Fred Rawling

Here is what I would do. When you fill the vacuum tank, use permatex on the 2 copper washers on the plug wher the gas goes into the tank. There may be a screen in the top of the tank at that location. If the filler plug has a 1/8 pipe plug in it, you can fill it there without removing the big plug. On any fitting screwed into the top of the vacuum tank, do not use teflon tape. It is a lubricant and it will allow you to tighten the fittings so tight before you feel the pressure that you can crack the top of the tank. With gas in the tank and the engine running, put a small light weight piece of paper, like newspaper up to the vent pipe and see if it will be held there by the engine vacuum. You may have to increase the speed of the engine above idle to check this. This will indicate a vacuum problem, though you could have a fule line problem as well. If there is no vacuum, remove the vacuum line from the tank and put a vacuum gauge on it or use the paper test again. That will tell you if the vacuum problem is in the valve system of the vacuum tank or the vacuum line from the manifold. It will most likely be the vacuum tank. To check the valves, you need to remove the tank top. I put a piece of rubber hose on the pipe from the vent on the top of the tank and blow or suck on it while I move the float up and down to see if the valve is working. Move that fitting to the vacuum inlet and move the float arm up and down to see if that valve is sealing. With the float up, the vent should be open and the vacuum valve closed. Float down the oposite. To fix the valves, you need to unsolder the cone shaped piece on the valve stem to remove the arm which actuates the valve. I used grey polishing compund which is used to polish brass made into a past with kerosene for a laping compound. I did not remove the valve from the top of the tank. I put compound in the valve and seat and with a lightweight small electric drill, I rotated the valves with the compond and lapped them in. Do not let the drill hang down with the full weight of the drill pulling the valve down. You can check the valves with the rubber hose setup before you re assemble the actuating arm. When you re assemble the tank, use permatex #2 on the top gasket and the 2 copper washers on the gase line plug. If you have a gas line problem, check the plug that holds the gas line in the gas tank. There may be a screen on it. Do this before you blow air through the gas line. If there is crud on the screen, you want it out, not blown back in the tank. Fred

Harry, On the Buick Club web sight, there is a link to the Judging Manual. It will give you some information about your car and the tire size which is 600 x 22 for 1925. In those days, tire size was also stated as 30 x 4. To translate that, multiply the 4 x 2 and subtract that from the 30 which gives you 22 inches. Also go to http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/1927buicks. If you join the group, you can get into the listing on the left side of the screed under the title "Files". The 5th item in the files list is an article on early 6 Cylindder Buicks by David Chambers. Print it out. It will tell you a whole lot about these early buicks. I have a 1922, 1927 and 1928 Buick. I drive the 1928 regularly. If you need help, you need to e-mail me at fred.rawling@live.com or post on the 1927 buicks group as those messages come directly to my e-mail. I do not get on this forum regularly. You are looking at a lot of money to get that car running. As an example, the points, condenser, rotor and distributor cap are going to cost around $100.00. I would suggest that you get the car inside somewhere and start cleaning up different parts and putting them back on the car. You can be acomplishing something while trying to find the missing parts. The biggest mistake that I see people making is taking everything apart and nothing ever gets back on the car. Then they end up with a pile of nothing. Another thought is that everyone seems to go out and buy a new set of tires $400.00, right away. When the car finally gets done, the tires are old and cracked. If you can find some old used, worn out, cheep, tires they would work fine until you were ready to take the car out on the road. You car did not originally have a key switch on the dash board. If it was a closed car, it did not have an ignition key. If it was an open car, it had a key slot in the combination switch. Buicks did not come with bumpers until 1928. Bumpers were an aftermarket item. Check the passenger side of the firewall under the hood for a square data plate which will give the model number of the car. Fred Rawling

Here are a couple of hints that may save you some trouble with the vacuum tank. Do not use teflon tape on the fittings. It is a lubricant and you will overtighten the fittings and crack the die cast lid. Use permatex #2 and just get them snug. The permatex will take care of any leaks. You can use the same copper gaskets (spak plug gaskets) on the filler plug where the gas line enters the top of the tank but put permatex # 2 on them. There is a screen inside the filler plug that may need cleaning. If you do not have one, a modern fuel filter in the gas line will doo a better job. I put mine under the drivers floor board where I can change it from the top without having gas run down my arm. If you remove the vacuum tank cover, make a new paper gasket and seal it with permatex also. Getting the float into the inner tank is a challenge so be patient. Do not mess too much with the phenolic flapper on the outlet of the lower tank or try to remove it. If you need more help, go to: 1927buicks@yahoogroups.com Fred Go to Fred

I have a under seat heater from a 1950 Buick that I would like to sell for $35.00 with a core that looks good and holds water without leaking and a fan motor that works. E-mail me if you are interested and I will give you measurements and pictures. Fred

You can probably use the old baffels. Many people do that. If they are too bad, they should be an easy item to copy. You should have the baffels in the tank. Fred

Ryan, I read an earlier post and picked up on the statement that you had the carburetor rebuilt. The carburetor shop that rebuilt it should have flow tested it or at least known how to set the idle screw on the bottom of the carb. If that is the case, the idle is probably set righgt or verry close to it.

Cardinal905, Can you cut a piece out of the old tank and measure the thickness to determine the gauge? Ryan G, The idle adjustment is the wheel at the bottom of the carburetor. The notch in the wheel should line up with the stud that sticks down from the bottom of the carburetor with about one turn out from closed. In the final analysis, a quarter turn of the wheel will make hardly any difference in the idle speed. The notch lined up with the peg that sticks down from the bottom of the carburetor is where the factory set it. The rear of the air valve in the venturi should have a clearance from the die cast insert in the venturi of about .005. Some people advocate removing that diecast piece to sand it down but I have always been afraid that it would break so I cut a thin piece of wood the width of the die cast piece, glue the sand paper to it and sand it down while it is still installed in the venturi. It takes longer but not as long as finding another die cast piece. Fred Rawling (562) 644-4670 fred.rawling@live.com

The starter generator turns a ring gear to start the engine.

I need a good attorney to fight the city.. The got a warrant to remove the car parts from my yard but also went into my shed and took parts. An attoreny that has experience fighting the city on code violations any where close to Long Beach would be helpful. Please e-mail me direct as things are a bit busy now. frawling@bristolhomeloans.com Fred Rawling

I need a good attorney to fight the city.. The got a warrant to remove the car parts from my yard but also went into my shed and took parts. An attoreny that has experience fighting the city on code violations any where close to Long Beach would be helpful. Please e-mail me direct as things are a bit busy now. frawling@bristolhomeloans.com Fred Rawling

The best choice for spark plugs is Autolite # 3076 which you can get from the auto parts store. They are not as tall as the Champion plugs (Champions will work fine) so you can put the spark plug cover on without shorting out the plugs. Fred

Thanks for the reply

How important is it to align the engine with the rest of the drive train? How much variation from level and in line from side to side is allowable?

try 1927buicks@yahoogroups.com and 1930buicks@yahoogroups.com with your question. No one is making repair kits but I remember someone on one of these fourms making a water pump shaft or something like that. In any event if you have a 20's to 30's Buick, you will benefit from these two groups.

The pipes on the backing plates are drains for excess oil from the differential. Note that if you take off the differential cover, the filler hole goes below the center, not above the center of the differential. New felt grease seals for the front and rear wheels are available from Bobsautomobilia.com. He has an on line catalogue. Regarding the grease nipples in the hubs: Packing the wheel bearings regularly with good grease will handle any lubrication problems. Filling the hubs with grease is in my opinion a waste of time and money.

One important thing to know is that you should not use teflon tape to seal any of the pipes going into a die cast part on these old cars. The teflon is a lubricant as well as a sealer and you will probably overtighten the fitting because you do not feel the resistance and that will break you diecast part. I use permatex #2. There is or was a filter screen in the top of the vacuum tank wher the gas goes in. Check that. There is also a screen or supposed to be a screen on the pick up tube from the gas tank that may be pluged up. I found that some permatex on the copper gaskets works as well as getting a new gasket for these 2 fittings. The blow by may clear up after a few miles. I would not worry about it now. Do not be surprised if your JB weld burns off. The measurements for the heat pipe from the exhaust manifold to the heat riser for all 1926 to 1928 Standard or 116" wheel base cars is: 1 1/4 inch O.D. and 10 1/32 inches long. I bought the correct O.D. seamless tube from a pipe supply house. Also try a muffler shop. Removing the stuck tube from the exhaust manifold and heat riser is a bit difficult and the compression collar that holds the packing in will probably have to be sacraficed (cut on the inside of the collar and twisted out). Save it for a pattern. Be careful not to break the heatriser or manifold valve. I made the new collars out of a piece of black pipe or out of a black pipe coupling, I do not remember which. I used round teflon or round rope graphite packing in the opening after the tube was inserted into the heat riser and before the collart was taped gently in. The axel for the flaper in the exhaust manifold valve has a line scribed on the end of the axel that indicates the orientation of the flaper. Check to be sure that the flaper is open. This has nothing to do with the problem you are having now, just a precaution to prevent overheating of the exhaust manifold. So far, nothing that you have asked about is covered in the shop manuel but you should get one when you have a chance. There is a reprint of the 1927 shop manuel. 1926 and 1927 are almost identical cars. Call or e-mail me if you have any questions or just want to talk about it. frawling@bristolhomeloans.com 562 644-4670

Well said. I have always maintained that if you wanted to light your cigar with a $100. bill, that was your choice and o.k. with me. I have over 84,000 miles since 1984 on a 1928 Buick that has been converted to a pick up truck. I use it for a truck and drive it day or night without any real problems with the electrical system. All my connections are soldered and I have an extra wire into the inside of the headlight bucket that runs through the conduit and is solddered to the frame for a ground. I have bright headlights with a 6 volt bulb. I did have a converter to run the ham radio but the cell phone made that obsolete. It worked fine while I used it. You can always try the 6 volt and if you are not happy with it, make the change after you drive the car a bit.

I think you can find the seal at bobsautomobilia.com. He has an online catalogue. Do not forget the seal on the dirve shaft just inside the torque tube. If it leaks trans fluid into the rear end you will have problems with the ring and pinion.

While you have the torque tube seprated from the trans,check the seal on the drive shaft inside the front of the torque tube. If it leaks you will get dynaflow fluid in the rear end and the ring & pinion will wear out.

Thanks for the help. I got it together and running. It is factory with 50,000 miles on it. 2000 of them I put on it since I bought it.

thank you John

I found the firing order on the manifold. The distributor rotates clockwise on the Buick. Now I have to figure out which terminal on the distributor cap is #1.

Thanks, I will check it right now. My 73 caprice with a 400 had the dwell at 33 degrees. I was going to set the Buick at that until I could find the correct dwell tomorrow. If anyone does know the setting, I would rather finish it tonight. Fred

I mixed up the wires while changine the distributor cap. Can anyone give me the firing order and dwell? Fred

I mixed up the wires changing the distributor cap. Can any one give me the firing order and dwell for a 1972 445 engine? Fred frawling@bristolhomeloans.com