51_Meadowbrook

I’ve heard that racing fuel is used by a lot of people. What exactly is racing fuel in comparison to regular gas? I’ve put 87 in my Meadowbrook since I got it with a lead additive if I remember and it runs pretty great and idles beautifully.

Does your spit gas out when it reaches full? Since I got my ‘51 5 years ago whenever I fill it up it spits gas down the side of the car just after the gas pump kicks off.

Don, the three hisses test is pretty smart.

The test was a dry test. I need to change the oil because it’s black, it’s always black. But I’m going to put in my normal 15w-40 and see if it still smokes. I know I have to figure out how to stop the leaks at the side covers. The engine leaks when it is running. It doesn’t leak when it is off. Not sure if that helps with any further thoughts or if that sounded like a dumb statement..

Squirebill, are you suggesting that the rings might not be the problem? Instead it may just be clogged oil reservoirs?

Sometimes it’s best to ask the newest person. They are less afraid of things because they don’t know of the possible different outcomes. I rebuilt a Cadillac V-8 just by looking at things and saying hmm that looks right. And it’s still running today with no problems. I didn’t know about all the different variances and tolerances in everything. Now I’m reading about your clearances and the difference between machine gauging and plastigauging and it’s making me nervous about things not being exact and screwing it up. My 51 Meadowbrook has a 230 in it and it’s a tank. The thought of destroying it is scary. That’s why I started this thread, to see if I could do a minimal about to the engine to get it to be good with oil and not leave puddles everywhere.

This is my first time replacing a pressed seal so I’m looking for some guide lines and tips. It is the pinion seal at the front of the rear axle on my 51 Meadowbrook. When I went under I saw oil sprayed in a straight light around the front of the axle. I called Bernbaum since I’m going there Monday to pick some stuff up and they said it was the front seal. Is there an easy way to take it out? How about any lubricants/sealers for installation? I’ve never taken apart an axle, am I in for any surprises? I’m also going to replace the differential gasket as that leaks too. What’s the best way to clean the differential once I have it open?

Tom, I see that you just rebuilt you 47. If I was to rebuild my engine, do you have any advice or information that would help me? Especially anything that you wouldn’t expect when rebuilding it.

Sorry, you are correct. I just figured it was worth pointing out that they do go hand in hand when replacing.

It says 30 straight throughout the year. If you look at the picture in post 4 the covers are under the intake and exhaust manifolds and there isn’t much room to get at them. If anyone has suggestions as to how to get to them without taking the manifolds off i would love to know. My cousin doesn’t want me parking in his driveway because the oil stains make his “pretty” truck look bad.

Does anyone know how to get the windshield trim back on? If you don’t have to take it off I suggest you don’t. I had to to replace the windshield rubber on my 51 Meadowbrook and now I can’t get it to go back on. The trim isn’t at a 90 degree angle so when you get one side on and pull the other side of the trim in it pushes the corner away from the rubber and closes the brim into the trim. I’ve tried the string thing, I’ve tried to push at it, I’ve tried tapping it with a rubber mallet, I’ve told it I love it and still nothing works.

I was told in a forum I have on another site that 10w oil was only a temporary fix. I drained mine in my 51 Meadowbrook and found the original fluid. It was suggested I replace it because of a stumble I had. I used ISO 32. It didn’t work for the stumble but the rpms don’t drop way down when stopping in gear anymore. I also replaced the transmission fluid at the same time. The first picture is how it started coming out. The second is how the last quart or so came out.

I was looking at the kit for the 1951 Meadowbrook and it says that the stock wheels won’t work with the kit. It said they need 13 3/4” clearance.

Ed that looks amazing. It’s amazing how well the oil lacquer paints hold up and shine. I buffed a section of my Cadillac’s roof and found out it’s a completely different green when shined.

I’m in New England so during the summer it’s 80-90 degrees. Would a 50 weight oil be ok in this environment? This engine has never been rebuilt to my knowledge and I don’t want to make the oil so thick it doesn’t lubricate properly. I’ve always noticed I lose more oil when traveling at highway speeds. And whenever I stop I get a puddle. I just cleaned the breather tube, which was not clogged, just dirty. I tried to tighten the wing bolts on the side pans but they are pretty tight and didn’t move. If it was easier to get to I’d love to open them up and look in there and then put new gaskets on it, just to ensure that they aren’t leaking most of my oil.

The excessive oil consumption is what is concerning me the most. When I decelerate I get a soft cloud of smoke and I have used 4 quarts of oil in about 150 miles. Now this week is a little unusual in terms of traveling because I took it on a freeway and drove about 55 miles for 20-30 minutes. I also went with a lower viscosity in this last oil change. I was adding 15-40 at my oil changes because when I dropped the pan I cleaned it and made it so that it could handle detergent oil, according to how the guys on these forums said to do it. This oil change they didn’t have that oil so I had to go with 10-30. Could the rings be just worn enough that that viscosity change would make them leak? I also found that my valve covers appear to be leaking. It hard to see the back one because it’s under the manifold but I put my phone down there and blindly took this picture. Does high speeds create a pressure under those covers that would create a bigger leak at 50mph over 30mph?

So my compression has finally gotten too bad and I think it’s time to rebuild the engine in my ‘51 Meadowbrook. The cylinders are between 89 and 94. I’m using a lot of oil too. So how in depth does this rebuild have to be? Can I just replace the rings and the gaskets and call it a day? Everything runs very well and I see no metal in the oil changes. The oil pressure stays in the correct pressure. These engines seem to be tanks, you can’t stop them.

So I sent the message that I wanted the car and would pick it up this weekend.. ‘..oh we aren’t getting rid of that car..’ Apparentlh they got married in that car blah blah blah. But I have my pick of the Buick skylark fenders and random frame resting in the dirt.. You would think that if you knew someone was coming to look at your cars you would specify if any are not in the list of throw-away cars.

With the shifter on the column does that mean that the transmission was replaced or someone just went through the work of moving it for personal preference? If it is just the shifter that was moved is setting up the original configuration difficult?

I received a call from my mother today saying that her friend is moving and needs to get rid of a car in her yard. She has already called a junk yard to get rid of it but my mother said to wait until I looked at it and see if I wanted it. It will be a free car, which usually means just take it. But I want to make sure I'm not getting a car that nobody else would buy if I need to sell it once I get it fixed. The other thing that is holding me up is I have no place to store it. I would have to buy some sort of car port for it. The license plate says it was last on the road in 1993. I liked what I saw with the exception of the rotted rear corner panel. I didn't get a chance to really try to turn the engine before it started pouring and I had to leave. The oil was full on the dipstick. Nobody was home for me to ask any information about it. Any information on these cars would be great. I have never had any sort of muscle car and I know nothing about sourcing parts for it. What is the open hole section on the console? It looks like an old airplane throttle style shifter, but the shifter is on the column.

I am attempting to put the stainless trim around the windshield in my ‘51 Meadowbrook and I am struggling pretty badly. The book says to use cord stuffed into the slot in the weatherstripping and gently pull it back against the stainless. That works great until I get to the upper corner. The trim has such a curve that it pulls the lip in under itself. I can’t seem to get the weatherstripping to go up enough to reach the stainless because it is pulled in so far away from the weatherstripping. Not to mention that the trim I not a perfect 90 and when you pull the side of the stainless it pulls the corner even farther from the weatherstripping. And every attempt I make releases the rubber lock on the weatherstrip so the lip will raise up but then I can’t get the rubber lock back in under the stainless.

It was away for the winter but the stumble and low idle has been an issue since I got the car 5 years ago. It leads me to believe that the dashpot plays a bigger role than people are making it seem in terms of keeping the rpms up. Also it has a fresh tank of gas and ive gone through half a tank already.

James, thanks for the detailed information. It’s very helpful. I ran my Meadowbrook around for about an hour and a half and it stumbled and did everything I mentioned before. Then about an hour into the ride it stopped dragging at the stops and didn’t stumbled when I took off. I assumed that the fluid finally worked through and everything was great. The next day I took it for a short 15 minute ride and it acted up like before the whole time. Today I took it out for about an hour and it did the same as the longer drive I mentioned, for the first half of the ride it acted up then it started running beautifully. Is this just one of the finicky cars that is angry until the transmission heats up enough and then it runs great? Its such a pleasure to drive when it runs without problem.

I’m going to assume that the carburetor is faulty. Unfortunately I’m a self learned man and don’t know all the tricks to the beast. If it is in gear and I press the accelerator normally to take off it either stalls or it stumbles then takes off. If I press the accelerator so slow it takes 30 seconds to get up to 15mph then accelerate normally it doesn’t stall or stumble. If I punch the accelerator it doesn’t stall or stumble. I know everyone is going to keep saying “it’s the accelerator pump” but is it definitively that or is there something else that might have that as a symptom too? I’m guessing that it’s leaning out if I press the pedal normally before enough gas is pumped into the intake.