unimogjohn Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Hi all, I wrote a few months ago that only my top and rear passenger compartment needed to be completed to finally complete the restoration of the 1923 McLaughlin Buick, model 45 Special, Export. I am happy to report that David (one of our members) completed the top and interior. His work was excellent, and the top completely changed the look of the car. It got lots of waves on the way home today. On Sunday we will take her to the all Buick show in Maryland for her reveal. I have posted pictures at http://forums.aaca.org/members/unimogjohn/albums/Hope that you enjoy them. John in VA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 John and his wife are great people to work with, I'll confess it was Trimacar that Trimmedthatcar. Most of the interior was done by someone else, I installed a new top a couple months ago on the car, and this trip to my garage did a couple of side curtains and finished off and cleaned up the rear seat and rear quarter area. This is one impressive car, the McLaughlin has numerous touches (solid wood dash, for instance) that you don't find in or on the American counterpart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Beautiful car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwight Romberger Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Drop dead gorgous!Congratulation on a superb restoration.Dwight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DaveCorbin Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 An Oddity about John's car: It was built by McLaughlin, went thru Great Britian to South Africa and back to the USA before he bought it. His has a Canadian engine.There's an almost identical car (1923 RHD model 45 and nearly the same color) Buick in existence. It was built here in the USA, went to Australia, and a collector in GB bought it and it's now there! It has a US engine!Is that a weird history of 2 cars? I ran into those facts in helping both of them with their car's histories.Congrats, John, on completing a difficult restoration on a very rare car!Regards, Dave Corbin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbbuick22 Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Hi, John, The car looks great, it seems as though it shares a lot of parts with the 22-23 Sport Touring, Steering wheel, Plated rad shell, etc. Did you find a speedo cable yet? JB22-6-55 Sport Touring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 JB/John, no luck on the speedo cable yet, still looking. Bob's Speedo says that he will make one for me for big dollars, so will be looking at Hershey in a couple of weeks. Also have contacted a couple of local speedo shops to see what they can do. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50jetback Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Yes the Mclaughlin Buicks were top of the line here in Australia in the early to mid 20's and your car is looking beautiful. Love the wooden dash, leather seats, cocktail cabinets in the rear compartment - the list goes on.A question.What is the general view in the US of RHD cars? does it impact on value at all?I have a friend who is considering downsizing his collection and one vehicle which may come up is a beautifully restored 1924 McLaughlin. Some locals have told him not to bother advertising a RHD in America or Europe as prospective buyers are only looking for LHD cars.I find this puzzling as RHD v's LHD really has no bearing on classic/collector cars in Australia, in fact in many instances LHD is a selling point.I will pose the question later on the general thread but thought people reading this thread would have a better idea with John's car being RHD.Will include a photo of my friends 1924 model 45 McLaughlin for interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thriller Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Nice car Stuart. I'd be interested, but the barn is full right now and the dollars are few.Right hand drive doesn't matter much to me - they are letting a lot of the Japanese import RHD vehicles onto the road around here now...why not one that was made in Canada? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Well, I can tell you from a personal standpoint, a right hand drive has never been an asset or draw for a car purchase.That said, after working on John's car and seeing the quality upgrades, a McLaughlin Buick, left, right, or middle drive, would be of interest.I'd be interested to know how he values the car (translation, what does it take to buy it). Transportation to east coast of the US is daunting, but look at the travels that John's car has enjoyed. Best David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garnetkid Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Very nice John. Has a lot of the same features as my 25-45. I will have to look through my stuff for a speedo cable. Do your hub caps say McLaughlin Buick on them? Leon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 26, 2009 Author Share Posted September 26, 2009 Leon, the caps are the standard Buick script. I was able to find some McL/Buick caps, but they were far more money than I wanted or could spend. The ones I have on the car are perfect, so will use them until I run across McL caps at a price I can afford. That would be great on the speedo cable. TX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50jetback Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I'd be interested to know how he values the car (translation, what does it take to buy it). Transportation to east coast of the US is daunting, but look at the travels that John's car has enjoyed. Best DavidDavid,I shall inquire further and see if he has decided to sell this vehicle ( either this or a 29 Master sedan ) and his asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garnetkid Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 John, I dug through my stuff and found a very good cable housing and a cable with one end twisted off and missing. Are you looking for just the cable or the whole set up? You can contact me at lsrumpf(at)shaw.ca (relace the (at) with @) and I can send some pics and measurements. As I recall it came off a 25-40. Leon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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