Bloo

And now the Dodge Dart. This has a more conventional (for the 60s and 70s anyway) lock system. The key cylinders actually lock the internal door mechanism, as do the inside lock buttons. It may have lock buttons that are mushroom shaped. If so, an old trick is to bend a loop or hook in a coathanger, and try to get it past the outside of the window or door frame, and pull up to unlock. It is easier if the car is a hardtop. If it is a four door post sedan, more difficult. Also, sometimes people put lock buttons on that don't have the mushroom head for "anti-theft". In that case, you probably need a slim jim. A slim jim is a piece of spring steel that can reach down inside the door and move the rods inside the door to unlock it. If you have never used one you are probably going to need the assistance of a locksmith. Once inside, take the front passenger door apart, and remove the lock cylinder. It is held in with a spring clip, (and maybe a clip to attach the linkage). The passenger lock cylinder should have a code on it that you can read and have a key made from. If nothing has been changed since new, that door key will also fit the ignition switch. That is a good thing because 70s darts have the ignition combined with a steering lock, and it cannot be removed without damage unless you pick it. You would have to get the car, or at least the steering column, to a locksmith. The code from the door might save you from that. The Dart uses a second key for the glovebox and the trunk. Unfortunately the glovebox lock does not use all the notches on the key, so it by itself will not get you enough information to get you into the trunk. If the glovebox is unlocked, look for the owners manual. Sometimes they wrote the key codes in there. The only way to get the trunk open with no damage that I know of is to crawl into the trunk from inside the car. You have to be really small and skinny to accomplish this. I could never do it today. You have to take the back seat out. the lower cushion releases by pushing it (or carefully banging it) toward the rear of the car.then lift up. When it is finally released, get it out of the car, and then there will be 2 screws on straps at the bottom of the backrest. Once those are out push the backrest straight up to release it. Get it out of the car. You will now see a piece of cardboard that you can slide up to unhook. Get it out of there too. Now there MAY be a hole big enough to get in if you are really small. The spare tire and jack might be in the way, You might have to unscrew that stuff and push it back and off to the side. I hope there wasn't a bunch of crap in the trunk. Now you should be able to shine a flashlight in there to see what you are up against. If you are really skinny and small, you might be able to unbolt the latch mechanism from the trunk lid. Depending on how bound up it is, you might have to remove the other half of the latch from the body too... or not.... The trunk lid should at least have bolt heads facing you (I think). A super long extension and a ratchet might come in VERY handy. Once the trunk lid is open you can remove the lock cylinder with a spring clip about like the one in the door. It will have a code to make a key. The key will also fit the glovebox if the locks are original. Good luck.

No, I don't believe you can buy any kind of a magic key to get in, unless you have the codes. You would have to pick the locks, or have a locksmith do it, and locks that have been sitting a long time might not even be pickable if they got all wet and corroded. Let's start with the C10. I have a 66. This one is going to be pretty confusing if you are accustomed to modern cars. First of all, are you sure it is locked? Try both doors. You might be surprised. Assuming its 66 or older (is it?) the locks lock from the inside, and there is usually only one key lock on one door. Look at the inside door release handles. They should point toward the rear of the truck. You pull up on the handle to lock a door, and push down to unlock. You also push down to open the door. If someone put the handles on pointing forward then everything is backward. There will be usually only one key lock on one door. It is probably the driver's door (mine is), but maybe not. A long time ago you were expected to exit from the curb side, so it might be on the passenger door. All the key lock does is lock up the button. Here's how it works to lock the truck. You reach over to the door that has no key lock, and pull up on the inside handle. This locks the door. Then, you get out the side that has the key lock, and lock the button with the key. The door is technically still unlocked as far as the door mechanism knows, but since you locked the button, nobody can push the button. To unlock, you have to either pick the key lock, or you have to get inside somehow and push down on a door handle. Either side will do. If a window was a little down, or a door not all the way latched, you might be able to get something in to push down on the handle. Also check the wing windows. If one is unlocked, you might be able to tilt it open from the outside, and get something inside to push down on the door release handle to unlock it. There is also a tool called a "slim jim" that works on many older cars (but I'm not sure it will work on this one). Thats a question for your locksmith if none of the other ideas work. Once inside, you can take the door apart and remove the outside handle that has the lock button in it. The lock button will have a code on it somewhere that you can get a key made from. I am not sure how far you would have to take it apart. You might have to pick the lock before you can see the code. I don't think so though. If nothing has been changed since new, the key you have made from the code will also fit the ignition, (and the back door if it is a suburban). Worst case, you can just take the whole door handle to a locksmith. That should get you a key for everything. If not, then move on to the ignition. The ignition lock also has a code (the same one) but would definitely need to picked in order to see it (thats why you start with the door lock, because it might be stamped where you can see it). To get the ignition switch out of the dash needs a special tool. You have to either buy one, or make one or maybe (not sure) a snap ring pliers might work. The round chrome thing on the outside is just a nut that unscrews. They don't make it easy to get a grip on though, thats what the tool is for. Once you have the nut unscrewed, the whole mess just unplugs from the wiring harness, and you can take it in to the locksmith to be picked, and a key made. I'll get to the Dodge in a minute.....

Low mileage doesn't necessarily mean good storage. 1936 was along time ago. Yes, there is work to be done, but I like it. I like it a lot.

Jaguar?

They are silver plated as original.

I agree.

You must have some other vacuum port somewhere. Got vacuum wipers? If the port you are connected to is the one for the distributor, it is probably not going to supply vacuum at idle.

Always tighter to get the pin in, not looser. Well... unless its a wheel bearing, but that is a whole different game.

A 37 Buick is a good choice. It is a great looking car and has a real following around here. Also there are enough cars left that when you ask questions there will usually be other owners to respond. Gary W posted a detailed restoration thread about his 37 Special with tons of pictures. It is an excellent reference, and worth a look. Welcome to the forum!

It can really catch you by surprise when that wire breaks. It's like turning the ignition off and on. In 1987 I blew the sides out of 2 mufflers in 6 blocks on the way to work. The DPO had replaced those wires with copper and the ground had broken off.

If you mean the piece that runs inside the distributor to the points, normal wire wont do, flexible or not. Wires made for that purpose are strands of copper and spring steel. Copper work hardens with the movement and wont last long at all. Same for the breaker plate ground. If the correct part is not readily available, there is probably a NAPA one for a much more recent points distributor that will work. Only the wire to the points must have insulation. The ground wire can be bare and in newer cars it often is.

Wood moves a lot with temperature and humidity. You can look at the end grain and see which way it will go, at least if it isn't full of knots. Staying out of the rain, while advisable, wont make it stop, or even slow down much. P.S. If I were tasked with making a board look like the old one you removed, I might be tempted to make a stew of black walnut husks, and dunk it in that for a while. That wouldn't help much keeping the board dry though would it? Also, maple is really dense and doesn't stain easily with anything, probably not even black walnut stew. It might stain everything else within reach. YMMV. I am no expert on these things. All the best whatever you try.

Its gotta go. The limiting factor on most cars is the size of the grille opening. A 39 Buick is worse than most. It is all about airflow (usually), and that car had almost enough. If you hang a bunch of fans in there it might help at idle, but will likely not cool at speed because the fans restrict the airflow just by being in the way. Traditionally for cooling an engine, an aluminum radiator wins by weight, and a brass/copper one wins by size. That means if you have unlimited grille area you can save some weight with aluminum. If you are limited by the grille area (and I believe you are in a 39 Buick), brass/copper wins hands down. That may not always be true today, as aluminum radiator technology has improved a lot in the last few years. Huge tubes, new fin designs, etc. If the aluminum radiator is truly modern and high tech, and has a good fan, and a good shroud, and some flappers, it *might* get the job done. If its a cheapie and you are trying to get it to do what a brass/copper radiator could almost do, I think theres gonna be trouble. If you must run an electric fan, ones with a few larger blades are better. Just look at the blades. If they are blocking most of the radiator..... they're blocking most of the radiator. Another thing, the fans need to freewheel at speed, so they should be set to come on at a higher temperature than the thermostat temperature. On a modern car, the thermostat is usually set at 195f or so, and the fan at 220F (or higher). At speed it regulates at thermostat temperature, in traffic it regulates at the (higher) fan switch temperature. The numbers all probably need to be lower on a 39 Buick, but you get the idea. What you don't want is the fan coming on at speed, because that blocks airflow even worse. You are absolutely right. It is even worse, because once that air takes the path of least resistance, it equalizes the pressure on both sides of the radiator, and no air flows through the radiator. Maybe a little pushed by the fans, but it wont be enough when the engine is pulling. Direct all air that comes through the grille on through the radiator. Plug up any gaps you can.

It might not stop with the solder. I have seen brass floats lately that are half missing. If the new solder is lead free (probably), then it is mostly tin. Old solder would have had maybe 50 or 60 percent lead. I'n not sure how much difference that makes, but the solder is indeed likely to be different.

The Chinese combination regular/phillips screws they put THROUGH the ID tag are a nice touch. I wonder why they left off the web address? Maybe you just have to find them on Facebook...

I have a bridge for sale...... Seriously though, for best results make sure you seal both sides equally.

Varies by state I think. Those were always illegal in WA back in the day, but might not be anymore. The street rodders have got a lot of things changed here. You can have blue dots now, no fenders if its not raining, etc. P.S. No, I don't use one, but I would invite anyone who thinks they're "unsafe" to try driving a prewar car in city traffic while hand signaling, and see if you still think so.

Yes, change the condenser. Set the points. If the points have a mountain-type growth on them, replace. While you are in there, look at any flexible wires inside the distributor that move with the breaker plate. There is probably one to ground the breaker plate to the distributor housing, and another running from the binding post to the points. They move whenever the vacuum advance moves, and can break inside the insulation. they shouldn't stretch.

IMHO you are lucky to get non-resistor plugs at all, and the LM-46 is all by itself for black finish. I believe a few AC and a few Autolite types are still black. Not many.

Well then you could use Autolite 295. It is a full size plug, non-projected tip, non-resistor, heat range equivalent to AC-45. Technically it is a lawnmower plug too, but it doesn't look like one. IMHO it looks decidedly modern next to an LM-46.

AC LM-46 (lawnmower plug) is still available. It is one heat range hotter than AC 45-S, non-resistor, non-extended tip, and has a shorter insulator (as many plugs did in the 30s).

You can tell it hit there, so of course there's always a chance that its cracked or screwed up, but IMHO 99 percent chance that is ok. I wouldn't worry about it at all. I have seen pistons with tops that looked like they had been through a rock crusher that survived. Yours doesn't even look damaged.

Yes, you can lap one valve in. You must definitely check the stem height and set it correctly because Buicks do not have selective length pushrods. The lifter preload and rocker arm geometry on a Buick depends on the valve stem height being at a predictable dimension, then no other adjustments are usually made. Also measure the valve spring installed height. It is much less likely to be a problem, but check it. Again? The heads were already off?! If you have to pull the head, use a new gasket. Get the same brand and type` the other side has. Bolts are not torque-to-yield, and are not normally replaced on these old engines unless there is some obvious problem. If you are worried about it, measure their length and look for stretched ones. I'll bet you don't find any. Good plan. Ugh. So have I, always getting rid of most of it first, but never worried to much about a little residue back in the day. Then one day some bad gas stuck a bunch of valves in an an old Mercury (390 Ford) I inherited from my dad. The gas wasn't even that old, maybe a couple of years. No more than four. It bent a bunch of pushrods, and ran so badly It would not drive. I pulled the valvesprings to change the seals using the cylinder full off rope method. The stuck valves were stuck so badly I couldn't believe it. Lots of penetrating oil and brake cleaner, and still I had to whale on them repeatedly with a brass hammer to get them unstuck, and then repeatedly wash out the guides with more brake cleaner and penetrating oil. These were not new tight guides. The engine has over 200k miles. Once clean, they were about as loose as you would expect them to be, not horrible but definitely loose compared to new. Modern gas rots fast. I think this is probably the new normal. The nailhead valves are at such an angle compared to the pistons, I can't help but wonder if yours is bent. If it isn't bent, you can probably fix it from the top if you want.

Check the windings in your solenoid. You should see ends of 2 windings connected to the small post. One winding goes from the small post to ground, the other winding goes from the small post to one of the large copper bolts. Check both with a continuity tester. A freebie Harbor Freight DMM will do fine. If the continuity of those 2 windings check ok, your solenoid is fine. Solenoid trouble is ALMOST ALWAYS the copper bolts. Look for erosion where the copper disc touches them. 90% chance they are all you need, as they are the only normally wearing parts. The little relay probably does not need replacing either, though the NOS one in the pictures sure looks nice. Some manual I have shows how to set those relays up. You just drag something like a points file or a metal nail file (not sandpaper) lightly, only enough to scrape the surface corrosion, and from then on it is like setting up a voltage regulator. There is a spec for air gap and a spec for points gap, and a minimum voltage to make it pull in. I am not near my books at the moment. I would be happy to find this and post it if you need it. If Pontiac didn't put it in the shop manual Buick or MOTOR probably did. That new relay is probably ready to go as-is. It is fairly important that you find a cover to keep the relay from getting clobbered. The adjustments are fairly delicate. If your old one doesn't work, misadjustment due to clobbering is a far more likely cause than anything electrical, despite it's corroded appearance. A Buick cover is the same. Pay attention that the cover does not touch either of the 2 terminals coming out from under it. Sorry I don't think I took pictures of the order things go together when I rebuilt the 37 Buick solenoid. It is a shame the guy left yours apart. If you post some good close-ups I could probably tell you what goes where. There is a threaded adjustment on the solenoid plunger. Don't omit it. It needs to be done whether the solenoid is old or new. You hold the OUTER PART of the plunger all the way in, and measure from the tip of the drive gear to the starter nose housing. I think it's 1/8", but would have to look it up. A drill bit makes a handy gauge to check the gap. Bob's Automobilia has the rubber boot that goes over the plunger. Save the clamp.

1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass (or maybe 442).