, but someone in here probably does. The thermostat goes in that cavity in the bottom that is against the blue towel. It is positioned upside down right now compared to how it mounts on the engine.

Those are both good suppliers.

With your battery fully charged, and the engine run up to 1500 or 2000 rpm so the generator is sure to be charging, your system voltage should be more like 7.5 volts at room temperature (check the shop manual for the real spec). It is normal for there to be some loss on the way to the headlights, but it sounds to me like 1) the charging system might not be working and 2) there is probably too much loss somewhere between the voltage regulator "BAT" terminal and the stuff hooked to the light switch.