drovak

I was running my '31 8-86 a couple of days ago, trying to adjust the carburetor, when I noticed steam coming out of the crankcase vent and valve cover. That doesn't seem right. Upon examining the oil, I've got a fair bit of coolant in there. I immediately suspected the head gasket. I drained the coolant as well, but noticed no oil to speak of there; not sure if that's indicative of something. My friend graciously helped removed the head last night, which revealed a pretty good looking head gasket. It also revealed that someone dumped in some sort of stop-leak, from best I can tell. Lots of blue gunk coating every surface that coolant runs through. It also looks like someone coated some of the head bolts in silicone, for some reason. I noticed that the top surfaces of the head where some of the silicone-coated bolts screw through were looking chewed up. Not sure what to make of that, either. Cylinder walls look okay to my eyes, with some of the pistons having a little more slop than others. I assume the rings take care of that, though. How should I proceed in tracking down where the coolant is getting into the oil? I haven't taken the oil heat exchanger off yet, though I would've expected a good mix of oil and coolant in the radiator, too, if the leak were there, right? If I do have a cracked block, how can I plug the coolant ports to verify?

Thanks, guys. I'll look at removing the sleeves and finding some suitable sleeves from McMaster-Carr or a muffler shop. Stainless sounds good, if I can find the right diameter. Is pressing in place sufficient, or should there be any sort of sealant applied? I was thinking about a light epoxy bead applied to the ends of the sleeves to ensure a good seal. Thoughts?

The Marvel heat exchanger has pinole leaks in the sleeves for both barrels on my 1931 8-86. Hard to photograph, but I was able to poke a dental pick into the pinholes. I suspect this is why my carburetor has been running lean, though perhaps I still have yet another culprit. Someone in the past did seal shut the exhaust side, but not the carburetor side. Is the proper fix to resleeve the heat exchanger? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I took it out of the car, and it turns out the unit does work, but the needle is very sticky, likely from the very dirty looking mechanism. Something looks bent about the dial face, too. Doing some light cleaning and gently coaxing the needle does get it to move up to boiling, and back upon cooling. Hrm.

Unfortunately, no. That looks like it's for a 6 cylinder, not an 8. Thanks, though!

I like brass as well. I've got a '31 Series 80 with the original carburetor. I've got a new float covered in Red-Kote, which seems to be working okay, but would like to consider swapping it for brass.

Do you have some online pointers to brass floats that might work with Marvels? How did you affix the float to the old arm? Do you find that the range of adjustment is plenty with a brass float?

My exhaust manifold for my Series 80 is in very rough shape. I've not yet pulled it off the car, but I suspect this will be challenging. While I'd like to have a functional carb heat system for authenticity, this is not a steadfast requirement. Are reproductions available? Thanks!

My temperature gauge in my 1931 Buick 8-86 is constantly reading 140 degrees F, even when cold. I haven't yet pulled the sensor from the manifold. I would certainly like to find a functional temperature gauge; are these available? Thanks!

Hi all, I just became the proud new caretaker of a 1931 8-86. It would not start reliably, which turned out to be a bad electric fuel pump that the previous owner added. I wondered why the mechanical fuel pump was bypassed: well, it turns out the arm is broken, and I also noticed someone brazed onto the end of the pushrod for some unknown reason. The pushrod measures 8 11/32 in; does anyone have a measurement for what the proper length should be? Here's some pushrod images. The brazed end was sticking out of the block, actuating the arm. I assume the brazed end was an attempt to repair a worn end? Could the potentially extra length from the brazed portion have resulted in a broken arm? The end that rides against the cam seems okay. When I got the car, it came with both a fuel pump and carburetor rebuild kit. Within the fuel pump rebuild kit, I noticed that the main fuel pump gasket supplied don't fit. This was the closest fitting one, but you can see a large area of the mating surface is left uncovered. Any idea? I have since cut a new gasket, but was surprised to find that this one did not fit. When I removed the fuel pump for the first time, I found someone used a blue gasket maker compound prior. The fuel pump is stamped Model B, 5751, so I believe this is the correct one for my car, from what I've read. The bottom cover was highly warped, and even with a thick cork gasket, would not seal all of the way. I carefully lapped it, removing just enough material to get the cork gasket to seal. Now for the real reason for the post: the broken arm. This part is stamped with 543, and I think I can make out a 1 on the other piece. Does 5431 match up with the AC part number? I can't seem to find it when searching around... The rest of the broken arm: The broken bits put back together. How do I properly remove the pin going through the fuel pump body holding the rest of the arm in place? The last thing I want to do is damage the fragile pot metal, obviously. Also, is there a chance the original arm can be repaired, presumably through welding or brazing? Or should I find a replacement or have a machinist make one? Should I watch out for something in particular if I get someone to make one? Any problem machining one out of solid stock versus laminating it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. It will be nice to get the electric fuel pump out from the engine compartment!