40-Torpedo

1927 Buick Sedan in mid restoration. I have had the Buick for several years now and progress is just not going forward. Need to move out of my collection for more space. Runs and Drives - new brakes and suspension refurbished. Steering column gears replaced, new wiring harness, etc....I have nearly all the parts to complete the restoration (short on some of the pot metal window cranks that have broken, top cover, seat upholstery covers - have all the seat frames and springs, etc...). Carb flip performed, but I have the original Marvel that was rebuilt and all the parts necessary to convert it back if you wish. Comes with spare set of: - Front Axle with wheels (wood spokes in excellent condition) - Rear Axles with wheels (wood spokes in excellent condition) - (2) Engine cores - Transmission - Generator, Starter, Water Pump - Gaskets, bolts, bulbs, etc... Car originally came from Eastern Washington, was parked in a barn when the pot metal distributor broke in 1950. Purchased by my friend in 1970 from the original owner and sat in his shop and then mine since. I got it running and driving a couple years ago. Put it around the property when I get bored. It needs a good home willing to take it the final step. Im only asking $2500. I can not take trades. The title was lost by the second owner who has since passed away. Will provide notarized bill of sale. Vehicle located in Cheahalis, Washington. You must take the vehicle and all the spare parts. I am not willing to part it out.

Interesting is the fact the owner lived in Big Sandy MT - which have have visited many times - its not that big at all! One of the best small towns left in America.

Its possible - but the thing looks factory with the hot rivets and all.

Thanks for the information Hugh - The 1928 engine was simply the availability, location and price for a runner. I'm so very thankful that I also bought the front and rear axles, wheels and assemblies form the seller (he converted the drive-train to more modern running gear so he could drive his 1928 to shows and go faster than 50 mph) as these little inconsistencies - including the hand brake! Would have made the project nearly impossible.

This poor old thing just keeps kicking me in the teeth at every turn it seems. The latest problem is the upper water neck. I have 3 motors in total. One is the 1927 that came out of the car that is seized up and another is a "mystery" motor that has broken motor ears, downdraft intake modified from the updraft and is also seized up. The 1928 motor that I got was pulled from a runner. After mocking up the radiator to get the adjusted height for the front motor mount I discovered this oddity. The two motors I have on the shop floor have the "round" water neck and the 1928 motor has a "flat" style water neck. Not having the original water neck from the flat one I found that I can modify the lower water outlet by drilling out the mounting holes. My questions is why was this done? Do I have a "foreign" block and head as there are so many irregularities and differences between my original 1927 motor and the transplanted 1928 runner??? (so far - luckily I have been able to over come these irregular parts)

Thanks Don - this is interesting. Your front motor crossmember is C channel and mine is round tube. After mocking up the mud guard and the radiator this is the amount of shim that I needed in the end... The transmission hits the floorboards and I cant get the boot ring over the transmission this is very frustrating...

I could not even get the mud guard in place as the snout was too low. I will mock it up this weekend to check. Radiator needs to go in next before I fire it up regardless. Thanks again

So the bolts line up (when using the 1927 nose mount) - the issue is that the motor when bolted to the crossmember at the front drops about 10 degrees. This would cause the fuel for the rear cylinders to have to run uphill. In addition the transmission was hitting the floorboards along with pulling on the e-brake. When I added a 1 1/2" piece of metal (which does not look good at all) to jack the front up was the location when the motor sat level - the shifter (could not go all the way into 1st or 3rd gear as it hit the dash) and the e-brake worked. If anyone has an image of a post 1927 front crossmember I would greatly appreciate it so I can compare.

I'm wondering if anyone has a photo of a 1928 front motor mount (ring coupler with two bolts that attaches to the snout of the motor) and the crossmember. I am putting a 1928 motor into my 1927 and I am running across some quirks. It seems that possibly the crossmemebr of the 1928 Buick was more flat than that of the 1927 model (both the 28' and my 1927 are Standard Motors) as when I installed it I had to use the 1927 coupler but also the motor was taking a nose dive as my crossmember droops in the center. In order to get the motor to sit properly I had to place a 1 1/2" piece of steel to bring it up to the proper level.

Perfect - thank you Kevin and Hugh - I had not even considered going to a trailer supply co.

Running into a sang on my restoration of my 1927 Buick. Both front leaf spring bolts (at the front of the frame) with the grease fittings are broken (looks like the previous owner tried to remove them and snapped off the end) Bobs does not carry them for this year. I was wondering if there is a "easy" fix to use the bolts from some other manufacturer?? Thanks in advance

If you remove a thermostat - it also serves as a restriction which is needed for proper heat transfer. In all the race cars that have the thermostat removed, a restrictor is installed (usually just a fender washer) to slow the rate of flow so that proper heat transfer can occur. Just a thing to consider when removing a thermostat....

I've already done several posts on the PreWar Buick Forum - lots of great help there!

That was also a deciding factor of restoring rather than cutting her up. The wood is absolutely solid with no flex at all to the body. The only damage to the wood is in the frame for the front seat where three pieces of wood have become loose due to the failure of a screw and in the door hinges. The second owner drilled out the loose screws and epoxied plugs into the wood. Both the seat and the hinge area are a simple fix. She has only 20k on the odometer and she came from Eastern Washington which is the Arizona of the Pacific NW. Seventy eight years of dry storage is what saved it.

Thats what I thought - thanks!