TK's 1946 Roadmaster 76-S

[Kaftan]

Greetings, all!  I've been lurking around these forums for a few months, and finally have a reason to contribute!  Yesterday evening, I became the proud owner of this diamond in the rough (attached).  Needs some love; the pictures tell the story.  It's a 1946 Roadmaster 76-S; the car was a co-worker's, and subsequently gifted to myself.  The car spent an indeterminable amount of time parked in the field (got to where it sat under it's own power), and the last time it started it was five or six years ago.  Car is complete with all trim and panels (save for one rear turn signal and some glass)!

 

It's going to be a big, big project, but the price was right!

 

Edit:  Corrected some grammar and added a couple more details

Edited October 9, 2015 by Kaftan (see edit history)

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

 Fantastic!   Have FUN.

 

  Ben

[buick5563]

Nice!

[Kaftan]

Thanks, Ben & Mike!

 

I have what most people call "stupid hands".  Ha, I just mean that I'll be learning this stuff as I go.  I've always done basic maintenance and repairs on my rigs (oil, brakes, new starter, new alternator, etc etc), but I've got a pretty steep learning curve ahead of me!

[smithbrother]

To me some of my most fun times/experiences come/came while I am doing what I DON'T know what I'm doing.

ENJOY, 46 Buick's are fun cars, just think,,,,,,,,,the love so many folks had to get a NEW car after the war. Must have been a wonderful feeling, the war was over, loved ones were home or coming home, such a wonderful time.

I recall dad had over 100 new engines lined up to put in cars for those that needed such, for what ever reason they couldn't get a new car.

Dale in Indy

[Kaftan]

Dale-

 

That's a great perspective to consider!  The fact that this particular rig is painted in the surplus army green truly brings it to life.  That's an era I can only live through reading and by word-of-mouth through others (my DOB 1986), but it fascinates me nonetheless.

[smithbrother]

Kaftan, as I post this comment, I am deep in the process of building a BOOMBOX out of a like new 46 Buick Grill. 

 

I will try to post a picture of it tonight, I have the grill in a surround/case I made, and am this week making the back side sort of like a 46-48 dash. 

 

I too have a 46 RM, it's a four-door, LOVE the fast-backs..

 

Dale in Indy

[Pete Phillips]

I love it!

I have a 1948 76-S that I brought back to life after 43 years of being stored untouched in a Maine chicken coop. Same body and styling as your car, just a slightly different grille. Check the condition of your car's wiring before you try to put a battery to it. The fabric-covered wiring does not age well and can easily become bare and cause a short or a fire. The car has a 6-volt electrical system so don't hook up any 12-volt batteries to it. The long, narrow 6volt battery can be found at a tractor supply store or most any auto parts store can order one for you. The next step is to determine whether your engine turns over or if it is stuck. You can put a big socket and ratchet on the front bolt in the crankshaft pulley and give it a push to see if it turns. Don't force it  if it is truly stuck, as you can break a piston ring. If it's only been sitting for nine years, it may not be stuck, especially since you seem to have a rather dry climate where you live, judging from the photo (I've got water on the brain, as we have had 18 inches of rain here in Texas in the past 31 days).

I'm sure I don't have to tell you to drain the oil and put in clean oil before you crank the car. Another big hurdle is to determine whether your exhaust manifold is cracked. I have owned 4 straight eight Roadmasters and two of the four had a cracked manifold that had to be replaced, and I think 50% is about the normal failure rate for those manifolds. If you can't see any cracks, you will know once you start the engine whether or not you have cracks, because you will hear them. Other than that, the 320 engines are wonderful, quality engines that last well over 100,000 miles if cared for.

May I also suggest that you join the BCA and get their monthly magazine, which will help you with ads and parts suppliers and technical advice and contacts with other owners with similar cars.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338, Leonard, Tx

1948 76-S

1948 56-S

and other Buicks....

[Roadmaster75]

Also, don't attempt to start the car on fuel that's in the line & the tank.

Assume the fuel is petrified and don't force the old junk through that pump or carb!

You may wish to consider hooking up a gravity feed container right to the carb inlet line

just to see if she'll run…. 

afterwards you can deal with tank removal, new gas line, pump, etc...

 

Also, before putting cranking power to the motor, remove valve cover

so that you may observe the valve action while GENTLY turning the motor by hand.

(Maybe give them a tap before doing anything)

A stuck valve or too can be dealt with…. you don't want to break anything if one or two are stuck

[JohnD1956]

Some guys have all the luck!   What a find!!!  If that car never ran again I would still love it!! 

[Kaftan]

Dale -

I'd love to see it! 

 

Pete & RM75 -

Thanks for the advice!  That's exactly the sort I of advice I was hoping for.  I'll be sure to post an update after I get into it a little bit more!  It likely won't be too long, since this car is all I've been thinking about these past couple days, ha!

 

For now, though, attached is a new pic:

 

[Fortuna]

Congrats! That is a beautiful car. Have fun, and keep posting pics along the way.

 

Randy

[Eric W]

Nice!  You already did the best part - get one that isn't disassembled or messed-with.  That saves a TON of time & money tracking down parts.

 

The 2 that I've brought back, carb rebuild has been a requirement.  If it does start with gas direct-fed to the carb, it's likely to have something stuck or clogged where spraying cleaner down the venturi just won't get it.  So plan on a carb rebuild kit.  The one I got from "The Carburetor Shop" in Mo. included more parts than the one I got off eBay. http://thecarburetorshop.com/

 

I completely agree with the advice to consider the rest of the fuel system to be not usable until proven otherwise. 

 

One must-have is the factory shop manual.  A quick search on eBay looks like there's a bunch of '46 manuals to pick from, but it appears to be a "supplement" to the '42 manual, so you'll probably want both of these.  I had bought one on cd, but though it's nice to view on a screen instead of a big heavy book, I've randomly run across a LOT more things by having the actual pages to flip through.

 

Good luck, and have fun!

[Buicknutty]

 Nice find. I too love that body style. I used the same kind of baby steps bringing a '68 back to life after not running for about 25 years.

 Keith

[Kaftan]

Nice!  You already did the best part - get one that isn't disassembled or messed-with.  That saves a TON of time & money tracking down parts.

 

The 2 that I've brought back, carb rebuild has been a requirement.  If it does start with gas direct-fed to the carb, it's likely to have something stuck or clogged where spraying cleaner down the venturi just won't get it.  So plan on a carb rebuild kit.  The one I got from "The Carburetor Shop" in Mo. included more parts than the one I got off eBay. http://thecarburetorshop.com/

 

I completely agree with the advice to consider the rest of the fuel system to be not usable until proven otherwise. 

 

One must-have is the factory shop manual.  A quick search on eBay looks like there's a bunch of '46 manuals to pick from, but it appears to be a "supplement" to the '42 manual, so you'll probably want both of these.  I had bought one on cd, but though it's nice to view on a screen instead of a big heavy book, I've randomly run across a LOT more things by having the actual pages to flip through.

 

Good luck, and have fun!

 

Eric - I appreciate the advice and link!  This one supposes he should figure out what carb he has before ordering anything for it yet, ha. Yeah, I already ordered reproductions of the shop manuals and owners manual.    I had read through your "My Buick" thread on your 51 (yes, all of it, ha), and that's the kind of path I definitely want to take.  The fact that the car is complete with all trim and pieces was what really had me interested in this particular rig to begin with! 

 

I was running under the assumption that all parts of fuel delivery needed work before even thinking on attempting to turn the engine over, as well... But this direct-to-carb idea truly allows me to postpone a good chunk of that!

 

Just one question - at the risk of sounding like a complete dunce - I've tried looking up how to set up a temporary direct-feed to the carb, but had no luck finding advice how to do it.  It's probably pretty common knowledge for folk who have experience with carbs  I've never even driven a carb'ed car before, much less tinkered on one!

 

 Nice find. I too love that body style. I used the same kind of baby steps bringing a '68 back to life after not running for about 25 years.

 Keith

 

Thanks!  I looked through your profile gallery - is that Wildcat the '68 you're referring to?  That's a great looking car!

 

Hi-

 

When it is time to take it apart get some zip lock bags and label all of the screws and nuts etc. This will be a big help to you down the road.

 

Hope this Helps

 

Al Storrs

 

I'm sure that would help a lot!  After reading this, I went out and bought a couple boxes of zip lock bags...  The temptation to start dismantling different areas is really itching on me, so I should put together some kind of organization game plan, methinks

Edited June 5, 2015 by Kaftan (see edit history)

[Eric W]

Good question on the fuel.  For my 76R, I just ran a short piece of fuel hose from the carb to a small funnel.  Harbor Freight has a set of 4 small funnels for about $1, and one of those was small enough to just press into the fuel hose.  Fill the carb float bowl through the funnel from gas in a small bottle.  This would only let it run for however long it takes to drain the float bowl, but that's all I'm looking for now to be able to work out whatever else needs fixing.  I wouldn't recommend this setup for a V8 - on my car, I can set the funnel on the firewall and brace it in place with the hood hold-open rod so the funnel isn't just flopping around.

 

Sounds like you saw what I did on the 41D for fuel system, and I'll probably do about the same for the 76R - new tank & level sender from Tanks, Inc. (ebay resellers of the tanks sometimes have free shipping).  Fuel / vac pump rebuild by Then N Now, replace the lines/hoses in between as needed - all this would be before trying to run the engine for more than a few seconds.  

 

But I would go ahead and pull the carb off, open it up, and check functions to see if the above scheme of "just fill the float bowl" has any chance of success.  That's where the shop manual will help.  Then you can have some confidence that fuel moves through all the right passages before running the starter a whole lot.

[Model56s]

Kaftan,

Congratulations on a great opportunity. What I find exceptional is the intersection of this car with your youth - a priceless circumstance. Enjoy to the fullest!

 

A friend inherited a 41 Pontiac 4 door sedan last month, along with a lot of other family antiques. The car is complete and basically solid - it had been stored in a barn for decades. It has spots of surface rust all over the (original) black paint. A strap used to hold the hood down (bad hinges) during the trailering had rubbed on the fenders and at those spots was clean black paint. We used rubbing compound on another patch and the rust disappeared there as well, leaving presentable black paint with some minor blemishes. The engine is free, meaning the crankshaft can rotate, so getting it running shouldn't take much (the advice by others on this page is wise). Rubbing down the body, polishing the stainless trim and addressing the fuel, cooling and brake systems will produce a great ride for Paul for mostly fun labor. His interior is rotted (solid floors though), so that's the big thing he'll have to address professionally.

 

My point is that with more labor than parts/cost, it is possible to have a fun and very presentable ride to enjoy while dreaming of a full restoration, or just leaving it as is. I actually like the look of a "worn" but clean and mechanically sorted vintage automobile. They beg to be driven and enjoyed.

 

I'm looking forward to lots of pics!

 

Geoff

Missouri

[JohnD1956]

...  After reading this, I went out and bought a couple boxes of zip lock bags...  The temptation to start dismantling different areas is really itching on me, so I should put together some kind of organization game plan, methinks

+1 on the Organization plan BEFORE dismantling ANYTHING.

 

In my humble opinion, if it last ran just 9 years ago, I would only take things off that car that were related to starting it up.  Nothing else.  Chances are very good that it will run again with minimal amount of effort. And once it's running I would drive it for one year as it is, just to help decide what tasks are the most important. 

[Buicknutty]

Kaftan;

 That is the car I was refering to. It actually my wife's, though I'm doing the work! It really hadn't run in about 25 years, so I did the "baby steps" to try to get it back to life without ruining anything.

 Though car hasn't been left that long it is possible for some corrosion to have formed over that time, I would think its' worth the trouble to take one's time to get it running again.

  I'm quite looking forward to seeing your progress with the '46.

 Keith

[Kaftan]

Hi all!  Man, each time I walk by the '46 it cries out to me "Spend time on me! Spend money on me!" 

 

Here's the whole happy family!

 

 

Right now, the '46 sits happily in my garage on some 6 ton jack stands:

 

 

And yes, I have the side skirts, they just aren't attached right now .What's with all the lumber, you ask?  My dad and I are going to construct a 12' workbench along the back of the garage (yes, the '46 is what's spurring this project, ha). Just purchased the lumber yesterday!  Here's where I plan on erecting it:

 

 

But naturally, I need to clean up all that other crap first.  My garage became so much smaller with this car addition!! Ha.  Once that bench goes up, I'm going to be one step closer to digging into this car! My reproduction owner's and service manuals have come in the mail, and I've been studying those to the best of my ability.

 

Here are some more shots of the car as is.  The interior looks pretty much toasted, which is sad.  And I inherited a bunch of treasure (garbage?) in the trunk:

 

 

I plan on going through each item in the trunk carefully, since I don't want to inadvertently dispose of something original or connected to the car in some way.

 

This came in the mail; clearly the most important piece!!!

 

 

So since this thread is also a little about me, and not just the Buick, here's what I've been spending my weekends doing:

Fishing with the girlfriend...

Took a day hike to Keyser Lake...

Took a day hike to Mystic and Island lakes...

 

I sure hope y'alls' summer is treating you fantastic, as well!

[Kaftan]

Good question on the fuel.  For my 76R, I just ran a short piece of fuel hose from the carb to a small funnel.  Harbor Freight has a set of 4 small funnels for about $1, and one of those was small enough to just press into the fuel hose.  Fill the carb float bowl through the funnel from gas in a small bottle.  This would only let it run for however long it takes to drain the float bowl, but that's all I'm looking for now to be able to work out whatever else needs fixing.  I wouldn't recommend this setup for a V8 - on my car, I can set the funnel on the firewall and brace it in place with the hood hold-open rod so the funnel isn't just flopping around.

 

Sounds like you saw what I did on the 41D for fuel system, and I'll probably do about the same for the 76R - new tank & level sender from Tanks, Inc. (ebay resellers of the tanks sometimes have free shipping).  Fuel / vac pump rebuild by Then N Now, replace the lines/hoses in between as needed - all this would be before trying to run the engine for more than a few seconds.  

 

But I would go ahead and pull the carb off, open it up, and check functions to see if the above scheme of "just fill the float bowl" has any chance of success.  That's where the shop manual will help.  Then you can have some confidence that fuel moves through all the right passages before running the starter a whole lot.

 

I went to Harbor Freight the other day and found the set of small funnels, sure enough!  As my budget allows it, I'm basically going to follow the steps of your 41D as a template (you took a lot of pictures, which is nice!).  Thanks for the advice, Eric!!

 

Kaftan,

Congratulations on a great opportunity. What I find exceptional is the intersection of this car with your youth - a priceless circumstance. Enjoy to the fullest!

 

My point is that with more labor than parts/cost, it is possible to have a fun and very presentable ride to enjoy while dreaming of a full restoration, or just leaving it as is. I actually like the look of a "worn" but clean and mechanically sorted vintage automobile. They beg to be driven and enjoyed.

 

I'm looking forward to lots of pics!

 

Geoff

Missouri

 

Thanks Geoff!  A "full restoration", as I understand it, is outside of both my financial budget and my skill level.  Plus, piecemeal restoration just sounds like more fun to me anyhow .  Even though it's far from drivable, mine still begs me for attention every time I look at it! Which is a lot, by the way, ha!

 

+1 on the Organization plan BEFORE dismantling ANYTHING.

 

In my humble opinion, if it last ran just 9 years ago, I would only take things off that car that were related to starting it up.  Nothing else.  Chances are very good that it will run again with minimal amount of effort. And once it's running I would drive it for one year as it is, just to help decide what tasks are the most important. 

 

As I read through some of the documentation I've found with the car, it seems I may not have had all my facts straight on my original story.  Allegedly, the engine was running just five years ago, but the car hasn't moved from it's field spot for around 15 years. Still, though, getting running can just be my first milestone

 

Kaftan;

 That is the car I was refering to. It actually my wife's, though I'm doing the work! It really hadn't run in about 25 years, so I did the "baby steps" to try to get it back to life without ruining anything.

 Though car hasn't been left that long it is possible for some corrosion to have formed over that time, I would think its' worth the trouble to take one's time to get it running again.

  I'm quite looking forward to seeing your progress with the '46.

 Keith

 

Thanks, Keith!  I agree; I'm not necessarily in enough of a hurry to skip steps - I'd rather do it right.  I'll keep the pictures flowing as I go!

[Buicknutty]

 Kaftan;

  Thanks for all the pictures. The one of the interior looks very similar to the condition my '41 was in when I bought it. I started it in the 90's long before we had so much digital, so there isn't any old stuff on my car, but there is a thread with some of the story under, 1941 McLaughlin Buick Roadmaster Coupe, if you want to check it out.

 Keith

[JohnD1956]

So, is the 46 running yet?

[Kaftan]

Ha, uh, no... Not quite yet.

The only "development" is the Montana Motor Vehicle Division rejected my title application since the police officer who inspected the Buick completed Form MV-20 incorrectly . He missed one box and it apparently invalidated my entire application. Time to try again   

What a bunch of red tape hurdles!

[Buicknutty]

 Sounds like the beaucracy we have here in Ontario!

 Keith

[JohnD1956]

Typical!  Sorry for your hassles.  Keep at it though.  That is a wonderful vehicle!

[Kaftan]

Hello hello!

 

Had some good news come in the mail a few days ago!

 

 

A shiny new title!  Earlier that day, I finished my 12' workbench my Dad and I had started last week:

 

 

So today, I did some looking around and getting excited.  Took the hood off...

 

 

Identified the carburetor, and began removing other objects to get to it...​

 

 

Looks like my rig has the Stromberg carb.  Now I suppose it's time to hunt down a carb kit for this beast!  Also need to determine the best way of getting this piece safely detached. 

 

[Kaftan]

Good morning, all:

 

This has been an exciting week in my garage.  Unforeseen circumstances brought my brother to visit for a couple weeks, and he has been relentless on prodding me to make some progress on my Buick.  Let's just say there's been a few late nights of tinkering.  At this point, I would also like to mention my brother is substantially experienced in these matters than myself.... ha!

 

We began by draining out the oil pan.  When that was finished, we took off the rocker cover:

 

 

That picture was taken immediately after removing the cover.  We were both taken by surprise at how good of condition everything appeared to be in.  After removing and inspecting the spark plugs, which were also in better-than-expected condition, we lightly oiled the rockers with a few drops of oil each. We then proceeded by having my brother inspect the valves opening and closing while I ever-so-slowly turned the crankshaft with a ratcheting breaker bar on a 1" socket.  Everything appeared to be functioning properly; there was no unexpected resistance felt by me, and we were able to witness all the valves slowly doing their thing.  After the spark plugs were reinstalled, we re-corked the rocker cover down and proceeded to dump seven quarts of Syntec 10w-30 down the oil hatch.  Checked the dipstick - it looked full up with clean, clear, fresh oil! Then we went to Big R (local farm and ranch supply store) to try to find a new battery.  Sure enough, they had several 6v 3EH batteries in stock.  We attached it to a trickle charger when we returned home. 

 

At this point, my carburetor was still (about 30%) taken apart and organized on my workbench (I purchased and downloaded the Stromburg carb breakdown manual to assist me with that process).  I proceed to undo that work, and reassembled the carb with the existing parts.  After re-assemble and installation, we swapped in the new battery.  It was at this point we called it a night, as we were truly pushing into the wee hours of the morning .

 

After a couple days, our dad came by.  I wanted to intentionally wait for him to be around to hear the first attempts at firing the engine, but we weren't ready to fire it just yet... 

 

 

 

We had to disconnect the fuel line.  After that, we tried to see if the starter would turn...:

 

[insert video]

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=762A572A672B85A0!292128&authkey=!AOSU_p2-O8WAa1E&ithint=video%2cmp4

 

Signs of life!  Yes, it was only a quarter turn before giving up, but life nonetheless!!  Subsequent attempts to start the engine all failed.  We could hear the starter trying to engage, but only a loud click sound was to be heard.  Subsequent tests and diagnosis led us to the conclusion that the new battery was to blame (wasn't taking or holding any charge after that).  We exchanged the battery, but we manually turned the crankshaft another quarter turn before installing the new one and trying again.  After spraying a small amount of starter fluid into the carb...:

 

[insert video]

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=762A572A672B85A0!292133&authkey=!AIlPL6wLz7pTJ3Y&ithint=video%2cmp4

 

Woo hoo!! Promising!  It didn't take us too long to connect a direct line from a red gas can (of non-ethanol fuel, of course!) directly to the stock mechanical fuel pump (after blowing out the existing brownish fuel from those lines first).  After a few more tries...:

 

[insert video]

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=762A572A672B85A0!292136&authkey=!AFexaT0Pl_dMGVk&ithint=video%2cmp4

 

Seemed to be running, which was super exciting, but that loud knocking sound was highly upsetting.  After another 20-30 min of looking around and diagnosing, we determined the knocking was the transmission (not the starter, like my brother was quick to exclaim in the video...ha).  A little bit of playing around with the linkage removed that sound, leaving and idle that sounds like this:

 

[insert video]

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=762A572A672B85A0!292137&authkey=!AN0tDXS_wQMO-hM&ithint=video%2cmp4

 

Wow!!! That rig is amazingly quiet!  Unbelievable.  It accelerates so smoothly!  All that imbalance that's inherent in a V-6 or V-8 engines is non existent!  It was also a lot of fun playing around in the car, watching some random lights and gauges come to life!

 

Sorry about the videos... this forum is giving me errors when I try to direct upload them.  I have to use 3rd party sharing software...

Edited August 28, 2015 by Kaftan (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

Well, I cant see the videos on my phone but just wanted to say, there's nothing like a good brother.

Congratulations. But next time dont rotate the engine without oil in it. Always a chance of losing the prime in the oil pump.

[Buicknutty]

 Congrats at getting her running! It sounds quite nice. Those straight eight's are marvelous engines, smooth and powerful.

 There is nothing like hearing a car fire up for the first time!

 Keep up the good work.

 Keith

[Roadmaster75]

Nice work!

 

If it's running good and actually moves under its own power you are well on your way!

Now for all the "little" stuff….brakes, cooling, fuel delivery, and old electrics...

Go slow & have a ball with it!

[Kaftan]

Thanks for the kind words!  And I appreciate the tip, JohnD1956!

 

I have a less-fun update this time.  I decided it was high time I clean the car out before tackling the next mechanical task!  It was a job that nobody should be jealous of.  There were heaps of trash, loose parts, mouse nests everywhere, leftover anthills and dead ant larvae... oh boy!  The good news is that the ants cleaned out all the mice and mice droppings, so there were only empty nests to deal with.  Anyways, I armed myself with face masks, latex cleaning gloves, and an empty dumpster to begin the chore. I started with the trunk, and here's a before picture:

 

 

I cleaned it out all piece-by-piece, most because I was afraid I might accidentally throw away something I didn't want to.  There were lots of loose parts and garbage in there, and I set aside all the parts for cataloging (which I am only part-way complete with).  There were several parts I'll definitely need some help identifying... .  Here's one part that I was particularly excited to find; I didn't even realize it was missing from the engine in the first place!

 

 

The spark plug cover!  And here's some after pics of the trunk:

 

 

There was some lining in there, but it flaked out like loose carboard, so I removed it all.  The wooden, upholstered shelf that snaps into the spare tire was there, though!  It's sitting next to the removed spare tire, and not in the picture.

 

After the trunk, I began tackling the interior.  Sorry, I completely forgot to take a before picture of the interior!  You'll just have to believe me - the back seat was as full of stuff as the trunk was (blech)! The first order of business was the headliner, which was already sagging and falling apart all over.  That came loose and fell down with nearly no effort.  Then I began to take, piece-by-piece, all the stuff out of the back seat.  There were a few parts, but it was mostly garbage.  I then proceeded to remove the garbage and nests out of the area below the back window.  After sweeping and brushing all the leftover rotting "stuff" all over the place, here's some pictures:

 

The area below the back window, the removed headliner, and the back seat, respectively:

 

One really neat find was an old blanket in the back seat.  As in, not the blanket itself (to the dumpster with you!), but what the blanket did.  The upholstery of the center area of the back seat was very, very well preserved by that blanket!  Here's a closer look:

 

 

I found that pretty exciting!  Anyhow, here's a final picture of the front seat area after it's been swept out and a shop blanket placed over the rotting front seat:

 

 

Now I finally got the cleaning done, on to the next order of business - the brakes!

[JohnD1956]

That's one of the hardest jobs Tyler.  When I had to do that with my 69 Electra I wound up removing all the upholstery, and opening the kick panel vents, plus pulling all liner and insulation out of the trunk and removing the HVAC system.  Then I washed the whole car inside and out with a water/ bleach/ dishwasher soap mix.  Dishwasher soap is a low suds option. It was the only thing that killed the smell.  Freaking mice!  

[Kaftan]

Gaaaak, and that smell is very much still there, enveloping my garage like a dark plague.  The silly Febreeze idea was like bringing a slingshot to a gun fight!

[Kaftan]

Hello once more, gents!  I trust your respective Christmas festivities went fantastic

 

I'm making ever-so-slow progress as I tinker on the 76-S.  With some more help from my dad, I've been disassembling and cleaning out the brake drums and components.

 

 

The old grease that I'm cleaning out of these parts has absolutely no lubricating quality left in it, ha!  It had the consistency of peanut butter.   After some examination, it appeared the wheel cylinders were pretty much rotted out and toasted.  Fortunately, it turned out those parts are easily available and relatively inexpensive to replace!

 

Now, though, I'm hoping to get some advice from those willing to share it.  The current state of brakes are that the drums are disassembled and parts cleaned.  I have not put in any new grease.  It seems to me that I should go through and replace all the brake lines next.  I haven't necessarily confirmed there are any problems with them, but it's something I'd rather not gamble on if I had the choice.  Any advice on the next steps I should take?  As always, I appreciate the insight!

 

In other news, I'm currently working on insulating my garage.  It's far, far less exciting to tinker when it's only 10 degrees out there, ha

[GARY F]

just my 2c. i would replace every brake part. you only get one chance to stop

[Buicknutty]

 I second that. I personally don't like to use these old lines, as after so much time they could corrode from the inside out. If the wheel cylinders are bad, chances are the lines are not far behind.

 If the drums measure out alright, they would be fine to reuse, perhaps with a careful machining if nec.

 Keith

[jackofalltrades70]

Don't know how I missed this thread, but congrats and bravo! I get excited when I see stories of people saving these old cars and much more so when it is younger people that are involved. You are doing great and I look forward to more as your adventure continues.

Matt

[Kaftan]

just my 2c. i would replace every brake part. you only get one chance to stop

 

Your two cents comments are always welcome!  That's a fair enough assessment - indeed, my plans are to replace essentially everything.  I'm just unsure as where to begin; I'm all amateur-ambition with none of the know-how

 

 I second that. I personally don't like to use these old lines, as after so much time they could corrode from the inside out. If the wheel cylinders are bad, chances are the lines are not far behind.

 If the drums measure out alright, they would be fine to reuse, perhaps with a careful machining if nec.

 Keith

 

Noted!   I'm not entirely sure where to procure replacement brake lines.  I asked around at my local AutoZone and O'Reilly's stores, but pretty much just got shrugs. The only option I've identified at this point is buying unbent brake line and bending in a custom installation.  Not my ideal situation, but these are the sorts of challenges one faces when working with a 70 year-old rig! Ha.

 

Don't know how I missed this thread, but congrats and bravo! I get excited when I see stories of people saving these old cars and much more so when it is younger people that are involved. You are doing great and I look forward to more as your adventure continues.

Matt

 

Thank you kindly!  It's been fun so far, even if I've been going at a pace that makes me envious of snails (ha). 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

  For brake lines I understand a place called Inline tubing is good.

 

  Ben