Mark Shaw

Steve, If it wern't for that box of condoms, that kid could be 74 year old now..... pretty scary!

Did you repack the pump with graphoil square packing? Just don't use teflon! It will eventually score the shaft.

This appears to be a nice original car except for the Carb conversion. Many older Buicks have the intake manifold turned up-side-down to eliminate the problematic Marvel updraft carb. This can easily be restored to original condition. My guess is that this car will go between $22-28,000. If it is all original and in good working order, it should go to the higher end of the range. Check out this site: http://www.manheimgold.com/car_lo.html

Could be a late 20s GMC truck. GMC used big Buick engines and probably just made bigger radiators from the same vendor that Buick used.

Geeze, I guess I am one of the only guys who uses a 1/2 ton Chevy gas powered 4wd Z71 PU for towing Buicks! It gets 20 mpg unloaded with a little 5.3 liter V8 & has the heavy duty suspension for off road that works great for towing & I get about 14 mpg loaded with an open trailer.

We will be touring with the HCCA at Lake Quinalt WA later this week & through the week-end. I will post some photos next week.

Brian's idea is a good one. You can fill the vacuum tank by removing a 1/4 plug on the top & use a small funnel to fill it.

Scott, It is probably starving for fuel at high RPMs. Clean or replace your fuel filter if you have one & try again. Open that nedle valve a quarter turn & try again. If it does it primarily when your fuel tank is almost empty, check to see that your vacuum tank is clean properly sealed and your fuel lines are not corroded. Also check for hairline cracks in the pot metal top casting of your vacuum tank. They are hard to see, but they will reduce the vacuum enough to starve the carb. You can fix them from the inside with super glue or JB Weld.

John, The rubber cap is not original. It just fits the hole until the correct cap can be found. It is what I found in my car when I got it.

Mike, I found the rubber oil cap that was originally on my 1931 model 57. Please let me know if you want it. durcodude@comcast.net

I never get the kit car question, but I am proud to say that I have been clocked over 55 mph in a 50 mph zone. I told my buddy that if I got a ticket going that fast, I would frame it for my shop!

Try this: http://www.redwoodradio.com/

Sorry, I just couldn't resist. If I hadn't started this, someone else would have..... I am not a spark plug collector, but if you search the internet long enough, you will find the spark plug collectors club with contacts that can help. You misght start by looking for the spark plug museum in Pendleton Oregon.

I suggest you post them on the buy sell listing here.

Sounds like some attempt to prevent auto-insemination.

Interesting, but the title seems a bit misleading. I don't mean to be picky here, but most of the cars are not anywhere near a roadside. I am sure it is too late to rename it "Road Relics".

Last week-end, my wife and I spent a good part of the week-end doing some house painting that had been put off for most of the summer. It wasn’t because we have been lazy; it was put off because we had so many other fun things to do earlier this summer. We were very fortunate to be involved in all the activities before, during, and after the BCA National Meet. So we just didn’t have time to do such mundane things as painting our house. Looking back on this summer, we had a great time with the caravans, the BCA National Meet, the PWD AfterTour, the Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac Picnic, and the All Buick Show in Brooks Oregon. Just when we thought all the car events were over for the summer, the phone rang with a message that one of the local hot rod car club members (& BCA member) thought is was a nice evening for a run to Dairy Queen for ice cream & invited us to their cruise-in. Since we had just finished painting for the day & painting had made me hungry for more than ice cream, we cleaned up, showered, and changed clothes in time to crank up our 13 Buick to go out for dinner at Dairy Queen. Of course our car was the oldest one in the parking lot, so we drew quite a crowd. Some guy said it looked like there was a model T in the lot, and much to my surprise, my wife told the guy that model T Fords were never that big. He looked a little closer and realized it was a Buick. Everyone was surprised to see such an old car in the group and when I finished my burger, I went over to answer questions about the car. One guy asked why I brought such an old car to what was obviously a hot rod cruise-in (I think the guy was just envious of the crowd around my old Buick). I told him “my 24 Buick PU needed some carburetor attention, so I brought my back up car. Besides, I thought all the hot rod guys might like to see what an original “old car” looked like.” He couldn’t believe it was truly an original car until I opened the hood, turned on the gas, and crank started the car to go home. Then he asked me if he and his wife could have a ride, so we all went for a ride around a few blocks before leaving. I think I may have converted another hot-rodder last night…, and that was even more satisfying than the Burger Fries & Ice Cream!

Brian, Years ago, my dad had new bearings machined to fit my 1913 Buick. The races were very hard to machine, so I think they were "re-ground" to fit. I have a coffee can of bearing balls from old bearings that I have pulled from several cars. Tell me what size you need & I will try to match. Obviously, my balls may be bigger than yours.....

The answer to your initial question is to build overhead storage if you can. I moved into town four years ago and lost my barn storage along with the three acres I had to park my enclosed trailer, parts cars, etc. Immediately after we moved into town, I built the biggest shop I could leagally build onto the side of my house. (it took two years of looking to find a house with enough side yard to build a shop). I used two double trusses front to back to match the roof lines of the house. I also matched the siding, paint & roof materials to keep my neighbors happy. Some of my "snowbird" neighbors didn't even know I had a shop for months after they returned from spending the winter elsewhere. It is 26 X 34 and now has a four post lift on the left side centered under the roof peak and far enough from the front to clear the 7' X 16' roll-up door. With the lift (not shown in the older photos), I can park five cars and still have room for my tools & work bench. I currently have four Buicks parked inside, two on the right, one on the lift and one under the lift on the left side. The chain hoist on the 6' I beam swing arm has been replaced with a half ton electric hoist that works well for pulling engines and lifting heavy stuff up to my heavy storage area (built with a 10" stringer on the truss bottom & joists under the five foot space between the post and the house). The light storage area (the insulated area over my work bay & corner bench is built with 2" X 6" joists) is for stuff like fenders, wood, aluminum canoe, etc. The left rear corner has become a catch-all for parts waiting to be cleaned and dis-assembled. My big horizontal tank compressor is on the back wall under a window that provides cross ventilation on warm days. The water heater next to the side door (that leads to the rear deck and entrance to the house) is my heat source for the two circuit radiant floor heating system. This allows me to control the temperature of my work area separate from my parking areas. Overall, I am happy with my shop, but it will never be done. I still need to finish the ceiling, finish insulating the walls, etc. etc....

David, I know Terry W. has what you need, so I sent him a copy of your photos.

Paul, Yes, it is a simple test to determine if you need to take it to a radiator shop. If it is not clogged it really will shoot about that far. You can decide if you need to rework the core by how far it shoots. If it's clogged, you will know immediately. You're getting some good advice from others here. These are all good things to check before you pull the radiator. Always try the easy & cheaper ones first.

Try this simple (oldtimers) radiator test: Remove the radiator and plug the bottom outlet with a rag. Fill the radiator above the core and leave the cap off. Hold it upright on the lawn at a 45 degree angle with the outlet facing up. Remove the rag and watch how far the water shoots. If it shoots more that two feet, your core is probably OK.

The 1936 Model 41 was the most popular car that year with a production total of 77,007. You have a five passenger four door sedan with new innovations like turret top, alloy pistons, improved water temperature control, and improved independent fron suspension. Buick touted the top speed of your car to be 85 mph! I wouldn't call that low end for other cars of the time. The body style is considered to be one of the most desireable "Art Deco" designs of the era. These cars really have a great presence at any old car gathering. I actually prefer the smaller size Buicks because they fit in my garage..... You are lucky to have one.

R.W., I agree. So, what range of years would be affected?

Did the oils in the early years have these additives? If not, how could my older Buicks survive all those years using the oils available back then?