valk

I know you're tired of hearing from me but here it goes...once again my initial diagnosis was bogus. Tried the above and found both switches are good. Problem was/is in the short carb-to-carb linkage. It wasn't allowing the front carb to fully engage. Back on track now and waiting for my hands to thaw before starting her up. Owning an old car is truly a humbling experience. Thanks for hanging in with me.

Car bid to $15k and did not make the reserve. No surprise there....

Just removed both switchs (didn't know it was so easy), cleaned them up and reinstalled the front switch. Still no dice. I jumped the terminals and she fired. I then removed the switch and looked down the switch cavity and observed the ball in the bottom while activating the throttle and there was no movement. For the switch to work, something has to push the ball, which in turn pushes the contacts so they align and make a complete circuit but, again, nothing is pushing the ball when the gas pedal is depressed. Nothing happens in the switch cylinder when the throttle is engaged. I'm going to try the other switch to test this theory - the other switch will most likely not work either since nothing is pushing the contacts to align. So I think both switches work fine. My problem is in the carb itself. The other option is to swap carbs so my working start circuit is in the front but it bugs me I can't get the switch to work. As always, I could be full of it but this is what I've observed. Your ideas are most welcome.

Thanks again Lawrence and Tom for helping me out. I'll try removing the switch and cleaning the contacts. If that doesn't work, I'll swap switches and take it from there. I'm so damn close...until some thing else pops up... Peter

Thanks Neil. I agree it's very weird the switch would work one day and not the next. I'll fiddle with it today and swap carbs if I can't get the front switch to work. I'm on my own here...

Not sure what you mean. Car was beautiful, part of a collection of cool cars, and owned by some filthy rich landowner. Only thing different was the speedo was in kilometers.

FFFuuuuudge. Ignition on, pedal depressed, no juice to the starter. So I moved the wires from the front carb switch to the rear carb switch and she engaged so I guess the switch on the front carb, the one I just got, is bad. Of course, it worked last week when I stuck it on but not now. Which is easier, rotating the carbs I just put on or swapping out the starter switches?? And on my birthday too....and its snowing like hell here...should have stayed in bed.

BaT lots will tell you if it's a no reserve auction. This one no doubt has a reserve so will go unsold most likely. You're right, true classics do not do well here but occationally one slips through. A year ago, a very nice 1940 Pontiac Torpedo coupe with a straight 8 from Brazil sold with no reserve at around $12,000.

Great car seemingly going for a ridiculousely low price... https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1923-buick-series-23-model-6-45-phaeton/ Peter

Ok I'll give it a go tommorrow. Everything is hooked back up, pre-flight check list completed and she's ready to fire up. I rigged a choke heat tube from a section of brake line that probably works but ultimately I want to come up with a more elegant solution. I also still have to "alter" the air cleaner slightly so it seats properly on the back carb. I'll get back to ya....can't thank you guys enough for your help.

Thanks so much Lawrence. The range of my acceleration pedal is cut in half when I install the rod which might work but sure feels different. I'll try extending the ends again and give it a try. Otherwise I like your idea of cutting it in half, threading the ends and installing a spacer of some kind if I have to. Wonder if the linkage arm on your carbs are slightly different than mine. The other rod has been cut, tapped and works great.

I cannot find any linkage rods over 24 inches long. If the Summit Racing rod doesn't work, I may have to fashion my own linkage rod by using 1/4 aluminum stock and either threading the ends and using different hardware (if I can find it), or drill/tapping holes in the ends and using the Summit Racing hardware. The Summit Racing rod may work as it has for others, but , again, the accelerator pedal has to be pushed down some to make it work. I'd rather not do that if I can avoid it.

I am a little worried about the length of the longer rod. As I said, I've maxed out the rod length and still need to push the accelerator pedal down about an inch to make it work. I might look for a longer rod and cut it to fit. Folks have said it is 33' long which isn't even close. Might be 26'' but that''s it. Everything else is going as planned..

My linkage rods came today so I've been fiddling with them. You guys were right in that the long rod is barely long enough to work. I maxed out the rod's adjustable length and I still have to move the accelerator linkage about an inch to make it work. Hope that's ok...Matt, I noticed on your front carb that you mounted both rods on the outside of the carb linkage. I was going to mount one rod on the outside, and the other on the inside as it seems to line up better that way. Am I off base??

Very cool. Thanks Tom and Matt, I'll get me one of those. I sync my Honda Valkyrie carbs, all 6 of them, with an octopus-like vacuum gauge...

Here's a pic of my just painted intake. Now on to installing the carbs... I'm still curious whether or not the idle screws on each carb should be turned out the same amount. Jon's method suggests they should be...

Wow. Thanks Jon. This will go into my reference "library". Thanks so much for your thoughtful response. Peter

Thanks much Lawrence. I laid this all out in the hopes some one more experienced than I would weigh in. I'll go over it again using the conventional method you and Tom recommend. In my weak defense, I drive the car around at various speeds/RPMs between pulling the plugs and tweaking the idle screws - not just at idle - and she runs great, so I must be close. Maybe I just lucked out! I'm puzzled about one thing, though. Using the method you describe, the 2 idle screws on each carb will more than likely end up in different positions since they are adjusted independently. So the 2 idle screws on each carb don't have to be synced, ie., turned out the same amount? Thanks man - nothin' like going back to school... Peter

I really like the non-invasive mounting bracket on your switch - mine has 2 holes you can barely see in the pic so requires drilling. Sorry I wasn't clear, I'm going to chrome the tail light housing which is a bit pitted. I painted the switch housing grey to match the steering column. My dilema is that the light comes with a body mounting bracket, not bumper or splash pan, which will be cool if I can make it work. The location of Cadillac tail light housings differ from Buicks, however, which is why I can't just slap it on. I think it will work but it will take some cajonas to drill into the body. Here's a pic of the Cadillac set-up I'm trying to replicate.

Hi Tom, I've done it that way too but I find it takes a lot of movement of the idle screws for the engine to respond one way or another, or for me to detect it anyway, and therefore hard to get a precise setting. I start where you suggest but have had better results running the engine and then looking at the plugs to determine if its rich or lean, and then adjust both screws in or out the same amount, clean the plugs and check again until I get a light dusting around the rim. Front carb idle screws effect the front 4 cylinders while adjusting the rear carb idle screws effects the rear 4 cylinders. I may, of course, be full of it but this is what I have observed and it has worked well for me. Yea, I guess the sooty crud is normal. It definitly clears up but I have to mop up my garage floor on every cold start! Peter

Hi Neil, I'm going to use a similar switch for my rear backup light when I get around to installing it. It's actually a rear light and switch from a '41 Cadillac and also illuminates. I'm going to rechrome the housing and paint the"B" first. Did you drill mounting holes in the turned dash panel or the unfinished panel further underneath the dash? I think my switch will need a mounting block of some sort to lower it. Otherwise it is too far up and under the dash where you can hardly see it. Great job on the switch, really looks good.

Sure looks the same. The car may go a little faster with the over-priced Harley stuff but, hey, I'll give the scouring pads a shot...looks like I'll need a few....thanks Matt.

Just to clarify, I installed the 533S as the main carb on the original set up (in tandem with the secondary carb). Haven't tried both main carbs together yet...

Yea, that attempt doesn't look great. I guess I'll keep using the oil bath. This stuff seems to be right for the job: https://www.ebay.com/i/143229530208?rt=nc&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20160908110712%26meid%3D878387d68b654134914903d3c4a60acc%26pid%3D100677%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D30%26sd%3D302526570421%26itm%3D143229530208%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2386202 Peter

Thanks boys. Got a brass 1/8 plug at the store today, works great. I installed Tom's 533S (above) on my car just to see how it worked and she fired right up and ran great! I used the same setting as on my carb, idle screws a little short of 1 full turn out, and I can't ask for a better result. On to the linkage... As pont35cpe pointed out some time ago, the round choke housings on Carter 320 main carbs (both 490S and 533S) foul the air cleaner preventing it from seating properly on the carb throats. The factory solution was to "dent" the main carb air cleaner wing to accomodate the housing, which can be seen on all 320 air cleaners on the main carb side. Long story short, I need to put a similar "dent" on the secondary-carb side of the air cleaner so it sits squarely on the second main carb. I think this is an issue unique to Carter 320 main carbs. Unrelated (I think), my car belches an inordinant amount of sooty condensation at initial start up when cold. It clears up fast and I certainly expect some condensation, but this appears to be a lot of water to me. Is this normal for these engines? Thanks, Peter