1940Super

We both learned something 🙂. What car do you have? Btw as for the different lengths of the drag link springs I tested the springs by applying wieght and measuring the travel distance. Converting the measurements of the springs to a percentage they were very close. I added the difference of length to the spring stop by welding on some more round steel. Then tightened up plug in the rod until the stops bottomed out and backed off the specified 3 to 3.5 turns. Only difference being the plug sticks out about a 1/4 inch before that there was plenty of thread to allow that.

My apologies I was just stating what it was and I was confused as to what you were getting at. Maybe other models/makes you do keep it dry but the 1940 manual states: "When inspecting or replacing front wheel bearings, it should be determined that the inner race is free to revolve on the steering knuckle. Polishing steering knuckle and applying bearing lubricant will afford clearance and prevent rust forming between race and knuckle. The bearing inner races are designed to creep on knuckles in order to afford a constantly changing load contact" I dont have any experience in old cars apart from this 1940 Buick so if I read something in the manual i just assume its standard practice for other cars of the era but I have been learning Buick tended to do alot of things differently from other manufacturers

That is wheel bearing grease on the front steering knuckle

Sorted the spring problem in the draglink and reassembled. Also cleaned brakes, painted and reassembled. Only had to buy new springs as old once were a little stretched.

Yes you do. You have to remove the torque tube to pull the propeller shaft off the pinion gear spline

Perhaps this overheating issue was more a problem for the larger engines?

Before and after photos.

I've had the screws holding the backing plate to the pump leak before but seeing as you replaced the pump with a new one that shouldn't be the problem. Another problem area with 1940 buicks noted in a 1940 service bulletin is the inlet of the water pump having no shoulder at the end of the casting where the hose connects onto. I found the neck of the casting that sits above the thermostat housing very corroded to the point where it was a very uneven surface due to leaks over a very long time so I decided to follow the same instructions used in the service bulletin for the water pump inlet and file it round and create a small shoulder. From the photos it looks your neck is in a similar condition but I doubt it is what your leaking problem is as you would easily see it leaking from that spot. I found the bypass hose can be tricky getting clamped up tight because there is minimal clamping area.

I did start to remove it months ago but only got as far as this. Not sure where I put the parts either.

I could take some but my headliner is still there. I will be removing the antenna to replace the rubber pads

Used a hydraulic pipe bender to bend the rod straight again.

None of the books I have specify the size of the spring though someone told me from a parts book they have it should be 1 & 1/16 by 1 & 9/64 which is even shorter then the short spring. My workshop manual states tightening up the plug solid then back off 3 to 3.5 turns but the engineering info for manufacturing book I have states backing off 2 to 2.5 turns. Seats seem okay, 2nd from left has some indentation. Pitman arm ball stud in top right photo has minimal wear. The other connecting arm ball stud had alot more wear circled in red. However I knew someone that had a nos replacement so I bought that from them.

http://www.oldbuickparts.com/product_info.php?cPath=35_64_180&products_id=3614 You can buy new drums for $115 Do you have the owners manual or the shop manual? The shop manual is what you want for servicing It's not a difficult task to remove axles, just more of a pain because you have to remove diff cover and replace gasket

If greasing the bearings then yes axles need to come out but brakes can be removed with axles in place

I took my shoe assembly off without removing the axles, i remember it took alot of jiggling but they came out eventually. Thanks for the tip about bleeding the stop light.

The bolts are carriage/coach bolts the fit into slots in the frame so only 1 spanner is needed to unloosen nuts

The brake linkage to pedal is removed by taking out a cotter pin. Then as you say disconnect main brake line and the undo the 2 nuts from frame bolts and it's off. Pretty straight forward I imagine you have already done it

Steering box is back together and painted. Took apart the drag link. Found a first spring broken. I found a spring from a 1938-40 RHD steering linkage but it is a fraction smaller in diameter and just over a 1/4 longer. Should I try and find the same size spring or could I use the longer one with the adjusting plug moved further back? Also there is a bend in my tube which I assumed was normal because there is no obvious damage but I I've been told it's ment to be straight. I'll have to work out how to bed it straight again without flattening the tube

Skip Boyer does them

Haven't had a chance to make any more progress on the car but I did solve one issue with the rear shocks. I thought it was odd that the arm on the right shock was longer then the arm on the left and it would put the shock link on an angle. The appearance of the shocks was exactly the same but i did notice the model number didn't match up to what was used on the 40 Buick. It's a 2105t which when I looked it up came off a 1950-51 Oldsmobile. I guess the person had the car before me thought it was a close enough swap. The arm on the Oldsmobile shock is nearly a full inch longer. I assume it had been previously rebuilt as there is welding of the arm to the spline. It seems that most shock re builders do this and the only reason why i could see welding would be necessary is if the spline was stripped, otherwise I don't see why they would do it. I was going to leave the Olds shock in place but then I noticed the seal started leaking so I thought i'll source another shock. I found one on US ebay and had it shipped straight to Apple Hydraulics, in a couple of days they rebuilt it and shipped it to me. It worked out to be the same price then if I had of used the last known shock re builder in this country. Anyway i'm very pleased with Apples work, glad to see they didn't put any welding on the arm. I had used a retired local to do the fronts and I was very pleased with the end result, next time I would get them all done by Apple.

I ended up sanding a small amount off the outside diameter to the new bushes to get them started in housing then pressed them in. Another 40 Super owner told me he had floating bushes and said they are supposed to even wear (I'm not sure he ment by that). He pressed in tighter bushes after rebuilding his too.

Steering column parts all cleaned and ready for reassembly and paint The turn signal lever has a stripped thread. After going over it with a die it does screw back in to a tight position but comes loose again as soon as the mechanism is operated. Is this a common problem? I want to clean out all the dust too, looks like it could be tricky to put back together if pulled apart so will probably just blow air through it

Just curious to how you removed the eccentric sleeve? I had to make a little tool to pull it out. Did you tap your new bushes in or use a press?