Styria

If somebody is interested: Substitute for Stabilizer coupling rod bearing Buick 32-56S: Mercedes Benz W115 - need just little adaption. Giorgio

Hello from Austria. Two years later: The german "Pope" for straight eight engines worked for 156 hours! The engine had to be completely dismantled and repaired. The crankshaft bearings were damaged, cylinders, piston rings, main and connecting rod bearings, valve seats, valves, etc. The complete oil pump system was not working properly. Brackets of the cast manifold surfaces ground, gearbox dismantled, seals made (those from the US dealer do not fit), radiator flaps made passable, throttle valve part dismantled, the shaft was totally worn out, new bushings have to be installed, various oxidized parts have to be improved. Fuel pump with repair kit overhauled. The ignition was defective. The shaft with the gear did not match either. We had to make one. The engine has been assembled from parts from different years of construction. But now the engine parts match, work together and it is like new again. The carburetor was overhauled, which was not possible with the existing repair kits from the US dealer. Much was made by hand. The second carburetor that I bought extra from the US dealer is even in poorer condition and completely unusable. However, the carburetor still causes considerable difficulties. Personally, I'm fed up with that old Marvel tech! Continiously paying a lot of money and still haven't driven a single meter. - Does anyone know a way to use a modern carburetor on the 32 Buick? And if so, which one? - I also need stabilizer coupling rod bearing. What are you taking as a substitute? Thank you, Georg

Here are some fotos of the engine:

Dear community. The engine manufacturer has now disassembled and measured the engine right down to the last screw. The good news is that we could get him working again, but only with much effort. I will inform you about the individual work. But now a mystery that I ask you to solve. - The engine block is painted green - some parts of the head could have been black - Serial number is: 2922039 - Fireing order is that of a 1932, also measured on the camshaft - The carburetor is a 1932 according to Bob, but unrepairable. (I have to take a 1934, the only one I found.) - The distributor is a 663C Do we have a mix here from 1932 and 1934? How can this work regarding the fireing order? Many thanks for your help

Dear community. We have found the mistake. But it is not one mistake, it is a chain of very unprofessional work on engine, carburetor and ignition! - The carburetor is so botched that it's only worth getting a "new" one. - The ignition can be repaired, but I have already bought one from Bob. So I have one in reserve. - The main problem is the engine. Two weeks ago I brought the Buick to Bavaria to a 74-year-old expert, who is still working in his company, specialized exclusively in the rebuilding of engines before 1970. (British, US and German cars). He made a lot of theses straight eight engines. The engine timing is not right. We opened the front and valve cover of the engine and saw, that someone fumbled here several times, only ruining the screw heads. We do not get the settings at all, so the expert is convinced, that there is something wrong with the camshaft. The engine must have been exposed to the weather for a loner time with the valve cover open. Many parts are very rusty and even provided with pox scars. There is a crack in the block on the driver's side. In addition, the crankshaft has an enormous axial play. The engine is a 1934 with a 1932 carburator and a 663C distributor. Driving the car like this for as long as it seems, the valves and possibly other parts have been severely damaged. For this purpose, the engine is now completely disassembled and, if possible, completely rebuilt. (Somebody knows a good "new" one ;0) ) At the end of next week, I get a report after all parts are completely disassembled and measured. The estimated cost of this rebuild-job without spare parts is ~ 7000, - $, but we will see what else we will find. If it is possible to get the engine running again, due to the fact, that everything is disassemled at this time, we will make the clutch, check the transmission and steering, and give it a new stainless steel exhaust. If it is not possible, I will sell the car to some HotRod guy in Germany or the Netherlands! I hope for your support and advice, helping me find parts, that I can not find on the internet myself. Nice greetings from Austria, Georg

Dear community. Kompression an all 8 cylinders is: 5,2 to 5,3. Rotor and contacts in the distributor like new, no deposits. We are now changing the capacitor and if that does not help, remove the distributor. Maybe, that the contacts on the shaft for the ignition timing are worn out, and cylinder 4 & 6 comes that little moment too late. If that does not help, we've found a state-of-the-art distributor that fits the Buick. I don´t like new parts, but better than a useless car taking away space. If we find that bug, and we will find it, we´ll be discribing in detail, how to fix it for future Buick owner. Georg PS: This weekend the largest US-vintage car meeting in Austria and the neighbour countries takes place. I´m sorry, that I can not compete with the BUICK 56S. He would have won his class and maybe more...

Compression test was one of the first things, we did. Thanks Matt *we are restaurating (postwar) US-cars for more than 20 years.

Hello Mark. Thanks, but the previous owner removed the heat riser. We closed the hole to the carburator absolutely tight. There is a 1934 50-series engine in the car. Could it be, that there is a different firing orded to the 1932? THX, Georg

Dear Buick community. I bought a 1932-Buick 56S this summer. Unfortunately, the vehicle is far from good running. The exhaust gas values for nitrogen oxide show a value of 5,000, with a maximum allowed 600. This indicates incomplete combustion. As a result, the car has no performance. We do not even come on a trailer on our own. We renewed all ignition cables and spark plugs, set the ignition timing exactly and tested the distributor for wear. Everything like new, and therefor no improvement! It seems to us as if the cylinders 4 and 6 regularly expose again and again. Has anyone ever had such problems? Or does anyone have an idea what to do? Could this be due to a capacitor failure? Thank you, George

Hello Pete. THX for the information. I will report back, when the Buick arrived and we made a complete check. At the moment he´s in Panama.... Georg

Hello Bob. Thank you for this estimate. I wrote you an Email. Georg

Hello Robert. Many Thanks. I will contact you by email. Later, we can continue our conversation here, so that other Buick owners can share the experience. Giorgio

Hello to the Buick community on AACA from the beautiful country of Austria. To introduce myselfe: My name is Georg and I live in the heart of Europe, in the beautiful country of Austria. I'm a small collector of vintage American cars with a 1940's Harley Davidson WL(A), a 1943 Willys Overland MB with a 1944 Bantam T3 Trailer (I'm an expert in this field), a 1967 Mustang GT convertible and an Exotic, a Kawasaki LTD 440 of 1982 (which was my very first motorized vehicle). I've been looking for a classic car from the 30s for quite some time. However, buying and inspecting a car is a bit hard when you are 6,000 miles away. So you have to use opportunities, that friends live nearby, who can take over this job. That's why I stumbled upon Brian's 1932 Buick 56S in craigslist, as one of my buddies lives in Phoenix. Thus, this interesting piece of American history finds a new home in the country of Styria, Austria. It will have a good time here and I'm glad to have saved it from possible destruction by a Hotrod Shop. I'll keep you informed about his future story here on this forum. But now a few questions: - can anyone estimate how many 1932 56S still drive in the original condition on the road? (1905 were build) - I read here in the forum that the original color code was in green and black, with a gray interior? - are there any tips or hints that you can tell me? Thanks a lot and nice greetings, Georg