dibarlaw

I will be inspecting and driving a 1925 model 25 this saturday. From the pictures I was sent it looks like a well taken care of older restoration. The only problem stated was that the clutch needed adjusted. The gentelman selling the car sent this. "I feel that is all that is needed for the clutch. If you start the car in neutral, you then have trouble putting it in gear. If you start the car in gear , it will grab and move and shifting is not an issue. . The car drives quite nicely." I have checked my"BUICK technical tips" book and there is nothing on what symptoms require clutch adjustment. Just on rebuilding. I know that if I get this car I would get a shop manual to help with my own maintainence. But I would like to know what I might be getting into. Larry

Thanks Tom: The pair look quite nice. This fourm has given us many options for a car. Thanks to all who have been posting with leads. But in the meantime we are scheduled to drive up to Ogdensburg NY on friday, to look at a pretty nice 1925 model 25 "6"standard touring. This car does seem to fit the bill and is in our budget. I will send you an e-mail so I can attach a phototo see what you may think. I was on the petrolina website for over 6 months before I was able to post photos. If this falls through I will be open to the pair you have. Larry

Thanks Mike: I will try again to reach Paul. I see that the 1917 Buick D-45 in the R&M auction sold for $19,250. Now that was in our price range. I was just afraid of the $150 bidders fee and buyers premium and then tax! Larry

Thanks Mike I might try your lead. But I believe it would be more of a 4 or 5 day drive for me from South central Pa. I stopped at the hospitality tent at Hershey and got several more leads. A 1923 model 45. The trouble is it's in Texas. There was a local (York Pa.)1918 Model 35 4 cyl which was very nice. But not $29,000 worth, though I prefer the "6". There was a partial restoration 1924 Sport Touring? Looked more like a model 45 with 2 tone green paint. With a freshly ripped new top from the trailering to the corral. I asked the new overseas owners what they paid .. $24,000. The dealer from Springfield Ohio was asking $29,500 on line. The 1914 B-37 I drove in NY last saturday was sold at the corral. I know that the owners would not take less than $18,500 and went to a gentelman in NJ. In the car show I was given a lead on a 1919 H-45 .. But in Florida. Amazingly the car that started this quest, the 23 model 54. I found a duplicate in the car show. A totally original unrestored complete survivor from Va. The conversation I had with the owner was delightful. He is now a new member of the BCA. Over all it was a great experience, but the quest continues! Larry

Checked out the 33. But we are still looking for an open car, teens thur late 20s. Tonight we met with the 1914 B-37 owners at the Hershey car corral. (Since we live a little over an hour away). They had just sold it to a gentelman from New Jersey. The only other of interest to us was a 1924 "Sport Touring" At least it was painted the 2 tone green. Looked to be a partial nearly complete restoration. Missing Parts. I believe I saw the same one on line with a dealer out of Springfield Ohio. But it was late and no one around to verify. Anyway there was a sold card on it. Along with about an 18"square of the of top torn out at the rear. We will check back on saturday. The "QUEST" continues!

Update on our experiences. The new quest was for a 1914 B-37 advertised in the AACA Buy/Sell. We made arrangements to see and drive the B-37 last saturday. The owners were a very nice couple and were extremly courtious to my wife and I. In this case the photos were better than the car. Hardly any uhpolstry left at all. Very nice top and boot. Nice older white wall tires. Very poor old black paint. Passenger side front fender had some damage. Electric fuel pump. Undecarrage had been painted red. But seemed mostly original. Well we came to test out the car. The Buick started easily, and as the husband showed me the things that had been repaired I waited for the engine to get to operating temp(to check for leaks). We all piled in and took off down the road. He said he had never had it out of 1st gear! Was afraid of ruining the gears. About a half mile down the road we switched drivers. The clutch engaged fairly smooth and had no problem getting thru all 3 speeds without clashing. We were delighted! Then I turned it around in their driveway and backed it into the garage and parked. The ladies disembarked from the back seat. As I sat still listening to the engine the ladies franticly called for me to shut it off! Coolant was pouring from the bottom of the radiator. Another big expence! We noted the flaws and made an offer reflective of the condition. More than the price guides quoted. They said they had several offers at the same price. Since they were planning to take it to the Hershey car coral at their original asking price. We said we would think about it on the 6 hr drive home. They had bought the car at the 2005 Hershey meet and admitedly overpaid "an impulse buy". The wife was the owner and originaly had hopes of the husband restoring the car. They did not want to take less than they paid in 2005. I increased my offer when we got back home. But we could not get together. So now it is in the car coral again. So we are still looking for that driver Buick.

I am going to check out a 1914 B-37 this weekend. From the photos it looks very complete and fairly original. With a very old repaint and original(disintigrated) leather uhpolstry. Any help on what to look out for on this particular car? The starter has been repaired, rear axle seals replaced and the brakes relined. It has an electric fuel pump but I believe the vacuum tank is still in place. The owner said that they run and drive it a bit but has never attempted to take it out of first gear! Just down the street or around the block. He said he doesn't feel comfortable about double-clutching.

Have sent e-mail .See my post on the Buick Prewar Forum.. "Looking for a driver Buick"

Had anyone attended the Glenmoor gathering auction last saturday in Ohio? I had put in an offer to a local dealer for a 1927 Buick 128-54 sport roadster. But instead it was consigned to the auction. The only information was that it was not sold. I believe only 21 of about 100 cars show sold on the auction websight. The 27 md 54 still apears on the dealers websight @$32,900. For a worn number 3, 30+ year old restoration. I inquired to the dealer if it had sold and he has not responded. We have been looking for a good teens or 20s driver open touring prefered. This was our 3rd attempt, our first was outlined in a previous post. What I would like to know is what was it bid up to? Larry D

Seems to me all the nice 20s open cars come from Wisconsin and Minnesota. I hesitated and was lost trying to buy a great 25 model 45 touring out there.

The sport roadster was a pretty worn cond 3-4. A 49 year old restoration. Body paint was good. Fenders and splash aprons needed redone. Decent top & side curtains. Had a very serviceable original Spanish Grain leather upholstery and dash. The owner did state that it was driveable and ran well. While there I checked the radiator which was empty. Tires were also 49 years old. The underside showed many obvious leaks. When he tried to start it for me it seemed that he purposely flooded it to avoid me hearing it run. (Electric fuel pump). The previous owner had it stored for 15 years driving it only 3 times without doing any thing to it. His description "it would need a light serviceing" He came down $6,000 from his asking price of $26,500.

I have searched all my old Torque Tube mags and my shop manual. The shop manual states that the block drain is located at the rear most cylinder. I have felt all over the block and have found nothing that low for a drain out. Now the rear freeze plug is leaking. I thought I drained everything 20 years ago. But I guess not. Since I am starting to work on it again I need to pull the radiator and have it redone. It looked perfect the last time I ran the engine(1991) But time marches on.

I have a 37 model 41 that I have been working on for the last 24 years and not close to getting on the road. My wife and I wanted a 1920s or earlier touring so we could participate with our local club(Mason-Dixon). A good older restoration is our goal. We chased a few leads so far. The first was a 23 sport roadster located in Vermont. Well after 2 weeks of phone calls,e-mails and photos we agreed on a price and a pickup date to test drive and have a carrier bring the model 54 home. We called the owner thursday night to say we would see him the next morning. He said no problem that he would be around all day. We drove 6 hr from Chambersburg Pa.to my daughter's in CT. Stayed over night then 3hr to Fairlee Vermont. As we got closer we called him 4 times both cell and business numbers. No answer. We arrived at 11:45 am,his home was open as was 2 garage doors. In the garage he had a 23 Chevy coupe,a 23 Cadillac coupe, a 1920 Studebaker touring and a 20s Model T 2 door sedan. The 1923 Sport roadster was outside covered with a tarp. Around 1:00 we finally reached him. He said that he thought we were comming on saturday and that the car wasn't ready,but to take the tarp off and check it out and make ourselves at home. (It appeared to be exactly as shown in the descriptions.) That he had some things to take care of at the office(20 miles away) and he would be home shortly. 3 hours later with no hope of getting title work done he showed up. Needles to say my wife and I were more than upset. When I calmed down I told him I still wanted the car and had the money but the carrier could not pick up the car till the following week.(Sunday was hurricane Irene)! He then made excuses about the vacuum tank and the fueltank needing $1000 worth of work, even though he stated the car ran and drove well. Thanks but no thanks then 9 hr return drive. Learned that he bought the car last Aug. And he had the car listed for sale as early as Jan. Said he had too many cars and needed to downsize. So other Buick Club members be forewarned by our first failed attempt.