Jim Nelson

Tom, you have done something I have not learned. Wood / metal bodies. I'm told their an issue. Lots to learn to keep out cars running. Wow! the 248 engine (38 and later) are great engines. I still have my '38' original engine when I change to the 265. Got it from a friend who got it on a trade. It was a spare engine. I tore it down and found it was only lightly worn. So I chose to rebuild it to factory spec's. I kept the single carb. The twin carb and exhaust must be great (and sound great).

Your just a kid !!!!!!! Isn't this fun ?? Beats the hell of working for a living. Being retarded - I mean retired is good if you saved enough. Wife leaves me alone with my crazy friends, isn't that nice. :-))) I did not have enough time to use this great group. To busy getting my '38' road worthy (my opinion only). I have a 'new' 265 engine in my '38'. Suffered the over heating issues many have. I ended up changing the small radiator from the 320 cu in engine from a century which gave my ~50% more cooling capacity. Then with the A/C fan in front of the evaporator radiator, things steadied. I took my first long trip after mods (before A/C) of about 1600 miles. Drove nicely but it was before the high heating issues were solved.

A ha, The map says your just a bit NE of Orlando. Not that far. Easy trip in my ole Buicks.

39,buick Do you have any dates where those topics would be found? I have looked thru 30 / 40 of them looking at the technical articles. Lots of info to be found in there. I had the privilege of talking to Bob Pipkin a few months ago, He was very prolific with technical info. Ih is basically not available any more. Failing eye sight and hearing. Getting old sucks.

BTW, does "senior member" mean "your old" or have been in this organization a long time ??????? I'm rolling over to 75 in three weeks !

pont35cpe, I must say that if you got the Lloyd OD conversion, your one happy guy. I really like my OD. BTW, 'Vintage Auto Garage' sells the OD solenoid in either 6 volt or 12 volt. I use Lloyds reconditioned units but they still would ocasionally die on me. I had spares in my box of parts for long trips. I had one failed a 200 mile trip and did not like traveling home in third gear. SO I got a spare and then sprung for the new 12 volt one from Vintage -- - -. No failures since.

Your not that far away. In the mean time, we should be able to figure which system will work for you. BTW, re-doing the drive train is not cheap.

Hi Greg, I just started a topic about upgrading thebrear ends on our Buicks. Pre-war Buicks./ 4.44 rear ends .... Where are you? I’m in the Tampa area. I like the 34 ‘ 5 for style . I’m not that conversent with the older cars. My pinion is - you might have to swap out the rear end for a newer rear. I did an OD ststem. I just finished changing out the ‘37’ rear third member for av’54’ third member with 3.41 gears. Its now a very good road car. My OD sustem is supurb here on florida. Check out the ‘topic’ writ up and thin e-mail me and we can discuss what and how we can keep youer car on the road and reasonably up to speed. BTW, its not cheap.

Welcome to the modern changes to keeping our great cars on the road. This is what I know and help I can provide as best I can. The world just got smaller last month. The guru of Over Drives (Lloyd Young) passed from our world. I knew him with the OD I got from him back in 2014. I had the proviledge of visiting him at his home and shop. He also had a verrrry nice collection of cars from the ‘teen’s’ up into the ‘40’s. He had around 30 + cars in two barns (heated). I also had the privilege of talking with Bob Pipkin. Check our history on Buick technical topics and Bob was the first for many of our improvements. Bob did several versions on upgrading the rear ends from 4.44 to the easy one - 3.90 ratio. Up to the ‘unavailable’ 3.21 rear. He modified some by replacing the complete housing with a lower ratio. He finally changed some by swapping third members. Details are available but Bob is now unavailabe as he is loosing his sight and hearing. Lloyd was in his 80’s and was the guy who knew the Borg Warner OD and how to modify it best for us. He could adapt to most all torque tube drives. Model A’s and model T’s were favorites. He had model A & T torque tube’s modified and ready to install. Lloyd has a shop in Circleville OH that did the machine work. At this point, much is in flux. The shop is presently finishing jobs that Lloyd had begun. I replaced the rear on my ‘37’. I installed a ‘54’ rear with a 3.41 ratio. I can give you details on what i did for the third member swap that you can do as parts etc are available today.

I now have two different solutions to the problem. My first is the Borg Warner over drive. The second is to replace the third member with a later rear. The first has just become more difficult because Lloyd Young passed away early in January. I am trying to find out how to gather up his stock of OD’s and items he produced to adapt the OD to our Buicks. That was a reasonable option. Plus, the OD provided a nice spread of gearing with the OD making a ‘fourth’ gear for crusing. The second is adapting a later rear end in place of the 4.44 rear ends. I just finished changing the rear on my ‘37’ Buick. This change is more expensive as machining is required. But I used the original 1937 banjo housing and axels. The next mod would require finding a 1940 or later rear ( I am not accurate on the year) with a 3.90 or better - 3.6 rear and swapping the complete rear. Mine is a ‘54’ rear with a 3.41 ratio. That also may require mod’s to the torque tube and drive shaft. I used a ‘54’ third member, machined the housing and modified the torque tube and drive shaft and put it in my ‘37’. I know that works very nice but more expensive than the OD I put in my ‘38’. I should probably should start a seperate line with info and answers to questions on how to solve the high 4.44 rear ratio for todays cars.. e-mail me at. ‘Oldbuickjim@gmail.com.

BTW, I love the 34 / 35 design that Biick had. Is yours a sedan or coupe ? I’d love to see it. Where are you located. I’m in the Tamps / St Pete area. Roght now I have a ‘37’ and ‘38’ coupe. I have this thing for two door cars. Oldbuickjim@ gmail.com.

It was sold the next day. Thanks for the offer.

The 3.90 rear will fit the ‘38’ nicely. Do you have a ‘38’ service manual ? That will tell you how to do it. Call me tomorrow. Where are you located ? I’m in Tampa Fl. 727 - 251-6261. , (my cell)

$500 plus freight. Are you familiar with rear ead swap’s?

A few times I called him and a lady answered - she got Lloyd to the phone. i believe he mentioned that was his sister.. Lloyd’s guarantee’s were golden. Short problem, mine had a bearing starting to go bad. He said bring it to him and he would fix it. I drove two days to his place / shop in Circleville. He met me there and he was amazed where it failed. Anyway, he and Glen tore it down, replaced the whole OD unit and then replaced the input shaft that has the sprocket because it looked worn. Then replaced the drive shaft sprocket for the same reason. So mine was totally rebuilt with NO COST TO ME. I’m sure he paid Glen for his time. I then hit the road to the Buick clubs get together. I really wanted to drive my ‘38’ but time flew. I need to talk to Glen and see if he will pick up at least some of the guys who want OD’s. Then, contact his sister and see what parts Glen can get from Lloyds extensive parts. Lloyd may have mentioned his son but only in passing. You know how familys can get. My first is a ‘38’ coupe that I put an OD in from Lloyd. It has A/C so it is my traveling car. My pretty car that I got last spring, is a ‘37’ coupe also. (I have a thing about coupes). It was picked up from a guy who was restoring it to the factory new condition. He had an accident and died. Went thru several hands and ended up in mine. It has dual sidemounts and new original style white walls. The interior is like new. All interior metal work has been covered to look like wood. A really nice job. It has been painted ‘Sudan Blue’. which an unusual color that Buick had. That car has the modified drive train. I changed the third member over to a ‘54’ centruy with 3.41 : 1 It has kept the looking like factory stock. The guy who started the restoration bought a new 3.90 ring and pinion from Dave Tacheny some years back. Installed it in the coupe. I would say the ring and pinion has a max of 100miles on it. Anyway, e-mail me at oldbuickjim@gmail.com and we can chat

I know this set will fit ‘37’ and ‘38’ rear ends. I pulled it from my ‘37’ coupe. I changed mine over to a 3.41 third member from a ‘54’ century or roadmaster. This is a factory matched set (must be) for quiet operation. I know this has very low use - long story.

Yup, if you live in the south. And like driving your old car, AC becomes a real option. I have a 1938 3846 coupe. I live in the Tampa Florida and it gets warm. First issue is being stopped at traffic lights for the longest time. New cars can reject the heat. Mine would begine to over heat. Rewired a ‘pusher’ fan to help. I installed a A/C unit in my coupe. My friend who also has a coupe AND A/C showed me how he did his. It requires some moving of the radiator forward about 1-1/2” to 2” . Mounting the compressor was fairly easy. I have a single groove flywheel pulley that runs the water pump and generator. Adding a compressor was not a problem. I have lots of pix if you want to do it. You must convert to 12 volts. Vintage Air has all the parts needed. Their smallest exchanger works nice in my coupe. The next size up or bigger will cool the sedans. Details, details but it works and looks nice. I remain cool in the humid and warm summers here in Florida. Pix and questions answered gladly for such a great project .

Hi Jack, I have been a customer of Lloyds. He installed mine back in 2014. He had a machine shop in Circleville Oh. He had two guys who did his work. The main guy passed away a little over a year ago. Since then, his partner “Glen” was his ‘other machinist. I’ve got pix of Glen and his partner doing my system. Lloyd did not mind if I took pix. So I have a series of shots showing their work. I have been working with a new club member on a method to speed up the old cars back then. I told him of my OD system. Plus and minus. I just finished doing a rear end swap on my ‘37’ coupe.. Changing the third member and modifing the torque tube to fit. That swap is more expensive but easier to use. Looks like and drives like the original car. Anyway, Glen has picked up where Lloyd left off. My friend has delivered his 1938 torque tube with third member to Glen. Glen ssys he should have it completed in about three weeks. Glen has a ‘real’ job so he is a bit slower now. I hope Lloyds sister will let Glen get what ever parts he needs to continue with Lloyds work. Lloyds collection of very nice old cars will be a problem. I hope Lloyd had the titles signed before this. I’ve seen his collection and it is nice.

I now have a 3.90 ring and pinion set up for sale. Matched set (factory must ). Pulled it from my ‘37’ coupe. I replaced it with a ‘54’ third member (3.41 ratio) to give me a decent road car. I now can travel 65 mph at 2700 rpm. The 3.90 ratio will give you about 60 mph at 2700 rpm. Traffic would not let me go slow, so I swapped and modified the rear to let me keep up with traffic.

Where can you get the water temperature bulb that is in the head repaired?

Temp bulb repair - where and who ?

I need to repair the temp bulb in mine. Where and who ?

I have a broken temperature bulb. I remember that somewhere in the last month or so was an article on how and through whom i can get my bulb repaired.

Just a thought, when choosing the tire you want. The speed adjustment will enter the picture with the change in DIAMETER. The height is an issue. 0.5" in height makes a significant change in diameter i.e. revolutions per mile. It will make your speedometer change. May not be a big issue but if you are a geek like me, I use my GPS to get accurate speeds.. With my modern car I travel several states. I push the speed limits to just before the "ticket" gotcha. Different states have different top speeds posted. I have found that 10 over is a ticket, 9 over is to close so I use cruise control for 8 over. Smile as I run thru the ticket traps no sweat. My '38' with overdrive lets me travel +70 on the interstates (to keep from getting run over) and the engine loafs at 2600 rpm. I like my speed to be reasonably accurate. GPS for accurate miles traveled. I'm in the process of changing my rear end on my 37 coupe. 4.44 to 3.4 will change my speedometer a bunch. I have a fella close who does the speed change thru a little gearbox. My 38 with OD necessitate the unit. It gives me -2mph @ 55 mph. -1mph @ 60 . Zero at 65mph verified by GPS. The original Buick speedometers were reasonable but those days are gone. If they need money (No. Carolina on one trip) you need protection. Yah, yah -----

Bob’s has it for around $14.00. Steele had it , more expensive but in the mail today. They had it listed and show it to be two rubber washers - in effect. So i will be ready when i take mine apart. My service manual shows it but not with a lot of detail. I think this is correst.