JoelsBuicks

Is that a Ford Intruder?

Can’t recall the application but I once had a motor that would throw fire on starting. I don’t think it always eventually started. In fact I think it failed more times than not. It certainly got worse with time. I had to dress up the commutator by sawing out some of the mica insulation between the conductor bars of the commutator. The copper had worn and the mica was actually higher than the copper. It worked! One more possibility is that some armature coils have heated up and may have desoldered from the risers of the commutator. Of course this comes after brushes.

One has to ask if the motor is trying to start against a load? That is, if the unloader valve or tank check valve isn’t working and the compressor is starting against a pressure load. One way to tell would be to start it with an empty tank and see if it does the same thing. You might also check the start capacitor to see if it’s blown. Just take the cover off and it would be obvious. Next, you should open up the contactor box and observe it during the start cycle. Bad contacting could start there and you should be able to see it there as well. Now the brushes. You have to get into the motor and see if they’ve been consumed. Blue green fire is from copper sparking but the cause isn’t clear.

The old shop on this property is two buildings tied together to make about 2500 sqft. I want this to be my dedicated woodshop for working on the wooded Buick’s. As far as utilities go, I’m tieing these two buildings together. Compressed air will be shared although both shops will have its compressor. When it comes to sandblasting you just can’t seem to get enough air. One of the pics shows a low-point water drain in the air line between shops. I only use PVC for compressed air if I’m burying the line. Thanks again!

Thank you all for the very nice thoughts. I love the idea of a picture collage for the rec area. Grandpa Chuck had little interest in the old car hobby but he took every opportunity to lend a hand if needed. As far as the OKC Nationals go, I would dearly love to open this shop up for a stopover. I’m about 2 hours east of OKC. I’ll do some planning as time gets closer. Lamar, you asked about the backhoe and so today I took some pics. It’s Dad’s, along with the Cat D6. Those, together with the old dump truck is how I built the pad for the shop.

A week ago tomorrow I lost my Father-in-law. It was too sudden and seemed a bit early for an 83 year old who lived a very clean and active life. It was my 12-year old son’s first loss of a grandparent and he’s taking it hard. Grandpa Chuck was a nuclear scientist who worked on the Experimental Breeder Reactor, EBR-II, in Idaho in the 1960’s. Idaho Falls is where my wife was born. He gathered design data so that full scale reactors could be built and safely operated. He also worked on things he couldn’t much talk about; but you could coax out a few good stories without much effort. We all miss him a lot already. I cheered up the boy by stocking that pop machine with a variety of not-so-healthy drinks. I’ve also taken advantage of good weather to get water, sewer, communication, compressed air, and propane lines buried and connected to the shop. It’s a lot of hard work and even with a backhoe, there’s plenty of shovel work.

I’ve been waiting for the link to that early 70’s song, Sign, Sign, everywhere a sign. I just knew it was coming but I guessed wrong. Stay unpredictable Lamar. There’s not many on this forum that makes rust look good but you do it well!

I believe that both are aftermarket ‘36 Grilles. No question about the one with 11 horizontal bars but the other has a subtle difference. The vertical bars on original grilles were on a different plane than the thicker surrounding frame (about 1/8” recessed). I have both of these grilles. My five bar aftermarket is cast aluminum not diecast. I have had thoughts about doing some gentle grinding to impart the offset I mentioned earlier. A few years ago I successfully repaired an original with many breaks. I used that Muggy Weld system and worked with the chromer to make sure his copper polishing step didn't heat up and melt those repairs. Not trying to diss those grilles offered on Ebay, just wanting to impart some experience. I just found a pic of original grille and you can see the offset in the upper left. Joel

Final day for the Amish crew. Their progress was good and I now have a lot of work ahead for myself. This plywood enclosure within my shop looks like it was hit with the ugly stick. It needs lots of trim and character. A few more pics. The last pic is a room 13’ x 13’ that will become a small theater room for 12 year old boy and his friends. The first pic is my mechanic’s room which is about 25’ x 19’ and will be climate controlled.

Another day and one more day to go. Seeing a lot of progress in a short time is motivating to me.

A rainy day brought the Amish crew inside the shop. Finally, some notable progress is made. The paint booth gets some metal, the internal rooms get a ceiling, and the upstairs is framed. They work fast.

By far, the bulk of this trailer load of metal was 13ft more or less. And, the folks at the metal place stacked it heavy on one end, I’m sure anticipating this situation. I’ve had the tail wagging the dog before on loads like that and it’s dangerous. This was a smooth pull.

Hi Bill, I remember meeting you in Fredericksburg probably now nearly 6 years ago. Lamar was there picking up his maroon ‘54. I drove my ‘60 Electra. That pop machine is set up to sell you a beer for just 20 cents! I think I can adjust that but not sure how. I checked the temp just yesterday and it was 34F. Next, I want to get one of those old popcorn machines. Take Care, Joel

I did a rough restoration on this coke machine many years ago for a friend who used it for his homebrews. He later gave it to me and it has found a place in the shop. It’s a 14 holer, 1959 model and works great. I doubt that I’ll keep it under the stairs but probably not far from there.

This past Thursday I drove out to Henry’s farm to tell him that I was ready for at least three days work. Henry is the Amish crew leader and he apparently has access to a phone but unreachable by phone if that makes sense. Henry was out on a job but I left word with his wife. Really no telling at this point when he’ll show up but I’m sure he will. To get the most efficient work from this crew, you need to have all things ready for them; supplies, work list, special instructions, clean workspace, power, compressed air, etc. They, like anyone else, are willing to wait around while you make up your mind or go to the store for more supplies. You also have to do all the things that Henry won’t like plumbing and electrical. I’m anxious to see a big change around here so I hope he comes soon. Lamar, I chose to buy used lights, 2’x4’ fixtures each with 6 T5 bulbs. On a per lumen basis I got these for about 1/6th the cost of LED. I now have 32 fixtures in the main shop. I hung them myself using the three tier scaffold. Not too big of a problem; I screwed wood to each fixtures first and then set the wood across the bottom chord of the trusses. Others just mounted to the purlins. The lights are very bright but they spin the meter fast at 2.7 amps each.

Incredible work! Thanks for sharing it and thanks for letting us in on those clever techniques. I try to do some of this and you make it look easy and you are having fun with it. Keep posting! Joel

Eastern Kingsnake. Great for the shop but can show up in some unexpected places at unexpected times.

Lamar, this is great craftsmanship and I love those details like having metal made to finish off those edges and taping off and using the radiant barrier. Those half-lap joints are very strong and I suspect that those along with the diagonal bead board and outer skin would have held those doors square from now on. I’m curious about why you didn’t rust up those hinges? Also, did you try to bias the hinges so to take out any play in the hinge itself? I would be scared that I’d get a quarter inch sag if I didn’t. I know this stuff takes a lot of time but your finished project will be well worth it. Oops, just saw your latest post. Looks like you did use the acid on those hinges.

Did you consider, either in planning or retrospectively, putting a chamfer on the ends of those brackets? It is a detail that you used on the overhangs on the upper steps of the facade and I thought it was quite clever. I really like the look of those corbels combined with the brackets. It would have been real easy to skip that part and brace the edge of the awning back to the building and call it good. But, the design element would have been lost and the “underneath” view not nearly as attractive and intriguing. I thought about this also on that inside corner you made on the backside. There’s something about that road less travelled. I think my right brain atrophied in college and I never recovered. I couldn’t come up with this but at least I can appreciate the look.

Jake, I do still have the 36 Roadmaster and two other 36 Roadmaster as well. I rewooded one of them a few years ago and I need to finish a couple cars before I start on them. I have ‘36 and ‘37 Series 90 and these bodies are the same. I plan to make at least three sets of wood for the Roadmasters and three for the 90’s. Someone will be able to use it. It might help fund a chrome job or some interior work. I have a 36 Series 60 Coupe and I may make two or three sets for it and may also do this for my Series 40. My new shop will enable me to expand the woodworking area in my wood shop which is cluttered now with three cars. As far as the sagging doors goes, Carl explained it pretty well. That wooden parallelogram that Carl talks about has joints that were once glued and screwed. Even if the wood is not rotten, the glue has broken down and the screws are loose. The door doesn’t necessarily sag as much as it twists; usually coming out at the bottom and in at the top. This gives every appearance of sagging. The rear doors likewise twist out at the bottom. They also are attached to wooden hinge posts (unlike the front door hinges) and this rear hinge post has a lower joint that weakens and moves outward. The ‘36 wood is far more complicated than the ‘31, even though the ‘31 has more wood. There are multiple tapered pieces and many compound curves. The joints are tricky and assembly really benefits from “dress rehearsals”. They didn’t build these cars thinking that someday someone would put in new wood.

Bloo, you can search under Me and My Buick and find my old thread for rewooding my 1931 8-67. That car had many pieces completely gone and you are correct that it does present quite a challenge to make and fit new wood. Even the most rotten wood will provide useful “forensic” information. I discuss how I make patterns in that thread and it is applicable to the ‘36 as well. In short, rewooding involves placing new wood ‘into’ metal frames whereas the original build was to place sheet metal ‘onto’ pre-made wood structures. So joining corners and cross pieces is done differently and of course the assembly can be tricky, especially on doors. When I rewooded my 36 Roadmaster, I built a cradle to hold the door skin straight so that I wouldn’t build a twist into it. My wood of choice is white oak and cypress because both have great rot resistance. Pieces that demand high strength get white oak and the other is cypress. I have used Ash for other projects and have sawed a lot of it on my mill. I can’t seem to control the powder post beetle infestation, even on pieces that have been varnished. Ash machines very well and is strong but I’m not going to take the chance. Just today I was building some door jambs out of ash that I had and it was well worm eaten - almost unusable. I’ll share info when I get to that project. thanks, Joe

Very tempting, I have one of these, a Series 90 with the jump seats but not a formal sedan. I’ll be starting on the wood replacement in the near future and my experience with rewooding is that the lions share of the work is in setting up the many cuts. The actual cutting happens quickly and making two sets could be done much easier. It would be a bid gamble to buy this car thinking that the wood may still be good. I have seen some wood in amazingly good shape but for the most part, the wood has seriously deteriorated or completely rotted. And, this can even happen in places where you’d think the wood was most protected. My opinion only is that wood species used, which were several, has a lot to do with longevity. What a fine ride this this would make!

Thank you Larry for keeping me upright!

I have a couple more pics of the paint booth. There’s a lot of work left but I’m hoping that I’ll get some help very soon with it and several other tasks that would be near impossible for me to go solo. I've also included a rough sketch of how the air flow will work. In the ceiling there will be two 24” wide rows of filters that run the length of the booth. I thought I’d turn off all other lights and take a pic of the lighted booth. That’s just over 200,000 lumens. I got a good tan just sweeping the room. Ok, maybe I’m stretching it a bit.

That front walk door just loves that siding. What is the detail board that lies horizontally above the 2X trim on your doors and windows? It looks like it went on with the siding. Is this something on a rake to drip water away from the underlying trim?