Bloo

Nice project! Welcome to the forum.

I'm guessing those were still threaded sleeve fittings in 1940. Threaded sleeve fittings are no problem on the Internet, but available locally to almost no one. That probably explains a lot of the often seen butchery. You don't need a flare tool though, so there's that. I don't recall where, but I have heard that glass filters are more prone to boiling than steel and that's why Pontiac got rid of them. Maybe it's a tall tale. Did Pontiac ever bring glass filters back? In any event this car already has a sediment bowl. See that black cover on the top of the fuel pump? There's another similar steel cover on the bottom. It's a sediment bowl. Given a choice, I wouldn't want a filter between the tank and the pump because it increases the volume of the fuel line. How many more strokes of the pump would it take to recover from vapor lock? Hard telling if it is that big of a difference, but it is extra volume that doesn't need to be there.

I don't think it is quite the same as "threaded sleeve" (?). I am not sure what I am looking at in the photo, but it does appear to have a more round nose than a "threaded sleeve" nut. There is some kind of a fitting where the ferrule part breaks off in installation leaving a free-spinning nut. I think those have a more rounded nose than the "threaded sleeve" fitting, so might be closer, but it still doesn't seem quite like a match to me. Modern aftermarket oil pressure gauges with their plastic (and sometimes copper) tubing use a 2-piece ferrule-and-nut affair where the gauge facing part of the ferrule is tapered, but the rear facing part is flat, unlike a plumbing ferrule, and a flat faced nut pushes against the flat back side of the ferrule. This setup also seems closer but still not quite a match (?). Is that fitting in the photo 2 pieces? What holds it on the tubing? Does the brass face do the sealing? The drawing suggests it might be one piece with a machined gap?. @c49er @Rusty_OToole @keithb7

Chevy Master (6 lug) wire wheels share a bolt pattern with Pontiac but are typically for 17 inch tires. As far as I know pre-1935 Pontiac wires are also larger than 16". 16" wires did exist for Pontiac in early 1935, sort of. There is a picture of a wire wheel in the shop manual illustrating brakes or wheel alignment or something. Some early ads may have shown wire wheels. I did not believe they made it to production until I saw a set on an unrestored car last year. Those won't be easy parts to find. P.S. There is a big problem on all automotive forums these days with take-the-money-and-run scam artists who do not really have the parts they claim to be selling. Caveat emptor.

I agree. The bulb contact that the door switches are connected to is grounded to the housing somehow and it shouldn't be. Well, it shouldn't be except when the switch connects it.

I'm just amazed all you guys can remember that bulb number. @Doctor's Pontiac, as has been already mentioned the filament of the correct bulb runs between the two socket tips. You should have a hot wire up there. That goes to one of the tips. Ground the other tip to turn the light on. You can ground it with a door switch or with that switch in the dome light. Both hook to the second tip and either can turn the light on. The socket ground (shell) is unused except to hold the bulb in.

The dash lights are intentionally dim like most cars of the period that did not have a dimmer. Drivers of that time would run with the lights really dim or maybe off to allow their eyes adjust to the dark and get the most good out of headlights. In the Buick forums there are some examples of using LEDs to brighten them up. The headlights aren't going to be like modern ones no matter what you do. The two things that seem to actually make a difference are the condition of the reflectors and the voltage at the bulb. Reflectors can be re-silvered. Other metals (chrome, nickel, etc.) are not bright enough. The one exception is a process called Uvira, that uses vacuum deposited aluminum with a coating of glass over it, similar to a telescope mirror. Its about 98% as good as silver, but does not tarnish so does not require maintenance. Uvira has a lot of fans in this forum. For silver, you just send the reflectors to a plater. For Uvira, you send the reflectors to a plater first and get them done in high polish nickel, then you send them to Uvira for the coating. For now, I would recommend using NOS/NORS 2330 (32/32 candlepower) bulbs. Your stock charging system is good for about 15 amps, and being a third brush system only makes max output at one particular RPM level. I am using current production bulbs. The current production (Chinese) bulbs seem to be all 2530 (50/32 candlepower) no matter how they are advertised. The charging system can't keep up with that on high beam. I verified it last year. When the charging system is not keeping up you will be running at battery voltage or lower (minus losses) rather than the charging voltage (minus losses). Charging voltage is higher and that makes an actual difference. I have not had time to experiment much with 2330, but it appears there are a lot of NOS/NORS stocks around, and they are not terribly expensive. Carry spares. The original 2320L (32/21 candlepower "long life") bulbs are not available. Neither is the similar 2320 32/21 candlepower). They are common to Harley Davidson, or so I'm told. I guess the old stocks must be all used up. I think the system could carry 2330s most of the time, so the expensive and harder to find 2320 is probably not really worth bothering with. Check your charging voltage if you can. You might need an analog meter for that(?). I would expect something like 7.6V at the battery with the car warmed up, a fully charged battery, lights off, and the engine revved up to something a little higher than fast idle. What's left is the wiring. There are 3 wires that connect to the outside of the headlight buckets (high, low, park), and there are 3 similar terminals inside. I would clean all those connections up inside and out. Be careful, don't twist the screws off. If there's doubt, I don't remember for sure, but I think the threaded holes go all the way through from the inside to the outside. If that's true, it should be possible to take the inside screws out and put penetrating oil down the holes from the inside. On my car the inside screws were brass and not stuck, while the outside screws were steel. I broke a couple of the steel ones. It was no fun getting the remains out. The ground is from the reflector, through the headlight shell, through the mounting ball, and on back through the body, the ground strap, and then the engine to get to the generator. It is even more likely to be lossy than the hot wires. It's every bit as important. Make sure the spot where the reflector meets the shell is clean, as well as the mounting ball. I also used some ox-gard on the ball, on the recommendation of another forum member who swears he gets less lossy connections. I'm not sure if it helped but it can't hurt. When I had the car apart recently I added headlight ground wires. The best way is to go from the sockets all the way to where the generator mounts. I made some completely invisible grounds, and did not go quite all the way to the bulb socket because I didn't want to drill any holes. I went from the headlight brackets to the front engine support plate. That's most of the way. If you aren't too concerned about being able to see the wires, the rear-most headlight bracket nuts are accessible under the hood. You could run wires from those down to the the engine support plate. The generator mounts on the engine support plate, so that's about as good as it gets at the generator end. There's pics of my completely invisible grounding in my water pump thread here near the bottom of page 2, though you might find the whole thread interesting. Finally, these don't aim like modern normal headlights. I recommend getting a shop manual if you don't have one. Get an original if you can rather than a reprint. From what I have seen there are a lot of originals around and the cost is not much more. The pictures will be higher quality and more useful. Also search around on the forum for "Guide Multibeam". There have been threads. The light cutoff on these is vertical, rather than horizontal, and they aim crosseyed(!) to form the beam pattern. First click of the switch is parking lights. Second click is city beam (both lights low). Third click can be high beam or beam down with the floor switch. Beaming down only dims the passenger side light. It is the one shining into oncoming traffic.

Not mine. It's about where @OrtonvilleBob's is, but has to be accessed from under the hood while fighting the steering column and whatever else is in the way, probably the pedal linkages. The easily removable piece is for access to the battery.

Correct, but representing this car as a Roadmaster is a little bit more misleading than just getting a name wrong. It makes it sound like a bigger car than it is. Being a 40 series, this car would be a Special, not a Roadmaster if those names were in use in 1935. I don't believe they were. I like the car.

In the late 80s or early 90s one of the hot rod magazines built some test engines and did some some direct comparisons. This was prompted by the removal of lead, rather than gasohol. I believe the original and most detailed article was in Popular Hot Rodding, but I can't remember for sure. Some of the others followed suit later on. I recall the conclusion was that the difference was insignificant and possibly unmeasurable in a normal street driven V8. Heavily loaded engines, drag racing, towing, motorhome, speedboat, etc. were more prone to valve seat recession and could benefit from hard seats. The rub is that a lot can go wrong when using inserts. The machine work is critical and if not done right the inserts can fall out and hold a valve open which could punch a hole in a piston. I would also think this could happen if the head cracked. How many plain cast iron heads (without inserts) have you seen with a crack across the valve seat? I have seen quite a few. There are also some engines that simply don't have enough cast iron under the seat for a reliable insert job (Buick Nailhead comes to mind). My take is don't cut out perfectly machinable seats in favor of inserts for a street driven antique. If valve recession happens, then put the inserts in at that time. It probably wont happen.

If I am not mistaken, there is some year of Buick that has a master cylinder under the floor and a remote reservoir on the firewall. 1954? I believe the bit at the end of the hose would just screw into the lid hole on the master cylinder of many other GM cars. Could you really reach that by pulling the carpet up? It looks to be in the same godawful spot as my 1936, and I can't get to my lid through the floor. I considered doing a conversion like this once upon a time. I've since made the decision not to, but it remains a hassle to check the brake fluid so you never know. Thanks for posting the pics.

That sure looks like a full-floating axle to me. I think if you take the axle out, the hub is probably running on a couple of timken bearings on the outside of the axle housing. There is probably some kind of a nut and locknut adjustment in there, and you take it apart more or less like a front wheel, just with way bigger bearings. Setups like that often take a special tool to deal with the nuts inside. You might have to rent, buy, or make one. I guess it's possible the drum comes off separately. Take a close look around that dark are where the wheel sits for screws. I am not seeing any from here. I think it is most likely you will have to take the bearing apart.

Lacquer is hands down the safest of the automotive paints. The reasons it is no longer used are largely enviromental, due to VOC laws and the highly volatile thinners lacquer needs. In fact, useful lacquer thinner is harder to get than lacquer these days. It probably isn't impossible except in a few particular states. The other reason for lacquer's demise, and for the demise of acrylic enamel, synthetic enamel, etc. is that the new types of paint are far more durable. It is not a small difference. Also, the new paints are "systems" designed to work from the metal to the top coat. Done right, the layers chemically bond, eliminating adhesion problems. Modern types of paint contain isocyanates (look it up). So do the now defunct Acrylic Enamel and Synthetic Enamel if they are used with a hardener. They were usually used with a hardener because if you don't use one, you probably can't recoat. The paint might lift if you try. If you get a run or some other defect you are stuck with it. There are good reasons that modern painters use personal protective equipment that leaves no skin exposed, and have air supplied to their respirator under positive pressure. I wouldn't want to breathe lacquer either, but compared to modern paint it's kid stuff. P.S. If that is original paint, it is Duco (lacquer) on the body but probably enamel (Dulux?) on the fenders. Duco lacquer on the fenders was an extra cost option, and I think it unlikely anyone paid for that on a black car, especially on the lower cost model like yours (and mine). No matter though. Lacquer was used to patch up enamel paint jobs back in the day. Lacquer builds less thickness to cover, so it is easier to blend the edge of the repair. It won't melt in and completely disappear like it might over more lacquer, but it sure beats trying to patch and blend with enamel.

I re-laminated mine with plastic resin glue. It is very water resistant though not waterproof. I poured a runny mix of plastic resin glue into every open crack or crevice from the edges, top, bottom, etc. Anywhere there was a void I dumped glue in. I used heavy trash bags as a release agent on both sides. I clamped it in a vise between 2 pieces of stiff plywood, and used a bunch of c clamps and woodworking clamps to put lots of pressure on it all over while it cured. It makes a mess, but for me it was worth it. Not good enough for a restoration probably as the boards are kind of beat up and chipped from years of use, and there's glue residue. Good enough for my old summertime driver though, and they are the original boards. I imagine they will delaminate more over time as a lot of the area is still held with the original glue which probably wasn't close to waterproof. Marine plywood would be a more permanent solution.

Me neither. I don't think it is a Prestolite tank, or at least not one for automotive use. The valve is in the center. I'll bet it's an upright welding tank that has been pressed into service here to increase capacity. It may not behave as expected lying on it's side like that....

Carb is a Stromberg WW with a right angle air horn. Studebaker did use some. It probably belongs there. The air cleaner does not. The "Sweepstakes 259" decals probably also belong, but I have my doubts about the engine colors.

How long does the car typically sit before it needs help? If it's a few days, I would look into putting a pump in the back and a switch. I have been resistant to the idea, after going to a lot of trouble to fix my fuel pickup, verify there is no air leakage anywhere, etc. The more connections and devices you have the more likely it is you will have an air leak somewhere. I daily drive it except in winter, so only have to crank fuel up (or figure a way to fill the carb) once a year. Good advice here though, I wouldn't want that hose full of gas leading back to me. Priming and starting by adding fuel down the carb throat is very hazardous. If you must prime it, it is better to manually fill the bowl through the bowl vent if you can access it. Starting the car with the air filter housing off is asking for a fire and not recommended. Never do that. Always put it back on before cranking. P.S. A carb that catches fire from a backfire while cranking can often be put out if you keep cranking especially if engine starts. I have seen that several times long ago. P.P.S. Never do any of this indoors.

Were the originals solid wood? I believe Fisher was using plywood for removable floor parts by 1936. Multiple layers, too, not the early type (lumbercore?) that @wayne sheldon describes. I have re-laminated the ones in my 36 Pontiac. They pretty clearly weren't waterproof. I don't even know what they could have used for waterproof glue in 1933 (or 1936). Resorcinol wasn't a thing until 1941, or so I'm told. Blood glue maybe in 1936, though It would have been cutting edge in 1936 and I believe it needs a kiln. I suspect it was not yet available in 1933.

I got some square or slightly rectangular cork lens seal to go in channeled reflectors from https://www.stevesautorestorations.com/ in Oregon. I used it on a Pontiac and there was considerable extra length. It was not the cheapest source, but is pure cork (no rubber). I'm told the rubber content in cork/rubber gasketing sold by some outlets can cause tarnish of the silver on the reflector. That sounds likely to be true, but I have not personally experienced it, so I can't say for sure.

Seems to be the 9N tractor engine according to that link? Much smaller and weaker than the BB would have been. The BB sounds like a much better choice.

You can click on them from that page linked in my post above. I don't have an oil pressure tube in front of me to check, but I think it is the smallest one. 1/8" tubing (with 5/16-24 thread). I'd double check that if I were you. https://blackhawksupply.com/products/midland-16001-1-8-5-16-24-threaded-sleeve-nut-brass-fittings-double-compression-nut

That's not the same thing but it might work(?). The one in the link is a type that breaks into 2 pieces if the picture is accurate. I don't know if it is interchangeable? Maybe? The fitting in my post is called a "threaded sleeve", and I have bought them from Blackhawk Supply. They compress at the tip when installed and become part of the tubing. https://blackhawksupply.com/collections/plumbing-brass-fittings-double-compression/description_nut

Or is it more like this?

I don't think so. I am no chemist, but I am thinking it would have to be a very specialized filter that could distinguish molecule size. The white gas filter probably stopped the water in the same way the sock does in my last post. The ethanol mixes with the water, so the water wouldn't be collecting and attaching to more water. Water in gas (without alcohol) collects in little balls that start to get jellybean shaped when they get heavy enough. Probably the ethanol will go away on it's own if the container is vented like a typical gas tank in a typical older antique. The gas you are left with afterward is going to be pretty awful.

This is the right answer. You're not wrong, but it isn't the whole story. Alcohol is known to be corrosive, and also attracts water which it mixes with. This is why it was used for gas drier. The car in the original post would not have had a sediment bowl, but it has a sock in the gas tank. It is a GM sock in the picture (in a Dodge?). Anyway the holes in the mesh are really small and the entire tank becomes a sediment bowl. The water clings to more water and won't go through the mesh. You often see a similar mesh in an actual sediment bowl, up high so the gas must flow through to get out. In the old days you would get corrosion in the top of a tank from condensation, and one spot rusted out right in the bottom where the puddle of water was. Usually the spot in the bottom was the only spot thin enough to go through. After the radiator shop boiled it out and soldered or welded a patch over the hole in the bottom you were good to go, the rest of the tank still being solid enough. Once in a while the top would rust out, but that was less common. Now with the alcohol, it is like having gas drier in all the time. The puddle of water in the bottom of the tank probably isn't there. The downside is everything you take apart seems to be a rusty mess all over like @Pete Phillips posted. I have to admit though, I have never seen that much sediment.