Does anyone around here remember the "other" Buicks besides the V-8s? I've got an original condition 1946 Buick Super sedan that has never been pulled apart or repainted. I'm looking for the stock oil filter housing (and brackets) and piping for it. For whatever reason, the original owner of this car never put one on or ordered it from the factory without it. I thought that was a key to this car's longevity; - being that it had regular oil changes. Well, it would seem that I was wrong; - I took the valve cover off last year to do a valve lash and I discovered that the whole thing is covered in shale and carbon gunk. It still runs like a clock, albeit a bit hot, but it's going to need a rebuild soon. So the big question is whether or not to rebuild it. This car is a museum piece, it's never been painted, reupholstered, rebuilt, or even taken apart. Up until last year it still had it's original lockswitch coil in it, and just this spring the exhaust system finally started to disintegrate. So whether I like it or not, I am replacing certain parts of it. So should I continue? If so; - 1) Can one get the rods cut down to accept modern bearings? Since this car has a number of different sized bearings in it, how difficult is this to do? Is there a standard proceedure for this? 2) What colour is the engine originally? Mine looked like it was black, but there seem to be traces of blue on parts. The rest was just bare metal, the paint had more or less all flaked off. 3) Are there any other improvements that can be made to this motor to make it last, and run "better", (fuel economy, power, etc) without compromising it's originality? If I'm going to restore this beast, I'd like to make it look like it did when it rolled off the dealership lot, and not resto-mod or over-restore it. I've added a few pictures of it to show my dilema.
Check out the Buick Club of America. The members there have a ton of knowledge about the old straight eights and seem very willing to help.
Cool car. As for rebuilding it, it's cool to have a car that is EXACTLY the way it left the factory, never been apart, but I would put being able to drive it as the number one priority if it were me. Keep it as stock as you can and make sure that you can drive it for years to come. It's never been apart because it never had to, sounds like it's going to have to soon if you don't want to risk being stranded and maybe doing damage that requires it to end up even less stock.
Original parts are available. Rods can be rebabitted, if adjusting the shims is not sufficient. Replacement rods are available as inserted rods. Buick used them after the first 5000 in 1949. They are interchangable with the babittted ones. Original color is Buick Turquoise. Engine paint available from Bill Hersch aHemmings advertiser. Rods available from www.bobsautomobilia.com along with lots of other things. Oil filters were an option as they only filtered 10% of the oil, and that went to the overhead rocker arms, down the push rods and back into the pan. Leave the engine with out a filter and change oil every 1000 miles. The older oils were not as good as todays oils hence the crud build up. In this case use non detergent oil until such time as you completly rebuild her.
Marc, I have a NEW Oil Filter Housing & Element but I do not have any Brackets or Lines. The Lines are just standard type tubing & can be made up & plumbed to the Engine. Please PM me with your Email if you are interested & I will send Pics. Thanks, Doug
Were these a pressurized oil system? or a splash oiler like the old 216 Chevy? I don't know a lot about the old engines.
Awesome, I love them straight shot engines. They can make power and run forever. If you find the right shop to help you, anything will be possiable if you can afford it.
My guess is they were half and half; it runs about 30 lbs cold and then comes down to about 7 or so on idle when it's hot. I used to have an old Chevy with the 216, and that one you had to warm up and not drive it until the oil pressure dropped to 5 lbs. (so said the owner's manual) This old car is amazing; - it will still do 60 (it screams at that speed) and it'll still start when it's cold out. Last year I was late in putting it into winter storage, it was -15C out and the thing fired up and started! So far it's been the best car I've ever owned, it's cost me next to nothing to run it. Driveability is definitely a factor; - I use my old cars extensively in the short summers we do get up here. So if I do rebuild it, it has to be serviceable. It does get at least 2 oil changes a year, depending on how many miles it gets driven. It doesn't do long trips, it still scares me too much to trust it, and with a red-line of 3750 RPM highway speeds are almost too much for it. I did pass an older gentleman on the highway the other day, he was doing 55 and I passed him at 60, - he was pretty shocked to see what passed him! The car has an amazing amount of pep left, it'll really step out over 30, so I've surprised a few idiots with semi-hot Mustangs who thought the car would be a total push-over. What I'd love to do is restore it to complete stock if I could. That would mean a complete repaint in the original type paint, reupholstering with the original fabrics, and mechanicals as Buick intended. However I would like to make some improvements mechanically that would insure the long-term reliability of the motor. That would mean the babbits are out, because I'm told that one over-heat tends to melt them and tear out the clearances. Plus the cost of restoration would far exceed the value of the car, so I would wind up keeping it forever in order to get my investment back out of it. This is the problem with driving a museum piece; - it's in too good of condition to just cheaply repaint it and overhaul the driveline. It begs to be done "right". If it was all rusted out and blown then I would contemplate something different, but since it's in such good preserved shape I have to do it properly, or work to preserve it in it's original condition. So more research is required...
Well it's cool to see an old gem like that, and it's great that someone who appreciates it has it so that it is preserved. I love old iron and that one is just new enough to be able to use it without a lot of daily problems. Sorta semi modern mechanically. Very cool. I think anyone would be proud to own it. I remember my old 1952 Land Rover diesel. With an aftermarket overdrive it would have to be wound like a 30 day clock to go 50 mph. Only good for a little over 40 if you wanted it to hold together.
Thanks for the offer Doug, I've got a filter unit off of a 52 Special that's close, but the brackets are wrong and I'd have to change the entire thermostat housing to make it work. I was hoping to find the proper brackets, and would have bought a whole filter can to do it. Reading what was written above, it seems that those filters weren't that hot anyway, so I may just forgo it and stick with more frequent oil changes. Thanks again for the quick response, but I think I'll have to pass on that one.
Thanks for the info! I'm definitely going to check it out. I had suspected that the motor should be turquoise, but I've seen some of them in black with red stickers. Must have been rebuilds. Now for the next question; - do you know of any sources for the honeycomb rad core? Mine's pretty much plugged, and rad shops around here won't even look at it. It doesn't leak (yet) but it's pretty much plugged off. And finally; - what type of paint did they use at the factory? Was it a lacquer? Is it still available anywhere?
Ah, the radiator...your radiator shop will have to recore it...get ready to spend $$$$. Mine cost 500 dollars 2 years ago. Also, straight 8s are full-pressure oiled, nothing like the Stovebolt Chevy (pre-1953)...
The factory used nitro cellulose lacquer up to the late 50's. Hibernia [staff@hiberniaautorestorers.com ]a advertiser in Hemmings still advertises this lacquer. It is possible to reduce the highway rpms by changing the ring and pinion gears. Most of the 1950's Supers and Specials have a better ratio than the 47's. It's possible to reduce highway rpms to a very comfortable range by changing this ratio.
As straight eight said, the 53-55 V8 rear gears are much better suited to todays roads. The 53-55 dynaflow equipped Buicks have 3.4--3.6 ratios which is MUCH better than the 4.1 your car has (unless you got one of the very rare 3.9 equipped 47s )
Thanks for all the info; - it's much appreciated! My car has the stock 4.1 axle in it. I had no idea that a later version would fit. I was told that the whole diff assembly would have to be replaced, and not just the gears. I had my axle checked out last year. They said it was in great shape, and they repacked the bearings for me. Who had any idea that these bearings needed to be re-packed? I just kind of thought they were sealed in axle lube like a modern set was...good thing I got it checked out, because those bearings had never been re-packed. I wonder how many other old Buick owners have never read that section in the owners manual that says to repack those bearings with every brake lining change and blew up an axle as a result? Thanks for the info on the paint; - now I've got to see if I can get it imported up here, or if it's been banned.
I like your story about surprising guys going down the road! I drove my boss' 1948 Roadmaster Sedan, equipped with a 3-spd, NOT a Dynaflow, I surprised a few folks with it. It boogies! It kinda looks like it was just driven out of a barn...haha. But a neat original. He also has a '46 Roadmaster to match your Super. I'll try to get some pictures up. A little later BY THE WAY: Remove those crappy radiator hoses ASAP. I replaced the ones on his Roadsmasher and it made all the difference! No more boil over. Get the ones that are smooth, not corrigated, They can be found at your local NAPA store, that's where he got his.
Looks like a great car Marc! I guess if it were mine, I would rebuild the engine, make the gear change to the rear, but leave the rest of the car as untouched as possible. :TU:
Why so trigger happy to rebuild? IMO, it needs frequent oil changes and all that gunk will begin to disappear.:beers2:
I also have a 46, you will have a hell of a time replacing gears in the 46, due to the pumkin and hotchkiss suspension system. It will be much easier to go to a taller tire. In 46, you had an option to have 15 inch or 16 inch wheels. I happen to have 16s on mine. I changed my tires to a 760x16 which is 31 inches tall, and now can run on the highway at 65-70 between 2800- 3200 rpm. Prior, I had 225/75/16s on it, the rpms were a little higher, but not bad as I could still do highways and not feel like I was hurting the engine. I have an extra set of 16 inch chrome wheels painted red in the center, with chrome babymoon centercaps. They look close to the factory wheel, and will allow you to drop the rpms, if your interested.
Local BCA member had a '48 Super just like your '46, same condition, he put a rear end out of a '55 in it! He loved that car. It now resides in Australia, owned by Dave, can't think of his last name, but he was shown in the Bugle a few months back with his '57 Roadmaster at the Aussie Nat'l My Boss' Roadsmasher:
