Grimy

For those new to 2-wheel brakes, please note one should be prepared to use BOTH service (foot) brake and hand brake for a "sincere" stop. For my two 2-wheel brake cars (and one car now long gone), the external contracting band is about 3 times as powerful or effective as the internal expanding shoes, BUT the externals lose a great deal of efficiency in the rain, which our cars rarely see. On those same three cars, the factory installation was that the service (foot) brake operated the internal, less powerful brakes, essentially mandating that both brakes be used together. Over the years, SOME cars have had their controls reversed, so that the foot brake operates the more powerful externals. Pay attention to the factory design, described in your OM, and compare to how your brakes are arranged today.

Access holes for greasing the spring eyebolts

Turlock is Sat January 26,2019 and (I think) continues into Sunday, although just Saturday does it for me. It's always the last Saturday in January.

Frank DuVal recommended steam and/or hot water higher up on this page. If one is replacing the wiring harness, steam is fine, but not if one is reusing the old harness.

C Carl, a Series 50 DEFINITELY has a fiber camshaft gear.

It looks like a 50 to me, and the spare engine is definitely a 50. (I owned a 1934 56S for 45 years.) Wheelbase will tell: 119" for 50 series, 128" for 60 series. On the subject car, the RF door seems short, suggesting the shorter wheelbase.

Steam is not conducive to retaining cloth coverings on wiring harnesses.

I use Oil Eater (at O'Reilly) when I want to remove grease but not paint.

AJ, compression ratio was low. Body style suffixes for 1931-35 sedans as I know/knew them: 90 = 7-p sedan; 90L = 7-p limousine w/division glass 91 = club sedan 97 = 5-p sedan

+1 on grounds! A thorough flush and backflush of both radiator and block is in your future, and stocking filters to catch the crud dislodged from the block by repeated heating and cooling cycles, lest that crud clog the radiator. Even more importantly, if there is a zerk fitting on the water pump, IMMEDIATELY replace it with a grease cup loaded with water pump grease (put the zerk back only for judging). A lever-operated grease gun will blow the seals immediately. Those zerks were to be serviced with a 5-inch grease gun operated by a twist handle on the end.

Beginning with the 1931 model year, all Buicks were inline 8s. For 1934-35, the new smaller Buick was the Series 40, which used a smaller division's basic body but had the new 233 cid (later 248) vastly improved engine with downdraft carburetion. The 50-60-90 series for 1934-35 had the same trim, dash, instruments, etc. which were different from the 40's. Series 40 had painted headlight buckets; the other series had chrome buckets.

CONGRATULATIONS! A wise mentor gave me this advice long before I retired: Take a sheet of paper, lengthwise, and make 3 columns: Gotta-Dos, Self-Inflicted Wounds, and For Me. The Gotta-Dos are the dog poop of life: vehicle and home maintenance, doing your taxes, updating your will and trust, etc. You must complete ALL the items on the Gotta-Do list. Self-Inflicted Wounds are commitments to organizations (volunteer), side businesses, churches, etc. Once you've signed up, usually for a discrete period of time such as one year, that has become a secondary Gotta-Do, and for your reputation and especially for your own self-satisfaction, you need to perform these tasks well. The benefit of Self-Inflicted Wounds to your newly-retired self is that they provide a (usually) comforting continuation of work commitments over the last 40 years or so, a regularity that eases transition to retirement. My own experience is that often (not always) the most productive people in car clubs and other volunteer organizations are the newly-retired, who still have some "fire in their bellies." The 3rd category is For Me -- and the sky is the limit. What have you always wished you had time to do? Every six months or so, re-evaluate the balance of Self-Inflicted Wounds (remember, those are commitments for finite periods) and For Me, and adjust as you feel you should.

What Spinney said...no "piston." Very reliable but must be thoroughly cleaned every 20 years or so--ask me how I know.

And the 1956 Mercury 4-door hardtop was called "Phaeton." That caused my teeth to grind, even as a teenager....

Good morning, Hugh, You were up late last night in TX! BOTH Parts for Sale and Pierce-Arrow would be good. I can post on the Pierce-Arrow Society Message Board (a much smaller version of these forums) a link to the AACA forum when you have posted it. I can't tell how many main bearings are on the shaft. First, the shaft is counterweighted so it's either a V-12 (1932 forward) or an 8 1934-forward. Pierce-Arrow did not make fire trucks themselves, but Seagrave bought Pierce 8 and 12 cyl engines AND the tooling when Pierce folded in Jan 1938. (Pierce-Arrow built truck chassis through 1931 when they sold truck lines to White; some 1929-31 used Pierce 8s as the 12 wasn't out yet, AND those were non-counterweighted.) Seagrave somewhat modified both engines over the years (cams and heads are different from Pierce, but I think the crankshafts are the same), and built the 8 until the late 1940s and the 12s until the late 1960s! All 8-cyl engines have NINE main bearings, and all 12-cyl engines have SEVEN mains. Hope this helps! VBR, George

Rear body rub strips (for trunks) became popular for a short time beginning in 1923. but I'm sure some makes had them earlier than that. Can't offer any suggestions on the make from the angle shown.

I've used brake fluid for decades on under-the-car rubber such as shock bushings, but it's a superb paint remover, so I won't use it on window seals, which adjoin painted surfaces. Just a cautionary word for those who might be tempted to use it for window seals or door rubber....

First, my locksmith uses Tri-Flow aerosol lubricant rather than Lock-ease, which I used successfully for decades. So now I give all my locks, house and auto, an annual treatment of Tri-Flow. I do a short blast into the keyway, then lube all portions of the key itself, backed with a paper towel. Second, these 1930s coincidental locks work just like those on a modern car *in that* you may need to rock the wheel left to right while trying to turn the key; that is, if the wheel has been turned after being locked there may be a load on the lock itself which must be relieved. Third, on cars with these locks, I almost always leave them unlocked and rely on a hidden battery shutoff for security.

If this car, or any of its era, is to stay in the USA/Canada where labor costs are what they are, the structural wood needs to be pretty darn good if the car is to be refurbished or restored. Looking at the photo of the top structure, I'd want to do a thorough examination of the structural wood. As regards completeness, years ago this sedan may have served as a parts car for an open car (happened a lot), so an inventory of what's missing or broken would be essential.

Careful! (see above)

Beautifully done!

I cringe whenever I see rubber fuel hose near an exhaust manifold or other heat source. When the crack issue is resolved, please run all metal fuel line and move the filter. Hope you can find a replacement head. If not, suggest you look into getting this head pinned rather than welded. It's common for Pierce 8-cyl engines to develop cracks beginning in the tower/base of the t'stat housing. Whatever process, it's important to drill the ends of any crack so it doesn't propagate further. I've had two Pierce heads fixed by pinning rather than welding, resulting in permanent fixes. Above all, do NOT buy a reproduction aluminum head from a company in El Paso, even if they say they have a repro unit on the shelf! I know of several people who have sent their iron heads to be reproduced, along with full payment, and ten or more years later received nothing back, including their old parts.

I'd get a professional opinion from the stitcher as to whether the block should be sleeved BEFORE the stitching was done. Fifteen years ago I had Lock-n-Stitch (best in the business!) of Turlock, CA, repair a Pierce block for me. The worst crack was one that went from the #2 exhaust valve seat across the deck and 2.5 inches down into the cylinder--and they repaired it successfully and it has held all that time. There was minimal taper, so I hadn't planned to sleeve, but Lock-n-Stitch strongly recommended that the affected cylinder NOT be sleeved, to avoid stressing the repair. I haven't had an H-series V-12 for 15 years, but I well remember the words in the 1960s Ocee Ritch book about perhaps sleeving to accept Ford 3-1/16 pistons for an increase to 331 cid. (I didn't have to rebuild.) The cylinder walls are already thin, especially on the 305 cid 1942 and 1946 versions of the engine vs. the 292 they went back to for 1947-48, much less the original displacement of 267 cid. Doing so would, of course, somewhat reduce coolant capacity. I'm sure that Best Practices for rebuild of these blocks have changed since I had one, but wanted to put out these thoughts for your consideration.

"Distributor" in USA... 🙂

This may help your search: Also fits 1925-28 Pierce-Arrow Series 80 & 81. Interchange numbers: Shurhit IC-65, P&D / Bendix DE-82, Sterling DD-55, Standard / Blue Streak DR-145 Suggest an eBay search for "Delco 15436 cap" Tom Van Meeteren in Nebraska is an excellent source. Google him or search this site for his contact info.