Jump to content

fun fact... <-This title is a perfect example of clickbait.

38Buick 80C

By 38Buick 80C
in Buick - General

 Share

Recommended Posts

38Buick 80C 10,000+ Points

38Buick 80C

Posted
Posted (edited)

No matter how many times I try and or curse at it my Mopar will not start when I depress the gas pedal..... I actually have to turn the key all the way to the right not just one click and then gas...

 

I guess it's been a while since I drove it...but my Buicks don't mind

Edited by 38Buick 80C (see edit history)
  • Like 3
  • Haha 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Matt Harwood 25,000+ Points

Matt Harwood

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have a client who just cannot for the life of him get used to the foot pedal starter on the Buick I sold him. He's so unhappy with it that he's probably going to return the car. He just can't grasp the turn the key THEN press the pedal. He turns the key and pumps the pedal and the car bucks and shudders and won't start because he's only engaging the starter for a split-second at a time. He hates it. I've tried talking him through it several times and he's convinced that it's just a bad car. Disappointing but when you spend your whole life starting a car with a key or a button, the accelerator thing just breaks the whole system.

 

 

Edited by Matt Harwood (see edit history)
  • Like 2
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ben Bruce aka First Born 25,000+ Points

Ben Bruce aka First Born

Posted
Posted
17 minutes ago, Matt Harwood said:

I have a client who just cannot for the life of him get used to the foot pedal starter on the Buick I sold him. He's so unhappy with it that he's probably going to return the car. He just can't grasp the turn the key THEN press the pedal. He turns the key and pumps the pedal and the car bucks and shudders and won't start because he's only engaging the starter for a split-second at a time. He hates it. I've tried talking him through it several times and he's convinced that it's just a bad car. Disappointing but when you spend your whole life starting a car with a key or a button, the accelerator thing just breaks the whole system.

 

 

Install a push button for him!

 

  Ben

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
JohnD1956 25,000+ Points

JohnD1956

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, NTX5467 said:

"All the way to the right" engages the starter.  That first click is just "Run/On".  With "All the way to the right", add 1/3 to 1/2 accel pedal movement and it all just happens, usually.

 

NTX5467

I apoligize for being rude Willis, but I believe you missed the flavor of this thread. 😗😄

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
EmTee 25,000+ Points

EmTee

Posted
Posted

I wonder who at Buick first thought of using the accelerator pedal to activate the starter and why...  We had a '59 Apache stake truck when I was young that I drove in the fields.  It had a separate starter pedal to the right of the accelerator.  In that case, the pedal basically took the place of the solenoid and mechanically engaged the starter with the flywheel.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
MRJBUICK 2,500+ Points

MRJBUICK

Posted
Posted

so this is my problem

usually when moving/ organizing cars

i drive or move my 57 or 60 turn the key on the dash and press the pedal (actually very easy and VERY COOL i might add)

then i jump into my Reatta or 75 oh yes now i have to turn the key all the way and its not on the dash its on the column

then i get into my daily driver (18 GMC Terrain) and just push the button, which is back on the dash

and whats worse it doesnt have a shift knob it has push buttons on the dash (i really dont like this feature to unnatural)

on any given weekend my life can be very complicated

all in good fun but i do find myself sometimes looking confused lol

Marty

  • Like 1
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
EmTee 25,000+ Points

EmTee

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, TexRiv_63 said:

My other car is a Dodge, so far I have not mixed them up but I'm sure there will come a time...

That's OK, it'll just think that you're setting the choke!  ;)

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
JohnD1956 25,000+ Points

JohnD1956

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, B Jake Moran said:

I’ve never had a Buick that old (that ran). You push the pedal to the floor to engage the starter.  Does this ever cause flooding issues? Did Buick compensate for this possibility or am I overthinking it? 

In the case of flooding one pins the gas pedal to the floor to unload the choke. If it doesn't start right away I would keep the pedal on the floor and simply turn the key off and on to run the starter without pumping the accelerator.  

  • Like 6
  • Thanks 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
dibarlaw 25,000+ Points

dibarlaw

Posted
Posted

I had never had an issue with my accelerator/starter set up in my 1937. Others I know in the club had an auxilliary dash starter button installed. One awkward situation was stalling the car on a hill. I did make sure the throttle knob on the dash was fully functional. Clutch in, foot brake on, pull the throttle knob out and reingage the starter.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TxBuicks 5,000+ Points

TxBuicks

Posted
Posted

On a similar note, I find it funny that after driving a standard shift car for a while, I tend to push in the non-existent clutch pedal of an automatic car when I first get in it.  Or my hand reaches for a shifter knob when there is not one. Muscle memory is weird.

  • Like 7
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
JohnD1956 25,000+ Points

JohnD1956

Posted
Posted

My 2013 Regal is an automatic with a dual gate shifter. In the alternate gate push forward for an upshift, pull backwards for a downshift. And I found myself pulling it back to hit 2nd and 4th gear and being surprised by the downshifts.  Lol

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
kgreen 10,000+ Points

kgreen

Posted
Posted

The brass era car guys haven’t chimed in with any comments yet. Then there’s the guy that bought the model T with the crank start that couldn’t figure out how to start the car after he pulled into the garage all the way up against the far wall. He couldn’t reach the crank anymore. That was 1935 and the car is still in that garage. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Larry Schramm 25,000+ Points

Larry Schramm

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, kgreen said:

The brass era car guys haven’t chimed in with any comments yet. Then there’s the guy that bought the model T with the crank start that couldn’t figure out how to start the car after he pulled into the garage all the way up against the far wall. He couldn’t reach the crank anymore. That was 1935 and the car is still in that garage. 

 

Let me know where the car is.  I think it would be interesting to talk to the owner.

 

Also, what type of comments would you like from us brass guys?   We could tell you all kinds of stories on how to start a brass & nickel era car.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kgreen 10,000+ Points

kgreen

Posted
Posted
On 7/16/2022 at 8:34 AM, Larry Schramm said:

Also, what type of comments would you like from us brass guys?   We could tell you all kinds of stories on how to start a brass & nickel era car.

Exactly, how many variations exist out there?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Larry Schramm 25,000+ Points

Larry Schramm

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, kgreen said:

Exactly, how many variations exist out there?

 

There are a number of nuances to starting different cars of the Brass & Nickel era without a starter, but the basics are:

 

SET THE BRAKE & BE SURE THE VEHICLE IS IN NEUTRAL.  Make sure the gas/fuel is on. 

 

1. Turn the ignition/ power on.

2. RETARD THE TIMING completely

2a.  RE-Check to be sure the timing is fully retarded

3. Add some throttle

4. Depending on temp & car pull the choke or not.

5. Grip the crank with your fingers/hand and your thumb pointing towards the car, not wrapped around the crank.

6. Pull up on the crank from about the 6:00 to about the 11:00 position releasing your hand.

 

NEVER PUSH DOWN ON THE CRANK!!

 

On almost all crank vehicles the rotation of the crank is clockwise.  There are one or two that are counterclockwise but I do not remember which ones. 

 

If you try to start the car and the timing is not retarded, the crank can snap back you may become the recipient of a "Ford Fracture" otherwise known as a broken arm. 

 

https://raycityhistory.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/homer-clements-and-the-ford-fracture/

 

Remember that this is a simplified guide, but each vehicle may have it's own nuances.

Edited by Larry Schramm (see edit history)
  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bloo 25,000+ Points

Bloo

Posted
Posted

If the car is old... and cold... and has been sitting a while you can:

 

1) Do as @Larry Schramm says EXCEPT before trying to start make sure the ignition is OFF and the fuel is ON, open the primer cups, choke it. and crank the engine over a couple of revolutions.

 

2) Close primer cups, reset choke to wherever you would normally set it for the temperature, then pick back up on Larry's step one.

 

This preloads the cylinders with air/fuel mixture.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Larry Schramm 25,000+ Points

Larry Schramm

Posted
Posted
43 minutes ago, Bloo said:

If the car is old... and cold... and has been sitting a while you can:

 

1) Do as @Larry Schramm says EXCEPT before trying to start make sure the ignition is OFF and the fuel is ON, open the primer cups, choke it. and crank the engine over a couple of revolutions.

 

2) Close primer cups, reset choke to wherever you would normally set it for the temperature, then pick back up on Larry's step one.

 

This preloads the cylinders with air/fuel mixture.

 

 

Not all old cars have primer cups. In fact very few have primer cups.

 

As for turning over the engine a couple of times before turning the ignition on to start the car that will generally work, but you run the chance that you might flood the engine.  

 

From my experience with my '15 Buick truck which is crank only, after sitting all winter long I follow the procedure that I outlined above and it will usually start on the 3rd or 4th try.  That way I do not worry if I will flood the engine.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
Buick35 10,000+ Points

Buick35

Posted
Posted

I have two manual shift cars,my 35 Buick and my 74 MGB.Once after driving the MG for a few days I went to drive my Buick.I put it into what I thought was first year but it was really in reverse.Luckily nobody was behind me.My son likes the accelerator starter on the Buick and wondered if he could put one on his old Volkswagon. Many people are amazed at how the Buick starts.Most say I've never seen that before but then most people under 35 have never heard of an MG either.

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
NailheadBob 5,000+ Points

NailheadBob

Posted
Posted

Growing up in Chicago area, we had a 1958 Buick Super, and on cold winter mornings my dad sometimes could not get the Buick Started, as he would flood the car from the starter not working properly, and he would keep pressing the gas pedal trying to start car, he would be so mad, then get into our Chevy and drive away to work. I never could understand why he just did not fix or replace the starter. Years later when found out how cars acted when starter drives would go bad, I thought all the car needed was a starter drive replacement, and problem would be solved. I still don't know why he never fixed that starter on that car.

 

Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Ronnie changed the title to fun fact... <-This title is a perfect example of clickbait.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...