Thriller

I know others have stated they get 12-14 with the compound carburetion. It does seem to run rich to me. After replacing the rad last year, it is running consistently cooler than it was.

Urban legend or not, it is not a bad idea to circle your vehicle before getting in...that way you can do a quick check on tires, obstructions, and whether someone perhaps banged into you in the parking lot. I don't often remember to do this myself, so it's a do as I say, not as I do sort of thing....

Welcome to the world of Buick Paul. The tour I was on this past weekend was led by a '34 Ford Cabriolet and we visited a significant collection of early original Ford V8 cars.

I don't recall if I'd gotten the paint cleaning / polishing / waxing done before taking it to Seattle or not. Really all we've done besides some odd mechanical items is to tidy up the paint. It is a great car in part because it is imperfect - that way you don't worry about stone chips, or getting it a bit wet or similar. I must admit that the longer driving sections did lead me to think that the seat isn't the most comfortable I've been in. It does give me second thoughts about driving it to Charlotte...I might need to find something to add to make it a bit better if I am to consider driving it that sort of distance. Of course, at around 10 mpg (Imperial gallons), it would be more economical to drive the Reatta.

Speaking of Canadian versions, the '52 is a Custom Deluxe, not a Special...but it replaces the Special as Canadian Buicks were Custom, Super, and Roadmaster for 1952.

Love that shine....

Nice car. Welcome aboard Rob.

Stuart, I am generally in agreement with you. I guess I was just trying to caution that driving a concours level car will either reduce it below concours level quality, therefore reduce its monetary value significantly, or require considerable work to keep it at that show level. Thus, in my mind, while this is a fantastic car, if it were me, I'd look for a similar car in perhaps a "less desirable" body style or in a lesser condition. For instance, my '41, which was judged as a BCA Bronze level car in 2007, has imperfections such that I don't worry too much about stone chips in the paint and such that result from driving it. Taking that anxiety away is part of what improves the enjoyment for me. It is easier to relax when one isn't worried. Besides, buying a less expensive car leaves more money left over for fuel and wear items. Of course, that is opinion. For me to have a car like this, I would prefer it to be in less perfect condition. I'm not trying to take anything away from this car, and it is a personal decision.

Joseph loved it. He's a real car nut, and has grown up in the club, seeing as we joined before he was born. I think the BCA national meets have kind of been training as he's comfortable around car folk. He had the camera more of the time than I did, although I'm not sure any of the photos posted are his. We had cars from the 1930s to the 1980s (minimum 25 years old to be a club car) representing 9 (I think) manufacturers. We turned heads everywhere we went. Also, being out in the country, driving was a lot more relaxed than if we had been in the city.

Nice shots indeed...and a TCA plane to boot.

Whimper...lottery numbers still not good enough...sigh.

I'm with you BJM....

For those of you who were there, this car was in Flint in 2008. As for value, prices seemed to take a bit of a dip with the financial jiggery-pokery that went on recently. Marg had asked me about it - my opinion is that the NADA guides numbers are consistently lower than other price guides.

Hi Bruce, Are the jacks for '62 and '63 different?

Very nice.

More photos. Of course, we forgot the battery charger and the camera was already unhappy with us by lunch time Saturday.

Joseph and I spent Saturday / Sunday on a tour with the local club. I believe we had 25 cars and 50 people. There were three Buicks in the mix - my '41, a '52 Canadian-built Special (owned by a new BCA member), and a '57 Roadmaster (NorthernWayne on the forum here). First stop was at the business of a club member called Canadian Heritage Boats - they build and refinish wooden boats, which are primarily used on Lake of the Woods. Second stop was Sandale - a local restoration and fabrication shop. The third stop on the tour was at a local collector's place...he has an eclectic collection including tractors, trucks, and Buicks. He's got a couple of nice 1927s (one American, one McLauglin-Buick), a '28 that is without a roof after falling off a transport, and a converted truck (see the Buick Trucks thread). Other neat stuff was a Diamond T cab over truck and an American Lafrance ladder truck. There were a variety of tractors, with at least a couple of Cletrac models. We had lunch at this stop, then drove to a museum that houses a large collection of stationary engines, including a 30 hp Crossley (attached photo of it running). We then made our way to the hotel for the night, had a rest, then put on a bit of a show at the nearby A&W before heading back to the hotel for a social evening. Sunday morning saw us visiting a national historic site, which is a Mennonite pioneer village. They are still working on developing the site, but we were given some of the history involved and shown through two of the housebarns before being served lunch. We then visited the local Harley-Davidson dealer. He has quite a collection of Harley-Davidsons and is an avid early Ford V8 collector. Finally we went to the country club for supper to end the tour. All told, I put on just over 200 miles on the car by the time I got home. It performed well, although is a bit slow to start and seemed to be developing some issues on the last leg home. The tour was a lot of fun.

No hook that I recall. I suspect it was more of a service / tire delivery type of vehicle. I am going to try to get the story...I want this truck because it is well done. Based in part on what this fellow had, I believe it is either a '27 or '28. It isn't good in the original, but from the emblem, I believe it to be a McLaughlin-Buick (all the more reason for me to have it). Unfortunately, there was no data plate on the firewall for a model (like my '29, or a '28 that was in the same building) - I would presume that one would want the Master rather than Standard to turn into a truck. The hood was in the shop as well, but I can't recall whether there were fenders kicking around. I will touch base with some of the others that were on the tour to see if they have other photos, or can recall any other details about this vehicle. This was part of a neat collection. He also had a '27 Buick with the offset driver's seat (i.e. the passenger seat was wider and set further back than the single driver's seat) and a 2 door McLaughlin-Buick sedan or coupe.

The problem with touring with a #1 car is that it won't easily remain a #1 car as dirt will find its way in, things will wear, corrosion may start, stone chips and similar happen. I'm not saying that this wouldn't be a fabulous car to drive, it is just that if you are paying a premium for a concours level restoration, then drive it, you may wind up devaluing the car considerably. I'm not suggesting that this particular car should remain a museum piece, just helping to ensure eyes are open on a possible purchase. I think Matt is bang on with the speed. This weekend, I put 200 miles on the '41 Special and it was quite happy around 55 or so, although as a group I think we tended to go slower than that (led by a Ford V8 fwiw). I know a fellow who does a lot of touring with his '29, which is a 6 cylinder and if I recall correctly, he says the car is happy in the 50-55 range. So, I would expect a model half way between these would still be content there with mechanical brakes. Good luck coming to a decision.

Aye. I currently have regular plates (not really any options here) and regular insurance. I wouldn't want to deal with whether or not I should have been driving on a particular day to a particular location if it should happen to be involved in a collision. Insurance is about insuring against loss and most of these policies won't pay out - they are about peace of mind in that should the unexpected occur, it won't cost so much money that it causes hardship.

Hey Roger, that's pretty cool. Thanks for sharing. I can't tell from the photo...I believe '48 was the first year for the Dynaflow...look what happens when you check your references...optional on series 70, so this Super should still be a manual.

Woo Hoo...gotta go shopping!

Love it...well, except for the minivan thing...we had a couple of Montanas...'99 and 2002 if I recall...those days are over. Spinnus Wheelicus? Smokus? Spartacus? Chariot? Legion? Gladiator? Brain not working well...maybe I'll get a chance to think about this a bit more while on the tractor....

Uff Da Sid. Are you trying to kill me? Not that I wouldn't enjoy it, I know the timing isn't great being just before my holidays that revolve around Danvers. I used to enjoy driving long distances, where 10 hours on the road was fine, but I'm older and creakier and crankier now.

So, once it is tuned up, assuming it isn't too hot, you are going to turn the clock back 50 years, and take Mary out for a nice picnic, since the car is suited to just that sort of purpose....