1951 Buick Special Deluxe

Hey Buick lovers,I bought this 51Special just a month back.It appears to be pretty solid.This is my first old car and i love it. The car runs fine but I may need to replace some gaskets, they seem to be leaking alittle from not running.I managed to get all the accesories working,radio,heater,clock and all the lights including the dash.So far the vaccum wipers are the only thing not working but I believe and hope it`s just the hoses. I want to keep the car in origonal condition but not sure what to do with the interior, the seat tops are dry rotted.I would like to enter it in some kind of show but I do have a few question. Since it is a 4 door is it worth entering? And what class would it fall under? It does appear to be all origonal.

I`ll send a few pics and would gladly listen to some advice.

Thanks Toolman53

Well Toolman, you have had the good fortune to come here, because this is the right place. Serb, on this forum, is closely attached to the

Buffalo Chapter of the Buick Club of America. That chapter has a lot of folks who have top quality cars and I'm sure they would love to make your acquaintance.

MEanwhile as to you direct question, I believe your car is certainly show material. First of all it's beautiful. Second it looks like it is mostly original and with minimal effort can be a gleaming example of Americana from 1951.

While I'm sure you'd find the production numbers to be high on this particular model, I bet you'd also find hardly any of them frequenting events in your area or in any of the local cruise ins. You see, Stick shift Buicks in this era are somewhat rare. So please do us all a favor and show that car when-ever and where-ever you can. I know I'd love to see it...

Best of luck.

JohnD1956,

Thanks for your encouragement and timely response. I`ll plan on following thru on showing the car.

Thanks again, Toolman53

Welcome aboard! That's a very nice car. It reminds me a bit of my rusty, dusty '52.

John is right - while many of these were originally produced, there aren't that many left, and there is something to be said for being unique. From the photos, I'd certainly show it off. Attending events and chatting with car folks is one of the most enjoyable parts of this hobby to me.

Consider bringing the car down to Iowa next summer for the Buick Club of America National Meet. We typically have a fun breakfast for forum members, as well as it being a generally Buickful time.

Toolman, nice find!!

As for the wiper motor, had mine rebuilt at Clean Sweep, Redmond ,OR. Ph# 541 923 4319.

Very satisfied.

Ben

FirstBorn,

Thanks, I started replacing the vaccum lines yesterday and their comming alive! I read that you can spray Marvel Mystery oil or WD40 into the lines and it sometimes free`s up the motor.

Very tight space to work on! The cables are covered in rubber; where do you lubricate them?

Thanks, Toolman53

Lubricate the wiper transmission cables where they loop over the pulleys under the dashboard. Lubricate the center of the pulley, too. Mineral oil, if you can find some, is good for lubricating the inside of the vacuum wiper motor. For rubber-sheathed cables, find the end that is highest, spray WD-40 on that end of the cable, and it will run down the inside of the cable via gravity. If you can't do that, then you have to remove the cables from the car, hang them upside down, and put lubricant onto the top of them.

Nice car, by the way.

I went to a local car show on Saturday near here, and was dismayed that only 10-15% of the 200 cars in the show were not street-rodded or modified in a major way. It was an all-makes show, and I only saw two Buicks in the whole show. So, you have something that not many other people have or even know about.

I got so depressed, that I didn't even stay for the end of the car show to see who won.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

Sherman, Texas

Thanks Pete, thanks for the info. I replaced all the hoses under the dash and also sprayed WD40 into the line going to the motor, after a few times of spraying they seem to be loosening up. I will try lubricating the cables the way you mentioned next.

I appreciate the thumbs up on the car. Up here in Buffalo there doesn`t seem to be that many late 40`s or early 50`s Buick's either, and we did go to quite a few shows over the summer. I to like seeing cars in all their originality as well, and plan on keeping my Buick as authentic as possible. All the members that replied to my post have been very helpful,Thank you all .

Toolman53

Hey Toolman, the insides of that wiper motor has a leather seal. What you need is something that would condition leather. And the lighter weight the better.

I believe that wd 40 is intended to dry things out. If this is true, you may find the wipers work initially after a spray, but you are drying out the leather, not conditioning it. Once it is dry, it won't seal right and those wipers may never work.

Here's one more thing. Try putting water on the windshield before putting the wipers on. On my 56 th wipers barely move across a dry windshield, but with water on the glass they work just fine.

Hi JohnD1956,

I did read about the Wd40 on a post here,also someone recomended using Marvel Mystery Oil, maybe I`ll give it a few shots of that and hope I didn`t make a bad mistake with the WD.

Your right about a wet windshield,they work much better wet. I didn`t take the wiper motor apart and hope I won`t have to. but my understanding is that there`s light grease in it that may have hardend with age or lack of use. I`ll try the Marvel.

Thanks, Toolman53

Hey Toolman,

Great Car.

I just noticed your post, I have not been on the forum a lot in the last week or so because my daughter got married last Saturday. I live in Lockport, give me a call tomorrow (Thurs) because I will probably not be home this evening. (433-7372) We have a 46 4 door Super. I am not the most mechanically minded individual but I may be able to help with a few things.

We have our chapter meetings the 2nd Wed of the month. If you would like to go, I will let you know where it will be. Right now we are rotating meeting places and I was not there for the Oct meeting so I have to wait for the newsletter to arrive in order to know where to go.

Stevo