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1936 model 66-S, OH WOW! (not mine)


Pete Phillips

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Will someone please gather up some drooling towels and send them my way fast?! I can't keep up with the drool coming out of my mouth. 1936 Century rumble seat sport coupe with dual sidemounts and Trippe lights...!!! Does it get any better than that? Knock me over with a feather and roll me down the drainage ditch.

Everything on this car looks 100% correct. WOW! (not mine and have no connection to it, and it's beyond my budget, but oh, what a gorgeous Pre-War Buick). Here's the link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Buick-Century-Sport-Coupe-1936-Buick-Century-Sport-Coupe-/251527077208?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3a902e9d58&item=251527077208&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

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Yep, nice model.

Couple of puzzles - headlights are wrong ( should be larger and have stainless trim on top - those on it are from a Special ) and carby and intake manifold are wrong. Carby is probably from a later model, not sure year of intake manifold but it should have the starter switch fitted horizontally at the rear.

Easy stuff to rectify, interesting to see if it hits reserve.

post-31244-143142505787_thumb.jpg

post-31244-14314250579_thumb.jpg

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I need some educating about 36 Century's ...........looks like a Special to me with the Vacuum starter set up and air cleaner for a special.I assume the Century front end should be longer than the Special but this car to me looks like a Special.

What defines it as a Century?

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Well I wasn't game to say it thinking an experienced seller wouldn't misrepresent a Special as a Century but I think Ben, Gunner and Brian are correct - this car is a Special model 46S.

I emailed the seller to post a photo of the ID plate but no response yet.

Unfortunately most of the details that determine the difference aren't shown in most of the photos.

Ben is correct, 1936 Century motors run a 3 piece exhaust manifold.

Gunner is correct, the car is running a 40 Series 3 mounting bolt carb and therefore a 40 Series intake manifold.

Brian is correct - the vacuum starter switch is situated in the wrong place ( correct for 40 Series )

It's always difficult to differentiate between a 233 motor ( 1934/35 & 36 ) and a 1936 320 engine in photographs. We tend to forget the 233 motor was really the prototype of both the later 248 and 320 engines.

The chassis, suspension, springs, spring shackles, shock absorbers on the 1936 Century are heavier and larger than on the Series 40, in fact the suspension components, rear end and steering are 80 Series.

So that ends the myth that a 1936 Century is just a 320 motor and gearbox stuffed into a 40 Series car ( this may be the case in later years, but certainly not 1936 ). The 1936 Century is really more like a short wheelbase 80 Series.

The body however from the firewall back is essentially the same as a 40 Series.

A couple more points that suggest this is a 40 Series coupe.

Crankcase vent on 40 series is at rear on manifold side, 60 Series at front on manifold side.

Generator has 40 Series regulator.

Accelerator linkages all appear 40 Series.

Gear shift lever has 40 Series style rubber boot - on a 60 Series the top of the gearbox protrudes into the cab and a rubber boot like this won't fit on.

60 Series run 15" wheels which aren't interchangeable ( different stud pattern ) with the 40 Series 16" but I can't really tell from the photos what size these wheels are.

I suggest a couple of you US based members request some detail from the ID plate from the seller - surprising he hasn't included it in his photos as I can see it on the firewall.

So what would be the difference in value between a 1936 46S and a 1936 66S?

Still a nice car but the seller really needs to represent it as what it is.

Edited by 50jetback (see edit history)
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I suspect there is quite a difference in value between a 1936 Special and 1936 Century. The Century gets all the credit for being a ground-breaking vehicle with over 100 HP, goes over 100 MPH, etc. My old uncle Mo calls the 1936 Century the first factory muscle car, intended to go fast by putting a bigger engine into a smaller body. The Special cannot claim any of these titles, so therefore should be less value.

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I can't help but wonder if bidders are aware. The seller told me that based on the previous owner, and info he found in his research that he is not going to call it a SPECIAL. He says title only states it is a 2-door car.

I researched the sellers eBay feedback, and it's 94.5 percent, one negative, buyer claims car was NOT as was stated.

Dale in Indy

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If you look at the photos you can see a couple of copies of the Buick Bugle - one on the rear ledge is the August 2011 ( dedicated 1936 issue ) and the other ( on the seat ) is June 2012 issue which features a 1936 Century Sport Coupe.

These 2 magazines have more than enough information to correctly identify this car. The seller has obviously studied these magazines as he uses part of the cover story of the June 2012 issue as his preamble

1936 was the first year that Buick used the Century Model name...The name was attributed to the car's top speed of 100 mph...This was achieved in the lighter and smaller 40-series body, but with the large 80-90 series Str-8 engine...The engine displaces 320 cubic inches and developed 120 hp...

He has now declared the details on the ID tag which also identifies the car as a Special, not a Century.

As to value - I would suggest a Special 46S would be worth maybe only half of what one could expect for a Century 66S.

The vehicle has now been withdrawn from sale due to a listing error.

If this car is relisted correctly as a Special I'm sure it will sell, but not at the price the seller was hoping for when he believed it was a Century!

I did get the following response to my suggestion he post a photo of the ID plate on his listing

Dear 50jetback,

give me a call at 734-241-9403...I will send it direct...Thanks...

Edited by 50jetback
add response (see edit history)
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the ad has been deleted with this message

This listing was ended by the seller because there was an error in the listing.
____On May-12-14 at 07:39:44 PDT, seller added the following information:Please Note...After some inquiries regarding Model--(Special or Century)....By all means we do not want to misrepresent a car or model but we made our decision based on past owners and certain reference books...

Data...Plate...

1936...Buick...

Model-46S-R...

Style 36-4457...

Trim 246...

Paint 420...

Vin #2926507

Wheel Base is 118...When we checked more references we came up with conflicting info...With the information posted, hopefully you can make your choice...____

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Guest Shanghailander

Dammann's book Seventy Years of Buick has a photo of this model car (Special Sport Coupe) on page 162. Special Series for that year used a 118 inch wheelbase,

versus the Century's 112 inch wheelbase, and 320 cid engine.

I was surprised to see that there is no trunk behind the rumble seat. Looks like you would be hard pressed to find space for a suitcase in this vehicle - there appears to

be no space behind the seat, either.

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Re-listed with correct information and ID.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Buick-Other-Coupe-1936-buick-dual-side-mount-rumble-seat-coupe-/251529431918?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3a90528b6e&item=251529431918&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

No mention of Century ( or Special ) but including the wheelbase and model 46S clearly identify it as a Special this time round.

Could be stretching it a bit maintaining the $25000 reserve!

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The bidding is now at an even 25k, seller stated reserve was such in his listing .

High bidder has bid the last 10 bids, and has ZERO feedback.

Less than a day left in bidding.

Dale in Indy

That 0 feedback bidder looks like a shill to me.

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Well, it's posted as 'SOLD. ' If it was a set-up, the seller will have to pay the fees, unless somehow the buyer DOESN'T come up with funds.

Buyer must have really wanted the car. $25,000.00 for a Special, I guess somewhat rare, but NOT like the Century would have been, IMO.

Dale in Indy

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My guess is the "buyer" won't be able to pay, and the car will be back on eBay. An interesting marketing strategy, though. Advertise a relatively common car as a rare one, then, when found out, have a shill bid the car up to a ridiculous level and wait to see if anyone's silly enough to top the shill's bid.

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Now this is interesting

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/buick/60/1648440.html

This really is a Century - just look at the size of those chassis rails.

Some expensive work done but the traditional " basket case ". Price is probably in the ball park, just needs someone with the mid 30's Buick knowledge and some carpentry skills to tackle this. The main sills and floor are easy enough to do, the more difficult areas are the doors and he doesn't tell us the condition of that area.

Pete Phillips - I think this is for you - plenty of advice available from 36 owners on this Forum and you could have that on the road real quick.

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  • 1 month later...

Jumping in late here, and correct me if I'm wrong, but the seller has to pay eBay 10% of the sale price, so really he's getting $22,500, not $25K.

What I'd really be more interested in know is what is the turqoise/white convertible in the background of the 3/4 rear picture he has posted? Is that the '55/'56 convertible I'm looking for?

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