The Old Guy

It is much more difficult to find a complete rear axle assembly than it is to replace the bad parts. If the gears are the problem, you can use the center pumpkin from any 40 through 55 The ratios are different,so you will have to look to find the proper gear. If you want a highway gear ,go the 54-54 Dynaflow cars. If you want more acceleration and power ,use a 40-48 manual trans rear gear. the early cars had 4.10-4.40 ratios and the 54-55 had 3.4-3.6 so you have a variety of choices

I have new uppers if you are interested .<BR>$300 for the pair <BR> buickjoet@aol.com

Is it possible to make a piece from strapping that will go into the jacket with 1/4-20 holes ,so you could actually clamp the waterjacket cover to the block??

I believe you are all missing one important fact. We worry about the aging of our membership .and then get upset when a young member makes a modificationon his car. I got into antique cars thirty plus years ago because my boys got old enough to break my race car( 1929 Ford with a 427 Chevy engine) I have enjoyed the old car hobby since then ,and have had cars at Meadowbrook and Eyes on the Classics. If we get these young ones interested we will gain some members that are interested in cars ,and then we retrain them to build proper antiques. <P>PS Now the boys are grown and I have a street Rod as well as a few antique cars,<p>[ 03-27-2002: Message edited by: The Old Guy ]

Balancing and blueprinting is an expensive way to gain HP while retaining the stock engine. It essentially means taking advantage of the machining tolerances.More HP can be gained inexpensively by installing a different cam and a free flowing exhaust system.The 455 had more than a blueprint job to run low 12s. The 1970 stage 1 was the only one with compression and they ran a best of 13.38 from the factory<p>[ 03-26-2002: Message edited by: The Old Guy ]

The one hundreth anniversary of Buick is July 23-27 2003 The phone number for reservations is: 1-888-230-2587. Come and join the party!!

This was part of what they called "the export package".It was high performance parts listed so that Buick could be competitive in the Mexican Road Race. They also had adjustable rocker arms.

Gasoline floats. If you put it in a container and let set for a couple days, you can pour off the gas and throw out the water. If you put it in a clear container ,you will see the separation.

A 1/4-20 bolt uses a 9/32 drill for a clearance drill. The 1/4-20 heli-coil uses the 9/32for a tap drill. The 5/16-24 bolt uses the 9-32 drill for a tap drill, so it would seem that all you need is a 1/4-20 Helicoil tap and a hand full of Helicoils and you are home free!

It sounds to me like the bendix is bad. The overrunning clutch has given out. The round unit on the bendix is a clutch that keeps the starter from turning too fast if it is left engaged after the engine starts. If that wears out you will not be able to engage the starter as that is what drives the starter gear.

I have lived in the Flint MI area all my life,and I watched the rantings of Michael Moore before he became a star. His first book had many,many inaccuracies,and the movie had things taken out of context. I would caution you all to not believe all the hype in his latest missive.

It has been my observation that when a cover is left on a car towed at highway speeds that the cover usually beats the car and then destroys itself. If it is a heavy cover it may not tear,but it will raise havoc with the finish. I have seen bras installed to keep the stone chips from the front of cars that did much more damage then a stone ever could. Just my $.02

When you took the cover off ,the oil drained from the oil pump cavity and the only way to get it to prime is to remove the oil pump base, pack the pump gears with vaseline and reassamble the unit.

I forgot that we also did the 1978 National meet.

Most of the additives are petroleum based and burn up before doing any appreciable good. They don't hurt anything and if they give you piece of mind then by all means use them.

1985 Los Angeles CA<BR>1991 Sacramento CA <BR>1992 Olathe KA<BR>1993 Phoenix AZ<BR>1996 Plano TX<BR>1997 St. Louis MO <P>Flint MI <BR>1971<BR>1972<BR>1973<BR>1975<BR>1976<BR>1988<BR>2003<BR>It is interesting to note that Flint MI has hosted more National meets than every Chapter west of the Mississippi.<BR>I would love to see another meet out west.All it takes is someone to step up and do it!

I probably should not have mentioned the 37 on this BB ,as it not original ,and is riding on the 15X7 road wheels from a GS I also have a 25,000 mile original 63 225 that rides MUCH better on radials. I drive LOTS of miles in my Buicks and in the interest of both safety and comfort ,I will choose radials anytime

I have worn out three sets of bias tires on my 40 Buick and I have driven my 37 and 57 many miles on radials, and in all fairness,I like driving the radial tired cars better. Bias tires also do not have the quality that the radials have. I sent two of the bias tires back ,as they were out of round. I have never had that problem with a radial.

If they fit,let me know. i ran my 37 at the drags and it ran 14 flat with a 2.56 rear axle. I would love to break into the 13s and the headers will probably do the trick.

I have a good friend that was an engineer for Buick for years,and he informed me that a Buick would not suffer valve recession unless the engine was repeatedly run at high RPM under heavy load. I tested this theory by pulling an Airstream all over the country with my 57 Caballero in the 70s and when I removed a head to check, The valves were good enough that I reassembled the engine with no changes. Checking with the Dyno room at the Chevrolet six cylinder plant ,I found that those engines would suffer recession and was informed that Buick used a better grade of cast iron with more nickel in the mix ,and this was the difference.

I had to settle for manifolds when I put a 455 in my 37, and I think you have a narrower frame than that,so GOOD LUCK!

I think the dealership that has been run by one family longer than any is Bennett Buick in Wayland NY Guy sr. -Guy jr. and now Jim have been at the reins for over 60+ years

I have driven my 40 Super over 90,000 miles and have never used an additive. The straight eight had a compression ratio of less than 6.5 to 1 and will probably burn soft coal if it would fit through the carb. I have never heard any spark rattle and I burn the lowest octane fuel around. There is no reason to buy high octane for a low compression engine

I had the good fortune to have my 1940 Buick at both Meadowbrook and Eyes on the Classics, and I concur with the statement that they are populated with real car people. The big three goes all out to make them excellent meets.

If you install a switch pitch you will also need the electrical controls. they consist of a switch by the carb that controls both kick down and switch pitch ,and the proper trottle hook up which has a micro switch to shift the convertor to high stall at idle. This is to control creeping at idle.