I noticed that this section of the site gets very little use. Maybe there is a good reason for that. Maybe there are not too many pre 50 owners visiting Buicks.net.
However,I thought it maybe good to know who here is a pre 50 owner and a little bit of what you own. stock, rodded, what modifications you have made etc. etc. If this has been done before than my apologies, however if not I'll be the first to start.

I have a 1939 Century 4dr. Sedan. I have owned it for only about a year. It is a mostly stock straight 8, except for being converted to 12 volt and the previous owner put an electronic ignition system in it. It also has 53 skylark wire wheels on it. It has the original drivetrain in it which I think I would like to upgrade, or at least improve the brakes somehow. My wife and I have enjoyed the old Buick in the short time that we have owned it and are looking forward to more fun with it in the near futue.

OK next batter up; Tell us about your pre 50.

I have also noticed that there is very little action here in the pre-1950 forum. I occassionally look over here, but since there's hardly ever a post I don't give it the attention that other forums get.

I have a 1936 Special 4dr sedan. I bought it from the estate of the original owner's grandson. It's not running yet (sson I hope), but is a 100% complete Arizona car. I'm trying to keep an online journal of the project:

My Buick (http://home.earthlink.net/~gtroselle/)

Would love to hear from other 36 owners.

I have just had the last reservations removed by an apopraiser for the purchase of a stock, 40,000-mile '49 Super, which Bride and I are going to drive home from Washington State to Florida. I expect I'll get to know the car rather well that week . . . and I'll have a bushel basket-full of questions for you experts.

graemlins/wavey.gif Hey Guys

Most of the conversation regarding the Pre-50's vintage Buicks seems to be in the Straight 8 Forum.

I just love those older Buicks with the Dual Sidemounts. :cool:

Very Distinctive.

I believe that only Buicks, Caddy's and Packards had them.

Regards graemlins/beers.gif

graemlins/shield.gif Tom Gallagher graemlins/shield.gif

r.e. sidemounts: Dusenburg? Some Lincolns?

i was lucky enought to come upon an old 36 4 dr special about 8 months ago that was sitting in an old barn and jumped at the oppurtunity to buy it....its not running yet....but its almost all there to get er goin......i have since done a bunch of body work to get to be a decent lookin ridde agian one of these days.............i got the dual side mounts on here and everything..........

I own a 49 Super sedan that I purchased my freshman year in high school (84),drove it through school.college,marriage,and children caused me to put it in storage until now.plan on doing a frame up starting this winter.the car is stock,but i have plans to do some updates.I plan to do a trans swap to either a 700R4 or 4L60E trans.also switching to 12 volt system.I love the straight eight although I would like to do some performance upgrades to achieve a little more power.

I am new to this list,love what I have seen so far

joe you are not alone,i have a 41 century model 61 and it is bone stock except for 49 and later insert rods and radials.i have 3.9 gears it cruises nice at 70.i always liked the style of the 39,my grandfather had a 39 special sedan and it was a great ride.from 1936 on it was common knowledge in the general motors engineering staff the buicks were the fastest .even cadillac brass grudgingly admitted the v8 cad was no match for the senior buicks.most specials had the 4.4 ratio and it took a lot of rpm`s to go,but they could still measure up with most low and medium priced cars,if you found one with 3.9 gears then no problem.good luck with your buick JB

I purchased my prize last spring in Staunton, IL. Saw it on the internet, and bought it after a 6 mile test cruz'. I think it'll make an excellent daily driver dispite there are only a few left (6 known according to the BCA). I called the previous owner (from Texas) and got the whole history on it and an offer to buy it back!! It's all original except it's tires and peeling clearcoat applied by the quality professionals @ maaco!! I'm such a fan can ya tell! Anyway it has 52,000 and runs like a top except for the cracked exhaust manifold. I just bought a complete dual intake set-up for a song. I am buying a bolt up front disc set-up in about a month. A new paint job is coming next spring (2007) then an interior. I figuire a new car costs about $30,000 and I have 1/2 that in my buick and it has no computer, no sensors to deal with. Just good ol' fashioned quality american iron, that is, when there was some.

Funny, I never realized there was a forum for pre-50 tech!
I've got a 1946 Buick Roadmaster Sedanet 76-S, which is a "rodstoration" project. It was originally purchased by a lady who owned a dairy farm in New York (state). It had been parked in the 70's and was imported to Finland in 1988 as a total project. I traded it for a boat in 1997, and have been working on it since 1999. It is now running but not finished.

I have a 40 Super convertible . I have owned it for 34 years, and have driven it over 100,000 miles. It was restored the last time in 1988, and now has a 1953 263 CI engine, a 3.42 rear axle, and roadmaster brakes. I nstalled dual exhaust about 5 years ago, and it cruises effortlessly at 70+

I also have a 1937 Special coupe, with a 455CI buick V8, TH-400 tranny, 2.56 Camaro rear axle, and all the toys ( AC-- power windows, brakes,and steering -- remote doors--6 way seats with power lumbar--AM-FM cassette radio--and a built in 12 volt cooler)

I've got a 1940 Buick Special/40 Series, body by Flxible. She's a carved side hearse. Pics are at www.b26marauder.com/toybox Select vehicles then funeral cars for bunches of pics. Anyone EVER seen another one of these? I'd love to find the carvings I am missing....

Hello out there. Any of you people have experience with '39 series40 drive-line problems? They are unique to the '39 series 40 and 60 which locates the u-joint back about 20 inches behind the transmission. My problem is a vibration that can be felt and heard (not really loud) between 40 and 55 mph.
Above that it seems to go away, but I think it just increases in frequency so that it is not noticeable. This is just annoying, not to the point of being a real problem, but I sure would like to fix it. My best guess is one of the pinion shaft bearings at the back of the driveshaft, but that is a big job to get at.
Anyway, I would appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks.
Gary

I'm fairly new to the Buick ownership club and only know of one other pre '50 in my area. I bought a '39 Business Coupe that has been in the hands of several owners over the past several years, all of which have had a hand in the restoration process. The mechanicals are all rebuilt, electrical redone with period correct wiring, 12 volt conversion, black laquer repaint, black powder coated wheels, correct caps, great stainless, labaron bonney interior, etc. I have a restored heater to install and a radio that looks like it's been kept outside for a few years.

I'd like to keep the radio face and have restored, but update with new electronics, any references? Lot's of ads in Hemmings, but who knows........

Thanks for the help!

Hi all!

I've got '49 Roadmaster sedanet it's a real :thumbsup:, altought lately it has given me real :angry:. Well anyhow someday I can again :shifter: and be very :bgrin:. Until then I just have figure out how to do things and mostly what to do!

Happy motoring everybody!

I have a 40 special coupe/401 nailhead just started project got car 2 weeks ago will be a low/stock looking ride with a 5 speed 3 duces and a/c
Jerry

Well I might as well get in here and add my 2 cents. I have a stock 39 Century sedan which i bought thru a friend in Provo Utah in 1977, I am the 3rd owner. It was cosmetically restored with some bodywork, paint,rechroming and polishing of the britework. It has the orig.upholstery and sidemount spares.The engine has a few things done, such as 90 0ver Jahns pistons, Herbert cam, milled head, the 1941 dual intake/exhaust manifolds, and fully balanced with a lightened flywheel.[parts from an old buick racer] Its a great driver and can hold its own out on the freeways. I am considering adding the larger 52'and up, front brakes, and drill the drums. I encourage those that can, keep that old straight 8 in there, because they are good running and dependable motors. and you will always have fun with the feel, and attention, of driving one.

I have a 1940 Buick which I am doing a ground up restoration on. The chassis and motor are completely done. I am about one week from remounting the body to the chassis. I am keeping everything pretty much original including to straight eight. I do want to lower the suspension to give it a little bit of a rod look. Any suggestions?

I am currently restoring a 1925 enclosed roadster.. Any advice? More later!

Hello All,

My father has an old 1924-1927 buick which is missing its data plate but has an id # of 1188867. It is curently in asia and he is threatening to ship it to me to do somthing with. It is in relatively good shape given the age...i just have no clue where to go to in order to properly identify the car (it has an oval rear window)...and the photo JPG file is too big to upload on here per the message i received when i tried...any ideas?

it is a neat looking classic and the interior is even in pretty good shape for just sitting around in the south pacific..dashboard soso..anyway i can send along a JPEG if someone wants to see..

thanks to the pre 50 people

Keith

hey folks
i am in brisbane australia and have a 1938 series 40.

i am a rookie in working on cars and am slowly teaching myself oxy welding and basic mechanics,so i hope you wont mind a few questions..

cheers

james

I was very fortunate to purchase a '36 Buick Special Business Coupe (3-window) a couple of years ago. It is a series 46 I am told, 10,928 were built and the purchase price was $765 new.
The previous owner passed away and had paid for a lot of work in hopes of having a nice street rod. The body is near pristine, with no rust and no apparent damage. The '72 Nova front clip was installed, as was the 9-inch Ford rear w/4-bar. Adustable coil-overs at all corners, 4-wheel disc brakes. All of these items were installed when I purchased the car.
I have installed a 350 LT-1 and 460LE trans (from a Buick Roadmaster) and it is ready to go. I still have a lot of work to do before I can cruise, but it's so much fun building it I know I'll have too much time on my hands when it's done.
If anyone has any ideas or is/has undergone this particular type of project, or anyone who is interested, please reply. I also have lots of photos.

I'm not a rookie, but neither am I a pro. If I can help please ask.

Hi,

As the name says, I've got a Canadian built '38 model 90 limo. I rescued it from going to the boneyard 25 years ago. It had been set on fire by vandals and the whole of the driver's area was destroyed. The car was too big to fit into the garage I had at the time as it stands 6' 2" high and is about 18' long. The engine was half way out of the car when I got it. I don't know what the P.O. had in mind so I finished the job of removeing it and stripped it clean and assess it's condition. I found one ring broken, got the valves refaced and re-assembled it. I also got it sandblasted and coated in primer. And that's as far as I got with it until this year. The engine had been sitting on a trolley. I had bought a set of rings years ago and decided to get the engine apart again and fit them. Condensation had taken a toll with the valves and I had to get some replacements but other than that it was OK. I've got the clutch in bits just now and will have to get the withdrawal fingers built up with weld and re-profiled as they are all different shapes. There was a stunning model 90 on Ebay last week.

Art

Howdy, pre-50 folks. My current ride is a '48 Roadie 2dr' subframed from a '76 skylark and running a 401/T-400. Been driving it now for 10 yrs. My current project is a '40 Super convert. It has a '86 Transam rearend w/ 3.27 gears and a 700R4 trans. Here's the kicker- I'm running a straight 8. A 1951 263" with planed head and dual carbs/exhaust. Trying to stay true to the character of the car while being very driveable. Car is not road-ready yet but it is running.

Larry
You might want to rethink the gearing in your 40! I also have a 40 convert, and with the 3.42 axle from a 55 Century, and a 263 engine that is running a bigger carb and dual exhaust , I don't think I could pull much more gear. Mine cruises effortlessly at 70+ on the interstate, but you need to downshift whan going around a corner in town. With the taller rear gear, I question whether you will be able to use the OD much.
It may be that you will be in the power circuit of the carb and not get any mileage increase , and will not be able to pull the hills. :confused:

Hi: I am new to the forum, this is my first post. I am a pre 1950 owner of a 40 super and a 47 roadmaster. I am still in the process of restoring the two cars. The 47 roadmaster is all finished except for the paint & upholstery. I have't even started on th 40 super yet. I am driving a 54 special and a 55 super. I love 39 & 40 buicks in particular. Wish I had a 39 century, but right now I have enough to keep me busy.
I love old buicks for driving, but with gas prices going crazy I will probably just be able to drive them on sunday. thanks, banjodon

I check the pre-50's column daily. I've got a 1940 Super club coupe (Buick called it the Sport Coupe). I bought it last summer from a guy who was thinking about street rodding it, but decided it was too good to cut up. I'm keeping it mostly stock, making changes only to improve reliability (so far I've only changed to a 6V alternator) and, where I can't afford to get something done as original (engine turning the dash panels costs about 800 bucks!). I started fooling with old cars before they were old (first car was a 49 Ford when it was only 6 years old!) so I'll help where I can.
Nile Limbaugh

Rebuilding Australia built1947 4 door 248cui with Ross special 9-1 comp pistons 3 ring pack, L34 holden torana valves,Crow comp cam and V/springs,Ross tuffbond balancer,crank &rods preped and balanced.Bendtens adaptor T700R-9'' F100 3.55 ratio will run straight LPG on a Falcon injection manifold,extractors just fitted yesterday hope to hear some noise in a couple of weeks Pat

I still have my 39 century 4dr, that I bought in 1977. I am the 3rd owner and it's mostly original with a few cosmetic and mechanical improvements. It still has the original upholstery, good enough to be presentable, and original spare tire sidemounts. I changed the brakes to full floating bendix operation, and installed 6v halogen headlight bulbs,also a 41 2 carb intake, which works great, just like a 4 barrell. I purchased it in Utah, but it was originally bought by a lady from the Buick dealer in Oxnard California. I drove it from my buddys house in Springville Ut., straight to Riverside Ca. It developed heating problems on the way and with some pieces of wood wedged at the back of the hood 'to relieve engine heat', man' there was lotta heat coming out. we made it ok tho. Later I made an air dam under the radiator to keep air pressure from building under the hood. The design on 39,s created a 'scoop' below the grille under the radiator, creating pressure behind the radiator thus slowing air flow [I guess?] 39,s dont have enough louvers, anyway it works. The main reason for the heating tho, was a blown headgasket, so I pulled the engine and installed one I had athome.Nowafter all these years I am reinstalling that original engine with a few mods.I had Chet Herbert grind me a cam, and I think its his last Buick strait 8 cam, 'he said it took a half day to reset his camgrinding machine!] he told me 'dont tell anybody where you got it! sorry Chet but its been 30yrs. It had been rebuilt when i first got it, with internal 1952 parts that came from a 39 Buick coupe that reportedly ran at Bonneville in the 50,s??So thats where its at so i better get off this pc and go to the garage and work on it!

I've had my 1946 Buick Super Convertible for 2 years now. It is all original. I have a dual carb set up that I'm planning on putting on in the near future. I also need to rebuild the hydraulics to get my power accessories working. Does anybody out there have any extra convertible parts?? I'm looking for the stainless belt trim that wraps around behind the conv. top.

Duane

40 Buick Super 56S ,All original ,including interior.Well kept by the Original family that bought it new in Chicago until I bought it.Technically the second owner.I drive it to car shows and cruises now.

Hello from downunder.
Have a 4 door Special that is in the process of having full freshen up in the motor dept.
I have not driven it yet as I bought from a guy at work, who bought it from a guy who holed 3 pistons. (typical story)
My kids race motorcycles, so the plan is to put a towbar on it and have something comfortable to do the miles in when we go away.
I have a 12 volt loom to go in and would like to put better brakes on it, paint it, aircon it, and finally drive it.
Hopefully get all this done before fuel hits $423.00 a litre

I currently own a 49 Roadmaster convertible. IT is stubbed with a with a 74 Z28 and sports the rear end out of the same Camaro. Slowly this car is working it's way back on the road. I also own a 49 RM sedan, she just need some paint and TLC. 49 super parts car it has given it's life for the RM. I just found a 49 RM coupe in a field. It is pretty rough. It will give me the needed seats and lots of trim for the convertible.

Hi everyone, I own a 1948 Buick Roadmaster 2 Door Sedanette, I've owned this Buick for 33 years now. I didn't drive it much, but lately I drive it when I can. I recently replaced the 1950 320 Straight Eight engine, I put a completely rebuilt 1948 320 Straight Eight engine in it, along with a transmission. I'm finding out that the transmission has a problem at the torque ball. I'm just replacing it with my original transmission. The only other thing I'd like to do is to replace the bearings in the 3.43 gears I have. Man would that Buick cruise with those gears! 70mph + I read a statement Buick made about their cars 25 years ago, in 1940, or 1941. " Buick has never made any claims as to how fast their cars could go, but they could cruise all day long at 80 MPH, and still have plenty of power for passing!" I believe it! I was getting 18 MPH on the HWY, and about 15 around town. I'll do the rear some time this Summer. I guess I'll have to get motovated on that rear, finding the right bearings is another

Anthony
aka Straight80

My brother and I co-own a '49 Buick Super sedanette. We've owned it around a year now. It was off-the-frame restored back to original condition in 2000, but the owner developed Alzheimer's and only drove the car around 500 miles after it was restored. It sat, pretty much abandoned for years, until we bought it. With a fresh battery and fresh gas in the tank, we drove it home, a distance of almost 50 miles. After a full tune-up, having the fuel tank cleaned, and rebuilding the starter and carb, she is running great now. We had some issues with electric fuel pumps, the restoration shop had bypassed the mechanical pump and installed the electric. After going through about 4 electric pumps, we got the mechanical pump working again and only use the electric now as a starting aid. We are the third owners of this Super, it was bought new in Albemarle, NC, then purchased as a Valentine's gift sometime in the 70's by the gentleman's wife that had it restored in 2000. It has just over 66,000 miles on it now.

Hello together,
best Regards from Germany. I'am going with my '49 Super Sedanet and I'am member of a Pre 50s American Car Club. There's also a '48 Super Sedanet and a '50 Super Convertible. In the Internet I found a guy with the same car like mine and both our cars had the same pre-owner.
Buicks are also very popular in Belgum and the Netherlands.
Best wishes for christmas and a happy new year !:thumbsup:

I inherited a 1949 Buick roadmaster Convertible. It is completely restored and absolutely beautiful. I just had the fireball engine rebuilt. Everything on this car is perfect!!The only problem is the cowl tag on the fire wall is missing and I plan to sell the car.. It seems this is going to cause a problem as far as getting the value the car is actually worth. I have a company that can duplicate the cowl tag. I wonder if anyone can tell me the original number of my car using the vin number, and how many of these cars were manufactured.

Hi Guys,
I purchased my beautiful car during the summer through this site. I also just recently purchased a beautiful rebuilt 42 motor for the car through this site. That comes to me next Saturday. Through the H.A.M.B. a great guy removed the front mounts from his 42 parts car so that the 42 motor can be placed in the 48. There are very helpful people on these sites and I couldn't get done what I want to get done to the car without the help from these people. So thanks for helping to keep these great cars alive.
Regards, Eric

We have a 1937 Buick Special 4 dr...... Just got it in the shop about a month ago for a total restoration. My hubby & I are doing all the work ourselves & loving it! By next weekend it will be ready to come off the frame. So far it's coming apart very easy!

Greetings It's been a Buicks are 1st for a long time. 1939 Spec coupe from cousin for 25.oo @ 13 yrs old. Uncle dropped 15.oo off for putting 1600 bales of hay up in the barn loft one weekend, 1963. Currently gathering parts to restore 40 Roadmaster 2dr convert coupe. Have 2 '40 Super coupes in the storage bldg one rusty local car for parts one driver from Calif. Lotsa Parts cuz I found it better to buy whole cars than individual parts, then try to sell stuff I don't need to buy more stuff my wife says I don't need. Someday! Roadmaster frame is sitting on rottisserie blasted and painted. Gotta test another 320 dual carb engine I bought, won't be original with dual carbs, but fun. Great site, learned alot and keeps coming. Any Buick folks in MN get in touch or any on site for that matter. Happy to help if I can. Best Regards Greg J. 2-'40-56s, 1-'40-'76c, 1-'48-76s, 1-'47-70 flixble hrse, 1-'65 wldct 2dr ht-425", 1-'72 Sklark 2dr ht mild 455 t400sp, Rdmstr stick transmissions and parts 36-8 flr shifters and side shifts to approx '58, misc bells and flywheels and clutch pts and other 'Junk' as my wife calls it!

1938 Buick Special, four door trunkback touring sedan (model41) Dual sidemounts, driving lights, gangster black! completely stock. Bought it last August, been doing touch-ups through this winter; steering, wiring, headlights, parking/signal lights, some paint, re-do hood louvers/emblems, looking good! Just about time to switch cars around and bring the 57 Roadmaster down and put the 38 up on the hoist.

Well, I might as well throw in my two cents worth...I am the (proud?) owner of a cool black 1940 Series 80 Sedan with dual side mounts (think Bonny and Clyde). I purchased it in El Paso, TX and drove it back to St. Helena, CA in the Napa Valley. The trip was a gas...so to speak, as the exhaust manifold gasket gave out early in the trip. A look at the exhaust manifold showed it was more like swiss cheese so there was no option but to open all the windows, put in ear plugs and press on! Fortunately, it was a nice time of the year and the weather was just fine for an open window cruise. About 100 miles into the trip the speedometer died but that was really no problem because we had discovered that if we exceeded 54 MPH, the front wheels started to shimmy so bad that our fillings came loose. Actually, the trip was fun and makes for lots of stories for the grand kids. Now that the car is home, it is undergoing a complete mechanical makeover. I purchased a 1949 core engine and am doing a major up grade of it. Four carb manifold, headers, cam, polished ports, big valves, custom 9 to 1 pistons, etc. The engine is going together right now and will be running on the test stand within a couple of weeks. A Fat Man Fabricators complete front clip has been ordered to give me disk brakes, power steering and a more modern handling package. Also on tap is air conditioning (two units due to length of cabin), all modern wiring and gauges and new floor carpet. The original uphoulstry is actually pretty good as well as the black paint so I plan to leave them alone for the present time. If any of you have some good experience to pass on...I am looking for suggestions. email me at: presten@comcast.net

I have a metallic green 49 buick super 8 4dr. It has 51k miles on it and so far I've changed all the doors (the old ones were pretty gone), I've replaced the front knee shocks, it's been changed over to a twelve volt electronic ignition system, uhh It has a fuel cell now ha, It has a new headliner and soon to be re-upholsted seats. Thats pretty much it so far but it's coming along.

I have a 1940 special 2dr mod 46-s and I plan to do some mods
so far I have a 364 with a tri power :D I have a 4 speed and it will be on the tree and started do the mod on the front end like the tech on the 53 fireball on here . all it needs as for the body is floor pans and thats it so far.

Hello, yesterday 30 may, I buy a Buick 41 from 1937. I live in the Netherlands and I look many years for a pre war Buick. I must lurn a lot about this cars and I will try to use the car everyday.
In the Netherlands are not so many pre war Buick's and I don't now peoples who used the car as a daily driver, but I try it.

It's nice to see that there is a Buick forum. I hope that I lurn a lot here.

Greetings, Erwin.

I'm new to Team Buick. I learned about the site through the Riviera Owner's Association. I have a 1922 Model 46 coupe, in original, unrestored condition. I owned the car from 1963 to 1971, and bought it back in June of 2008. It is the smaller of the two six cylinder coupes offered in 1922. The body is sound, the wood is good, and the interior is rough (rat damage). It is a confirmed numbers matching car. I also own a 1965 and a 1984 Riviera, and in the 1980's owned a 1948 Super 56-S.

I have a 1948 Buick Special with the stock drive train with some minor modifications like airride. Here’s a photo.

http://gbg-pop.pixbox.se/arkivet/synligt_33/27950000-27959999/640x480/27951408.jpg?0