Str8-8-Dave

A word of caution for anyone working on a car old enough to use a King Seely Tele-Gage type gas gauge- you know the oil filled thermometer type- NEVER do anything to pressurize the tank, first thing that will happen is you will have oil dripping down the back side of your instrument panel that you just blew out of the gauge head...

This might work Ron; What year and series car is this unit from? Do you have or can you get any pictures of the linkages on the sides of the riser? Another clue is throttle shaft length- 6.75". See pictures below.

I'm looking for someone who has a burned out or broken heat riser for 1931 or 1932 Buick 60 series. Specifically, I need the throttle and cam link shaft assembly, the large screw and tension spring, the bearing ball that hides under the brass detent plate and the cam and free link from the warmup throttle lever at the other end of the throttle shaft. I have the heat control cam and damper link and throttle butterflies and screws. If you have a burned out or broken heat riser look first at the casting number, the ideal candidate is casting number 146-106. Then if your riser has the parts shown in the pictures and are willing to sell please message me or e-mail dkrugler@msn.com Thanks. This is a 1931 60 series riser casting #146-006. If you have one of these with this casting number that is burned out or broken but still has the linkage parts shown in the next pictures and are willing to sell either the entire assembly or just the linkage parts please contact me via PM or e-mail. The linkage parts in casting 146-106 will definitely work but if you have a different number casting that looks like this one there are other ways to check compatibility. Please contact me. The next 2 pictures show the cam link and throttle shaft assembly both removed from the heat riser and assembled. I also need the big screw, the spring under the screw and the bearing ball under the brass detent plate identified by the arrows. The next 2 pictures show the warmup throttle cam and free link that are operated by the throttle lever on the steering wheel hub.

Actually- no. I sold the boat in fall of 2014 to Brian Gagnon who was then president of the Antique Classic Boat Society (ACBS). Brian was interested in the boat because the demographics at ACBS were changing and membership was in decline. ACBS was originally aimed at wood boat fans who by that time were retiring from the hobby one way or another. Up to that point fiberglass boats had been pretty much denied recognition as classics and therefore a younger group of boating fans was being ignored and turned away. Chris Craft of course was one of the original wood boat manufacturers and having the Chris Craft name on a fiberglass boat undeniably tied the boat back to a well recognized boat builder and Brian used it to break the ice at ACBS and welcome the members of the future. He drove from NJ and picked the boat up on a Saturday and the following weekend splashed it at the ACBS Fall Boat Show at Skaneateles Lake NY. Pictures and article here- just scroll down past the headline page #12 Makes A Statement In Skaneateles NY | Classic Boats / Woody Boater

Boy- I've dodging around garages for years, is the garage long enough, is the door opening wide enough, is the door high enough? My dad's first Ford lease car was supposed to be a 1959 Edsel Corsair but the Edsel got cancelled so he got a red 1960 Ford Sunliner Convertible instead. Measured across the widest part of the body, the car was 60 inches wide across the tail fins. The cinder block garage my dad built had a 6ft wide door supposedly, the opening actually measured 62 inches. My dad parked that car in the garage a few times successfully, my mother- not so much, she scraped the stainless trim trying to back the car out one day, it never went in that garage again. It was big enough to accommodate the 1931 Buick 8-86 coupe my dad dragged home from a local watermelon farm. that was a great car! At the ripe old age of 12 I learned how to smoke my dad's cigarettes in that car... The garage door in my 24'x36' summer home in Garden, MI was too low... for the 20' 1965 Chris Craft fiberglass Sea Skiff I restored, hull #12 of only 80 fiberglass Sea Skiffs up to the late 1990's, the other 13,000 something were wood boats made in Algonac, MI. On the trailer with the dolly wheel all the way down the Chris was 95" tall so I had the contractor raise the header and the door from 80" to 96". Then, with the trim tabs disconnected from their cylinders and hanging down and with the boat turned on a slight angle the boat could be pushed back until the stern rub rail hit the back wall studs of the garage the door would close with anywhere from zero to 1 inch clearance to the door. Whew- that was close! My garage in Port Huron, MI is 24' x 36'. We decided we just had to have a 5th wheel camper so I bought a 2017 Ford F-350 Superduty pickup with the 6.7L diesel engine in it. I had to give up some features I wanted on the truck like push button start because you could only get that on a 4 door Crew Cab model which even with the 6-1/2' bed was too long. I wound up with a Supercab model with 6-1/2' box that was about 14" shorter than the Crew Cab. My dream was the trailer would lead to construction of a 40x60 pole barn at the summer place with 14' high doors- it never happened... This is one of 80 20ft Chris Craft Sea Skiffs built at the Cortland, NY Chris Craft Plant from late 1965 to 1967. these boats were Chris Crafts first experiment with fiberglass boat manufacturing. I was still courting my second wife when I restored the boat and this picture was taken in her garage where she let me not only work on the boat but tie up 2 bays while doing it! This picture was taken the day the boat was launched for the first time at the public launch ramp about 1 mile from the cottage. this was our waterfront in Garden Bay, a subset of Big Bay DeNoc, Lake Michigan. The boat was moored in front of our cottage during summer visits. The boat was powered by a Chris Craft converted Chevrolet 327 sporting solid lifters and Carter AFB carburetor. I was winterizing the boat with my home brew winterizing setup which consisted of this plastic tank which supplied anti-freeze to the raw water pump while the engine idled. This was a recirculating arrangement I dreamt up consisting of the tank you see here supplied with antifreeze from (next slide please)- this catch tank which catches antifreeze discharged from the exhaust and when the float level on that pedestal pump trips the float switch pumps the antifreeze back to the supply tank inside the boat in the previous picture... Here we have the 95" high boat being veeery carefully backed into the garage thru the 96" high garage door... Before the boat could be backed into place I had to disconnect the trim tab cylinders Then with the start rub rail against the wall studs... the trailer receiver misses the garage door by about that much... Safe and sound until next season... This is the 2017 Ford F-350 Supercab pickup with the 6-1/2 ft box in our garage in Port Huron...

That's a really nice looking car. Please update us as it progresses...

I found just the guy- click link to You-tube clip, press start, enjoy the show... https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=i+lift+things+up+and+put+them+down&cvid=a0dfa6d19c8a4b6ba139e708a1e2fe9d&aqs=edge.0.0l7.12584j0j1&pglt=171&PC=U531&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3di%2blift%2bthings%2bup%2band%2bput%2bthem%2bdown%26cvid%3da0dfa6d19c8a4b6ba139e708a1e2fe9d%26aqs%3dedge.0.0l7.12584j0j1%26pglt%3d171%26FORM%3dANNTA1%26PC%3dU531&view=detail&mmscn=vwrc&mid=1049D42D571161C8E8051049D42D571161C8E805&FORM=WRVORC

I have been bucking for a subject matter expert rating for 1931 Buick 8-66S rumble coupe seat back- my car had nothing for rumble seating parts when I started. I just completed a project to replicate the wood frame for the seat back spring that attaches the springs to the rumble lid. In 1931 there were 2 S-bent tabs made of steel bar at the top of the seat frame that tucked under steel plates like your LaSalle and then had 2 more flat tabs at the bottom of the wood frame that had countersunk holes for flat head wood screws to attach the bottom of the seat back frame to the rumble lid woodwork. As for the latches, many of these parts were used across GM carlines. I found exact duplicate latches for rumble lid and golf door at The Filling Station which specializes in early Chevy/GMC parts. The only obvious difference in the latches is the originals were chrome plated, and the ones I bought from The Filling Station are zinc plated. Attached is a screen print from their online catalog showing they have quite a selection of early latches. I would suggest calling them and sharing a picture if you have one and see if they can match it up. The Filling Station – Chevrolet & GMC Quality Reproduction Parts Below are the attaching strap brackets I made up for my 31 Buick 8-86S rumble coupe. These are copied from originals via pictures and measurements from my Buick pen-pal in Georgia... The wavy brackets slide into the slots you mentioned in your post at the top. The bottom a attachments are straight straps with countersunk holes for #10 flat head wood screws, 2 attach each strap to the bottom of the wood seat frame, 1 more drilled from the other side accepts a #10x1" flat head wood screw to attach the bottom of the seat assembly to the woodwork on the rumble lid. Here are the slots in the top of my rumble lid. This is the back of my new replica seat back frame. Wavy brackets at top, flat straps at bottom. The arrows show the bottom attachments spaced apart like the uppers. The red painted wood cross member the seat back screws to is part of the rumble lid woodwork. Pictures of my new seat back frame with springs attached test mounted on the rumble lid. Next stop for seat base and back is the upholstery shop. This is a screen shot from about page 5 or 6 of The Filling Station's parts catalog with listings for various rumble lid latches.

If there are just 3 cars there could be 3 caretakers who all are friends, a trust to put the 3 cars in that would address who gets what if something happens to any of the caretakers and stored in 3 separate facilities to avoid the hand grenade effect- one disaster gets them all. Lastly- insure the hell out of them. I would still vote for running and driving them to keep them healthy.

Oil is pretty stable, it's just that they keep on taking stuff out of it. If it smells bad or is known to cause cancer in laboratory rats that drink it, the EPA has removed it. A common wear additive that has been carefully removed is Zinc Dialkyl Dithio Phosphate which you may recognize comes in little bottles marked ZDDP. This additive leaves a wear resistant coating on high friction surfaces like flat tappet camshaft surfaces. I'm a firm believer in Sta-Bil for fuel preservation, all my shop fuel gets treated the day it comes in the door because I'm a forgetful old guy, I can never remember how many years ago I bought it. A small bottle of this stuff is probably good medicine for your modern oil, especially if your engine has non-roller flat tappet valve gear.

I say Ollie- Do you know why Brits drink warm beer? Why of course I do Stanley- It's because Lucas makes the refrigerators...

That's pretty unusual that they have something wrong with their website but certainly possible and I would expect they will make that right. I suspect the long lead time is because mufflers are ordered as required from a Canadian vendor. I said I had no problems with them ever but in my case the year/make was always 1931 Buick and for only 2 models, an 8-86 coupe over 50 years ago and the 8-66S I'm currently restoring. That said they always delivered what they said they would in the predicted time frame at a reasonable price and the parts fit like a glove. For the first car I had in 1970 I found Burton Waldron in Hemmings, called and ordered by phone, then a couple weeks later drove to Nottawa, MI to pick up my muffler and pipes. Burt was sitting in a chair in front of an old dirt floor garage with the central fixtures being a tube bending machine and racks of straight tube. The muffler was NOS coated in protective tar. I asked him where on earth he ever found a NOS muffler to give me and he pointed to an old barn toward the back of the property and said he had lots of mufflers in the barn... Burt is long gone and the business moved to modern facilities a couple miles up the road in Centreville. Anyhow- sorry you are having trouble sourcing parts for the Lincoln...

Waldron's Exhaust – Car exhaust, truck exhaust, exhaust pipes, mufflers (waldronexhaust.com) This shop I have used for over 50yrs with nary a problem. They are slow, they warn 8-12wks lead time right now, but they have factory prints for all kinds of pre-war cars and offer systems in aluminized steel or stainless. You can price your system on their website.

www.boltdepot.com is faster, cheaper with small quantities. They have fasteners in a variety of materials and head styles with pictures and specs so you know what you are getting.

I'll let you know as soon as I drive my car. So far I have the "work on it" half of the equation,

You have a drawing of this part I sent in the Engine drawings group, Plate-Flywheel Housing dated 11/9/29

I did a lengthy post in my Me and My Buick thread regarding rich running with my 31 60 series car and it's Marvel carburetor and the solution to it on my car was lowering the fuel level in the float bowl. If the fuel level is too high raw fuel spills over the top of the low speed nozzles rather than being drawn in under vacuum demand. Any other source of leakage past float valve, gasket washers under lo/medium/high fuel nozzles needs to be ruled out as well. On my car I found that the fuel level in the float bowl needed to be regulated to run 5/8" below the top of the bowl casting lip in order to keep the fuel level 1/16-1/6" below the low speed nozzles. That would be a quick and dirty check, if fuel level in the bowl is running higher than that either the float level is too high or the float valve is leaking. If the float valve is leaking and has a wear ridge it probably needs to be replaced. If it is just dirty clean with lacquer thinner and polish with Happich Simichrome chrome polish which will not take metal off but will get the varnish off. If the carburetor float level is too high, DO NOT try to bend the brass float arm, IT WIIL BREAK. Increase the thickness of the sealing washer under the float seat. If you are still running a cork float and it is the culprit see my post about making a float from Balsa model airplane lumber. Balsa has a slightly higher coefficient of buoyancy than pure cork. It can be sealed with Sig model airplane hot fuel proof dope. The siize of the base of the float can be adjusted to get proper float level by bonding thin layers of balsa to it to lower fuel level in the bowl, just be careful to not let it drag on the float bowl walls and don't make it any thicker than necessary to prevent fuel starvation at high speed running. Base plate of carburetor with bowl still attached to expose fuel nozzle array. Shortest- lo speed, tallest- hi speed. Top of low speed nozzle measured 9/16" below top of bowl liip. Each nozzle has a fiber washer gasket under it. If ANY of them leak you have uncontrolled fuel leaking into the fuel air mixture resulting in rich idle. I scribed a line 5/8" below the bowl lip to set fuel level 1/16" below top of lo speed nozzle. A 95 yr old original float made of pure virgin cork. You can't buy pure virgin cork any more, you get regrind cork that has been glued and it WILL NOT FLOAT. But you can buy 1 inch thick balsa lumber from hobby stores that WILL float, is easy to cut and shape with a benchtop scroll saw and belt sander to make a dimensionally identical copy of the original float. Sig is a standard brand of hot fuel proof clear model airplane dope that is a very effective sealer to prevent the balsa from becoming fuel logged. I put the last coat on mine after it was assembled to make sure it is totally sealed. DO NOT bend the brass float arm. Bottom of balsa float. On the car running at idle for a float level check. I found on first run the fuel level was still too high. I added a 1/8" piece of balsa sheet, sanded to shape and re-sealed and that made a dramatic difference in idle mixture, no more sooty tail pipe. The other effective way to deal with float level is to add or remove thickness to the sealing washer under the float seat.

I think you are right.

I would add make sure the bolts are long enough use ALL the available threads in the cylinder block without bottoming. If they bottom on un-machined iron in the cylinder block you risk cracking. If you use a bolt too short to make maximum use of threads in the block you risk stripping block threads. The original bolts were not grade 8 for sure and were not torqued to values used for modern bolts and block material. Studs might be a safer way to go because you can screw a stud to just reach the bottom of the block threads with less risk of being short or cracking.

Some McLaughlin Buicks were flat heads using the Oldsmobile engine. If your car has a flat head engine it won't share any engine parts with Flint cars which were exclusively flat heads.

For flat glass I had great luck with the vendor below, online catalog, has every piece of glass for my 31 Buick, all factory pattern cut. The Glass Man - Custom Auto Glass for Vintage Vehicles (classicflatglass.com)

This is one place where new technology is vastly superior to the old way. For years I religiously stored batteries disconnected and trickle charged with a conventional charger. Batteries lasted for a few years that way. The Optima battery is an Absorbed Glass Matt sealed battery that is much more durable than a conventional lead acid, for one thing the electrolyte doesn't boil off into the atmosphere. The lead acid non-sealed battery that came with my 12 year old Kubota side by side ATV is original and was used to start the beast a half dozen times over the summer when we were at the cottage, then left unattended on the battery tender for 7 months over winter. That battery still starts the diesel Kubota beast with a vengeance. I have added a few ounces of distilled water to it exactly once. The battery in my 31 Buick is a NAPA commercial truck battery that is conventional wet acid and it is now 4 years old and the only time it isn't on the battery tender is when the car is run for a half hour or so several times in the summer when weather is warm enough to circulate the 15W40 oil in it's belly. I keep checking and so far have never topped it up. Battery Tenders are far superior to conventional chargers because the Battery Tender constantly cycles the battery besides charging it and only charges when it detects the battery has fallen below ideal float voltage. It is a "smart charger". Conventional trickle chargers do not measure battery voltage at all and if forgotten can overcharge a battery and eventually destroy it. For the most part they are also cheaper than a good trickle charger. I have bought several Deltran Battery Tenders on E-bay, 12 volt versions for around $35-40, I bought one 6 volt battery tender for the Buick and it was around $25. The 12 volt versions come with a hardshell connecter with connectible alligator clips and a pigtail harness that can be permanently installed on a battery.

I assume the 2 screws and cover are bezel screws on the tail lamp? Once those are removed the bezel should slide off the tail lamp shell with a little alternate pulling from side to side with your fingernails on the edge of the bezel. If stuck try spraying all around the joint between the bezel and the tail lamp shell with WD40 and wait a few minutes and try again. Don't wedge a screwdriver or other tools into the joint, it's all brass and it will break. Power for tail lights comes from the current limit relay under the dash to the headlight switch on the bottom of the steering gear under the hood. The stop lamp circuit passes thru a stop lamp switch mounted on the frame on the left side of the car and is operated by a rod and bell crank off the main brake shaft that runs across the chassis of the car. The only fuses you will find are fuses someone added, the current limit relay constitutes the only circuit protection on a production wired car. Harness connector plugs are hidden in the tubular brackets the tail light shells are mounted on and are known troublemakers. If you get the bezels off and determine there is no voltage available at the bulb contacts you should remove the tail light shells from the brackets and disconnect the hard shell connecters and clean the contacts and make sure the springs in the connecters are healthy enough to push connecter terminals against corresponding terminals in the tail light shell.

Boat hardware outlets call them finishing washers. Auveco calls them flush type washers. I've also heard them called cup washers. The #6 oval head screws that attach the garnish moldings to woodwork around the windows of my 31 Buick 8-66S uses them and they were missing on my car. The moldings are out for wood graining now, when they come back I will use the washers seen here.

The database is divided into 2 sections, a commercial section and a consumer section. The link I sent has a list of approved websites where the consumer database can be accessed.