52 Buick Special 4-door survivor

[bittmann]

Hi, newbie here. Just took possession of a "survivor" 52 Special. Got it from a lady who's parents purchased it used in 1954. They didn't drive it much over the years. It was parked for its final time in approx 2010, apparently with fueling issues.

I'm starting to slowly build a punch-list. The accumulation of grease hides a lot!

Glass is all good. No floor or panel rot. Seems solid. Interior is actually "nice".

70 years of cosmetic issues accumulated. Call it "light patina". Should clean up acceptably.

Car is still 6V. Battery on order.

Fuel pump is disconnected and a direct feed has been plumbed to the (Carter) carb, so I'm expecting a fight. Bottom of fuel tank looks like it's been damp, so I expect the worst.

One freeze plug (so far) is corroded through. It's the one hidden behind the exhaust, so I'll start by using an expanding plug until I see how far this goes.

Not sure about radiator, I have my doubts, but it's good enough to make sure she runs.

Plugs look like they were all firing. Bore scope shows nothing horrid on cylinder walls. Pistons sure are ugly things, aren't they?

Bore scope also shows a surprising lack of sludge or varnish under the valve cover. Oil is clear and smells like clean oil.

Dynaflow transmission...fluid is red and again smells clean.

Current challenges:

Frontmost manifold stud is snapped. I've drilled it for an ez-out, but it's having none of it. Might try again once it's running. Engine can get more heat on the head than my propane torch. Maybe that'll help.

Carb heat shaft (whatever that's called) is seized. It's rotated with the weight "forward". So, is that full carb heat or fully off? Again, it's seized, is it possible that running the engine could add enough heat to let it move? I'll keep up with the penetrating oil in the meantime.

There's an "interesting" device plumbed in to the carb base Thought initially it was windshield washer, but I can't make sense of it. Instead: Looks like a metered feed for something like Marvel Mystery Oil directly into the intake. Never seen the like.

Brake master was completely dry. For grins, added some DOT3 and pumped it a bazillion times, and it seems to be be actually building pressure. Don't TRUST any of that, but maybe that means the hard lines are still hanging in there.

Worrisome: One of the lines leading from the water pump is disconnected/plugged (topmost). Hopefully not the circuit that cools the transmission! Guessing that means something bad regardless.

Little things I've noticed while waiting to make progress on the big things: One of the hood pins is no longer attached to the hood. At least I have it, it's stuck in the hinge, just have to figure how to reattach it. But hood won't stay latched until I get that done. Snapped climate control cables. One snapped hood release cable, "fixed" with bailing wire (approved!). Need new climate control flexi-duct.

And of course: Guessing the carb needs a full rebuild. Guessing the fuel pump is toast, but won't find out until the car is running. Brakes worry me, never had a single-pot master before, and not excited about the prospect of losing all 4 simultaneously.

Looking forward to messing with this. Going to take it slow. Don't want to make things worse by rushing in. Plan now is to get it rolling the way it is, add some seat belts, and enjoy it.

 

[bittmann]

OK, so that's an "Ampco Oiler". Neat.

Ampco Oiler Gallery

 

[firstofeight]

Welcome and congratulations.

That frontmost manifold stud may have been only that, A guide stud. Some years the front and back one were just that.
The carb heat " whatever you call it" is probably stuck open. Most are. Engine will run ok like that. Don't bet the farm on it opening by itself.
The blocked off water pump line is, I think, for the heater. Different years used different hose routing. From the Home page on this site, go to References, scroll down to Team Buick References, General Topics and you will find the different routing charts.
The top oiler was a thing back in those days. Not necessary but will not hurt.
Don't let the master cylinder scare you. Failures are rare. I have been driving since your car was new and have experienced none.

Ben

 

[bittmann]

That frontmost manifold stud may have been only that, A guide stud.

Boy, if that's the case, that would make this a whole lot easier! It sure LOOKS like it should be a full-on hold-down stud position, but if you say it isn't, then I can stop fighting this thing entirely. Edit - did some Google Image searching, and yes - while the majority of the images showed a front stud, there were more than a few that didn't have anything up there. It'd still make me feel better to have something up there, but it's good to know it apparently isn't critical.

The carb heat " whatever you call it" is probably stuck open.

"Open" being "full carb heat", right? I figured that was fine for initial efforts. And for letting me heat the whee out of the shaft bushings - start the car, get that baby up to 400+ degrees and hope that the hole gets bigger. Hold ice on the shaft, maybe that'll help shock it enough that tapping it fore and aft would get it moving again. Get it moving, and then KEEP it from freezing in the closed position again.

Looking at mine now - someone has beaten on the front (bi-met coil) side of the shaft like it's a cabin screen door, mushrooming the tip, making it so I haven't yet been able to extract the coil spring. And the arm holding the counterweight was mangled/bent. So obviously this has been an issue in the past.

One thing I found curious - I expected the spring on the "other end" of the counterweight arm to be your basic really wimpy de-rattling spring. Enough tension to keep the door from slamming open/slamming closed/rattling continually. But the spring I have looks pretty stout, to my untrained eye as WAY stronger than I'd expect the bi-met coil to be able to overcome (although I imagine that the exhaust itself probably does the majority of the work). Does that spring look reasonable to you? Edit - then again, the spring that Bob's sells looks pretty stout also. So that's probably right.

The blocked off water pump line is, I think, for the heater.

Good! I've found the coolant routing diagram, and will make *darned* sure that the transmission cooler is intact/functional. Before I start looking for leaking heat exchangers or the like.

The radiator is on probation now - hopefully it works, but if it doesn't, I've seen what purports to be compatible aluminum radiators on E-Bay that include a transmission cooler in the bottom tank. Might be worth considering. Definitely could be worth it if the stock transmission cooler is bad. Baby steps, though!

The top oiler was a thing back in those days

Yeah, once I figured out what it was, I sent the info to my Dad - he made a living "mechanicin'" in the mid-60s and worked on a lot of these old cars back in the day - and his response was "Nothin' like snake oil to waste money on." Still, it's a cool bit of history. Pity the label on mine has completely disintegrated. That being said, without the Tetra Ethyl Lead in the gas now, I wonder if the Marvel Mystery Oil would itself help keep the valves from receding as opposed to Lead Substitute? Dunno. If I ever do need to pull the head, would have to think about getting hardened seats.

 

[firstofeight]

Last things first, or maybe the other way around. BUICKS DO NOT NEED HARDENED SEATS. The heads have enough nickel in them two not need seat inserts. Period.

The exhaust "valve" normally sticks in the bypass position. No heat to the carb. The butterfly is a loose fit in the chamber. The shaft is what is tight. The external spring you pictured is simply an anti-rattle spring.
I am not thinking a cooler in the radiator will work. Research needed.

I have a spare radiator for a 1950 Special with synchromesh. A little less area than the one for Dynaflow.

Ben

 

[bittmann]

You're full of good news! Not having to worry about valve seat erosion, scrounge for lead substitute... that's a plus.

I'm trying to absorb everything I can find on these GM cars. Haven't personally owned any, and there is a learning curve

(Heh - unless you count the Opel GT I helped my Dad rejuvenate in the late 80s. Ever pulled an engine by hand? We have! That whole 1100cc 4-banger probably weighed within a few pounds of the *head* of this 263.)

In the meantime, I'm taking it slow. Engine was lightly stuck, but was able to get it to break loose and turn over by hand. Valvetrain isn't crunchy. Carb isn't locked up. Once I'm convinced the wiring can be trusted (all original, sketch factor is high), will progress by the numbers. Will it crank, will it build oil pressure, will it spark, can I bottle feed it and get it to bark off? And go from there. No sense getting too far over my skis.

Will accept any wisdom you folks can impart. I have a lot to learn!

 

[bittmann]

And: Looks like the topmost heater hose connection is kinda important for the 52. Going to have to figure out what is going on, here.