KAD36

A 19 inch 5 blade fan was able to fit into the stock shroud on my 55 if the shroud was shifted up about 3/8- 1/4 inch - that pretty much centered it. Then sealed around the shroud with rubber washer tubing slit lengthwise to fill the gap between shroud and radiator (like you told me to!), the fan 1/2 into the shroud, and voila no more running hot and passes the rag stuck to the grill test (with the hood closed on the second try LOL)

How’s the fluid level in the rear shocks look and any insight as to what fluid is in there? Use hydraulic Jack oil if you’re refilling. Check the rear shock links. Old Tank mentioned a good source for new improved rear links - think it’s bobs automobilia? My preference is stock soft springs but the improved sway bar, HD gas shocks up front, and radials made a night-day difference in my cars ride and control on corners or broken pavement. Panhard bushings next - one of these days. Have fun congrats on the new ride.

Just curious if you can replace the tube that goes through the manifold. Alternatively on the early 55 manifolds there are a series of raised “zig zags” cast in on the back of the manifold with a cover riveted over that pattern and the carb heat tube pulls air across it to warm it. That cover disintegrated on mine and a choke stove, basically an insert that looked like a bolt half hollowed out lengthwise threaded into an hole drilled and tapped on the backside of the manifold out of sight, was the fix at the time and worked year round for many years. Any way you can make a simple heat exchanger for the heat tubes air at the exhaust manifold will suffice. Just another idea to consider. Good luck

Yeah is it done yet? Videos, construction, destruction, parts from all over the world in the mail….

Does that mean this isn’t needed or…. No expert either, never heard of it and to my knowledge not part of my aftermarket system.

Go git em Tiger! Glad it worked, thanks for the refresher. Have fun.

Resistance should be 1.4-1.6 ohms per shop manual specs. Check the values, the replacements run high in my experience between 1.8-2.2 ohms. Potential to lower primary voltage and cause a weak spark when the generating system goes into discharge, especially hot idle in drive, aggravated when loads are on like headlights and fans. Try it and see first as all the other replacement parts exceeding spec tolerances these days may compensate. If you get a replacement that has the (nichrome?) wire exposed in back vs encased in ceramic, trimming off about 1/4 inch of length will bring it into spec. Verify with a meter.

…so someone got a little crazy blowing the horn at crosswalks to see people jump 🤣

Looks like the metal edge on yours was ground down? It’s not under much stress, maybe fabricate a ring or flange of proper size out of aluminum, steel or brass, cut it into 2 or 3 sections to fit inside and JB weld it in place. I’m not sure if that can be mig welded to…. Not sure it’s the plastic that holds it, it needs that metal shoulder to hold it. Unless I’m missing the point which is possible….

“Now youse can’t leave”. From A Bronx Tale.

Yeah that was the second or third word that came to mind LOL. Power Technology 102. In his defense he did teach us to use a matchbook cover to set points when in a jam, so not all screws were loose.

^ that plus check for timing retarded (I.e. late timing) when you get your timing light…a couple degrees of advance usually helps with cooler running. I had a shop instructor once tell me that he could hold onto the #1 wire and when the coil fired he would blink his eyes to time an engine. He is probably not teaching any more. Just goes to show you there is no place for not listening to your own common sense. I remember my friends saying “ I’m not gonna try it, you try it”. 🤣

Good find thanks for posting the pics - helps others understand since it’s not something easy to illustrate when installed. Clarifying earlier points, that piece in the 11:00 position to the left of the spring is the spacer previously mentioned that goes over the chrome actuating ring and is held on the shaft by the wheel nut so it can’t pop off. The flange on the spacer is what keeps the actuating ring retained on the steering wheel. The contact on the horn wire rests inside that dimple on the piece in the 6:00 position which fits over the other end of the spring. The spring and isolators, when compressed and installed between that pocket in the spacer and the piece in the 1:00 position with the clips pushes the actuating ring outwards, toward you, until the ring rests against the flange on the spacer. Turning that piece with the clips clockwise, which threads it into the actuating ring, sets the sensitivity of the ring (how far to push it) to blow the horn. Hope that helps…..

It would be the BCA version of "The Curse of Oak Island'. Bunch of us running around the field with metal detectors and we find a nail or an Ox shoe.

Stock (worn) exhaust or something different?

That is so cool. Makes me want to dig up photos of mine in black and white from the late 50s at my grandfathers place when it was out doin it’s thing….. Probably drag racing usnavystgc 56 Buick up the Kulpmont hill… So….why did the Buick get buried but not the Model T? So you could make tea in the Model T? ( great video btw). I mean, if you could plow a field with a model T couldn’t you do it with the 56? It has power steering. I just don’t get it.😎

You’re welcome. Yes I think it has to come off unless you can ascertain by visual inspection all parts are accounted for and properly installed. If you take it apart in sequence and take your time my hunch is you’ll figure it out else there’s a couple dozen of us armchair mechanics who have swore at this project prior to success. Nothing special that I’m aware of. Am going off memory but mind how the contact button comes out so the wire if still soldered to the slip ring collet on the steering shaft inside the column doesn’t break off. There’s videos floating around of folks who did it if you want a look see, but I think it will be self evident. I recall simply unscrewing the nut then the circus really freakin started and back then I had no drawings or shop manual but my photographic memory still worked. It still works but it takes longer for the film to develop and occasionally some negatives get lost. If you pull the steering wheel its location is marked on the shaft with a mark on the wheel and mark on the shaft. Line it back up right then go drive the car and blow the horn to your hearts content. Good luck

Look at the first diagram in the link. It looks like the spacer piece is missing? I believe the chrome ring goes on the wheel then the spacer plate then the wheel nut holds the spacer plate on. The chrome ring will then be held loosely on the wheel. When installing the remainder of the illustrated parts in sequence per diagram, the spring will lift the chrome ring off the steering wheel. That space of the lift between the ring and the wheel is governed by how far the adjusting nut is turned, and hence sensitivity of the ring to blow the horn. Horn stuck on all the time if actuator ring is properly assembled and adjusted is a short in the steering column at the slip ring based on realized community experience. Different problem, search forum for repair and see Old Tanks tech tips page. is that clear RTV around that piece on the steering shaft? If so it’s not supposed to be there unless someone was trying to make an insulator. Pictures are worth a thousand words for this repair, you have to lay the pieces out in sequential order to get it right. Often not intuitively obvious but doable.

It appears like the chrome actuator ring is assembled wrong.. I’m not understanding how it was on working beforehand. If assembled right it can’t just pop off. In brief, the plastic black center cap gets pried off the ring. Then there is a retainer that unscrews from the chrome actuator ring. I believe, from memory, that retainer gets held on the shaft by one of the washers already assembled to the column in your first photo. When the chrome ring is on the wheel, you insert that threaded retainer into the chrome ring and tighten it down against the spring. The more you tighten it the less travel to actuate the horn. Then that black cap snaps on top. When pressing the ring you are closing the circuit to ground. Try searching the forum? Someone had a similar problem a few months ago and we posted assembly and exploded installation diagrams of the contact ring spring and insulators, unless someone has it handy. If I can find it quick I’ll post it. The drawing may have been in addition to what was in the service manual. Update. Search forum 1955 Buick horn ring. QED.

Had a metallic green Schwinn Sting Ray with the “5 speed stick” and a rear slick pie crust tires, sissy bars and the banana seat. Likewise I mowed alot of lawns and put up alot of fences to pay for it.. I always thought that bike and my Schwinn Continental 10 speed were special but Dad threw them both out when I moved out. Isn’t it something how “ordinary” things of “the time” stick with us even years later. … but this is about Buicks. Nice dual exhaust on that Centiry Mud 🤣

I know better than to contradict my 55 Buick mentor but I have to go look at a drawing and refresh my WCFB understanding. Always learning something new here. 😎👍

Out of curiosity how long does it take after the problem happens for it to be able to refire and keep running. And in the time of running it up to the time of stopping and idling it in the driveway what’s the engines behavior like - normal, sluggish, missing….

Base gasket at WCFB carb to manifold has given me unexpected trouble, and as EmTee said I had actually tuned around it never hearing or suspecting the leak to begin with and it’s certainly easy enough to spray the base and hear the idle go up.. it eventually came around and screwed up the idle when I fixed other things. The washer control was the next unsuspecting leak. The wiper motor and vac advance not so much. My recollection is you put the new electric pump as well as mechanical pump on - it sure sounds like a fuel problem being temperature related. Just as in going through 3 coils in a year before getting one that worked, I’ve gone through electric pumps in a year unexpectedly. When you get the problem to happen on demand ( let it idle in the driveway in D after a short run until it dies and won’t refire) you can check down the carb for fuel from the accelerator pump or check for spark while hot. When the engine is preferably cold you can check the electric pump. When my electric pump went it still would agitate the fuel in the glass filter bowl which gave me a false positive but found afterward it produced negligible pressure. The other hint was flipping the pump on and off - if it got hot at idle and started to stumble there was no difference in idle quality. And if it croaked I could get it to refire on a quick shot of starting fluid only for about 5 seconds. If you’re vapor locking at hot idle there’s no electric pump to make the save if it lacks flow and pressure. Are the fuel filters clear? Just asking - that would also be an all the time thing. If it’s not fuel it might be weak spark at idle which FWIW was another of my issues and actually depended on the under hood temperature and if the hood was open or closed. Closed it would eventually die. Open it would idle in D all day. Had a number of contributing factors - coil intermittent, ballast resistance too high, regulator regulating too low - all at hot fine at cold. Condensers can do this too, you can do a static test with a DVM but that’s only a rough indicator of a condensers health. If you can find the old delco ones personally I’ve had better luck with those. Will need some testing to substantiate which to look for unless you want to shotgun it. Take your pick which to start with, my bet would be fuel delivery if it’s temperature dependent, but first get a method down to replicate it, then change one thing at a time. Just my 2.5 cents, curious to hear what other folks on the team come up with.

+1

Welcome and congrats on the ‘34.