Bloo

That is true, but you can SEE it, and in a wet climate (like Seattle for instance) it also proves that the water that was already on the part (that you couldn't see) has boiled off.

I wouldn't get too excited about smoke until you have driven it a while. The oil rings might just be sticking a little from disuse. They could be bad, but don't condemn them yet. Also, if you suspect the car is running rich, fix that. I find mild oil burners show more visible oil smoke (blue) when they are running a little rich.

1936 Pontiac, early production. Hubcaps look to be 36, and so does the bumper. Round taillights were a mid-36 change. Here's a 35, but the lack of "speedlines" on the fenders make the picture an early 36, even though we can't see the grille.

I thought so too. If it weren't pouring rain I would go outside and take a picture. Well. that explains it. I would have expected if they were sending things all the way from North America, New Zealand would have got the same stuff Australia did. I guess not. The grille sure looks like it. It's probably from a different car. Were there any Fisher bodied Studebakers? Just for fun, have a look at this thread:

1939 Oldsmobile 6 & 8, 6V Negative ground, uses No. 5858 regulator. Probably third brush with a split field. About 28 amps.

Evaporust works great if you can completely submerge the parts. I would fill it completely. You don't want parts sticking above the level of the evaporust. That seems to cause rust right at the point where air is available.

Sure looks like GM to me. Any chance of a Fisher body tag on the firewall? Or maybe something that could identify it as a Holden body? Look at those little dents on the cowl where the hooks were to hold the wired cowl lacing. Also the unused wiper feed-throughs under the windshield match my 1936 Pontiac, as does the cowl vent, and maybe even the windshield. Doors are hinged in front. Everything about this screams 1936 Fisher to me. I think the grille is from something else.

Somewhere in Wyoming....

I can't really see well enough to tell, but it looks fine. The plate is the sliding memeber on that stud, so I don't think there would be any belleville washers there. Those belleville washers look like good ones. I suspect they might even be original. Some studs can (and probably should) be in contact with the manifold, as long as they do not block motion as the manifold gets longer. For instance it looks like the manifold is touching the long stud. The manifold will grow further away when it gets hot. I think i see a gap next to that last stud (bottom of pic). That is also good. When the manifold grows it will get closer to that one.

Rods need to be absolutely straight. Welding on rods is a terrible idea. Unbreakable rods are possibly available from Carillo, Crower, etc. if you can find any long enough. They tend to be heavy, and usually unnecessary. Aluminum pistons are better if they are lighter because they reduce loads on the rod bearings. There is no reason for them not to be lighter in 2019, considering there are several companies (Ross, etc.) that will make you some lightweight pistons to spec. Your bent rods probably caused the piston pin trouble, but I would also make sure they are getting adequate oil. Back in the day manufacturers used to do all sorts of stunts to prove their cars would survive at high speed, but the truth is that real roads did not allow it. Extended high speeds cause engine explosions in cars not intended for those speeds, and there were a rash of them when the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened in about 1938. If you really must go that fast, look into changing the gearing, or better yet, adding an overdrive. Don't overdo it. Many older cars just do not have adequate power to go much faster. There are also the brakes and tires to consider.

Assuming the car ran recently, and the rotor is pointing to the cylinder in question, yes. The only thing that could screw you up is if the distributor was somehow inserted 180 degrees out, or just plain wrong, and the engine will not run like that. One more thing if there is any doubt, or if the car didn't run, or if the distributor has been out, etc. etc. The cylinder you are working on will not have, or have had any pushrod motion for a while as you cross TDC. Meanwhile the OPPOSITE cylinder, the one the rotor is pointed farthest away from, will have one valve closing and the other opening as you cross TDC.

The exhaust manifold must be able to move with expansion. It gets much hotter than the head and it WILL get longer and the ends WILL move out. Anything that restricts that motion will cause the manifold to break. That is what you need to pay attention to. The belleville washers just allow the manifold to move. They go on so the outer edge contacts the manifold and the inner edge contacts the nut. Soft washers could crush down and stop the motion. Also pay attention to the studs and imagine the exhaust manifold getting longer. The manifold will probably hit the outside of the studs cold (to make sure the manifold won't hit the inside of the studs when it grows). If it is already hitting the inside of the studs and has no room to grow longer, you will need to do something about that. Make sure the surface of the manifold is straight and flat. If it wasn't already warped, it probably warped when they welded it. Hopefully they milled it afterward, but if they didn't that could be why it leaks. I don't know what sealer you refer to. You don't want to glue it down. I would do whatever the shop manual says. I believe one of the Buick parts vendors has the washers. Probably Bob's. Welcome to the forum!

Oh god no. That's enough to drive any sane person to the brink. For valve adjustment you only need to be close. I would remove all the plugs and push the car by hand while watching the rotor. It is probably easier to put the car in reverse and roll it backwards. There are two TDC points (firing and overlap), but if this was a running engine and you have the rotor pointing to the correct cylinder, you will have the right one.

I think those might be hard gears to find. I am going through the same thing with a 1936 Master Six, and I could tell you all about that, but it takes different gears than yours. There was a major change in 37. Pontiac typically offered about 3 gear ratios, all of them sort of low. Getting the highest one ("plains gears" as Pontiac called them) would be an improvement if you have one of the others. You might P.M. Kurt Kelsey (KornKurt on this forum), and see if he knows where any plains gears are. Welcome to the forum!

I do that. It is almost imperative when painting aluminum castings, but works on sheetmetal, too. Up here in Central Washington, you can indeed get rusty floor pans without a leak. In this climate, whatever stays wet is what rusts (no road salt). Cars with rubber floor covering historically were the ones with no floor pans left. Snow gets in in the wintertime, the jute padding gets wet, and the rubber prevents the water from evaporating. Cars with carpet typically had no serious floor rust. Cars with rubber mats had no floor left. The water just sits there for years until the floors fall out.

PM on the way. Here is the Roadmaster pulley. I need a narrower one.

I think those are parcels. They don't look like they would fit the car in the picture.

You can plate with zinc and ordinary household stuff. The solution is vinegar, epsom salt, and sugar or something similar. You also need some zinc and a power supply. An old trim tab off of a boat can supply the zinc. I made my solution long enough ago I don't recall what is in mine exactly, but there are several how-tos online. Here is one. https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?14392-DIY-Zinc-Plating-for-Donor-Nuts-and-Bolts The plating is fairly thin, and generally not show quality, but helps with rust prevention. If you fiddle around and babysit it, you CAN get good looking results, but if you are doing this for appearance you'll need to buy a real kit, and deal with handling more dangerous chemicals (I'm guessing cyanide). I doubt you will find anything like that in a hardware store. Here is a rusty sending unit. It was disassembled and the steel parts put in an electrolytic derusting bath. That is just washing soda, a power supply and a sacrificial piece of steel. Look up "electrolytic derusting" if you are not already familiar. It leaves the parts squeaky clean, but with the rough texture left behind when the rust is gone. Left alone, it would re-rust almost immediately. Enter the zinc. The second pic is of the zinc bath. The third is some of the plated parts. No, the corks and washers were not on there during the process.

That is true of many makes and models. Leather or felt seals allowed a little bit of air to escape, and vents were often not provided. If you want to use modern seals, you will have to add a vent if there isn't one.

Title says it all. I am looking for a Generator pulley for 1937 40 series. The pulley is narrower than a Century/Roadmaster/Limited. Would seriously consider a whole generator. What do you have? 40 series cars use a 3/4" belt, rather than the 7/8" used on the big cars. Thanks!

Engine detailing? FWIW for many years, Mopar engines were painted assembled, on the floor. The bottom of the oil pan is bare (I can't stand that and I always painted it). Balancer was on, thermostat housing was on, dipstick tube (and probably dipstick) was on, but pulleys, brackets carb and and alternator were not. Some parts like the distributor, sending units, also probably the fuel pump and negative battery cable, had paint slopped up the side a little. On the smaller engines that have a bypass hose, they painted the hose and clamps. You will probably see this when you remove your distributor. Under your intake manifold are one or two sound absorption pads. Probably two. Usually they are destroyed by mice. If there's anything left for a pattern, it is easy to make duplicates out of fiberglass insulation and heavy aluminum foil.

Put some DOT5 in a jar, and then pour some more in as if you were topping a master cylinder. Look closely. There will be some bubbles. Look closely, they are very small. Now, watch how slowly they come to the top. It can take hours. Every time you add more fluid to the reservoir, theres more bubbles. Every time the master cylinder expels some air, more bubbles. They are almost too small to see. They get sucked back into the system when you bleed it. It can be very frustrating, particularly if you don't understand what is happening. Some brands work better than others. 20 years ago, I liked Johnsen's. I don't know what is good now.

I can't quite answer your question. I do know that the main source of brass sleeved cylinders was (and possibly still is) White Post Restoration. As I understand it, White Post do not condone the use of DOT5 fluid under any conditions, and will void the warranty if you use it. There have been long threads about DOT5 fluid in the past, and this is the first time I have heard of incompatibility of the fluid with the metal itself. Frankly I doubt it. I have heard of brass (harmlessly) discoloring the fluid as it wears. I don't think that is exclusive to DOT5 though. I really don't know, but I would bet he just got sick of babysitting people who could not get DOT5 bled properly. It is very tough to bleed. Certainly not a job for anyone who lacks patience or has a short temper.