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Some of you may know about my 1932 speedster project. two threads tell the tale: http://forums.aaca.org/f230/32-buick-8-50-4-su-353115.html http://forums.aaca.org/f165/1932-speedster-custom-2012-great-race-319610.html I pulled the engine last week and it needs some work. Do any of you know if the later small block 8's internal parts can be worked into these early blocks? I'm thinking of the full insert bearings used from 1947, and if it's safe to bore to 3.0938 for later pistons (this block is already at 3.00, up from original 2.9375). Thanks, jc

So my GS is a pretty low mile original, but it was not stored well for many years. It now runs like a top and my dad did a pretty darn good driveway paint job on it, but there is just light surface rust on many of the surfaces in the engine bay. I am in no position to handle a frame off restore on the car, besides, it runs and drives to well as it is.....most of what it needs is only cosmetic so I'm going to be handling all of this I can as a frame-on refreshing. I've removed the passenger front wheel and hub and am cleaning it and installing new inner and outer bearings. I pressure washed the inside of the wheel well to remove the old 50% gone, 100% cracked and peeling underlayment. I removed the Antenna access plate and replaced the original broken antenna with a spare I had. Removed all the passenger side engine bay accessories, pressure washed the sheet metal and low pressure washed around the motor along with a pick, screwdriver and toothbrush. Then a gentle degrease and rinse, prime and paint. I'll reassemble the wheel and well, then clean and replace the accessories. It came with an old set of aluminum AllState air horns that I may attempt to restore and replace although the original horns work fine. Here are some pictures: I'll post more pics as I progress. Trying to be done with the engine bay and both front wheels and wells by the end of the weekend. I know it's wishful thinking.

Hello, I need to put new front wheel bearings on my 1930 Franklin 145. Can someone tell me where I can buy these and what item number I need to ask for? Thank you for the help! Bill

Early this year we tore the transmission apart on my 9b Franklin because one of the bearings was noisy. It bugged me and I broke my policy of "Don't fix things that are working" Not only did we replace the noisy bearing as long as we had it apart we replaced all five with new angular contact ball bearings. I live in a part of the country where automobile hill climbing is not a necessity and the transmission worked OK while driving around here. Then I took the car to the Trek. It would not stay in second gear on those steep New York hills. It would slowly push the lever out of the indent and finally pop out of gear. I quickly learned that I would need to let up on the power occasionally to let it pop back fully into second gear. What did we do wrong and what to do to correct it? That is the question. I'm thinking it has to be the result of tearing down and putting together with new bearings. I use SAE 140 General Purpose Gear oil (same as the last 70 years) Can not see any cracks in the transmission case Indent springs have good tension. Transmission sounds same as ever. That kind of leaves me thinking about bearings. The race on the new ACB bearings were not stamped THRUST as the originals were. If we happened to get one in backward would that cause the shafts to be misaligned to cause gears to creep sideways? In reading the bearing data on the internet there is much said about preloading ACBBs. But I did not see anything as to whether preloading is required. Am I right or will they work OK with no preload? The Franklin factory drawing calls for .010" thick vellumoid transmission gaskets. The thinest I could find was about .013". Thicker gasket in bottom shaft cap = less preload (or more endplay). That is if Franklin milled the case in 1919 to accomodate ACBBs (which I don't believe existed at that time). Top shaft we adjusted to no end play and probably a little bit of preload. Required the same shim as with the old bearings. Would the increase in allowable end play in the bottom shaft cause gears to mesh improparily using ACBBs? Should I put the old bearings back in? (except the noisy one) I did not keep track of which bearing went in which location. That being said should I have bought radial ball bearings instead of ACB bearings? With straight cut gears I assume the bearing axial load would be rather small and radial load the major load if everything is in alignment? I went back to Applied Industrial Technologies who sold me the bearings and asked if ACB bearings were the only kind available in that size. Guess what, they are not. They never mentioned that I had the choice of radial bearings when I purchased the ACB's. . Wendell Eby

Rarely these days do you run across excellent service. To do so is so surprising that I think it warrants recognition. I recently inquired on this forum regarding sourcing upper cone bearings and cups for my 1924 Lincoln Model L with a Timken front axle. A forum member was kind enough to direct me to OlCar Bearing Company, and instructed me to ask for "George". I called George and he told me that he was on the road, but would get back to me the following Sunday or Monday. George did the following: Returned his call as promised on the following Monday. Had a clear and immediate understanding of what I was looking for. Sourced the parts and shipped them to me within the same week. I wish every parts/service transaction went as smoothly. I would recommend Mr. George Bachleda as a knowledgeable and efficient vendor. A satisfied customer, Ian Evans 1924 Lincoln 134 Model L