Terry Wiegand

If anybody wants any radiator emblem or hubcap restored to perfection there is only one person on the planet who can be trusted to do it correctly and to perfection. That person is Karla Maxwell out in Vista, California. Her website is - www.MaxwellEnamels.com Her phone number is - (760) 941-1966. She has restored the radiator emblems on all three of our Buicks and they are absolutely beautiful. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

I like to think that there is another way of looking at this situation and I have voiced my opinion to anyone who will stand still long enough to listen. "There wouldn't be any '55 Buicks or Riviera's if it weren't for the old, and I mean old, Buicks" Somehow, they just do not want to hear that or even acknowledge that the 'old' Buicks are what made the late model cars possible. The comment about going to a Sam's Club parking lot to see late model vehicles is so very true. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

That is a really nice looking '37 Buick. I know a guy who has a '37 also. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

I don't want anyone to think that I have hijacked Larry's discussion here, but this could be a good place to ask the very learned electrical folks a question or two. I think someone mentioned something about electrical values for a condenser. I have always been of the thinking that a condenser is a condenser is a condenser. Please enlighten us who have some questions about things that have been said regarding condensers. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

Rock10, Are you saying that a 6-Volt coil with 55,000 volts is too hot and will burn the points? Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

Is there anyone that folks know about who is knowledgeable and capable of rebuilding the old Brass-Bodied Marvel Carburetors? Classic Carburetors down in Phoenix were the absolute best at these units. They are no longer in business and I'm told that Tony Bult in Wisconsin doesn't work with them much anymore. Everyone cusses these things and labels them as temperamental, however, if they are adjusted right they are really a pretty good performing carburetor. I have a good friend who is in need of having the Marvel rebuilt for his 1917 6-Cylinder Buick. What say you Buick enthusiasts? Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

Larry, it sounds like you are making some progress with this. Please explain a little further what you mean by detecting a little bit of a miss. If you have good plugs, good plug wires, and a GOOD distributor cap, there should not be any miss at all I am thinking. I am sure that you have checked that cap under a microscope so to speak. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

Brian, I have gone back and read and reread again everything in this thread. I cannot find anywhere that Larry talks about the engine popping, bucking, and backfiring from a lean fuel condition. I am simply saying that I don't know what the heck is going on with this engine. I'm still thinking that there has to be something goofy in the ignition area on this engine. That new coil that I got from Brillman's was $37.00. That might be something to consider along with a good handful of condensers. That old saying of Patience and Perseverance has never been more appropriate than right here. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

I would be afraid that setting the valves too loose would and could cause problems. Not to mention that the engine would run extremely noisy. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

I know for fact that ignition issues can mimic carburetion problems. My '20 had the original plug wires and if you even touched one lightly you could hear the old rubber insulation crack. The engine ran halfway decent at times and then at times it seemed like it was all it could do to even run. I changed out the old wires and it was unbelievable how much better the engine runs - like daylight and dark. I'm telling this here because it happened to me and it made a believer out of me with regard to the ignition system. Could something like this be Larry's problem? I cannot say that with certainty. He is going to have to eliminate one area at a time. Sometimes these things can drive a person that drinks a bit to go sober. As Larry says, it's maddening and I can certainly feel his pain about it - been there and felt that. I believe that there is something beside a fuel delivery issue going on and that's just my 2 cents. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

Larry and I talked about the issues he has last night. The compression readings look really good - consistent with a freshly rebuilt engine. We talked about the heat riser tube. From what I hear about these things, I am glad my cars pre-date these. The thing that just doesn't make a lot of sense is that on a level road the engine runs fine. Put it under a load and it wants to go South. He has had the cylinder head gone through, so that shouldn't really be a problem there. My 1916 D-Series Reference Manual calls for setting the valves at .005" COLD. My 1922 calls for setting the valves at .006" - .008" HOT. Maybe the increasing compression ratio through the years factors into that. I would think that a bad distributor cap would cause problems whether idling or under load. Larry tells me that he has heard of folks going through multiple condensers before getting a good one. Maybe that is something to consider here. I asked him about the coil. I am going to run a modern coil on my '16's engine. I bought a 6 Volt coil from Brillman's down in Virginia. I was told that this is a HOT coil. They tell me that this coil puts out 55,000 volts. That's a HOT coil compared to a 6-Cylinder Chevrolet coil that puts out 25 - 30,000. It was mentioned that there could be a leak at the vacuum tank banjo fitting. Mark Shaw and I talked about these connections not so very long ago. We agreed that I could use either crush gaskets or the Red Fiber Washers. I think that I am going to go with the Red Fiber when the gas tank and vacuum tank fittings are made up permanent. I do not want to do anything to put that pot metal tank lid at risk of damage. It will be interesting for sure to find out just what the problem(s) are. The way things are now I don't have any issues to deal with. I can't even get a GOOD 6-Volt battery to put in my car, let alone try and drive it up any hill (sorry 'bout that Larry). Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

With regard to Larry D's posting there is one thing that I have tried in the past and I am here to say that it works. On the rear axle for the '16 that I so very recently worked with, I needed to remove the tires and split rims so that the wheels could be removed. I removed all of the rim bolts and rim wedges and the one tire was not coming off the felloe anytime in my lifetime. I thought about just how that this tire and rim was going to come off the wheel. A 5-pound sledge with a rag-wrapped block of wood on the inside of the tire did absolutely nothing toward moving the tire. So, I thought, I'll show you buster. I removed the valve stem core and completely deflated the tire and the rim slipped right off the felloe like it had grease on it. I'm thinking that 70 pounds of pressure caused the rim to deflect slightly and it wasn't going to come off in any manner. When I put the tire and rim back on the wheel I left it deflated and lightly tightened the rim wedges and then filled it to the 70 pounds that was needed. Worked like a charm. An out-of-round or bent split rim will cause all kinds of grief. I do not think that this rim is bent, twisted, or out of round. It just doesn't take very much at all to really cause a sticking situation. Changing one of these tires on a really cold, or hot day, on a muddy road doesn't excite me in the slightest. Mark Shaw wrote the book on how to change tires on split rims. Ask me how I know this🤣. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

Here is a photo of the fan for our 1916 D-45. This car was built in October of 1915. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918

Peter, I am sending you a private message with regard to this posting. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Folks can talk about the 'one man top' all they want. Here is a photo of my 1916 D-45 and its new top. I am here to tell you that trying to put this top up in a 'hurry up' situation is not all it's cracked up to be. Back in the day if a person ran into a situation where the rain hits almost immediately, you had to stop the car, take the top cover (boot) off, jump into the back seat area, raise the top, and then maybe snap the side curtains into place. IF you were lucky enough to get this all done before you were wringing the rainwater out of your underwear, you would know that you had been somewhere. I don't care what people will tell you, it still takes two persons to put one of these tops up and get it right. Ask me how I know this. I tried putting the old top up like I described (standing in the back seat area on a clear day) and almost ended up with a hernia. Gary Martin from Goldfield Trim built the new top for this car and it will NEVER be laid back. I do not want any creases in the material, plus, it so much more comfortable riding in the shade on a sunny day. Please keep in mind that this is simply one persons humble opinion and by no means should anyone who chooses to lay their top back be ridiculed or made fun of. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

The little restrictor plate would be inside of the top radiator hose connection tube. Please understand that I personally did not see this little plate. One of the other guys in the group was telling my Dad about it after the problem was fixed. I remember my Dad saying that the little plate was about the size of a quarter and that there was a hole drilled in it and that this was welded to the inside of the tube. Its purpose was to slow down the coolant flow going into the radiator. In other words it gave the radiator core the chance to do its job. I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt anything to take a look and see if the plate is in there. This could be a simple fix for an aggravating problem. I was told once that the early Chevrolet guys all knew about this feature. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

I think that I might be able to help you. Back in the early 1960's my Dad belonged to the Hutchinson Regional Group of the Horseless Carriage Club. There was a fellow in the group who had a very nice 1925 Chevrolet Roadster. For whatever reason he took the radiator off the car and had the local radiator shop flush it out, back flush it and pressure test it for any leaks. He put the radiator back on the car and he could not start the car and drive it much more than a city block and the engine was almost boiling. He tried everything in the book to figure out what was going on. To make a long story short, there was a restrictor plate in the top radiator hose connection that had been knocked out or accidentally removed. The coolant was moving so fast through the radiator that it did not have a chance to dissipate the heat. The little plate was put back in and the problem was solved. You might check your radiator to see if that restrictor plate is there. If that is missing, that could very well be your problem. I hope this information will be of some help for you. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

If this top can be positively identified as to the year, make, and model it fits, having the complete set of side curtains is a huge plus for the person who builds the new top for the car. The curtains are a big help visually for the restorer. Ask me how I know all of this. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Mark and all, I looked through all of my Buick illustrated parts catalogs from 1916 through 1921 and none of the part numbers match with the 1922 numbers. This tells me that these top parts and pieces were year model specific. On the 1916 Light Six top, the rear window is oval (or elliptical) shaped, however, it is sewn into the top fabric and not framed like the one in the photo. I'm reasonably certain that the top in the photos is not from a 1916 Buick Light Six. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Barry R, I AM NOT being disrespectful of ANYONE on here - Hugh is as sharp as they come on these units, however, back in the day, these starter/generator units were a complicated, high tech mechanism in their time. There is one person out there who understands these units, knows how to work on them and will put your S/G Unit back in top working order. That person is Rex Curtiss at Precision Power in Lansing, Michigan. You can reach Rex at (800) 794-5962. I will be the first to agree that restoring one of these units is not a bargain basement affair. If you want it done so that you will not be having problems in the future, if you want it done right, then Rex Curtiss is your choice. I have three Buicks that use these units and Rex has rebuilt all of them for me. They work perfectly and he's not paying me to say this. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Frank, I have a very original 1920 Model K-46 with less than 5,000 documented miles on it since being built. With regard to engine component colors - the rocker cover and the spark plug cover are Black baked enamel. The pushrod cover (runs the entire length of the cylinder block) is a color called Argent. This is the very same color that was used on the Chevrolet Corvette and Chevrolet Chevelle Rally Wheels. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

HUGH IS DA MAN!! This is exactly what I did when I primed the oil pump on my rebuilt engine (milling the slots in a socket) with that big old drill motor. This could be done and use a long-handled ratchet wrench to move the crank ever so slightly and slowly. The crank stub on my engine took a 13/16" deep well socket to do what I needed to do. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Rock10, If you can't find one, but can find one to borrow to use as a pattern, then I can steer you to the place where you can have a new one made. Action Spring Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma made new clutch and brake pedal springs for me for the '16 D-45. They were very similar to what is in the photo. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

In a C77L plug the L stands for LONG REACH. This means it reaches farther into the cylinder cavity. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Brian, Thanks for the photos. If you look at the photo of my windshield you will see that I have an entirely different setup. I think Restoration Supply has just what I need for this. They tell me that this rubber strip is trimmed to the height needed for each windshield. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas