1925 Touring

[Buick Downunder]

Hi John

Its great to read this thread this morning. (I have been off the air for a few months). Especially that you have found extra help from forum members, which makes all the difference! Having taken on a 1925 Tourer myself 3 years ago, which had been stored since 1969, I can truly appreciate the needs you have, which - with a slightly cautious approach to anything you do, and a lot of questions on the forum - you should have it ticking away pretty soon. These cars are simple and a lot of fun if you go about things the right way!

Fuel systems take a bit to get clean when they have sat for long periods, and you may need to flush many tanks full of fresh fuel through until all of the gum and dirt disappears to the point that it is reliable. If the tank has been left empty to half full for long periods, you may find that it is corroded internally. You will see this as a fine red 'grit' which feels like sand when you pull things down. All in all, if you can get it to run and are confident adjusting the mixture and pulling the carby apart - Try to persist with short runs and see if it is improving. An in-line fuel filter can assist in the short term, but can affect the performance of the vacuum tank at higher speeds.

Keep asking questions and I look forward to sharing some stories along the way.

Regards

Ben

P.S It is getting colder her in OZ now - Down to 17C here yesterday - I assume that this means better weather ahead for friends in US? Enjoy

[Guest broughj]

Ben, Thanks for the advice and encouragement. We are supposed to be getting warmer, but yesterday we too were in the 17C range. Been a very cool spring for us.

I've got the carb apart and cleaned up. Need to make a few gaskets to put it back together. The cork float looks to be in good condition, but wondering if I should seal it with some of the gas tank sealer that I have. I pulled the vacuum tank apart and cleaned it up as well. It was not in too bad of shape, no gummy fuel residue, but a little rust. I bead blasted the inside of it and sealed it with fuel tank sealer. The carb riser is probably the biggest problem I have so far. The steel tube inside the riser was brazed to the cast iron at the carb end, so I ground out the brazing and pressed the tube out until it collapsed, then had to cut it into pieces to get all of it out of the riser. Once out, I found the reason for the brazing, the cast iron sleeve that the tube presses into at the carb end is cracked in several places. I cannot get a drill in there to drill the end of the cracks so that I would feel confident that I could braze the cracks without them getting much worse. So, I'm going to try sealing the exhaust gas from the riser and seeing if it will start and run without a tube in place. Guess if that does not work, I may try to put a tube in that is just a press fit at the manifold end of the riser, possibly seal up the cracks with some JB weld, and keep any exhaust or heat out of the riser. Still trying to figure out what to do with the fuel tank. Really concerned about opening up a "can of worms" if I try to get it out of the car to clean up. I'll probably start by trying just to get the drain plug out and see what happens. I also thought a fuel filter in the line from the fuel tank to the vacuum tank might be a good idea.

Regards,

John

[Mark Shaw]

John,

Glad to see you & the guys got it running! Sounds like it was a great day...

When you have the top off of the vacuum tank, coat the under side of the lid with Krazy Glue to seal the mostly invisible cracks in the pot metal. This is often where the system looses vacuum.

When I picked up my 24 Buick and got it running during the BCA National in Rochester MN, I had to clean out the vacuum tank twice before it would run OK.

It is amazing how much crud (that looked just like coffee grounds) accumulated in that little vacuum tank.

Good luck....

Edited May 6, 2013 by Mark Shaw (see edit history)

[nickelroadster]

Gas tank sealer does not seem to adhere to the cork in floats. Use something like thin superglue, Por-15 or thin epoxy sealer to seal the float in the carburetor.