olebug

Thanks Mark, will give it a try.

Got a few miles on the road now, running well. Only new problem is minor rear axle oil leak. Changing oil in differential may take care of it. Exhaust heat blanking is on the agenda. Charley

Finally got it going. Brief update - Removed float needle seat, there was rubber gasket between seat and float bowl. Replaced gasket and seat and float works fine. Rebuilt original electric fuel pump and found it had cracked metal diaphragm. Replaced with Airtex 1 to 4 psi pump. Regulator set at 2 1/2 no problem. Filter upstream of pump and the original Detroit filter downstream. Vacuum tank intact for future project. Car hadn't move since 2008, everything works, poorly but it works. Charley

Next problem is how to safely flush electric fuel pump. Ideas? Charley

Probably was running a little lean. Charley

Installed inline filter between fuel pump and carburetor, but really haven't run engine yet. However, this car has an electric fuel booster pump that looks like it was factory installed. Just crawled under to check it out and found some kind of a filter/strainer on the pump inlet. Will check it out and while I'm at flush the pump. Vacuum tank is bypassed. Backfiring is in the carburetor, I think it's probably starving. Charley

Back on the Dodge. Installed carburetor and got it running intermittently. Got a lot of backfiring then it would run for short period of time and then die. Cleaning fuel system and started on ignition system. Charley

Buick up and running. Brake problem was wrong linkage adjustment on back brakes, was adjusted for long wheel base. Reset & rechecked everything else and got brakes. Charley

Ray: One more picture.

Ray: Left side engine pictures. Couldn't see any numbers on carburetor fuel bowl. Engine does have mechanical fuel pump that has been disconnected and replaced with electric pump. Was this the main pump or a booster to a vacuum canister? If it was the main pump is there any reason that it can't be rebuilt? Were they a problem? Mechanical pump would eliminate a lot of joints, hoses and pressure regulator. How to identify engine displacement? Went for road test today. Car ran well @ 35-40 mph. Idle rough but tolerable. Still have brake issues. Started out with hard pedal 2 1/2 from floor as required. After half dozen stops, pedal was down to about an inch from floor. Charley   

I think the last oooooooomph may cause an overstress Charley

Ray : About the wheels, they are 20 inch with 7x20 tires, lug nuts take 3/4 inch socket. Trying to find max torque on lug nuts to trueup one wheel. Checking with torque wrench, existing torque is about 20 ft lbs. Car is a 70's home built roadster from three car bodies & various other parts on a 116” wheelbase. Am in the process of determining which engine I have. Picture & carb info to follow. Charley

Spent most of the winter replacing brake lines etc. on my old VW. (Didn't I just do that 20 years ago?) Finally got the Buick into a garage with some heat. Went through the brake system cleaning & lubing all the clevis joints and setting up the linkages “by the book”. Looks much better & pulling each wheel with a fish scale shows pretty equal loads. Overhauled carburetor. Thanks Hugh for the rebuild procedure. Thoroughly cleaned everything and did some rework on the venturi. Float worked so was resealed with POR-15 All was going fine until I tried to do the shop set up on the air valve. With air valve screw flush with the end of the ratchet spring, there was a load holding the valve shut. Discovered that the spring looks the same as the one in your procedure except it is 2 inches long not 1-1/2. It has been stretched. I set it up to the no load gap shop procedure. When I took it apart the air valve screw was halfway in from the end of the ratchet spring, so the air valve was probably inoperable. In the meantime I need to identify the carburetor.The body is pot metal and has three jets instead of the 2 that you show, see photo. I can’t order any parts until I know what I’ve got. Any help would be appreciated. Went through the fuel system and replaced all the gummy pre-ethanol rubber hoses. Replaced pressure regulator and filter. Adjusted carburetor fuel valve per spec. On startup, had to readjust air valve to normal flush position and it worked fine. Idle is ok but doesn't sound good in exhaust. Suspect exhaust preheat leaking and needs to be blanked. Runs good yard, see what happens on road. Lastly Bill to answer your question, I learned some history. This car was “HOME BUILT” by the original owner as a hobby over the course of many years and was first registered in 1980. To summarize the description given to the present owner:the front clip is from a coupe, center section is from a 2 door sedan which provides wider doors and the back clip with rumble seat is from a special coupe. Other parts came from junkyards and swap meets and it is all 1929. The guy did a commendable job. I’ve recently spent a lot of hours under this thing and it is cleaner than my own 3 year old car. Not a pedigree but a real fun driver. Just want to get it mechanically fit. Wheelbase is 116 and engine VIN number and location indicates a 310 engine. Charley

1929 Buick with artillery wheels. Tires 20x7, lug nuts 3/4”. What is max torque. Checking with torque wrench, existing seems to be 20 ft.lbs. One wheel needs to be straightened so looking for max allowable to adjust. Charley

Dan: It's “Graphite valve stem packing”, available at any hardware/plumbing store. Just did mine, used 1/8” dia about 7” long. Hope this helps. Charley

Mike: Thanks for your reply. My concern is that if the gasket is missing, gas will bypass the needle seat and leak or flood all the time. Since it's impossible to remove the seat it may not leak past the threads. I'm going to assemble with needle and banjo housing and air test. See what happens and take it from there. Charley

Thanks for all the info on the Stewart carburetor, it's been a tremendous help. I'm trying to start a 1916 Dodge Touring which hasn't been run in 15 years. Got it running on the primer cups but nothing going through the carburetor. Pulled it and found it welded together with shellac from old gas. Got it apart without wrecking anything, thanks to your posts. The only problem is I cannot get the float valve seat out of the body. Is there a replaceable seal between the seat and body, or is it a hard seat? I puddled cleaner around the seat and it doesn’t seep out, so I'm tempted to leave it be. Appreciate any help. Charley

Thanks for the heads up on the fan. It looks like if was rebuilt. Fan and hub are really clean light blue paint and shafts look all shiny and there is no sign of leakage. When I filled it, took 2-3 oz of oil, which seemed like a lot if it was not empty. My guess is that it was installed and never filled. Gear check sounds like good insurance. As for the brakes, they certainly will be a challenge. But that's what it's all about. Charley

Bill: This car is new to me so I don't know the history. I do see what you mean about the doors. The interface of the front edge of the door and the cowl is not like any other roadster. They all have an upsweep towards the windshield and I don't see any roadster external hinges until 32. I will talk to the owner. Thanks for you interest. Charley

It runs! It's a model 29-46S not a 1928 as I thought. The electric fuel pump and pressure regulator work well with the carburetor . Got some road time in and it runs fairly well. Fan belt broke as fan was seized but came loose with a push of the hand. Thus I learned the ritual of oiling the fan. Works fine now and doesn't leak. Freed up and lubed brake linkage. Back brakes work, but fronts are not right. One wheel needs drag to lock up and the other spins free. Pedal pressure seems high. Need to go through the whole adjustment process. That's the next priority. Buick on back burner for a bit while I get a 1916 Dodge Phaeton going that has been sitting for 10years. Carburetor is seized so am rebuilding. Charley

Hugh: Thanks for your help. We are going to get started after Labor Day. Right now fuel pump doesn't work. Will hand over hand fuel system and disconnect from carburetor before turning on pump. Charley

A very helpful post. 10 years later I’m also helping a friend start a 1928 Buick roadster. The engine turns over nicely with even compression. Next step is to dump the gas tank and check out the fuel system. I notice that the vacuum system has been disconnected and replaced by an electric fuel pump. Between the fuel pump and the carburetor there is a component that looks like a pressure regulator. Two questions: could this be a pressure regulator and what would be the maximum allowable pressure? Finally, do you use unleaded gas? Interesting to note, we’re also both in our 80’s, this will be a fun project. Charley