MCHinson

While we wait for those photos, I will share some. If needed, I can probably get the car on a friend's lift and get better photos but here are some photos to show how the original radio wiring appears on my 1937 Model 80C. The first photo shows the antenna lead coming down from the driver's side of the dash and towards the left front running board mounts which are also visible in the phots. The second photo, taken from behind the left front running board mounts, shows where the antenna lead is connected to the left running board.

I can probably help you with some photos of the original installation. From memory, the antenna lead wire attaches to the front of the left running board. The crossover wire attaches to the rear of the left running board and goes over to attach to the rear of the right running board. The running board metal acts as the antenna. The mounts are to insulate the running board metal from the chassis metal. With them assembled, it is impossible to see the "red" piece. If you want to have a radio restored, contact Pete DiPasquale. He is a member of the 36-38 Buick Club and a radio restorer. I will send you his contact information. Now would be a great time to join the 36-38 Buick Club. He gives discounts to fellow club members. His cost to restore a 1937 Buick Radio was much less than anybody else that I am aware of and he did a great job.

I still don't quite understand the pieces that make up the complete mount assembly. Can you post photos of the various parts that make up the mount? From the Steele site, it would appear that you only need 4 pairs of the 50-0280-21 and 8 of the 50-0305-21. Is there some other part that I am not seeing?

Yesterday morning, I drove my 1937 Model 80C to our local Cars and Coffee, a trip of only about 6 miles. Last night, I drove a friend's daughter and her new husband from their reception to their honeymoon, a round trip of 40 miles. The second photo shows the car while waiting for the couple last night.

At $101.19 a pair, it is just a little over $400 for what you would need since you need 4 pairs per car. Can you post a photo of what your existing ones look like? My radio works fine. I just looked at my running board mounts and the rubber has certainly seen better days. I don't want to disassemble mine to find out, but I am trying to understand exactly how they insulate the running boards. It seems to me that the running board bolts would still provide continuity between the running boards and the running board brackets which are attached to the chassis. If the rubber on your mounts is bascally intact and you want to make them look better, I would probably try painting them with some black flex seal material.

One other small detail about this car leads me to think that it was shipped without any body installed... and probably with the bumpers shipped uninstalled. The bumpers are both upside down. They have likely been that way all of the car's life and I suspect the custom body builder's installed them wrong when the car was new.

The most logical "guess", which is really the only option, is that it is one of the 54 Right hand drive exported "Sedan Chassis". 4416 is not a Fisher body style that I have ever seen. The best guess is that denotes a chassis with the dash, grille, hood, sidemount fenders, running boards and possibly rear fenders. Everything else is a body produced by a custom body builder, probably in the UK.

It is certainly an unusual Buick. Not surprisingly, the grille badge identifies it as a Canadian built version. That would make it a rare car. There were a total of only 217 Right hand drive Specials made in Canada for export in 1937. Assuming the custom body makes it one that was exported as a right hand drive Sedan Chassis would make it one of 54 built in 1937. I sort of like it, but rare does not mean valuable. https://www.classiccar-auctions.com/en/lot-details/18173/Main category /Classics/buick-special-series-40-1937

Call Dave Tacheny at 763-427-3460 between 4 and 7 pm Central. He sells 1936-1941 Buick parts. He likely has an oil pump. If he does, I would also expect him to be the cheapest source for one.

On Saturday, I drove my 1937 Model 80C about 70 miles round trip to attend a show in Southport NC.

Welcome to the AACA Discussion Forum. As others have said, it is often impossible to learn that type of information. The most likely source will be to start with the previous owner and trace backwards by asking who the prior owner was. The second best source will be car club members in the area where the car was purchased. I would certainly recommend that you join the Antique Automobile Club of America, The Buick Club of America, and the 36-38 Buick Club. The 36-38 Buick Club is a Division of The Buick Club. If a prior owner of the car was a member of the 36-38 Buick Club, I may be able to help you find some additonal information on prior owners. I would encourage you to check out the 36-38 Buick Club at http://www.3638buickclub.org/. If you contact me via the contact the webmaster link on the club website, I can send you a membership application and a sample .pdf copy of a recent club newsletter.

From the photos in the ad, it looks like this car is probably priced about right. I don't think it is likely to be the smoking hot deal that some seem to think it is. It looks like a very old restoration to me. The paint appears dull in the photos. I always worry when a car for sale is offered with photos taken in the garage. I always wonder why the seller did not even want to drive it outside to take photos. With no engine photos, I assume the engine compartment is probably not much to look at. I also note the driver's window garnish moulding appears to have decades of wear from the driver resting his arm on it. That detail makes me wonder what else is worn and has not had any attention in years. While I certainly could be wrong, the ad appears to be sending up a few warning flags to me.

Welcome to the AACA Discussion Forum. If you are looking for a professional who specializes in Buicks to finish the restoration, Pete Phillips in Texas or Doug Seybold in Ohio come to mind. I am not personally familar with restoration shops in California. I would suggest you join the 36-38 Buick Club. http://www.3638buickclub.org/. Since you don't have enough posts here to send me a private message on the forum, if you will contact me via the contact the webmaster link on the 36-38 Buick Club website, I will be happy to send you a .pdf sample issue of the club newsletter. I can refer you to some fellow 36-38 Buick Club members in California who might know of a shop closer to you that they would recommend.

The General Motors of Canada body data tag identifies this as a Model 7-44-19. That identifies the car as a Special 4 Door Trunkback Sedan. The most popular 1937 Buick sold in Canada in 1937. It is one of 2,960 produced in Canada for domestic use in 1937. GM of Canada body data tags mirror the Fisher body style numbers of the US built Buicks. 4419 is the Fisher body Style number for a Model 41 Special 4 door trunkback sedan. For comparision, there were 82,440 Model 41's produced in the US in 1937.

Ben is correct, The engine number appears to be a 1942 40 Series engine. https://www.teambuick.com/reference/ident_engine_til_52.php

That would appear to be a 1942 40 series engine. You can confirm it at the following link: https://www.teambuick.com/reference/ident_engine_til_52.php

I just don't really want to drive an 85 year old convertible with a lot of original window gasket material in several hours of rain. It has been years since I have spent much time in the swap meet area so I can't really answer your question about that subject.

Apparently the recent AACA website update changed the link. The new link is: https://aaca.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/AACA_2022_Judging_Guidelines-1.pdf

I am going but am probably not going to drive my 1937 Model 80C as planned. It is registered for the AACA Nationals there and I am registered to judge there. I hate to not bring the car, but I really don't want to have to drive it through rain storms on the way up on Friday.

If you can't find a number, let me know the overall length and I can measure the length on the steering gear/column/wheel on my 1937 Model 61 and we can figure out if it is a 40 or 60 series from the length. Due to the number of each series made, it is more likely to be a 40 series.

I double checked the parts book and confirmed that the 80 and 90 series use the same steering gear. The 40 and 60 series steering gears, while similar, are not the same part number. Do you see any numbers on the assembly? That will answer if it is a 40 or 60 series steering gear. The 40 series steering gear is part number 263720 and the 60 series steering gear is part number 263722. (... Assuming we are talking about left hand drive, as the right hand drive uses different part numbers)

1937 Buick. If you can post a photo of the steering box, I can answer if it is a 40/60 or an 80/90 series steering column. They both use the same steering wheel

It takes more effort to turn the engine when hot. A marginal starter circuit problem will show up when hot. If ignored, over time, it would probably get to the point that it would not be able to turn the engine when cold.

If it has old battery cables, I would put new correct battery cables on it to start. Have you had the battery tested? How old is the battery? A good new battery and good new cables would be a good start, but do check out everything.

The obvious potential problem does not seem to have been mentioned. What type of battery cables do you have on the car? If they have been replaced with modern smaller cables designed for 12 volts, replace them with the proper size cables. Also you need to make sure that all of the connections are clean, tight, and that the ground is attached to bare (not painted) metal. If you can have someone else attempt to start the car while you hold onto the battery cables, if they are getting hot, you have found at least one of your problems is a battery cable. New correctly sized battery cables installed correctly will often fix slow cranking 6 volt starter problems.