Buick Filled Saturday PART 2

[Guest shadetree77]

I just got back from another outing in my quest to find out more about the '49 that has been left to sit out in the freezing rain. I didn't find out much about it on this trip either but I did run across some more Buicks right next door and some intriguing mysteries at the Antique Shop owners house! Let's just say my adrenaline is pumping right now just imagining what could be behind those tarps.....but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I started off by making another visit to the antique shop. The '49 is still there but with a flat tire now. I did take some pictures of that rocker panel chrome for you guys. It's definitely aftermarket. If you look closely at the ends you can see that they were cut to fit and left a bit raw looking. I left my card with a small note in the door jamb of the shop.

So my Wife and I pulled out to leave and she accidentally went the wrong direction. She pulled into a side road literally next door to the antique shop to turn around. There was a towing service facing the road with a fence around the back. My wife said, "Look!! Look at all of those old cars back there!". Lo and behold, there were 20-30 cars sitting in the fenced in area. I immediately spotted two Buicks. I've driven by this places 1000's of times and never noticed it. We pulled into the lot and I went inside to talk to the owner. He agreed to open the fence and let me look at the Buicks.

The first one is a 1940 Model 46 two door. The owner says it is completely original and I tend to concur. It's in good restorable condition and he says that it ran good a few months ago (he's only had the cars for 6 months). The second car is a 1936 Model 41 four door. It too looks to be 90% original. Except for maybe the paint. I don't think they painted them that color back then (or maybe they did, anyone know?). It was in much rougher shape than the '40. The owner said he had never tried to run it. He said it may even be locked up for all he knows. The interior was pretty much non-existant. It was shredded and the interior was piled full of parts. The driver's door was also hanging loose. Quite an awesome find made completely by chance....again! The owner gave me permission to post them here in the Buy/Sell section so check there later for the prices and contact info.

Now for the intriguing mystery part! As I said before, all of the numbers listed for the antique shop and the owner are disconnected. I got her address from the phone book and decided to stop by there today. I pulled up to her moderately large house and parked. This had to be the place. The yard and porch were full of old wagon wheels, moonshine jugs, and assorted antiques. I knocked on the door several times. There was no answer so I left another card and note. I climbed back in the car and my wife decided to pull the rest of the way down the driveway around back of the house to turn around.

Upon making the turn around the house I saw a crude 3 car shed to the side AND a 3 car garage attached to the house. The house garage was closed up tight but the shed had no doors on the front. Simply a bunch of large tarps attached to the roof blowing in the wind. I could clearly see that there was an old chrome bumper peeking out from behind each and every space in the shed. Just a tiny flash of chrome bumpers being reavealed by each gust of cold wind. Not even enough to tell what they were. Just enough to send my pulse racing! There's no telling what's tucked away in that shed and especially in that house garage! Every fiber of my "car guy" being wanted to jump out of that car and go snooping, but this is the South and you don't go snooping around someone's house uninvited lest you be greeted by the same "pistol packing grandma" you're looking for.

We turned around and promptly got the heck out of Dodge. I didn't want her to come home and think I was snooping thus ruining any chance I might have of talking to her about her cars. My guess is they belonged to her late husband. I'm going to wait a few days to see if she'll call me and if not, I'll be going back to try again. I am thoroughly intrigued by those shiny bumpers taunting me from behind those tarps.

[Pete Phillips]

The '40 Special business coupe is a nice car.

Buick never painted its 1936 models with a two-tone split like that '36 has--definitely a later repaint.

I like that '62 Mercury Monterey convertible next to the '40 Buick. '62 full-size Mercurys are rare enough, but you NEVER see those in a convertible. I'd venture to say that one is the rarest one of the bunch.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

[49_buick_super]

Thanks for those follow-up '49 pictures, Robert. Those lower trim pieces are probably hiding some rust.

Now, we're all waiting to see which one of these Buicks ends up back at your place.

Dan

[JohnD1956]

Lovin that 40!

[Guest 4 bufords]

me too,4 bufords from ct

[Guest papaw]

I think the 40 would look really good in my garage also! I had a 62 Mercury convertible and loved that car but it was really slow back in the day compared to all my buddies. It had a 292 auto and the weight of that convertible it was no speed demon.

[avgwarhawk]

The plot thickens Robert!

[Guest shadetree77]

Ok folks. My quest has come to an end. I got a call this morning from the antique shop owner. Apparently, she has been in Florida for the last two weeks. She found my card on the door of the shop today. The car belongs to her husband. I say "belongs" and not "belonged" because I was misinformed about his passing. He is alive and well and an avid car collector. Anyway, she did tell me that it was for sale but didn't know much about the car. She gave me her husband's number.

I called him and he confirmed that the car is indeed for sale. He told me that it is an all original car completely untouched by him. He is the second owner. The car was bought new by a local Doctor in the 50's and it has remained here it's entire life. He told me that he had been trying to buy the car from the old Doctor for quite some time. Eventually, the Doctor passed away and after some negotiations he purchased the car from the Doctor's family and it has been in his garage ever since. It is a complete car and is missing nothing. He says that the engine runs extremely well and the car drives perfectly. He also says that there is not one bit of significant rust anywhere on the car. No holes in any of the floor pans or the trunk. The car has 83,000 original miles. He is asking what I think is a fair price of $6500 and could possibly be talked down a bit.

I was informed that there was a For Sale sign on the car when they parked it at the store but it must have blown away. The lady told me that she was going to put another sign on it today which means this beauty is probably not going to be there for long at that price. If anyone is interested in the car I can get any information or pictures you need. If you want to talk to the owner, I can ask him if he would mind me giving out his number and if it is OK with him I can provide you his name and number. I hope this all-original beauty can go to someone that will appreciate her. There are a LOT of hot rodders, rat rodders, and low riders in this town so if you're interested, act fast!

He also told me he has a '39 Ford coupe for sale. He extended an offer to me to come out to their home to look at it. Which would mean I would get to see all of the other hidden treasures behind those tarps. I may just take him up on that offer! Kind of like placing a bet when you have no money, but I'm dying to see what's over there. I think I'll go buy myself a few lottery tickets. :cool:

[avgwarhawk]

Interesting indeed.

[Guest Rob McDonald]

ROBERT, this is terrific! Hunting down old cars is way more fun than actually owning them. Enjoy the journey.

[JohnD1956]

Wonder if he wants to market that 40 coupe? Not that I could buy it, but I still love those little coupes...