Terry Wiegand

Larry, that is great news about the success on your '37. I replaced the bottom freeze plug on the back of the block in the '16. The Evapo-Rust solution went back in yesterday afternoon and everything is dry as it should be. I am going to leave this batch in until next weekend and drain it out to see where things are. I know that it is going to take a second application to get to where we need to be. I think I remember some famous company's slogan of 'Better Living Through Chemistry'. Very applicable here in this situation. Will keep you guys posted of my progress. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Joe, that Buick looks to be in very nice condition like Pete says. Buick exported the chassis to McLaughlin and they built their own bodies. From what I see in the engine photo, the car is not a 1916 model. It is a 1917. 1916 and 1917 were the D-Series, however, there were mechanical improvements for the 1917 built cars. The dead giveaway is the rocker posts and rocker arms. The 1916 models had a grease cup in the top center of the rocker post with plain rocker arms and a slotted rocker shaft on the top side. The 1917 models had a plain rocker post like in the photo here with oil wicks in the bushings. The shaft was also plain. Subtle differences, but different just the same. The engine number will tell the story on just what year model it is designated as. Thought you might like to know this in case you ever run across another one. Oh, and by the way, it is a Light Six because of the single piece cylinder block casting. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Robin, thank you for the compliments. Dean Tryon who puts out the 1915/1918 Buick-McLaughlin Newsletter had a friend of his cast the impellors using a very good condition original for the pattern. I had a friend with a CNC machining center make the shaft for me. He was going to do the finish grind work for me so I just had him go ahead and do the whole thing. Now, the packing nuts I did myself. When you look at the assembly and the way it ties in with the starter/generator there are two left-hand internal threaded nuts out of the three. I did the right handed nut first for the practice. I ended up making 5 of the left hand nuts before I was satisfied with them. To say that they were gotdammits would be an understatement. I had thought about polishing them out, but I think I will just leave them like they are. To me this is the fun part of seeing a project come together. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

I think I finally got the adding of photos into a posting down with the help of Larry DiBarry. The photos are of the water pump for my '16 D-45. I wanted to show you guys what the finished shaft looks like before going into place. I am sorta pleased with the way the packing nuts turned out. The nut on the back side of the pump housing was made over several times before I could live with it. Left-hand internal threads are high on the list of difficulty I found out. But, everything came out fine in the end. I am absolutely positive that this pump will not leak either when everything is back in place on the engine. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas America

Brian, I told you guys that it was all about having fun. Your co-pilot and I would have a ton of fun together because he would listen to me. I can just see you two going down the road together in that '23 Buick. You need to have your bride take some photos of that for all of us. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Keith, that is a very, very nice Buick you have there. For being 25 years old the mileage on it is truly incredible. I am really surprised that you are selling it. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

I have put things down in the shop and they develop legs and walk off. The wife says I suffer from CRS (can't remember stuff) and my good friend tells her that I am in the early stages of 'old timers disease'. Been there Done that. Take notes of where you put things and try to remember where you put the notes. Terry Wiegand Somewhere Out In Doo Dah

Well, I don't know guys - I am either living a charmed life or I am the luckiest person on the planet. My water pumps are not leaking and I do not have the packing nuts torqued down beyond belief. I feel like I am doing something right. I am in the process of getting the '16 D-45 engine back together. One of the major things that I have done with this project is a new water pump shaft and/or starter/generator shaft. I used stainless as the material of choice. There are a host of stainless grades ranging from corrosion resistance to long wear characteristics. I opted to use the corrosion resistant material. Because I know that once this engine is back together I will not be putting hundreds of miles on it every day. Wearing of the shaft is the absolute least of my concerns. The shaft was machined between centers so this left the capability of putting it between centers on an OD grinder for finishing. I left .010" grind stock for finishing to size. I ended up with a surface finish somewhere around RMS 10. For the less informed, this is a very similar finish to something that has been plated then polished. Almost a mirror finish if you will. There will be absolutely zero wear on the shaft from the packing once everything is in place. This graphite impregnated packing that I use is wonderful stuff - it works - what more could a person ask for. I said what I did on here to try and help someone learn from my experiences. I did not intend to hurt anyone's feelings. I have known Mark Shaw for years and I just cannot pass up a chance to heckle him a little bit from time to time. He is so deserving of it! See what I mean here. In all seriousness, if you guys want your water pumps to leak, then by all means, let 'em leak. Not me. If I can do something simple like replace the packing and fix the problem, then that is what I will do and did. It's supposed to be all about having fun and learning something at the same time and I feel like I am doing that to the max. Terry Wiegand No Leakin' Pumps Down in Doo Dah

Everyone knows that I am an 'old' Buick enthusiast, but, I gotta say that the 1948 Pontiac Convertible on the cover of the July/August 2015 Antique Automobile magazine is one really fine looking automobile. But, there are probably some on here who will lump this car in with GM's ugliest cars ever produced. I feel sorry for you folks. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Joe, The D-45 has a 115 inch wheelbase and the D-55 has a 130 inch wheelbase. Post some photos if you can after you look at the car. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Larry, I'm just jabbin' him a little bit. Nothing serious intended here at all. That's what driving an OLD Buick is all about - having fun. But I am serious about a dry water pump though. Terry Wiegand Doo Dah's Best

Mark, listen to yourself will you!. I know that you sold all kinds of pumps for years and that this is how you come by the name Durcodude. We all know and understand this. I have some serious bucks that say you NEVER told your customers - "Oh, by the way, these pumps that you are buying from me - they leak!" Come on now, that never happened. The water pumps on my 1920 and 1922 do not drip a drop. Please read that again slower this time. THEY DO NOT DRIP A DROP! I have removed all of the old packing on both pumps and have replaced the old hard, dried up, crusty stuff with graphite impregnated cord (about 3/16 inch diameter) that winds around the shaft several times and then the nut tightens up on this and is snugged up real good. I started the engines and then tightened the nuts just a little bit more. WOW! No dripping, leaking, seeping, weeping, or whatever you want to call it. I prefer to call it bone dry. I am just not going to believe that back in the day these cars came out of the factory with leaking water pumps. If what you are saying is true then I am doing something wrong. I AIN'T GOIN' FOR THAT! NOT FOR A NEW YORK SECOND! Sorry Mark, Sorry Marty, I just ain't falling for this line of thinking here. These old engines leak and drip enough oil the way it is and I am not going to contribute more oozing and slobbering of the anti-freeze variety. Terry Wiegand Somewhere Down in Doo Dah

I am trying to figure out how the threads could be worn in a packing nut situation. The threads are not what keeps the liquid inside the pump housing. It is the packing material that does this. It sounds to me like what is needed here is to carefully dig out the old packing material and replace it with new. I have always used the graphite impregnated cord packing. Works perfectly. The secret is to use slightly more than what one would think should be used. I don't think I'm gonna go along with Marty's thinking that a seeping water pump is a GOOD thing. That means you are losing coolant at a very slow rate and anti-freeze is being spread around the engine compartment. No, that is definitely NOT GOOD. Sorry Marty. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Dave, that is not the way this stuff works. You fill the entire cooling system or the block and radiator individually and just let it set. I spoke with the technical department at Evapo-Rust and that was the instructions from their lips to my ears - let it set. The longer the better for severe rust and repeated applications if necessary once the solution turns black. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Dave, I got the 5-gallon pail from O'Reilly's. Lowe's also carries it but they did not have the 5-gallon size in stock. Just for your information here - yes, this solution works and works really well, but for you to get a very thorough cleaning job you should leave it in the cooling system for several days. I have heard about other products being used with not much success and I was ready to think that this will be just more of the same. WOW, was I ever surprised. This product is not exactly cheap ($90.00 for the 5-gallon pail) but I can look way past that when you have something that works. I have the radiator off the car and it has been cleaned and tested and ready to go back in place so I did not have to worry about that part of the system. A person can put this solution into the cooling system with everything in place and clean it all at once. It will not harm copper, plastic, aluminum, solder, brass, iron, or steel. Life is good with this product. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

This hurts me to hear this also. We knew him pretty well and he was a good friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mary Ann and the family. Terry and Barbara Wiegand

Las Vegas Dave has asked how the Evapo-Rust works. I am here to tell everybody that this stuff WORKS and I might add it works with a vengeance! I put about a gallon and a half in the engine block on my '16 D-45 at about 3 o'clock this afternoon. I had to drain it back out at around 6:30 because it was eating the rust out of the bottom freeze plug on the back end of the block. I have replaced the two plugs on the starter/generator side of the block and the two plugs on the front end of the block. I was hoping that I could get the block cleaned out before I tackled the two back ones. Removing the two toe boards will give fairly easy access to the lower plug. However the firewall will have to be removed to get to the top plug. I am lucky in the respect that this is a very early production car and uses a wooden firewall that bolts into the cowl. I spoke with Larry DiBarry earlier and I really like his description of this solution. He says it looks just like Gatorade and he is absolutely spot on in his description. I had planned to leave the stuff in the block until this coming weekend. In the very short time that I had it in it had already started to do its work and had started to darken a little bit. This stuff is the real deal when it comes to cleaning out cooling systems like what I am facing with this car that I have. The engine has not had coolant in it since late 1976 so you can see it needs a little cleaning up. I really wish I could post some photos on here. I sent Larry the photos that I took this afternoon and from a short distance it looks like a moonshine still with all the hoses everywhere. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

My wife tells me all the time that my name should be Harley-Davidson because I have a LESS THAN TOLERANT point of view on a lot of things. I agree with a lot of the comments on here about the butchering up of a perfectly fine original automobile (there's that less than tolerant view for you) and then trying to hijack the original only automobile clubs and shove their ideas down everybody's throats. Does anybody see just the slightest bit of absurdity with this? And some on here think that there is something wrong with a person who feels this way about things like this. I will go on the record right here and now and say that if someone or somebodies would start a Pre-War Only Club, I will be the first person in line to try and sign up. Somebody really needs to consider doing this because I know a bunch of folks who are sick to death of the way some of these organizations are treating the people who own and enjoy 'old' vehicles. If I say any more on here I could possibly be thrown off the forum. Anyone who wants to call me and talk about this personally, I have included my phone number. I will not put anything down in writing about this. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas (620)665-7672

You know guys this discussion could get me in a lot of trouble. As the owner of three Pre-War Buicks, a lot of what has been written here is very near and dear to my heart. I have been playing with 'old' cars for over 50 years now. And I will be the first to tell you all on here that what the Cadillac/LaSalle Club is doing is no different than what the Buick Club is doing. You have the same management folks running the show at both places. In the Buick Club the pre-war owners very much feel like there is an open and conscious effort to push them off to the side and concentrate on the 1970's and later models. Matt Harwood could not have described the Buick Club National Meet in Springfield, Missouri any better had he been there. The show field looked like Scholfield Honda/GMC in Wichita, Kansas - plumb full of late model used cars. Some of the owners of these late model cars were heard bitching and complaining that nobody was walking by their vehicles to look at them. Give me a choice of looking at an early 90's sedan or a 100 year old Buick truck and guess where I will be. I am a Life Member in the AACA and the Horseless Carriage Club. Neither of these clubs allow modified, or hot rods if you will. Someone is going to have to explain to me why the AACA is gaining new members and some of these other clubs are losing members. This person so happens to think that it is because of all of the BS and political correctness in the lesser clubs is going to be their downfall. I love my old Buicks because they hark back to a period in time when life was slower. People took pride in their workmanship and it showed in the automobiles that were built. My youngest son-in-law is 36 years old and his idea of an antique car is a '55 Chevrolet. I grew up in those things. I remember when they were new. In my opinion they are just used cars to me. I will certainly agree that there were some very good looking vehicles built in the 50's to late 60's - but I have no desire to own any of them. You guys on here that are so down on the old, pre-war cars had ought to get in touch with Jay Leno and tell him that he doesn't know where it's at. I am personally of the opinion that there is room for everybody in the old car hobby. It's just that some of you guys need to be in the American Hot Rod Association instead of polluting us folks that enjoy and love original cars. I have respect for the hot rodders' craftsmanship, but, that's as far as I will go. Now, go ahead and holler and complain about what I have said on here, but, remember one thing. We are supposed to all be adults and able to take some criticism from time to time. There is absolutely nothing that anybody can say on here that will make me stop liking pre-war Buicks. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Larry, here is the contact information for the gentleman who can fix you right up. Andy Wise 17151 Webbs Road Ellendale, Delaware 19941 Cell - (302) 245-7276 website - www.wiseandysgarage.com I spoke with him at the Chickasha Swap Meet last year and this past March and he is going to reline the clutch cone on my 1916 Buick. I think it will last me way longer than I will ever need it. Hope this information will be of help for you. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

We have a 1920 Model K-46 with LESS than 5,000 Actual, Documented miles on the odometer since new. This vehicle will be 96 years old this summer (built early in the production year). Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Carl, could you PM me about the 'ad blocker' that you mentioned in your posting. I would really like to get something like that for all the other sites that I frequent. You guys answered part of my questions. What are 'warning points' about? As I said earlier, I'm not jumping up and down with happiness over this forum upgrade. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Hey Lamar or Peter Gariepy, Why are classified ads appearing in the body of the thread responses? This SUCKS BIG time. Let's cut this out. It is extremely distracting. Another question for either of you guys - I see in the one thread response that the person has 555 'warning points'. What in the world is this all about? Underneath my avatar it states that I have ZERO 'warning points'. Now we all know that just ain't right. Lamar has repeatedly 'warned' me about getting on the BCA management. But, Lamar, they deserve it!! Come on guys - tell us all what is going on here. I gotta tell you guys, this new forum arrangement just doesn't cut it in this guys book. I liked the old forum better - at least I knew my way around it after about 7 or 8 years. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas aka Doo Dah America

Pughs, over the course of 32 years I bought, sold, and/or traded 10 Willys-Knight automobiles. I sold two Model 56 Willys-Knight Coaches, a spare engine and a whole trailer load of mechanical parts to a fellow out in Mansfield, Ohio. His name is Ary vanHarlingen. You can reach him at Shaw-Ott Medical Supply (he owns the business) and the phone number there is - (877) 742 - 9688 He is a really nice guy to deal with and you should tell him that I sent you his way. I am sure that he will help you out. I know that there was at least one of the crossover pipes in the parts he got in addition to what was on the spare engine. Hope this will help you. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas

Mssr. Bwatoe, that is a fantastic response!! The man is asking for help and you come up with something like this. What an idiotic response. Mr. Moderator, go ahead and delete this posting and do it because I told the truth. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas