danhar1960

G'day tboke' The manual does have the info you seek. 40/60 & 80/90 are different bushing sizes and lengths and are not interchangeable. The radius rod should be straight although it does say that up to 1/8" bow is permissible. The distance between centres should be 34 13/16" +-1/32. The bushing holes are 1 1/4" dia and must be parallel. I would think with this info and your original it wouldn't be too hard to fabricate a new rod if yours is too badly bent. Good luck with it. Danny

That was a barn? :eek::eek: It never ceases to amaze me how these fellas come up with these prices (even though they are only Kiwi bucks :D:D). Usually it's some bloke babbling on about how "if you just spend a few hours on it, it will be worth a fortune when it's finished":rolleyes::rolleyes:. I wish I had a buck for every time I've heard that !! Anyway, I wish him the best with it. Danny

Well Elizabeth, I must confess to not being smart enough to be able to create a nice web page and I am still a ways off having mine on the road. I started restoring mine over 20 years ago and along the way an MG, women, several children, work and life in general got in the way. I have though completely rebuilt the engine, transmission, torque tube and diff, brakes and suspension etc.... I am up to doing the body at the moment and hope to have that done soon. I wish I had a digital camera when I had started my '39 as it is fun to look back at how it started out. Looking forward to following your progress and should you have any question just fire away, there'll be someone here that can and will answer it. Good luck with it. Danny

Welcome to the '39 Buick gang. You're among friends here and there is no shortage of brainpower and experience. It never ceases to amaze me just how many of these old beasts are still around. As we'd say down here "Good on ya" Danny

OK Mike, I have to ask, what are E3.52 plugs :confused::confused: Are they space shuttle grade or something ?? Danny

I saw a master cylinder once that was done at home by a do-it-yourselfer. It looked good until he fitted it and pressed the brake pedal. Something wasn't done quite right as the hydraulic pressure pushed the sleeve out of the body. Good thing it happened in the garage and not out on the road. I had my master and all 4 wheel cylinders sleeved 25 years ago and have had no problems (certainly not with rust :) ). Danny

Why do you thing you are having trouble off loading this poor old girl ????? From the pics and the description, it doesn't look like a bad car. Danny

I think it's to lubricate the thrust bearing carrier. Danny

Your wife has a '37 Buick.....Cool woman!! Can I get your wife to talk to my wife :) Good luck with the resto. Danny

That's the poor man's version of our mighty Sydney Harbour bridge mate !!! Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi! Oi! Oi! :D:D Danny

There is nothing in that box that will fit in the '39 but it's a generous offer none the less. Good on ya Mopar. Danny

TRANSMISSION SECOND GEAR 1939 BUICK OLDSMOBILE PONTIAC - eBay (item 370489914247 end time Apr-03-11 08:45:57 PDT) Not cheap but they are new ...... Danny

Check out ebay. There are regularly N.O.S parts on there . Best to do it once and right the first time if possible. Second hand cheapy parts can't often be just buying someone else's problems. It's just a matter of what you want to pay for them. Danny

Can't help you with that one Mal but it is a nice looking unit. I through it back out there for others to consider. You have me curious now. Danny

No, it's not !! Danny

I wonder if the bloke at the end of the footage survived ??? :( Every so often Mother Nature comes along and smacks you in the face just to remind you who the boss is. Thankfully on this day she spared you and the '38. Good to see you got her home. Danny

Glad to see you and the family (including the cars) are all well and safe. I was merrily typing away as the news broke and was mega shocked by the graphic details they were reporting live to air. It will certainly be something to tell the grandkids. Danny

Good news !!!!! Danny

Grant would be right in the middle of all this. I hope he is OK. NSW has sent a bunch of rescue experts to help out and I see we had hundreds of doctors and nurses there on the spot as the quake happened. Australia has said "tell us what you need and it's yours" As much as we take the mick out of the Kiwis, and they us, we are family and will respond as such. Good luck with it Grant and all there !!! Danny

If you are just topping up a driver filling them up will be OK but if you are restoring the car I would fix the leaky seals now or the will just empty out again. **** !!! Just listening to the news as I type this!! Christchurch hit again !!! You OK down there Grant ??? Danny

I would have to concur with Dave on this one. According to the book '38,'39',40 series 40 are the same part number. I just put a '38 rim and a '39 rim side by side and I can see no difference and the hubcaps do interchange. Danny

Half the fun with old car restoration is the thrill of the hunt for that eternally elusive part. I hope you didn't have to sell your soul to get it :)' Danny

Wow, that's pretty cool. The '37s Marvel carb was a bit ordinary and the auto choke for that and the Stromberg was too. (If I recall, they also didn't have a high speed discharge economiser valve until '38 [could be wrong about that though]) A few years later Carter says fit one of our carbs with an integral starter switch and HEY-VOILÀ , here's a solution for the "But what about the auto choke?" question. If you weren't paranoid about originality, I think it's a pretty good fix if you weren't happy with the original carb. Danny

Just to make sure the problem isn't a linkage problem, remove both the rod and the cable and move through the gears. Compare both ways and you will see if the gear is fully selected. It might be worth taking off the floor pan and then the gearbox cover and just having a little look see while you do it. It's not that much trouble. Danny

Check worn/lose torque ball, buggered rubber in rear engine mounts. There is a detent spring for second gear inside the box that can be checked but if it is broken you'll have to pull the box out anyway. Most things will have to be checked with the box out of the car. The upside is that there are a lot of nos parts available if something is worn inside. Danny