unimogjohn

Hi all, decided that I would post this as a FYI. I bought a few Buick Bulletins from the early 20s, and started going through them today as it is cold and raining here in VA. In the April 1922 issue there was an article on how to adjust the rear brakes. I was doing it wrong. I was using the turnbuckles to make the final adjustment. Should not have done that. The turnbuckle are really only used to allow the rods to be connected to the rear brakes AFTER then have been adjusted. No wonder that my rods were always bowed. Anyway, thought that others may have an interest. Here is a pic of the article. You should be able to copy it to your computer and enlarge it to read. If not, just send me an email, and I will forward it to you in max resolution. unimogjohn@aol.com

Tuesday, May 18th. There is no free lunch, even junkyard hot dogs and beans. Second day of the engine on the dyno. Still more work to do to get it running right. Must have been an exciting day with supercharger belts flying off the engine. Here is Greg's report. "Didn't break anything yet, but not a good day for making power. Learning that a lot of things have to be just right for that. First lesson was that the ignition wasn't happy. Even though the distributor I overhauled (yeah I know...but I don't want to hear it), there was still play remaining between the distributor shaft and the lobe plate. Should have fixed it the first time, but hoped it didn't matter. It does. The play allows the points to do funny things. Brought it home and since there wasn't enough play (about .008") to allow insertion of a bushing, I had to braze up the shaft and machine it to size. Other lessons were to make sure the hose and piping from the supercharger to the fuel pump are fresh and tight. Enough of an air leak and the engine doesn't want supercharging. Not enough fuel pressure. Make sure the supercharger pulleys are in close alignment. Belt slip is very very bad. Mine aren't and I chewed up the belts. There is some pulley shimming in my future. And better belts than what I had (NAPA 25-7555). When the belts start slipping you might as well forget it. Everything starts going south. So as of this point, without numbers at hand, I've got a fresh R2 with less than R1 horsepower."

7/8 inch deep socket will do it. I believe that to be 22 mm.

I have heard that this fellow does excellent work, however, I have to no personal knowledge. Worth a call. He also sells repair kits for the vacuum tank so you can do it yourself if all you need are new seals. Vacuum Tank Rebuilding - The Classic Preservation Coalition

Tom, this is a pic of my 23-45 engine. You can see two heat pipes. Does your engine look like this? You have JB and me confused as to what you have.

I use the 600W in both my 23 and 28. I use regular 90w gear oil in the rear end. Here is where I get it. I think that 3 qts fills my transmission, but you need to check on how much your transmission holds. Now they always shift great, not fast, but nice and smooth. 600-W Oil

Sunday, Greg's engine is on the dyno and has been started. Here is his report. A red letter day for sure. "Another day of setting up, hooking up, numerous trips to Ace Hardware and Auto Zone. The progress was interrupted by lunch. A hot dog stuck on a contraption of steel bar, welding rod and hose clamps. Over coals from Lee's yard cleanup campaign. Oh yeah, and baked beans in a pan warmed on a tailgate from an old utility trailer thrown over the fire. And there are so many who get their kicks sitting on the sofa and watching NASCAR on TV. Anyhow, after chasing fuel and water leaks, and giving it enough choke, it did start. Today's run was for breakin time. It was held to 18-2200 RPM with varied loads applied by the dyno brake . For fifteen to twenty minutes. Engine brought up to temperature and thoroughly heat soaked. After cooling overnght I will retorque the head bolts, etc and check the valve clearances. Supercharger system will be installed too. The EGT trick worked well, except for one probe that is malfunctioning. We will swap it out tomorrow. Also, one of Lee's coolant hoses was sucking shut, so it too will get changed. So far so good. Great to hear it again. I love the smell of burning engine enamel first thing in the morning."

It is Sunday morning, May 16th. Did not get much done yesterday, just a little cleaning, scrubbing and polishing of the grill I mounted last week. Got off all the gunk that was discoloring the stainless. Now it looks like a proper grill. We plan on taking the car out for a run today to see if the engine miss/hesitation is really gone. If not, the new plugs came in yesterday, and will go it sometime early next week. But Greg continues his adventure to get his R3 engine on the dyno. Close yesterday, but no cigar. Here is his report and a pic. "Began setting up the engine on the dyno dolly. The rear support hadn't been drilled to fit a Studebaker.. How rude! So it was mark, centerpunch, drill, redrill, slot existing holes, etc. Finally got the engine mounted, the flywheel installed, the drive plate screwed to the flywheel, the dolly with engine coupled to the dyno. I wanted to test fit the exhaust pipes for fit and alterations. Didn't fit and needed alterations. Pic enclosed of the new and improved pipes. Duals. I go back over tomorrow to begin installation of appurtenances."

Wow! Can hardly wait to see it in Louisville.

Glen, cannot help you with the engine tolerances, but the correct paint is available from Bill Hirsch and Bob's Automobilia. Both have sites on the WWW. Here is a pic of my 23s engine with the Bob's paint.

Tom, heatpipe? Do you mean the pipe that goes to the control valve on the exhaust down pipe? A pic would be helpful. The pipes are usually a slip fit held in place by a single small bolt. Or do you mean the heat riser than goes up from the carb to the intake manifold? Getting things apart is always an issue. You will break many bolts, screws. The key is getting replacements of like kind and quality. They are available new or NOS. I personally use Kroil on everything. Others have found a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF fluid works just as well or better. Your choice. Some things you will have to soak for days or weeks to get it apart without damage. You just have to take your time or pay the price. Gas tank leaking, and good radiator shop can clean and seal the tank. You will pay from $150 to 700 to get that done. The radiator is a different matter. You have to have an old school rad man do that or you will destroy the radiator. It takes low heat, a lot of skill, and no pressure testing. NOS gaskets are available from Olson's Gaskets in WA. They have a web site. Be prepared to send stuff back and forth for the correct ones. Better to send you old beat up ones to them so they can match them up. With that said I have been able to make gaskets from modern engines, you just have to look and see what works. Post some pics.

Slark54, I have a 23-45. Almost the same car. Let me know if I can help in any way. Just finished my restoration, errrr, well, almost.

and if you do not know how to start it. I have a video.

Tom, great car, you will get it running again. You will not know if the water pump works until you get the engine running. I would not attempt to take it off now. Does the engine turn over by the starter or crank? If it turns over the pump is free and probably works. Disconnect the rod that goes to the flapper, it is usually just a fine piece of wire that is inserted into the rod, or a very small cotter pin; or you can disconnect it at the carb. Re the covers, watch ebay, they come up every so often. Actually, I think I have a cover for the starter generator, I will look for it. Fan belt, Bobs Automobilia has them in leather, about $40 plus shipping. www.bobsautomobilia.com He will want to know if you have a master or standard, four or six cyl. OK, now tell us about the car and its condition. What model do you have? We will help you. Also you might want to joint the 1927Buicks group on Yahoo.com Lots of owners of 20s cars there. Just go to yahoo.com, join up, look under Groups and you will find us.

Greg is getting so close to getting his R3 on the dyno. Now this is getting exciting. Here is his report. "Not much happening tonight. I was able to unload my engine at Lee's this afternoon. Picked up some fittings and fuel line. Going to install a Tee in the fuel line in place of the inline filter for the test. This is where we will monitor fuel pressure. Also, I've been advised to make a slight modification to the AFB. I'm told that occassionally the supercharger boost pressure can overpower the secondary butterflies and prevent them from opening. Not that I'm going to go around with my foot through the grille. By removing a swinging link from one side and silversoldering a connection on the other, the spring controlling those butterflies is overruled. So I did it. It can always be undone if desired. Lee had just finished the assembly of a big inch Ford engine, hung it on the dyno and within a couple minutes of mounting, it was at 7300 rpm. Having been brought up with careful attention to break in period, I still don't see how they can do that. But it is standard practice. Mine is going to get some running in time. Paxton instructions for break in of R3 & 4 calls for: Never over 4000 for the first 100 miles using 20 wt non detergent MSML oil with a pint of STP. Then change oil and filter. put in 30 wt non detergent MSML and pint STP. At 775 miles the engine is completely broken in and is okay to run up to 7000 RPM. Seems less of a rude awakening. Pic of carb linkage modification."

Jason, nice car. Really not bad at all, just cleaning and scraping, and lots of rust preventer on the frame, etc. A good start for an original car. Believe me, I have seen much, much worse. Yours is a fine example and deserves being brought back to life? How does she run and drive? What are your plans and schedule? What kind of budget do you have? You are going to have fun. I like the original cars too. Always more interesting that the resto models.

I just signed up for the Louisville show, and it was $50. Of course with the cruise, dinner, etc the total bill was $230 plus three days at the hotel. Actually, this is a bit lower than I usually for long distance shows over several days. Really, a pretty good deal for three days of fun. Am bringing the 23 McLaughlin Buick. I am going to have her judged, but I know I will probably get several big deductions, but it will be interesting to see how she does. See you there.

It is Thursday, May 13th. It is more than just bling. It bothered me greatly to look at the air cleaner and see the paint can top as the top cover for the air filters. I looked at the Studebaker swap meets for the cover, but could not find any and no one had any suggestions. So now that most of the mechanical stuff is done, I decided to see what I could come up with. I went through several catalogs before I found a chrome cover that was 6 and 1/2 inches in diameter. So bought the Mr. Gasket air cleaner and filter assembly from Summit Racing yesterday. Today it came, and I put it on. I am happy now. Looks great and really finishes the engine bay. No more paint can top. Here is the before and after.

Greg is busy. He is getting ready to get ready so to speak for the dyno test of his R3 engine. Here is his report and pictures. "Plan A dyno test. So here I am in someone else's field. Yes, I sometimes get to spend time in the dyno cell for my day job. Learning to sort out the various series' of Wright Brothers engines and testing my work. But making power with a supercharged Studebaker is a little different. So I try to learn what I can from those who do this kind of work. Friend Lee is very skilled at it, it's his job. Another old friend is John E. Brilliant engineer, machinist, Studebaker guy. So I call him. He asks "What's the good news?". The upcoming test might be good news. Or bad. A lot of sadness happens in the dyno room. And somewhere out back there's a lot of wild horses running loose. And waste cans full of broken stuff. He wants to know how we're going about it. I give him a few things I'd like to document. He gives me some more. I tell him about the downpipes with the fittings. Only one EGT per bank and a long way from the cylinders. Why don't I gather the temperatures at each cylinder like the big boys do? I tell him that I don't want to drill and tap holes in my R3 cast iron headers. He says something to the effect "Don't do that you dummy, put spacers in between the heads and the manifolds. Drill them for the EGT probes. To this I reply "Oh". It pays to have friends in high places. Pics of tonight's project, making the spacers and with them installed. The 1/8" holes are for the temperature probes to enter. Now , where was I?"

Scott, thanks for the comments. I do admire Greg and what he is doing, but actually I like the look and feel of an original car. So I am happy with my driver. And Alice says she will not drive it if it looks too pretty. After all, we are all old(er), but young at heart. It is Wednesday, May 12th. Just some quick updates. I drove the car around the back roads and could not feel any missing. Maybe the carb adjustments made and the tightening of the distributer caused a miracle to occur. I think I have to get it out on the freeway to be sure. I also found the source of the leak around the thermostat. It is not the thermostat housing, it is coming from the upper neck as it goes into the expansion tank. It is not much, like a very slow seep, just a bit of wetness. I talked to Don Simmons this morning and ordered the crossover tube for the rear end. He did not have any in stock, but would make a few up in a couple of days. No big rush anyway, it is just on the "to do" list. Also ordered the four exhaust hanger rubber straps. Mine are brittle and cut in half in spots. Time now to replace them. Found a chrome top for the air cleaner. Mine now is the top of a gallon paint can painted silver. How rude! Summit Racing has an air cleaner assembly with a nice top that will fit the Avanti. So bought that for $20 total. Will try to sell the parts I do not need on Ebay. It is Mr Gasket 1486. And I ordered the correct spark plugs for the engine. They should be here in a couple of days.

Well, Greg continues on his quest to get the R2 engine ready for it dyno testing. Here is his report along with a couple of pics. "Went shopping during lunch today. Scored the 1/8" pipe thread fittings for the EGT sensors and also the 18mm bungs for reading the air/fuel ratio. Decided to braze them in place on the pipes because it was quick and dirty, and I don't anticipate Lee punishing my engine to the point that he melts the brass. I outdid myself when doing the brazing. Didn't do a very good job of sanding off the aluminized coating on the pipes, so the result is my sloppiest brazing job ever. With that done, it dawned on me that I needed to find an easy way to measure boost pressure and maybe boost temperature. Made a temporary door for the carburetor enclosure. Drilled and tapped for a couple 1/8 NPT fittings. I guess the fittings for fuel pressure is next. Also need to fabricate a seal where the fuel line enters the carb enclosure. The testing date not yet determined."

Here is video of our 1923 Mclaughlin Buick's starting instructions.

Andres, you need the controls for the throttle, lights and advance, and the horn button assembly. From time to time these come up on ebay. Do you have the three long rods that go from the top of the steering wheel to the end of the steering gear? The rods are threaded at each end. Also there is a gear fixture on the bottom that connects with gears and rods to the throttle and advance. Here is a picture of what I think you need. I have also put a pic of my 1923 McLaughlin Buick to see how they have changed. I have the large quadrant with levers, you just have the smaller levers. Great looking car!

Greg continues to work on his maroon Avanti. He is getting ready for an engine dyno test for his newly built R2 engine. Here is his report and a pic. "Getting ready for the engine analyzation. Some hardware being prepared. The new downpipes simulate the standard pipes, but will allow the installation of some sensing devices. Today I had Midas bend the pipes, and I machined flanges and tacked them in place. Also required are two front motor mount adapters, quick and dirty. The back plate to his engine mounting (dyno platform) will need to be drilled (tomorrow) for my bell housing bolt pattern."

Jules, the very early ones, in the mid to late 20 were simple. Just a miniature radiator with a similar shell to boot. They had a small 6v motor, one speed to push the heat around the cabin; and a simple on off switch. They seem to be all after market. You got heat, but no defroster, so you put in an electric or vacuum van for that. Here is a site that has lots of examples. http://www.classicaccessories.org/listHotWaterHeaters.html For connections I have seen them in the upper radiator hose, and the bottom as you mentioned. These were heater nipples that went into holes drilled into the hoses with a top and bottom plate so they did not leak. Here is a pic of one I have. Also I can take a pic of a very early heater if you want. I just have to dig it out. Later they added nipples directly to the engine, and heat control. If you wanted heat control then you would have to put in a mechanical valve to control the heat. If you want to go with a modern, compact unit, which you could hide under the dash you might consider this unit. http://www.vintageair.com/catalog09/09%20VintageAir%20Catalog%2023.pdf I have seen several vendors that restore heater or you can always look at flea market vendors. I seem them frequently. I guess it is just how far you want to go to match the period look of your car. I am sure others will have ideas too. Good luck, tell us what you decided to do.