MCHinson

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.

This morning, I drove to our local Cars and Coffee. While there, this young man was having his mom take a photo of him standing in front of my 80C. I invited them to get a photo of him behind the steering wheel. He was very happy.

Shortly after 1940 a number of sealed beam conversion kits were made for various earlier cars. They were designed as an upgrade to the earlier headlights. Your Lincoln is certainly not alone in being converted to sealed beam bulbs. The conversion kit may be made by Lincoln or it may be an aftermarket kit. I still have a similar sealed beam conversion kit that I removed from one of my 1937 Buicks. It is your choice as to if you want to stick with the sealed beams or find original headlight lenses and the other assorted hardware to change it back to the original configuration. I also suspect that the headlights were originally grounded through the headlight buckets and not a wire.

The most likely problems that I would search for first are a failing condenser, a failing coil, or ignition points failing. It could be a fuel related problem, but it is much more likely to be an electrical problem. They tend to start failing when warm as the components develop higher resistance when the components warm up.

I have not posted recently, but I continue to enjoy the car. On the way to a car show yesterday, the odometer rolled past 58,000 miles so I guess I have put a little bit over 1400 miles on it since December of 2020, an average of about 50 miles per month. That is typically trips to lunch or dinner, trips to local AACA meetings and other events. It doesn't get too many miles on it when my daily trip to lunch is less than a mile round trip. Next month, I plan to drive it to Charlotte to the AACA Nationals, so it will get about 400 miles on it that weekend. Later in April, I am hosting the 36-38 Buick Club tour, here in Wilmington, so it will get a few hundred more miles on it on the tour.

According to Bob's Automobilia's website, that number is for 1936-1940 Large Series engines. According to my Buick Master Parts List, the Thermostat Housing that you need that fits the 1936-1940 Small series engine is Part Number 1295238.

Welcome to the AACA Discussion Forum. I would suggest you call Dave Tacheny. He sells 1936-1941 Buick parts from parts cars. You can best reach him by calling 763-427-3460 between 4 and 7 pm Central. I would also suggest you check out the 36-38 Buick Club. Despite the name, the club now covers all Straight 8 era Buicks. http://www.3638buickclub.org/ if you send me a message thorugh the contact the webmaster link on the 36-38 Buick Club website, I will be happy to send you a sample .pdf copy of a recent club newsletter. If you scroll down a bit to the Prewar Buick section, you will find a lot of helpful folks who specialize in this era Buicks.

You should be fine. Worst case scenario, the changes that you have made would still make the car eligible for acceptance in AACA's DPC Class, so it is perfectly acceptable as an AACA Touring vehicle. Sign up and enjoy the tour!

Welcome to the AACA Discussion Forum. I have never worked on the steering box of any of my Buicks. I have sent one to Lares Corporation and had them rebuild it. Years ago, I needed to remove the worm gear from a Model A Ford steering shaft. I took it to a machine shop and had them press the worm gear off. Personally, If I had a problem with the steering gear on a 1937, I would either have it rebuilt by Lares Corporation (which is not cheap), or else I would see if Dave Tacheny had a replacement steering assembly to swap out, which would probablyl be a lot cheaper than a rebuild. You can best reach Dave by calling 763-427-3460 between 4 and 7 pm Central. Other than that, as you have a 1937, I would be remiss if I did not invite you to check out the 36-38 Buick Club. You will find out more about the club at: http://www.3638buickclub.org/ If you contact me via the contact the webmaster form on the club website, I will be happy to email you a free sample .pdf issue of the club newsletter.

Bradf0rd, Join a local chapter or region of AACA. The local folks in the club will have lots of experience with the law in Louisiana and can give you practical advice on how to proceed in obtaining a title in your state. I have some friends in Louisiana who can probably help you if you don't have a chapter or region in your immediate area. @Marty Roth on the forum can probably help you as he is a long time AACA member from Louisiana.