Charles2

Are you sure that's not the quarter mile time? I know that the 54 Buick Century would do zero to sixty in about eight seconds and I'm pretty sure the early Chrysler 300 was a bit faster. The late-50's Chevy and Ford eights could do zero to sixty in under ten seconds as I recall.

Wildcat2 Thanks for the info. I stand corrected. I'm putting an engine together right now and think I'll reach for the jar of Vaseline.

I would first confirm the diagnosis. Stuck rings aren't really that common and if they occur, it is usually the compression rings that stick. I don't think that oil additives would help much here. I have used them in the past for a variety of engne problems and have never had them help anyone but the additive manufacturer. I think you are due for at least a valve and ring job.

The only problem with that theory is that by the time your engine gets hot enough to liquefy the vaseline, you could have damaged the engine. I think that use of a good assembly lube and putting plenty of motor oil on the rings and pistons when installing would be far better than packing the oil pump with vaseline. I've heard of this technique from an old time mechanic who also scorned the use of torque wrenches. There is a lot of myth out there; I would follow accepted practices.

You should be able to get the windshield rubber from Steele Rubber Products; they sell a full line of such parts. The windshield will be harder to locate. I would post adds on as many of the collector car sites as possible. Also, I seem to recall someone who specialized in hard-to-locate glass who advertized in Hemmings, you might check there. Good luck!

First, check your electrical system for "leakage". Turn everything off and put an ammeter between the battery and the starter cable. If there is current flowing then you need to chase down a short. If no short, get a Motors Manual of 1950-54 vintage. There is a section on adjusting voltage regulators that covers the Delco unit on your car. If it turns out that your regulator is gone, you can get replacements from a lot of places such as Kanters. Replacing your regulator would be a lot cheaper than switching to 12 volt system.

Could it be that the former owner poured oil into each of the cylinders when the car was "put on blocks"? One of the recommendations for long term storage is to pour a tablespoon or so of motor oil into each spark plug hole and then to replace the plug. This would account for the engine not firing (oil fouled plugs) and the oil coming out of the plug holes. Stuck rings would not usually produce that much oil from just cranking and they wouldn't normally be stuck the same on all cylinders. Clean the plugs with solvent, prime the carburetor and try to start it again. You may have to repeat the above until most of the oil is gone. Good luck and let us know what you find!

I would take the current engine number and chassis number with me when I went in to apply for a title: tell them the engine number was the VIN back in the dark ages. Also, you may want to talk with someone knowledgeable in the DMV State office regarding the procedures you will have to follow. In the local office you will likely be dealing with clerks who consider an old car to be a 1990. I was firmly told by a clerk in the Tucson (AZ), DMV office that my 1940 Special originally had a VIN tag at the base of the drivers windshield and that someone must have removed it. I was also told by the same clerk that the VIN was stamped on various parts of the chassis in at least ten locations (it isn't). You will find that they are often in error but seldom in doubt. It is best to have a "home office" name to reference if the need arises. It also helps to do the research and have written material to show the people "helping" you what and where the numbers were. Good luck --you will probably need it!

Most States used the engine number as the VIN on cars of that vintage. VIN's as presently seen on modern cars didn't come into being until sometime in the 70's, as I recall. If your engine has been replaced, then chances are that the title shows the old engine number. In most States there was a requirement that when the engine was replaced, the owner or mechanic was supposed to notify the DMV of the change so the title could be ammended. This was not done that often. On 40 Buicks, there is also a chasis number on a metal tag attached to the top of the frame on the passengers side just forward of the front body mount. Usually, it is hidden by heater hoses or such so can be hard to see.

My understanding of the original posting was that Ray was asking for advice rather than an endorsement. Personally, I think it is discourteous for soneone to request that other people spend time sharing their expertise and experience and then take offense at the answers they get. Whether you like what you hear or not remember that the responders have taken their time to try to help you; just say thanks. Also, it is even less courteous to jump in and make caustic comments about other responses in defense of the original poster. Really, it is none of your business; let people deal with responses by themselves. Incidentally, I looked back through the posts on this thread and couldn't find anything on the subject of Californians untill Twitch brought it up; was he replying to another thread here?

I agree with DeSoto Frank. You will be better off rebuilding the original front end than by doing a major, and expensive, transplant. I have just finished rebuilding the front end of my 1940 Buick Special. I replaced the shocks/upper A-frames, springs, and all of the suspension bushings together with the tie-rod ends. The job cost me about $500 with my labor. The car now rides and handles about as well as any modern vehicle given that I'm using bias-ply tires and there is no power assist steering. But, for driving on the highway, the car feels solid and handles extremely well (but it won't out-corner a Ferrari). I'm sure that you could substantially improve the cars' handling by doing a front end rebuild and installing radial tires. I also suspect you would gain more doing that than you would by getting involved in an untested van suspension transplant that may actually turn out to be a downgrade rather than an upgrade.

The glass in the rear is tempered which is pretty strong. I would remove the inside trim, cut away the rubber lip that hooks over the pinchweld using a sharp chisel and then push the glass out of the opening. You should be able to indentify the lip part by looking closely at the new rubber. To replace, just reverse the procedures (except the cutting of the lip). Put a 1/4" cord in the pinchweld groove of the rubber leaving a loop at top and bottom center that you can pull on. Lube the rubber including the lip with rubber lube or soapy water, put the glass and rubber in the hole, have someone outside push in on it while you work the rubber lip over the pinchweld by pulling on the cord. It is handy to have a hook of some kind (bent screwdriver with all sharp edges ground off, etc.) available to maneuver the lip in places where the rope didn't work. Be sure to use a good quality sealer between the glass and the rubber and between the rubber and the body. Check with a local auto glass shop for suggestions on the sealer.

On my 1940 (original engine), the clean oil line from the filter goes to a fitting on the cylinder head and then through a passage in the head to another fitting inside the valve cover that connects to the rocker shaft. This is the same setup that I have seen on every pre-war Buick I have looked at that has an oil filter. The rocker shaft on these cars was lubricated by way of an external tube from the oil gallery to a fitting on the outside of the head (and from there through the head to the rocker shaft). When an oil filter was installed either by the dealer or after sale, it was installed in this oil line.

I just got the rings for my 1940, 248ci eight and I'm not sure which oil ring goes in the bottom groove. There are two types of ring: The first is a one-piece ring with two scraper rails and drain holes in the groove between the rails; the other is a 3-piece assembly with two spring steel scrapers and a spring steel expander. They are both 3/16" wide. The one-piece rings are marked on their wrapper as going in the bottom groove which means that the 3-piece goes in the next groove up. Is this correct? I seem to recall from other engines I've done that the three piece ring was on the bottom. In a CRS (or senior) moment, I forgot to take notes when I took the old rings off. HELP!

Back in the 50's, a guy named Art Afrons from Ohio was running dragsters with Allison aircraft engines in them. I don't know the displacement of the engines but I do recall that they were supercharged, magneto ignition V-16's delivering well over 1000 hp. As I recall, they didn't do all that well against the souped-up Hemis' of those days. Probably had something to do with the difference in power bands between auto and aircraft engines. I think that modern SBC engines would beat the Allisons hands-down today unless the Allisons were re-engineered for auto use. Supercharging and magnetos don't make for quick throttle response or a "flexible" power delivery.

Same situation in Green Valley, Arizona, mostly on cars from the rust belt states. But, assuming the question is serious, yes; Chevrolet had standard, factory-installed, self-cancelling turn-indicators startng in 1953 as I recall. Prior to that, turn indicators were a dealer-installed option (or an aftermarket accessory).

Jim. Thanks for the response. I'm sending you a reply by email.

I have the rocker arm assembly from my 248 cu in straight eight apart for cleaning. To clean the inside of the rocker shaft, I had to remove the soft plugs from the ends. I need new plugs and can't locate them either locally or in Tucson or at Bob's Automobilia. The bore the plugs fit into is 0.530 inches in diameter which translates to about 17/32". Can anyone suggest a source? My thanks in advance!

Thanks Joe! Ford used a "battleship grey" on their early 80's engines. I think that would be a fairly close match to the Buick color and it comes in spray cans.

Just how dark is the "grey" paint that was used on the 1940 engines? I have stripped the engine sheet metal on my car down to the bottom layer and it looks pretty near black to me. And, the paint from the block looks black too, what's left of it. I don't think the engine has been out of the car since it was new so I'm pretty sure the remaining paint is original. What I am hoping for is to find a close match in NAPA engine enamel spray cans rather than buying a quart that has to be put on with a spray gun. Any advice? Thanks!

Bill, thanks for the lead. The machinist I was talking with here has done Chevrolet rods but has never machined Buick rods for inserts before so I have been a bit reluctant to turn them over to him. He also wanted $40 each for the work. I'll call the guy you referenced and will probably ship the rods to him for the work. Incidentally, I drove through Katy, Texas just yesterday returning from a family Christmas in Florida.

I suspect that your radiator tubes are plugged. Water appears to be backing up in the top tank once the thermostat opens (or is removed). Unhook the top and bottom hoses and run water through the radiator as rapidly as possible. It should be able to handle 3 to 4 gallons a minute or more. If plugged, you will need to remove the radiator and have it rodded out and boiled out.

Value of hardwood timber is dependent on the size of the trees, distance to the nearest sawmill, presence or absence of interior defect and the potential for interesting grain patterns. I have seen black walnut used both in pallet lumber and in fine furniture; same with pecan. I would contact a local consulting forester (in the phone book) for an appraisal. If you are serious about selling, the cost would be minimal related to the potential for money you could loose if you just took a bid from the nearest logger. If you are just curious, contact the nearest forestry school (Check the state universities home pages) and ask them for help. They may have an extension forester that could tell you how to determine approximate value. Timber appraisal is both an art and a science so someone with local experience will be able to help you the most. Good luck!

As I recall, that carburetor is pretty straightforward. My first suggestion is to take comprehensive notes while you are disassembling it. Another thing, there may be ball-check valves in the (float bowl) body so when you remove the bowl cover/air horn assy use a light and look down all of the holes in the body for shiny balls. Note their location and remove them before you turn the body over. I have had them fall out and roll off the bench giving me hours of crawling around on hands and knees with my spectacles on and then more hours trying to figure which hole the ball fell out of. One other thing, be sure you make ALL of the adjustments to float level, choke, unloader etc. according to the specs on the rebuild sheet. It makes a lot of difference in the way the engine runs and cold engine driveability. I have seen people (even "professional" mechanics) just replace worn parts and put it back together; sometimes it works OK but mostly not. Just go slowly and methodically and everything will work out fine. One last thing, before you try to make running adjustments on the carburetor (idle speed and mixture, fast idle etc.) be sure your ignition system is properly tuned and that the engine is properly warmed up. You should also check for vacuum leaks at the intake manifold and any vacuum lines; use a vacuum gage for diagnosis before you remove the carb for rebuild.

Albert. Thanks for the information; I'll incorporate the settings tomorrow AM. I was hoping that someone would have the book on this carb. You saved me a lot of digging, I appreciate it.