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1939 Engine- how to rebuild


Vette58

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Hi folks,

I bought a marvelous '39 in excellent condition in January. After bringing it to Germany I found some problems with the engine.

First inspection after removing the oil pan shows

-axial play which seems to be too big

-oil leakage

-at least one connecting rod bearing almost gone

What would you recommend?

Uli

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Machine the crankshaft to true the bearing journals and re-babbitt the main & rod bearings. Or just change to insert bearings. I suggest you also change the rear end to a taller gear ratio since you will no doubt run this car on the Autobahn....

My 2 cents....

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Guest Grant Magrath

Hi Uli.

You could have a look at Kanter's website for some rebuilding options. Bob's Automobilia is where we got all our rebuilding stuff from, but we didn't have to touch the bottom end fortunately. I have to agree with Mark on the axel ratio. If you could give it longer legs, it would be better.

Cheers

Grant

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Guest Grant Magrath

Keep an eye on eBay for a crown wheel and pinion. We have an NOS set, but the same ratio as the one already on your car.

Cheers

Grant

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The 1939 Century had the lowest numerical ratio of all '39's at 3.90.

Some on this forum indicate that later model cars had lower gears and they will interchange.

Not being an expert, I would ask more knowledgeable Buick people.

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Uli,

I had my engine rebuilt.

Started out to be just a tidy up. Hahahaha

Just lap the valves,...... then + new valve guides, .......

2 rings broken. Just replace piston ???? No no no, new pistons, re-bored, slipper type con-rod bearings..............

If you do take out the crankshaft and remove the flywheel, mark the position as it can go on incorrectly and the timing mark will be out of place. (speak from experience)

If you do take the crankshaft out, I would suggest getting it and the flywheel balanced. It doesn't cost a lot extra. I did it to mine. It idles so smooth it's scary.

Danny

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Just a small update about the next steps.

We will remove the engine from the car to inspect it in detail. After inspection we will decide what needs to be replaced/modified.

Because this is my first Buick I have no idea about the quality of engine kits supplied by Kanter / Egge / Bob's.

Do the use all the same sources / manufacturers?

Engine has first priority now but I will look for rear end as well.

I had some experience restoring my '58 Vette ( http://www.corvette-classic.de/resto/resto.html ) and like to gain some more knowledge now with a 20 years older car.

Any additional information is welcome.

Uli

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Guest Grant Magrath

Uli. I can vouch for Bob's. we used their pistons, rings, valves, valve guides, valve springs, and gaskets and found them of the highest quality.

Cheers

Grant

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  • 3 months later...

We want to reassemble the engine now. Actually we cannot find any fastening torque information for main bearings oder connecting rods in the shop manual.

Is there any data sheet in the shop manual (or in any other source) or can someone tell me the correct values?

In another forum I found 90-100 ft/lbs for main bearings and 40-45 for connecting rods. Can someone confirm this?

best regards

Uli

Edited by Vette58 (see edit history)
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We want to reassemble the engine now. Actually we cannot find any fastening torque information for main bearings oder connecting rods in the shop manual.

Is there any data sheet in the shop manual (or in any other source) or can someone tell me the correct values?

In another forum I found 90-100 ft/lbs for main bearings and 40-45 for connecting rods. Can someone confirm this?

best regards

Uli

From Team Buick - Reference*** you can down load a 1952 manual. [need to register as a user]. Will not be that much different to 39 for torque values

The 1942 Shop manual is very good. Pg 15-5 as attached is from the 1942 manual

post-51977-143138339413_thumb.jpg

Edited by 1939_buick (see edit history)
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Guest 39convertible

hi Uli

i have a 39 century 66c

last year i tryed to find out if there was a way to change the ratio from 3.90 to a lower one without changing anything else and i dont wanna change the whole rear end.

the only way to do it was to make a new set of pinion and gear.

i talk to several companys in Sweden ,Denmark, and Germany but they asking about eur3000 for a set and thats way to much for me.

i could have accept eur1000-1200.

from -40 and up you can use the guts from every rear end up to at least -56 if i remember correct.

the -39 Buicks is a "one year only car" in many different ways

please let me know if you find another solution

.

Janne

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thx for the torque chart. I hope to have the car on the road end of this month.

@39convetible: No rear end solution yet. But if you will find a rear end for you car you might be interested to sell your 3.90? This will be an improvement for the 4.40 in my car anyway.

best regards from Germany

Uli

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... But if you will find a rear end for you car you might be interested to sell your 3.90? This will be an improvement for the 4.40 in my car anyway.
Hey !! I want Janne's 3.90 aslo :)
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