JoelsBuicks

I am trying once again to post pics. Again, this push rod is 14-3/8" long and is for the '31 272 series 60 engine. Thanks, Joel

Pacrat, the push rod is 14-3/8" long. I'll try to post a picture. Oops - looks like I can't post the pic. I don't know what's happening with the pic. Thank you, Joel

I need a straight push rod for my '31 Series 60, 272 ci motor. Used or new will do. I believe that 31-33 272 will fit. I wish I knew if there were other Series or other years that are the same but I don't have one of those books. Thank you,

I need a new set of Std. size piston rings for my '31 Series 60 motor 272 ci with bore of 3.0625". I've tried Egge, Vintage Auto Parts, Cars, Kanters, and Bobs with no luck. Egge has a set but would require deepening ring grooves. I believe that the rings are the same for 31-33. If I have to, I'd settle for one Std. size oil ring to replace the one I broke during removal. The bore and pistons on this engine show almost no wear and I could just hone and go back with old rings but really don't want to. As a side note, crank mains and rod jounals and babbitt are also very good shape with no shims having been removed. Death of engine must have been 4 very badly burned exhaust valves - one of those bent a push rod (that will be another WTB posting). Thank you,

Hi Al, I suppose the first thing you need to do is figure out if it's pot metal or cast aluminum. I can't help much except to say that if it is pot metal, you should see some remnants of the origianal chrome plating. I have one old cast aluminum grill and there is no chrome plating on it - it's also very light in weight. I have successfully repaired a potmetal grill using this high priced stuff called Muggy Weld. Basically, it is an alloy solder that melts at a temperature much lower than potmetal. You use a flux that turns light brown when the temperature is right to flow the solder. You have to clean the potmetal really good (freshly filed, ground, or sanded) to get the stuff to flow onto the based metal. You have to be careful to not overheat or a big chuck of potmetal will just slough away. The grill was chrome plated and turned out great. Muggy Weld also has a similar solder for aluminum but I've never used it. I've also never used the aluminum putty you mention. I do know that the same holds true for aluminum - you have to be careful or you'll melt away a big section. I'm not associated with Muggy Weld and I'm even somewhat hesitant to recommend it because it is not easy to use but i haven't found a suitable alternative. If you are going to repair something to take to a chrome plater, be sure to tell the plater where the fix is and what you have used. The copper polishing step in chrome plating can easily generate enough friction heat to melt away your Muggy Weld repair. Good Luck,

Chris, the most concerning part of your post is the word nausea. This is a symptom of carbon monoxide poisoning. As you already know, engine exhaust is making its way into the cabin and this is not normal at all. I would concentrate on fixing the exhaust leaks before I would address leaks into the cabin. If you still have that smell after going through the exhaust, you might have excessive blow-by on the rings. One thing to try is to open the cowl vent to get as much positive pressure as possible in the cabin. I realize I've not got much to offer in solving the problem, mostly just wanted to alert you to the gravity of CO poisoning. Joel

Interesting side note about this part on my 36 Sr. 80. The cast part that houses those two bearings had no fitting for grease. I source the bearings from a local bearing company - a tiny bit thicker if I recall but there was all kinds of room to accommodate that.

Advertised on Tulsa Craigslist: http://tulsa.craigslist.org/bar/4428689324.html This car is about 40 miles from me and I did go to look at it this past weekend. The car has 74K miles and is pretty much in orignal condition. Every fender has been knocked around a bit with the worst being the passenger's front. There were two very small (dime size spots) of rust; one on the bottom of the battery case and the other on the back of a rear fender close to a fender bolt. There is evidence of old touch-up on the paint. The wood that was visible was in good shape except for the bow across the top above the windshield. The rear doors sagged just enough to scrape the threshold as they shut. The interior looks all original - good condition for the age and even the curtains were still there! The top material was there but severely cracked. The headliner was in good shape. The car was reported to have sat undisturbed since 1963. It runs and drives and smokes. The gentleman has owned this car for very little time. He was very nice but knows almost nothing about the car. He has the car advertised for $15K and said his bottom was $9K. I have no association - just passing along information and an opinion. Joel

I'm still looking for the back window garnish for the '31 Model 67. Thanks! Joel

In the Buick Buy/Sell Forum there's a '31? Motor and tranny being offered. I am interested in these parts and the posting's information, excerpted below, should allow for someone to identify this as the correct motor and transmission for my 31 Model 67. Unfortunately, my car had a later model 248 and trans installed and I'd like to go back with an original drivetrain. Can someone tell from the numbers below if this motor and transmission is for a 31 Series 60 car? There's pics in the Buick Buy/Sell forum. The Seller writes: "I think I have someone that can use the motor and transmission, but I'll put some numbers and dimensions out there so hopefully some experts can verify the motor a little more. I don't want the buyer to end up like I did with a misidentified motor. The engine serial number is 2734231 So I checked the exhaust manifold casting number of 1239956 in my Buick parts book and it says 1931-1932 series 60. The cylinder head has a #1241826 but I don't see this in the parts book. The valve covers measures about 31" long and the spark plug cover about 30" long I could only find a casting number on the tranny case of 1240800-3 or 8, and I can't find that in my parts book. The previous owner of the car the motor came out of says it was a 118" wheel base. So with all that being said can anyone help to verify the motor as a 60 series 272ci for 1931? Just your opinion of course. We would appreciate it." Thank You,

Car is just a few miles from me but too high to even start negotiation. New title on a no title car in Oklahoma is no big deal with Bill of Sale.

Tom, I'll do the best I can with answering your questions. I'm in England at the moment, far away from my cars - so I don't have that luxury. Regarding your first question, I found a source for rivets to do this job, they were almost flat top, very low profile. I had to drill out the old rivets and so I used a drill size that was the same size of my rivets but slightly larger than than the old rivets. I also had to cut them to length to avoid the condition you mention about them leaving some sort of high knot. The new vertical vent window seals now come with an embedded metal piece that essetially replaces the tabbed metal backing - too late for me as they were not available when I did this. The metal mohair channel for this vertical is also available new - to length. The flexible window channel is held by those small screws (nickle plated brass) all the way from bottom to top. I used the same sort of screw for re-installation of new channel. You asked about if there are any tricks to the window seal. If you have to remove it to replace the seal, my advice is to do a lot of soaking with an oil penetrant and then remove "gently" with a hammer and a block of wood. The one thing you want to avoid is bending this channel by trying to remove it at one end first. In otherwords, do a little along the length and take your time. A bent channel is almost impossible to straighten. I want to recall that the rubber seal that goes into the small channel is separate from the window setting tape, in which case, maybe you don't have to separate the glass from the channel? No doubt there's a lot of work that will need to be done. Good Luck and stay safe,

Bob's Automobilia has the pins and bushings. I got mine a few years ago and the pins were about 3/8" too long - just cut em off, no big deal. Joel

Tom, The upper hinge pin as well as the lower hinge pin are riveted to the chrome vent window frame - I would not at all consider messing with those rivets. You are absolutely right that you will need to spring apart the metal frame that holds the rubber. The vent window comes out by pulling it down far enough to clear its upper socket. With the gearbox and frame loose from its mounting board, you could possibly remove the old rubber below the window and get the clearance you need but you'll just face a bigger problem installing the new rubber and having the clearance to reinstall the vent window. Do you know for certain that you cannot spring apart the metal frame sufficiently to allow the top of the window frame pin to clear its hold? If it were me, I might even be caught removing some wood to allow clearance. You only need about 5/8" to get that pin out of its hold. Another thing you might try is to leave the upper two frame screws in place while you pull down on the gearbox. If the above doesn't work, I'm afraid that you're left with is what you already suspect. That is, you may need to free up at least one end of that main board to allow for downward clearance of the gearbox shaft. That would mean that you'd have to remove the diagonal brace. I wouldn't go messing with the latch or window mechanism until it was obvious that you couldn't get clearance any other way. Good Luck!

On my 36, I saw red oak and white oak and hard maple for structural wood. By far most was red oak and I have seen no ash but those pieces could have easily rotted away first. Non structural was poplar and pine or maybe it was spruce and I couldn't rule out cottonwood for a couple pieces I've seen. I think it is fair to say that there was no standard other than hardwood for structure and softwood for non structural in 1936. My '37 Sr 90 is fully wooded while my '37 sr 40 has no wood. To replace the wood, I used white oak for structural and cypress for non-structural. Both of these wood species are naturally bug and rot resistant. They both are very stable when properly dried. I've heard numerous references to using ash. It offers very good stability, strength and workability but there are a couple drawbacks that I did not want to deal with. It is very susceptable to being eaten by the powder post beetle - even after you have finished it. It also rots (biodegrades) quickly if exposed to moisture. I made a three-legged stool out of ash and I started seeing little piles of very fine dust on the floor beneath the stool. When I finally woke up to what was happening, the stool was full of tiny holes. I have seen this happen to red oak to a limited degree. Good luck with your project,

I need the back window garnish for my 1931 Model 67 restoration. I do not know if other models or years will work but if someone knows, please chime in. This car was the project of an elderly gentleman that passed away last year. He apparently stowed a few parts away in places unknown. There are a few other inside garnish pieces and parts that I need - I'll post them separately. Send me a PM if you can help, Thank You!<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Robert, that was originally a cork seal. There is no upgrade that I know of. Also, the rope seal length that comes in gasket kits is not long enough pack in there. I had to buy a foot of 5/16" square rope seal and then bunch it up and pack it in the slot.

Hi Greg, I straightened a slight bend on one of my 36 bumpers and also did it on a 38 bumper with great success. I'm assuming it is not a kink type bend but rather gentle and over a fairly long span. Here is what I did: realizing that the cross-section of the bumper looks like this ( I used large C-clamps with wood buffers to put lots of force on restoring the ( shape because it was slightly flared out. Then, I blocked up the ends of the bumper with the bumper laying face down and did some jumping on the middle to bring back the slight concaveness of the bumper. It worked very well and success came after I first failed by just jumping on it - it really needed those c-clamps to reverse that flare-out caused by the initial hit. On another 38 bumper - I successfully beat out a kink using heat. No break. I've got two other bumpers - a 36 and a 37 that are completely broken so there is some propensity to break.

Chris, another thing you'll want to consider is the flatness of your rod journals. It is very likely that you'll be doing the plastigage between the rod cap and journal at the point of its highest wear. If you remove shims and try to fit specified clearances at this point, you could end up with something that gets very tight very quickly. I'm not saying that you can't live with some journal flatness, I'm simply saying that if it's there, you should account for it. Be safe and enjoy! Joel

I ended up priming it and then carefully keeping the engraving cleaned between coats. The picture shows I had to recreate some letters - HEADLAMP and it looks a little sloppy, but overall it turned out ok. I'm glad I kept the original look, there's no doubt that someone can look at it and read it and tell that it is not a bad prep job. An interesting side note, as I was preparing the light cans for paint, I was amazed at just how many small dents were in them. Also, the manufacturing process left a very shallow wave circumferentially around each light can about mid point from front to back. I just couldn't leave that alone.

I re-read my post and want to clarify - your car may have come with the overhead speaker option, but my 36 has the same bracket and I know that it never had a speaker there. Joel

Keith, it is for mounting a radio speaker, obviously an option that your car did not have. Joel

Craigslist ad: 1927 BUICK motor and trans. . I haven't called and don't know anything about this but I am close by and will offer my help to any BCA'er.

Rod, I dont have the luxury of having one in front of me but doesn't that half moon clip come loose off of one of the posts and thus allows you to force the posts into place followed by re-clipping the clip? I just recall struggling with this until I figured it out and then it was pretty simple. Joel

I wonder what the consensus would be for first treating the raw wood with something like Boracare® against a possible infestation of powder post beetles? The destructive powder post beetle or I think it's their larva love to eat dry wood. They can easily destroy wood and I know, first hand, they really like ash, red oak and pine. If you think you might want to use this, make certain that it is the first thing you apply to the wood as it will not penetrate through an exisiting finish. I recall that the stuff isn't particularly toxic to humans but it is effective in the wood forever (ok, a very long time). I wish I had done this to my rewooding efforts but when I learned of the problem, it was too late - I had already finished the wood. As for the final topcoat finish, I'd recommend two coats of polyurethane. Don't use any sanding sealer or primer and don't thin the polyurethane. Use either water based or oil based poly; I used water based because I thought it penetrated better but I have since been told that it doesn't matter. I suppose that you can paint the urethane if you want a different color. One last thought, be sure to not use polyurethane on the wood surfaces that are to be glued together, it greatly reduces the bond strength. Good topic, I'm interested in hearing from others on this.