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1912 Buick Resurrection Day


Mark Shaw

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Mark you are making the restoration look easier with the step by step pictures and updates. I also like the large and clean work space you have that always makes things go smoother.

And the constant progress is very encouraging, Keep it up and the update are great! :)

Steve

Edited by superbuick (see edit history)
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Hi Mark,

Nice to see progress, keep up the reports and you may intice me to taking on a 1915 six cylinder Buick which is lurking in the wings!!

Mark, have sent you a PM to see if you can help me contact an ebay vendor. Can you let me know if you can help. Thanks - and best wishes for the new year - wont it be nice to see that 1912 back on the road in its 100th year!!

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Hi Mark,

That looks great! Every time I see a '12, my hinder parts hurt, 'cause I kick myself for selling mine all those years ago. Maybe you can post some video footage of your '12 project. Hey, does the coil box cover have a little dos and don'ts instruction pasted inside it? Mine had one, and the funniest don't was something like "don't dissect the magneto we put the right number of little wheels in it to start with"

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  • 2 weeks later...

I installed the transmission last weekend and connected the shifter linkage three times during the week before I got everything to work right. The third time was to install the hand brake lever that should have been the first thing to go on the shifter shaft....

Today, I installed the front coupler assy for the transmission and carefully mounted the new leather cone clutch. I used a puller to compress the clutch spring and just rotated the whole clutch to thread it onto the engine output shaft. So, it's not a two person job after all...

Tomorrow I will be helping a friend move an antique tractor, so I doubt that I will be able to get much done on the Buick...

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Suchan is correct.

It is an old Fordson that will be a featured piece of "yard art" for my former next door neighbor.

I suggested that it would make a great water feature if he put a small fish pond in front of it and plumbed a recirculating pump to make it gush water out of the top of the radiator.....

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How 'bout we mock-up a tin cut-out of a Brass-Era Buick and a tow rope, pulling the tractor?

Love the look of the tractor!

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A bit more progress with getting the engine back in the chassis. It ran good before the tear-down, so with just a little clean-up it was ready to go back in.

Now that the engine is back in place, the clutch action is restricted. So, the next challenge is to remove the coupling again and see if I can make some adjustments to get more play.

If anybody has some clutch adjustment tricks, now is a good time to share...

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I should have guessed that this is what you are working on. Get a few photos of the clutch and linkage. Is the throw out bearing badly worn? The engine looks good in the same colors that I used on Chartreuse. :D Dandy Dave!

Edited by Dandy Dave (see edit history)
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Hi Mark,

It's a nice early Fordson by the way!

I believe it is a Model F made 1917-19. (The engine # should be stamped just to the right of the exhaust manifold)

The rear wheels are a stock item, but unique. Most Fordsons had a solid rear wheel with cleats attached rather than the cleats-on-open-rim verson your friend has. Open wheels provided more traction, but also sank deeper into the mud.

They make a unique chugging sound. Once you hear it you will never forget it.

Dwight

P.S. Your engine is pretty too!

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Fordson??? Did someone say Fordson??? Oh yeah, I found it. Actually the Fordson F was made as late as 1927. That is not an early one as it does not have the "Ladder side radiator", or 6 spokes in the wheels. Look on the big plate ahead of the driver and you will see a list of patent dates cast in the fuel tank support. That will get you close to your year of manufacture. The highest production year was 1921. Often the serial number stamped by the manifold is rusted and only party legible if at all. The wheels are cut out for work in Muck Ground. Most likley the tractor was used in vegetable production to plow, and till, the wet ground. The Angle Iron wheel lugs were used though out the production of the American Model F. The Cleat type lugs came on the later Irish and English built Fordson model N's. I have owned 4 F's though the years. Being that there is a lot missing, it should make a great piece of yard art. Glad to see it saved at least. :cool:

Mark, glad to hear you have your clutch working. :D Dandy Dave!

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Thanks for the corrections on the model F Dave. I apologize for the misinformation.

No apologies necessary. I've been a tractor collector for more than 40 years and have owned more than my share. I've picked up on a lot of the small differences though the years and am more than glad to share the infomation when I can. Dandy Dave!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not much to update this weekend yet. During the week I have been working on all the brass parts. All the solid brass is now freshly plished thanks to the new buffer I got for Christmas.

I have lined up a brass plater to plate the steel shifter, shift gate, steering wheel spider & brake lever. The original plating is in poor shape and will not look good enough next to the solid brass parts.

I bought some walnut veneer plywood today to replace the firewall to match the wood steering wheel that I stripped of the remaining varnish. It was badly water stained where the finish had peeled off, so I called a woodworker buddy to get some advice on how to bring the color back. He sent me a pdf file that explained how to use oxalic acid to bleach out the water stains without bleaching the natural wood color. Wow did it ever worrk well!

Tomorrow I will take the pattern and new plywood to his place to cut out the new firewall. It sure is nice to have friends with all the right tools..!

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Mark,

It's great to see the progress on the century car...heck, you could almost call it a Buick Century to confuse folks. :D

I wish I could devote that sort of time to get the '29 started, but right now the unheated garage makes it less appealing. It has been a mild winter overall for up here, but still....

I'm jealous, but looking forward to seeing more photos and video of the debutante.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It took almost a whole day yesterday to remove the old clincher tires & break down all the wheels to remove the hubs for painting. I took the wood wheels to my local blaster to have the rims done. He uses a fine greensand media, so masking the wood was not required.

I picked them up today and they look great. That was probably the best $40 I have spent so far... Now I have to wait until it stops raining before I can take them out of my rig... Othrwise, they will rust almost instantly...

I plan to sand & seal the spokes and fellows prior to priming and painting. By the way, the redhead I sleep with didn't like the original grey color scheme, so the body, wheels, hood and fuel tank will be Burgandy Red. The fenders, radiator cowl, windshield frame, etc. will all be black.

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Edited by Mark Shaw (see edit history)
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I love natural wood spoke wheels, & I am not following the original dull color scheme Buick used in 1912 anyway. So, first thing this morning I stained all the wood spokes and fellows with he same stain I used on the firewall and steering wheel. Now I have to do the tedious cleaning of any paint left in the cracks of the wood where it did not take the stain. I am glad to have a few dental tools to make this a little easier. Then another staining is in order before finishing with spar varnish.

I think natural wood wheels will look good with all the brass on this car. I will paint the metal rims & hubs with the same burgandy red as the body color to tie it together...

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I started to clean up the hub bolts, but found many in very bad shape. I bought 32 new high strength carriage bolts with heavy nuts to replace them.

Since nobody makes high dome bolts anymore and the new bolts all have raised letters on the round ends, I used my semi-antique metal lathe to reduce the size of the heads to fit in the hub recess and remove the letter markings on the heads.

The two bolts on the left are what I bought to modify.

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Three local BCA members came over yesterday morning (the only dry day this week) to help me load the body on a PU. We then transported it across town to another car buddy's shop with a paint booth. After touring his car collection, we all went to lunch. After lunch I went home to prep other parts for priming and painting.

This morning I picked up some paint supplies and primed the body. This afternoon, I will finish preparing the doors & wheel hubs for priming and painting.

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Edited by Mark Shaw (see edit history)
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Stevo,

Oh don't hate me... I took the whole week off last week and still attended three conference calls, did three employee reviews, and answered all my work emails....

I spent about 5-6 hours in the shop every day last week.

Just think what I could do if I retired...!

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Thanks for the encouragement guys...

Last night I varnished all the wood wheels.

Tonight I varnished one side of the new walnut firewall and prepared the brake drums and the rest of the brake rods for painting tomorrow. Not much to see yet..., but stay tuned for red paint going on the body & wheel hubs this weekend.

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It is now Saturday afternoon and I just got back from about four hours of sanding the body & doors before putting the first finish coat of burgandy red on the car.

I'm sure my arms and shoulders will be complaining later... I think I will go take some pain meds now to get ahead of it...

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It is now sunday late afternoon and I finished painting the wheels, hubs, hub bolts, and sealed all the seams in the fenders. The photo of the front wheel shows the color scheme for the car.

It is interesting that the front wheels have more hub bolts than the rear wheels. I would have expected the opposite, but since the fronts wheels have the bearings in them, the hubs are much heavier.

Another dose of Ibuprofen with dinner is in order tonight.

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