Roger7

should have, its in already. oil pressure was good, so it will have to do, for now...

thanks alot for the reply. was just about to put it back togethor. decided since all the gunk was pressed into the bottom of the screen, and there was nothing in the pipe fitting, then oil was being sucked up thru the screen only. Plus the oil pressure hasnt been bad...i appreciate the confirmation that its kind of a loose fit. i did take pictures and tried a video but its going back togethor now either way.. hopefully no leaks...

hey, have a question about the pickup screen on straight-8 1939. doin oil pan gasket, ready to re-assemble, but concerned about fit of oil pump screen tube in pump inlet. i know it should rotate freely, but there is alot of play, in and out and side to side. doesnt seem like it would maintain suction. is this normal? is a sealing washer missing? or is it just very worn? would appreciate any advice, thanks- roger7

thanks for the help, jvelde, i'll give it a try

Hello, here's a dumb question. how to remove the switch from dash, got one screw out then hoped outer ring in front would unscrew.. ok, that and the bigger question, when headlights are on battery goes to discharge after a bit. new generator/reg, good cables.. this is a 6-volt system, and has sealed beams. electronic ign has been added also. anyway, headlight switch- you have to push it to the side to get taillights to work, im told. thats what we're up to for now thanks for any neighborly advice... Roger7

thanks pont35cpe and joel for the insights. it does sound like the set screw may be binding,(maybe loose or worn?) should be able to see if king pin is trying to turn i think. sounds like removing it to work on may be next step. not sure how thats done but will figure it out when i see it again( its a close friend's car). btw, its only the lower fitting that won't take grease; and is causing some steering quirks. well, if it does need replacing, sounds alot more do-able now+ i get to buy a new tool! should be checking it out again in a few days +i'll let you know how that goes. thanks for the help--- Roger7

Hey everyone- we have a '39 buick with a problem in the driver-.side kingpin. Its not loose but has a "hard spot" where it doesnt turn easily. this is with tie-rod detached. Also, it won't take grease. one mechanic who worked on it, put heat on it and tried a bunch of stuff, and its still the same. I read in an old post that the grease can turn hard as a rock, which is what i thought it was. we have tried getting some penetrating type stuff in there with grease fitting removed, and so far, no luck but may take time. also read some old posts that seem to say that replacing the kingpin involves pressing in new bushings and reaming them to fit kingpin? do they make anything thats like pre-fit? hoping we can free up old one since its not loose. any advice is appreciated! - Roger7

I hear you on the ground strap. usually isnt paid attention to enough. the car has a nice braided one +good connection at block. Not sure what a Lucas light switch is, there is a tailight arrangement, that works but not original, installed by someone else. directional lever on column, upper outer lights for directionals and running lights, lower aftermarket prob, wired as brake lights. Body ground would probably help, generator was chkd and ok i i was told.(just told on phone there has been a problem with the switch-original- i'll check it next time.. the car blows blackish smoke on start-up, (and some blue) and leaves wet residue, seems to be better now, and less since last time i saw it. smoke went away for most part after warm-up. got a valve guide question but should prob should post it separately, not sure. compression was not too hot couple weeks ago, but needed +got oil change. my guage is kinda old so still haven't double checked it on another car, but reading was pretty much 70ish couple 65. know thats low, but better check guage. car has good power and Joe's happy driving it, just want to get it as good as it could be and put off the major work till later on. i'll check back later- everybody have a good day!

thanks for the replies. was 3/4 thru elec ignition stuff when we got your post. decided to finish up+ see how she ran. Good! took a test run, starting easier, maybe more power. Joe the owner was aware of recommendation for carbon fiber wires, but the supplier he got them from said basically it didnt make a difference. we'll probably change them over and also will be getting the alternator, which he was thinking of because of light dimming sometimes under certain conditions-definitely getting that. didnt get the jumper cable on yet- thats in addition to regular ground strap? we'll be at it again soon to check valve adjustment, gasket( looking closely looks like someone overtightened the 2 cover nuts) having a problem with one of the kingpins also- i'll post another thread. carb looked good,choke functioning properly. strong believer in-if it aint broke dont fix it. may need some adjustments, but in mean time he can drive it a bit and see how it is. I shall return with updates- appreciate the good info, cars this old are a little new to me..

thanks carbking for the info, i'll have to look into getting T109-113. The link you provided is very helpful and a little easier to get a handle on whats involved. We're planning on putting in electronic ignition (replacing points, wires and cap) which may help burn fuel more cleanly. i'll check fuel pump pressure, but just guessing it seems it would have to be too high to make it run rich, but maybe not, or maybe it is too high. will also check choke not sticking etc. i think i'd need more than an afternoon to do it properly, take alot of good pictures and be systematic about what parts go where. hopefully ignition work will improve performance and i can avoid carb rebuild. One other thing we're doing is replacing valve cover gasket which is leaking. strange though because it was replaced recently. does anyone know how tight (torque) the 2 nuts that hold valve cover should be? its possible cover is slighly warped and i may need to use a little gasket sealer of some kind to keep it from leaking. Well thanks for the tips, and we'll see what tomorrow brings...

Hey-thinking of rebuilding carter 419s for '39 Special, has anyone done that? i've re-built carbs before, and most of them worked good later, but, going thru the manual it seems fairly complex. "special" tools listed, lots of adjustments w/ special adjusting guages...etc. this is my friends buick and he's coming up tomorrow to do a few things on it and maybe rebuilding the carb, i dont have the kit right in front of me, so might seem easier looking at the kit and instructions. Any tips or advice would be appreciated. the car's running rich at this point. thanks for any help..