BuickBob49

Also, "All Through the Night," with Bogart. Lots of late 1930s and early 1940s Buick Limiteds and other Buicks. Both movies came from Warner Brothers.

I bought the AC strainer from Bob's years ago in case I broke my Carter strainer. It's on the shelf as a back up.

Pete, Bob's has a complete inline AC strainer with an accordian filter, GF-406. It is a repro. My 49 Super has an inline CARbureTER fuel strainer. (See attached photo.) I believe it to be original. Yet the carb is a Stromberg. Parts bin. Hmm. I do need to straighten up the strainer and repaint the cap in red. (Can anyone recommend the proper Red shade?) Bob

Here's a photo of the "K" heater in my 1939 Roadmaster. Barney, thanks for including the literature showing the hose routing!

Matt, what a great car! A member of our local BCA chapter regularly took his restored 1941 Limited on regional CCCA CARavans. Three comments: 1) I was under the impression that Buick straight eights had a characteristic drone or moan at highway speeds. My 1949 Super finally achieved it when I installed the correct long muffler. 2) Did you consider using a pastry bag for the corn head grease? 3) The oil bath air cleaners are great! The only drawback is if your car backfires through the carburetor. It is like blowing through a straw into a milkshake; the oil blurps out through the air cleaner at the bottom and sprays the engine compartment. Short of owning a Limited like yours, I enjoy driving my 1939 Roadmaster whenever I can. It is well appointed and cruises effortlessly at 60 mph. What a fun "near luxury" car to drive, and it fits in my in-tandem garage! Bob

For comparisons sake, there is a fully restored one at charvetclassiccars.com in Lake Oswego, Oregon, for $44,500. It is outside of Portland. Wow!

I bough a quart of engine paint from Hirsch and asked my neighborhood paint store to put some in a rattle can for me. It worked well when I repainted the spark plug cover on my 39 Roadmaster. The store's fee to put the paint in a rattle can was very reasonable, and I still have quite a bit of paint in the quart can for future use. They did the same thing for me a few years ago when I needed to paint a drawer front in my kitchen with some oil enamel paint. No brush strokes to worry about!

Any updates on your Buick?

Matt, I quit the hem and haw routine five years ago when I made the decision to send the earnest money check to purchase the late David Corbin's 1939 Roadmaster 81. I've never looked back. What a companion car to my 1949 Super 51--one that I've owned since 1978. I truly have fun with both of them. We all have a limited time on Earth to enjoy these cars!

Six years ago, my mechanic and I replaced the rope rear seal on my 1949 Super 51 during a minor engine rebuild/clutch job because it was leaking. We used a neoprene seal instead of a rope seal. The neoprene seal started leaking a few years later. I'm back to living with a chattery clutch just like what I had before the rebuild.

Maybe your alarm system has issues. Do the lights flash when you lock the doors with the fob, meaning that the system is armed? The battery back up on the alarm system in my 2001 SAAB 9-5 wagon was failing. It caused the alarm to go off on its own once in a while. A new back-up battery cured the problem.

I had the same problem with the green cutoff switch on my '39 Roadmaster. In fact, it died at an intersection one day because of the cutout switch. I removed it and the engine spins much faster now.

Matt, great story about your recent trip! The transmission in my 1939 Roadmaster whines from 50 mph and up. My mechanic, who is 80+ and has worked on these old Buicks since he was 16, tells me that it is a typical sound associated with gear pitch. This is after he installed NOS gears a few years ago. The car has a sweet spot at about 60 mph. (See the cover story in the March 2019 issue of the "Buick Bugle" for more info on the Roadmaster.) When I start out from a stop in that car, it has a noticable transmission whine, not unlike what you hear in the movie 'The Sting," when Robert Shaw's mid-1930s Pierce Arrow starts out from a stop. My 1949 Super is somewhat different. You hear a much less pronounced gear whine from the transmission at start out, and it is noiseless at higher speeds. (Different transmission.) I finally installed the correct long muffler on that car a few years ago and now I hear what some describe as a characteristic Buick exhaust "moan" at 60-65 mph. (It had a much shorter muffler on it for two decades, and I never heard that sound, then.) Happy Motoring! Bob

Out here in the Pacific Northwest, I've been getting my old Buick batteries from Les Schwab Tire Centers for over twenty years. The 3EH costs less than the 2E and has more cranking amps, and the original hold-down frame and J-hooks work fine. If you are lucky enough to get the car down to one of their stores, they will install the battery at no charge. That saves you having to lift out that old, heavy battery and drop in the new one!

Get yourself a set of wide white American Classic 8.20R15 radials and you are ready to cruise in style! (See the photo of my 1949 Super that I've owned since 1978.) I've had American Classic 7.60R15s on it since 2014. They're great! They look very much like the original old U.S. Royal 7.60 x 15s that came with the car. Same size white wall. Great ride at 65 mph down the freeway.

My neighbor's four outdoor cats keep the rodent population in check. The cats always make a beeline for the garage when the door is open. Years ago, I stored my 1949 Super in a friend's barn. Never a problem there because the resident barn owl was always on the watch for food!

Priceless! I just rode in a good friend's 1954 Skylark on Saturday. Wow! Again, priceless!

I set the low idle on my 1949 Super at 450 rpm. It helps! (My mechanics over the years--the 41 years that I've owned the car--always set it up too high and I always turn it back down.) Also, be an "active driver" and watch the signal light sequence. That way, you can anticipate when you will get the green light. Shortly before, put your foot on the clutch. Then you can shift into first effortlessly without a grind. I also catch a synchro from second if I am not prepared. My 1939 Roadmaster has an older transmission design and has the one-year cable mechanism. The second gear synchro trick doesn't work as well. Interestingly, the gear teeth must be quite different than those on the Super. I can actually feel the teeth in the shifter on the Roadmaster if I must shift quickly. Maybe fewer teeth. Good Luck and Happy Motoring!

On my 1939 Roadmaster, I have two switches mounted on the bottom of the dash. The left one operates the Trippe lights; the right one operates the heater. They maybe aftermarket, but they are definitely period Art Deco/Moderne. They don't light up.

Boyer's Restorations in Pennsylvania.

Pete, March isn't all doom and gloom. Your March 2019 issue of the Buick Bugle, featuring model year 1939, was a real triumph! I look forward to what you have in store for us for upcoming issues.

Please take photos of the cowl tags for the Special and the Limited (separate thread). You will find them on the passenger side of the engine compartment on the firewall. Here is a photo of the cowl tag on my 1939 Roadmaster for reference.

Throttle linkage?

I had my 39 Roadmaster out for a drive this afternoon (starting the weekend early). It was 50 degrees and sunny in Portland. Much different from the snowy winter weather that we had earlier in the week!

I just had my 39 Roadmaster out for a drive this afternoon in Portland. It was about 40 degrees and the heater kept the cabin nice and warm. Here's a photo of the heater.