C-Lamb
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Posts posted by C-Lamb
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9 hours ago, 32buick67 said:
I went full LED on my car, although I wired for incandescent wire gauges (higher amps).
Maybe I am just too conservative, but I thought the larger wire gauges won't hurt.
Who knows what lamp types will be available in the next 90 years, maybe Tesla was right and everything will be powered wirelessly, or maybe not.
My wife said the (my) goal this year is to drive at night to go out looking at Christmas lights in our 1932 Buick...I have about nine months to get things figured out.
Excellent idea, I'm hoping to be driving more than a mile or so this year as well! Good luck!
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2 hours ago, 32buick67 said:
My thoughts on LED headlights in case you are looking for some ideas -
https://www.logolites.com/products/led-headlights/focused-beam-led-headlights/
Those look really nice, I was hoping for something like that. I have the nose off until I'm really sure it's running well, which will probably be awhile. Likely another flush and then an evaporust soak followed by a citric acid soak, hopefully that will clear out the water jacket.
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Still proceeding slowly cleaning and tweaking and figuring things out. Have weak spark on cylinders 1&2 so will go ahead and change out my wires, points, and condenser since I have them. Will put in the new brake lines on as well soon. Will also pull the valve cover shortly and check on valves and oiling.
Good news is, starts easily and runs every time even in the cold. I've gone to all incandescent bulbs in the back, none of the LEDs were as bright and several didn't fit in the (replacement) sockets (didn't even make consistent contact).
In the meantime, I went ahead and got a picture of the block number: J3604223 and the body number: 3464 (Model 61, Trim #709, Paint #530).
That block number seems to be in the right range, but there's no way that the first digit is a '6' or 'b'. See the picture below. Thanks for any input.
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On 11/23/2021 at 7:40 PM, MCHinson said:
For LED bulbs, these are the ones that I bought for my 1937 Roadmaster recently: https://www.ledlight.com/g18-s25-2_6-watt-1157-6-volt-ac-non-polarity.aspx If you order them, be sure to get the Red color version.
OK, I've ordered a pair of those... this is what I ordered previously and is about the same as the bulb installed on the other side.
https://www.ledlight.com/s25-24-led-light-6-volt-dc.aspx
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On 11/21/2021 at 8:49 AM, EmTee said:
The radiator looks great!
Thanks! I'm excited to install it once I've tested the engine a bit more and verified it's reasonably flushed. May tackle the other two freeze plugs on the side to see how much crud I can suck out of them before I put it in.
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On 11/20/2021 at 11:04 PM, MCHinson said:
Correct 6 volt LEDs are typically quite a bit brighter than the original bulbs. I would make sure that they furnished 6 volt rather than 12 volt LEDs. The other thing that is critical is good wiring, especially a good ground, so make sure you don't have any bad connections in the wiring.
Thanks Matt, I tested them on a supply and connected directly to the battery to eliminate the ground issue, they just aren't as bright as I would hope. I wonder if they are really 12V bulbs with the wrong resistors inside, but I don't think I can get them apart. They are definitely brighter than 1157's a 6V and 6V incandescent bulbs seem impossible to find for comparison.
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BTW, dash picture has one of each kind of LED installed, so you can see the difference.
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Just a quick update - found a larger bulb socket and made it work for now...
And got the old assembly apart, two weeks of soaking, now looking for a good way to make a new 'insert'.
The new taillight bulbs from ledlights are brighter than the set from superbright, but not any brighter than the old incandescent bulbs.
On Matt H.'s suggestion I also got brighter dash bulbs from ledlights. The incadescents, you could only tell they were on in the absolute dark, the first batch of LED bulbs were better, but not useable. A new brighter set per the recommendations is at least usable, but still not bright by modern standards. Picture's attached. As always, thanks for the help!
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It's been a busy time since the last update, but I've made a bit of progress, but been side tracked by other projects, such as finishing the porch screening and having several logs milled into 2" thick boards (and then stacking them in the garage to dry).
It took two weeks of soaking in evapo-rust and ATF+Acetone but the old tail light assembly finally came apart, but so far I haven't found a great way to re-assemble, so I've 'roughed in' a modern alternative. Not great but it works.
Ordered BA9 bulbs for the dash (could hardly tell the old incandescent bulbs were on at all). The first set from superbrightLEDs wasn't very bright, so on the recommendation from Matt H.'s thread (thanks), I got some from ledlights and they are much brighter, you can see the difference in the attached picture.
Tried tail-lights from both companies, and the ones from ledlights were definitely brighter, but not any brighter than the original bulb still in the drivers side... so I'm still looking for a good solution there.
I also sent the radiator off for a rebuild back in June or July. They took a long time but Rocky Mount Radiator did me right and eventually got it done at a much reasonable price than quoted. Thanks Garland and team!
I'm going to try to attach a few pictures, but using my chromebook, we'll see how it goes. Thanks for all the help.
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On 11/4/2021 at 7:55 AM, EmTee said:
I assume that you matched the LED color to the lens color (i.e., red LEDs for tail & brake lights). White LEDs will appear dim as only the red light will pass through the tail light lens.
EmTee, yes, using red bulbs, suppose to be 6V but they just aren't that bright, even on the bench, not any brighter than a 12V 1157 @6V. Got another set on the way and we'll see if they're any better! Thanks for the suggestion.
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On 11/4/2021 at 8:33 AM, 39BuickEight said:
Sorry, when I typed I replaced that part, I didn't mean with exactly that one-one like it that is the correct size.
Thanks Billy, the one I found on the shelf at Autozone wasn't big enough, I'll keep looking. I found a plastic one which works pretty well. Well enough to see what's else is broken. Gotta just keep looking and testing.
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On 10/29/2021 at 10:02 PM, 39BuickEight said:
I don’t know if this is the exact one I bought, but this is what I replaced. . I replaced the sockets with ones like these and just connected the wires.
Billy, tried that one, it's a bit too small - it fits through the hole in the back of the assembly. I went with a bigger plastic one which seems to work OK, but I'm not satisfied with the mounting or the brightness of the LED bulbs I got (they are supposedly 6V bulbs, but not bright enough), so I am going to try another set and see how that goes before I commit. Also, currently using a zip tie to make sure the little retaining spring is strong enough for the plastic socket I found, so that's not great, but it's a start. More soon I hope.
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27 minutes ago, 39BuickEight said:
I don’t know if this is the exact one I bought, but this is what I replaced. . I replaced the sockets with ones like these and just connected the wires.
Thanks Billy, I'll give that a try.
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On 10/24/2021 at 9:35 AM, 39BuickEight said:
I ended up just getting new ones at my local auto parts store.
Billy, do you replace the whole assembly or did you find just the 'electrical part' with spring-contacts? I haven't found a replacement for just the 'electrical part', and I think I will have to drill it out to separate it from the bulb socket. There are some socket assemblies I think I can adapt, but feels like it might start getting messy quickly.
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Thanks Bloo and Billy. I've got the assembly soaking in evaporust and will try to take it apart this week, or drill it out if I have to. Then off to the autoparts store for parts.
Appreciate the help!
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Thanks Bloo, I may try this, especially if I can get the two pieces apart after soaking in ATF+acetone.
How did you plate them at home?
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Billy, what did you end up doing about the light sockets? My springs are shot and the socket is rusted in the larger socket. About to try evapo rust on the socket, but I'm not optimistic I'll get it apart and not sure how I'll fix the springs, don't seem to be replacements.
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OK, still slowly chipping away and waiting for the radiator to come back... apparently they haven't decided what core to start with... so it might be awhile.
In the mean time, I picked up a radiator at LKQ (out of a BMW since it was new and clean), and rigged something up to use. Before installing it, flushed the cooling system as best I could from the back freeze plug. Seems like it's all working OK...
Then did a bit of tuning and took it for a drive, here's a short video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/h1VHFyTvahBWTvXU7
And a longer one of the drive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOhgKR6rqWY&feature=youtu.be
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Thanks guys, I will definly be spending some serious time cleaning, thanks!
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Looks like my radiator needs to be completely re-cored.
Matt recommends Dave Tacheny, who I'll call tomorrow, any other ideas? Local shop wants $1200.
Thanks all!
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Radiator at the shop, they think it's going to cost $1200 to rebuild it if my tanks are suffiicent.. any ideas?
Trying to flush the rear brake lines, but not having much luck, can't get it loose at the distribution block, will keep treating it with the ATF+acetone and see what happens.
Thanks for any suggestions!
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Well, blocked off the bypass (with freeze plug and a 1/4" hole) and it seemed to be running OK, so I wanted to see if I could find out what else might be wrong. So braving the sticky carb float and 50 year old tires (chunks falling off), took a quick spin next door and back... Seemed to be ejecting a fair amount of coolant (out the loose cap), but I'm convinced that's the radiator as w/ the bypass open the coolant in the engine stayed clean.
Here are the videos
https://photos.app.goo.gl/upw9pievLrssKqBRA
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qydrTZ7GTiJNb8dk6
So, I'll take the radiator in to the shop and see what they can do. They said $150, but I don't think they were really listening... While it's out try to flush the block a bit with the garden hose perhaps. Although it's back on jackstands and about 16" high than normal.
First gear seemed a bit noisy, but I don't think that's a surprise. Seemed to pull strongly enough and generally be drivable.
Next goal, drive it to the town event in September... but I will need improve several bits before that can happen! (brakes, carb float, tires, radiator). Will probably have the wheels blasted and primed while I work on brakes and radator over the summer.
It's slow, but better than others. My brother bought a 914 rust bucket just before his daughter was born, this last month he took it to someone to move it forward and she finished her junior year in high-school. My dad bought a '34 Chevy pickup about 1970, it hasn't been driven beyond the yard(and only 1-2x in the yard) since. So, since they started working on their cars, I've had mine less than a year and driven it more! Success!
I'll continue to avoid kit-ifying it and work on it an hour or two a week, we'll see.
Thanks for the help!
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Hmm, apparently the last update didn't get submitted until just now, not sure what happened.
Anyway, after a few weeks of running brake fluid and occasionally a few other things through the fuel line, I hooked it to the tank from Matt (thanks!), then reconnected to the correct connection on the tank and tightened a bunch of connections, I was finally sucking gas, but then no spark. I suspected that it had to do with leaving the ignition on for a few days and assumed I had fried the coil and put a new one in with no effect. So out came the emory paper, cleaned the points and the rotor and fully seated the HV wire in the coil and it's back up and running.
Next step go ahead and strap the tank all the way in and get some more run time on it, cleaning out the tank and the line a bit more. Hopefully, some sons will be around this weekend and we can drive it into the yard and do a bit of pressure washing.
After that, time to install a bypass (or block at least, I think it's open, and a thermostat...
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Still plugging away... have straps and installed the tank, but took it out so I can unclog the fuel line.
Running brake fluid through it a few times a day and waiting for it to clear up... I can at least get wire in from either end and blow compressed air, so that's an improvement, but what comes out is still nasty.
Noobie and his '39 Century
in Buick - Pre War
Posted
Anyone know what the leading "J" on the block means?