37_Roadmaster_C

I am not sure if you could get the proper background color, but one thing I would check into is anodizing. This is an ideal electrochemical process to protect and color aluminum. I think it would only work for the background and then you would need to hand paint or fill the numbers. One thing about anodizing is it is NOT a plating process. It actually adds a very thin layer of aluminium to the base metal and will not flake, peal or rub off. It is only removed by literally removing a thin surface layer (the one added) of the part. This would be an ideal way to apply the background and then "filling in" the number color. Just a thought. Check with a professional if interested...

Neat way to attack the problem. As I was reading the first thing that came to my mind was a pallet-jack and appropriate blocking. Your way is much better as it allows for unrestricted steering. This is a great thread allowing us to follow all the work you and Rob are doing.

I can not help you with your question, but thought I would jump in about one guy in western Canada. My dad and I had the running boards for our 37 Buick Roadmaster Phaeton rebuilt and covered by a fellow in McBride British Columbia, his name is Kris Arneson. He does beautiful work, but he charges what he is worth! Oops, had Kris' name wrong. Fixed now...

NO FAIR!! He is supposed to be fixing the one for my dads 37 Buick!! Just kidding Bloo!!

YES!!!

Thanks for that information. Still, 42 is a small number IMO. It really doesn't matter as they are all nice cars.

Quick question... Is that car in the known surviving car count? It is my understanding that the 1937 80c is only known to have about 30 survivors. It is very nice to see one in that shape. I will be PMing you with some questions...

Great looking Phaeton Matt!!! I may be a bit biased about that year and model 🤭

What @Grimy said above is very good advice. The Marvel Mystery Oil will not hurt anything and it has some very interesting benefits! Give it a try for a while and see how it works for you. As for the lower compression in the #5 hole, did you try a compression test both dry and wet (with a squirt of oil in the cylinders)? If so, did the compression become higher and more like the other cylinders with the same test? If so, then rings, and that is what I suspect for #5. There may be other things also, but that is for when/if you open up the motor... Keep us posted with what you find.

It is possible that the cam could cause the noise, but not likely. The noise could be coming from a lifter but the normal result of that type of problem is rocker noise from a loosely adjusted valve. These engines have solid lifters so any misadjustment of the valves could transfer noise lower in the block, but it is not a normal event. Now you said something in your last post that may be very relevant... You imply that the noise is more prominent on the cam side of the engine. This makes me rethink things a bit. I would think that a rod knock would be virtually the same from both sides of the engine. I am not sure about this as I have only heard rod knock on a few engines and all have been newer V8's. Hopefully others will chime in with their experience.

Hi Robby, I do not have any pictures as I went for the machined and insert bearings right away. As said above the shims are between your red lines in the picture. You are on the right track to figure this out. You have eliminated fuel pump, water pump, generator and belt. Great start!! Next do the cylinder by cylinder test as outlined above. My Buick is a 320 Roadmaster so I do not know what kind of issues you will bump into if you need to remove the oil pan. There are several 1940ish Special owners on this forum. If you get to the "remove the oil pan" step you might want to start a new thread asking just that in the title. They will jump in and give you their input on the subject. Your last video makes the sound much clearer and I also am leaning toward a crank end rod bearing. Don't panic, continue troubleshooting and move forward from there. One recommendation, do not drive the car until you know what is causing the problem. Right now it is a noise needing repair. If it throws a rod it easily could be new block time. These old straight 8 engines are relatively long stroke motors and with that they have a very high torque rating. High torque means higher power at lower RPM and therefore easier to do damage if the bearings are failing. Keep us posted!

I am having a hard time hearing the sound you hear. I do think I may hear a low volume, steady tapping sound. Now for the thoughts... It does not seem loud enough or low (think bass drum) enough to be a crank related sound. It could be a lifter/valve noise. Check valve adjustment. It could be a fuel pump rod tap. Check with a stethoscope or dowel rod to see if you can localize the noise to the fuel pump area. The last thought is a rod/wrist pin tap or possibly a piston skirt slap. You can check rod bearing and crank main bearing clearance with plastigauge with the oil pan removed. When removing the rod caps be sure to keep the shims in place with the caps. If you find a loose measurement you remove shims and recheck for proper clearance. If there are no shims and the measurement is loose there are different ways to approach this. Some people say to lightly file the rod cap to tighten the clearance. I am against this idea because once filed there is no turning back. You can also get the babbitt bearings repoured and scrape them in and my choice... have the rods machined for insert bearings and not have babbitt issues in the future. Babbitt bearings are perfectly fine and original, but inserts are easy and newer technology. Your choice. The crank main bearings are checked the same way, but they are insert bearings from the factory. Now for the rod/wrist pin tap and piston skirt slap I am not really sure how to check with the engine assembled. There may be a way and I am sure others will chime in with suggestions and thoughts. Also, what engine do you have 248 or 320? Hope this helps.

The above recommendations for testing are spot on EXCEPT do NOT connect power to the distributor!! One other test that has not been mentioned is to test the ignition circuit to make sure there is not a bad connection or switch in that circuit. There are two ways to test that circuit. The first is with a test light. Disconnect the coil wire to the distributor cap. This is for safety while making the test. Connect the test light between the ignition terminal of the coil and ground. You should have a steady light when the ignition switch is turned on. Now turn the motor over manually and watch the test light. When the points close the light may dim SLIGHTLY, but it should still be on. If it goes out or gets dim you have a bad connection in the ignition circuit. If this is the case, leave the motor in the same position and start testing at each point where the ignition wire connects going back toward the battery. When you get a bright test light you have just moved past the problem. For example, you test back to the ignition switch. When testing the coil side you have a dim or no light. The next test point is the other side if the switch. When you test that point you get a bright, steady light. This tells you that either the ignition switch is bad OR the connection terminals are not making good connection. I think that gives you the idea of the test. The other way to test this is with a test meter measuring voltage. Follow the same procedure and if you find a significant voltage drop below battery voltage you have found the problem. One other thing I need to mention is that some ignition circuits have either a resistor or a resistance wire in the ignition circuit. I do not think any 6 volt systems have this resistor, but most 12 volt systems do. When doing the test on a 12 volt system, there will be a significant voltage increase on the battery side of this resistor. This is normal. If you are using a meter, the coil ignition voltage will be around 8 volts and the battery/switch side will be very close to battery voltage. This is a bit wordy, but it can really help determine the location of the problem with a simple set of tests. That will speed the repair and reduce frustrations!!! Let us know what you find...

Typical 6 volt starters turn the engine slowly. If you used 12 volts, it will turn the motor over at least twice as fast and possibly more. This is just the way it is. Check all cable connections and make sure they are all clean and tight. Do not forget the ground cable and any bonding cables between the frame and the motor block. If you have replaced either or both of the battery cables the regular parts house cables are way to small as they are for modern 12 volt systems. Having cables made by a GOOD battery store or doing it yourself using 2/0 or bigger welding cable will make a huge difference. The old 6 volt starting systems seem wrong when compared to modern 12 volt systems, but with a well tuned car they were very reliable.

@edinmass, I just looked at the box pictures you posted. All I can say is WOW!!! Absolutely beautiful work!! It is a shame that after all the engineering and proof work, the bearings are now out of production. This must be heartbreaking. It is people like you that keep the hobby alive. Please keep it going!!!!

I have never encountered a 'Acme thread and nut' steering system, but I have many acme precision systems on my machine tools (lathes and mill). I tend to agree with you as the acme threads are a square profile and offer much more resistance to movement. One question about this type of steering system... When you leave a turn, do the wheels return to strait if you release the steering wheel? I think that would tell a lot about being able to move things by hand.

You are correct about mechanical disadvantage, however with the wheels off the ground, I have not found a vehicle yet that you can not move the spindles (wheels) lock to lock by hand. Sometimes it takes an effort to get them moving, but they will move.

Try putting a couple of cookie pans loaded with liquid dish soap under the tires. Then try to turn the steering wheel. If it turns relatively freely the issue is the tire, if not then the steering assembly. I am betting on the tires gripping the road very well. We have a 46 Chevrolet flatbed on our ranch. That truck is almost impossible to turn if there is no forward or reverse motion to the truck. Let us know as we are all curious to hear the findings.

I understand the reason, BUT I would still wear the boots and put socks OVER the boots 😁....

One other detail... On my 37 Roadmaster Phaeton the original glass was clear laminated, like a modern windshield glass. I do not think it really matters as both laminated and tempered are safety rated. The difference being that tempered will break into small squares if broken while laminated will just crack, but hold together. My glass guy custom cut laminated replacements patterned from the originals.

Hi Nick, I see no problem with the oil your rebuilder recommended. I would highly encourage you to use the same oil in all of your older cars. This is just for simplicity and ease of maintenance. I do not like synthetics in my older engines, but in fairness, this is just a personal feeling with absolutely NO real reason. I do know that synthetic gear oils will leak much worse than their non-synthetic equivalents, in transmissions and differentials. They can also cause trouble with syncromesh operation in some transmissions. The reason for this, I have been told by old time transmission rebuilders, is that the synthetic gear oils are simply to slippery and the brass syncro rings do not grab properly. Ok, you wanted thoughts. These are mine for what they cost you 😇.

My only experience with Bijur lubricating systems and fittings is from a machine tool standpoint not automotive. Current Bijur fittings, that have an internal check valve, have an arrow clearly stamped on the fitting body showing direction of flow. If your fittings have a spring, internal to the fitting, they are almost sure to be a check fitting. Current Bijur check fittings have a spring tensioned ball check. In this case the end with the spring is the outlet. There are many reasons for a check fitting, but the most obvious is to stop any oil from the joint from being pushed back into the line with contaminants. the other reason is to keep the oil feed lines full and not dripping. In machine tools there is a lube pump that you generally pump once to lube the sliding ways (metal on metal sliding joints). The pump pressurizes the oil feed lines and allows oil to flow through a metering orifices. The orifice restricts the flow to force oil to the other lube points thereby keeping a loose joint from hogging oil and starving other lube points. Ok, that got long and off-topic somewhat. To answer your question, see above about springs and also clean the fittings well and look for a stamped arrow. Hope this helps. Also, what year is the vehicle you mentioned? Robin

This depends on if you are viewing the leak from the front or rear of the car 🤭. In any case the car looks great!!!

Please give us a more detailed description of the failure. For example: the gauge reads correctly when the tank is between 1/4 and empty. When over 1/4 full the gauge reads xxxx (full or empty). 1930's GM gauges read full when the tank sender wire is open and empty when the tank sender wire is shorted to ground. A full description will tell us what is happening electrically.

@Ptf72 What you describe is an exact description of what would happen if the misbehaving bulb had no or very poor ground. A simple test would be to use a scrap of wire to connect the two tail/brake light socket shields (the part that grounds) together, then repeat the test. If you have a helper you can just hold the wire in place and have the helper step on the brake.