TxBuicks

I don't have much to add, as I'm not that close to Fredericksberg. The Regional show Willis mentioned was in October, 2000. My son was born in September, so he was less than a month old when we attended the show. But I got to enjoy the show anyway because he had about 20 other women there who acted as his mother. Crenwelge showed us his collection at the time. All the nice ones were in the garage section of the dealership. I honestly do not remember many specifics. I was there again last year, stopped by, but it was a campaign headquarters for some local politician at the time. My 1991 Roadmaster Estate wagon has the Crenwelge badge and license plate frame on it still. I bought it 2 years ago from a guy that lived in Fredericksberg when he bought it new from them.

Sold.

It was a disappointing day, for sure. But, I agree completely with Pete; the highlight was definately Copper Top. What a beautiful car! Thanks, again, Charles, for bringing it out for the day. Buick Royality? I think not. Just two guys enjoying the hobby. I was thinking afterwards, this goes to show everyone what neglect can do to cars. I am sure the 1985 Estate wagon was a 29,000 mile original Buick. The new owner bought it from an estate sale in 2004. I am positive at that time it was a fully fuctional, beautiful, drivable Buick. It has sat outside untouched for 6 years since then. The windows had at one time been left cracked open, probably due to the Texas heat, and rain got in it and ruined the carpet and door panels. None of the electronics worked, like electric seat, electric windows, etc. because they had not been operated in so long. The paint, unpolished and unprotected, had faded badly and some surface rust was starting to show. The tires were rotted to the point of being unsafe to drive. Who knows what happened to the center caps. It was a truely sad story. The 1967 Special Pete mentioned was another good example. I'm sure he didn't buy it like that. No telling how long it has sat outside, unprotected, in one spot. What a neat car that would be. A 1967 Special 2-door sedan with absolutely no options, not even a radio. Yet it was so bad it was hard to find any usable parts on it. So, please, take care of those Buicks. They deserve a better fate than that.

I have a remanufactured water pump for the 364 CI V8 engine. Never been used, with gasket. If you have one of these engines in your Buick this will make a great spare. $50 plus shipping from TX. They are much higher on other common auction sites. Email me if interested.

I agree with my3buicks. To me, that's part of the enjoyment of driving an old Buick. My 1961 Electra has the original AM radio with one speaker. It takes about 20 seconds to warm up. That's a novelty today. Listening to it is part of taking the journey back to 1961. It would not be the same with a modern sounding radio.

I called and talked to the owner. The only reason he listed it as a salvaged vehicle is because eBay charges a higher listing fee for a normal automobile listing. It is not a salvaged car, but he said he lost the title. He drove it last week. He believes the mileage to be correct because the couple that owned it were in the '70s when they bought it. It still has handicapped license plates on it, so you can bet it wasn't driven much. Sounds like a good deal to me, but it is 4 hours away so I haven't looked at it yet. I bet he'll take less. The listing is over, but his phone number is 903-826-7642. He is in Texarkana, TX. He has other Buicks as well, but I couldn't talk him out of any of those.

Would a remote control mirror from a 1963 Wildcat work?

Mr. Earl, I would be happy to try to track it down for you next weekend if you want me to.

David Corbin, You are the man!

A Buick must only be 12 years or older to participate in the BCA 400 point judging. This age seems like a reasonable compromise.

Buick4547, All above have given you good advice, but let me add my opinions. Having been involved directly with many recent BCA Nationals, I think I can answer these questions properly. First of all, Pete is right about early registration. You need to send in your registration form as soon as you decide to come. This isn't a weekend Shine and Show. We have to prepare for the event as much as possible in advance. Anyone coming in on Friday will only be allowed to Display their car. You only need your car on the show field during the times of judging. The rest of the time you can park anywhere you want. But you will have a spot reserved for your class on the show field and it is common for show cars to park in the classes even during non-show hours so spectators can see cars lined up on the show field in order. I agree with the others that your car would be a good candidate for the Archival class. The class was designed for non-restored Buicks. The judges look for authenticity only, and ignore condition. As a matter of record, you will get points taken off for anything 'restored'. It sounds like your car would score well in the Archival class. And Bill is correct, the Driven class is listed on Saturday on the registration form. But, on order to be in the Driven class, you must drive it to the show the entire trip from your house. And, again, the Driven class is not judged on condition as much as authenticity. Hope this helps.

Hey Rick, I was in that storm. Me and my family decided to spend Christmas in Minnesota at my sister's dairy farm. You should have seen the look on people's faces here in Texas when I told them I was going to Minnesota for Christmas! We were driving through Iowa on Sunday, December 20 when we got caught in it. We stopped in Ames and ate breakfast at the Grove Cafe, known for their enormous orange pancakes. By the time we got out of there everything was white and there was 6 inches of snow everywhere. Made for some beautiful pictures, though. Long story short, we made it to Minnesota a few hours later, spent a week there enjoying snow activities, and drove home the weekend after Christmas, barely missing abouther ice storm that occurred a few days before. By the way, Ames Iowa is quite a nice looking town. Can't wait to see it next July at the Nationals. We will definately have the town to ourselves.

This compact was on display in Flint 2008. It is the 215 engine. The owner said it was a Buick project car.

1954 Buick Landau trunk emblem.

I love the two-tone paint. You don't see that in 1941 Buicks. Classy.

4-Speed, I love stories like that. Buick, not been on the road in 25 years, no problem. You give the old Buicks a chance and they usually won't let you down.

lrlforfun, Why no 1961 and 1962 Buicks? How about some pictures, especially of the 1965 Rivieras?

I wouldn't tinker with the old car too much. I learned my lesson in 1994. In 1993 I drove a 1966 Skylark convertible to the Phoenix Nationals pulling a pop-up camper. We went to the Grand Canyon before and had a nice vacation. I did nothing to the car before I left, just hooked up the camper and started driving. No problems. The 1994 Nationals were to be held in Atlanta. I started over-thinking and decided to 'fix' a few things before I left for that trip. I replaced the points, plugs, wires, alternator, hoses, painted the engine, etc. before I left. Well, the new alternator went out after the first 100 miles, causing me to change it on the road. On the second day (July 4th) the new points went out. I was stranded on the side of the road. Miraculously, an old mechanic rescued me, took me to his garage, found a new set of points and installed them for me. The next day the new lower water hose was too close to the fan belt and the belt rubbed a hold in it, spraying hot engine coolant all over my freshly painted engine. It seems like I had heating problems every day after that. The moral of the story is that, although it is good to be cautious, sometimes it is best to leave things alone. These old Buicks are strong and will run forever with minimal maintenance. Be confident in that.

The North Texas Chapter meets on the second Saturday of each month, rain of shine, at different locations around the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. We have over 50 family memberships and about 20-30 members show up for each meeting. If interested, email me and I will send you the information on our next meeting, coming up in a few weeks. Many North Texas members are active on this forum.

I think the fastest I have driven one on the road was a 1966 Skylark 4dr HT. 300 CI, 2 BBl, automatic. I just had new radial tires installed, balanced, alignment, etc. I pegged the speedomoter out at 120 MPH for several minutes. It was on a flat country road with no traffic. Boy, did it run smooth! Don't tell the wife.

From the Dallas area news. I wonder what model Buick it was? <TABLE class=Box_55090223_Tb cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="98%" border=0><TBODY><TR align=left><TD class=Box_55090223_Td width="100%">Driver Clocked Going 150mph On North Texas Highway </TD></TR><TR align=left><TD class=Box_55090223_Td width="100%">A driver is under arrest in Grapevine for going at least 90 miles OVER the speed limit. About 3 a.m. Friday, an officer was on Highway 114 near D/FW Airport when he saw a Buick racing by. He finally caught up with the car near West Wall Street. The driver was arrested and faces several charges, including exceeding the speed limit. The driver was clocked going at least 150 mph in a 60 mph zone. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Any pictures?

Charles, you need to use this forum and the Bugle to advertise your annual show. I would have been there if I knew about it beforehand. Any notable Buicks, other than Copper Top, show up?

Could be an elusive Electra-Cat. I have heard rumors throughout the years that Buick would sometimes combine Electra and Wildcat features on these cars made from 1964 to 1966. We had a member of our local club that swore he had an original factory 1966 Electra with a 1966 Wildcat front clip. I saw pictures of it before he removed the drive train for another project. And, indeed, it was an Electra body with a Wildcat front end. But it had the Electra interior. It wouldn't surprise me if someone ordered a Wildcat with an Electra interior.

I do not know anything else about it. I merely saw it on Craig's list last night and posted it in hopes of finding it a good home. If you are interested I will go look at it for you and take pictures, but it will have to be this weekend as I work a 8-5 job during the week. It is about 2 hours from my house.