Drakeule

I had my front drums turned on the '40 Roadmaster, but the brakes seem extremely touchy, especially the front right. It locks up with a dramatic squeal if I hit the pedal too hard. I followed the manual advice of " adjust until you can't move the tire, then back approx. 17 turns." Should I back off further on that wheel. or is there something else going on here (i.e.,s there an equalizer valve up front, etc.) ? Thanks in advance for any/all input. C Drake

Gary W; thanks for that input. I remember your discussion now; running out of gas close to home is not easy on the Ego, Ask me how I know... Well, I cleaned up the old sender, reinstalled it, and put exactly 4 1/4 gallons in the tank; this should have shown 1/4 full. It actually showed a skosh under that. I then drove to the gas station and put another 4.5 gals in the tank; it was dead on 1/2. full. So that's it; no more dropping the tank (however, never say never....) The new one is just bad, so I'm sending it back to Bob and let him look at it. Now, I have the exact same off shore sender in my Super, and it works fine. I guess the answer is probably poor quality control. Thanks again all. CD

All: I decided after fiddling with the off shore unit, to scrap it and put the original cleaned up sender back in. I have just replaced the corks and used hot fuel dope (available from model air crafter places) to coat them; I did this with a two stroke boat engine float that I replaced a while back-worked fine. A work in progress; I'll tune in after I get the tank back in.

Does anybody have problems with the new fuel senders reading incorrectly? I checked mine before I installed it (approx. 2 ohms at empty; 40 ohms at full.) However, I know I have plus 7 gals, in my tank, and I registers just above empty. Also, are all sourced senders the same (Bob's vs Old Buick parts, etc., i.e., Chinese junk)?

Roadmaster 71: that brings up and interesting point. I've read elsewhere that you can just shim the king pins; so why replace them if you would have to shim them anyways? Does anybody have know how on just how to shim them? They mentioned using feeler gauge stock. Inquiring minds want to know!

I took the 1940 RM out for the first time today. Everything felt OK, except I got a significant shimmy at approx. 20-25 MPH. I appeared to iron out above this speed. At first, I thought a tire had gone flat;but that was not the case. I guess we can rule out a bent rim (?) Bad alignment would present at most speeds, correct? Interested in any and all input. Thanks in advance, CD

Ahhh!!! There's another one on the other side! I didn't bother to look. So, use the lowest bolt to drain and the one on the back plate to fill? Leave those two "Frankenstein" bolts in the above picture alone....

I noticed 2 bolts on the forward part of the differential, and a plug on the rear stamped plate. I assume that you remove the lower bolt to drain, and refill from the top one. So what is that plug on the rear plate for? Also, you are supposed to use a 90 wt. GL-4; could you use 90 wt. lower half outboard oil? It's GL-4. Or is the best lube to use 85W-90 (GL-4.5) ? Input appreciated. Thanks, CD

Sorry, Sonomatic does get some stations. It's the Deluxe that just hums.

982550 Sonomatic(?) vibrator works, but no reception. Tubes OK, should recap and it will probably be OK. 50$ plus shipping (301) 346-6548 Also 51 Olds Deluxe radio. Works, kinda'

All: What would anybody consider a decent operating temperature for the 40's Buicks? My 40 Super sits around 180 while cruising, but at idle will climb to about 200 or more. This is to be expected, as little fan action while sitting. Just looking for input here. P.S. what could the 7LB pressure radiator cap add to the boiling point; 15-20 degrees?

Steve D/all: Antiqueradios.com assisted me in finding the problem with lightening speed. Many thanks! It seems there is a bar directly above the push buttons that energizes the clutch. If the buttons aren't shaved off at the top rear, the bar is in play, thus disabling the manual tuning. A little whittling down on one of the buttons and voila, problem fixed!

Steve: Great idea, I registered today. Many thanks! CD

Here is a picture of the clutch open (energized.) In this position, tuning knob does not move the tuner. Again, when turned off, and clutch closes, tuning knob functions perfectly.

Radioguybill: I'm not sure that is happening. Just as soon as I turn the radio on, you hear the clutch snap into place. Upon moving it (through a small slot) with a screwdriver to force the tuning knob to reengage, I can feel the magnetic attraction wanting to pull it back to push button tuning. Sometimes it lingers, but then snaps back. Its definately magnetic attraction doing this.

Now that the radio is working, I am having another minor problem. The push button clutch is overriding the manual tuning, i.e., I can't tune with the knob when the radio is on; I can only use the preset buttons. I think it has something to do with the tightness of the end cap on the tuning shaft. I am thinking of just disconnecting the power from the clutch mechanism, so I can just tune manually. Any suggestions?

Jolly John: Radio 980620. 5 pin 8630 (AC Delco?); 2 primary, 2 secondary, 1 Ground. EmTee: You said it!

If anybody's paying attention to this thread, a fellow member of this site lent me a SS vibrator. I plugged it in and Voila! A working radio (with little to no hum detectable!) I don't think I'll replace the filter caps (as I am lazy and like to live dangerously.) BTW, I had purchased a NOS mechanical vibrator which also turned out to be non operable; we plugged both the original and that one into a '38 Sonomatic to check. No vibration from either. A good lesson learned: "NOS" doesn't mean necessarily serviceable. I bought a SS version from Peko.

Snubber cap? Do you mean the buffer caps (a double stage .015 uf WVDC 1600 with [2] 100 ohm resistors to Gnd.) I have replaced these. Still no soap.

I am hedging my bet here; I am working on a 980620 Sonomatic radio and may soon be at a decision point. Either the radio's vibrator (and the NOS vibrator) aren't working, or there is a deeper problem. I really am hoping they are both bad; if they are, I'll substitute with a solid state version ,available from Peko. If it's not he vibrator, I am going to start looking for another 620 (in any condition) to either use for parts, or get that one working. Anybody have a line on a 980620? Nothing on Ebay right now. Thanks all in advance, Charlie Drake, '40 Super sedan 51 '40 Roadmaster sport coupe 76S

My son in law mentioned that ,very possibly, when my carb was glass beaded, some were left in the carb; causing the intermittent problem. Makes the best sense so far. Any input on this ?

Accelerator pump squirts beautifully. so what I have is an intermittent problem; I'll just have to wait until it misbehaves again. If (probably when) it does,the first thing I'll do is peer into the throat and pull the accelerator rod again (switch off; I don't want singed eyebrows or worse!) and look for the streams of fuel. If none, I'll blow all out with compressed air and clean up with gumout, and blow it out again.

And tonight, when everything cooled off, it started with little trouble. I was able to nurse it back into the garage. Idle OK, off, then started again, no problem! I will check the above accelerator pump issue, then squirt some carb cleaner in, just like Jon said to do. I can also blow it out with compressed air. It does make more sense that it's the carb, but I will check the electrical again just to be sure. If this problem reoccurs, I will pull and take it back to rebuilder and have them check it, as it is under warranty. Thanks so far, 37Buick 66S!

Starts, then cannot rev and dies, Sometimes just limps along at idle, until I attempt to rev. Occasionally backfires. Relined tank, new fuel pump, and rebuilt carb. When I installed all, seemed to run fine for a while, then the conditions I just described. When I disconnect the fuel line at the carb, pumps plenty of gas. Fresh gas too. I'm not sure what is going on here. I had this problem about 2 weeks ago and thought it had resolved. If gas has some water in it, it shouldn't start right? Too much fuel pressure? (mechanical pump, non variable?) Bad electricals? (I replaced points, condenser, wire plugs rotor and cap.) Any input appreciated! CD

I have fiddled with this clock for several days, with very little success. Somehow, I think that just cleaning it (which I have done numerous times with brake cleaner) and applying oil to the pivots (which I have also done after each cleaning) are not enough to get it going. The points are firing ok. but It runs for about an hour, then quits. Maybe there is more to it?