Rooster

Thanks for the compliment Lamar. Ok , I'll post pictures of my Australian bodied tourer in the Me and My Buick for those that are interested. Some of you have probably noticed that I'm looking out for a 1954 model Riviera 2 door. When the snow melts hopefully there will be a few come up on the market for sale. Ken from Down Under with 1929 Tourer 1971 Centurion hardtop

Bob, can you give me contact details for a business that can supply the repro's for the ' 55 Special Thanks. Ken.

Thankyou. Very much appreciate your help Lamar. The weather here Down Under is in direct contrast to North America at the moment. Hot, dry and large bush fires out of control. Looks like a very busy summer for me at the Fire Station. We see your snow storms on the TV. My daughter is currently on the Amtrak train from Nebraska to New York. She says it's freeeeeeezing. Not used to such conditions , it never snows here. At least for us the summer weather means we can get our Buicks out while most of yours are tucked away for the winter. Ken. Western Australia 1929 tourer model 25X 1971 Centurion

Maybe it's brother or sister are hiding close by ? Ken 1929 tourer model 25X 1971 Centurion hardtop

Next Australian Buick National , 2008 in sunny Queensland. At this stage late August , early September. Come on down ! Ken Churchman 1929 tourer model 25X

The ' 54 Roadmaster 2 door in Kansas would be a restorable proposition to most of us Buick people Down Under. The shipping costs on a project car would be the killer for us though , it's the same cost for something like this or a nice original. I'm currently on the hunt for a '54 Riviera 2 door down here. I'm hoping to find one in better condition , because like North America , restoration costs can be prohibitive if you can't do a lot of the work yourself. Ken Churchman 1929 Tourer model 25X 1971 Centurion hardtop

Another rare roadster body style was built in 1929 on the 116" standard chassis by General Motors Australia ( Holden) in very limited numbers and only a handful exist today. There was a very nice one at the Australian National earlier this year ( did you take a photo Stu ? ) One of our Western Australian founding members has one in bits ready for restoration. They are a sweet looking motor car. Ken 1929 Tourer model 25 ( Holden body )

I agree with Bob the Bhigdog. That's the best way to get your stainless to sparkle if you want show finish. Of course that means you have to take it off and have access to a machine and buffing wheels / compounds and have some ability to do it. Many precious parts have been damaged / destroyed by the high spinning wheel grabbing the part out of ones hand and smashing it onto the ground. Hold on tight!! You could try and get a product called " Autosol" , a specialist metal polish , apply with a rag. It comes in a tube and looks like toothpaste. You can then have a go while the trim is still on the car. It's what we all use here. Works fantastic on chrome too. But for ultimate show finish bits you have to put in the hard yards and take it all off. Good luck ! Ken.

Put the new one in and keep the used one for spare. There is no point in having a new one just sitting gathering dust. You will have piece of mind knowing that it's new and not going to fail for a long time. There's nothing worse than trying to repair a car on the side of the road on a 100 degree day. Been there and done that ! Ken. '29 tourer '71 Centurion.

Has anybody been able to bolt up a Turbo 400 or 350 trans to a 401 Nailhead ? Did you make your own adaptor plate or is there a shop that can manufacture and supply. How much hassle and expense did you have to go through ? Thanks. Ken.

The idea of an electric fan has merit. Although I don't think a great deal of power is lost from the original set up because all that is being turned is a fan pulley ( although , my fan hub innards have been replaced with modern sealed ball bearing conversion , much less drag and maintenance) On more modern cars the water pump is connected and this will pull power. The electric fan would be more efficient because it will spin faster than the original , although blades will not be as big. The only way is to instal and try. Ken.

Say for example this was a more modern engine with a thermostat controlled water system. What the thermostat is actually doing is opening and closing with the temps of the water to get a constant temperature in the system , most cars about 180F. If you take the thermostat out( in hotter climates like here in Australia) the engine will boil ! This is due to the fact that the boiling water is travelling too fast and not staying long enough in the copper tubes to be cooled. I have a 160 degree thermostat fitted to my engine . It is a common modification here in Australia. There are people casting a piece that solders into the top tank to take a common GM thermostat. The original hose cast fitting bolts onto that. You can make an line thermostat to go in the top hose. I made one for my Studebaker a few years ago out of copper plumbing fittings. I have also seen ones made by bolting modern aluminium thermostat housings back to back. As for the oil , there are "running in oils " available but I have never used them , that's not to say they aren't any good , just expensive. All I use on engines is a cheap supermarket oil 20 / 40 and run it for about 200 miles then dump it. Then go for something a bit heavier. It's all about personal preference. Michael it sounding more like the problem could be just a tight engine ? If it is getting better all the time then keep on going. 200 degrees on a long hill on a hot day would be nothing out of the ordinary I wouldn't think. Mine did that until I fitted the expansion tank. Maybe something to consider. Ken.

If you have any usefull spares for a 1929 Buick , I would do a swap. I also have a '71 model so any spares for that , or any year Buick in between that I can use for trading here. Thanks. Ken.

Ok Houston , looks like we have a problem here. Answer some of the these questions Michael. Does it actually boil or just getting too hot for your comfort ( what is the daily temp. there ) What grade of oil are you using What grade of spark plug are you using ( different to before ? ) Has the carb set-up been altered ( running leaner ? ) Have you got the valve clearances set right !!! One important fact you have to consider is now that there is a modern ( and more efficient core)in the car , the tube internal area will be much greater and water will flow through it much quicker and this leads to engine overheating because the water does not stay in the tube long enough to have an efficient heat transfer. Do you have a thermostat fitted ? If not then you may need to fit a restrictor in the hose to slow the water down a touch. I know you say that it ran OK before, has the weather got hotter since then ? How is the water pump bearing. If this is overtight/seized it will lead to stripped timing gear and make engine work harder ( overheating ) Just a few more things to consider Ken. '29 Standard Tourer '71 Centurion

That's what I did with my crank , although it was not all that bad just needed a touch up. What I also did was re-size the 5 main and 6 big-end bearings by filing off the faces then re-scraping them all to the correct clearance .0015 -- .002 " Took me over 2 weeks to do this , but saved thousands $$$ by not having to have 11 bearings re-poured and then line bored. I'm afraid .015 out of round journal is too far gone. It may be cheaper for you to drop the crank and if all the other journals / bearings are OK then just get the one re-done ?? Ken. '29 Standard Tourer '71 Centurion

One thing you must not do is put too much water into the radiator. When cold fill it till the water just covers the top of the cores in the top tank. This gives plenty of room for heat expansion. What can happen is excess water heats up, expands and quickly fills the top tank and starts to overflow. This causes a venturi action and more water keeps following out the overflow pipe until most of the water is gone !! This happens with constant high speed running. Sounds weird , but happened in my ' 29 until I fitted a pressurised 4 pound overflow tank. This cured it. Your problem could be this or something else. .015 - .002 clearance is correct. I would not be bothered with this. Sounds like something else. As for the loss of power ?? My mate had a new honeycomb core specially made for his ' 29 master. It overheated big time ( new engine as well ) After weeks of frustration and changing nearly everything ( including swapping his radiator for mine )the problem ended up being the honeycomb could not handle the heat exchange. The design of the tube set -up was that the honeycomb "hole" was too big and this allowed the air to pass too quickly through the fins and not having any cooling effect. He ended up having to get a whole new radiator built ( at another great cost ) It is now the same as mine. A modern tube and fin design , 12 fins per inch. Then get a radiator shop to slice a thin piece of honey comb off the radiator and solder in front to look like the old design , but with modern behind. Can't tell the difference. But if there is a lack of power, then check valve timing first. It's cheaper than getting another core made ----- for now. Good luck Ken.

Are you sure it's .015" , that's fifteeen thou , a heck of a lot. Do you mean .0015 , one and a half thou ?? Ken.

Hi all. I have what I believe to be a chrome windscreen frame off a 1933 six cylinder sedan. It comes in 2 pieces and has the lower opening / closing mechanism with it but no upper hinges. The frame is brass with chrome plating. The chrome is OK but will need re-doing to be show quality. Price US$80 Approximate shipping costs Australia -- USA Air mail 7-10 days US$50-55 Economy air 2-3 weeks US$45-50 Surface ( sea) 6-10 weeks US$30-35 It will cost you actual shipping charges , I won't rip you off with inflated prices or handling charges. Final cost to be determined after it's packed. Thanks. Ken.

Yes ! You have a vacuum leak somewhere , that is air is being sucked in to the engine but not through the carb. It would most likely be a gasket leak where the carb sits on the intake manifold or the intake manifold gasket where it bolts on to the head. There may be other places but these will be the most common. Good luck Ken.

Oh , another important point I forgot. Put fresh oil in it before you start it up !! And make sure you turn it by hand over and check all the valves are not stuck. Take the tappet cover off and pour oil all over the rocker gear , springs and valve stems. Take the plugs out and pump a half dozen shots of oil into cylinders and leave for a day or two. Ken.

If you gap the points at .015 and the plugs at .025 - .030 it will run good. If you have a strong coil then you could widen the plugs out to .040 to get a stronger / hotter spark , but best to stick to around .025 to get it going then you can play with it. Good luck . Ken. ' 29 tourer.

I've just measured the wheel on my ' 29 standard 116 ( all 1929 Buick had 20 inch tyres) The diameter across the metal rim as you look at it in the picture is 19 1/2 inches or just short of 500mm. That's not a ' 29 hub cap on the wheel. My guess is 1928. Cheers, Ken.

How many $$$$ please ?

The link above says car has been withdrawn by Ebay ??? , but it's still listed if you go into their site ( I assume we're talking about the lovely bluey coloured 2 door hardtop ). I'd swap my 4 door for that !! But, to get it 10,000 miles to Aussie ?? Wife says 2 Buicks enough. Me, I've got different ideas. Ken. '71 Centurion 4 door '29 Tourer

Fellow club member here has stripped the fibre cam timing gear on his '28 standard motor. Has any body got a NOS replacement to sell or know where to find one in North America. Thanks. Ken. '29 Tourer '71 Centurion.