1938 Buick Century Model 61 - Four Door Touring Sedan - Trunk Back

[39BuickEight]

My flywheel cover too was a favorite of the mice.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Matt, I agree with the starter ring assessment. Mine was worse than that and cleaned up nicely.  The rear main seal appears to be dry and that is good. 

 

  Ben

[MCHinson]

Today was a busy day, but not much time was available for the project car. I stopped by Harbor Freight and picked up a new toy this morning. I have a 20% off coupon good for any one item, with a limit of one use per day until October 31st. I figured that I need a media blast cabinet and a parts washer for cleaning up the small parts for this restoration. I picked up the blast cabinet today, and will go back tomorrow for the parts washer. I got the blast cabinet set up and hope to start using it tomorrow. I also spent 10 or 15 minutes and cleaned up the oil pump bottom plate. It cleaned up nicely.  After lunch, I had an out of town trip to pick up some Buick parts. At Hershey, I met a guy who had quite a bit of 30's Buick sheet metal parts. I had a chance to buy them but they would not fit into my car for the trip home. Luckily, the seller only lived 2 1/2 hours away from me. Today, I borrowed my friend Curt's truck and made the trip to pick up those parts. There are only a few parts that I can use on this project but I hope that I can help the rest of them find a good home. Tomorrow, I will take some photos of the parts to post in case anyone sees anything that they need.

[MCHinson]

This morning, I went to Harbor Freight Tools to pick up a table top parts washer. They were out of stock and indicated that they would not be receiving any more of that model. I declined to buy the larger one that they had in stock. After a bit of online searching, I was able to find the style parts washer that I want and was able to order it. Now, I just have to wait for it to be shipped. 

 

Today, I intended to do a few things on the 1938 Buick project but I was not able to do much. I run a home based engraving business. Business was very good today. It really interfered with my Buick project, but it will help pay for the Buick project. All day long, every time I thought I was going to be able to work on the Buick, it seemed that I received another engraving order. After lunch, I decided to do one engraving order for myself. I took a break from my customer's orders and engraved the part number on a reproduction Delco-Remy tag for my generator. I then went to the rebuilder's to deliver the tag so they could install it when they rebuilt the generator. I was surprised to learn that they were finished with the generator.  They had replaced the front bearing, which was apparently the original bearing. The brushes and everything else in the generator were OK. Apparently, they have had it ready for a while but forgot to call me to tell me it was ready. I brought it home, gave it a little bit better coat of paint and affixed the reproduction tag.

 

Tonight, I decided to try out the blast cabinet. I took a few minutes and removed the paint from the crankcase ventilator outlet pipe.   

 

 

[West Peterson]

Did you have them install sealed bearings?

[MCHinson]

That is what they installed.

[r1lark]

Nice job on the generator tag Matt!

[MCHinson]

This morning, I was able to remove the timing gears and chain. I cleaned up the gears and reinstalled them with the new timing chain. I marked the chain with some yellow paint to make it easier to see to line up the timing marks on the gears with the new timing chain.  The new timing chain has a little less than 1/4 inch of movement, so the movement has gone from about 3/4 inch to 1/4 inch with the original gears and a new timing chain. I then reinstalled the timing chain cover. 

 

I am also posting photos of the Buick parts that I picked up recently. If anybody sees anything they need, it is all for sale. I would hope to be able to find people who need them. It is almost all Buick parts. There is one odd ball Chevrolet hood half that I think is probably about 1937 or so vintage. I think that the trunk rack is probably from a 1934 or 1935 Buick. There is one long piece of chrome trim that I don't recognize but all of the rest appear to be 1937 and 1938 Buick parts. The engine pans and such all appear to be parts from 40 Series. I expect the 1937 80 Series nose, hood half, and hood sides to go to a local friend, but I would love to get rid of the rest of it. Sometime soon, I need to sort out all of the window garnish moldings to see what I actually have.

[MCHinson]

This morning I spent quite some time doing something that nobody else will ever see, but I think I will hear the difference. The starter works fine on the car. The starter is a bit more noisy than it should be. The reason for this appears to be the banged up starter ring gear. Over the past 79 years, the starter drive has obviously occasionally had some issues and has banged up the front edge of the ring gear. The hammer like action of the starter drive has caused the front edge of the ring gear teeth to mushroom out so that they are difficult for the starter drive to engage smoothly. The photos show the original banged up appearance of the ring gear as well as some after photos. I have also staged some photos to show how I cleaned up the ring gear. I tried a few different methods and finally settled on this method. I used an angle grinder held vertically to lightly clean up the face of the teeth where they were mushroomed out the worst. I then used a dremel tool to lightly clean up the teeth. I used two different files, a flat file and a small round file to clean up the teeth the rest of the way. The flat file was a near perfect fit between the back side of the teeth, so I could easily feel when I had cleaned up the teeth enough by using it as a gauge to tell when the opening between the teeth was back to its original width. While I was in the area, I used a bit of white paint to fill the timing marks and a larger paint mark ajacent to them so that I will hopefully be able to see them when I am using a timing light on the car later. Unfortunately the flash on the camera washed out the white paint so that you can not tell that the timing marks are actually filled in with the paint. 

[West Peterson]

Do you need any hub caps, per chance? I know a guy who has about 14,000 1938 hub caps.

[MCHinson]

I have four hubcaps for it but they are going to need to be rechromed. If you source has some that have good chrome, it might be easier than rechroming the ones I have. In any case, I would be happy to help him advertise them in the Torque Tube II if he is interested. Feel free to give him my email address. 

 

Please tell me more about these hubcaps. Bill Hirsch used to reproduce them. He stopped making them a while back and the reproduction supply has pretty much dried up. Cars, Inc. bought the dies and is in the process of having them reproduced. I was told that they actually just rejected and sent the first batch of stampings back to the manufacturer and are awaiting the replacement batch. I really am curious about the guy with that many 1938 hubcaps. 

[West Peterson]

I might have been exaggerating slightly about the 14,000 caps. It only seems like it. He has several pretty nice ones, nothing that would pass for a 400-point show car, but certainly more than good enough for a very nice driver. He's a member of this forum, and I'm sure he'll be seeing my posts to you, and will be chiming in.

[Gary W]

Matt

Great job on the flywheel ring gear.  It will make a huge difference.  I'm glad to see you didn't have to replace the gear.

 

Mine was in such horrible shape that replacement was the only option.  

 

 

When that vacuum start switch goes bad, every time the accelerator pedal is depressed the starter bendix bangs away.

 

Keep up the GREAT work!  Your project is really coming along nicely

 

Gary

 

 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Bet that wore out several Bendix gears.  Wow

 

  Ben

[MCHinson]

This morning, I removed the generator bracket, distributor, intake and exhaust manifolds. I knew that the exhaust manifold valve body had a really ugly old crack repair. I did not realize that the center section of the exhaust manifold was also cracked. After removing it and looking at it closely, I have no idea how that engine ran quietly without an audible exhaust leak.  A couple of the manifold studs certainly show a bit of wear over the years. I think it might be time to replace all of the studs. I have appliied solvent to the exhaust manifold valve body bolts and nuts in hope of being able to get those out tomorrow. 

 

I then removed the exhaust system. I jacked the car up and did my best to figure out a way to remove it all in one section, since all of the pipes are stuck together really well, and in good enough shape that it might be possible to reuse them. I finally gave up and pulled out a sawzall and cut it just behind the muffler so I could get it apart. I removed the rest of side pans on the engine and cleaned off the gasket residue, in anticipation of painting the engine soon. I removed the bolts from the front engine mounts. After painting the engine, I will reinstall new front engine brackets.

 

I removed the freeze plug at the rear top of the block. There is no sign of any buildup or any problems at all in the water jacket. I think I will remove the lower rear driver's side freeze plug tomorrow and if everything is clear there, I am going to leave the remaining freeze plugs in place and get ready to paint the engine. 

[Taylormade]

Get a pressure washer in there - you'll be amazed at the crud that will come out.  I took the casting/freeze plugs out of my 48 Plymouth flathead six.  I thought the water passages looked pretty good - until the pressure washer blew out two pounds of rust and crud. ?

[West Peterson]

As is evident by the pigeon welds on the exhaust manifold, they are not easy to weld. Too much carbon has permeated the iron. There is a way to do it, though, but it involves removing the carbon. I'm not sure of the process, but I think they need to "cook" it first.

[Bleach]

Cast iron needs to be preheated to some particular temperature for the weld to be successful.

[MCHinson]

Yes, the Cast Iron can be repaired but I can't do it. I hope I can find a good used replacement. If that does not work out, I will look for a local shop that knows how to repair the cast iron. I previously had good luck with a local guy who brazed a Model A Ford Manifold for me years ago. Unfortunately, both my father and my brother who could have repaired it are no longer alive. If I can't find a decent used one, reproduction ones are available, but they are not cheap. 

[Laughing Coyote]

My exhaust manifolds had cracks in them after cleaning them up. I borrowed my friends Weber charcoal grill and made a fire just like for grilling. I ground out the cracks so I could get good penetration and then placed them on the grate and let them heat up. I made sure the cracks were facing to were I could repair them. After they cooked for a little bit I used my arc welder with a rod for cast iron and welded them up. After I was done I just let them lay there until the grill cooled off. I you don't heat them first they will crack and you have to let them cool down like a cycle on an engine or they will crack. I know there are other methods, but this worked for me. Just clean up the welds after your repair and good to go.

[MCHinson]

I did not have much time to work on the Buick today but this morning, I went ahead and removed the three lower freeze plugs. It looks and feels clean inside. Tomorrow I will push the chassis outside and use a pressure washer to make sure there is not any unseen crud left in the water jacket. After that, I think it is time to clean the block and then it will be ready for paint.

 

This evening, I managed to get the intake manifold separated from the exhaust manifold. I have applied more solvent to the joints in the exhaust manifold and the joints between it and the valve body.  I will see if I can get those apart tomorrow. 

[MCHinson]

I while back, I tried to buy a bench top parts waher at Harbor Freight Tools, but they were out of stock. On October 12th, I ordererd an identical parts washer through an Ebay seller in SC. It was scheduled to be delivered today. I noticed that the when inquiring on the tracking number it never showed it as picked up. Yesterday, the seller cancelled the order. After the order was cancelled, I ordered an identical parts washer through an Ebay seller in Indiana. Today that seller canceled my order and sent the following message: "Hi my packer had an incident with the fork lift an your item got damage so i refund your money to you sorry for the inconveince"

 

I am begining to think that these items are all being stocked by one company and just being sold through different resellers who don't actually have the items in stock. I suspect that they are the same people who were supplying this identical parts washer to Harbor Freight Tools, who said that they were out of stock and were not going to receive any more of them.

 

I have now ordered a similar but not identical parts washer from Jegs online. Hopefully this one will actually make it to me sometime in the future. I still have the oil pump sitting on my workbench, hoping to be able to use a parts washer to clean the oil pump pickup screen sometime soon. 

[MCHinson]

This morning, I used a pressure washer and also took a multistrand wire cable and used it to "rod out" the water jacket. I got very little crud out. I think that someone must have totally rebuilt this engine at some time not that many miles ago. I guess it is good to know for sure what the condition is, but it looks like I could have left the freeze plugs in place without any real problem. 

 

I have one photo that shows the relatively small amount of crud on the driveway after the water dried up. The crud does not even totally cover up some leaves and dirt that were on the driveway before I started cleaning the water jacket.

 

I rolled the chassis back into the garage and then I installed the new freeze plugs. Later I loosely reinstalled some of the engine covers. Tomorrow we plan to do some additional cleaning, degreasing, priming and painting of the engine. 

 

[Taylormade]

It's always good to check things out when you have the chance.  Very little crud in there, but plenty of peace of mind.  Looking great!

[MCHinson]

This morning, I wrapped plastic around some areas and used painter's tape as necessary to prepare the chassis for painting. I rolled the chassis out of the garage and primed the areas that needed to be primed. My friend Stafford then stopped by and painted the motor and transmission. After allowing it to dry while we were at lunch, I rolled it back into the garage, placed it back on the wheel dollies and rolled it into its normal location. I then removed the wrappings. I later installed the new front motor mounts and crankshaft balancer. The paint certainly  makes this project look much farther along than it really is.

 

My parts washer is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. With the motor painted and the parts washer soon to be installed, I can soon get started on repairing the additional components to install on the chassis.

[MCHinson]

The parts washer arrived today. I was a little disappointed but went ahead and bought some parts cleaner solution at NAPA and put it to work. I specifically did not order a 3.5 gallon parts washer because I thought that would be a little bit smaller than what I wanted. The one that arrived today had a Jegs sticker that identified it as a 5 gallon parts washer but the manufacturer's description of it on the box indicated it was a 3.5 gallon parts washer.  I contacted Jegs and this was their response: "Thank you for your email.  The solvent capacity is 3.5 gallons.  The actual capacity is 5 gallons." As I suspected, it is difficult to use without having solvent splash out of the parts washer. I am going to use it and see if I can get used to it because I am tired of parts sitting on my work bench waiting for degreasing. Even the small parts washer should be better than the alternative.  

 

I was able to clean the oil pump. Inititally I wondered how I was going to get all of the crud out of the oil pickup screen. I then figured out that the cover over that screen could be popped off for better access and then replaced over the screen. I then cleaned up all of the oil pan bolts and lockwashers. I drilled a bunch of holes in a piece of cardboard so that I could stand them up for a quick paint spray to simulate the original dark steel finish and protect them from rust in the future. I will allow the bolts to dry overnight. Tomorrow I hope to install the oil pump and then I should be ready to install the oil pan. 

[Spinneyhill]

Nice cleaning solution. I bought a little ultrasonic cleaner for clock parts. They are very good. In that size, an ultrasonic cleaner would be c. $300 but boy, they remove dirt.

[MCHinson]

This morning, I installed the oil pump. I then installed the oil pan gasket and oil pan along with the crankcase ventilation outlet tube. Those 34 bolts on the oil pan do take a while to install. I then cleaned up the crankcase ventilation inlet, generator bracket, and associated bolts. I painted them and set them aside to dry. This evening, I went ahead and installed the generator. I really like the way the engine is starting to look after painting and as I bolt on more components.

[MCHinson]

This morning, I cleaned up and rebuilt the fuel pump and installed it. I discovered that I apparently lost the cup shaped washer that fits under the glass bowl on the fuel pump. I suspect it was lost when I disassembled the glass bowl just prior to sandblasting of the chassis. I rigged up a temporary solution, but I need to find one of those cup shaped washers. I also was able to separate part of the exhaust manifold. I knew that the center section was badly cracked in 3 or 4 places. When the two sections separated, the cracked sections fell apart. I reapplied more solvent to hopefully get the other sections apart sometime soon. 

 

I also installed the flywheel inspection cover.  I decided to prime the portion of the steering column that is supposed to be brown as well as the gear shift lever. Later in the day, I went back, and painted the steering column and gear shift lever. 

[Taylormade]

What type of paint did you use on the steering column?  It looks great.

[MCHinson]

I chose a color of Rust-Oleum spray paint that closely matched the column color of my 1937 Century. I picked up a can from either my local Wal-Mart or Lowes Home Improvement. I don't remember which one I found it at. It is Rust-Oleum #248630 Gloss French Roast.

[MCHinson]

This morning, I disassembled and cleaned the distributor components. I painted the distributor body. I then cleaned up the starter in preparation for working on it tomorrow. 

 

Later, I decided to upgrade the ball bearing mounted breaker plate with a 1 NOS Delco Remy 1914446 Breaker Plate, so I ordered one on ebay. This will delay reassembly of the distributor but based on prior reading on the forum, it is a good upgrade.

 

I was going to leave the original tag on it, but later in the day, after the paint dried, I peeled the masking tape off of the tag and more of the background paint came off of the tag, so I removed the tag and applied another coat of paint to the distributor body. I engraved a reproduction tag for the distributor which I will install tomorrow.  I also engraved a reproduction tag for the Starter.

[MCHinson]

Yesterday evening, I used a small propane torch to heat up the stuck exhaust manifold joint and reapplied some additional solvent to the joint. I then left the manifold outside overnight where the temperature dropped into the 50's. This morning, after soaking overnight and with the temperature change, using a hammer, I was able to finally separate the previously stuck manifold sections. Using the hammer and a couple of large screwdrivers as wedges, I was also able to separate the center exhaust manifold section from the exhaust valve body. 

 

I went ahead and assembled the distributor and temporarily installed the distributor, rather than leaving it apart while waiting on the updated breaker plate to arrive.  

 

I finished cleaning up the starter and solenoid and masked the areas that should not be painted. I then painted the starter and starter solenoid. This afternoon, I was able to reassemble and reinstall the starter.   

[Taylormade]

Looking great.  Are the decals on the motor red?  I'm not a Buick expert, but I assume the decals are still available.

[MCHinson]

The decal for the valve cover is Red. I am going to give the paint the full 7 days to cure before I apply it. 

[MCHinson]

Today has been a busy day. I got a lot of bolts cleaned up and painted today. I sandblasted the battery tray and painted it this morning. I cleaned up the coil and coil bracket and painted them this morning. This evening, I was able to install them, along with the battery cables. 

 

I got a lot of work done, but not as much accomplished as I would have preferred. I received my new water pump today, so we painted it. I almost got it installed this evening, but I managed to break a bolt. Tomorrow, I need to extract the broken portion of the bolt and find a replacement bolt. Luckily the broken part of the bolt is protruding enough that I think I can get it out without too much trouble. I decided to apply a little bit of solvent to it and wait until tomorrow before trying to extract it. I hope to be able to install the water pump tomorrow.

 

 

[MCHinson]

Today was a better day. This morning, I welded a nut onto the broken section of the water pump bolt and was able to extract the broken bolt. I then went to my local hardware store and picked up three grade 8 bolts to mount the water pump. I was able to install the water pump, fan pulley, fan, and fan belt.

 

I then installed the battery box. This evening, I added the starter solenoid boot. While not too difficult to install, it would have been a bit easier to install that before I installed the starter on the car, but I did not receive the boot until yesterday.  

[MCHinson]

Today I gapped and installed new spark plugs. I then installed the new spark plug wires. Installing the rubber boots on the spark plug wires is much easier if you use a little bit of silicone lubricant on the boots to enable you to slide them onto the wires. Without any lubrication, they would be almost impossible to install.  I then used a 3/8 x 24 thread cutting die to clean up the shifter threads and installed the shift knob. 

 

I have had the solvent soaking brake master cylinder plug for a few days. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to be able to get it apart. Today, I was able to use a pipe wrench on the plug and a pair of chain vice grips on the master cylinder body and it unscrewed easily. I was happy and surprised when it came apart. After cleaning up the cruddy remains of the rubber cup ,the cylinder actually looks surprisingly good. I have the master cylinder assembly soaking in some cleaning solution and will take a better look at it Monday morning.    

[MCHinson]

A few days ago, I assembled the bypass valve assembly. I almost reinstalled the bypass valve since it appeared to be in excellent condition. Since I did not trust that the spring would not one day weaken and cause the bypass valve to need to be repaired, I decided to modify it but I did not want to cut off the original rod that originally held the bypass valve in place to do the normal modification and install a freeze plug in the housing to replace the bypass valve. I was able to take a freeze plug, drill a hole the size of the rod in it and place a freeze plug in place of the valve. I then reassembled the parts of the bypass valve except for the spring in a manner to hold the freeze plug in the correct position to prevent overheating problems. This morning, I reinstalled the bypass valve assembly, the thermostat, the thermostat housing, and the two radiator hoses.

 

Next, I cleaned up the brake master cylinder a bit. It is difficult to see in the photos, but the master cylinder looks fairly good. I think that the cylinder can simply be cleaned up with a hone but time will tell. The spring that holds the front end plug in the master cylinder was a bit difficult to remove. When it finally came out, it hit me in the face, nearly hitting me in the eye. The rest of the master cylinder came apart and cleaned up without any problems. After cleaning everything up, I painted the outside of the master cylinder. I ordered a new brake cylinder hone recently. As soon as it arrives, I will see if the cylinder cleans up OK, or if it needs to be resleeved. 

[38Buick 80C]

In lieu of a freeze plug I cut a piece of stainless steel fuel line to the correct length (same height as uncompressed spring and put it under the washer thus the washer cannot compress on the spring and aside from no by-pass flow all other flow is as it was engineered by Buick (with a small amount allowed to flow around the washer). Food for thought...