DonMicheletti

As far as I'm concerned, no one beats Bobs Automobilia for parts and service

Danny, Good point. There are 25 full coils. A bit tough to count because of the closed coils on the end. Don

An original unmolested pressure releif spring has the following dimensions taken from a running engine with the usual Buick oil pressure chractersitics (45psi running at speed warm ): Outside diameter: .380" Free length: 3.667" (+ / -) Wire diameter: .050" Keeping in mind that this was in a 80K mile engine that was near 80 years old

Actually, either a bushing or bearing can fail. Running dry it the usual reason. By the time your engine was built, Buick had a few years of experience. They must have had a reason for using the more expensive ball bearing. Often "improved" systems end up not working.

While the bushing would be fine and I know a lot of cars had them with no trouble (bronze with wheel bearing grease), Buick didnt put a ball bearing in there for paractice. They knew what they were doing and the bearing is pretty cheap. I'd go with the original bearing. Why do you want to change to a bushing?

Check the wiring diagram. On some GM cars there was a fusable link (a piece of wire acting as a fuse) hidden in the wiring harness. Something like that mkay be the source of your problem.

This is a great piece of information. As always, it pays to know exactly what you need when you are looking for it.

Bushings on the pilot shaft were pretty common, so you should be OK. There is a gasket between the trans and bellhousing. Holes should be left open (clearance for the shift rail) No grease on the shaft. 85/90 weight oil is fine

Wow, that is fantastic. I had made the ones I needed for my '38. I wonder if they have the females too?

If it is like my '38, there is a bolt with a nong "nose" that holds the shaft i. It screws in from the outside of the gearbox

There are just 4 bolts to hold the trans in. I believe the "extra" holes are clearance fot the fork shafts when they move forward

There is an article in the old Torque Tube about the disassembly of the towers on the net. It is pretty easy to do

I have restored a couple of cars with hydraulic brakes (one my '38 Roadmaster). I replaced all rubber parts and stoplight switches and converted them to silicone fluid. The ;38 was done 25+ years ago and I have not had a bit of problems with the stoplight switch or anything else. The switch failure being attributed to the silicone fluid (which is pretty innert) is surprising, especially since DOT 3 is such an aggressive paint stripper.

I am not certain, but I think on that gen. grounding the field causes maximum charging. Try removing the field wire at the gen. If it still charges max you have a short in the gen. If not, there is a short in the wiring

At 73 I find that I am a lot slower than I used to be. Doing the clutch on my'38 Roadmaster took longer than it should have. But I don't have a rack and had to just work laying on my back. Unfortunately, your experience with mechanics is pretty common. Old cars just do not fit in well with other more profitable jobs on the newer cars. Just finding someone willing to try is difficult so I understand your position. I feel that the torque tube Buicks are among the most difficult cars on which to do clutch and transmission work

I agree that learning is necessary. Finding a mechanic that understands these older Buicks that are a PITA at best when it comes to transmission work, is almost impossible. However, why did he "return" the car when he knew there still was a problem? The job should have been finished. Actually I feel for folks I read about on this forum that have difficulties in sending their cars to someone else for repairs. I have always done all my own work so when something goes wrong on a repair (and it can) - the person to blame isn't far away!

After reading this very long and complicated thread, in my opinion what you really need is a new competent mechanic!

I have a partial answer to the engine removal question. The last time I worked on my '31 and '32 was in 1969. However, I am definitely sure you can remove and replace the engines without pulling the rear end and transmission. I also remember that it wasn't easy

60 Flat Top: I love your "my mechanic" comments. Hitting the nail on the head. One of my favorite comments I often heard when folks found out I was a car nut. They would say " I have a great car - my mechanic loves it!". I just bet he would!!! Those of us who can do our own work are fortunate in that we are not at the mercy of many well meaning "mechanics" who do not understand the older cars.

I have to agree with Glasser - just leave it unrestored. The car does have some issues. It appears the the front radiator shutters are gone, There is a hole in the dash (passengers side for a radio). There is some sort of patchwork on the carb heat tube between the exhaust manifold and carb stove. Missing stuff may be hard to find. Much depends on mechanical condition. My first Buick was a '31-67. I drool over this car.

I looked at the Gaffery Babbiting site. His operation looks impressive and first class.

Trp, I have done it both ways. For just a clutch job, pulling the rear end is actually easiest way to go. However, if you are going to do engine work too, Pulling the front clip and then the engine & trans is easier. In either case it is a GIANT Pain in the rear and a whole lot of work. Clearly the worse part of working on an old Buick!

Dave, I didnt realize that the new setup does have spring loading to eliminate slop (I couldnt see that). In that case it would be superior. Don

Lots of the new mechanics do not understand the older engines, especially those engines with babbit bearings. Today on a modern engine,, you can mike the crank, buy suitable insert bearings and just throw the engine together since there really isnt anything you can do about the bearing clearnce anyway. The old babbited engines, the clearance is adjusted both by machining and shimming. You have to check clearances. On the old engines, I have always done everything myself - including pouring and machining the babbit, then fitting things - I did have mains and cam bearings align bored by a real machine shop after my initial machining. I assembled everything myself. Finding an old fassioned engine machine shop these days is hard. Many modern mechanics dont even know how points work.

When I did my '38's, the breaker plate race was all crudded up on both cars (done 20 years a part). I just used a small wire wheel to clean the crap out of the distributor body race and a wire "toothbrush" to clean the breaker plate races. I replaced the balls with new ones from Mc Master Carr - I still have a million left - but they are cheap. It is kind of a PITA to put together, but they work as designed now. While I do like the upgrade, since the plastic parts have no give, they have to have clearance to work - thus breaker plate axial movement and the attendant point clearance change. (probably makes no difference though). The 3 balls with the spring load does not have this axial movement and will keep the points more precisely set.