Buick 96 C 1931 heatriser

[Johan Boltendal]

Hi, trying to help a friend with a broken and warped heat riser on his Buick str 8 31 96 C. Do not know Buick specific details, like to ask for your help with a few questions I have,  are  the heatrisers used the same and usable for differenty years for the 96,  or is this one year only?

Is there an interchangeablity with other type Buicks or not.

Are the pipes inside the heat riser,  in one piece or in 3 , this one has 2x 3 pipes on top of each  other. 

Any leads for recasted ones or a good used one?

 

Thanks for educating me. Johan 

[Andreas1931buick]

Hi. me and my father are in the process of restoring a 31 96c ourselves😊 and from the engines we have here, it is the same on all 31 buick engines but it must be the big 104hp. whether it can fit from 32 96c I'm a bit unsure 😊 I'm very interested in more photos of the car he has as there aren't many of these 31 96c Buicks left, so fun to see others who also have one 😊

best regards Andreas

Norway

[Mark Shaw]

 

 

[Str8-8-Dave]

Rand Broadstreet at Vintage Carb is the guy for big series cars.  Someone did cast new diverter valve housings and they have been listed on E-bay and I think Bob's Automobilia had some listed in their catalog.

 

Here's an ebay listing.

 

1931, 1932 Buick Exhaust diverter valve, Series 80, 90 | eBay

[Johan Boltendal]

Hi , thank you all for your reply, I've contacted Rand and he cannot help at the moment, we will stay in touch.  The new one in the add is for a different engine, as it seems,

I'm no familiar with the differences between engines, but from the picture it's not the one.

Please find 4 pictures of the 96 C riser attached. Thanks for your replies again. Johan

[Str8-8-Dave]

6 hours ago, Johan Boltendal said:

The new one in the add is for a different engine, as it seems,

I'm no familiar with the differences between engines, but from the picture it's not the one.

Johan- That item in the ad IS for 31/32 80/90 series engines of which yours is one.  I didn't mean that the ad item was what you are trying to replace directly, but the part in the ad goes between the exhaust pipe and the exhaust manifold and has a valve connected by linkage and exhaust pipe inner and outer parts that connect to the item you are trying to replace.  If your car doesn't have the part in the ad it is missing.  It is the second item in the heat control system that fails by burnout and rust out.  See pictures below to understand where this part fits.  The parts pictured are for my 31 60 series engine but the difference is size only, not layout or operation.

 

First 2 pictures are of the first and second complete functional heat riser systems I built for my 1931 Buick 8-66S.  The difference between these parts and the parts for your 90 

series engine is the size of the tubes in the heat riser on the left and the size of the diverter valve on the right. The ad I sent if for the part on the right.  If you are going

to keep the car and restore it you should grab the part on E-bay for future use.  If that part fails and you are trying to make your heat control system function as 

intended the whole system won't work.   

 

The diagram below is marked "31 Buick 8-66S" because I sent the diagram out to acquire 60 series parts which have smaller heat riser tubes and a smaller exhaust 

diverter valve.  This diagram is right out of the 1931 Buick specifications and adjustments manual and is intended to show how the system works for 60, 80 and 90 

series engines. 

 

Here is my complete functional system on my 60 series engine.  The exhaust diverter valve is on the left between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust pipe. The 

diverter valve is connected to the heat riser in the center of the picture by a linkage rod visible in the background and a small inner exhaust pipe not visible in the

picture because it is inside the outer exhaust pipe visible in this picture.  The valves in the diverter and the heat riser are controlled by the heat control knob on the 

instrument panel and the articulated throttle cam linkage that makes the butterfly in the diverter open wide to exhaust manifold flow when the throttle is opened fully.

The inner and outer exhaust pipes are shown in the diagram above.  

Edited January 30, 2023 by Str8-8-Dave
Arrange pictures, captions (see edit history)

[Johan Boltendal]

Dave, not having the car here only the riser, you have made it clear from your pictures how it functions, that helps a lot, my compliments on the wok you have carried out on the setup om your car.

The detailed info from your book maks it even more obvious, related question, with 30's Cadillac ( my known territory)  it's essential you have the MPL,is that the same for Buick, or is there a better book to have next to the WSM . 

Got the message and ordered the new casted part this evening. Thanks agian.  Regards Johan 

[Str8-8-Dave]

Here is the definitive 1931 Buick service manual listed on E-bay at a very good price.

 

Vintage 1931 BUICK "SPECIFICATIONS AND ADJUSTMENTS" BOOK 145 PGS. NOT A REPRINT | eBay

[Johan Boltendal]

Thank you again. just bought this one