Zimm63

That is just way cool. Wonder about brakes?

The Green Diamond engine is a sweet runner and tough as nails. Simple to work on, but parts availability is becoming an issue. As you note, it is not big on power which is probably good, given the primitive nature of the suspension and steering in that truck. Making it go fast without upgrading everything else is a good way to have a very scary ride. I had a KB2 project truck for years, which I ultimately decided not to do because it would be a hazard on the road in the area I live in. They top out about 52 MPH. Overdrive might help as might putting a different rear in it. I decided that the hours and $$ were not going to get me where I wanted to be with an old truck project. My truck is now scattered across the country helping others put theirs on the road. Good luck with it. They really are neat old trucks.

Looked in the cylinder with a scope. No visible issues with the piston.

Thanks Tom- PM sent. Wondering if I should look for a set of reuildable originals for the long run.

Had a long talk with Carmen Fasso today and learned a bit about nailhead valve geometry. He walked me through looking at things to see what the issue might be. We found a small polished spot on the pushrod where it may have been rubbing on the head where it passes through. We determined that the pushrods are aftermarket as they are thicker than the stock ones, which may account for the contact. They were likely installed by the PO when the cam went in. According to Carmen, that contact may have added enough stress that the rocker may have eventually failed. We also discussed how to relieve the opening using a chainsaw file and avoid having to pull the head. I have a good idea how to inspect the rest of them to make sure there isn't another problem somewhere. He had me tap on the valve stem with a plastic hammer to make sure it moved and snapped back, which it did. Checked the pushrod and it is straight. Valve height is equal to others that are closed, using a long straight edge. Bunch of other stuff. So, at the moment Carmen is looking to see if he has a refurbished rocker to send me, along with gaskets for the intake and valley pan. With any luck, I will have the parts next week and can spend some patient hours inspecting and correcting any issues. Interested in any other thoughts and experiences.

Not sure how to tell if the rockers are original Buick or not. I have a call into Carmen Fasso to see if he has any advice, since he did the rehab on them. Not sure how active he is these days. He was having some health problems when I talked to him a couple years ago. I took a look in the cylinder with a scope and found no indication that the valve had contacted the piston. Thats good news I guess. Hoping Tom Telesco will happen on this string and offer some thoughts.

I neglected to mention that the car has an after market cam, installed by the previous owner between 18K and 20K miles ago. Total miles on the motor is 80K. Specs on the cam are: Duration 268 .05 Duration 212 Cam lift .293 Net valve lift .493 Centerline 108 In 112 Ex According to J&C Parts invoice the max lift is .500. The heads were fully reconditioned approximately 3-5K miles ago, but that was also 2006 while I was in the middle of the world's slowest car fix up. I had the heads done in response to it blowing smoke on start up, indicating bad guides or seals (which nailheads do not have from the factory). It hasn't blown smoke since and given no indication of internal issues until now. I would think that the push rod would be the weak link if the valve somehow hit the piston, but thats not based on any real world experience with these engines.

Was having a great ride in my Riv this afternoon. Went to the Dentist and had a new crown installed, finishing that job. Decided to run a few errands on the way home. Did about a 15 mile run at 70, stopped by my favorite parts store, and about 200 yards out of the parking lot, there arose a clatter under the hood. No, I did not have my foot in it. The sound was exhaust like, clearly back through the carb, and spaced out enough to make me conclude it was a problem in the valve train of a single cylinder. Had the car towed home, popped off the easier valve cover and found a broken rocker arm. Wonderful diagnostics, I said to my self. Now, what's the likely issue here? I've been around long enough to know that this might not be the problem, but a symptom of the real problem. I quick twirl of the pushrod did not show it was bent. Obviously, I need to see more. Am I looking for a stuck valve or something else? Or, is this something that just happens? For reference, the heads were redone by Carmen Fasso several years, but not very many miles ago. The rebuild included refurbished rocker arms and shafts. What say the experts?

Final (I hope) report on this issue. Rebuilt starter installed and working fine. Had the car out on an errand run and stopped and started a half dozen times without issue. Thinking of having the rebuild shop go through the alternator when opportunity permits, to avoid issues there. On to the next thing.

Hernia? Been there done that, not a hell of a lot of fun. Things will turn odd colors which is disconcerting. Careful that that damn oxy. It works, but I am not a fan.

Report back from the rebuild guy is that the armature is damaged from being overspun. The bendix fork was also broken, which likely was the source of it hanging on the ring gear. Estimated total to fix, including the new solenoid I provided, is about $160. Should be back to me tomorrow or Wednesday. Given that this happened exactly once, to my knowledge, its a good thing I pulled it right out. That starter was going to leave me somewhere. Should be back on the road by the weekend, assuming this making a living nonsense doesn't screw up my shop time.

Got a pack of "booster nuts" when I had mine done 20 years ago.

Is it possible to view the for sale forums collectively? Not sure that makes sense, but I enjoyed browsing through the postings and seeing cars I had not seen before and might not have considered as something to be interested in. I do get the "not mine" separation and that works well from what I have seen. An example would be the neat little Studebaker lark a couple weeks back for $5K. Had that been more local, I would have been interested in it. Wasn't looking for one, but enjoy seeing them all. Even the ones I can't afford or have laugher pricing. Can't please all of us, I guess.

If you are in NYC, go to the memorial. Go early in the morning when people are not around. Read the names. Its a sobering place to spend an hour. Even more sobering is a visit to the 911 museum underground. No laughter or smiles there, as in most museums.

I use WIX 51049 on my 401.

Tom When you say engage 1/3 to 1/2 of the tooth, to you mean depth of engagement, or the cross section of the tooth front to back? The chipping I see is on the front edge of the tooth, not the top. It fits with the engine stopping at one of 4 places, which is new knowledge to me. Glad to learn more. From the appearance, it looks like the starter gear didn't immediately engage the ring gear with enough depth and caused wear. I have a 64 flex plate from a car with similar miles and the ring gear teeth show no apparent wear. In any case, the damage to the ring gear wouldn't seem to be enough to prevent engagement of the starter. I'll clean it up a bit and see what the rebuild does for things.

Geez, you are an inquisitive bunch. For the record, I got a pecan sticky bun and a large coffee, black. Yummy stuff. Been filling with Brit cars and bikes since I was a kid- more than 40 years now. I tell people my shop is evidence of a hobby gone mad. Back to Buicks- starter is at the rebuild shop. I will spend some time cleaning up the ring gear in the meantime. Once its installed, I will check the clearance as Tom suggests. From the appearance of things, its possible the bendix wasn't extending fully. That would fit with Jim's thinking that the solenoid could be sticky. The rebuild will come back with a new Echlin solenoid per Bob's suggestion, so that should eliminate that. Reading the above, it really does take a Village to keep these things going. I do want to hear more about the ring gear replacement though. That sounds like loads of fun.

Yes, owned since the 80s, restored in 2001.

I pulled the starter out and took off the cover so I could inspect the ring gear. Ring gear appears to be bolted to the convertor, but could be welded as well. The ring gear has three-four spots where there is some minor chipping off the leading edge of the teeth. See pictures below. The teeth feel rough when running your finger over them lengthwise, like a tiny ridge at the leading edge. The starter gear looks fine. No teeth are missing on the ring gear or appear to have significant damage. Given that I have looked at exactly one dynaflow ring gear in my life, advice is welcome. Would this be considered normal wear? Should I take a fine file and clean up the rough spots? It would keep me busy while the rebuild shop goes through the starter. New Echlin solenoid should be at my local NAPA tomorrow and I will drop the thing off to the rebuild shop tomorrow afternoon with any luck.

Reporting back. Weather around here has limited my Riv driving. I have had the car out 3-4 times and the choke appears to be fixed. Interesting little problem I had not encountered before. Thanks again to Jim Cannon.

Went to the local bakery this morning. When I went to start the car to come home, it sounded like the starter bendix didn't retract when the car started. Nasty noise, which caused me to shut it right off. Tried again and it started no problem as it did after a quick stop at the hardware store. Best I can tell, its the original starter and at almost 60 years and 80K deserves to be a little balkey. Before I yank it out of there, is this most likely to be a starter issue, flywheel issue, or could be either one? Has anyone installed one of the mini starters on a 63? If so, what did you think of it? Not sure if thats a good option, or if I should take it to the local rebuild shop which has done work for me in the past.

At that price, I am guessing its not real

To Gordon Wolfgang who rebuilt my door switches. All the interior lights on my 63 now work as they are supposed to, for the first time in who knows how long. I installed new LED bulbs every where, except for the rear console light where the configuration of the socket did not allow the LED to fully seat. Also installed the new lenses I bought from GM years ago. The old ones were very dry and breaking up. Cost was modest and the turn around time was very fast. Another item off the list of stuff to do.

Thanks Jim. I pulled it apart and cleaned it up. It didn't seem sticky, but the engine was cold. We will see how it goes. Will report back.

That is a neat little car. It was closer, I might get hooked.