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1924 Buick Barn Find


Guest SusanC

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Guest SusanC

Good Morning,

I am new to the forum and the club. I just purchased a 1924 Opera Coupe Buick. This car has been in storage for a few years. The previous owner was an older

lady who drove it in parades, etc. It has been restored but the woman's son didn't know when it was restored. It looks to be in good shape. I own two other antique cars, (1926 Model T and a 1929 Model A) and the engine of the Buick looks so foreign to me. I can't even identify what some parts are :). So if I were to post a picture of an engine part perhaps someone could tell me what it is?

Anyway, I hope I can learn from all of you who have had an older Buick. Any help is appreciated.

Susan

Hermosa, SD

Have a bright and sunny day...it sure hasn't been sunny here for awhile. We are in the middle of a monsoon.

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Susan,

For starts, you will note your Buick will have an overhead valve, or valve in head configuration as opposed to the flathead Fords. So the valves are arranged with lifters and the values in the Buick are pushed down to open rather than up in the Fords. Other then that, the engines are quite similar. The Buick has updraft carburetor and a vacuum take to feed the fuel. This too will look different than the Fords.

Sounds like you need some work to make sure the fuel system is clear before you try to start it.

John

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Guest SusanC

We have already started it and run it down the road. It does look like yours Matt. I changed the oil completely, dumped all the gas, cleaned the carburetor, put on a new battery and spark plugs and checked the level of the antifreeze/water. It started right up and ran. But I'm not sure where to set the choke switch (between hot and cold?). Plus I have a cylinder holding what looks like gas that is connected to the firewall. I've looked all over for a fuel filter and think maybe this is what serves as a filter. I am trying to upload pics but not having any success.

I ran it for awhile but it began to backfire continually and lost power. I could keep it running only by reving it.

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Its a vacuum tank... thats your "fuel pump", I doubt it has a filter but you could add one. Its a very reliable system... don't make the mistake of replacing it with an electric pump which will, invariably, put out far too much pressure. When they fail, its almost always because a small amount of dirt has gotten into the valves that control the vacuum air flow. I would suggest putting a filter between the gas tank and the vacuum tank but don't know how that would work with a modern, paper in-line filter... someone else here almost certainly does know. My experience is mostly on much older cars with gravity or pressure systems.

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