32buick67

260mi round trip to Duluth was fun and relaxing, appreciative how well the car ran.

Sent you a PM...

Hi Rich, I will reach out to both Jim and Greg, stay tuned! Mario

Also maybe reach out to Greg @8014haar I think he might have a spare.

These are for sale on ebay - note they are tapped as Bob mentioned - hope this helps!

Oof, I'm now sore all over from the contortions - 4hrs to get the clutch out, 8hrs to reassemble, the wizard hardware and brass piping can be especially putzy. Good news is that everything is back together, and no busted knuckles. I think I finally determined the two smoking-gun issues, now permanently resolved and ready to finish out driving season. After everything was reinstalled, I performed a brief driveway test in both conventional clutch mode and wizard vacuum clutch mode and so far both were good, smooth and steady. I plan to go for a good run tomorrow if the weather is decent to climb through the gears and test the clutch on a hill. Not sure, but it appears Buick stamped a "B" on the pressure plate housing, kinda interesting.

Back in the belly of the beast... Flywheel, pressure plate, clutch plate, pilot bearing, throwout bearing, bronze tranny synchros...after this, I am kaputnik, ready for some driving!!!!

Nice ride, welcome! I recommend posting on the Buick prewar section, you will get some good feedback. Can you please post pics of your engine#, frame#, and firewall data plate? Bobs had these at one point, but now out of stock - https://bobsautomobilia.com/shop/hood-items/hood-door-louver-spear-1932-33-hp-232/ I would call them to learn more about where things are in the supply chain. These spears are very hard to find, so if you have good ones and can remove them, re-chroming might be a good option. Best, Mario

Bummer about Bob's, well, in addition to Steele and Apple Hydraulics, also maybe try https://oldbuickparts.com/ I was able to get some bushings from them.

Try Bob's https://bobsautomobilia.com/shop/suspension-steering/shock-link-bushings-1931-33-s-50-sb-313/

Rain is interesting to navigate in a prewar or brass car, but are there any drivers who have driven through snowfall, on snow-covered roads, on icy roads? I find that anticipating curves and wintry road conditions are substantially heightened when riding on narrow bias ply tires. My kids think that 'drifting' is cool, but its not quite the same when unexpectedly drifting in even a solid and stoutly built 30s car vs modern setup - I don't like the fishtail stress on the Buick frame. Unfortunately I don't have any pics of driving in snowfall because I was doing the driving, but its kind of neat and nostalgic to drive a prewar car during a docile snowfall. Today was a nice sunny May day, took the Buick and used the fancy Wizard control to look at flowers with my wife at the local greenhouse dealer....thankfully no snow in the forecast for quite a few months.

Thanks for the clarification Ed - do you happen to know if snap rings were only originally painted, chromed, stainless, etc., or were they available in all finishes?

Adding info for the curious 1931-33... Early 31 (essentially 30) - Late 31 - Early 32 - Solid 32 - 33 - 34-35 looked similar to 33, but with a few minor changes.

After doing some research I was able to find some examples of beauty trim rings, nothing conclusive on stainless vs chrome, and 1931 is kind of baffling regarding the ring gap vs 32 concentric weld. It seems the best way to procure rings today would be to find old chrome ones and replate, or somehow find the elusive stainless rings. Like Ed stated, it is not only going to be cost-prohibitive to do a low-volume production run of <500 units, but its not likely to happen at a fab shop due to their other priorities. What is more likely to get results would be hiring a body shop to make one vehicle set of 4-6 custom rings by hand on a English wheel or similar, and it will likely be far more cost effective, and the rings will get done vs get pushed out for other priorities. 1931-96 Buick ring, note the 1/4" gap in the ring at the bottom, unknown if stainless or chrome - 32-68 - 32-60 wood - 32-96 - Mac Blair's 32-98 - 32-67 (note 1931 hubcaps fit 32 wheels) - 32-67??? - 32-96C - Its been an interesting learning path so far, I am not sure whether to keep digging for more totally useless learning info, or be pragmatic and find a way to remake these 18" rings...but my hunch says stop... My one ring is definitely factory well-formed, meaning its a progressive forming process, then with a final weld its off to plating. No way would a quality shop do that level of quality and form-fit for lower volume runs, unless they were a hand-craft shop making 10s of units for fun... On my old ring, the stamp cut and bend for the valve stem is perfect....clearly lots of trial fits to get the manufacturing correct. Neat to see that kind of quality for 30s mfg.

The Buick shop manual and sales literature ID the rings as stainless, trim to fit. This verbiage is only 1932.....1931, 1933-1935 don't mention trim rings. Why are chrome-plated steel rings that are close-welded for 18" rims installed on 32 wheels showing up on example cars? Anyone have a trimmed stainless 18" ring? How about a pic of a ring which was cut to fit per 1932 Buick manual Figure 125? I seem to only be able to find chrome-plated steel rings that are close-welded for the 18" rims. Learning question - anyone have pics of 18" beauty trim rings Buick or other makes?? @kar3516 can you please post a pic of the ring you have from Mac?