Thriller

Thanks for the responses, PMs, and e-mails. This was about the '23 truck in the Buick Trucks thread in the Buick - General forum. It is for sale NW of Flint. I got a response today from a fellow I contacted through the roster with a '23 4SD truck. The information he provided me with confirmed that this was a car that was converted to a truck. The 1936 Michigan title lists it as a truck, but it started life as a model 47 sedan. My way of thinking is that I would much rather have a genuine Buick truck, combined with the needed engine repair and asking price allows me to pass this one up. I haven't notified the seller yet, since I just got this information today, but it does mean I don't have to risk angering Suzanne by spending money that is not necessarily discretionary right now.

Hi all. Unfortunately, I haven't spent much time in this forum in the past while...life got busy, so less time on the computer meant something had to give. I'm contemplating a purchase of a '23, but the block is cracked. There was a repair attempted and failed. I don't know if it would be repairable by someone with more skill or not. My question would be how hard would it be to find one of these? I definitely haven't looked at all. Based on a book I have, the 6 cylinder had the same displacement from 1918 to 1923, so if it is the same engine, it would give a broader source from which to obtain one. If anyone has one kicking around, what would it take to obtain it? Part of what I'm trying to do is add up the costs associated with the purchase and completion of this unit...the more information I have, the better argument I can make in trying to CONvince the wife to let me spend the money on the main purchase. Thanks.

So, I have to wait 11 months? Sigh. Just like the Bugle...y'all get it before me.

Well, I think I want the antenna...I'm pretty sure the parts car doesn't have one. The problem is waiting for the last instalment on the new shop to come in and trying to CONvince the Boss to let me procure a certain truck has me sitting on my hands trying not to spend any money...not to mention it being a month before Christmas...sigh. Excuses excuses. I know.

Mine arrived last Friday (I was mildly surprised considering we are currently having some labour strife with Canada Post in Winnipeg). I really enjoyed the daughters' article. The beauty of the people in the club is that had Alan not stepped up, I'm sure there are a number of others who, given the request, would have helped out.

Restoration costs depend on a variety of factors, such as how much repair is needed (i.e. how much rust is there and how many items are truly wrecked), how close you want to keep it to original, and how much work you want to put into the car yourself. Restorations take 2 things - time and money. With sufficient quantities of one, you don't need as much of the other. Since restorations take time, you could lay out a plan of what you could reasonably expect to pay out in a specified time frame, say five years. My Wildcat was more or less done, except upholstery, in 8-10 months. I did extremely little myself, so it was the most costly option. My '29 has been in the garage at the house here for over 2 years as I simply try to get started on it as I'd like to do more of it myself. I have a recent price guide here with the following values: #6 - $700 #5 - 2340 #4 - 3900 #3 - 8730 #2 - 13650 #6 condition is a parts car, and #2 is a really nice car that is driven (i.e. not a trailer queen). Price guides provide guidelines and are not absolute. Another piece of the puzzle is that it is extremely rare to be able to restore a car for what it is worth if you pay for work and / or put a value on your time. That said, most of us here aren't in it for the money, but for the fun, the camaraderie of other car folk, and the enjoyment in seeing an old car come back to life. Good luck coming to a decision.

ROFLMAO Too easy sir...I will leave this one alone.

All it takes is money Roy. Did you see the Wildcat in Colorado? There's a local fellow here who does a fair amount of custom work who said it was too rusty to bother. The body shop that did the work, aside from doing a very nice job, said that it was the most ambitious project they had ever done.

Anything to do with her feeding you pie? Sorry...couldn't resist. I can't say I recall meeting Mary Ann, but I have met Willie and count him among the "good folk" category.

If Bob is puzzled, I'm not even going to try....

Johnnyroad, Try looking up Ken McGee in Goderich, ON. He sells automotive literature and if there was anything on the McLaughlin Buicks of 1938, he'd be more likely to have it than anyone else. You may want to consider checking with GM of Canada Archives. As Ewing stated, they have limited information, but they may be able to give you a name for the paint and such. There is a fee for their services. Another thought is joining the McLaughlin Buick Club of Canada, not to mention the Buick Club of America. Both of these clubs have good people and very nice periodicals, although the former may have more access to McL-B information. McLaughlin - Only the Best. The McLaughlins had built a considerable reputation for their carriages and when they decided to get into automobiles, one attempt failed when their engineer got ill. They ultimately decided upon Buick drivelines and the relationship began. I was pleased to be able to attend the centennial in Oshawa in 2008.

Hmmm...it's only money...got my eye on a couple things there.

Beer in a glass? Aren't we hoity-toity? Looks like a great party...wonderful cake. You can really tell that Arrie and Rita are sisters

Well, this has definitely been the topic of conversations, e-mails, and phone calls. Right now there are three obstacles, none of them immovable - new shop isn't built yet (through a series of unfortunate events) so no storage here at the moment, con-vincing the Minister of Finance to allow this line item to be added to the budget - lobbying is still occurring, winter has begun, so snow is on the ground, making moving stuff and towing a bit less desirable. At any rate, I thought I'd share some of the photos I have received. The truck is missing the trim piece that fits between the two pieces of the windshield as is the exterior passenger door handle. Otherwise, everything is supposed to be there. Larry has offered to look at the truck and I may yet take him up on that. Is there anyone closer to Mt. Pleasant (about 70 miles north of Lansing) who might be able to look at it in person?

I'll Spam that.

We've got plenty of space on a home equity line of credit...it just means more debt. That said, I'm not sure I want to take on more debt either...maybe that is just the asking forgiveness part in the background. The way Suzanne's income works is that we have a lump of cash in spring around tax time and it slowly dwindles over the course of the year. This year, the new building was the plan. Next year we have a pretty extensive renovation planned for the house. At some point, it will go more into savings and restoration. Thanks Roberta...and by the magic of the Internet, you don't know right now if that is genuine or sarcastic. I did send an e-mail and got a response...these are folks that really would rather deal over the phone...sigh. I guess I'll have to call in the next couple of days as it's too late tonight.

Sorry to hear about the adversity Frank. Here's hoping and praying it all gets better.

Thanks Larry. Does anyone in the Flint area know this truck? An SD4? Next question...without me checking my books, would '23 and '26 have the same / similar engines? I have the 26-20 parts car with a more or less complete drivetrain (of course, I don't know condition). Sigh...The Boss made a comment about not having extra money around...that can be worked around though.

I've found for holding a car off the ground, any tire that fits and holds air will do. Often times, old truck tires are an inexpensive option, particularly since they may be an appropriate size for Buicks. Now, before driving beyond Buick Gardens, I would certainly give some thought to age and condition of tires.

Albatross! Get your albatross! Um, yeah....

Heh...well, the only reason I know about them is that they came up to visit as they were working on a Thille family genealogy. My great-grandfather came up from Iowa / Nebraska to homestead in Saskatchewan. That's why I have kin down that way...and we stopped to visit my great-grandfather's grave site in NE on our way back from Ames. As for the northwest, they moved...no longer on the Oregon coast, but in Spokane. If nothing else, that puts them about a day's drive closer.

Cool. Welcome. Looking forward to the photos and hearing more about the car. At least I was on this earth when you bought the car...but I wasn't very big....

Dyno results? Please? My keyboard needs a good drooling again....

Well, I guess that's another thing we have in common...I even make my own every now and again. Of course, it is hard for us to get decent fresh pecans up here in the great white north...a number of years back, we had distant relatives visit from Texas...and they brought pecans. Now I like pecans in the first place, but these were so much better....

It isn't that she doesn't get it...she needs to be in the proper "mood" or frame of mind for it. I haven't gotten to the point of begging...I can always go myself if need be, but that wouldn't be as interesting. The Stooges and A&C also used some physical humour, which kids love. We have a Pink Panther DVD collection...I remember the kids first seeing them a number of years back. Joseph is 10 right now, so he was probably 5-7. There is something about the pure laughter of a child...innocence or something...it was at least as pleasurable to watch him rolling around out of control as the cartoon was. Red's got a new book out - How to Do Everything From the Man Who Should Know. I picked it up a while back after he was in town and I heard him on the radio - Steve Smith could barely contain himself since it had been some time since he had written it, so it was almost like it was new to him again. I'm almost done a novel, so once that is out of the way, I'll probably dig into Red. I remember the Smith&Smith show back in the 70s or early 80s with his wife, where the Red character was created.