I have almost nothing but oddball older cars/truck/motorcycles. The biggest argument I would make for keeping it as stock as possible is, it is a wonderful thing to have a parts manual, get a part number out of that, and to be able to order a part you know is right. I only wish we could still go down to our local Ford dealers and get the factory-quality parts for our trucks.

 

Bill,

I too don't favor doing super modifications to old iron. I like the feel and ride of my old trucks and would never upgrade to get a smooth, soft ride. The types of parts I'm talking about with the Buick guys, it seems other marks, are things like radiator hoses and ignition parts, kind of generic parts. I don't think it's sacrilegious to use a radiator hose from a '70 Fury if all it takes to make it fit like a stock hose is to cut 2" off one end or use the points from a '65 whatever that will work just like the original on a late '30s car. According to the articles in the Torque Tube there are many parts from more modern, easier to find cars that will either fit right in or may need minor modifications to fit. One item that comes to mind is the locks used to secure the side mount spare tires. If you can find a set of original locks for the old Buicks you can expect to pay a couple of hundred bucks for one. GM used basically the same lock for the Corvairs in the early '60s and you can still find them reproduced for the Corvair guys for around $50 apiece or cheaper for ones that show up on eBay on a regular basis.

 

When I bought my 226 F-1 I also thought, "just another old vehicle". I'd restored several Model A's and was used to being able to buy almost everything I needed. Most of the time I tried to find original parts but when necessary it was fairly easy to find reproduction parts. I figured it would be the same with the F-1. It's been a surprise to find that a lot of the parts available these pickups are only for the V-8's. If you want a challenge, try finding a decent battery tray for the 226.

 

Dan,

It's just because the V8 is a sexier engine than the six and more popular. Too bad, the old flat sixes are great engines. They'll outlast a flathead V8 and aren't as tempermental as the V8. There are few places that sell rebuild kits for the 6 but I think they're more expensive than for the 8.

 

If you still need a battery tray, let me know. I've got a couple nice ones laying around. PM me if you're interested.

 

Wayne beat me to it. I also have one battery tray for the 6 cyl (and about four battery trays for the V8).

 

Thanks for the offer. Wayne and I had a discussion about this a few months ago and I decided at that time to look for something locally. I ended up buying a used V-8 tray from Chuck's Trucks and plan to mount it on the brackets I have that are real solid.

Don't mean to hijack the thread about plug wires but another problem with the 226 six is nobody that I can find makes an oil pump or even a rebuild kit for the oil pump.

 

This subject came up on the old Bonus Built site. At the time I searched around and found some of the oil pump parts from a Ford 8N tractor would work. It's been a long time since that post and I can't remember exactly what parts worked. I seem to remember the shaft was shorter and the rotor had to be pressed off. If you need to rebuild your pump check into the 8N, just like for our old trucks there are quite a few places that sell parts for 8N and many parts are still available at Ford tractor dealer because a lot of 8Ns are still in service.

 

I thought I remember someone talking about a set of '66 mustang I6 plug wires for a '48... they are $18 at Napa.... Bring in your measurements and check them... Hope it helps...