Grimy

AJ, the chassis serial numbers are on top of the frame when you look down as if checking the oil level (dipstick is under filler cap) on the left side, and the prefixes of serial numbers are different 90 vs 75. I judged a few of those 30 years ago while owning a 1939 75 (frumpy ol') 7-p sedan for 42 years. There seemed to be a very heavy coating of paint on top the front frames on open cars, more so than on closed cars 🙂

A whole bunch of people thought of that about 40 years ago, George. As of about 25 years ago, reportedly there were more 1938-40 Cad V-16 *open* cars in the CLC roster than Cadillac ever built. Pretty much all except front sheet metal interchanges with Cadillac Series 75 (V8 engines) of the same years, so frumpy old V-16 sedans and limos gave up their engines, front sheet metal, horn buttons, and fender spears to Series 75 open cars which -- presto, change-o -- became Series 90 (V-16) open cars.

Indeed it is, a 66 from the heights of the radiator and of the top of the hood! One strange aspect is the lack of cowl lights and two longitudinal vents on the hood center, which were present through 1918 (early 1918 was the last 66 hp offered for open sale) but both cowl lights and hood vents were dropped for 1919-1920. Consider that the cowls were *cast* aluminum and varied by body style. Could it be a late 66 chassis with a newer cowl and hood built in 1919-1920? A factory custom for the White House?

Bring Terry back for a comparison!

I'll make the popcorn!

Hey, all you Paragons of Studliness who insist on floating the shifts as a regular practice, do it on your cars, not on mine. My view is that the clutch is there for a reason, and I use it for its intended purpose. My 1918, 1922, 1925, and 1930 cars all have crash boxes, and I am adept in their use, and so is my lady friend. The only time I was forced to float shifts was 40 years ago at the base of the SF-Oakland Bay Bridge in the evening rush hour when the clutch gave out in my DD 1975 Datsun pickup with a 4-speed--and on an upslope, no less. And I had 15 miles to home including 7 miles on that rush-hour bridge. At each of the frequent rush hour stops, I shut the engine off with a lurch as the clutch remained engaged. Started in first gear with a lurch for same reason. As traffic eventually eased, I was able to float 1-2 several times, then 1-2-3, then (finally) 1-2-3-4. It was not amusing under those circumstances.

"I think, therefore I am" -Rene Descartes But coming from you, Ed, I'll repeat the immortal words of Anton Chigurh, "I think that does not mean what you think it means."

Wrong. You got that right! Love ya, man! 🙂

I've had two of them, one 2-tone green and the other 2-tone brown (not as bad colors as you might think), both long gone. Fun tip: All the brakes, wheels, axles, etc are Chrysler 8-cyl except Crown Imperial. The hubcaps appear identical to the non-LWB DeS but have different-sized openings to attach to the wheels. The differential is Chrys 8-cyl, and the first one had the fastest gear set available (3.36, I believe) from a Chrys 8 3-window coupe, replacing the 3.9 or 4.1 standard and optional for the Suburban. The tall gears made it a 65+ mph cruiser, but one had to use low range to get it started from a full stop.

"R" (reverse) serves as "Park" when the engine is shut off on these early Hydramatics which did not have a separate "Park" position. When parking, shut the engine down and move the selector to R.

It does indeed look good and the price is favorable to the buyer **IF** (1) the overdrive works, (2) the engine runs well, (3) minimal if any rust (check floors and rockers), (4) there are decent top bows (precut replacement tops are available). Mechanical parts support is outstanding, but body parts are getting hard to find. That's a 1950 horn button, as it should have a different button with horn ring (standard in 1948-49). I've had at least one Jeepster in my stable since 1981. They are great fun to drive and get as much or more attention from the public than my Pierces! Best appearance is obtained with the original excessively large wide whitewalls standard on 1948-49 over red wheels. I run 6.70-15 tires rather than the original 5.90 and optional 6.40, but that means you have to drill and tap a hole to raise the spare tire mount. Rear axle is 4.88 and the OD is 30%. In direct drive there is plenty of around-town power and the OD means you can run it at 60 mph all day long, but the wind will drive you crazy and you'll have to use the kick-down under the accelerator on hills. There is some tricky stuff in these cars, including the clutch bellcrank tube which has interior components (spring, 2 felt discs, 2 "slugs") all of which are essential to proper operation of the clutch but are reproduced inexpensively (about $15 for the kit). The factory u-joints (Rzeppa, IIRC) are troublesome, so it's best to have a driveshaft made up with modern zerk-equipped u-joints. By the way, I'm looking for a square, black-face speedometer as used in 1948-49 Jeepsters.

If the valves are good, these engines really will idle exceptionally smoothly (I owned a 1939 75 for 42 years). As I recall, for standard transmission at least, the idle spec is 375 rpm. Smooth idle is essential when purchasing unless you're willing to do at least a valve job. About 20 years ago, I was looking at a 1948 offered for sale and was standing at the rear of the idling car, which was farting thru its exhaust pipe (don't we all!) when the owner said, "That's the famous Cadillac whispering exhaust." I replied, "It's whispering 'I need a valve job.'" Like flathead Fords, valve clearance is set by grinding the ends of the valve stems, a terrible pain when the block is in the chassis. Cadillac specified the use of their Tool J-1055 to set the clearance, which is nothing more than a piece of bar stock the length of a *collapsed* hydraulic valve lifter, with a fancy knurled handle at a 90* angle. A good machinist friend now long gone taught me to use two inside micrometers as "go / no-go" with the lengths set at (1) (collapsed lifter length) + 0.030 and (2) (collapsed lifter length) + 0.070. Factory spec for clearance is the pump-up range of 0.030-0.070. Somebody was reproducing the Tool J-1055 about 25 years ago but I don't know if they are still available. The two inside mics do the job even better.

Thought you said "early" cars....I'm showing my age. 🙂

That's about right for the late 1920s, by which time there were oil control rings although not perfected. A 1928 Buick owner's manual I once had said, "An engine properly broken in and in good condition can be expected to consume one gallon of oil per thousand miles" [emphasis mine]

AACA members' display badge available from national in 1960s for sure, don't know when it became available or how long it was offered. Think I have one in a display case. P.S.: the hole above "Duryea" is not, uh, authentic..... 🙂

"Think of me when you turn the key in your ignition...."

That technique is taught in the Army (probably other ground-pounding services also) to preserve night vision when flares are fired. In my advanced geezerhood, it doesn't work quite as well for me today as it did 50-60 years ago.... 😞

I am impelled to comment for the sake of those new to the hobby that to solve the *vast* majority of driveability issues in a 1942 Buick, one does not *need* five-gas analyzers, chassis dyno, and other expensive and sophisticated test equipment. My good friend @edinmass also known as "Mr. Five Gas" to those who spend any time with him, surely is correct to use his existing sophisticated equipment to simplify diagnosis. But we mere mortals without such magical resources can properly rely on a diagnostic logic tree and use more primitive equipment and techniques such as vacuum gauges, compression testers, timing lights, capping off vacuum wiper feeds, and visual inspection of distributor advance weights. So before you google "auto mechanics with 5-gas and dyno and familiar with 1942 Buicks near me" try it the old-fashioned way if you don't have Ed's resources. Further, we in the forums do in fact routinely ask "have you checked this or that" because in this case as in so many others presented here the OP has not explained what diagnostic measures have been employed thus far.

It would be helpful for a prospective buyer to understand the license plates: that number had a mid-1997 issue date. Was the car removed from 40 years' storage in 1997? Or was it licensed in 1997 during an ownership change at that time with the (unfulfilled) hope of recommissioning?

The cantilever section was replaced at least 10 years ago, Bernie. Having driven the old bridge to/from SFO (airport) daily for 25 years, I can assure you that the "land route" would add 2.5 to 3 hours to your travel time--each way.

Ben, that's indeed what he asked, but several of us who believe that 90+% of all alleged carb problems are electrical remain unconvinced that he has exhausted the ignition possibilities, including our esteemed expert @carbking.

Afterthought: leaks in the vacuum wiper system can cause a lean condition. Cap off the vacuum feed to the wipers and test drive. As to vacuum advance, see if the advance will hold a vacuum applied by a Mity-Vac or other such tool. And while you're at it, check the advance weights to see that their movement is not impaired by congealed grease.

"Pops through the carburetor" also denotes a lean condition. I'd check vacuum hoses and the vacuum advance diaphragm.

"Circus wagons" is what I've called them for years. Few things set my teeth on edge as much as 1920s closed cars, especially sedans, whose bodies are painted Bright Red; maroon would be fine on a closed car, save the red for roadsters. My own interpretation: About 1926 there was a technological advance in printing that permitted saturated 4-color printing in magazines at a fraction of the previous cost. The auto industry jumped into it with vividly colored full page advertisements--the Lincoln tropical-bird-theme ads immediately come to mind. Many of these color ads were artists' wet dreams, using colors which were never applied in the Real World. About 25-30 years ago, there was a 1929-30 Packard SWB phaeton in three shades of purple, shown several times at the late, great Palo Alto Concours, alongside a framed magazine ad of the same car in the same colors. People, do NOT rely on magazine ads to tell you which colors were available for your car!

@pmhowe What makes it all the sweeter for me is that I chased that car since 1998, almost closed a deal on it in 2001, and was finally able to buy it in Jan 2016. Since then we've put more than 9,000 miles on it. It's still the New Toy, and provides more smiles per mile than any other car I've ever owned! It loves to climb hills!