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Y-Job


Y-JobFan

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Interesting. by 1941 a 1938 build that had traveled with a lot of exposure may have been due for some extensive touch up. That black paint could have looked quite stodgy next to the Chrysler Newport and Thunderbolt. I could see Art & Color squirting a coat of silver or bronze on the car as an update. It would be nice to see a detailed history of the car.

 

My Wife and I went into that little building on the Sloan site during the 2003 Nationals. I wasn't left with the feeling GM put their older samples on pedestals. In any corporate setting an extra effort has to be championed to preserve history. The Y Job's life in the '50's and '60's would be very interesting Anyone have documentation?

 

"Our stockholders want out resources put into new products and our future" is what I heard from a company associated with GM. That broad policy excludes a lot of things from happening. And some pretty good history to be lost. Thank goodness for the hobbyists.

Bernie

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That was my thoughts that it was Sprayed for a particular show or string of shows to give it some new pizazz.  It is still wearing the original bumpers but the fender skirts are added, so in the midst of it's update seems logical.  These are the only 2 photo's I have found showing it in this color.  

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Thinking about it, there are some large expanses of compound curves for the builders to be brave enough to paint that car black originally. When you look at custom bodied cars of the Art Deco period you see a lot of light pastels that are good for hiding flawed bodywork. It makes me wonder just how much lead was under those first coats. I know they were good at pouring the lead on, and not afraid to make lap joints. A history of the past maintenance would be interesting.

Typically colors would be used to focus the admirer's vision. I have a friend who uses the term "circus wagon colors" for the customs of the time. The pale blue car with bright red wheels was a car to be absorbed all at once, not in detail. So black would be an exception. A nice lighter color would cover a lot as the car aged, as it is said the car was driven through the 1940's.

Where was it in the '50's and early '60's? Did it make public appearances?

 

In my 1973 Crestline Seventy Years of Buick, George Dammann writes that it is a 1939 release, built on a 1938 chassis and that it has been rebuilt many times since its first introduction. At the time of that writing the car was just over 30 years old and in the possession of the Sloan Museum. Sounds a little like that homeless 30 year old Reatta convertible recently discussed on the forum.

 

I can't quite remember when it resurfaced for its current term of popularity.

Bernie

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Had not thought about color changes, but aren't there some videos of Harley driving it and it wasn't black?  Back when it was his daily-driver?  Or am I thinking of the '51 LeSabre?

 

A Google search of videos yielded a 2017 video where some of GM's young designers are talking about the Y-Job.  There's a newspaper account of the car, when it was finished, and it's very black in its appearance.  A neat 2 minutes.  One of the cars on the picture wall is the artist's rendering of the Avista concept car.

 

NTX5467

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Supposedly, it was parked at GM in 1951 when the LeSabre came out. The next time it popped up was after the Ford Museum restored it in '93. Ford might be a good source for pictures and notes that has been overlooked. I would have documented the colors I found. Any guys from the Ford shop still around?

I would also be interested to get a look at the frame and see if it is a shortened Roadmaster or a lengthened Century. Either would have the 320 engine. Undocumented stories get a little distorted over the years. Not just cars, I am still trying to figure out where my Sister grew up!

Bernie

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