QuestionDear Dick - I have a 1949 Buick Super Eight. My problem is when the engine is warm after driving it will not turn over fast enough to restart. It sound like a dead battery, but the battery is new. After it sets for 30 minutes it starts good.
Thank you.
AnswerThis is a very common problem with those cars, in fact I also have a straight eight (Packard) still running on 6 volts, and I had to diagnose and cure the same problem on my car.
The causes for this range from easy to fix to very expensive to fix, but fortunately the more likely causes are the easy ones.
Assuming your engine is properly tuned and timed, then, here are the next things to check, in order of likelyhood:
1. Wrong size battery cables. Your battery cables should be size 00 wire. This is about 1/2 inch diameter copper - the best source of these is a local battery supply vendor who sells golf cart and other heavy duty batteries. If you tell him the lengths required, and ask for "double ought" size wire, he can make you up some new cables. #2 wire is NOT the same as #00! If he says he doesn't have any, go to a welding supply shop and buy it by the foot, then have the battery guy make up cables from it. Make sure he uses the proper cable ends, not the clamp-on junk sold in parts stores!
2. Dirty connections. The battery post and the insides of the battery cable ends must be clean, bright and shiny. The other ends of the cables must go to clean, bright bare metal, and be very securely bolted. The + cable must be the closest one to the starter terminal - there are probably other wires on the same terminal, so take them all off and clean all the cable and wire ends, then reinstall them with the battery positive cable on the terminal FIRST!.
3. Wrong location for ground cable. This must go to the engine block or head, directly, with no paint on the mating surface, and it must be clean and bright.
4. Poor starter ground. The starter is grounded by being bolted to the engine - so the surface of both the starter flange and the mating surface on the engine must be clean, bright, unpainted metal, and the mounting bolts must be tights.
5. Inadequate battery cranking current. The batteries sold today don't seem to put out the cranking amps that the old ones did, but there is one exception, and that is the OPTIMA battery. These are expensive, and they look funny, but they will spin your car like it was on 12 volts!
6. Starter needs rebuilding. As starters wear, they develop excessive current draw, especially as they get hot. You can have a starter shop measure your starter current draw when it is hot, and compare that with the specified value. If it is pulling too much current when it is hot, it needs to be completly rebuilt, and may need a new armature.
7. Engine hard to turn when hot. Some engine rebuilders do not bother to align bore the main bearing saddles, this makes the engine very hard to crank when it is hot. If your engine has been rebuilt, check to see if they align bored the main bearing saddles. If they did not, you'll either have to live with it or have it done over. Sorry! If this is the case, fix all the above, and buy an OPTIMA battery, then perhaps you can live with it. As the engine wears, the problem will get better.
I hope one of these things cures your problem, but if not, let me know and I'll try harder!
Dick.
