1942 46S Special Sedanet

[drhach]

Thanks Sebastien. It has a long way to go before it looks as good as your parents' 41. But I am enjoying it. 

 

In other news, I tackled the issue of the non-matching ignition switch. I mentioned near the beginning that the car didn't come with any keys. I was able to get a key made from the door lock, but it didn't work in the ignition switch. It opened all of the other locks, but not that one. Well, I decided to try re-keying the existing lock. 

 

For those who don't know, these locks use what is called a "side bar" to lock the barrel in place. The tumblers are spring loaded and when they are seated, they push a spring-loaded side bar out from the barrel and it locks into a groove. When the correct key is inserted, it aligns the tumblers and the spring pushes the side bar in, thus releasing the barrel. Basically, you have an assortment of tumblers that have different height grooves that correspond to the height of the cuts in the key. When you get it right, it's like magic. 

 

I found a GM 6 tumbler lock service kit on eBay and through trial and error got the tumblers set. 

 

 

 

Here you can see the side bar. Its normal state is to be in, the tumblers push it out. The springs are on top of the tumblers. There's a cover that goes over them to exert downward pressure when the key is removed. 

 

This is a top view where you can see the slots for the tumblers.

 

GM Used 5 different height tumblers. Given that there are five choices for each of the six locations, that would be 5^6 possible combinations =>15,625 possible combinations

Edited August 11, 2023 by drhach (see edit history)

[drhach]

Here you can see the cover that goes over the springs. It wasn't staked but the legs were spread out a bit to give it a snug fit. 

 

These are some of the tumblers. You can see that the notches have different heights to correspond to the cut in the key. When they all are correct, the notches should line up and allow the side bar to go into the tumbler, which allows you to turn the key. When all was said and done, I put a little tri-flow in the lock and reinstalled it. I now have a single key system for the car. Pretty cool and not terribly difficult. 

Edited August 11, 2023 by drhach (see edit history)

[38Buick 80C]

do you have a source for the kit? looks like a repro kit?

[drhach]

On 8/11/2023 at 5:44 PM, 38Buick 80C said:

do you have a source for the kit? looks like a repro kit?

Here's a link to the ebay item:

 

Vintage General Motors GM Lock Tumbler Wafer Set For Gm Doors And Trunk Locks | eBay

 

 

I think it may be a mix of OEM and aftermarket tumblers. Some items were numbered like what came out of my lock and some weren't; this assumes my lock was OEM. I can't imagine what a pian it would be to drop the non-numbered ones and try to sort them out again. I made sure to keep them well separated and only use one envelope at a time. The whole kit was $27.50. Probably about what it would have cost me to have a locksmith do it. But where's the fun in that? 

 

Regards,

Dan 

[drhach]

Still working on some fueling issues. It seems like the fuel may be boiling in the lines. The fuel lines are routed over the top of the engine but in the back. Most pictures I've seen have the lines running over the top and in front. This would have the effect of placing them in front of the fan. My 1942 manual show the routing to be what I have on my car. So, I know it is technically correct, although I think this may not be ideal. 

 

This is the routing that I have as shown in the 1942 Manual

 

I'm getting good fuel flow but the when the car gets warm it sputters and dies. I did a few thigs to try to understand the issue. First, I split some 3/8" rubber fuel line and wrapped the metal lines. Next, I covered the with some reflective material. I figure if it's a heat issue that should help to resolve it. 

 

I also added a fuel pressure gauge and a clear fuel filter just so I can see into the line when the problem occurs. It's kind of a "Rube Goldberg" situation, but it's temporary. This is when I discovered at least part of the issue. I only have 2 psi fuel pressure where I should have 4-5. It doesn't increase at all when I rev the engine either.

The manual calls for 4-5 P.S>I. at 450-1000 RPM. I can't get anywhere near that. 

 

 

I think with 2 P.S.I. there really isn't enough pressure to overcome any heating issues. For now, the car is running pretty good,but I still need to venture out on a longer drive. Also, the weather has cooled somewhat. Nonetheless, the pump is not right. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by drhach (see edit history)

[drhach]

I also worked on my fuel sending unit. The JB weld did not survive life in a gas tank. I discovered that the sender was stuck. When I moved it previously, it was a little stiff but moved ok. This time, I checked it before I put it in and the gauge didn't budge. Well, it turns out the set screw that holds the lever on to the sender was slipping. So, what I thought was movement of the wiper was actually just slippage. 

 

I sprayed a little PB blaster in there and got it working, but I think I may order a new one anyway. It's still pretty stiff and probably will bind again. 

 

 

Also, I questioned this last time I did the tank and I wanted to see if anyone can share some experience on this. The tank mounting straps attach in a very sketchy looking way. Is this right? Is there some other part that needs to go under those hooks to secure them? It seems like with the right kind of jarring motion and those could just bend the sheet metal and the tank would fall. Both sides look the same. To me that suggests that nothing is broken, but maybe there's some piece of hardware that's missing?

Edited August 14, 2023 by drhach (see edit history)

[38Buick 80C]

In 38 I have holes in the chassis where the strap attaches. In '39 they removed that part of the chassis so the tank must attach to the body in '39 I assume. Perhaps that carried over into '42 but what a poor design if such. i honestly don't know specific to '43 but just sharing some thoughts.

 

That said, is this a hole in the chassis?

[drhach]

Good question. I'll take a look when I get home. 

[NailheadBob]

Just some thought of mine

 

if heat is issue with metal fuel line, shielding it on bottom with rubber split hose will keep some heat in

 

Perform test with about 12 wooden cloths pins (wood will pull some heat from metal fuel line) and attach as many clothes pins as possible on metal fuel line under hood area

 

Road test and see if any change

 

I checked Buick master parts book and only listing is tank, straps, and bolts, NO other parts

but bolts listed different part number starting at 1941 and same number fits up to 1949

 

Bob

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by NailheadBob (see edit history)

[old-tank]

One more time guys.  Vapor lock occurs on the suction side of the fuel pump.  Any pump can push fuel with vapor.  Any insulation, clothes pins...on the delivery side is useless.  Insulating the suction side will help as will a return line.  The best solution is an electric pump near the tank.

[JohnD1956]

A few observations:

#1 It has been observed here that the vapor lock issues are caused on the suction side of your pump, not the pressure side, so that would indicate you'd want to insulate the line along the frame rail.  This is especially true if the fuel line runs along the frame rail next to the exhaust manifold.

#2, the fuel line being insulated with 3/8 rubber line may not be of much help. As I understand it for insulation to work there needs to be an air gap between the insulation and the item being insulated.  This is why I have used the black plastic wire loam product in my 56.  It is thin walled and seems to have worked very well on my recent cross country run.  I would note that I do not have an electric fuel pump in my 56 

#3, No matter how your line runs, the gas is going to get hot inside the fuel pump. The only way to prevent that is to abandon the mechanical fuel pump for an electric one. 

#4, regarding the gas tank straps, I would look to see if those are installed backwards.  It seems to me that the J hooks are usually on the front side of the tank, right behind the rear axle.  Then again I am more familiar with cars from the 50's on and do not know if that was different for a 42. 

 

[EmTee]

I don't know, but it looks to me like the ends of the floor supports that those J-hooks are grabbing have been cut off.  Normally, such braces are flanged and spot welded to the floor 360°.  I can't believe that is the OE Buick attachment method.

 

[drhach]

16 hours ago, 38Buick 80C said:

In 38 I have holes in the chassis where the strap attaches. In '39 they removed that part of the chassis so the tank must attach to the body in '39 I assume. Perhaps that carried over into '42 but what a poor design if such. i honestly don't know specific to '43 but just sharing some thoughts.

 

That said, is this a hole in the chassis?

That's it!! When I first pulled the tank, I put the straps back where they came from. I didn't like the mounting method, but I never considered that someone may have assembled the strap wrong previously. Shame on me for that one. The correct mounting method looks way more secure and sensible. 

 

Regarding the fuel, I understand what's being said and I know the issues with modern fuel. I could just add a fuel pump or a return and be done with it. But I want those things to be last resorts. I think often times there's a tendency to jump to these solutions without really understanding the underlying issue. This often shows up with people wanting to add disc brakes. The pump is putting out 2 p.s.i where it should be 4-5. I want to address that and see where I land with this. It may be that at 2 PSI, the pump actually can't overcome any vapor issues that may be occurring by the carb. 

 

One more point, rubber is most definitely an insulator and there is a reflective cover on top of the rubber. Whether or not this made a difference is probably open to debate. The car made it further than it has previously but I still didn't go for a longer drive. So, it still may not be enough. But I also know that the fuel pump has to be addressed. I think this is one of those "death by a thousand cuts" deals. Many little issues are adding up to one big one. Once everything is right, if the problem still remains, I'll look in to either a return or an electric fuel pump. 

 

I'm not saying anyone is wrong about doing that, I'm just not convinced that it is necessary yet. 

 

 

Regards,

Dan 

[195354]

Dan I like to leave things original as much as possible. I don’t have an inline Buick but a 53 V8 Buick here is my experience with vapor lock over the last two years.

53 Buick engine would die for no reason usually after sitting at a stop light when taking off it would die. I could start the engine up after a few seconds thinking it’s electrical l added grounds from chassis to engine to fix the issue. It seemed to resolve the issue. Then l noticed it would hardly start after sitting for a few minutes when the engine was hot. Great example Stop for fuel it’s hard to start. This spring after doing quite a bit of work on the car the issue was worse. I have a few hills heading home and without fail engine would loose power towards the top. I then started going after vapor lock issue. Installed kit in mechanical fuel pump, no difference. Even had the privilege of pushing the beast off the road. Flat ground driving in traffic because of a vapor lock.

l then installed an electric fuel pump at the back this fixed my issue. I can now use the car and not worry about pushing it. Fuel still boils when sitting at the fuel stop but l can get it going now. 
My 53 Chevrolet with a six has never had a vapor lock issue. I have owned this for 40 plus years. I drive it as often as the Buick will let me. This year it started vapor locking.  Checked for vacuum leaks on the suction side did find one corrected it and still vapor locked. This car will have a pump added now.

Fuel companies must have changed the blend here in the NW.l have never experienced this issue until the last few years. The Buick is not reliable without a pump. They can be installed out of sight hide the switch and enjoy the drive.

 

When l purchased the Buick the fuel lines on the engine had heat wrap did not help the issue. I have since removed the heat wrap and nothing’s changed 

‘Steve 

 

 

[drhach]

Alrighty, time for some updates. I bought a new sending unit for the tank. It still wasn't reading right. I was sure I could get it right, but I really didn't want to keep dropping the tank to fiddle with it. I also tried to buy the right J-hooks for the tank. The only ones I could find were still too short. So, I made a set out of threaded rod. The gas gauge now reports fuel. Although it does still err on the side of empty, which I'm okay with. It will give me some reserve. I'm also satisfied that the fuel tank is securely mounted and safe. 

 

I rebuilt the fuel pump. I didn't find anything horribly wrong. I suspect perhaps the one-way valve in the pump may have been leaking slightly. But other than that, it all looked reasonably good. Also, I learned that you have to "pre-load" the pump diaphragm when you install it. Perhaps that wasn't done. I reassembled it and started the car. No real change to the fuel pressure reading either. I decided to take the car for a spin, and I was pleasantly surprised. The car ran quite well; at least as well as it has so far. I drove it about 12 miles and there were zero fuel issues. 

 

The temperature did start to creep up as a I drove. The cooling system peed out a fair bit afterwards and the next time I drove it, the car got hotter, and it did so more quickly. Likely this was because of the missing water. I lost more water than I'd first realized. My plan has been to do an Evapo-rust flush. So, my Son and I started that this weekend. We went about it in a sort of convoluted way. I wanted to remove the thermostat, but the housing bolts were so stuck, that I was worried I would break them. So, I took the whole assembly off in order to remove them on the bench with my newly discovered beeswax trick. Long story short, we ended up pulling the radiator too. 

 

We flushed the radiator with straight water. Some slimy goo started coming out. I think it may have been egg whites. I know that people have used those to try to seal radiator leaks. I don't know what else it could have been. It was pretty gross, I'll say that. I finally got all of the crud out of the radiator. We filled it with Evapo-rust and let it sit overnight. The next day, we put it all back together. I had a new set of radiator hoses and a new radiator cap. We Installed everything but the lower radiator hose (it was too short). We started the car and flushed the last bit of coolant from the block so that it was all new water. More goo came out too. Once we had straight water, we shut the car off, let the radiator drain and then poured in the Evapo-rust and filled the system with water the rest of the way. This was a different product from what we used in the radiator overnight. This is something specific for radiators, and they tell you to dilute it. We buttoned up the car and went for a drive. The car ran even better. We drove about 30 miles. By the end of it, the temperature gauge was pretty close to 180 but it was steady and not climbing at all. I imagine once the contamination is cleared out of there, it will run even cooler. The radiator did still pee some liquid out as it cooled. I topped it off with straight Evapo-rust this morning. I'll take a few more drives in the coming days and top off as needed.

 

My Son took a short video with my phone. We were just kind of goofing around and he asked if the radio worked. I said that it comes on, but it doesn't actually work. Well, it turns out that it does. He started turning the dial and he found a radio station. It actually has a very nice tone. That was a very pleasant surprise. The roof antenna isn't connected. I guess I have to get that back on there pretty quick.

 

I continue to be very impressed with this car. The more I discover about it, the more I see that someone early in its life went to great pains to keep it running and original. I'm guessing that maybe the overheating issue may have led to some of the other problems. Judging by the paint discoloration on the intake manifold by the rear carb and on the thermostat housing, it seems like the problems may have snow balled to the point where people started giving up on the car. Perhaps they either tried to fix it themselves and couldn't do it right or they paid a hack to work on it. 

 

Here's the video that my Son took. 

 

 

 

 

 

One other neat discovery, factory correct hose clamps. How did those stay on all these years later? 

 

 

 

Scrambled eggs anyone?

 

You can see the poached eggs on the ground to my right. The lower hose had them stuck in the coil spring too. 

Edited August 28, 2023 by drhach (see edit history)

[neil morse]

Great to hear that you are making such progress!  I'm very curious about that gunk that came out of the radiator and block -- could it really be egg whites?  Very odd.  A steady 180 degrees is just fine -- you don't need to get it running any cooler than that.

 

I believe those hose clamps are more modern than '42, even though they appear to be factory parts for a Buick.

[drhach]

Thaks Neil, I wasn't sure what was correct for those clamps. Bob's sells these in various diameters. But they list them only as going to 1941.

 

 

I don't know for sure what that stuff is. My Son actually suggested that it was egg. After he mentioned it, I recalled hearing people suggest that over the years. I thought it might be some form of commercial stop-leak. But it certainly was slimy like old egg. 

[sebastienbuick]

Good work !!  

[drhach]

The work continues. I've been getting a "hot brakes" smell after prolonged driving. I know that the brakes had been previously rebuilt, but I decided to check them anyway. I'm glad I did. The smell was coming from the rear, so I started there. It turned out that both rear wheel cylinders were leaking. I put in new ones and took the time to adjust everything and give it a good once over. Moving on to the front. The left front was fine, and the right front wheel cylinder was fine. But the Right front brake shoes were installed backwards. The longer shoe was in the front. So, I fixed that as well. I centered all of the shoes and got them adjusted. No more brake shoe smell. The brakes now work as good as can be expected. 

 

While I had the car up, I decided to check for a stamping on the differential. I'm trying to ascertain what ratio I have in the back of this thing. Can I take it that this stamp means that I have the optional 4.0 ratio? 

 

 

 

I installed my antenna since the radio works. I also wanted to remove the wiper motor. I figured before I did. would just double check all of the hose routing. There was one hose disconnected. I hooked it back up and the darned thing worked great. The only bad thing is that I broke the plastic knob on the dash trying to get it loose. I couldn't get my hands up there so I figured I would loosen the valve on the dash and lower it to a more workable position. The parts are very brittle. I can get a new one, but I really would like to use what's on the car whenever possible. 

 

 

Last of all, the car surges a bit at cruising speed. I'm going to check for vacuum leaks. The season is winding down here in Illinois and I'm going to have to put the car up soon. Kind of sad, it's just starting to get fun. 

 

 

Regards,

Dan 

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by drhach (see edit history)

[drhach]

Lots going on. I don't have many pictures. I got a new set of tires fitted. I wanted to stay with Bias-plies but I get a very very good deal on a set of Diamondback radials. I couldn't pass it up.I also bought a complete replacement harness form YnZ. So, lots planned for this beast. The savings on tires offset the cost of the harness quite a bit and made the decisions to do it sooner rather than later much easier.  I'm a little behind schedule. I contracted pneumonia and was hospitalized in February, it waylaid me for quite some time. I was hoping to get the car into the garage and start pulling the transmission for rebuild. Between general recovery and trying to get some strength back, I'm just now getting up to speed physically. 

 

 

As Winter approached, I was fighting a charging issue. I learned a lot and narrowed it down to the voltage regulator. Now it's just a matter of getting a good one to put in. I racked my brain trying to come up with a test fixture that would allow me to test and calibrate the regulator off of the car. That would have allowed me to do it in my basement over the Winter. I couldn't come up with anything. I fiddled with the stupid thing endlessly. I finally got it to charge, but now it won't stop, and it wants to boil the battery. I bit the bullet and bought a new regulator; it was delivered today. Supposedly made in USA. if it doesn't work, I'll return it until they send me one that does. I'm getting pretty good and removing them. I can change a regulator in about 10 minutes.  

 

Last of all, I found someone who does custom fabric weaving. I've been having a big internal debate with myself about this upholstery. It's original and I really don't want to change it. But it also is very delicate, and I want to use the car as it was intended. Nothing I've been able to find upholstery-wise matches in an acceptable way for me. So, I found this person who does custom weaving and I think we're on to something. 

 

Lots of parts getting gathered, not much work getting done. 

[neil morse]

Hi Dan:

 

I'm sorry to hear about your illness and hope you are on the mend.  It's been a while since I looked at your thread, and I now have a possible answer to the question you posted back in October about the differential.  I don't know whether you have seen the most recent posts on my thread, but I opened up the rear end on my car and confirmed that I have the optional 3.9 gears.  But I also discovered that my axle housing, like yours, has a big number 40 stamped on it.  The '41 shop manual says the rear end ratio is marked with daubs of red or blue paint on the axle ends "or" by figures stamped on the underside of the axle housing.  But the big number 40 apparently isn't an indicator of the gear ratio -- at least not on my car.  As you can see on my thread, I also discovered a much fainter stamping that "might" be a 3 and a 9 on the axle housing.

 

Also, are you sure a 4.0 ratio was offered in '42?  On the '41 Special with compound carburation, it was either a 4.1 or a 3.9.

 

I wish I could help with the charging problem, but electricity remains largely a mystery to me.  There are a lot of threads on voltage regulator problems, including some recent ones.  Apparently, it's difficult to get good ones as there are a lot of junky knock-offs that fail almost immediately.  At least that was my take on what I've read about it.

 

I've made some comments on the fabric issues in your other thread.

 

Glad to hear you're back to working on your car!

[drhach]

Thanks for the kind words Neil. I'm about 90% back to where I was. Working on the rest.

 

I think I solved the differential puzzle. I found a paragraph in a 1953 manual that talks about axle ratios. The "40" that is stamped in the differential is actually indicating "40 Series". I think if I clean the rest of the housing up, I will find the actual ratio stamped somewhere too. But yes, the real answer is to open it up and look inside. After 80 years you don't know what's been changed and it wouldn't make sense to only rely on a stamp from the factory. I'll pop it open when I do the transmission. I attached the bit from the 1953 Manual that talks about stamps on the diff housings. 
 

 

I fixed the last charging issue (for now). I got my new regulator. I Installed it last night, it didn't work. I opened it up and checked the gap on the cut-out relay, it was way too wide. I closed the gap and it charges fine. Horrible QC, I would have been embarrassed to stamp that thing "Made in the USA". This is a Standard Motor Products VR1 if anyone is interested.

 

 

Regards,

Dan 

 

 

[neil morse]

Dan, I was actually at work composing this post when you posted the above.

 

I was curious about your car and consulted the '42 shop manual which I found available free online.

 

https://www.teambuick.com/reference/library/42_shop/index.php

 

 

The available choices for rear end ratios for '42 were dramatically reduced for some reason compared to '41.  According to the chart on page 4-1 of the manual, the only ratios available for the Special were 4.4 and 4.1.  There were no optional rear end choices for any of the other series, and the Super was only available with the 4.4.  This is surprising to me given how well my car performs with the 3.9.  I don't know why, but they seemed to be moving in the wrong direction going from '41 to '42.

 

I also thought that the "40" stamped on the bottom of the axle housing might indicate the series, as you say.  This might be the case, but that would mean that my car has an axle housing for a Special not a Super (possible, of course).  Somebody might have swapped in a Special rear axle with the 3.9 on my car.

 

 

 

[drhach]

Ok, time for more dumb questions. I'm trying to figure out this fender skirt puzzle. I have the gravel guards that are supposed to go with the skirts. They have stainless trim on them and a body-colored cap that goes on top. I know that the standard gravel guards have a tab that you twist over to secure them to the fender, but these don't. The cap does, but the guards themselves don't. They have some mounting holes, and I was able to line them up with holes in the fender. But I just can't figure out the fastener system. It seems like maybe there was a t-nut that also held the stainless trim?  Any thoughts prayers or pictures from someone who knows would be greatly appreciated. 

 

The parts manual shows the main parts but not the fasteners. I am stumped. I probably could make something up, but I'd like to find the correct system first.; especially because if these fall off, I'll probably never find another set. Hopefully my pictures don't confuse the issue more.  

 

Edited 19 hours ago by drhach (see edit history)