neil morse

With the original Cord front fenders, I think the car looked very sharp and avant-garde without the running boards. When you mess up Gordon Buehrig's legendary design with that horrible front end, you might as well put the running boards back on! 😝

Thank you, Bob! That's a great new moniker for Don!

Wow, you've got a good eye, Matt! Yes, someone snagged those shots of my car at a "Cars and Coffee" event out at Ocean Beach on Sunday. Thanks for posting them.

As noted, the problem was taken care of by '41 -- maybe earlier, I don't know. On the '41, the dash light switch is wired through the headlight switch so it only has power when either the parking lights or headlights are on. (The dash light switch has three different intensities -- with the original incandescent bulbs I would say they range from "barely visible" to "hardly visible" to "Hey, is this thing on?" With LED bulbs, you lose the ability to vary the intensity, but they are quite bright.) There is also a separate map light on the '41. So maybe the problem in '38 was that they didn't want to pay for a separate circuit and switch for the map light.

Bloo and I posted at the same time.

I've heard that the reason is that they were concerned about the reflection of the dash lights off the windshield interfering with the driver's view of the road. In another thread about this, I remember someone posting that their father said never use your dash lights at night unless absolutely necessary. If you think about the way the flat windshield is angled back, this kind of makes sense. On my '41 there's a separate switch, but the dash lights only turn on if the headlights or parking lights are on. So as long as you turn your headlights off, you don't need to worry about the battery drain problem.

"This little gem!" 😄

Yes, and also a '54, a '50, and a '51-'52. It's a traffic jam of Buicks!

Until you rodent-proof your garage, you will continue to have problems with Micky and his friends. I've found the only way to cure the problem is to make it impossible for them to get inside whatever structure it is, and then make sure you kill all the ones that are already inside. Good luck with your project!

This seems like a lot of automobile for the price. I am familiar with the styling of the Kaiser cars, but I had never seen this Frazer model before and I find it quite attractive, particularly the rear end which has a Pininfarina look to me. It looks like it's well set up for comfortable cruising with power steering and power brakes and a very lush interior. And as has been said by others, you certainly will be driving something unique! I would be tempted by this if I were in the market and had this much to spend.

Update I'm happy to report that I got the new pipe from John at Waldron's and the new gaskets that he supplied as well. What a difference! The OD of the new pipe was 2.009. And most curiously, the doughnut gasket he supplied had an ID of 2.006. So a very snug fit indeed. I guess all 2" doughnut gaskets are not created equal, but that's quite a jump from the 2.049" doughnut that I got from Bob's Automobilia. Here's a shot of the pipe with the doughnut -- quite a difference from the earlier combination. I had ordered the Walker sealant recommended by @Bloo, which AutoZone said they had in stock. Turns out what I got was a "replacement" for the part number for the Walker sealant, something made by Yale Automotive. So I put it all back together today, using a coating of the "Muffler Cement" on the pipe where it fit into the doughnut. So far, so good. I can't hear any exhaust leak, but I'm quick to admit that I had trouble hearing the leaks in the first place. Both Don and Konrad heard them immediately, but I'm just not experienced enough to know what to listen for. But I can't feel any leaks this time. And the past leaks were very evident. In any event, I can't imagine a tighter fit on the doughnut, so I'm hoping this chapter is done!

Oh my, a lot of tempting things on this forum right now, but this one takes the prize for me! A screaming deal for someone, for sure.

So very sorry to hear this news, John. Please accept my heartfelt condolences and know that I'm thinking of you.

Note that pics are from 2016. But seems like a great project for someone who is already familiar with the '54 Pontiac. Seems like all the heavy work has been done. Putting things back together is the fun part -- as long as you know how it goes together!

Spectacular car! I have seen three '46-'48 New Yorker business coupes in my life, but never a '42. The interior looks very nice, and the dash plastic is wonderful as others have noted. I think he will get something close to his asking price.

Yes, for sure.

That's a great idea, and if Waldron weren't going to send me another pipe, that's exactly what I would do. John at Waldron's told me that sometimes the tool they use to shrink the pipe down from 2.25" to 2.00" goes overboard and they end up with a pipe (like mine) that's too small. He said they can then remedy the problem by expanding the pipe back to the correct dimension. I don't know why they didn't catch the problem with my pipe (and I didn't ask), but it sounds like a QC problem. In any event, I'm happy that John is willing to make it right.

Update I took the pipe apart again and found the problem. First, here's what the upper pipe looks like where it reduces in size from 2.25" to 2" and fits into the doughnut. The problem is that the OD of the pipe that fits into the doughnut is too small. The ID of the doughnut is 2.049". The OD of the pipe (which is slightly out-of-round) varies from 1.965" to 1.984". There is just too big a gap for the doughnut to ever seal, even when completely compressed. This little video shows how loose the fit is. If I were more experienced, I would have noticed this right away. I talked to John, the owner of Waldron's, this morning about the problem. He's going to make me a new upper pipe, and said he thought he could have it done and shipped out by Thursday. In the meantime, I have gotten some of the sealant that Bloo recommended, and I will use that as well. So I'm hopeful the problem will be solved. I will keep you posted.

Very confusing ad. It says, "it's all there, just taken apart." So when were the photos taken? Before the restoration started?

Glad you got squared away. When Don and I worked on my transmission, Don already had the dummy shaft (made from plastic). I don't know whether he made it himself or got it from someone else.

Hi John: I'm going to attempt to answer your question because I have a similar situation with my '41 Super. However, I'm not completely sure I understand what's going on with your car, so I may not be of any help. On my car, the problem is misalignment of the front fenders and hood. I'm sure that if you dismantle the front clip (which I am not willing to attempt), you can make adjustments. But on my car, there is a gap between the hood and fender on the passenger side. As a result, the hood latch on that side is very tight. From the time I got the car five years ago, I just accepted the fact that I had to bang on the latch on that side with my palm in order to get it to close. Eventually (as you predict in your post) I broke the pot metal latch handle and had to replace it. It was only then that I realized that the latch is adjustable. The rod that attaches to the latch handle is threaded, and can be turned to adjust the amount of "throw" on the latch. Having adjusted the latch, I can now close that side much more easily. However, I still have the gap that I think can only be resolved by adjusting the alignment of the fenders. What is unclear to me is what you say about the "non-existent clearance" on your latch. Aren't the two latches (one of which is shown in your photo) spring loaded so that they are forced up when they contact the edge of hood? So I don't think that the fact that you can only get two pieces of paper under the latch when the hood is open is the problem. However, if you have a gap like on my car when the hood is closed, that makes it impossible for the latch handle to easily close. Does this make sense? For whatever help it may provide, here's a link to the post in my "Me and My Buick" thread where I discuss the replacement of the hood latch on my car. (Click on the arrow in the upper right-hand corner of the link to get to the right post in the thread.)

Keep looking, James, they are out there. Particularly the late 40's and early 50's MoPars. We have seen many great examples of this on this forum.

This car has potential, but it seems a bit pricey for its condition. If you're willing to go to Iowa to get a 40's Studebaker two-door, for about $1600 more you can get a very nicely finished '46 Champion also featured right now on this forum. (I realize that the Commander has a bigger engine and longer wheelbase than the Champion -- I'm just expressing a preference for a car where someone else has already done the work, and done it right judging from the photos.)

Wow -- this looks like a screaming deal to me. And the seller is obviously willing to go lower than the current asking price. Lovely car that looks like it's well on its way to becoming a fun and reliable driver.