[mechanickeith]

But that is what makes it so valuable!!!!!!!

[hootsk]

Maybe it's a rare prototype or something

[hootsk]

I know this is a long shot, but if anyone happens to have a lower backseat in trim code 210, maroon, please PM me. The one from this car is long gone and so far I've had no luck in SoCal yards.

Also looking for right and left front turnsignal lamps and brackets. Someone took them at some point, or they both fell off, complete, with brackets.

Thanks to 68Prix this car will be getting windsplits and a dash shifter knob again. I found a good single-speed wiper motor to replace the burnt one, a horn ring with the ring and back in the shop I've got a Pontiac-branded radio from another '62 to replace the Olds one that's in the dash. Slowly putting it back together.

Ponder this. Back in '61, somebody ordered a convertible with the 215, but didn't get squat else. Not even power steering. Except for the V8, this car is devoid of options. Did all Tempest convertibles have bench seats? There's not even spears on the fenders (no evidence they were ever there). Anyone have an explanation? Or just a theory?

Chuck

[All4Poncho]

I think the spears could be ordered as an option and are not sold as a package. I have spears on my parts car that I could probably sell you if you want them. They are in really good condition. It may be a little while before I can take pics. I might be able to this weekend. What's a fair price for spears? I don't want to rip anybody off but I do want to get their value and I sure could use the money.

[hootsk]

Thanks but I want to keep this car as original as possible, and after close inspection I can't find one iota of evidence that the spears were ever there.

But if you have a set of front turnsignal lamps, including lens, reflectors, bulb holders and brackets -- basically the entire assembly -- I would be interested in those.

[All4Poncho]

Sorry I'm pretty sure I don't have the front turn signals. Many parts of the front end is gone. If I do, I doubt the electrical components work. I will try to check this weekend (car isn't stored at home) but I wouldn't hold your breath on me having them. I hope you find some one way or another.

[hootsk]

No problem, All4Poncho! Thanks for looking.

[mechanickeith]

I may have some!! Let me look!

Keith

[azkeebler]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1961-...Q5fAccessories

[hootsk]

$9.99 ... I just bought it.

[hootsk]

Got 25 mpg from Canyonville, Oregon up to Eugene last night. Even though it's burning or leaking about 1.5 quarts of oil every tank, motor is running strong, it easily holds the hills at 80 mph now. When I started in Kansas, it couldn't hold a flat stretch at 50 without overheating.

The problem it's having is that on the freeway, at 70-80 mph, every time it hits a hill, it hesitates. It's sort of like the ignition is cut and then turned back on after a second. Then it continues up the hill with full strength. Could this be valves?

Chuck

[mechanickeith]

Chuck,,,,Could be ignition or fuel. Do not think it is the valves. With the conditions (on the road, at speed), I think it is most likely a fuel issue. At speed, you are out of the carbs idle circuit & depending on how far the gas pedal is depressed, you may be out of the accelerator pump range also. You would think an ignition problem would be more constant/regular. I would start by checking engine tune/timing/carb adjustments.

Keith

[azkeebler]

Hi Chuck,

Glad you are still truck'in along well.

I agree with Keith, I don't believe it is valves either. I had the oppurtunity to hear your engine and strongly agree it is not valves. Valves usually create backfiring. If it does begin backfiring, I'd check the wonderful plastic timing gear these buicks love to eat.

I also agree on the accelerator range or even float level. It almost sounded like your plunger circuit was either too much or not enough when you left Manteca. It stumbled just off of idle, just as mine did when cold and when my exhaust was entering the carb. (see below)

I am going with with your blow by issues. The crankcase may build just enough pressure when you start heading up hill and creating load that it may be creating a vapor lock type condition. Oil rings clogged or worn? Pcv clogged?

A far fetched possibilty is the exhaust flap may move on uphill redirecting exhaust back up under the car through the intake creating pre-evaporation of fuel. Thus when it cuts out, it returns to it's open location and power restores.

At 70-80 miles an hour, your RPM's with the powerglide are quite up there, so if your dwell or timing is off e few degrees or vacuum advance is not accurate, it could be creating this condition.

My car had similiar issues in Fresno that felt like a clogged fuel filter. Changed the filter and slowed my speed and didn't have further problems. But found later that my choke heat tube feed had cracked and I was sucking exhaust directly into the carb. However, mine isn't a 215, so there may be characteristics of it unknown to us.

Thanks for the visit! I hope to get some pics posted soon. We were in Monterey this weekend.

Scott

[hootsk]

Keith and Scott, thanks for the walk-through diagnosis. Here's my answers ...

> I had the oppurtunity to hear your engine and strongly agree it is not valves. Valves usually create backfiring.

OK, good. It hasn't backfired once in 3,000 miles, so that's probably not it. Also it has a freshly rebuilt distributor with a Pertronix installed, which otherwise seems to be working flawlessly.

> If it does begin backfiring, I'd check the wonderful plastic timing gear these buicks love to eat.

Do you the mean the smaller of the two gears, the one on the end of the camshaft, under the front cover? Or on the end of the distributor?

> I also agree on the accelerator range or even float level. It almost sounded like your plunger circuit was either too much or not enough when you left Manteca. It stumbled just off of idle, just as mine did when cold and when my exhaust was entering the carb. (see below)

I should have mentioned, the engine always acts like it's about to stall, or does stall, when you step on the gas from a stop at idle. Pretty much 100 percent of the time -- regardless of whether it's heated up or not. And acceleration is poor, there's no power, until after the engine's through the stumble. Once it's through, there's lots of power, though.

The tube from the exhaust manifold to the carb (choke?) is broken off at the manifold.

> I am going with with your blow by issues. The crankcase may build just enough pressure when you start heading up hill and creating load that it may be creating a vapor lock type condition. Oil rings clogged or worn? Pcv clogged?

The rings may be, and probably are, very worn. I've never done a compression check on any of the cylinders, but I'd guess it's low. It burns more than a quart of 10W40 between fill-ups. The motor was filled with sludge, sand, dirt and varnish that even after multiple flushes and oil changes still isn't completely out, so I'm guessing before it was parked for the last time years ago it didn't get changed much.

Bryan and I installed the engine's first PCV valve in Texas, with instruction from 215 expert Mark at D&D Fab (he told us which brand and part # would fit and how to hook it up), and the valve still looks and acts new.

> A far fetched possibilty is the exhaust flap may move on uphill redirecting exhaust back up under the car through the intake creating pre-evaporation of fuel. Thus when it cuts out, it returns to it's open location and power restores.

Where is the exhaust flap and how can I test it?

> At 70-80 miles an hour, your RPM's with the powerglide are quite up there, so if your dwell or timing is off e few degrees or vacuum advance is not accurate, it could be creating this condition.

Would one other possibility have to do with the Powerglide itself? Sometimes the transmission will seem to lose its grip when going around a corner. The engine races just for a moment, and the trans sounds like it's slipped into neutral. Then it catches again and drives the car forward. The fluid level is good and it shifts smoothly from 1st to 2nd and back again. I'm guessing it's unrelated (I plan on pulling it and having it rebuilt by the same guy who did a great job on the 63) but I figured I'd mention it anyway.

Chuck

[azkeebler]

HI Chuck,

Didn't mean to delay my reply so long, bud.

Looking at pics of your motor I took and my 215 parts here, I may have to rethink my thoughts with your issues.

I see now you do have the Petronix distributor kit installed. However, I am curious if you have a full 12 volts running to it. I may be mistaken, but I believe the factory power feed is a resistor wire. I hope mechanickeith or someone else can confirm for me, as It may be that the coils used on these cars were resistor coils instead. If the Petronix isn't supplied with a full 12 volts or more, the coil will not reach full charge and the Petronix will misfire. Just a though.

The nylon timing gear on the camshaft is the gear I am refering to. The distributor should be of metal content. All my Buicks have had worn teeth on the distributor geer that created similiar problems you are experiencing, but usually coughed and backfired quite often.

I can't help to wonder your stumble is a fuel problem or misfire. Power returns after a certain rpm making me believe either a lean misfire or vacuum leak at part throttle. Make sure the vacuum advance isn't ruptured. cap off the vacuum line to it and drive it to see if there is a difference in performance. I can't think of anything else running off of ported vacuum on your engine. Either way, I'm sure a carb refresh is in order. The power valve circuitry is easily clogged.

I also don't see the exhaust flap I was mentioning on your or my 215 engine. So throw that out. It is normally just past the manifold at the pipe connector and has a weighed spring flap that closes when cold, and opens as warm. Purpose is to redirect some exhaust back up through the intake to warm the air entering the engine for better cold weather driveabilty.

However, looking at your engine pics, I do see a tube that seems to run from the passenger front exhaust mainfold to possibly the choke housing. You may want to make sure that full exhaust isn't making it's way through that tube as I'm pretty certain that housing has engine vacuum and could be sucking in exhaust, leaning out your mixture.

My powerglide has similiar characteristics on hard turns as well. I have all new seals and clutches and such in mine and all pressure seems good, all I can think causing that is design flaw. Really noticeable in mine when fluid is low, though.

Gotta run, hope some of this helps more than confuses.

[hootsk]

> If the Petronix isn't supplied with a full 12 volts or more, the coil will not reach full charge and the Petronix will misfire.

Mark LaGrou saw that one coming back in March, and had me check the voltage with the engine off, engine at idle and at speed. No-load from the battery was 11.46VDC, and with the generator spinning at 850-3,000 rpm was always more than 12, measured at the coil. So I don't think this particular car has resistor wiring.

> You may want to make sure that full exhaust isn't making it's way through that tube as I'm pretty certain that housing has engine vacuum and could be sucking in exhaust, leaning out your mixture.

So, if the tube is broken off at the manifold, is it sucking air instead of exhaust, also leaning out the mixture? And there's an open hole in the manifold?

> Make sure the vacuum advance isn't ruptured. cap off the vacuum line to it and drive it to see if there is a difference in performance.

No difference. The engine idles well and runs well at all speeds, barring the stumbling issue.

> I'm sure a carb refresh is in order. The power valve circuitry is easily clogged.

That wouldn't surprise me. Most of this car's problems have been caused by either dirt (sludge, grit, etc) or bad gaskets (usually dried out from sitting). There's a 4GC specialist in Arizona where LaGrou sends his to be rebuilt. I'll get the guy's name and contact and see if he'll do this one.

Scott, thanks for all your help.

PS Little handle is on its way back to you!

[hootsk]

There was oil was all over the bottom of the engine compartment front to back, but the front cover or rear main seal didn't seem to be leaking. So I decided it must be coming from the pan, and I was a good enough wrench-turner to take the pan and pickup off and change the gaskets with the engine in place.

Seven hours later, it's done. (Next time, I pull the motor.) I spent fully half the time cleaning and scraping and 0000 steel-wooling the old gasket off the pan and crankcase faces. The gasket wasn't a gasket anymore as much as it was Wrigley's chewing gum from hell. Flattened, brittle oily black cardboard.

The oil is no longer leaking, but the unintended consequence seems to be that there's no more blow-by either! The column of smoke that used to continuously emanate from the oil breather has stopped.

[mechanickeith]

It's a miracle!!!!! (Dont see how changing the pan gasket will effect blow by)

[hootsk]

Keith (or anyone), help me out with some theory here. The oil pump pressurizes the crankcase, right? The 215 clocks about 20-25 psi at a hot idle. The oil pressure is mitigated by a relief valve, and the air and crankcase gases vents out the oil breather or gets sucked into the fuel system via the PCV valve.

Now I'm guessing. What happens when the rings and/or valve guides are worn is, the pistons pressurize the crankcase further. More pressure means more venting, which is why when I first got the engine running and it was filled with gunk, oil couldn't get around the engine well enough and smoke poured out from every seam in the motor like it was on fire.

So it makes no sense that sealing the oil pan would reduce the smoke. The oil and crankcase gases would be blowing out, not sucking in. Which is what happened in Austin when smoke was pouring out from under the valve covers until those gaskets got swapped.

Maybe the oil pressure as measured at the pump was 20 psi, but since the pan wasn't sealed, there was less in the bottom of the engine, and that has something to do with how well the oil gets up into the top end to seal the combustion chamber? So now that it has better pressure in the block, there's better oil distribution, and thus less blow-by and less smoke?

Chuck

[azkeebler]

Well, okay, oil pressurizes the oil through the passages throughout the engine components( crankshaft, block passages, lifters, pushrods, etc.). Not necessarily the crankcase in general.

When the rings are bad on a piston, the compressed air fuel mixture makes it's way past the piston into the crankcase because the rings are not keeping it in the combustion chamber.Therefore, filling the crankcase below the piston with more pressure. When the valve guides are bad, the oil makes it's way past the valve into the cylinder, also fouling out plugs, and intake or exhaust makes way past the valves, also entering the crankcase through the head. Especially if the valve seats are bad. But backfire is more common with bad seats. The nature of the piston moving inside is where the crankcase pressure comes from. Therefore, an engine must have a breather or pcv system to relieve the pressure. However, the breather/pcv system can only control a certain amount. When the above issues evolve, the system easily becomes ineffective and overwhelmed, resulting in leaks due to the need to release the excess pressure to escape.Good bye seals and gaskets.

Now, with your case, the only thing I see may have happened is, now that you have sealed up a large oil leak in the oil pan, which took vacuum from from the pcv system as well, you now have a sealed system that the pcv system is now removing the blowby from the other bank of the engine the easier. Or have freed up a clogged oil return passage when you cleaned. If you have richened up your fuel mixture, this may also have made an improvement as the engine will try to pull more from the crankcase when lean if it has worn guides or rings.

Of course, true certified mechanics on here will pick apart my theory above some, and it has been a while since my last ASE certification and can't remember all the details, but I should be in the ball park here.