Matt Harwood Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 So I acquired this in a package deal and it showed up today. It has not run in a very long time, being in storage for quite some time. Everything seems in place, the radiator is fortunately dry, the engine turns over easily, so I expect that it's undamaged. But I don't have any clue where to start making it operational. It's crank start only, so I want to give it the best possible chance to run before we just start yanking on the crank--it'll kill us eventually. Heck, there aren't even any gauges on the dash, just an oiler sight glass and the Bosch ignition "switch" (which seems to be missing its key). It did not come with a manual, so does anyone have a photocopy or a scan they could send me just to get started? Other than the obvious things about fluids and clean plugs, where should I begin? What is the recommended starting procedure? It is a magneto, so is there anything to check in there? Thoughts and advice are very welcome--my experience with cars of this vintage is VERY limited. Thanks! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Call David Coco...aka trimacar.......look in the ccca directory........Virginia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Cool car. You get all the neat stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Phillips Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 I just did an article on an urestored 1910 model 10 Buick that had been sitting for many years. The new owner found that the oil passageways in the engine were plugged up with dried oil! He said he had to drill out the oil holes in the crankshaft and the engine before they started the engine--luckily he caught that before trying to run it. The car above doesn't look like it has been sitting that long, but my advice is not to let it run until you see oil coming out of the rocker arm shaft; in other words, crank it over a lot with the spark plug wires disconnected at first. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_Heil Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, Pete Phillips said: I just did an article on an urestored 1910 model 10 Buick that had been sitting for many years. The new owner found that the oil passageways in the engine were plugged up with dried oil! He said he had to drill out the oil holes in the crankshaft and the engine before they started the engine--luckily he caught that before trying to run it. The car above doesn't look like it has been sitting that long, but my advice is not to let it run until you see oil coming out of the rocker arm shaft; in other words, crank it over a lot with the spark plug wires disconnected at first. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 No oil is going to come out any rocker arm shaft unless it’s you pumping the oil out of the oiling can hanging on the fire wall or turning down a grease cup. That’s the only way a Buick rocker shaft gets oil until 1924. But I get your point. I very much enjoyed the article on the Model 10 but know of no oil holes in a Model 10 crank. There are holes in the rods for the dippers and the splash feed holes in the block for the mains. Perhaps he meant those. Matt, sent you a PM. Edited January 29, 2020 by Brian_Heil (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Very neat looking car, and looks like its been well cared for until recently. The Buick heritage alliance has the books for a fairly reasonable price https://www.buickheritagealliance.org/index.php/archives/browse/1912 The other source of information is also if you look at the manufacture of individual components, quite often they had guides for multiple makes with more specific information (e.g Delco or Marvell etc) - generic repair manuals from the period also have more information than the cars did (the 1912 Cadillac manual is something like 50 pages) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 After cleaning out the oil pan and adding new oil, take out the spark plugs and crank the engine a few times while somebody looks at the oil sight gauge on the dashboard. If you are by yourself you can just check the sight after to see if there is fresh oil on the glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Matt, Brian Heil is IMO the closest expert to you. The two of you need to get together and discuss cars. If you come up you can see my '13 model 31. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_Heil Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Looks like I’ll be buying Larry lunch this week.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 (edited) 19 hours ago, Pete Phillips said: my advice is not to let it run until you see oil coming out of the rocker arm shaft; in other words, crank it over a lot with the spark plug wires disconnected at first. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 The rockers are manually oiled with the oil can located on the firewall in the early Buicks. Matt, Send me a PM with your email address and I will send you the info you need. Edited January 30, 2020 by Mark Shaw (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 Thanks for the great feedback, guys. I have your messages and will get in touch with all of you who have contacted me. I have not yet set a price on this car and I still want to finish evaluating it. We've been extremely busy this week so I haven't had my usual "get to know it" time with this car, but I plan to in the next few days. Then I'll have more questions for those of you with answers, and I'll have answers for those of you inquiring about the car. Don't worry! Thank you again for all the quick and eager responses--that's why this place is awesome! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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