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Everything posted by raydurr

  1. There is a great possibility that your limiter can be serviced and reused. Carefully clean it with compressed air and inspect. I have cleaned up the contacts and terminals and these things can back to life. They can be bench tested easily by applying a load . If I remember correctly my 1929 limiter began to interrupt around 40 amps. It wont cost anything to give it a shot , I would try it.
  2. Does the 1931 Buick engine have bolt on crankshaft counterweights? My 1929 engine does. Has anyone ever seen the bolts loosen in this location? I may would drop the pan to inspect rod and main bearings. Especially in the front half of the engine. Good oil pressure is a good sign of not having excessive clearances there. Your engine's under hood sounds are very similar to mine. Mine always has a slight valvetrain sound . My piston slap goes away at fast idle.
  3. Double wire goes in RH side or curbside on US cars.
  4. According to the schematic in the reference manual , the terminal on the far RH ,passenger side on US cars, will have two wires. One is supply in from voltage limiter the other goes to supply power to the reverse/brake switch. I will confirm this on my car shortly.
  5. Hello. Go to www.oldcarmanualproject.com . Search 1929 Buick. There you will find The 1929 Buick Reference Book. Inside you will see a schematic that will help you.
  6. Good to see you made it this far. I would recommend disassembly of the fan to make sure that the oiler gear isn't broke. This is very common as they are made of a bake lite material. Bobs has replacements. Failure to lube correctly will yield you a burned up shaft and bushings. The brake issue can be a challenge to isolate the problems. Seized brake clevis pins are common. First remove all clevis pins of the braking system. Clean them or replace if they are worn. Run a drill bit through each clevis by hand to remove all rust. The most frequently affected pins are near the exhaust system . Lube the clevis pins with chassis grease and replace. You will notice a significant change in pedal effort and pedal height at stopping .
  7. An easy way to set total timing is to use a Snap-On MT2261 timing light . No marks needed except TDC. I use one on my 1929 . This may too simple .
  8. To remove the rocker shaft assembly , removal of the pushrods are not necessary. Leave them in place. It appears that you will have to remove the rear oil supply tube . There shows to be a stud that secures each rocker shaft stand to the cylinder head. The nuts will have to be removed from each stud. I would not loosen rocker arm adjusters at this time. The oiling tube at the front of the rocker assembly should either lift out of the head or swing away, allowing lifting and removal of the rocker shaft assembly. If you intend to disassemble the shaft assembly, be sure to photograph prior to this. I would also lay each individual component in order for reassembly.
  9. You found the culprit. The insert will need to be swedged or expanded at each end to form a complete seal to the heat riser housing. Unfortunately the throttle blade and shaft will need to be removed. It would be best to remove the old heat riser tube .I have used a piece of modern exhaust pipe trimmed to length. A muffler shop then can expand each end of the new pipe to seal to the housing. Get as close as possible to the original size. I don't think the tubing diameter will influence performance if the tubing is within 1/4" of the original. Be sure to block off the passage to the exhaust manifold and the passage from the valve sandwiched between the exhaust manifold outlet and the exhaust pipe inlet. This is a must in my opinion.
  10. I have had the foaming over experience with my 1929 Buick. I ran coolant at different levels to no avail. I did notice when the engine was running at fast idle how violently the water was circulating inside the radiator. The factory thermostat had been eliminated years ago. I added an inline thermostat from restoration supply to the upper radiator hose. Immediately no more foaming over at road speed. The best I can tell the system needs a restricted , controlled flow to prevent aeration of the coolant.
  11. It is possible that the tires are out of balance but most the common ride disturbance with cars such as yours would be flat spots on tires from being parked for extended periods. Sometimes it can go away or become less severe after long trips where the tires can flex and warm up. The only way that I am aware to correctly balance the tires would be on the vehicle using a vintage spin strobe balancer method. These were extremely common in the 1950s and 1960s where commercial vehicles were services. They can do a good job as this method will balance the rotating mass as an assembly. YouTube Hunter spin balancer. They are still used in older shops today.
  12. I am almost certain that the cylinder number stamps are used to indicate TDC for valve adjustment.
  13. Dave I thought the Buicks had rollers till 34-36. I run ZDDP oil , but I wouldn't lose much sleep over the amount of zinc due to having roller cams.
  14. Does the 1931 Buick engine have roller lifters or flat tappet lifters? My 1929 Buick has roller lifters or "followers". The rollerized cams have significantly less friction. Even though I run high ZDDP oil , it may not be necessary.
  15. The under dash portion can be completed in about an hour with the instrument panel in place. The 90 year old wire has far exceeded what the manufacturer intended . The few hundred dollars to replace the harness will prevent roadside breakdowns as well as greatly reduce the risk of fire.
  16. I recently purchased one tail lamp connector from a Chevy guy that had them . Gary 314.293.1991. Let me know what the outcome is.
  17. I don't recall my 29 having factory colored wires. If so they had already faded. It shouldn't take to long to "tone" them out and label them.
  18. I am almost positive that the broken pipe is soldered into the T. The flared part should be easy to duplicate as long as it is a standard size. Duplicate it and have the most qualified radiator or plumbing solder guy, solder it back together. Be prepared to re solder the other connections of the T as well. Cleaning and getting it oil free will be the largest task.
  19. GMC used Buick engines frequently in the 1920s and 1930s as well as their own engines. Buick engines showed up in many HD and industrial application due to their reliability. I cannot think of a better engineered automobile engine of this area in terms of heavy duty design. Another feature that the Buick built GMC engines that are unique, would be the wide belt and pulleys along with a much heavier duty exhaust manifold.
  20. Blocking the openings may or may not prevent the rusted sleeve from affecting intake vacuum signal. I doubt that gear timing is off but is possible. Carb blockage and venturi flap adjustment are also a cause.
  21. A common cause of this symptom is the heat riser having pin holes. Carb running lean would be next.
  22. I filled mine with diesel and ran it at about 10 mph on jack stands for 30 minutes. Drained it and repeated procedure for another 10 minutes. Refilled with correct oil and 5 years later the oil still looks good.
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