The Old Guy

Brock The engine will fit, but the 48 uses side motor mounts and if you put the front mount from your 47 engine on it, you will be able to see the casting pads for the side mounts. If this doesn't bother you, put it in and enjoy the car.

I was born in 1933 , and was tearing apart my toys by the time I was 4. My Dad ran a gas station, and I started working there when I was 11 (filling oil bottles ,washing windshield etc.) I bought my first car at 14, a 1931 Buick .with the engine mostly in the back seat (only the crank and block were where they belonged) I guess living in "Buicktown' it was inevitable that I have always gravitated toward Buicks. I worked for Chevrolet as a toolmaker for 37 years, but was always hooked on Buicks. I had 6 children so the family wouldn't even fit in an old Chevy, so my purchase of a 1932 Buick 90 series 4 door was the start of my "old car"passion, and it has never waned!

Back to the Bricks is whe greatest idea to hit the scene in years! Friday there will be 6 sites in the Flint area that will host a mini=show, and at 6PM all the participants will head for downtonwn Flint . The downtown area will be blocked off and there will be activities until 10 PM. Saturday morning at 10AM anyone with a 1987 or older car, or a "special interest" car will be allowed in for the day. There will be Flame thrower , low rider, and neon contests with cash prizes. The first 1000 cars in get a free "Back to the Bricks "T" shirt" and there will be food and goodies available until 10 PM

Aaron I will be at "Back to the Bricks" thursday ,friday and saturday. We hwve cruises from Grand Blanc to Flint tonight and friday, and the saturday thing will include free "T" shirts to the first 1000 entrants, and lots of activities all day long

Noone yet has brought up the fact that the 37 tail light had a lens that faced the rear only, and the 38 was shaped with a 45 degree angle of glass that could be seen from the side. The two did not look even close to the same

Brian I used to run a Caddy powered Chev out of "Teds" drive in back in the 60s and the cruise of today is nothing but a parking lot for too many people in SUVs that would not know how to build a car if they were paid . You aren't missing a thing, and if you do run the cruise, you'd better have a REALLY GOOD cooling system.

I used to run out of "Teds" drive in back in the 60s with a Caddy powered chev, and I refuse to go there and see my 5 lane drag strip turned into a parking lot. Come north to "Back to the Bricks" if Flint for a place to park and enjoy old cars! The first 1000 entrants on Saturday get a free "T" shirt and the whole down town area is blocked off with things happening Saturday from 10 AM to 10 PM

Sid Congratulations on the new job ! In your Impala you can make Flint in less than 5 hours, So we will expect to see you in Flint for the big show in 2008. I understand you are also going to celebrate your 50th birthday soon, so a double "congratulations" ( I wish I was 50 again)

Great pictures! It looks like it was a nice meet with a good representation of Buicks, from early to late to modified.

I have a medallion from the 100th anniversary plaque that you can throw in the pot.

or retarded timing

It is interesting to note that we had a great time even with the rain as the Garber group wer very gracious hosts. When I arrived home my boys had completely torn the roofing off the house next door as the rain went right by.

I am driving my 69 Sport Wagon. i haven't missed a BCA national yet, but I am glad that next year it is in Flint. My wife and I are going through the upper penninsula of Michigan and across on 94 and 90 to Missoula Montana. I have relatives in Moscow Idaho, so will go from Missoula through Lolo pass and visit them. I have a 200-4R overdrive in the wagon and it has cruise and AC so it should be a good ride.

The 248 and 263 are very close in length, but the 320 is almost 6 inches longer

Brian That sounds like a plan! I will make the sacrifice and get up at that "ungodly" hour , just to put faces to all the DFersIhave chatted with here.

The only speakers scheduled for the 2008 meet in Flint are definitely Buick related. I think that there will be Terry Dunham,and Denny Manner for sure, and maybe another historian. "Slick Willy" will NOT be addressing the group.

If you are planning on driving your 47 any distance at all, it is well worth the effort. I have put over 104,000 on my 40 ,and it made it so I can run the interstates and not feel that I am slowing people down.

Pour some gas in the carb. (I use a squirt bottle so I can control the flow.) Hit the starter, and if it runs, you know that as Derek stated, you have a fuel problem. If that does'nt work, then check to make dure you have spark

The drive shaft and torque tube are attacned to the center section. The tube unbolts, but the drive shaft is attached to the pinion gear with a splined collar. This collar is pinned to the pinion. The problem is that different cars have different wheelbases and different length transmissions. The drive shaft and torque tube are different lengthes to compensate for this. If you were to install one that was a different length, your rear axle would not be centered in the fender opening ,and would cause serious problems.

Do a search. There are numerous threads on this subject, but in a word, YES. The centers will interchange from 1940 to 1955. The big problem is getting the drive shaft switched, unless you are lucky enough to have them both the same length.

I just saw the same thing , and almost choked!!

Matt I have stayed out of this conversation because I don't know about the 38 rear ends.The 37-38 club had an article in their news letter about using later gears, but I don;t have it available. When I changed the set up in my 40, I used the center section (pig) from a 55 (3.42) and installed the drive shaft and torque tube from my original unit. It was quite a chore removing them, and the big problem was getting the drive shaft to run true. There is a section in the 40 shop manual that explains how it should be done, but I did not have the equipment available , so I locked the rear end to the floor,and used my hydraulic jack to bend the drive shaft. It took 3 times before I got the vibration out of the drive line at 70MPH

It is interesting to note that it appears to be a Buick supercharger also. The Ultras have a unit that looks like the one on this spectacular vehicle.

John I think I have one in my pile somewhere. Send me a picture of it, and I will bring it to French Lick for the BDE tour. If you need it before, contact me at home. Joe Taubitz

I had the priviledge of knowing Ralph, and as stated in the other messages, he was a class act, and a veritable encyclopedia of information. He will be sorely missed by the Buick community