Stooge

Good read Matt! I have used Diamondbacks on some off topic cars with larger diameter wheels and have been very pleased, I believe they were toyo proxes with the white wall. great tire and rode very nice for a good price. For my '37, im still a little up in the air for which direction to go with, in regards to Bias Ply or a bias look radial at the minimum. What is the consensus on the few options for radials that have the bias look to them? I was planning on a black wall for my 37 , but still want them to be aesthetically pleasing. i haven't had much experience with Coker, although i have heard they are better than they were a few years ago, but still for every positive, i read just as many negatives. Has Diamondback ever released the Auburn tires? all i can find is them hinting at them for 4+yrs and then releasing one size for stock

i don't think i'll ever get tired of looking at 1st gen Electras!

^ Ditto question for the steering column and box, thank you!

it will be awhile before I get to drive it, but I did sit in it for a minute and I may or may not have made some vroom vroom noises!

Matt has basically hit the nail on the head, as a seller, I could see wanting to have nothing to do with it at the risk of being scammed, but also for whatever fees associated with such a service, that the money would be better used to buy a plane ticket and fly out to see it. How far away is the car in relation to you? if you are pretty adamant/ confident about buying it, make it a one trip thing. A buddy of mine sort of impulse bought a '58 Edsel station wagon over the summer, and he ended up buying one way plane tickets for him and myself to fly out from Boston to Iowa, rent a truck and trailer, look at it and bring it home over a weekend. Adding the small amount of money for two, one way plane tickets, (probably under $300) to what would have been a shipping cost regardless of who was doing the actual transportation, was worth it to know what he was getting and know we were getting it home in one piece. Seller was happy, buyer was happy, car made it home safely and it was a fun trip.

I'll be down at my shop tomorrow, and i'll take a look to make sure its usable and let you know, if you dont buy MC's

this separate piece of the manifold? this is from a '47 roadmaster, but I have to double check to make sure its not also damaged, ( the front half of the exhaust manifold was already donated to someone else) 2017-12-21_03-09-44 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

Some good information in there, especially on the parts list interchangeability sheet as it sounds I can widen my search by a little atleast, although with reading it, it sounds like he may have already torn into it to part it out to help out his Australian friend? Unfortunately, I am in need of a whole transmission. my 320 stops at the flywheel and picks back up at the torque tube retainer, although I think I know of an appropriate bellhousing, and I believe Bob's sells new clutch discs and pressure plates. Is your 1940 trans in parts, something that would be for sale?

As I am slowly piecing together parts as funds allow, and before I try and call Dave, I am looking for a transmission for my '37 century coupe , or at least an interchangeable one, to go behind my 320 straight 8 with the torque tube, factory rear. Located in the Boston area, but willing to travel although i am on a bit of a budget. Any leads would be appreciated, thank you!

An absolutely beautiful car set against some stunning scenery! I'm sure that newly paved road was a real blast to drive, thanks for sharing!

I have heard Dave's name mentioned here alot, is he someone who sells and sources parts as a job, or a side hobby/just deals with acquaintances? I would hate to cold call someone and have them not expect random calls from strangers looking for parts. As far as i know, and from what i can surmise, it is the original 37 century rear end and torque tube still in the car, just not connected to anything forward of that. I have been poking through the buick club site, as well as the torque tube articles and i have to say, as an outsider coming in, i am astounded by the amount of finite detail information available. It sounds like i should be calling Dave soon. Does he regularly sell and ship stuff? I think i saw it mentioned he lives in Minnesota? Coming from more traditional hot rods amd customs, i just inherently wanted the 320 to start with, and with something like this, and not being familiar with how the smaller straight 8's performed, was nervous about chancing getting the smaller engines. From what i have read of the dynaflows, i would prefer not to use one, and was originally wanting to have a manual trans. No worries, i have nothing against sbc's and have used them in chevys before, but it never crossed my mind for this car. I will admit, i had been toying with a nailhead before i actually brought the car home, but i want to do the car justice and although it will be a modest restoration, im going to try and be as correct as finances allow. I've had this on my ebay watch list for a few weeks now, supposedly spins free, but without being able to see it in person, its hard to get an idea of the condition. I'll track down the logistics guy at work tomorrow and get an idea of what the freight costs will be to ship something this size https://m.ebay.com/itm/36-37-38-39-40-1936-1937-1938-1939-1940-BUICK-320-STRAIGHT-8-EIGHT-ENGINE-MOTOR-/131846978039?hash=item1eb2b139f7%3Ag%3AdUAAAOSwOVpXXvVS&_trkparms=pageci%3A7e7c5cf7-9283-11e7-bbc2-74dbd180a60a%7Cparentrq%3A5401198e15e0a9e44778e9a9fff92675%7Ciid%3A5 Thank you everyone for the advice!

Hi gang, I am still a few weeks out from pulling my recently acquired 37 Buick Century coupe into my workshop as I have a few other cars that need finishing, but that hasn't discouraged me from window shopping. my coupe came to me without an engine or transmission, but was a good enough of a deal that it didn't bother me, (although I obviously would have preferred to have a powertrain with it), but now I am on the search for the major components atleast. i have been doing quite a bit of reading and researching, but am still very new to these engines, and although they seem fairly indestructible through the eyes of someone not as familiar with them (myself) , are there any major , not so obvious things to look for when searching for one of these engines? Aiming for a 320, but choices around this region for any buick straight 8 seem to be fairly limited, atleast in regard to what is advertised for sale through different outlets, (craigslist, a few regional car forums, asking around the car club and local engine builders). There a few that seem tempting but are just far enough away that i would want to be certain i was buying it as not to waste the day or weekend trip to pick it up. Or is it a case of, if it spins freely, there theoretically isn't much to worry about? i am planning on a modest rebuild, but would hate to spend the time and money getting it, to have an unusable block, or one requiring extensive machine work. front runner candidates are a late 30s 320 for sale on ebay, says that it spins freely, but when i cant go touch something i am a little apprehensive, along with shipping may kill what is not a bad price. there is also, what i suspect is a 263, (not correct to the 37 but appealing nonetheless) mated to a dynaflow and comes with radiator and some other bits, for sale in new jersey. 5'ish hour drive each way, but is set up for the torque tube and would save both time and money in theory. my workshop is located behind a nostalgia based alcohol/ top fuel funny car shop and engine builder, and although i would like to keep this budget oriented and do the work myself, farming out the machine work is not out of the question. Any advice and insight is greatly appreciated, thanks!

my mistake! I was just sitting down when it ran, and the gentleman beside me had said buick, and I suppose the gasser look made it look different enough to believe him. looking closer, the headlamps do look smaller than my century's as well as appear to be lower fender mounted rather than vertical hood mounted. Everyday's a school day!

Nostalgia Day at New England Dragway yesterday. Second race I watched when I got there just so happened to be a '37 century, not sure about the single back windshield, possibly converted to accommodate safety plexiglass? I tried to take a look around for it afterwards but couldn't find it, nor can I find anything about the car on the internet. It was named Rocket Science, so I am guessing that could be eluding to possibly being Oldsmobile Rocket powered.

Thanks! I've wanted a prewar coupe of my own for awhile, but was actually in the market for a 49-54 GM coupe to make into a little hopped up, straight 6 daily driver, but came across this one when searching the regional craigslists ,and was also posted for sale over on the jalopy journal forums. it was a steal of a price in my opinion, came with hundreds of tagged and bagged parts from whoever blew it apart, and most importantly, and coincidentally since I bought it in upstate new York, has a clean Massachusetts title! It probably will not be a 100% correct restoration, but it also will not be anywhere close to getting a Camaro front clip and an LS either! I do intend on keeping the suspension and steering as close to stock, manual steering and brakes, although there will be a deciding cost factor as far as the torque tube rear end is concerned and what I will be using for a driveline. I intend to drive this car a lot when its done, and although a straight 320 is ideal, (possibly with the Bendtsens adapter to an OD trans), Im not so opposed to using something like a 401/425 nailhead mated to a 4speed if a good deal pops up. I guess its something I need to decide on, along with seats and a steering column so i can start mocking stuff up when i start on it, hopefully in the next few weeks if i can finish up some other things and shuffle some cars around.

Thanks! It keeps it interesting always having something different to work on especially if I get a little burned out on one of them, plus its just fun! the truck that the dash belongs to has been a pretty extensive project, but its air suspension truck and wasn't sure what is off topic so I just put up a few of the interior ones. I think they more like that I live alone and subsequently, am thought of as always being "around" for when they need/ want to do something! How very true that is! I've been in talks with the owner of the Edsel wagon about going in on a bigger shop/ storage space but haven't found anything that fits the bigger, close enough and affordable rubric!

Gary, as someone who recently acquired their first '37 Buick century coupe, albeit completely blown apart, this thread is priceless and after years of lurking on these forums, has compelled me to join! The thoroughness, attention to detail, and willingness to share your work and detail the processes, have helped me in more ways than I can count, while going through and inventorying what i am missing, what goes where, etc. Very happy to see the body meeting the chassis once again, its all looking quite beautiful! thanks again for your hard work both on the car, as well as sharing your projects, its very appreciated!

Hi Everyone! My name is Dan, im 29 and live a little outside of Boston, MA, and I've lurked on this forum off an on over the years, but was compelled to join after reading through Gary W's 1937 buick restoration thread . I work in a laboratory as a day job, but I have a hobby shop for putzing around with old cars in my freetime. I recently bought my first Buick, a 1937 Century Coupe, that is pretty well blown apart, but the puzzle pieces are fairly well documented. The century did not come with an engine, trans, interior or steering column/box, but for the most part, im very pleased with the condition of the body. A few spots or rust and rot, but nothing is beyond recognition or enough to be too worried about, as the fenders, hood and trunk are all immaculate. I have a few other projects im trying to finish up, and a few others waiting to be started, but Im most excited about starting on the buick. I've worked on a few other pre war, late 30's cars, (Chevrolets and Plymouths) but had mostly been updated to be a little too modern and were both front clipped/ sbc powered and not really to my tastes. Since everyone likes pictures, a few of the current projects I am either spearheading or a part of, (and im not entirely sure what order these will post in). some of the buick when I was picking it up in Upstate New York, a fairly involved sheetmetal project for a 66 gto, a matching numbers 64 impala SS that I am working on with a buddy, a 58 Edsel Villager station wagon that another buddy and I picked up for him a few weeks ago that is just getting started, and some pictures of the dash for an 80's squarebody c10 I have had as a back burner project for a few years, scratch built dash using scrap shelving and based around shoebox ford gauges and clock. Looking forward to learning a lot on here and offering help where I can!