Str8-8-Dave

I was very sorry to hear of the car/motorcycle accident that is the subject of this thread. Either the motorcycle that hit the Model A was very heavy or it was going very fast. In either case the outcome was tragic. I rode motorcycles for over 50yrs and managed to not get killed. That's a miracle because in my early days of motorcycling I lacked understanding of how dangerous it is to be on 2 wheels with no passenger restraint systems and no protective structure around. I actually learned to ride at the age of 15 by sneaking my brother's brand new 1966 Yamaha Catalina 250 road bike out of the garage which was a target of opportunity because I got out of middle school across the street from home 2hrs before anyone else was going to be home and my brother always left the keys for the Yamaha laying on a table in his room. I started by just learning to get it on and off the center stand, it outweighed me by a couple hundred pounds. Then I learned to start it, followed by learning how to use the clutch and first gear in the driveway followed by riding helmet-less around the 25 mph residential streets of our sub at too high speeds and finally out on the main highways in shorts, no helmet, no eye protection, no gloves. I was actually building my first motorcycle by adding a 5hp Lauson lawnmower engine to a Schwinn Stingray bicycle. One day my brother came home from his co-op job at the Ford Livonia Transmission and Chassis plant to ride his new motorcycle. When he nearly burned his hands on the hot engine of the Yamaha that arrived back in the garage after my last joy ride 5 minutes before he got home he quietly neglected to leave the keys home anymore. Work progressed on the home made cycle and I took it on it's first test ride in the subdivision. I was doing probably 30mph when I got to the end of the street across from the lady raking leaves on the boulevard and made 2 discoveries, A- the Schwinn needed some kind of brakes and B- it didn't like to turn on short notice at speed. I wound up making part of my turn in the lady's driveway and managed to get back to the garage without killing anyone. Later I got caught by the local police riding the contraption without a license but by that time it had brakes and they were so impressed they told me to ride it home and get an assembler's title, add lights, horn and mirror and license it which I did to my father's horror. He was a Ford engineering manager and Ford was on a huge vehicle safety crusade. He knew he couldn't talk me out of motorcycles by that point but was bound and determined to get me on something with more robust safety equipment than offered by a 50mph home-built on bicycle tires, so for Christmas I got a 1966 Yamaha Trail 80, my first real motorcycle. In 50yrs I fell off 4 times without serious injury, once trying to ride my new Yamaha on glare iced winter roads on knobby tires just yards from our driveway, once as a passenger on another Yamaha trail 80 in a wet asphalt parking lot, again on my bike when at wide open throttle on the 51 tooth trail gear when it hooked a piece of concrete re-rod anchored in a concrete boulder in the ground at the local waste transfer site (very scary- ever stop a model airplane engine by throwing a rag into the propeller- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYIPP) I exited over the handle bars at 40mph and when I came to the Yamaha was standing upright hooked by the foot peg cross bar on the re-rod, and once on first ride after having new tires installed on a Honda VFR750F road bike I restored when I tried to beat the traffic light and leaned it over to make a right turn and wound up on the ground in the intersection still hanging onto the right handlebar where I clicked the kill switch, then winding up looking straight into the grill of a 1970 Buick Gran Sport that was following me around to corner. Thank god he was watching or I would have been a new menu item at the local roadkill cafe! I later read a Cycle World article on the plane on company business that the mold release agent used in manufacture of motorcycle tires was very slippery and dangerous until the tires were run for an hour at speed and resultant heating to burn the stuff off. If I had know that I would have stopped for the yellow traffic light, saved the drama and about $1000. worth of Honda fiberglass full fairing parts, rubber hand grip, shift lever, brake levers and a muffler can. After the first 3 of these incidents I became quite interested in rider safety which included the best full coverage helmet I could buy, good leather or kevlar jackets and pants, heavy boots and kevlar gloves which were all employed regardless of how hot the weather. I reasoned that if I imagined all that stuff was hot on 90degree days it would have been nothing compared to how hot a coworker's shoulder was after he went down on a Honda Goldwing i sold him at 80mph on wet asphalt in the Poconos riding in a T-shirt. He came to work for a month that summer with his exposed shoulder looking like a pizza pie and having to report to the UofM Burn Center every couple of days to have his wounds debreeded and painted with Betadine disinfectant. The motorcycles were all equipped with the loudest Fiamm horns, Bosch or Cibie quartz halogen headlights, daytime running lights and light horns. All had excellent wet brake performance save for the Honda Goldwing which had stainless solid rotor disc brakes that were totally lost once wet for a good distance until they dried off. My BMW's had the best predictable wet pavement brakes, combining drum brakes and drilled rotor iron disc brakes that lost nothing in performance or predictability in wet going. But the most important safety feature, the one that more often saved my bacon contained the following ingredients. A. Driver condition: NEVER drink alcohol within 24hrs of riding a motorcycle. Don't ride tired, sleepy or while taking medicines that may reduce your reaction times. B. Vehicle condition: CHECK all safety equipment on the motorcycle and the stuff you wear on your body for proper operation, lights, turn signals, mirrors, brakes, chain tension and tire condition and pressures on the bike, helmet, clean face plate, jacket and pants, boots and gloves for proper fit and condition. A tire pressure gauge and a good rain suit were always on board. C. Most important and applicable to this thread- driver skills/technique/attitude: I ALWAYS rode like I was a ghost in traffic and no one knew I was there. I always rode in the part of the lane that made me most visible to other vehicles, left side of right lane where my headlight was in the outside rear view mirror of the car in front of me and tail light was visible to car behind, center of center lane, headlight in inside rear view mirror of car in front, not a good lane to stay in because cars in other lanes can't see you, right side of passing lane where headlight was in the outside rear view mirror of the car in front. Never pass on the right. Never change lanes or make a turn without checking all mirrors and looking over your shoulder. Never tailgate, the guy in front of you is about to avoid a tire carcass or an old muffler by centering it up and rolling right over it, you can't see it until it's too late to avoid because you took the time to anticipate away from your self by tailgating and you are riding in the part of the lane that is obstructed- bang you just hit a muffler... Never avoid traffic by passing between lanes or on the shoulder You can really make time on the shoulder when traffic is stopped until someone opens a door in front of you.. Never ride side by side with another vehicle especially hanging around the back of a semi trailer. Never ride at much higher speed than surrounding traffic- the absolute speed won't kill you but differential speed combined with a car suddenly entering your lane WILL kill you. Always have an open planned escape route. This is really hard and most dangerous when sitting in a left turn lane waiting for traffic and a light to make a left turn, hard to have an escape route and a great place to get rear ended- watch your mirrors and the traffic in front of you. ASSUME NOTHING: As soon as you trust another to look out for you you are gonna get hurt. I finally quit riding at age 68 because I sustained a belly hernia reaching over the vertical fuel tank profile to a set of low clip-on handlebars while riding a fabulously fun to ride Ducati 996 Superbike due to the fact I was overweight. Tearing a stomach muscle is a painful and continuous reminder that it was time to hang up my helmet. Slowing reaction times and loss of mobility and stamina were other considerations along with a wife who is scared to death of motorcycles. The survival skills I learned on motorcycles is not lost on cars. My wife is always impressed at my clever maneuvers that have avoided serious accidents by anticipating them, a couple of times when approaching traffic was obviously moving too fast approaching a curve on an icy road and many times spotting deer far enough down the road to get stopped safely. My eyes are always moving and I still always try to have a place to go if someone else makes a dangerous move. I never pull out to pass or make a left turn without looking in the mirrors and turning my head to look... This was my first real motorcycle after my dad discovered I was hooked. He thought this to be a bit safer than the Schwinn Stingray I made into a "motorcycle" of sorts by adding a 5hp Lauson lawnmower motor, caliper brakes, horn, mirrors and battery operated lights. After all that it still had tiny spokes, tube bicycle tires and no suspension whatever... This is a Yamaha Catalina 250 like the one my brother had and that I learned to ride on by borrowing the keys he left at home to joy ride it. He finally caught me because the engine was still hot when he came home early one day from his summer co-op job at Ford to ride it. I had just wheeled it back into the garage and got in the house before he arrived. When the water cooled opposed cylinder Honda Gold Wing came out in 1975 I just had to have one. I discovered while it had water cooling, was very smooth, quiet and powerful the heavy exhaust pipes near the foot controls radiated a lot of heat, it didn't handle particularly well, was heavy and those stainless front brake rotors wouldn't even slow the bike down for awhile if wet. In 1977 I bought my second BMW motorcycle, an R100S which turned out to be my all time favorite. It weighed 456lbs with 6.5 gallons of gas on board, got 50mpg at 70mph except in fierce headwinds, had 126mph top end, great lights and horns, great riding comfort with the little bikini fairing and with it's low CG and great all weather brakes was very confidence inspiring... Leather was always hot in summer heat. The Aerostich riding suit pictured here was a bit cooler, had lots of light reflecting panels to improve visibility to other drivers and provided neck to ankle coverage. Boots, gloves and the best helmet I could find rounded out my safety apparel. This is a Honda VFR750F like the one I was riding when I had an unfortunate incident trying to beat a yellow traffic light by making a fast right turn when it went down in a heap leaving me on the pavement staring into the grill of a Buick that was following me around the corner. I was fortunate enough not to be run over but all that plastic stuff was in pieces and turned into and expensive lesson on cutting corners on new tires wet with mold release agent... These are the last 2 motorcycles out of some 35 I owned just before I quit riding. The one on the left is a BMW R1100S which was a pretty good long range road bike I could climb on and ride 400 miles to the cottage and the Ducati 996 Superbike which was a 90degree V-twin with Desmodromic valve train and a 160mph top end. It was the most challenging and rewarding motorcycle I ever rode. When I quit I had a bigger wardrobe of riding apparel than I ever had business attire. That's me behind the counter sporting my other helmet. That same garage stall is now home for the 1931 Buick 8-66S I get my thrills from today...

It was the first year for the inline overhead valve 8, Buick went from all 6 cylinder models in 1930 to 3 overhead valve straight 8's, 50 series was 77hp 221 cu in 1bbl, single plate clutch initially with open driveshaft, non-synchro trans, later in 1931 went to torque tube and synchromesh trans, 60 series was 90hp 272 cu in 2bbl with single plate clutch, torque tube drive and synchromesh trans from job1, 80/90 series was 104hp 348 cu in 2bbl with dual disc clutch, torque tube drive and synchromesh trans. A very few early engine builds were done with bronze cam bearings which had failures and were 100% replaced with poured babbit bearings that were successful. The bodies of the 1931 cars were mostly carryover and the new engines were cast with thinner yet very robust cylinder castings because they had to package 2 more cylinders in the same engine bays previously occupied by 6-cylinder engines. These cars were subjected to brutal testing at the GM proving grounds with lots of wide-open throttle running before they were released for sale. While many improvements were made over the years keep in mind Buick offered straight 8's thru the 1953 model year so was the initial design sound- yes. Did early models have problems- not many. They quickly earned a reputation for reliability. Buick was credited with saving GM during the worst of automotive manufacturing times, they were introduced and survived during the great depression and helped GM weather transitions in and out of WWII. Many other marques faded from existence including withing GM and both then (Dort, REO, LaSalle and almost Cadillac) and now (Oldsmobile, Pontiac) but Buick remained.

Gracias senor...

I bought a beautiful pair of restored 1931 Michigan license plates for my 1931 Buick project car. I'm looking for someone who makes or sells plain chrome steel or stainless steel or chrome plated or natural aluminum 4 hole frames to fit plates that measure 5-1/2" tall x 11-1/2" wide with 5" x 7-1/2" hole centers. Any ideas?

I bought a beautiful pair of restored 1931 Michigan license plates for my 1931 Buick project car. I'm looking for someone who makes or sells plain chrome steel or stainless steel or chrome plated or natural aluminum 4 hole frames to fit plates that measure 5-1/2" tall x 11-1/2" wide with 5" x 7-1/2" hole centers. Any ideas?

That fits Henry Ford I's MO. He did odd things at Ford, like the time he went to inspect the progress of a building that was to be the power plant for the Ford engineering laboratory built in 1923 on Oakwood Blvd. in Dearborn, MI. At the time they were laying the foundation for a massive chimney. Ford asked- what the heck that was and the workmen explained what it was. Ford asked why it was being built on the ground inside the plant and they explained chimneys, especially that chimney were quite heavy and required a good sturdy foundation which was always built on the ground. Ford told them "Not around here they aren't, get that chimney on the roof!" And so they did after building an iron pillar foundation which led to a platform the chimney was built on, on the roof... My great grandfather took my grandfather to the building site of the Ford mansion under construction in St. Clair Shores, MI when my grandfather was a young lad. Henry I happened to be there inspecting that job and came over and greeted and talked to my great grandfather. After a bit he asked my grandfather if he had a set of toy blocks at home to which my grandfather said no. Henry I pulled a carpenter off that job and had him saw up some blocks for my grandfather to take home...

One more idea and I will leave you alone... Scrape the grease away then spray the perimeter of the cover joint to the cylinder block with penetrating oil and let it set for a few days while you are working on the Chevy. You will probably still have to get brave and put a wood block against the side of it and hit it with a hammer to pop it loose. That shouldn't be much risk of breaking it, just don't hit it with a hammer directly.

Dave- You said you removed the bolts at the ball connection flange and pried it back far enough to see part of the u-joint. The u-joint has a yoke with the drive spline that slides onto the output shaft of the trans. Hoist the car by the frame. Then if you have the bolts out of the ball flange once you get brake rods off, saddle bolts off the axle attachment to the springs let the car down until the tires just contact the floor and lay a couple strips of masking tape on the floor next to the tires to help guide the axle back in later, remove the rear spring shackles and let the springs down. Now you should be able to roll the axle back enough to get the input yoke to drop off the trans output shaft, the yoke on the u-joint will just slide off the splines of the trans output shaft. If you can roll the axle back just far enough to get the torque tube flange out of the cross member that would be ideal but you may have to raise the car just a bit to get the axle to clear the gas tank and tail pipe. If you can't roll the axle back far enough to get the torque tube flange be very careful not to raise the car fare enough to get the torque tube in a bind on the cross member flanges. If you just can't get the torque tube out of the cross member you can remove the lower half of the cross member by unbolting it from the upper. In any event don't try to just roll the axle back from the rear, push it back by the front of the torque tube so you can guide the flange on the end of the tube thru the cross member without hanging it up. Finally once the torque tube is clear of the cross member you can lift the car and roll the axle and torque tube out.

Not wanting to be bearer of bad news, and you probably know this but to service any of the culprits the axle and torque tube have to come out. If it was just the U-joint you could avoid pulling the trans but if it's the clutch the trans has to come out too... Let us know what you find out...

Hi Dave; The fact that the clutch chattered when the driveline failed would lead me to think you have a clutch failure. There is a big cast iron inspection cover that you can remove fairly easily that will expose the flywheel and clutch. If I'm right there may be loose parts in the cover when you remove it, springs most likely. If you decide to look into the trans to see what is happening there you will have to remove the shifter AND the cover behind it on the top of the trans I believe, removing the shifter only won't let you see into the trans. If you get that cover off I would think the trans will be in neutral and if that's the case you should be able to stop one rear wheel and turn the other. If it is smooth and quiet the u-joint is probably ok. 80/90 trans drawing, if you look at the shifter it is outside the gearcase and just engages 2 shift forks that slide in the cover behind the shifter. You won't see gear movement without removing both. I would start by removing this flywheel cover. If you have loose parts here that's probably end of story, it's a clutch/pressure plate failure... If you don't find the problem in the bell housing and decide to remove the shifter and trans cover make sure you start by putting the trans in neutral, then remove the shifter lifting it straight up, then remove the cover behind it also being careful to lift straight up. That will leave the trans in neutral letting you test the u-joint by turning one rear wheel while holding the other.

This is thrown out just as a possibility. Bore scopes are pretty cheap these days, you might consider putting a bore scope in the water jacket if possible, either thru the thermostat opening in the head or if this engine still uses a water jacket cover you might get a peek inside thru one of the cover bolt holes without removing manifolds. An engine with mud half way up the outside of the cylinders inside the water jacket won't cool well even with a brand new radiator. Just a thought. If it is full of md and has a water jacket cover take the manifolds or whatever is in the way off, get the cover off and clean the mud out around the cylinders and put it back together. That coupled with a radiator flush will work miracles with the temp gauge...

Matt wins $10... Ad was pulled, disappeared right out of my watch list and is not available in current listings.

Another vote for Rotella 15-W-40. I use it in my 31 60 series car. I will say the starter complains when the weather gets cooler but I usually fog with Sta-Bil fogging oil about that time and let it simmer on the battery tender until spring.

Did my 1931 Buick temp gauge as well...

I spotted this on my daily visit to E-Bay where I regularly query on 1931 Buick. This car looks fabulous and they must be intent on selling it as there is no reserve price. https://www.ebay.com/itm/224507115894?hash=item3445aab976:g:fBsAAOSwTJRg0iU~

This is a great story and proves the theory that where there is hardship there is also opportunity. Thanks for sharing Steve....

For sure if it's that badly munged up a new head casting is in order. Edinmass' idea gets the nod in this case. I offered the plug/bushing as a less expensive way to save the casting and this method is useful in many cases but not this one...

Or don't weld it at all. Install an oversize steel threaded plug then drill and tap for the proper size original bolt or stud. Drill the existing hole out to nearest tap size and tap it. Install a piece of threaded rod or bolt to plug the hole and finish it flush with the machined manifold surface. Use high strength Loc-Tite or stake to prevent the plug from moving during the next step. Drill and tap the plug to accept the original manifold bolt or stud. I repair lots of stuff this way and never have a problem.

I spotted this 39 model 46S on Ebay the other day. I think it is a really snazzy 2dr coupe... https://www.ebay.com/itm/393393768066?hash=item5b98188682:g:yIcAAOSwhKpgx0Jm

Do you know why Brits drink warm beer??? Lucas makes the refrigerators....

Interestingly Ford did a HVAC package on their full size cars where the blower was trapped behind the wheel liner. Apparently the dealers had to service a few of them and figured out exactly what size and where to cut a hole in the liner to get the blower motor out without tearing the right front side of the car apart. Later lines appeared on the inner fender and a patch was released to cover the hole after it was cut...

Fitting a higher power blower may also be a dangerous move. Your blower speeds are controlled by a resistor mounted on the evaporator case that are calibrated for the current load of the design intent blower motor. Wiring and switches, along with the resistor all will work harder if a higher performance motor that draws more than design current. I vote for getting the cover off the evaporator case and cleaning that out first. You might save yourself some work by either finding or creating an upstream inspection opening in the case before committing to taking half the car apart to get the evap case apart. Even a 1/2" hole and a bore scope might work, you just have to make sure you are upstream of the evaporator core which will be on the blower side. The blower resistor will also be upstream and removing it would make an ideal inspection access. Just don't run the blower with the resistor out of the case or you will fry it. It relies on cooling from the blower.

So there is a little company in Argentina called Pur Sang. The build 100% accurate replicas of early European racing machines, Bugatti Type 35, Alfa Romeo Monza, Fiat Botafogo. They are not allowed under Argentinian law to import anything, they have to make everything including the tires. This is offered only as inspiration. Reproducing early cars is an art form in my opinion and I'm a little jealous of those with age and skill on their side that can create an old car out of nothing... https://pursangargentina.com/

1931 Buick 8-66S, Trippe Jr's purchased from Steve Moskowitz

I'm restoring the small brother of this car, a 31 model 8-66S and just wanted to say Midman has been a huge help in my restoration effort. The drawings he happily supplied were invaluable and he sold me a few parts at great prices as well. Recently He told me he would soon list his 8-96S for sale to pursue other car and motorcycle interests. I inquired about the legendary big box of drawings not knowing he had donated them to the AACA library which I think is the fitting place for these to reside. But he did keep electronic copies of the drawings and offered to send them to me on a thumb drive which I very gratefully accepted. The drawings are mostly chassis and powertrain related and in many cases 80/90 series specific but some drawings such as the electrical drawings have other models tabulated on the drawings. I don't want to get into the business of loading thumb drives and mailing them back and forth but if someone needs a drawing and wants to PM me their E-mail address I will see if I have the drawing and if so send it. The other AACA forum member that has been really helpful with my car is Dave39MD who has an unrestored, unmolested example of the same model car I am working on. I have asked him to take pictures of details of his original car to shape my approach to restoring parts of my car that I know required him to crawl under the dash or or lay on the floor to get the pictures. He has never turned me down and I can't thank him enough for that. Dave...