The Puttering Begins

On Friday, I got the trailer at the farm and loaded the '29 up from its spot in the Buick Barn, and drove it back into the city. Yesterday, my co-worker Steve and Ewing were supposed to come by to help with a good old-fashioned Buick swap. Ewing mentioned to me today that he was sitting down having lunch when he recalled that he had agreed to help...about that time, Steve and I were sitting down for a coffee after having put in a couple good hours getting things dealt with.

So, it was Steve, Suzanne, and I left to move the cars. With the big wheels on the '29, it easily rolled off the trailer into the back alley...it certainly attracted a lot of attention while there, especially considering it was in a back alley. With the '56 on dollies, it was pretty easy to roll it out of the garage (downhill a bit helps) to roughly line it up with the trailer. Out comes the floor jack, and off the dollies comes the '56. We figured a spot to put a tow strap on and the power winch was put to work (that unit, while being a bit problematic early on, has been an excellent investment - consider I loaded the '29 by myself). We tied down the '56 and moved the truck and trailer onto the street so we weren't blocking the alley as much.

Then came the fun part...remember the '56 coming out easily due to being downhill? That's right...now the '29 goes uphill. When I had the garage built, I had them fabricate an anchor into the concrete...that was one of the smarter things I've done. A chain to the anchor, a come-along, and a chain to the '29 and away we went...2 to 3 feet at a time...block the wheels, re-do the come-along and chains. Once we got it up most of the slope of the apron outside the garage, we were able to push it a bit. Then out came the jack again, dollies were placed, and we pushed the car into the corner. This car is tall, but a bit shorter and considerably narrower than the '56, so I have more space in the garage.

Here's Steve taking a turn with the come-along.

And here's the car in its new home.

In amongst all this angst, Steve and I wondered why someone doesn't make a genuinely heavy duty come-along with more cable so that things don't bend out of shape as soon as you use it to move something like a car and be able to move something more than three feet at a time. I'd pay more for something like that, especially if its a backup for the 8500 lb 12V winch in the trailer. Getting off soap box and back to the story.

I wound up getting home today around 5:00 and wasn't in a good mood...so I figured beginning on the puttering would be good therapy...and I was right. I took apart the one sidemount from its holding place, taking a few photos.

The piece that sat on the outside of the sidemount has a bit of rot where it was in the fender well as does one end of the cover...sigh. It isn't bad though, and can't be seen when assembled. My thought is that I can make some space in the basement, and start working on taking apart the wheel and refinishing it over the winter.

While out there, I took a few more photos of the car.

Here's the emblem on the cover:

Here's a link to a Wikipedia entry about Frederick James Skinner, who ran the company until it was sold in 1929. Houdaille Industries is still in existence and still plates bumpers in Oshawa (or at least a subsidiary). Wes from the McLaughlin Buick Club of Canada was telling me about this at the Homecoming this past August. Thanks Wes. I've just started scratching the subject, but this looks pretty interesting. Based upon the sale of the company in 1929, and the existence of the company in the Oshawa area (Ganonoque, ON), as well as the tie-in with the carriage industry, I suspect this was either optional equipment from the factory, or at least was available as a dealer option. I would suspect that it made more sense to ship the covers already on the car though. At any rate, on this car, these were painted over the original chrome plating. I can't wait to have this car back to two tone green with black fenders and chromed sidemount covers.

Anyway, moving on, here's enough pedals to confuse today's youth, many of whom don't even know what a clutch is.

I'm not saying I have a full understanding myself, but I'll learn. I'm sure one of those on the right should be a starter pedal, correct?

Opening the rear door exposes an area of the door panel that didn't see much light nor wear, hence is considerably less faded...I like dark green.

Here's the left rear door sill...you don't see this sort of style or extra touch on today's cars.

Here's some of what the driver sees:

I presume the handle is a switch for the vacuum wipers on the car as the wiper motor is just outside the handle. Also, here's a closer shot of the preventive maintenance card.

Well, that should be a start. I have a variety of photos from when we first got the car. I'm sure I'll have more as I go along.

Oh, I pulled the crank handle out of the car and turned it over a bit. It turned over nicely with no obvious issues or bad noises.

Is there a limit to the number of photos in a post? Hopefully here are the last two.

Derek, we have a member here who has restored a 29. He did a phenominal job. From what I understand, it took him about 20 years to get it done....but most of it was spent not actively working on it.

These are really neat cars. I look forward to seeing progress on this one!

Thanks for taking those shots. I sure wish I could have one of those. And it will be exciting to see this car come back to it's rightful glory. Please keep taking and posting the pictures as you progress.

I'll keep posting, but I'm certain I'll progress somewhere between Adam on his '58 and the gentleman mentioned with the 20 year restoration.

I'm pretty excited about having it home right now. As you can see, there is no insulation in the garage...today was in the low 40s. I need to get going on cleaning the car up a bit and then removing some of the items I can do something with indoors before it gets too cold. If we get a bit of a warm spell though, I'm going to try to see if I can't perhaps see about it running...it ran before I got it, but has been sitting since. Old fuel is likely going to be my biggest enemy. Thankfully it's a small tank, so I ought to be able to drain it, and put some SeaFoam into the system.

There's so many neat things about this car. This should be fun...if it isn't, I'll take a break until it is again.

Very nice to see the detailed shots as you go including the parts laid out. It gives guys an idea of the parts they will have to look for if they need them. My compliments on the recording of the events.

Thanks...now if I didn't have this silly day job thing, I could do more and get more progress recorded

If you didn't have a silly day job you couldn't afford to finance your night job.

Derek,

I agree with Bill, if the night job was the only job, it wouldn't really be a "hobby job" Great photos!

Our buddy Bill McLaughlin in Toronto will be a big help to you on this restoration. If you don't already get his newsletter, you need to sign up.

My 29 now belongs to my son, but it took me over 10 years to get it done. Feel free to ask me anything about my 1929 restoration....

I don't know guys...why do you think I married my sugar momma? Problem is that I've been outspending the earning this year...soon though things will be much better.

Yes, Mark, I know Bill, get the newsletter, and have spent some time with him. I first met him in Rochester...for the MBCC meet this summer, he and his wife hosted a Friday BBQ.

The kids will mutiny if it takes me 10 years, unless there is work done on another car. Of course, in 10 years they will all presumably be driving...young Joseph even talks about which car(s) I'm supposed to give him when he grows up.

I know I'm not as patient as I should be...of course, if I could perhaps dedicate at least one evening a week to it, then I'm sure it would go quicker. Of course, that would require having a plan...I guess perhaps I should start working on that.

OK, so as to not slow down the loading of the page too much, I'm going to start using thumbnails - click on the photo to see a larger version.

This is hardly an update, but last night I picked up a wet / dry vacuum on sale since the one I normally would have used in the garage is now at the farm...the sacrifices I make. So, today I made use of it in the car and cleared all the stuff out of the interior of the car. Of the pieces I know were the running board trim for the driver's side, a scissor jack, a small box of assorted bits (some broken) and a box of mothballs...no wonder the smell wasn't lessening. So, today was just sort of tidying up a bit. At least it makes one feel good to do something.

Here's the battery box under the passenger floor boards.

In the front passenger sill area when I had the mat up, I saw "Fisher Body Corp" stamped into wood. It's a bit tough to make out in this photo though.

Here's the rear seat area after some cleaning up.

Finally, the forward view from the rear seat. I can honestly say I'd never noticed the ignition before...I figured the switch had to be somewhere. I like the fact that there is a sight box area where "Off" appears...presumably it switches to "On" when you turn the switch.

I'm content, considering the amount of time I spent today trying to keep MrEarl from liquidating half my fleet to pay for an interesting car....