DonMicheletti

The 80 and 90 series have the same engine. Virtually nothing will interchange between the engine series other than some acessories.

Why bother. BOB's has it and it will be on your doorstep in no time - and it will be right

I think the intention is just to pinch the center steel sleeve between the top and bottom parts of the frame buy just tightening the heck out of the bolt.The steel sleeve shouldnt turn. i think a "T" shaped flange is a good solution

Good old Harbor Freight has a pneumatic scraper for about $25 (item # #95826 ) that probably will make the job easier. I have used one for lots of stuff like removing undercoating and glued on gaskets.

Yea Bhigdog!!!

You might drill the upper hole bigger to get it round again and make a new bolt yourself with a step in it to accomdate the new hole size. I'd make the bushing out of bronze. This thing probably wont get the same kind of use it had before and now you know that there is a grease point that is very easily overlooked. Do you have a photo of the frame holes with the bolt out?

Originally, on a '38. there is a ground strap that goes from the top right transmission bolt head (has a 1/4-20 screw in it) . The strap is pinched between the transmission cover and the floor via one of the screws. Either a 6 or 8 awg wire would be fine. However, there is not a positive chassis to engine ground like that that i know of. Adding one anywhere would be OK. The chassis / frame has no electrical appliances other than added fog lights and such. All the electricals and lights are on the body

With that many broken rings on a "new" engine, it sounds as if the end gap on the rings was to tight - maybe not checked at all. With the screwed up shims, it sounds like a really sloppy engine assembly. I had one "restored" engine that had no shims at all (rods and crank). Needless to say, the engine would not turn. At that point the owner / mechanic gave up his restoration.

Fascinating problem. I'll be interested in the actual solution. My similar experience with sudden low compression was that my compression gage went haywire!

Sorry, I didn't see the "6", nor the dash trim strips.

After WWII because, Buick couldn't keep up with postwar car demands, they offered post war replacement engines. it appears that your car has one of these engines. 2 clues. Does the intake manifold have downward facing "dogleg" at the rear.. Are there 2 serial numbers stamped on the engine block. One on the machined pad and a second right below. If so yours is a replacement engine. Which is a legitimate, accepted switch even for shows, I believe. Also as a 46S it would be a Special not a Century. A Century would be a 66S. One thing,. It sometimes happens that a Special coupe or convertible body is swapped onto a Century 4 door chassis making it a more valuable car, There are several subtle clues to this change.

For what it is worth, I have used Sunset Foundry for several projects and their work is very good

Here is a photo of my distributor adjustment screw

On my '18 E 45, the cam for the points is held in place by a tapered screw under the rotor inside the distributor. You have to loosen the screw to be able to turn the cam assembly to time the engine.

I have ground box wrenches for situations like that. The center nuts on Buick manifolds are hard to get at.

There is lots of information about this subject in the old 37-38 Torque Tube magazine that is online at: http://www.1937and1938buicks.com/The-Torque-Tube/The-Torque-Tube.htm There is a lot you can do to a '37 using later parts. Buick built essentially the same engine until 1953

If you have access to a lathe, making your own parts is not rocket science and is easy to do. Rewarding too. In doing restorations and repairs on old cars, a lathe and milling machine are good friends to have. Making parts eliminates a lot of grief.

Back then many states didnt use the chassis number (picture) but used the engine number. It is like that here in Calif. I doubt there is any information that links the chassis number to any of the car specs. As far as creating a new tag, you can get correct body, color and upholstery codes from the old '37 - '38 Torque Tube site, which is on the net.. I'm pretty sure that Buick used the same codes for '39 too. I think that since your chassis number starts with a "1" it is a Flint built car.

If you do use the "new" block, you should knock the freeze plugs out and clean the water jacket too.

You would have to make a "U" shaped tube for the oil to connect inlet directly to the outlet since all the oil went through the cooler. Since there is a leak, you might have to make a water pipe that would connect the water pump outlet directly to the engine. Leaving the oil cooler in place may give you a leak out of the, now open, oil line in thecooler. You might be able to plug those holes, but things are really tight around there.

The stock '39 Buick ignition doesnt use a resistor. Has it been converted to 12V?

OOPS! driving the bolt through the STEEL sleeve

Put a nut on the bolt with the top of the nut even with the end of the bolt before hammering at the start. Once you get the bolt moving you can remove the nut and use a chunk of brass or copper between the bolt and hammer. If you mushroom the end of the bolt you will have a lot of trouble driving the bolt through the bronze bushing in the arm.

That is an impossible to beat price and a neat way to go!

Has anyone had valves stick that can positively be attributed to just the fuel?