Jyrki

Okay folks, thank you once again for the great advice. The 12-volt solenoid that I got, seems to cure my disease. I just finished the assembly, and cranked the engine a few times in a row, and it works like it should. Now I still don't know if the 6-volt solenoid was burned or not, or what gives, but at least the 12-volt solenoid seems to work. GREAT! Thanks again!

To get you some perspective, in Finland we pay 1.15 EUR per liter, which makes 1.38 USD/liter, and that equals $5.22 per gallon! And 75% of the price is taxes to the government.

I was able to locate a guy with a 12V solenoid, from a 1953 Buick I think. Once I get it, I will see if it fits, and give it a try.

I cranked the engine in short bursts to turn the engine. The downside was that I had to turn it over and over before I could adjust the #7 valves (if I remember correctly). Every engine has a tendedncy to stop its rotation at the same location every time. For a moment I thought I had shaved off the #7 cam lobes!

Thanks for the feedback. All of it makes sense to me. When I built the car 390 miles ago, none of the ring gear teeth were missing. Of course, there could be now. Unfortunately it is not very easy to unbolt the cover to check the teeth, as I have modified the rear motor mount due to my Super T-10 gearbox. I will try to get another solenoid on loan, and see if that would help. Maybe I should have used a ballast resistor to the solenoid to cut down the voltage/current running trough it. Anyway, thanks a lot for good advice!

Anyone help me please, I'm desperate! The starter on my 46 Roadie is giving me hard time. The symptoms are like a bad starter drive: many times when I start, I just hear the starter rev up high, sometimes it may crank the engine a couple of turns, and then slip. Sometimes it cranks fine. I thought the culprit was a bad starter drive. I got a new (yes, NEW) starter drive from eBay and installed it yesterday, to no avail. I am using the original 6-volt starter with 12 volts (I never tried it with 6 volts). During the initial build-up, I replaced two out of three bushings (don't remember which ones) and brushes, and trued the contact surfaces inside the solenoid. I also adjusted the pinion travel to specs by adjusting the solenoid plunger stud. During the initial start-ups, the starter cranked just fine, over and over. Then, all of a sudden, it began to miss, and the problem seems to get worse. There is no way to adjust the contact pattern between the pinion and flywheel teeth, because of the starter mounting system. The starter acts like the solenoid was closing the main contacts too early. But like I said, it has been adjusted to specs. PLEASE HELP!!!

You are right, Bob's got the parts. I know that Special should have the smaller engine, but this one doesn't! And the large engine looks like it was born there. I couldn't find an ID plate on the cowl, but it says Special on the dash. The part on the dash may have been changed. Thanks!

I visited a museum in Finland the other day, and got to talk about a 1938 Special there that had been owned by the president of Finland of the time. It appeared that the car needs a new center section for the exhaust manifold. I know that Bob's offers a manifold for the small engine, but does anyone manufacture exhaust manifold parts for the 320 engine? They are in a hurry to get this car running, as it will be needed to shoot a documentary on Finnish presidents. They also need a new transmission. I do have one left from my 1946 Roadie, but the 1938 is a floor shift. Anyone know if a column shift trans could be adapted into a floorshift car? Thanks in advance! P.S. I haven't been on this site for ages, as our company was acquired by GE, and GE blocked access to many sites, including this one.

Some Buick outfits supply Steele, some Metro Moulded Rubber, some both. I would avoid Metro stuff, as they are not precisely original shape and size but "generic". Bob's supplied me with Steele products, with a 15% discount from Steele's list prices. I am satisfied with Steele products, and think they are worth the expense

All these opinions are valid ones. It seems most postings here from non-rodders, so let me throw in my 2 cents (euro). At first, I would like to point out that positive critizism is the one you give face-to-face. Personally, if I like someone's work, I give positive feedback. If I don't like it, I stay quiet. Now, I would urge to ask yourself, why do these rodders and customizers want to join the BCA and attend all the events? Why don't they stick with the rodding society? One possible answer: because they feel like they are still driving a Buick, they love Buicks, are proud of their own Buicks, and want to get and share information on Buicks. I have been building my 1946 Roadmaster Sedanet for the past 4 years, and now it's moving again. I can fully undertand why people are restoring their cars, but that's not for me. I like to include a creative element. Moreover, I cannot keep cars that couldn't be driven in everyday traffic, so my Buick's got power steering and brakes, and a highway-friendly rear gear, and the I-8 is backed by a Super T-10. Most of you, and even my father, think that I have all but ruined and mutilized another fine car. I don't complain, I just think you are narrow minded. I wouldn't change a thing in a 1953 Skylark for instance, but most times I think there's room for improvement. The 1940's and early 50's GM cars are just perfect material for customizers. Just look at the Mopars and Fords of that era - they are just plain ugly. I think that once you have seen one restored Buick, you have seen them all. Only the color, the quality of restoration work, and the story behind it differs. You might have a well preserved original car that you purchased for nothing back in the 1970's, or you could have a similar car with a frame-off resto that cost tens of thousands, yet without the story behind it, you cannot tell the difference between these two nor appreciate the work that was needed to et there. A custom car always speaks for itself. I think there's room for both. During the years, I have posted many questions on this forum, and have gotten excellent feedback and invaluable information, because I never mentioned that I'm customizing my Buick. People like Ralph Crisp and Joe Taubitz know a lot! This reminds me of an internet friend, Mark Sanders from Georgia, who came to Finland two weeks ago, and arranged an additional day here just to visit us, to see my Buick, have a ride in it, and talk cars. He mentioned he had posted a question on this forum, about converting his 39 Century to 12 volts, and someone had sent him a private mail, lecturing him about the conversion like this: "your Buick has been happy with the 6 volt system for the past 60 years, and it definitely doesn't need to be converted now or ever". Oh well. Anyway, Mark brought me a handful of Buick Bugles, thanks a lot Mark, and I read them cover-to-cover. What I found there was stories about people's Buicks. Entertaining stories. For an overseas Buick nut like me, the only reason to join BCA would be to get the Bugle. I was pleased to find that a modified division has been established. Now, if that means that modified Buick are going to be featured on the Bugle, I am ready to join BCA right now! I would also like to see more tech articles. I have many friends here in Finland who are into restoration. Some of them cannot understand why I am modifying my Buick, but all of them can still appreciate the workmanship, and we can talk cars, old cars. Not about turboed Hondas. And I have made many, many good friends all over the globe, both with the restoration community and the "others" Jyrki Pykari Finland http://gamma.nic.fi/~marlin/Rmaster.htm

Thanks for all the information!

Where could I get information on spotlights & other popular accessories of the 1930's to 50's ? Do you know of a dedicated book or web forum? Right now I am interested in the Appleton #112 spotlight that I won at eBay. Unlike most other makes, Appletons don't use a sealed beam light. The reflector of my Appleton 112 was completely oxidised to a matte gray. Buffing the surface, obviously removed the original coating, revealing the base metal which is brass. My question is, is the reflector coating silver or something else? It is certainly not chrome or nickel, but something rather soft. Also, which years was the 112 model produced? I wonder if it's period-correct for a 1946 Buick. I also got another Appleton spotlight from eBay. It is equivalent to the 112 model - the shapes and dimensions are exactly the same - but there are no markings on the housing - only on the handle. Also, the on/off switch on this one is ivory color, while the 112 switch is black. Judging from the condition of the parts, both spotlights are of same age. Am I looking at a copy, or didn't all Appletons carry a model designation? Thanks for any input.

Thanks for the suggestions. At least now I know it shouldn't be like that! All wires are new. It could also be the voltage drop - I converted from 6V to 12V system, and are using a voltage drop for gas gauge. I will let you know if I can find the cause. Thanks.

The gas gauge on my 46 Roadmaster works fine when the engine is not running, but every time the engine is running, even when parked, the needle swings rapidly back and forth through the whole sweep, making it impossible to figure out an average reading. Is it supposed to act like this, or what gives? Thanks, Jyrki

I just got my 46 Roadie back on the road after 5 years of sweat. I have a question on the front door checks. The original rubber parts inside the door were cracked, and I got new ones from Bob's. Is the rubber part intended to fit snug and drag along the channel inside the door, or is the only function just to limit the amount of opening? I am asking this because there's a lot of side play between the rubber part and the sheetmetal channel, and the rubber part does not offer any resistance. Am I missing something here?

I've heard a lot of bad things about the fatman spindles. They are basically pieces of pipes welded together. I wouldn't talk about longevity or precision. You can just cut the front coils, but the whole suspension travel is very limited in 40's Buicks, at least in my 46 RMS. The lower bump stop is close even at normal height.

It should be noted that Amsoil, Red Line Oil and some other ESTER-based oils tend to swell the seals rather than shrink them like the most common synthetic, polyalphaolefin (PAO). While these ester-based oils are expensive, they outperform all other oils in every aspect.

I'd say it's the alternator pulley. Being small in diameter, the belt will eat into the metal, until it eventually bottoms out in the V-groove. When this happens, there's no cure other than a new pulley or a completely new alternator. We are talking about V-belts, aren't we? The alternator belt squeals right after the start, when the load is greatest. You might also try swapping a bit wider V-belt to prevent bottoming out. Edelbrock sells a gasket sealer called GASK-A-CINCH, which can be used as a belt dressing. Might be worth trying.

Synthetic oil is too slippery for a break-in to occur, so use mineral oil for break-in, then switch to synthetic.

I just found out that a a company called Bendtsen's makes transmission adapters to nailheads and straight eights, see www.transmissionadapters.com

Ralph, would you recall what the stock and/or "barker" rocker arm ratios were?

Thanks for the kind words, Matt! You can get pre-bent U-pipes and collectors from many sources. I would suggest www.headersbyed.com, but all major makes carry either kits or loose parts. Might be available from www.summitracing.com & alike. But making the flanges is a pain. Buick's exhaust ports are round, so they can be drilled with a hole saw, or arbor, or you could use acetylene torch to cut a bit smaller holes, and then finesse with carbide cutter. For flange thickness, I used 3/8" mild steel billet. They could be thinner, but 1/4" is too thin and will warp for sure. The headers must be fabricated with the flanges bolted on the actual engine/car to make the headers fit, that means YOU have to do the eyeballing, cut the pipes and tack weld the pieces together in your car. Or take the whole car to a shop to have them make it for you (like Header's by Ed)

Sorry, it's www.iandireproduction.com they make wiper transmissions for old chevys

If it's anything like my 46 wiper towers, there's a round steel cap under the transmission (on the winshield side), that you can pry out to gain access to the shaft. You remove the shaft and withdraw the cable pulley. I don't think there's an alternative for rechroming, other than finding some NOS parts from Ebay like I did. see also www.iandireproductions.com

My 46 windshield was not too hard to remove, and I was able to save the seal. Yes the dash is screwed onto the cowl under the window seal