John R. Hess

Update....after searching for the correct pick-up tube and having no success (apparently there are a LOT of one inch tubes out there but no 2.5 inch tubes) I purchased a complete 1951 oil pump which would have needed a rebuild and we removed the bottom plate and swapped it to my newly rebuilt pump and it fit like a glove. The plate was in excellent condition and only needed cleaning. the pump was installed in the car and upon fire-up, it archived 60 lbs of pressure on the dash gauge. Even after driving it a bit when the oil got hot, it was around 30 or 40 lbs, which is WAY better than the 12-15 lbs I had at the beginning of this project. While the car was there, we did an inspection on important stuff, like brakes and steering. 3 wheel cylinders were starting to leak and the master cylinder was all rusty. The rubber hose at the rear looked like is was ready to go (all cracked) and some of the steel tubing was rusty. So, in addition to having good oil pressure, I can safely say the car will now stop as well as it can go! Thanks to everyone who helped and/or offered sage advice! John

Hi EmTee Yes, the sump will fit into either pickup. That's a good idea and I certainly will keep it in mind as a look for the correct piece from one or two more sources. Not sure I know anyone locally that could handle the job, though. Thanks! John

Hi Matthew Yes I did call Dave and talked with him again yesterday. He checked his stock and unfortunately, he did not have anything I could use. He did not have an oil pump on hand. He was very helpful & knowledgeable and a real nice guy to talk to. Thanks for recommending him!

Hi again everyone Back again with yet another issue. Thanks to the help of a forum member, I found a new pickup tube although I discovered the tubes came in at least two different lengths. So far, the only ones I've found have been the "short" (1.5 inch tall) to replace my "Long" (2.5 inch tall) one. Question: So far I have not been able to find the 2.5" pickup tube like my car had. I have found quite a few short (1.5") tubes. If this is all I can find, will using a short one present any kind of problems with picking up oil with the sump being approx. 1 inch higher in the pan? Does anyone out there have any experience with this? Thanks John Hess

Hi Leif, that sounds great! I'll send you a PM.

Hi Leif That would be supergreat! Thanks much. Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks! John

Hi again The saga continues with my low oil pressure on our '41 Super. After pulling the pan we found out that someone had neglected to remove what appeared to be a shop rag before reassembly. This story was told in a previous post. While the pan was off and the oil pump removed, we decided to rebuild it. It was sent to EGGE in California. While in transit after being rebuilt, it was damaged and arrived broken. EGGE had done a less-than-stellar job of packing it and Fed Ex did the rest! I will say that EGGE did refund the total cost of the rebuild but did not have the piece I needed to make it functional. The rebuilt pump is all intact with the exception of the piece that the oil sump hooks onto. Below is a photo of what I'm explaining. What I am hoping for is to find a replacement piece that goes between the bottom plate and the sump. However, if anyone has an entire oil pump with this piece included (a worn out pump would be great) I would certainly be happy with that. If you can help either with the part or have any idea where to direct me to in order to find such, I sure would appreciate it. Right now, the car has gone from really low oil pressure to zero oil pressure! Thanks for any help! John Hess

Hi Ben I haven't seen the screen with the cover off. Don't know if it's been taken apart yet. I will say the oil pump has been disassembled and it is very clean and nice looking inside. A tiny bit of wear on the bottom plate. The Haines Shoe House, shown with the car, was build in 1948 in suburban York, Pa. It was built by the owner of a shoe factory and a regional chain of shoe stores. The story can be found on google. I thought it was a good place for a picture. Only 3 miles from our house. Nice '50!

I am tending to thinking about something left in the oil pan. We did remove the valve cover and everything in there looked good. The bottom of the engine looks clean and "rag free". I do believe the remnants were all collected on the oil input screen. I never heard of valve silencers and I suppose anything could be possible but I have to agree that adjusting the valves would be a better solution!

OK. We now know the truth. We removed the oil pan and what was revealed was one of those "you're not going to believe this" events. Attached are pictures of what we found as a picture is worth a thousand words. The first picture is when the pan was removed and the oil intake screen was still in the motor. Second photo is the oil intake screen on the bench. What is hanging from the screen is what appears to be some sort of fabric, much like shredded cheese cloth! Where this came from is ANYBODY'S guess. My mechanic though that someone may have left a piece of rag in the engine. It appears to be in the oil pan only, no where else in the engine. I'm sure I know the answer to this but did Buick ever use a cloth based item in a filter or gasket or something like that? Fortunately, the pieces are too large to go through the internal engine tubing and the tubing to the oil filter. As clogged as the screen is, my mechanic said it was a miracle the engine had ANY oil pressure! Once everything is cleaned up, he suggested we replace the oil pump while it's apart, since the existing pump exhibits some wear. Now the question is: should we go with a new pump or rebuild the existing one? What do you guys think? As far as new, does anybody have any experience with this and can anyone recommend who to buy from (or perhaps who NOT to buy from)? Same with a rebuild kit. Many have asked about a picture of the car. That is attached, too. Thanks John Hess

First, thanks to all who have replied so far. The information is very helpful. To answer 37 Roadmaster's questions: The motor is the original motor to the car, 1941. A previous owner (2 before me) told me the motor was overhauled but they did not replace the oil pump, as it appeared to be fine. I'm not so sure this was a good idea. The oil pressure NEVER goes above 35 lbs cold, when the motor is good and warmed up (normal operating water temp) the pressure never exceeds 15 lbs. At idle, it'll go to almost zero but quickly comes back up to 15lbs. when the revs go up. This low pressure was verified with a known to be working external gauge. In the next week or two, my guy is ready to pull the pan and see what's in there. I have the car about 2 years and it never had the pressure the manual calls for. Last driving season I noticed how low it gets. I have to be honest that I can't say what it was 2 years ago as I don't constantly watch the gauge when driving. But it never went over 35 lbs since I've had it. The book says 45 lbs. The thing that scares me is the low, warmed-up pressure at idle. Definitely below 5 lbs.

Hi everyone We're getting ready to investigate a low oil pressure problem on my '41 Super. In case the problem is the oil pump, can anyone recommend a source for a replacement oil pump or would it be preferable to rebuild the existing pump. If so, any recommendations for a rebuild kit? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. John Hess Pennsylvania

They are plastic, probably that soybean-based plastic.

Hi everyone, We have been plagued with dim tail lights and rear turn signals, which we feel is unsafe. The correct bulbs are in the sockets and the grounds have been tested as good. The first thing I have done is to dissemble the tail light assemblies in order to replace the red outer lenses. My concern is that the inner "focusing lenses" appear to be darkening in varying degrees, possibly restricting the light output (see photo). Does anybody know if these internal lenses should be clear or near-clear. For comparison in the photo there is a reproduction front focusing lens. All the rear ones are much darker in various degrees than the front reproduction. Does anyone know if there are new reproduction internal lenses for the rear. There are two on each side.

Hi again everyone As I make small improvements to our '41 Super, the latest thing is to replace the cloudy front turn signal/parking light lenses. That part was extremely easy. The issue I have now is that the internal "focusing lenses", item "I" (condensing lens) in the 1941 master parts book was broken off perhaps decades ago. Looking at the replacement lenses I received, there is no way I can figure out how these install inside the lamp housing. They appear to screw in somehow, but there are no visible screw heads inside the lamp housing. Has anyone replaced the focusing/condenser lens on these? Both sides are broken off. I assume they are of some importance or they wouldn't have been there originally. Thanks in advance for any help on this. John Hess