Thriller

Merry Christmas Mike & Nancy. You deserve the break.

Hi Chris - I may have one, but if I do, it is in a box at the country place. I'll be there on the weekend and will try to remember to look.

The increase wasn't so much directly a cost of the Bugle, although that plays a part. Part of the issue has been decreasing membership since the bankers messed up the world. The BoD heard long and loud not to cut the Bugle. For many BCA members, it is their lifeline and primary link to the BCA. If you just look at the Bugle, it works out to just over $4/issue. That's pretty reasonable for a decent magazine. That being said, I understand that those on fixed incomes and / or diverse interests have a bit more of a struggle to make the decisions about what to keep or drop. I pay extra for the luxury of living in Canada and I chose to pay more for the premium delivery - for quite some time that worked well, but in recent months I've been receiving my copy around the same time as others here who don't pay for the premium mail. Guess what I'll be changing on my renewal? To each his own. I can't make a decision for anyone else. I can say that with the Bugle, the National Meet, and Gopher State Chapter, I consider it money well spent. It isn't just the magazines and newsletters, but the friendships I've made that I truly value.

Joe - I agree completely. One of the problems as I see it is that senior judges are seen as "qualified" and are exempted from the training. No matter how many times it is repeated in the judging school, "don't kill the car" doesn't get to those who don't attend. I've attended the judging school a few times now, and was extremely disappointed when the Wildcat took a bronze award this year. If a car is supposed to be done in 5-10 minutes (and I agree five is on the short side), 9 cars should only take an hour and a half...plenty of time for the judges to get done in time for lunch, but that isn't reality. I'm not quite as far as you are on the emotional scale, but I certainly am reconsidering my participation as a judge and having cars judged. Why is it that on a couple photos of a car for sale online here, we have experts who can pick out errors, but we can't get judges out? There are plenty of knowledgeable folks in the BCA...it's almost a chicken and egg thing - to improve judging, we need judges, but we need to improve judging to get more folks involved. Jake - Pete is the chair of judges' training and is pretty regular here. Alan is here occasionally. The majority of the BoD is here on at least an occasional basis. I'd better stop before I stray too much further off topic and really get upset....

I doubt it...it would be nice. Perhaps a couple of years out. I actually think I want the one you are looking at though...The Boss is a fan of green and the green interior in that one with the Arctic White exterior would probably suit her. Of course Joseph would be ecstatic with either one. Then again, I do have a couple possible takers for the '56 now, so anything is possible.

Hmmm.... Yellowstone - never been there Glacier National Park - been there, worth going back Bonneville Salt Flats (or whatever is nearby) - I want to see The Old Guy get excited about driving Athens, GA - MrEarl will have to attend come heck or high water Niagara Falls - I've been near there, but also never seen Thousand Islands, St. Lawrence River - NY / ON border - lovely country Places I haven't seen - covers a lot, but I enjoy seeing new territory Mississippi river boat I have pretty much a standing offer to come down to the spring event in Texas, so one of these years that will get me to that part of the country, although I'd probably fly in rather than drive down.

Well, up here school runs from Labour Day to latish June. For me, if you go outside of July / August, then I either don't attend, or it isn't the family event that it has been for us. If it isn't a family event for us, I have to do another significant vacation for the kids' sakes...then I have to start figuring out whether or not the National is justified for me. To get to Colorado this year, we pulled the children from the last day of school...of course, they wouldn't have done anything on that last half day anyway. If I had driven an old Buick, with perhaps less reliability than Max, I may have needed to add an extra day on the road to be sure we got there. Of course, you can't please everyone. As for those who speak about cost, I have a real issue with it. Your money is your own to do with as you please, but when the cost of a membership and National Meet registration is on par with a full tank of fuel in the Buick, I have trouble with that. I guess you aren't spending any money on parts or restoration then either. We get similar sort of results at the local club level and I feel exactly the same way. For those who don't have chapters near them, I joined the nearest chapter to me...meetings are about 450 or so miles away. Today I submitted for a day off work so I could attend an annual banquet. That's a day's drive to have a couple hours of fun with friends, find a place to sleep and then drive a day to get back home. Not everyone would do that, but I did. Of course, up here in winter country, whether I actually attend or not will be weather dependent - if a storm brews up or road are poor, I won't risk my life for this. Joe, we'll miss you in Ames. I guess we'll have to drink scotch without you. At least if we remember, we can toast your health. I love the fact that Buke drives his '40 such great distances. He's an inspiration to me. It actually has me considering how I can make it work to drive to Danvers in the '41. I guess we'll see. I do enjoy driving that car, but I'm not sure how she (along with my limited spares and diagnosis / repair prowess) would stand up to the trip. Another point to consider is how well the Driven class has been taken up. When you get around a hundred Buicks up for a Driven Award, that doesn't tell me everything is about the 400 point judging. Granted, some of those cars wouldn't come near an award, but they got their under their own power. Sure, some people (perhaps myself included) take the 400 point judging too seriously. Without it, though, would we have good examples to use for reference? Well, that's probably more than you wanted to hear from me.

I haven't given much thought overall, but I'd like to add a bit to the discussion. First of all, I agree with it moving around. I've gotten to see so much more of North America in the last 7 years as a result than if I hadn't gotten involved. Secondly, the cost is getting a bit out of hand. Since we travel as a family of 5, attractions that cost fifty dollars a head just don't cut it. It means not doing any of the events associated with the meet, or doing some of them on our own before, during, or after the meet. I'm as big a fan of natural beauty as anything else...perhaps Montana or another location off the beaten path in the Rockies. More easterly, perhaps some of the Adirondack or Ozark areas would be nice. Perhaps then some driving tours showing off the natural beauty could take the place of the more expensive attractions. I'm looking forward to Ames as it is a bit off the beaten path. That being said, I still haven't figured out which categories to put my cars in, so haven't yet sent in my registration.

Stevo - aren't you bringing the lamb for the feast at Buick Gardens? :D:cool: John knows my trailer is out of commission until I unload its contents.

A Super convertible phaeton...nice. From The Standard Catalog of Buick, there were 1351 made with a shipping weight of 3895 pounds and a price of $1549. From the BCA Judging Manual and AutoColorLibrary, the paint code should be a three digit number expected to be in the five hundred range. I don't have any trim decoding information for 1940. I suspect the trim and paint numbers are together as what you have listed under trim. Typically, they are each 3 digits. That may explain why you are having difficulty decoding the trim number as well. Based on the body number for your car, it would have been built fairly early in total production. The early and late cars can sometimes be a bit confusing for numbers as the model year changeover resulted in a few more unusual things happening (carry overs from previous model year or changes implemented early for the upcoming model year). I know I haven't been very useful in actually decoding what you have, but I hope this is useful. Welcome to the forums and the wonderful world of Buick.

John - go for it. Get MrEarl to store it at Buick Gardens for you. When you have freed up space so SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED won't be too upset, we'll make a road trip with the H&H.

Very nice. Shiny like tinsel :cool:

Thanks Bubba...I only have the one example in my garage to go by...I have seen small series cars, but can't say I've looked all that closely to remember details like that.

I count 6 model 58, but there are 5 1929s listed with no model number. bubba - do you know the car, or did you see something to come to that conclusion? I'm not expert enough on the '29s to make that determination from these photos.

Yes, the script to block letters was a mid-year change. My Wildcat was built in December '65 and has the script. I'm not sure when the switch over to the block letters was made.

I recently picked up the February 2010 Old Cars Report Price Guide and a V6 Skylark 2 door is listed at $3200 for a #4 car. So, perhaps the price isn't all that out of line. I'd like to have something like that, although perhaps a bit better appointed. A weekend with some compound and polisher / elbow grease would brighten up that paint. I don't see any rust in that photo. A V6 should get in the 20 mpg range, small enough to be a good city car, and a hard top leads to less wind noise and with good weatherstripping should keep rain out. Alas, we just paid a tax installment, so feeling poor again, and the perpetual lack of space (until I put up another building) forces me to pass.

So, is this going to turn into an Eskimos / Stampeders or Oilers / Flames thing? They're all better than the Blue Bumblers and the Jets Now back to your regularly scheduled 1918 McLaughlin topic....

Thanks Adam.

Well, I for one haven't yet gotten around to cutting up old Buicks...I have taken parts from folks parting cars out. My Wildcat was called by some too rusty to restore and yet no other cars suffered to turn Ellie out pretty nicely.

I can't speak to the year for certain, but I would check eBay for original manuals. There is potential for there to be a body service manual as well as a chassis service manual (at least that is how they did it in years prior). Good luck.

Dan - if you don't get definitive answers about the paint code (and it is possible you may not), BCA judging allows for you to have any of the original colours on the car. So, if you like any of them in particular, you can paint it that way and not be deducted in judging. That isn't necessarily the purist's view on original, but it is a reasonable compromise. That being said, if it hasn't been repainted, a lot of folks do like the nice survivors and there is archival judging available. With respect to the data plate and paint code, it is quite possible that it was shortened from 4909 to 909 in production. There were a lot of little twists along the way. For instance, for some years, some plants painted the underside of the hood black while other plants used body colour. That is why I suggest there may not be a definitive answer. If we look at the BCA Judging Manual, it only shows 09 for Regency Blue, but Carlsbad Black is 01, so it is quite certain your car wasn't originally black. Nice car.

Happily, I am out of space. The project car is neat to me primarily because it has the Custom door panel trim and the same seat as Ellie. It is another of those side by side things that would be nice to have like that Special or Skylark would have been a complement to Vicky.

Date now 12/21 and a bid of $1000. That's a bit confusing. It may be worth asking a couple of questions.

Rob...that's cool...I probably licked some of those stamps, but alas took no notice at the time. Adam - what brand of engine paint did you go with? I can't tell from the can. As always, I'm trying to figure out how to get the correct colour north of the border. There are a couple brands available, but don't know how good they are as a match.

Well, even though it is about -20 C right now, I really need to get started on tinkering for the '29 McLaughlin-Buick. One of the first areas I wanted to work on was restoring the sidemounts. The logic is that these are items that come off easily and can be brought in and worked on in the relative warmth of the basement. I know that I want to be diligent in marking everything so that it goes back together as it came apart. I haven't looked closely at the assembly yet to figure out how it goes together / comes apart, but would appreciate any advice. Also, would I benefit from specific tools? I'm wondering if a set of motorcycle tire irons would help with the removal of the rubber. Thanks.