Projects 37 buick barn find

I figured id make a proper tread for the car. For those that were fallowing this thread. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...o-get-a-title-engine-or-frame-numbers.1131662 you know the background story. For those that don't you can click there for the full story. Or here's a slight recap. I was at my parents house and walked past my mom and a friend of hers and over heard my moms friend mention she was going to junk the old car in her garage. Me being me i turned and asked about said old car fully expecting her to say some sort of modern junkbox. Boy was i suprised lol. After finding out it was a car from the 30s. I asked if i could aquire it. To which she said sure. She couldn't understand why i wanted such an old car. But said to come and get it. That I'd be doing her a huge favor by taking it. Here are some pictures of where i found it. Where it sat for probably 40-50 years.

 

here are some pictures from the day i went to actually pick it up. I'll have more pictures and a bunch of questions in a little bit. As I'm in my garage going thru and cleaning out the car.

 

Hey, that's nice! boy they were big cars back then. I have a '37 Cadillac and that was a lot of work to get it in paint.

 

WOW. Nice find. Give it a good wash & buff the heck out of that old paint & I bet you will have it looking great.
Jimmie

 

Cool tail lights. Are those factory stock for that year?
Just noticed what looks like a front fender mounted turn signal also.

 

Here's a few questions I've been pondering. I figure it would be bad to just hop in and turn the key correct? What all should i do to the engine before trying to turn the key and see if it comes to life?

It has coolant and oil in it which are deff good signs. But being how old the fluids are. Is it safe to fire the engine with them. Or do i change them before trying to start the car?

I figure it's probably a good idea to rebuild the carb first. Correct? Where can i get a carb rebuild kit for a buick 320 straight 8 ? Google is failing me atm.

Well back to cleaning and assessing everything will hopefully be back with more pictures and a ton more questions but damn I'd love to hear this old engine roar back to life.

 

Probably checking if the engine turns would be a good first move … buying parts for a dead engine always looses money. Whoever tore the parts from the body may have ''worked'' on the engine, too.
If it turns, get back to us ...

 

Id take the plugs out and oil the cylinders if its been sitting for a while. Crank it over a couple of times by hand to make sure it is lose. Change the oil. Drain and flush the tank and fuel lines. She's been sitting a long time, you need to take your time waking her back up.

 

Yes on the tail lights, they are stock. The fender mounted rocket pods are parking lights, there were no turn signals on the 37. The neatest light on the entire 37 Buick is the red light above the license plate. Photo below, and also a photo of the lenses for the front fender mounted parking lights.

 

So.....if that is a 320" engine.....it is a Century !! ??......Bonanza! Legendary for the day!

Are the missing body parts with the a car? What a serendipitous happening. Congrats!

Ray

 

hood parts are missing in the photo.Did you find them in the barn?

 

Hood and doors are with the car. As well as the headlight. The only things that appear to be missing.

Front grilles,
Shifter knob
Side mirrors on the doors.

Other then that its a conplete car. And yes hnstray your correct its a buick century.

Here's some more questions.

What kind of oil does this engine take?
How any quarters of said oil are needed?

Is it safe to put modern gas in the engine or should i go find some leaded fuel at an airport or something?

Last question for the moment what stores would i be likely to find a 6v battery at? Like do auto part stores still carry them in stock? Lol

Well back to the cleaning i go.

 

I'm partial to the old Buicks. Had a '47 Super 4dr, '51 Roadmaster Riviera and a '52 4dr. Really like the '37s. And the '36 and '38.
Good for you. Keep updating.
Curious to see if that big straight 8 turns over freely. As was said, pull the spark plugs. Squirt some oil in there. You might get the engine to turn simply by turning the fan while pulling on one side of the fan belt. If not, put a socket on the head of the crank pulley bolt. Turn clock-wise. Easy...don't be forcing it with a 4' pipe on the wrench.

 

10W30 oil will be fine.
Modern regular gas will be fine. Tune the engine well enough to assure that you're not burning lean, to save the valves-seats from excessive heat. If you ever rebuild the engine, have hardened valve-seats installed in the heads...they'll stand up to the unleaded gas better.
Tractor supply stores carry 6V batteries.
Do research. Ask questions when in doubt.
Be careful. Have fun!

 

Do not run gas through your gas tank. Odds are it’s rusty dirty and full of water.
Instead, after finding out it will turn over, and you have new plugs and wires, hook up a portable gas tank to it and run some good gas.
That old tank will be your downfall. Don’t use it until you are sure it’s clean.
6 volt batteries can be found a Napa and other parts stores.

 

Wasn't planning on using the stock tank for the initial fire up. Figured. That'd be a bad idea lol I've got a portable boat tank that'll get used. When its time to see if this engine has life.

 

I'd take the oil pan off...if it sat that long, it will be full of heavy sludge & goo at the bottom where the oil pump pick-up is. 20 years is different than 50 years of sitting.

I suppose you could drain the oil first, then run stiff wire in there and see if it has thick sludge at the bottom.
.

 

check everywhere for mouse nests. and i mean everywhere. pull the valve cover too

 

Carb too"might have to be rebuilt.

 

I heartily second this recommendation.......You would be amazed at the sludge build up that can, and does, accumulate in the pan.

Also, I second the recommendation about searching for remains of rodent infestation . I can tell you from first hand experience what I have found that would sound like a BS exaggeration but is totally true.

 

Do a visual on the wiring for missing insulation. Mice and age are tough on wires too. You dont want to burn it down when you give it juice.

 

^^^^
That early 320 has poured bearings. Acid etched rods & mains due to acidity in the oil can cause an engine that ran well when brought back to life to suddenly pound itself apart …
Pull the pan & check each bearing. Pay attention to the shims.

 

Scour that barn for the grills....look everywhere because they're fragile and hard to find. I see no sign of collision damage to the front of the car so I doubt they were taken out because of damage...find 'em.
When I was in high school, 2 guys had 37 century 4 doors. One was dark maroon and the other was dark blue. They were always full of guys so they sat really low. Blue one had "Elliot Ness" written low on the front fenders, behind the wheel. The other one had a little cartoon painted in the same spot of a short gangster with his hat down over his eyes, wearing a trench coat and holding a machine gun with a wisp of smoke coming out of the barrel...had lettering below the gangster that said "Untouchable" ...both cars alluding to the popular 30s gangster show of the 60s called The Untouchables. Both cars were always clean and waxed...kept spotless.

 

Don't forget to put it in neutral before trying to turn it over. Had a friend tell me his engine was seized. I put it in neutral and reminded him of simple things in life.

 

Quite the boat, it would be cool to see it come back to life. Nice find.

 

That trunk sitting on the garage floor by the right front tire is pretty cool too. Something for an old pickup bed.

 

Lol my mom grabbed that and its now being used to store blankets.

 

Ok so I've seriously cleaned the interior and gone thru the car. I can't find the keys anywhere. How hard would it be to remove the ignition cylinder or trunk lock cylinder so that i can get the correct code and have a new key cut ??

 

Check for nails in the barn with keys hanging on it........... while you’re looking for the grilles. Post more photos!

 

I searched the garage for over sn hour. No such luck finding keys or grille. So was hoping they were in the car. At this point my only option is to get the code off the lock cylinder to get s new key made.