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1940 76C Reconstruct


kgreen

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  • 2 weeks later...

Lots of detail work and waiting for paint to dry before assembly.  This past weekends efforts including sand blasting a handful of parts including the fan at the water pump.  Close inspection revealed possible stress cracks or cracks formed when the fan hub was stamped and punched.  I have a second fan to consider, but I might be able to file these cracks out:

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I might have just saved the radiator, hood and who knows what or who else by noticing this now.

 

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 Hard to know how careful folks are with parts as they remove them and place them in storage. After all these years who knows what previous owners have done with items. 

Sure you thought of this,  confirm fan is straight and have the fan checked for cracks magnetic particle should  do the trick. This  will confirm if you have anything to worry about.  I have pulled fans out of trunks and boxes once they  are spinning up I see the blades tracking off.

 

 Your car is  beautiful  and you have such attention to detail. 

Steve

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  • 2 weeks later...

Next up is the fuel pump.  I ordered the rebuild kit from CARS some time ago, it was backordered, but arrived this past week.  I acquired an NOS fuel pump as a part of a parts car deal.  On disassembly I found the diaphrams to were gummy and an insect home had been made in side one of the open ports.  

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The pump body didn't need much for cleaning except for the diaphram surfaces:

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The shop manual says the only difference between the 248 and 320 cu in fuel pump is the arm but doesn't say what that difference is.  

 

The longer arm is for the 320, the shorter arm is the 248:

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  • 2 months later...

One of my work issues with this car is that I hit a mandatory stopping point when a new part is required to be ordered.  I was working on the dash pad, carefully attempting to remove a fairly nice one from my parts car and discovered the pad is glued to the interior firewall.  I ordered a replacement, but it is only available in plastic.  It arrived early, but I was still working on my defroster ducts and wiper assembly.  As a result, I've spread out the work to have several projects at once.  One of these projects is the brake and clutch pedal assembly.  I was aware of all the adjustments that could be made to both pedals, but even with tight parts, I discovered excessive clutch pedal movement or slop when the pedal is retracted.  Let me try to illustrate this to hopefully help y'all from the trouble of installation, removal and reinstallation.

 

The brake pedal connects directly to the master cylinder.  The clutch pedal acts through an "equalizer bar", noted as g:

 partsdia.jpg.d76a2da9e318764dfb924f96bb3d241e.jpg

 

The brake pedal has a return spring that will keep the pedal fully retracted.  The clutch pedal has two components on the pivot shaft; one being the clutch pedal, the other being an intermediary part that holds the return spring.  This is not shown above as this is the diagram of the 1941 set up.  These two parts mate on the shaft with interlocking teeth. 

IMG_2888.jpg.012f8026deebb9518c47248207947a27.jpgThe photo above shows the B/C pedal assembly.  The shaft slips through a bronze-bushed brake pedal then through a sleeve in the two piece clutch pedal.

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If there is a poor fit between these two parts of the clutch pedal, then the clutch pedal will have upwards of an inch of free play when fully retracted.  the interlocking teeth in the photo above had about a 32 thousandths gap, that allowed the retracted clutch pedal to flop.  I could get the retracted brake and clutch pedals to align, but the clutch pedal, as noted previously, would flop back towards the floorboard. Based on review of parts manuals, this condition does not exist on '41 models because the clutch return spring is attached to the clutch pedal, rather than an intermediary part.  

 

Other wear points that can leave a sloppy clutch pedal:

IMG_2894.jpg.9a4c16f30d583fabef778e4c366b7d20.jpgNote the elongated hole for the actuator rod.  The rod was also worn with a deep groove on the contact surface.

IMG_2892.jpg.847a21ecd61b948db19af9d55c6aaf1b.jpgThe photo above shows excessive bushing wear on the brake pedal.

 

The equalizer bar on the '40 and '41 has a ball and socket on each end.  These can also be worn.  Another difference between the two years is that there is a fibrous wad inserted between the two ball sockets on the '40.  The '41 has a spring with cup retainers on each end to put tension on the inside of the ball sockets.

 

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The photo above shows the clutch return spring connection to the intermediate clutch pedal assembly.

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Photo above showing tension spring adjustment for the clutch pedal.  This spring helps return the pedal to its fully retracted position.

 

 

Edited by kgreen
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On 6/2/2023 at 5:02 AM, Grant Z said:

Many thanks for the updates Ken. It is much appreciated as I'm soaking up everything I can for my restoration - being here in 'isolated Australia'.

Grant, I got your email on the firewall and can send a series of photos showing several 1940 firewall hole configurations.  At first glance, your firewall, like mine, had been altered to fit an aftermarket heater.  Since my car came with a heater, I suspect it failed and was considered unsalvageable.  The underseat heater was a great idea, but road salt must have cut their service life drastically.

 

I'll also report on the installation of my pad.  I used this product on the inside firewall surface and floor to reduce thermal transmission through these surfaces.  It is a brush on ceramic thermal coating.  Photos to follow.

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Edited by kgreen
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Progress on the brakes, wipers, defroster ducts and inside firewall insulation but none of them are finished.  The interior firewall insulation arrived a month early, the guy sells on eBay and the fit was excellent.  It sort of resembles the original but I'm guessing the original was steam bent cardboard with a machine sawn valence.  I doubt anyone does that anymore.  I installed the wiper towers then the defroster ducts.  These pieces were not made to be serviced easily as they are buried way up and under the dash.  Installing the emergency brake cable was another chore best performed before attaching the dash as well.

 

I was going to share photos but the forum seems to want them oriented 90 degrees off.  Sorry, it seems so random that I have this problem.  

 

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Firewall pad purchased on eBay from calponres:

 

IMG_2902.jpg.be7a75676f9f6f6294d5e232d675990f.jpg You also get a close up of what the floor looks like after coating it with the Second Skin "firewall" product.  I wasn't sure if the dimmer switch ever had a gasket to keep water from being slung into the floor when driving a wet road.  There are many gaskets that I've had to cut which presence I found from my generally unmolested parts cars.  Some gaskets are for vibration isolation to prevent squeaks, like the one on the wiper control knob housing.  I also salvaged most of the screws holding the firewall pad onto the firewall instead of having to buy new.

 

The wiper towers were an acquisition from @2carb40 a couple years ago.  They are NOS and specific to the convertible body.  The defroster ducts and the wiper motor would seen a real ball buster to install with the dash in place.  I also used a vinyl pad, also from Second Skin to dampen noise on the underside of the cowl, left and right of the cowl vent.

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Starting on the brakes with new brake lines, master cyl and wheel cylinders and clips.  The emergency brake cable was also replaced this weekend.  It sure is nice to work on a clean car. 

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I know that I bought sway arm links for the front and back, but I wonder where I stored them?

 

I'll miss the next couple of weekends working the garage as I'll be heading up to Michigan drop a spare 248 cu in engine with another Buick fan then spend a couple days in the Sandusky area.

 
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  • 1 month later...

Work progresses and with much joy.  I love working on a "new" car; it's clean as a whistle.  Ongoing projects include everything associated with the dash re-installation and wiring.  The wiring is tedious and requires careful check and recheck to be sure that I'm connecting wires to their proper position.  The color codes used in the shop manual do not line up with the newly fabricated harness, but the guide sheet from Rhode Island wiring provides adequate data.  I've positioned the primary harness through the firewall and routed the wires under the hood.  I've had to confirm wire positioning, particularly in places where I have not yet replaced a particular part.  Note the dumpy looking horn relay.  In these cases I've re-installed the old or unrestored part.

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The dash switches were filthy and each one was disassembled and cleaned.  I used dielectric grease on moving parts, but not the points of electrical contact, fuses replaced where needed, then tested for continuity and smooth operation. The longer switch is the headlight switch the other three are for the left side of the dash, positioned under the dash: one for each defroster, heater and dash lights.

Cleanandlubedswitcheso.jpg.a2de154aee4ae7c3cb95493634386388.jpg 

I had to remove the windshield as the dash panel slips all the way up to the windshield opening.  I have an extra dash from the parts car to dry fit for clearances before attempting to install the fully restored dash.  I've set the dash up in front of its final position to test wire routing and to prewire switches.  I'll install the switches after the dash is attached to the car.  Given the gyrations required to remove the old glove box from the parts car with the dash in place, I'm thinking that I'll attach the new glove box before the dash is installed.  I rechecked the defroster outlets and wiper tower installations and connections as they will become extremely difficult to access once the dash is re-installed.  I cut to fit an routed the defroster hose to the unrestored defroster motor be sure I clear obstructions like the cowl vent and glovebox as well.  The defroster motor serves to verify final hose positioning and can be easily removed for restoration after the dash is back in place.

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One last part to install on the dash at this stage is the radio grill.  I ordered similar colored and patterned speaker cloth that is supposedly acoustically invisible.  I had not found an exact replacement pattern and color match, but this will do.  Referring to Neil's post with his new seat fabric, there is a stark difference in the color and pattern after 80 years so I'm sure I am close enough with my effort.  

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Your car looks fantastic. I'm curious about your comment regarding the wire colors not matching the schematic. I guess I've understood that Rhode Island wire did exact replicas. Is that not the case? 

 

Regards,

Dan

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That's looking really good, Ken.  For what it's worth, Rhode Island perfectly matched the color codes for the wires to the factory schematic on my '41.  But as you say, even if the colors don't match perfectly, the charts they provide will give you all the information you need to get everything connected properly.

 

I, of course, did my car with the dash in place, which gave me very little room to work in.  At the time I thought how much easier it would be if the dash were removed.  However, there is so little slack in the harness, that things are still going to get tight for you once you start putting the dash back in.  I assume you will want to leave everything disconnected on the engine compartment side until you get the dash back in place.  That way you can pull the harness a bit back into the passenger compartment so you have the slack you need to get the dash in place.  Then pull the harness "tight" again where it goes through the firewall and do all the engine compartment connections last.  Does that make sense?  (I'm not sure I'm expressing myself very clearly here.)

 

I see the new rubber grommet that fits around the harness where it goes through the firewall.  Getting that bad boy in place was a real treat!  Working with a "new" car must be a pleasure, but then you have the anxiety of scratching that beautiful new paint.  Haha -- nothing's easy in this hobby.  It's a pleasure to follow your progress, and I look forward to your next post!

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Your posts are very much appreciated, and clearly communicated with good images thanks Ken. I read, then re-read every word so that it sinks in, knowing I will come back to much of this information when I arrive at the relevant stages you have covered. Neil's comments are also valuable & appreciated (yes what you have written does make sense to both myself and my wife looking over my shoulder) 🙂.

 

Keep up the great work Ken.

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18 hours ago, drhach said:

Your car looks fantastic. I'm curious about your comment regarding the wire colors not matching the schematic. I guess I've understood that Rhode Island wire did exact replicas. Is that not the case? 

 

Regards,

Dan

Dan, you are correct, Rhode Island did match color coding.  I looked at the wire diagram for the light switch battery connection and saw 12 BRC which identifies as 12 gauge black and red crossing tracers.  Rhode Island matched that but noted the base color of the wire was yellow with this designation: YxBkxR.  I've primarily been cross referencing the wiring diagram to function alone and now seeing the color coding as and easier step.  I'm still going to cross reference function as the extra thinking time adds to my QC.  Thanks for asking.

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16 hours ago, neil morse said:

"I see the new rubber grommet that fits around the harness where it goes through the firewall.  Getting that bad boy in place was a real treat!  Working with a "new" car must be a pleasure, but then you have the anxiety of scratching that beautiful new paint.  Haha -- nothing's easy in this hobby.  It's a pleasure to follow your progress, and I look forward to your next post!"

Yeah, the firewall grommet was a doozy on dry fit without the bulk of the wire harness captured.  I saw no way to feed the wire with all of the tangent wires through that little hole.  I'm going to slice of cut with the bandsaw into the bigger hole then re-secure it with black urethane caulking.  I'm still not sure how I'll stuff the grommet into the firewall.  I might need to leave it out and drape a rag over the firewall when the hood is open while showing the car.  Nah, I'll find a way.

 

Thanks for your comment about the wire coding, you and Dan are both correct and have identified why I had a difficult time learning anything in school!

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On the grommet, I first thought there was some way to feed the harness through without cutting the grommet.  I figured out pretty quickly that this was impossible.  So I ended up just cutting a slit with a utility knife with a fresh blade.  I didn't try to put any glue or caulking on it once it was in place.  Believe me, it's very tight and no one is going to notice the gap from the cut.  As far as getting it in place, I just used dishwashing liquid as a lubricant and used a rubber mallet.  It took a while, but I finally got it in place.  My situation was complicated by the fact that I had a bunch of extra wires that had to go through there for electric fuel pump, fog lights, and starter button (the accelerator pedal starter is disabled on my car and replaced with a button under the dash). 

 

grommet2.jpg.f9d4d9ab0c4d112022771f3aae408d19.jpg

 

I got this larger wiring diagram in color from ClassicCarWiring.com, which I found helpful.

 

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The rewiring of the front harness took three days which included recovering old connectors for reuse and checking continuities throughout the harness, replaced bulbs and fuses.  I would likely be the first one laid-off at Buick if this were a production process for profit.  Ninety-nine percent of the wiring instructions were spot on.  The flasher connection was the only variance from the shop manual.  The shop manual was essential as well when wiring the fuel gage and amp gage to know which terminal was pos./neg.  I've not applied power to the car yet as I still have the rear harness and engine side to accomplish. 

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This just seemed like the most difficult task so I wanted it done first.  I attempted to finish everything that was going to be buried by the dash and hadn't installed the cowl vent drain.  Locating the drain with my finger, then seemed like a good idea (shortcut to crawling upside down again) to determine the size based on the indent on my finger.  Yep, it's a half inch:

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Placing the dash panel into place was much easier than I thought and gave the appearance of immediate accomplishment.  A hint to anyone following the same process:  connect the wires to the light switch but leave the rectangular chrome bezel loose.  The two screws you need to access the cowl vent brace are directly above this bezel.  The glove box was installed on the open backside of the dash and caused me concern for interference on dash placement.  However, it was easy and prevented any damage by attempting to install the glove box liner on an in-place dash panel.

 

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Many thanks for letting me know the color Ken. Of course on a computer it looks different in every photo I see, but it sure looks like what I'm imagining for my car and that color is also a 1941 color. Titian Maroon also looks nice but significantly dark I suspect (Richard Mann's '41 Super 56C is that color).

 

Much appreciated. Cheers

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On 7/13/2023 at 1:19 PM, neil morse said:

On the grommet, I first thought there was some way to feed the harness through without cutting the grommet.  I figured out pretty quickly that this was impossible.  So I ended up just cutting a slit with a utility knife with a fresh blade.  I didn't try to put any glue or caulking on it once it was in place.  Believe me, it's very tight and no one is going to notice the gap from the cut.  As far as getting it in place, I just used dishwashing liquid as a lubricant and used a rubber mallet.  It took a while, but I finally got it in place.  My situation was complicated by the fact that I had a bunch of extra wires that had to go through there for electric fuel pump, fog lights, and starter button (the accelerator pedal starter is disabled on my car and replaced with a button under the dash). 

 

grommet2.jpg.f9d4d9ab0c4d112022771f3aae408d19.jpg

 

I got this larger wiring diagram in color from ClassicCarWiring.com, which I found helpful.

 

wiring_diagram7.jpg.072b4331a4b794081a8a51185f7c0fb7.jpg

My son purchased this wiring diagram for me for Fathers Day after I almost went blind trying to follow the one in the manual. Better late than never. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Continuing with the wire harness:

The shop manual shows wire harness routing for most of the 1940 series, but not the 51C or 71C.  My numerous photographs gave me a good idea though.  Several unique connectors on the harness had to be salvaged and reused.  This included the five pin connector between the main front and rear harness sections.  I'm glad I did a dry run fitting because the connector wouldn't fit through the routing passages.  I was able to add all the connectors for the front harness on the bench which was easier than working in the car and the trunk. 

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It wasn't until I had completed soldering the five pin connector, that is well hidden in the car that I thought it would have been much easier to use modern bullet connectors. Oh well.

 

One task I'll foreworn others about is disassembling the convertible top vacuum valve.  You probably don't need to do it as the valve is not likely used often enough to wear out.  Then if it was worn, you have no options for parts replacement!  I'd flush a solvent through it to clean it then put some lightweight oil in to free up the operation. 

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There are two springs inside the housing and the spring returning the valve to neutral is a real bugger to put back in place.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Made and installed the vacuum lines for the convertible top cylinders.  Sort of dreaded this because I don't have professional equipment and have to make do.  

 

My parts car had remnants of the old lines from under the rear seat.  There are two lines to each cylinder.  One line applies a vacuum to the top of the cylinder causing the top to open, the other applies the vacuum to the bottom of the cylinder pushing the top closed.  The vacuum is applied to either line by the vacuum switch that I fixed last weekend (post above).

 

Image below: I'm pointing to a critical bend and tube position as the interior rear quarter panel cover needs to cover this area without interference.  

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Image below: My first bend effort and I used it.  This is a steel line and my brake line tube benders struggled with the 3/8-inch tube.  My second line was even better.

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Image below:  The first line is complete and compared to the remnants of the original line taken from the parts car.

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Image below:  Both tubes need to snug through the A-pillar brace and extend up the kick panel area far enough to connect flexible vacuum line from this tube to the under dash valve.  Several of the clips were rusted beyond use so I fabricated extras. Again, this clip was not my first attempt.  The holes in the floorboard are 3/8-inch diameter and the smallest plug I've found from the usual sources is 1/2-inch.  Still working on that detail.

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Image below:  Here's the jig I made to form new clips.  Two tubes screwed into my temp workbench with a wood filler to place between the two tubes.  I drilled a hole in the flat plate and hammered the inside edge of the radius then hammered the radius around the tubes.  This clip was my first attempt.  To roll up the edges, I mounted a piece of square stock in my Hershey's find vice and hammered the edges on the straight area up for rigidity like the originals.  I used gorilla tape on the bottom of the clips for squeak and vibration isolation as was done originally.

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Image below:  The original T's were in good shape; I connected them using airline hose.  Here you see the forward line connected to the under seat line that feeds the right side cylinder

IMG_3400.jpg.6d68b5bce730755cd20c2e2fb4102ef7.jpg

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My original top cylinders were damaged beyond use.  Through this forum, I found a gentlemen that swapped his pneumatic actuators with electric and sold me his old cylinders.  What a blessing!  The pneumatic cylinders were only used on the two door convertibles and probably for Buick, Olds and Cadillac.  These cylinders ere in perfect shape and held a strong vacuum.  I think someone around here suggested using neats foot oil to lubricate the cylinders. 

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Todays task was finishing the trunk wiring.  Had to salvage old connectors, probably don't need to warn others that they should save everything when disassembling the car.  The one head's up I'd give someone doing the same task is that the rear harness needs to be weaved through all the nooks and crannies before soldering the connectors.  Fishing wires through the rear deck lid wasn't so bad if I worked hole to hole rather than the entire wire route.  Didn't realize this phase would take the entire day, though I am recovering from a cold and have low energy.  No pix either - what's to see as the wires are now all concealed?  

 

Next task is to finish the dash knobs and engine specific wiring.  Thanks for following, I hope I'm helping anyone with this similar year car.  (Grant that means you, now get out of the hospital and back to your '41!)

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Hi Ken, I've been out of hospital for over 24hrs now but won't be back to full operation for some time. Your posts are most helpful. Even my body man Adam logs on to see what clues he can pickup and make comparisons. It's surprising the differences between the '40 & '41s. Cheers & thanks.

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  • 1 month later...

The brake shoes that I picked up at Hershey two years ago looked proper, but just would not fit.  The forks on the adjuster didn't fit fully onto the shoes and spread the shoes out far enough that the drums wouldn't slip on.  The arch of the shoes was also off with only about 2-3 inches of the mid point of the shoe making contact.  The new shoes from Just Brakes fit much better, but still needed adjustment.  The adjuster fit well and the arc was spot on.  The shoe width was too wide creating interferance on the inside face of the drum.  You can see the shiney spots on the tips of the fasteners.

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THe photo below shows the contact on the brake shoe.

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I used a flap disc sanding wheel to trim the outer edge of the shoe.  I debated admitting this for possible concern for safety, but after having two sets of shoes that didn't just "drop in", I thought others may have experienced this.  The rear axle bearings and seals had been replaced when the axle was out of the car, now replacement of the front wheel bearing and seals is complete.  When I bought the car it had the narrower front drums from the small series car installed, thanks to my access to a couple parts cars, the brakes are now correct.

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If it seems like this recontruction is going slow, well, it is.  I'm still working full time or more.  I have made significant progress though as the wiring is 95%, the dash is nearly complete, the pnumatic lines for the convertible top are complete and most of the engine is complete. 

 

Other progress this weekend includes completing the emergency brake linkage and gas tank install.  I had the tank dipped and coated on the interior.  I used a hammered silver paint to approximate the look of a galvanizing.  Close, not factory, but I count myseldf lucky to have a decent tank given that 1940 Buick tanks are not reproduced.  I've had three of them go through my hands that I couldn't use either becuase of rust of severe physical damage.

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IMG_3553.jpg

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4 hours ago, Shootey said:

How do you fully drive in the grease cap? Mine on my 1941 don’t want to go all the way in easily. Yours look to be not fully driven in. 

 

 

I tap it in with a rubber mallet until it hits the stop.  The ridge on the cap does not corespond to the depth of the recess on the hub.  So long as it is not loose, it's in far enough.  At the depth you see mine, it does not interfere with the hubcap either.

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@JohnD1956 you know John, I can't wait to drive it.  However, I find my time working on the car very relaxing.  A finished car won't take this much effort so I wonder what I'll do to relax at that time?  I do think this is the last one I'll ever do that requires this much effort.  

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  • 3 weeks later...

Almost a month of no activity so I was anxious to get back on task this weekend, but only after the fabulous event hosted by Mr. Earl at the Buick Gardens. 

 

First up was the dreaded task of driling and tapping the flywheel housing (see above).  To guide the bit into I epoxied a length of bar stock onto the nub where I had to drill.

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Had a problem with clearance for the drill and loaded bit so I used a shortened (cut) drill bit until I could get a full sized bit into the hole.  If this alighnment didn't work as in the hole was off center or angled, I would have been faced with removing the engine to use a different housing.  Fortunately, it worked:

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The last photo was a trial fit.  I then discovered that the two holes in the idler plate offer two options for rod installation.  One way is the wrong way as is shown above.  Thank goodness for the thousands of photos I have on hand. 

 

The biggest challenge of the day, however, was trying to fit a 1941 shifter rod on the '40; not happenening. I'm not sure how I ended up with the wrong shift rod. The '41 was designed with a tab to use an anti-rattle spring.  That was the visual clue as well as the illustration in the 1941 shop manual.  Once I used the correct rod the parts fell into place.  Everything seems to shift just fine with no binding or stiffness.  The shop manual contains a very detail process for aligning the shift rod and shift linkage, too.

 

Other tasks included cleaning and painting engine parts gray.  Apparently the engines were originally painted by gorillas so drips and other imperfections were part of the deal.  I'll refrain from producing a show quality engine paint job.

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23 hours ago, kgreen said:

First up was the dreaded task of driling and tapping the flywheel housing

Hi Ken, I can't seem to work out why you had to drill & tap this hole in the side of the flywheel housing. Was it not there already?

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2 hours ago, Grant Z said:

Hi Ken, I can't seem to work out why you had to drill & tap this hole in the side of the flywheel housing. Was it not there already?

The bell housing that I used wasn't tapped as it came from another application.  My mistake, but recoverable.  I purchased a fully rebuilt engine from 2carb40 (Greg) that was used for a bus application.  Greg reported that Flexible buses were powered with Buick straight eights, see here:

 

(https://www.prewarbuick.com/features/the_flxible_company_and_buick)

 

Using my engine block and head which have an appropriate 1940 serial number, I was able to use a number of the rebuilt componants from the bus engine to lessen the cost of a total rebuild on my old engine.  I used the crank, the valves, the cam, the connecting rods, etc on my block.  The flywheel housing that I should have cleaned, painted and used had the correct tapped hole for the idler plate mount:

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If I mistapped the hole or couldn't tap it due to clearances with tools while the engine was in the car, I was faced with time consuming effort and increased risk of damage to body panels to remove the engine and swap out the part.  It's something I didn't notice until this stage of the project.

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