Jim Nelson

When I removed my dash on my 35-58 Vicky, I spent time on my back ( ugh ) disconnectioning the oil line and temp gage. Both are a pain. Be prepared to drop the screws so have a sheet under you to catch them. I did the same on my gas tank. That disconnect from the tank was an 'interesting hook up.'. I ended up replacing the level unit (that is like newer sending units.). The one I got has both the sending unit and fuel outlet combined. I ran new metal lines from the tank to a point where I could hook them together. I also installed a 6 volt electric boost pump just in front of the tank to make very good starting. Also, provides an emergency fuel pump when you are out driving and the original pump fails - yes, been there, done that. Cheeper than a tow truck back home - - -. All my pre-war Buicks have had the boost pumps and I am glad I had them. A switch under the dash with a small light to show you its on is all you need. It also prevents 'vapor lock' in our southern climates (Tampa Fl.). Double check the wiring for the fuel gage. Grounding is very important. Clean and bright contact for a good gage operation. I have pix if you are interested.

Maik, I would consider using a '38' tranny. (bolts right up to the 37 and 38 engine.). Better syncho's and parts more available. I replaced my '35-50' series engine and cooling assembly, and installed a '38-40' series engine with a '38' 40 series tranny. That required more mod's to use it. `But' my '38-40 series engine was in great shape. Plus the 35-40 series engine matched up nicely. I had to make brackets to use the clutch and brake assembly but that was easy. Love the three window coupe body style. I am a coupe fan. My '1935' is a 2 door sedan - 'Vicky' body style but I'll put up with it. There were not many made and the economy had crashed in 1929, so that with WW II destroyed many. I feel lucky to find one in decent shape. In '35' the '58' model was only available from the factory in only two color options. First was Douglas Green and the only other was two colors. A brown for the fenders and a 'yellow-ish tan' color for the body. I got the two tone one. I would have loved the Douglas Green. Oh well. BTW, I made new brackets to use the original parking brake lever now attached to the '38-40' tranny. I found a guy in the New York area who had synchronizer's and gears for my '38' tranny. I think he is still around so if you need him, let me know as I have his address and e-mail for contact.

First, check and see if the 60 series and 80 and 90 are the same. I suspect - guess only - the oil pumps are the same. Then, get a 1936 and later 60 series pump. see if the length of the drive is the same. IE, match parts that you can see. I have a '36' service manual - do you ? It is possible that they are the same. - just an educated guess. I only have the 40 / 50 series engines. Now, if they look the same, carefully disassemble the parts. The biggest issue is getting the bottom plate ground down FLAT. Then the gears will determine the gap between the gears and bottom plate. I remember that the 37 /38 40 series had a tight fitting between the gear and the bottom cover. I think it was around 0.0005 and 0.001 to give you good oil pressure. That gap made the biggest change in final oil pressure even when the rod and mains were within tolerance. Loosness ie over 0.001 and 0.0015 makes the oil pump leak back into the pan before it gets up in the engine. See if some one like Kanter who has oil pump rebuilding kits. Those will give you the thickness like the original pumps but no guarantee. IF the pump is a china made part - lots of luck !!! Even if you can get a used pump of the later 320 engines, ( say 37, 38, 39 etc as they were all the same) I think you will be able to match and get it back for use. You are having to much fun. ! ! What oil are you using ? Our club now uses a Shell Rotella 4 15w40 DIESEL rated oil. That seems to be the best oil with the ZDDP we need for our flat tappet cams. Plus, Walmart sell it for a very reasonable price. Just my opinion and some one will correct me if necessary. I think all the newer 8 cylinder engines from 31 and newer had only two oil pump to take care of the 3 ( or 4) engine sizes created until the 37 and newer two main engines until 1953.

In todays world, buy him a simple cell phone. The inexpensive iPhone from Apple (my wife has one) is great. The learning curve is short and the local phone shop would answer and get him going. I even got my 84 yo buddy using 'facetalk'. It makes our world SOOOO much easier. ( don't let the phone shop try to up grade ). He and I now 'show' what we are talking about. JMHO ( ya, I'm just a kid - 79 - but I could not do my Buick issues with out the photo function). . My Buick friends are all over a hundred + miles away so questions can be hard to work with.

IMHO, brass fittings are sorta OK because of their construction and size. But the copper tubing is not the best choice. I used SS tubing because of its ability to handle temps and stress that copper will not. I used SS tubing in the pressure gas industry and would never pass inspection using copper. In my other world, copper is verboten. Domestic potable and waste water, low pressure liquids are acceptable but for our usage for oil pressure lines, the automobile industry went to steel for safety. Copper is to soft for most of the auto industry. The average guy will not realize that there is different copper tubing and might choose the one that is incorrect. There is soft copper (usually 'pure' ) and some versions where coper is much harder but it is easier to go with steel. Again, JMHO from another life. Do what you prefer !

you should be able to get steel tubing. try McMaster Carr for a starter. you will see engine oil pressures up to at least 60 psig and that is to much for copper. You can get reducers on those fittings by retapping larger and then using original size brass fittings or steel fittings. Not a big problem, just sourcing the fittings takes a bit more time. Using your computer to help search makes our world much easier.

For those who take the battery inside for the winter, bless you ! Removing the battery from my cars is a real pain. Under the floor is one issue but my '38' with it being up front by the engine is quite difficult for this old guy. I'm almost to old (79) to lift it up and over the front. So, using a 'tender' with a timer ( I've not done it that way yet) seems to be the best option. Florida does not let me test that option. When I lived 'up north' where it got below zero, I always put a 60 watt light along side my battery and a small cover to keep the heat. Then with a trickle charger, it seemed to be OK. Good conversation for the upcoming driving season and provides good options for our old car batteries.

Reded, Here is pix of my '35-58' trunk lid. The pix are all 90* out. The lid has the rubber gasket. It is a square foam rubber gasket that sticks to the trunk lid. With the foam rubber gasket 'stuck' to the lid, when you close the lid, the gasket is pressed over the vertical body trim to create a water proof seal. You can see the water catch opening to send the water into the drain opening. both of mine were plugged and I used a long drill bit to open it up. I did it with a VERY slow speed. I need to replace both 'rubber' drain tubes to get the water through the trunk area and down far enough away from the body so the wood frame does not get wet. It you want better pix of mine, I will e-mail bigger shots. You can then see how the rubber gasket touched the body vertical parts. You 'might' be able to see it in these pix. The gasket presses down with a fairly large amount of effort - as it try's to seal the lid. I am going to try lower the effort of the gasket interface as it keeps my trunk lid up enough that my latches don't work very well. It would be interesting to see an original gasket size. to see how much interference is created. Buick 35 is a friend of mine on the East coast on Florida. I've been over to see his. He's nicely fixing his up as he has kept it stock (mostly I think). Mine is a modified slightly '35-58. I'm a 12 volt guy and have changed my lighting because in our area, you NEED bright brake lights (separate issue/project) to keep from being rear-ended. Bummer as parts are very hard to find for repairs.

all these pix are not adjusted or up being up. these are not oriented . first one top is on right, second is the same, and third is the same. You can see how the lid has enough width to support the rubber gasket. So when the lid comes down the rubber presses on the 'body - raised section. Mine is quite snug. The left pix in this series needs to have the pox with the right edge being 'top. the same for the right pix. this is showing the drain holes.

here is mine ! more to follow

Well, the 34 and 35 were almost identical. My 35-58 is a two door trunk back version. the trunk has a square rubber gasket (?) rubber attached to the trunk lid. Buick had a trough running around the edges of the body trough. to capture the water and direct it to the drain tubes. on three sides. Then they put drain tubes to direct the water out of the trunk and direct it out the bottom. I bought a gasket from STEELE rubber gasket people. I installed it but I'm not sure its correct thickness wise. I have problems trying to close the lid because of the thickness of the rubber. The body has an vertical 'edge' that when the lid comes down - it presses center of the rubber on the body edge. I can take a few. pix and it will show you how mine works. . Oldbuickjim@gmail.com Do you have any pix of the windshield operating system. I have parts and maybe it might work but I'm not sure how its supposed to work.

Schumaker battery chargers are my choice. I have the 10 amp unit that automatically senses which voltage your battery is. I also have a 'schumaker trickle charger with a max rate of 1.5 amps. This unit has a switch on the front to select which battery you have. ( 6v or 12v). I also have a small (china ) 6v - 12 v , 1.5 amp charger from the company - 'Leicester' that senses what voltage you are using . It works on these systems : AGM, GEL, VRLA, SLA, WET and deep -cycle batteries. M/N EPA1020-0612. Bought it thru Amazon. ( around $20.00) Now I bought extra hook up cables to hook up the chargers to the battery when the cars have the batteries {UNDER THE SEATS}. ( my 1935 has it under the floor boards and my 1937 coupe has it under the seat. My '38' has it up front next to the engine). This let me hook the chargers to the battery without -grumble grumble taking the seats out etc. All I have is a cable that I attached to the battery directly and thevother end is kept under the seat so I can easily hook up the charger. The cable is polarizing so be sure that the cable coming from the charger it correct. The other end of the charging cable should be - neg - exposed and the pos is covered with some insulation to protect it. Now when you hook up the other cable - be sure it is correct to the battery is correct. For some reason I have 'assumed' the correct wire to each on the battery, ooops my bad as I'm fairly good electrically. Hmmmmm. Any way, each car is hooked up using the extra cable - one end matching the charger plug and the other with 'ring' ends to the battery . I keep my cars on trickle charging if I'm not driving them. I am in Florida so year round driving is nice. I get in, flip the ign. on, turn on the fuel boost pump for about 30 to 45 seconds to fill the carb, pump the gas 2-3 times and hit the starter. Good every time and my batteries are always at max. every time I drive.

Yup, the good weather brings out the best in us. You must be able to travel in safety (no spilling) now that we can. (if you can afford the gas now days). At least do a short jaunt within a few miles. We need to get things stirred up and keep the ole oil flowing. We souther guys can get on the road earlier than our chilly friends up north.

What a nice 38 Special. In the family usually keeps them in good shape. This one shows it was in good condition even tho it had not been run since '64'. I just sold my 38-46s coupe to reduce inventory. I still have my 35-58 Vicky that I'm getting streetable. It is in fairly good shape. Its been repainted many years ago - maybe 50 so, It will need help when I'm done. The 35-58 only came in two color schemes. Douglas Fur green (which I like). and Pony Brown (on fenders) with yazoo (yellowish body) . Mine is the two tone version. Here in Florida I prefer lighter colors. Black is a no-no. The sun would tear it up. He is a lucky fellow to get a 38 in that good a shape.

What I did with the adapters still lets me use the regular 5-1/2" b.c. wheels. You can go with 5" b.c. wheels on a 5-1/2" hub. Lots of possibilities - been down that road.

I think you might need to change to 5" bolt circle wheels. (with adapters). Then more 15" wheels will be available. Long story but I changed my hubs to a 5" b.c. for other reasons. Not obvious to any but the sharp eyed 1935-50 series owners. I don't show my cars - other than just for information, so not being super accurate is not critical at shows. I just enjoy driving my Buicks and answering questions about our neat 30's vintage cars. Just some history for the youngsters .

Well, lots of luck. Have you tried using Craigs list, E-Bay, or if nothing is available, you might just change to 16" Artillery wheels. BTW, the 50 series wheels are also becoming a rare item. I found a 34. 'Ford' 17" wire wheels set that matches my 35 'Buick' wheels. They were an option on my '35' Buick. so I put them on my '35-58' series Vicky. I know, its not stock (17" vs 16") to use them (35-50 series ) but very few people will know the difference. If your '36' is nice, enjoy driving it. ? And even try BCA Bugle in the back - 'wanted' section. Maybe Hemmings Motor monthly. Maybe - were Wire wheels an option on the 36 Buick. Again, it might be an option - non stock - but Buick nuts like me won't know if it was - in fact - a option on the '36'. There were many more 'Ford' wire wheels - that are out there, if you choose that option. Do the 60 series wheels from the '37' fit? Fewer option as we get older along with our nice Buicks.

I think the 50 series 1935 wheel has the same dimensions. your center hole is - I believe a 3.5" and a 5-1/2 " bolt circle. double check as I have a 35-50 series car and I think it matches what you need for your 1936 - 60 series. oldbuickjim@gmail.com e-mail me and we will check and verify. Buick had at least 3 sizes of wheels in '35'. 40 series, 5" bolt circle. 50 series, 5-1/2" bolt circle and 60 series, with a 6" bolt circle.

Contact Dave Tachney in Minn. . He is a great source of Buick parts. call him in the CTZ. 4:30 pm thru 7: pm. 1-763-427-3460. He is in Champlin, Mn. I've delt with him for over 8 years getting all I needed from him.

That was an amazing find. I'm a coupe guy as I have a 3846s so enjoy the rebuilf as the result will be a very nice car. What was the original color ?

Good choice !

If you have replaced the front mount and the tranny mount, you are putting the big load on the rear motor mounts. If they are not strong and picking up the load, you will stress the tranny mounts. JMHO, If you do mounts, you need to do all of them at the same time. The rear side mounts are quite hefty for the load they need to carry. In effects you have 5 separate mounts to hold the engine in place and absorb the vibrations.

My opinion is you have a clogged oil pick up screen. That would give you these symptoms. Drop the pan and don't be surprised to find it full of sludge . When was the last time you pulled your pan ? JMHO....

Good info. My 35-58 has the last of the wood framed bodies. My trunk has a 'hold -up' hinge thatvwas getting 'soft. I bought the minwax product to bring the woods ability to hold the screws to operate the hinge. So far I'm OK. But, if I need to go there, your suggestion is 'right on'. I was able to pull the body nails so I could rebuild the frame that supports the rubber 'gasket' to minimize the water leakage. I still need to rerun the rubber hose that directs the water away and out the bottom of the car. I was able to put the nails back.

here is a pix of Min-Wax , wood hardner... Interesting product.