Buicksplus

Great meet, had a wonderful time. Really loved that spectacular Rambler Ranch, see the lovely '58 hanging out there. Here we are driving back home via Poncha Pass, one of several gorgeous and daunting high passes between Denver and Albuquerque. We drove about 900 miles to and from this meet. Our '27 did OK with the altitude but the incredibly long climbs were definitely a challenge for this old car. Thanks to all the Denver BCA folks who put together a terrific national meet...

Need a reworkable cylinder head for 1926 Cadillac 314 CI V8. I think the R and L are the same, but if not, we need a left. Any info on similarity with other years welcome. Leads appreciated too. Thanks in advance for your help Bill Albuquerque

Here's one, very well done on a Buick chassis at the 2010 Glidden Tour in Holland, MI. Looked kinda scary to drive, high up on that horse! I would definitely take some Moxie to drive that thing in today's traffic!

It looks like '39 Buick to me. Item is similar to those on the '38, but 38 has chrome trim on the side rather than the top. This item was optional on the '39, most 39's don't have them. I heard they were required in a few states because the headlamps on the 39 were so close together.

1947 Lincoln Continental Convertible project with a 1947 Lincoln Zephyr 4dr Sedan parts car. The Continental was dismantled by the now deceased PO for restoration. The widow says it is complete. Most of the major parts appear to be there except the OD transmission. The Zephyr sedan is completely assembled and relatively untouched. Both cars are stored in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There is not a lot of obvious rust on either car. See some pictures at https://picasaweb.google.com/Sullivan87108/Lincolns?authkey=Gv1sRgCOW955GMldrYlAE# $12,000 for both, for more info Call Charlie at 505 898-1833 walker@thuntek.net

1947 Lincoln Continental Convertible with a 1947 Lincoln Zephyr 4dr Sedan parts car. The Continental was dismantled by the now deceased PO for restoration. The widow says it is complete. Most of the major parts appear to be there except the OD transmission. The Zephyr sedan is completely assembled and relatively untouched. Both cars are stored in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There is not a lot of obvious rust on either car. See some pictures at https://picasaweb.google.com/Sullivan87108/Lincolns?authkey=Gv1sRgCOW955GMldrYlAE# $12,000 for both, for more info Call Charlie at 505 898-1833 walker@thuntek.net

1947 Lincoln Continental Convertible with a 1947 Lincoln Zephyr 4dr Sedan parts car. The Continental was dismantled by the now deceased PO for restoration. The widow says it is complete. Most of the major parts appear to be there except the OD transmission. The Zephyr sedan is completely assembled and relatively untouched. Both cars are stored in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There is not a lot of obvious rust on either car. See some pictures at https://picasaweb.google.com/Sullivan87108/Lincolns?authkey=Gv1sRgCOW955GMldrYlAE# $12,000 for both, for more info Call Charlie at 505 898-1833 walker@thuntek.net

Mark: I destroyed bulb on my Buick 8 years ago, I finally had to drill it for a sheet metal screw and pull it out with a slide hammer. You only have to worry about avoiding damage to the seat in the head, your damaged bulb is quite replaceable. There is a fellow in Florida/Vermont called "The Temperature Gauge Guy" who used to advertise regularly in Hemmings. He fixes these for reasonable prices and has plenty of the original style bulbs to replace yours. Look in Hemmings under "Services". The Skinned Knuckles article has a DIY solution that would probably also work, if you're handy. Good luck... Bill

I've seen people cut and weld sections of new straight pipe into portions of the manifold that are rusty. I have a 28 engine with one of those, it doesn't look too bad. I had a few leaks in my '27 manifold that I patched here and there on the outside with fiberglass. This repair has held up for years. I didn't think it would, but the Buick cooling system is non-pressurized so keeping it from leaking isn't that difficult. I smoothed out the fiberglass so it is not very obvious. I suggest you try this then keep your eye out for another repro or good used pipe. Good luck! Bill.

Great pictures, what a treasure. I wonder what stories this car could tell. As a former 39-90 owner, I can see there are quite a few unique 90 parts still on this car. I am pretty sure most of the running gear is for 80-90 only, including brake drums, spindles, shocks, suspension arms, springs. Some of those fenders look like they could be saved, they are very hard to find if you need them. You might be able to sell some of this stuff on e-bay if you're patient.

Suggest you clean out the carb very carefully, using compressed air to make sure all passages are open. If it was gummed up, chances are there are still passages plugged or restricted. Also make sure the flapper is free to move smoothly. I assume you still have the original Marvel updraft on this car. I would not drill out any jets at this point, that is not a reversible process and replacement jets are hard to come by. Assume the car ran reasonably at one time, you just need to clear out the obstructions if there are any. That's what it sounds like to me. Note that turning the flapper screw inward will richen the mixture. My Marvel has a major needle valve on the bottom and I have found the high and low speed mixture to be very sensitive to this needle. I am not sure the 31 Marvel has the lower needle, but it it has one, I suggest you open it a quarter turn or more. You could also have a vacuum leak, intake gaskets can fail just from sitting. Put a vacuum gauge on the manifold and check that out. Probe with an unlit propane torch to look for vacuum leaks, the engine will speed up if you find one. Good luck, welcome to the mahvellous world of Marvel!

Grant: I had a 39-90 for years. It was a chronic overheater until I got a lot more miles on it. The friction in a rebuild can overwhelm the cooling system. Your engine is freshly rebuilt with new bores. I would get at least 2000 miles on that engine before you do much more to the cooling system. Drive it at night regularly to rack up some miles, bring extra water if necessary. I found this did a lot for my Buick. You could have a head gasket leak or crack in the head that's sending exhaust gases into the coolant. Most shops have a sniffer to detect exhaust gases in the coolant, might be a good idea just to make sure that's not the problem. I think the thermostat bypass valve is not your problem. I believe that little shuttle valve to turn off the bypass was not used in a 47 engine -- instead there is just a built in calibrated orfice that passively controls the amount of water recirculated instead of going through the radiator. It has no moving parts. I did put an RV flexible fan on mine and it was most helpful. This fan was a bolt on replacement for the original and it was a tight fit -- but it cleared everything and really increased the air flow. I suggest you keep an eye out for one, most auto parts stores sell them in various sizes and shapes. Make sure the timing is set properly and that the centrifugal advance is working on the distributor. Retarded timing really ads to the cooling system load. Make sure the fan belts are tight. Mostly, though, get some miles on your buggy. Good luck down under! Bill S

Good luck, Buick friend. I would not give it much of a chance since the committee rejected an application a few years ago for 31-39 80 Series Buicks. But times and committees do change, congrats for your initiative. Without it, surely nothing would change. I hope your proposal sails through, I think it would be good for the CCCA.

These engines really should not be operated without the spark plug cover. Most of the oil from the rockers returns to the crankcase via the gallery covered by the spark plug cover. There are many openings under that cover for dirt to get into the crankcase and on the camshaft. There are ridges that will keep most of the oil in place without the cover and I know many folks run these engines with missing covers. Still, it's not a great idea. Later Buicks (I think by 1930) provided covered oil return passages and then the spark plug cover became a cosmetic item.

I'm pretty sure the pistons come out the top of a 38. They did for my 39 and the 38 and 39 engines are very similar. Earlier Buick pistons had to come out the bottom, the big end bearing on the rod would not fit through the cylinders. This could be done without removing the crank, you just have to rotate it to the right position. On those bottom loading Buicks, there is a generous chamfor on the bottom of the cylinder to help compress the rings. I don't think there is enough room on the bottom of your 38 to get the pistons through. Your Buick probably has a loose big end connecting rod bearing. These have poured babbitt and are more inclined to failure than the wrist pin bushings. If the bearing is just loose, you may be able to take out some shims and tighten it up. This can be done simply by removing the pan and taking off the lower rod cap. The shims are between the rod and cap. If the babbitt is damaged or missing (you'll see chunks of it in the pan when you take it off, looks like solder), you'll have to pull the rod and sent it out for rebabbitting. Good luck