MCHinson

I would try jacking up the rear end, starting the car in gear, let it run for a while and then try the clutch/brake pedal trick. It might break it free and solve your problem, or it might simply stall the car, or it might break something else. The other alternative is a lot of disassembly and repair work.

Actually, the purpose is to be able to communicate by replying to a discussion publicly. That allows others to see all of the discussion. Sending a Private Message is a privilege that you will earn fast enough through making sufficient public posts or replies. Without that protection, newbie scammers could send private messages and cause significant problems for legitimate forum users.

What do you mean by the "clutch is bad"? I don't know much about 1939 Buicks except the transmission and torque tubes are a one year only design for good reason. The shift by cable was not a very well thought out design and seemed to cause a lot of headaches over the years. If the clutch disc is rusted to the flywheel, I would suggest an old trick that saved me a lot of work on a Model A Ford with that problem from being parked in an enclosed trailer for over a decade before I bought it. Following a tip I heard elsewhere, I jacked up the rear end, put it on jack stands and started the car up with it in gear. After letting it run for a while, I depressed the clutch pedal and then stomped on the brake pedal as hard as I could. The rusted clutch disc released from the flywheel and after that worked perfectly for all of the years that I owned the car.

The funny thing is I don't remember if we have a photo of those two side by side yet, and I have owned the 80C for almost 3 years and we live within about 20 miles of each other. He needs to drive his Roadmaster to more local club events... I drive mine to just about every one of our local AACA Chapter meetings.

Yes, that was the only editing done to it.

I also have this edited version...

Yes, I sold the 1938 Model 61 to Emtee. I still own a 1937 Model 80C and a 1937 Model 61 (although I think the Model 61 may be going to a new owner soon). Sample photo attached just in case it helps...

I would like to drive my 1937 Roadmaster Convertible Phaeton there, but I am not sure I can make the scheduled dates work for me. I don't own a tow vehicle or trailer and while I want to go, I am not sure that driving the almost 800 mile round trip is a very smart thing for me to do... but I have not made a final decision yet.

MrEarl, I have one in probably a little bit better shape than the one in your first photos, but I don't think I would call it "Mint". Not sure quite what you are planning to do with it. If .jpg images of all of the pages, which would allow you to print them on nice fresh paper, would help, I can post them for you.

Yes, It is one of one so that has to be it.

Yes, it is a 1937 Roadmaster Franay Bodied Town Car.

I don't think he was saying you were asking a dumb question. I think he was saying that he had a dumb question... I might agree with him 😊, as your post was quite clear that you were looking for a way to jump start 6 volt cars easily. There was never any indication that you had any problem with your starter or electrical system.

The most likely guy to help you in Texas is @Pete Phillips. Hopefully he will chime in here. If not, you can probably find his contact information easily since he is the Editor of the Buick Club of America's Buick Bugle magazine. Other than that, about the only source where you can probably find a complete running motor to swap into the car would be Dave Tacheny. Dave sells 1936-1941 Buick parts. He can best be reached by calling 763-427-3460 between 4 and 7 pm Central.

I have heard a lot of concerns about reproduction tire quality. I have apparently just been lucky. I previously wore out a set of Coker's Firestone wide white wall tires on my 1937 Buick Century with no issues with the white wall appearance. I replaced them a year or so ago with the same type of Coker Firestone wide white wall reproduction tires and have not had an discoloration issues with those tires either. When I bought my 1937 Buick Roadmaster Convertible Phaeton a few years ago, it had a set of Diamondback wide white wall tires on it. Those tires also still look great. It seems to me that both companies can make decent tires. I understand that other people who I trust have had very different experiences. It seems that there is and has been a lot of variety of quality in tires over the past decade or so. I am just glad that I have not had any problems.

I don't know but their description would seem to indicate that it will not be adequate to start your car. Their description includes, "Jump Starter Great For Power Sports, Motorcycles & 4-6 Cylinder Cars"

He has a typo in the year in his ad text. It is clearly 1939, not 1938. You may want to change your thread title from "1938" to "1939".

After looking back through other photos, I feel more confident that the odd looking gear is actually correct. Hopefully Brian will chime in with an update soon.

John, that does look questionable. In my previous post, I was referring to the gear circled in red not being installed incorrectly. With the angle and lighting of my 1938 transmission photo, I can't see that gear lower in the case, so you could be right. I can't answer that question.

I avoid ethanol containing fuels when possible (which is most of the time). I use the lowest octane fuel available, typically 87 or 89. Higher octane is not really beneficial, but avoiding ethanol is.

It is possible. It would just not be profitable due to the small market. Companies don't usually provide a service unless it can also provide a reasonable profit for them. Carrying a charged Optima 6 volt battery and a set of jumper cables in your trunk would be a much cheaper solution than trying to buy a 6 volt jump box. Some people already do this. The reason few people are carrying an extra Optima battery with them is they don't want to spend the cost of the extra battery. Why would they spend even more money for a less effective option?

I don't think so. From looking back at the photos of the 1938 Century transmission in my Model 61, the gears appear to be correct. I think it is just a matter of needing a bit of lubrication along with a bit of gentle tapping back and forth until it is free.

I would suggest a bit of lubrication to all of the gears and rods and then try gently persuading them to move a bit back and forth.

Modern fuels are much more volatile than fuels from when these cars were new. In my experience, when my 1937 Buicks are shut down hot, the heat from the engine will cause the modern fuel to boil out of the carburetor bowl. It is then going to take a bit of time with the engine turning over for the mechanical fuel pump to refill the carburetor bowl. While I like my cars as close to original as possible, I have added an auxiliary electric fuel pump near the fuel tank on both of them. The electric fuel pump is controlled by a toggle switch that is mounted within reach of the driver's seat. It is also on the ignition circuit so it will be off when the car is shut down, even if you leave the toggle switch on accidentally. A short activation of the electric fuel pump will refill the carburetor bowl so the car will start as soon as you attempt to start it. This technique also solves a similar problem when the car has been sitting in the garage for several days and the fuel has evaporated out of the carburetor bowl. It is also a perfect solution for anytime that the car is exhibiting vapor lock. The electric fuel pump will stop vapor lock in a few seconds.

While we might think there are "lots" of us out here with 6 volt cars, compared to the mass market of 12 volt cars, there is just not enough volume to justify a manufacturer selling one of these. I also don't much see the need. You can start about any 6 volt car with a 12 volt jump box or using battery cables from either a 6 or 12 volt car, as long as you use common sense and are careful. Additionally, if your car is in good shape, and you use a good battery (Optimas are my favorite although not cheap), you should almost never need such a product. In my 1937 Roadmaster Model 80C, I have two 6 volt Optima batteries wired in parallel, just because I am crazy enough to like to play period music through the original tube type 1937 Buick radio by way of a small AM transmitter hooked up to recorded music when I am at car related events. I don't play it loud, but when people are looking at the car, they can hear it and it brings a smile to a lot of faces. Running that tube type radio for a couple of hours would suck the juick out of most single batteries but two Optimas handle it well. I have never had to jump start the car even with that type of use, since I went to the parallel Optimas.

I remember 1987 Ford Crown Victoria Police Cars that had them. We joked that you could not leave them running while refueling because you would never get the gas tank full. I once had to take one on an out of town trip to do a background check on a police applicant. The mpg seemed to be about the same at Interstate Speeds as it was around town. It seemed that fuel just poured through the carburetor at a constant rate no matter what the speed of the car was.