'28 or '29 Buick for P2P Rally Advice Please

[C Carl]

Under General heading at the top of forums is a guy looking for an appropriate car for the 2019 Peking to Paris Rally. I know some of you don't stray far from Buick forums , but the gentleman is considering a '28 or '29 Buick which has already had extensive prep work in England. I am sure he would benefit greatly from your collective expertise. Please check out the discussion, and the link to the Buick.  Thanks , Carl

[C Carl]

The gentleman is from Belgium , speakes and writes English fluently. Still , at times there are MIS-understandings. I know you guys are great teachers , so you will understand.  - Carl

[Thriller]

Is that the 1929 known as Benson?  It has been written up fairly extensively in the Silver Anniversary Buick Club Newsletter. I don't recall details, but it has gone through a few long distance rallies although I don't recall if all were completed. 

 

One could do do much worse than choosing a 1929 Buick. 

 

[C Carl]

HI Derek , take a look at the red '29 through the "rps" link provided in post #108 on page 5 under the above referenced topic. I infer that this is a fresh "sister" to a previous rally veteran. In the header above the red Buick , click on "Car Sales" , next on "Cars Sold". You will see an impressive gallery of testimony to rps footprint in the hobby. One of the sold cars is a blue-green '29 Buick with rally history. That may be the car you refer to. If in fact this is the ancestor of the red '29 , you and we all know how the second iteration of any project benefits greatly from the prototype. Quite interesting , and I know Patrick is in the best of hands with you Buick guys. The help we are giving in purchasing the right car , and then with tech help to follow , will really give us all a "foot in the door" as we root for Patrick's team. Keep up the good work , all !  On behalf of Patrick , hopefully to chime in here soon (difficult as it must be to write long participation in a foreign language) , thank you  -  Carl 

Edited March 26, 2017 by C Carl
Clarification (see edit history)

[C Carl]

On March 25, 2017 at 2:01 PM, Thriller said:

Is that the 1929 known as Benson?  It has been written up fairly extensively in the Silver Anniversary Buick Club Newsletter. I don't recall details, but it has gone through a few long distance rallies although I don't recall if all were completed. 

 

One could do do much worse than choosing a 1929 Buick. 

 

 

Suspicions confirmed , Derek. rps did prepare "Benson" which did finish P2P 2010 for Tim Wilkinson. If you go back to the rps presentation referenced above , click on "About Us" in the header. Then click "Testimonials". You will find "Benson". Tap the pic for a short accolade. I wonder how the current red '29 stacks up. It was purchased in 2012 , and went through an extensive 4 year preparation by the same rps , apparently. Is it "Benson 2.0" ? "Benson Lite"? I am quite curious. Patrick is gallantly pursuing a mount , I wish I could be there to patiently help interpret some of the understandable dropouts due to somewhat less than 100% comprehension of English. I sympathize with him , as I speak Spanish better than I understand it. That is quite common at a high level of fluency , which falls far short of bilingualism. I had the sweetest South American girlfriend In the world back 40 years ago. When she and I spoke together , I understood fully everything she said. When she and her sister got to talking between themselves, it was difficult to follow , and there were dropouts. 

 

If if this red '29 is "Benson 2.0" , Patrick should not miss the opportunity and purchase it. He seems to be somewhat cost conscious on one hand , but on the other he seems to want to buy a very nice car which has been prepared/preserved for another purpose entirely. Then to pump massive amounts of time and money into trying to "change its spots". I would think there would be a very high ceiling to climb towards if his team wants to pump time and money into the Buick. You could machine up a set of hubs to carry modern wheels capable of carrying state of the art high performance off road radial tires and disc brakes. Fabricate cycle fenders , and a real trick set up to carry the modern much wider sidemounted tires. Engineer up a new set of springs with a progressive spring rate to match the tires and conditions to be encountered. Fabricate shock towers to properly tame the new springs and loads. In my long ago youth , I was a terrifyingly fast off road driver , in a variety of vehicles stock , and modified. 2 and 4 wheel drive. Set a couple speed records considered impossible on unpaved South American roads. Was the driver of choice for some U.S. and British embassy Andean "Joint Jaunts". I know how important it is to be able to tune tire pressures to your suspension and road conditions to achieve a "Float Speed" off pavement. Want to spend more ? Properly convert to an open driveline and plug in a 5 speed overdrive transmission. New rear end ? Lighten the unsprung weight with re-designed suspension ? And then you would have about the same amount of money in a superior , more sophisticated vehicle than you would have in an a previously totally unprepared boulevard cruiser which just does not have the same "cool factor". And study up : if you want to spend more money yet , go check out some of the off road racers that only slightly retain a hint of the original donor. Got 2 or 3 hundred grand to burn ? I am sure there is a way. OH , AND I WILL ASK YOU PRE-WAR BUICK SPECIALISTS WHAT TO DO WITH THE ENGINE. I know you know.

 

Oh boy. I better hang up now . Way too late again.  - Carl

Edited March 27, 2017 by C Carl
Word transplant (see edit history)

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Dang, C Carl, I enjoy your posts. Sitting and visiting would be so much "fun".!  

 

  Carry on

  Ben

[Patrick De]

On 25-3-2017 at 10:01 PM, Thriller said:

Is that the 1929 known as Benson?  It has been written up fairly extensively in the Silver Anniversary Buick Club Newsletter. I don't recall details, but it has gone through a few long distance rallies although I don't recall if all were completed. 

 

One could do do much worse than choosing a 1929 Buick. 

 

 

Hi Derek,

 

Benson was the 1929 Buick he drove in the 2010 P2P and which he sold in 2011 to New Zealand. See http://www.pekingparis1929buick.co.uk/?page_id=1313

Jock Burridge, the new owner, drove than the 2013 P2P with it.

The 1929 Buick 25 which is now for sale is another one, but from the same owner who drove the 2010 P2P.

He is now on holiday, and we will speak soon.

 

One could do better than choosing a 1929 Buick?

What are the advantages of this car - for this endurance rally - according to you?

 

Thanks in advance for your reply.

[Patrick De]

9 hours ago, C Carl said:

 

Suspicions confirmed , Derek. rps did prepare "Benson" which did finish P2P 2010 for Tim Wilkinson. If you go back to the rps presentation referenced above , click on "About Us" in the header. Then click "Testimonials". You will find "Benson". Tap the pic for a short accolade. I wonder how the current red '29 stacks up. It was purchased in 2012 , and went through an extensive 4 year preparation by the same rps , apparently. Is it "Benson 2.0" ? "Benson Lite"? I am quite curious. Patrick is gallantly pursuing a mount , I wish I could be there to patiently help interpret some of the understandable dropouts due to somewhat less than 100% comprehension of English. I sympathize with him , as I speak Spanish better than I understand it. That is quite common at a high level of fluency , which falls far short of bilingualism. I had the sweetest South American girlfriend In the world back 40 years ago. When she and I spoke together , I understood fully everything she said. When she and her sister got to talking between themselves, it was difficult to follow , and there were dropouts. 

 

If if this red '29 is "Benson 2.0" , Patrick should not miss the opportunity and purchase it. He seems to be somewhat cost conscious on one hand , but on the other he seems to want to buy a very nice car which has been prepared/preserved for another purpose entirely. Then to pump massive amounts of time and money into trying to "change its spots". I would think there would be a very high ceiling to climb towards if his team wants to pump time and money into the Buick. You could machine up a set of hubs to carry modern wheels capable of carrying state of the art high performance off road radial tires and disc brakes. Fabricate cycle fenders , and a real trick set up to carry the modern much wider sidemounted tires. Engineer up a new set of springs with a progressive spring rate to match the tires and conditions to be encountered. Fabricate shock towers to properly tame the new springs and loads. In my long ago youth , I was a terrifyingly fast off road driver , in a variety of vehicles stock , and modified. 2 and 4 wheel drive. Set a couple speed records considered impossible on unpaved South American roads. Was the driver of choice for some U.S. and British embassy Andean "Joint Jaunts". I know how important it is to be able to tune tire pressures to your suspension and road conditions to achieve a "Float Speed" off pavement. Want to spend more ? Properly convert to an open driveline and plug in a 5 speed overdrive transmission. New rear end ? Lighten the unsprung weight with re-designed suspension ? And then you would have about the same amount of money in a superior , more sophisticated vehicle than you would have in an a previously totally unprepared boulevard cruiser which just does not have the same "cool factor". And study up : if you want to spend more money yet , go check out some of the off road racers that only slightly retain a hint of the original donor. Got 2 or 3 hundred grand to burn ? I am sure there is a way. OH , AND I WILL ASK YOU PRE-WAR BUICK SPECIALISTS WHAT TO DO WITH THE ENGINE. I know you know.

 

Oh boy. I better hang up now . Way too late again.  - Carl

 

Ooops Carl,

 

I answered on post #3 without seeing your 2 posts. Sorry! 

In the next few days I'm going to hear Tim and than a lot of questions are going to be answered.

Short in time now.

I'll phone you after having spoken to Tim.

[Thriller]

I really can't do justice to your question. My car is under restoration, so I haven't put any miles on in a 1929 myself. About all I know is that '29s have been used in a number or rallies. Bill McLaughlin, who publishes a newsletter on 1929 Buicks, puts a lot of miles on his car.