The points, too, could be the points. Service manual is a must have, good move. You're on the way. I'll defer, to someone that knows more, regardng the heater. I looked at your video again. The body looks straight and solid.
You have to remove the heater box from under the hood first, then the core and rest of the box should come out from under the dash. That's how it is on my '62, should be the same as your '61. It's a giant pain in the ass!
Figured it would be a royal PITA, haven't seen one yet that isn't. I definitely want to do that while the hood is off, easier to get to, but I don't have any deep well sockets that size, will have to get some of those. Thanks much for the info. Yeah I'll probably just get all new ignition stuff, gonna need it anyway. I was surprised to see it's available and in stock at most of the parts houses. Cheapest coil I saw was about $16 at NAPA. The CD with the service manuals has been shipped so I should have that soon. It should help a lot answering any other questions I have. I was very surprised at just how well perserved the car is for it's age. I'm pretty happy with it and will be even happier once I hear it run! Thanks for the comments.
I ended up taking the front seat out when I pulled the stuff out from under the dash. I'm not a big guy, but the extra room made it MUCH easier.
Yeah, that has been suggested by some local people as well. I don't look forward to doing that either, but it has to come out to get recovered eventually. I may give it a go without taking it out as I hadn't planned on doing any interior work right away.
Amazing something that old still works just fine! Found out today that the coil is good, but most everything else, points, condenser, rotor button, distributor cap and plugs and plug wires will need to be changed. I believe she will start once this is done, at least I hope so!
Our tube radio works just as good now, as ever. Dad and I used to drive all over the southeast. No matter where we were, at night, we could always get WWL New Orleans on the Radio.
Have you cleaned the tank if not don't start it until you do. Good luck with your project.:TU: Bob H.
The Buick runs! Did a quick tune-up, points, plugs, condenser, cap, rotor, plugs and wires and she pretty much fired right up pouring gas in the carb. Tried to put 5 gallons in the gas tank, but never could get it to pump up. Someone before us ran a rubber line from just under the firewall to the fuel pump and so I cut that and put it directly into some fresh gas in a can. Took some time to get all of the old stale stuff burned up, but she finally started running on the clean gas and smoothed out pretty good. I believe she will need some carb work as I never could get it to idle. Also we never set the points as I didn't have access to a dwell/tach. Main thing is that it runs so now I can take some time to work all of the bugs out. Also filled the radiator with water and that seems to be holding okay as well. I was just so pleased to hear it run, even though the exhaust pipe is separated just under the passenger compartment and it was very loud. Does anyone know how the fuel line originally ran? Mine is metal up to that point just about even with the firewall and then it had a rubber hose. I'm sure that isn't right as the rubber hose was laying very close to the exhaust manifold. I figure it probably was metal up to a point near the fuel pump at one time with a short rubber line between it and the pump. If anyone knows, please let me know.
My fuel line setup is original and is you described. There are suppose to be fastners on the wheel well which holds the rubber line.
Okay, I saw a clip or two but didn't know how it connected. The hose is pretty bad so it needed to be replaced anyway. Also there was no clamp on the hose where it connects to the fuel pump. Guess we can get a new piece of hose and a clamp and try again. The tank was completely empty when I got it so I put 5 gallons of Shell premium gas in it. Once we get it up to the pump I think it will be okay.
Also looking for a recommendation on a dwell/tach. I see Amazon has this one http://tiny.cc/5oo6y For about $30. Any need for something better than this?
One of the things I noticed when the car was running is that the generator light stays on. My first thought was a stuck voltage regulator, but I suppose it could actually be the generator. Any thoughts on this? @ CameoInvicta: Do you think you could take a picture or two of your fuel line routing for me? I can see a couple of different ways it can go and I want to get it back where it is supposed to be. Also is there a source for the clips which hold the line to the inner fender? Thanks! BTW, I used one of those kerosene siphon pumps to get the fuel up to the end of the hose, it was already very close, just took a couple of squeezes of the siphon bulb to get it running out. It was very black though, will make sure it is running clear before I hook it up to the fuel pump.
Does the generator light go out once the motor is running off idle, at say 2000rpms? I'd start with a voltage regulator before I'd go rebuilding/replacing the generator. I replaced my original regulator a few years ago, and it just went out again (or that last burnout blew up my generator :Brow: ). I'd love to take a few pics for you, but I'm away at college about 1500 miles away from my car. I'll try and dig thru some various pics I have on my comp and will see what I can come up with.
It dimmed a bit when I increased the RPMs, but never did go completely out. Next time I have it running I plan to tap on the VR and see what that does. I can remember in the old days that would sometimes work for a VR that was sticking. Appreciate about the pics, looks to me like it could be routed high on the fender well or low down along the frame. I just want to get it in the right spot. I only have one clip so I may have to improvise with some other type of wire tie or something. Thanks man!
Those are great, just what I needed to know. Even shows the clip location. You da man! Thanks. EDIT: Here is the one from the service manual:
I went back outside and took another look. There is a channel which runs along the inner fender which looks like the perfect place to put the fuel line. I have some zip ties to attach it, should be fine I think. Looks like I will need about 5-6 feet of fuel line.
