W_Higgins

Ah, well that will make anything difficult. Good move on reinstalling the mechanical pump. It's one you won't regret.

The cam from my car is pictured below -- yours is the same: It is the round offset cup bolted over the large timing gear. Since it's just round and not the peaked profile of the cam lobes operating the valves, I don't think it will do anymore than float at its highest point. It also travels inside a pretty long bearing surface. For what it's worth, I've never paid any attention to the position of the push rod when putting one on. The pump plunger depresses easy enough that getting it square to the face of the cover and putting in the two bolts isn't too difficult. The thing blocking the hole in the top of the timing cover is just a freeze plug. If you get your new pump on and it's not performing the way you like, you'll need to pull that plug (or the whole cover) and check your pushrod for wear.

Thanks. I have to admit your vinyl strip is pretty nice. Most people would never catch it. Wish I had taken a photo of the tool the last time I used it. Somebody else designed it and I think they can still be purchased. It basically holds a cheap hobbyist type Bugler that locates off the center of the wheel. Setting it up takes a little doing to get the consistency of the paint correct and the striping tool aligned, but once you get the first one, the cycle time is about two minutes per wheel. Before I got it I did a set of '27 Chevrolet wheels by hand whilst spinning them on the car. The first one deceived me and came out perfect.... then each next one I had to wipe off and do over about four times before I was happy with it. The problem with using a brush (aside from wobble in the wheel) is if you don't keep the brush perfectly perpendicular it will corkscrew and when the wheel comes back around the ends won't meet:

It's doable. I have a tool for it and I suspect the factory did, too: While that example is only two lines of the same width (duplicating the original) there's a way to make varying line widths, also.

Steam's the stuff. That's really the only effective way to get all of it out, including any other crap that may be in there. Just performed this very task again last week. If you do it right, when you're finished you can weld on the tank, if need be:

Was it on Charlotte Ave.? The water pump and generator are crank-driven by chain separate from the timing chain:

Thanks for taking the time to post, but I don't see where that covers the fuel pump push rod -- only the engine push rods.

I asked a Buick authority and was given dimensions of 7/32 x 7-15/16 only to find that the diameter is actually 7/16. Now I don't trust the length part of the dimension and the Model 40 I'm working on is missing its push rod, so I've got nothing to reference. If anybody knows the specs I'm looking for, I'd appreciate your passing it along. Thanks!

Yet, quite often what is correct and what is written in a judging standard are two entirely different things.

I was thinking of something different, though I still don't exactly understand based on the o.p.'s wording. From Dyke's, this should be the explanation for his system (which I believe is Delco): Delco Interrupter with Two Contact-Breakers Connected in Parallel, Using One Coil In Figs. 4,5,6, and 6A, note that the closed-circuit type interrupters have two interrupters or contact breakers operated by one cam. One spark plug per cylinder is used and also one coil, but two contact points connected in parallel, both of which open at one time. The primary ignition current which could otherwise flow through only one set of points is divided between two sets, and the resultant wear upon the points is less and an additional factor of safety is provided. The Marmon, Cadillac, and Cole use this principal. _________________________________________ So, I'm guessing his distributor cam is turning at crankshaft speed, but given the Dyke's explanation I don't understand how each set of points can be divided amongst sets of cylinders. nmh, where did you read that each breaker fires a separate set of cylinders?

I think the answer you're looking for is that they alternate.

Actually, Mike Casella who runs Then-and-Now Automotive is the off-shoot from the Antique Auto Parts Cellar that handles that sort of stuff now: Fuel Pump Rebuilding Kits - Then And Now Automotive Great guy and very reasonable. He has done several pumps and distributors for me.

You can use a new 12v-only light, it's just that you have to connect it to a 12v battery for use on a 6v car. Kind of a hassle. I have a couple of older units, my favorite being one that does both 6v and 12v. Just look on Ebay. They're out there and not a lot of money.

Well, given that it has 1-1/2 1986-87 Town Car grills in it, there probably isn't much sense in trying to figure out what it is. Actually, I think the whole car is widened because his shoulders are on center with the rear window and the spacing between the bumper guards is too wide. Looks like they just shifted over the center of the grill so the hood ornament wouldn't be poking him in an unflattering spot! Or else it's the wide-track version for driving out west....

It shouldn't hurt a thing. Your car was designed for both and there are examples of other cars that produce way more vacuum demand than what you have there.

I agree. Just fixing problems as they come without going over the whole car is setting-up one's self for sitting around and waiting for the next problem to rear its ugly head. When cars get this old, unseen problems have a way of lurking beneath the surface.

Hi Bernie and Dave. Very interesting. I'm going to have to go back and read more of the older posts, only having picked up the last few pages. I didn't see specifically what kind of seal it was and can't say I've seen a ceramic in a refit such as this. You've got my curiosity going. All I can say for the '23 I've worked on is that I'm its maintainer, not owner, and I haven't had the opportunity to do a full rebuild on it. It's neat reading about others who have come across the same troubles. You've got me worried about that center main cap thing now.... So, I'm watching the rest with great interest and taking notes. Looks like you're really going all the way. Turns out that I got a call today for someone else wanting to bring in their '23 Single Six to resolve runability issues encountered after doing a valve job and installing a new cam last year. If I find anything peculiar that might bite someone else I'll report it, if that's alright. For the moment I'm suspecting it's just some sort of reassembly error.

My understanding is natural finishes were an option toward the end of wood wheel availability well after steel wheels were more the norm, but even then it was a special request option on top of wood wheels already being uncommon. So, probably rare to see in reality. P.S.: Ken, thanks for the earlier comment.

Having once removed a water pump from a '23 Single Six I can sympathize with what happened. I was lucky that it came out in one piece, but it could have just as easily gone sour. It was A LOT of effort to work it free and explained why the fan belt was so neglected. Be careful reinstalling the clamp ring. On this particular car an ear was broken from it being over-torqued sometime in the past. It doesn't take much to keep the pump from rotating. Be sure and do your research if you fit a modern seal to the pump. The first Model A pumps they did that with about 15 years ago using neoprene seals would wear a groove in the stainless shaft after about 2,000 miles. Incompatible material issue. Personally, I think they're good to go with packing once you have a new shaft. Packing gets a bad rap from it being chewed up by rough surfaces. Below is a photo of the water jacket I remade using the original for a pattern. It was only a four-hole, too:

It's not so much a matter of making them look like glass -- it's about applying a finish that won't crack. It just happens that the process has filling properties.

Is it a Continental Red Seal like this one?: This is a Humpty Dumpty I put back together a few years ago. The small black object attached with two diagonal bolts just behind the water pump is the oil pump. Unfortunately, I didn't photograph it, but if memory serves I want to say it was nothing more than a plunger that rode directly on the cam with a couple of check balls to manage flow. It might have had a relief valve that was also a spring loaded ball that just dumped back into the crankcase -- can't remember. This vehicle had no gauge (though there is a take-off port to add one). I think at the time I found the spec in Dykes and it was something like 2 lbs. Not much.

Very cool. I wonder how many hands were flattened in that rim press at 1:28?

You know you're just getting started about the time your fingertips start to bleed. Here's the process shown on a fresh Model T wheel: Epoxy on wheel half sanded. Primer filler applied. The epoxy used as a sealer takes care of the bulk of the filling of the grain. Fresh sprayed with color. Old spoke with sample of the previous striping. The completed job. This was taken a few years later after the owner had logged many miles -- still holding up. It's worth the extra work up front to not have to do it again. Automotive paint straight over wood will go to pot in pretty short order.

That's pretty trick. I like seeing old brass being saved. It seems like so much of what's out there now is new.

My guess would be that they aren't offering to paint them correctly or it would have been about $1K per wheel. To paint a wood wheel properly and make it last, you need to epoxy coat the wood first. Everybody has a favorite, but there's Kwik-Poly, West System, and such. That gives you a surface that will interface between the wood and an automotive finish, then you proceed with the paint process (primer, sand, repeat as necessary, color) just as you would painting a steel part. It's a lot of labor and having a wheel spinner helps when it comes time to spray. If it's new wood, don't shortcut now -- when it fails later then you'll really have a mess on your hands.