Brian_Heil

This was great. Thank you for posting! While I know you did not plan it, the first 3rd where you are recording the arrivals, you were standing right in front of my car. The last 3rd where you record departrures, you were standing across from it and feature it in almost every clip. Thanks again.

Paul, Please see the model year requirements in my original post. Thx

Larry and Marty, Hope you both get things to work out such that you can join us. And Marty, that Hudson would fit in just fine. I'm in the same boat Larry. I have a non-charging starter/geneator where 2 of the 3 brush arms have failed and it's still on my car waiting for the S/G that I bought off Terry Wiegand some years ago (that was far better than my tired one) that is at Jason Smith's (AER) shop awaiting rebuild. I've been running with the need to plug into a battery charger for some time and I hope to be making 'juice' on this tour. But I also don't want to do a last minute swap either since it requires pulling the water pump shaft and distributor as you know, so lots of potential issues if I screw it up. My hope is that Jason has my S/G apart this week. Right Jason?

Yes Marty, but I don't recall them having a Nickel car oddly. They lead other events as you know.

And I fully understand the comment about Tour conflicts. I too have cars from other decades. I believe this is one reason the Glidden Tour continues to run in mid September. On one hand that tour complains about not having any kids participate which is (in my opinion) because school is in its 2nd week and most are reluctant to pull kids or grandkids out for a week long tour. On the other hand, the weather is still good, even cooler/better in some spots and the tourist traffic is way down because the kids and families are all back in school.

Marty, The VMCCA Eastern and Western Nickel Tours (when they have them) are National Tours and much larger. This Tour is a small, Regional Tour. Technically our Club is part of the VMCCA Kentucky Region and that is only because one of the Group founders was already in the Kentucky Region.

Found a picture from a couple of years ago from this Tour Group. Seems a (very handsome) Buick driver and a Ford driver both lost their hats on tour one day. Lucky for us, the ladies on the Tour stopped at Goodwill and got us both a new hat. Which we wore the rest of the week. You'd be amazed how well this hat works. Wear it to any public place and the crowds just disappear. There's always an open table or booth or stool.

I will post this here and not in the Tours/Events Section as I think it will get more views here and it is not a BCA event so I don’t want to be more confusing than this already will be. Like many of you, I belong to organizations in addition to the BCA. One organization I have really enjoyed has been the VMCCA and the touring they focus on. Can’t begin to say how much fun touring is if you have never toured with a group. The group I belong to is the Central Nickel Age Touring Club of the VMCCA. This is a non-regional group that tours for a week every June somewhere in the Midwest. This is our 21st year. Each year several good Buick friends join us. This year’s Tour is no exception with Larry & Joyce Schramm and Dandy Dave planning to join the Tour. These Tours are what are known as Hub Tours, where you stay the week in one location/hotel, the ‘Hub’, and tour out to locations each day about 100 miles round trip with printed instructions, coffee/donut stops, several lunches and dinners and most admissions at the group rate. This year’s Tour will be June 12 – 17 and located in Orange, Virginia. Interesting that Dandy Dave’s father just recently re-located to of all places, Orange, VA. We will visit 3 President’s homes (Jefferson/Monticello, Monroe/Ash Lawn, Madison/Montpelier), a Civil War battlefield, Blue Ridge Mnt Skyline Drive, Luray Caverns just to name a few. This is a great Tour to bring the kids or grandkids on with lots of history and great routes too. The Group is outstanding, and really fun loving. Special things are done for the kids too. We get between 25 and 30 cars each year. The requirements are as follows: - 1927 is the newest model year permitted, 1913 is the oldest. Exceptions not permitted. - VMCCA membership for the owner/driver but not passengers. - Proof of vehicle insurance. So, if you’ve ever thought about Touring, here’s your chance (someone invited me once way back when). This year I am the Tour Chairman and the Group ran this Tour in 2005 and it was so well received they voted to run it again. This is a ‘break even Tour’, the costs are kept way down. (there are other great tours out there but I can never figure out where all the money goes and I’ve chaired 3 tours). Please contact me at the email below or post a question, since others may have the same one. One final comment. Way back when, I thought, wow, I bet I will be the only Buick on one of these tours. Ha! After Model Ts, Buick is most often the next most popular car, a testament to the quality, reliability and power of our choice of vehicle. When Better Automobiles are Built, . . . . .

I have the same recollection as Tom and perhaps we both read the same thing in Dean's newsletter. I just know the upgrade was made before 1923 so I didn't worry about it. Maybe someone else knows when the Buick axle design was updated?

The 1923 six cylinder is the one that's a bit of a 'bastard' as they pulled ahead the larger 1924 crank and rods into the 1923 six. Or at least that's what we think. I'm no expert, but I'm fairly certain 1921 and 1922 are nearly identical. Of course the starter generators are specific year to year, a ploy I'm certain by Delco to sell more parts. I had a chance to purchase a rolling 1923 chassis, less the frame, and did so. I was the only person interested and the seller was glad to let me have it at a good price. My thought is, how many more of these or how long before you see another stash of parts like this? And just how many people do you think he has knocking down his door? I was able to buy my 1923 stash for 'free' since it included many parts I already had and I sold them off to cover my costs and kept what I needed. I see a cowl with a sharp belt line edge and a fuel pump on the firewall so that means at least 1924. I'm thinking several years are lumped together here.

Here's another site someone passed along to me. Very well written. Lots of articles on a variety of vehicles. The research is excellent on those that I have read. http://ateupwithmotor.com/

Sorry Larry, I'm not as lucky as that guy in the second video either. My bolts don't break off in aluminum, they strip the aluminum thread first, and then come out. And the ones that break off in cast iron do so with no portion of the broken bolt remaining proud if the surface like that guy. Ha. Signed, Broke in Michigan

Leif, Did you see it? It's in your part of the World.

Larry, I've seen that video. I can only wonder how tight that bolt was in the demo. A broken head bolt broke because it was frozen in the block assuming you broke it taking it out. Will the weld be stronger than the bolt that broke? Not sure of a better idea short of drilling it out and helicoil. I guess I'd soak the heck out of it with your favorite penetrant first and then try the nut trick first, can't hurt. Back to the engine search part of this post. Make sure you check for a cracked block before you do any investing in purchasing a block or machining it.

I too have seen an early rear brake only car updated with small front discs. In this cars case, they were the rear discs and calipers off a GM Malibu adapted to the front of the car. I never got a good look at the caliper mounting which is the real work. Can only assume the discs were in some manner modified and mounted to the ring of hub bolts that must have been of a longer version to accommodate the thickness of the disc hub. The master cylinder was an early jeep under floor type.

Contact Jim Campbell in Perry, Michigan. His contact info is in the BCA roster. He knows more about 1937 to 1940 Running Boards than anyone.

I have my secret old tractor repair guy to check with too (if he's not dead), 'he has everything' but finding it is always another issue. We've all been to one of those places where there are little trails through the shop just wide enough to squeeze through sideways where the parts and goodies are stacked so high you think they could fall on you and kill you. Ha. AutoZone lists them, but when you get ready to process the order and check out only then does it come up a Zero Stock on the online order form. Did I mention my dislike for AutoZone? I was 18 once and worked a counter, but I was never rude to people who came in who knew 500 times what I knew then. I use the 4th generation Auto Supply store in Flint (Brown and Sons). Stools to sit on when you sit at the counter and every guy behind the counter is over 50 and the owner walks out and asks if you need a coffee. This is the store that chipped in for us to go shag the Flint Wagon Works wagon in NY from Dandy Dave. Great people. They called all over to 3077s too. No luck. Coffee was fresh.

Well I do have some of those but they fouled too quickly if I remember correctly. Easy enough to run them on the next tour and take the 3076s along under the front seat as back-ups. It's a Buick pride thing, but I hate to raise my hood on a tour (knocking on wood here) except to check the oil at fuel stops. The VMCCA Nickel Age Group I tour with every June has a gentleman's agreement that if your car gives out during the week, you ride in the back seat of another Tourist's car, but, you pay for his gas every day. Let's just say I've had some free gas but have not had to buy anyone any and met some wonderful people too.

And after a 10 minute search on the internet and a call to my favorite old time auto parts store, I remember the rest of the story, the 3077's were discontinued by Autolite a couple of years ago. That's why I have 3076's.

I need to go one better and find some 77's.

Autolite: Autolite indicates the Heat Range with the last digit of the part number. For example, 3923 has a Heat Range of 3. The higher the number, the hotter the plug. The lower the number, the colder the plug. For example, starting with part # 24 (Heat Range 4), If you want a colder plug you would use part # 23 (Heat Range 3), for a hotter plug you would use part # 25 (Heat Range 5).

Also note, all these plugs we are talking about here are far taller than the stock Titan plug that was very short. These taller, modern plugs will short out to your spark plug cover unless you run with a boot or some sort of insulating material on the cover. I razor cut 6 old 90 degree elbow boots on just the inside angle and slip/snap them on. The cover holds them in place and they solved one of the problems the car first had when I bought it and one of the reasons the former owner sold it. Cheap fix.

Autolite 3076's, you can have my Champions, I agree with Mark. And the ACs are not much better than the Champions. The 3076's are the best I have found and significanly superior to the Champions and AC's.

Here's a top view of the M18. Note that it is an open turret. I remember reading the air cooled aircraft engine pulled all the inlet air thru this open turret to the engine causing the tank to be one very cold ride in cold weather. Gun and shells are in full view.

Great comments Larry D. May I add that Larry and his wife were in mid Michigan this summer for a wedding and did not hesitate to stop by for an nice visit. That's what happens when you meet nice people in the BCA, in this case, PWD fellow Tourists. And speaking of Larrys. I bet Larry S. and I chat at least once a week on the phone and see each other monthly. You may recall we went east together to fetch the Flint Wagon Works Wagon, visiting another BCA (legend) Dandy Dave who found it.