Rooster

Good stuff, thankyou.

It looks like the green coloured one is the same as my red painted one. So I'll go with that one being correct. The other one must have moved at one stage. The timing tab on the engine is on the passenger side ( for USA cars ) as I recall.

I have had a look over them and can't see any marks / stampings other than the one seen on the outer section.

I have two balancers here and the timing marks are located in a different position in relation to the keyway which means one has turned on the rubber. Does anyone have a good one on hand to compare with these two. I'm pretty sure the good one will be the painted balancer.

The red arrows are where the felt "seal" is located. As the ball rotates inside it's outer shell the felt seal scrapes the ball and supposedly keeps the oil in. I replaced mine on rebuild and it still leaks. Next time I would use an "O" ring like later years. If there is not a size procurable , then all you would do is get one larger circumference then cut it and rejoin with super glue.

If only I were a younger man ( and higher Aussie $ ) and didn't have the asbestos storm troopers to deal with.

Russell Martin at Centerville Auto Repair will have them --- snap ring and plugs. Snap ring should be installed correctly, rounded side towards cam.

It certainly is for real. And it is causing buyers/ importers of classic cars much angst. Another hoop we have to jump through. The Government upped the ante especially after a large Asian country car manufacturer was importing new cars with asbestos in them. And ----- building and construction materials containing asbestos from that same country were getting through customs onto work sites. Unfortunately Australia has a large legacy from blue asbestos mining in the last century with health issues of former workers their families and the community at large. The product was used everywhere here for various manufacture, especially for roofing and fencing.

At least it will be a good donor parts car for someone, unlike this 1962 Wildcat

You could get it metal sprayed and re-ground to an available size, but that would most likely result in being far more costly than just finding another crankshaft, which would be the best option.

Maybe he just changed his mind on the shipping deal and thought it was all too hard ? Many times sellers on USA Ebay won't sell / ship to international buyers, even with great feedback ratings. I don't know why. I have had to forego a few good deals because the seller would not ship even when I was going to be paying. Anyhow Stuart, there are a couple of reliable companies here that will bring them over for about the same money. Trouble is you will still have bear the cost of freight to a yard in Los Angeles CA

Sent you a PM

Great story and pictures Brian. Better than any I read in a glossy news stand magazine. Enjoy your new Buick when she arrives.

Got it, thankyou.

I can't find any email contact for Bob's. Has anyone contacted via email ? I just want to enquire about a part.

I think I would need to take an Indian snake charmer with me to be crawling over those cars for parts.

Thanks for you advice on this buick man, but it's too late. After much ( too much ) deliberation / procrastination I've installed with rope seal. I got NO responses from any of the rubber seal suppliers on multiple requests for correct install procedure. Not even BEST who supplied the gasket kit without instructions. So I didn't want to take any chances with getting it wrong. If the rope leaks ( badly ) at least I then have the option to install the rubber seal as you suggest. Too hard or not possible to change from rubber to rope without taking engine out and to pieces. And I ain't doing that again

Are you after the complete rear axle housing or just the centre and gears ?

7000 RPM tachometer in my son's 1962 Wildcat

There's NO way any Australian would consider that car for the price. For several reasons ------ 1. The currency exchange rate would put that car about A$ 30-35,000 landed. 2. The cost of restoration is high here just like North America and that puts the overall cost to be up in the stratosphere. 3. Marquette ( touring cars ) here are not that "rare". I know of two locally and one is for sale at A$9,000 ( US$6,000 ) and in about similar condition or better. It's not a six wheeled option though and has wood wheels. The sedan models are rarer here. We are the opposite to North America, mostly our vintage cars ( 1920s ) are / were open cars across all manufacturers. We do not have the severe cold weather like you have hence touring cars were more popular and cheaper. 4. You can buy a very nice fully restored proper Buick touring car here for around A$25,000 so importing this car would be out of the question. Remember that green one from another General or Post War posting a few months ago ? I liked it and for the price was a good deal even if it was not the original colours.

The new rubber seal halves come with a diagram to show the correct forward facing lip install. But that's it as far as instructions go. Maybe the seal, with it's protrusion on each end is made to suit a number of engines ? That's where the success is measured I reckon. How much to trim and where ----- it being a different install procedure than the rope.

They seem to work for some people Benjamin , but not for others. There has to be a specific method of install for it to be successful. The rubber piece ends sit proud in the cap groove by about .020" or so. So there must be a trick to how much to trim ( if any ) and what sealant to use --- if any. That's the key to it all I reckon. These seals have a metal wire core so they wouldn't need to have much crush, if not trimmed to a degree I can't see how they would not buckle under torque ? The supplier BEST ( and others ) have not got back to me yet , so will wait for help, if not then the new rope seal goes in. I've had enough of waiting and need to get this all together.

I'm using a 1959 engine and it has the V shape machined groove.

She needs to go to Thailand for her next holiday.

No Lamar, it's on my pick up project 401 engine. I got a BEST gasket kit but it only comes with the new style rubber seal. I'm 50/50 on whether to use the rope or rubber. I know Willie has not has success with the rubber style. Others swear by it, so it's all doing my head in trying to decide which way to go. I don't want to pull engine after it's all been re-built to fix oil leaks.