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Raise your hand if you drove at least one old Buick this weekend


JohnD1956

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Well I did not drive the model 41 today, but spent hours (seems like days) waxing and detailing it. Tomorrow should be a nicer day for a ride. Not sure which Buick I will drive...

 

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 So I went to look at another car yesterday, and decided to drive the Reatta, as it was a hour plus each way, and it hasn't had a highway trip in some time, just over 100 miles in total. To rephrase an expression from good friend, who is afflicted with a lot of Fords, and doesn't seem to mind, I'll refer to the car I test drove yesterday, as a "Non Buick", but not a Ford!  My friend sometimes uses the term Non-Ford, often to describe GM parts he has. Great guy though!

 Not that have anything in particular against Fords, so please don't send me hate mail!

 No pictures, unless you want to see the prospective new (old) car.

 Keith

Edited by Buicknutty (see edit history)
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Well it was too nice a day not to take out the 71C with the top down! Picked up Mom and Molly for a ride in the country.   

The top will never be up again as long as I serve as a custodian of this car. She looks and rides great.

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My wife and I stopped by my mom's and my in-laws (pic) to visit the seniors with safe distancing my sister in law was also at the inlaws and even the Reatta was Social Distancing. Then took a 2 hour ride on Long Island's Gold Coast.

Great weather, Great people and a Great car

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Monday, but in these times what does the name of the day mean.

 

Just drove up through town and saw Hector, the barber was open. Got a hair cut for the first time in months, came home, and did a 2020 whitewall wash.

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Guess I will spend some time in the shade by "Stonehenge".

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Just for an excuse to use the impact wrench, mounted a set of ‘53 wire wheel covers onto the Special, to see how they looked. Bought them as a spare set for the Roadmaster, but I am really drawn to them on the Special too (I’m looking for the correct shield inserts for them, if anyone knows of a set). 
 

Then did an oil change, cruised around and showed them off to the adoring public. As you can see from the photo, I was successful in beating back the throngs of people. 

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52 minutes ago, Larry Schramm said:

I finally got the new radiator in the '13 yesterday and Joyce and I took it out for about a 50 mile drive.  Beautiful day in the 70 deg F sunshine.

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That looks like a great road  Larry!   Yes, the car gets a coat of dust.  But it is likely the way it was when your car was built!  

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10 minutes ago, JohnD1956 said:

 

That looks like a great road  Larry!   Yes, the car gets a coat of dust.  But it is likely the way it was when your car was built!  

 

There is nothing  better than driving down a dirt road (no rain or mud if possible,  but we have done it) with a brass era car to transport you back into time.  It is a really neat experience. 

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And that dirt road will make you feel comfortable driving slower and actually seeing/enjoying the countryside.

 

I'm aware Michigan still has dirt back roads "if you will" but here in my part of Southern Ontario one has to look hard to find a dirt road anymore. Most have been tar and chipped or paved with asphalt.

 

I remember a particular trip well taking back dirt roads when I was a kid in a car club members 1931 Buick bus along with a full passenger list.

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That's me on the far right.

Quite the experience when the old straight 8 couldn't make it up the hill with the full load. it had to unload everyone, back down the hill (almost going into the ditch), back part way up the hill and then give it all it was worth while members assisted by pushing. 

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Ahhh... it seems like yesterday...

 

So I'll cheat and post this even though it wasn't today. 😁

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Very neat, Doug! Perhaps that bus is still around? It must of been 10-15 years ago someone brought a Buick bus to one of our MBCC meets that was held in Southwestern Ontario.

I had of course heard and read about them, but had never seen one till then. The one I saw would of been about the same year as the one you have pictured, but I cannot remember for sure, nor the owner's name.

Keith

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On 6/2/2020 at 8:53 AM, Larry Schramm said:

 

There is nothing  better than driving down a dirt road (no rain or mud if possible,  but we have done it) with a brass era car to transport you back into time.  It is a really neat experience. 

That was the only option with lane closures for construction on the interstates and even 2-lane roads. The caliche roads are now beat all to hell by truck traffic trying to avoid the other shut downs.  That will take you back in time in a brass era car.

 

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Took the 60 LeSabre convertible over to a small gathering at a friend’s garage yesterday. It was the only non-Mopar classic there.

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Today, we attended a small informal cruise-in in town. It was a beautiful top down day for sure!

 

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Drove the 1937 Roadmaster Phaeton 80C Saturday morning-

an email advised that we would hold our CARS🚗 AND COFFEE at a local restaurant, Mano’s on David Drive. I arrived to find an empty parking lot and a closed restaurant 🥴.

A quick phone call to my friend Anthony confirmed that the “THE BEST PLANS OF MICE AND MEN” geng aft agley - oft go astray! I made a brief stop at a local grocery, donned mask and nitrile gloves👍, and headed inside to stock up on additional supplies just in case the storm held us captive for longer than anticipated - a couple of loaves of freshly baked french bread, a few half-gallons of Blue Bell Ice Cream, milk, a variety of Smucker's preserves (strawberry, pineapple, etc), turkey bologna, chicken breasts and drumsticks🍗 to barbecue on the covered and screened patio grille (just in case), and other assorted lunch meats. Fortunately, we still have a modest selection of wine🍷 and some Don-Q Rum🍹 brought back from having judged the most recent AACA Meet in Puerto Rico

 

At least I got to enjoy driving the big black Buick a day prior to our area’s assault by Tropical Storm Cristobal - now passing through. As I type these words the calming aura of the storm’s eye is directly over us - and fortunately we have experienced no damage in our immediate locale. The coming days will likely deliver much more rain and wind, but hopefully not more than that to which we are accustomed.

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Edited by Marty Roth (see edit history)
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After a few weeks tinkering with the Electra, I wanted to just get in a Buick, turn the key and go. So grabbed the 78 Estate Wagon to run some stuff to the recycling center and do a few errands.  The EW works very well and is just a very nice and steady drive.  
 

I ended up parking in front of a historic theater here in Vancouver in what is normally a very busy shopping street and got a window for an accidental photo opportunity with no other cars in the frame. My wife loves this street as there are many highly fashionable shops she can visit. 
 

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Edited by dmfconsult (see edit history)
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A different road in the hills tonight. Both pictures are the same view.  About 30 miles or so and it looks like the signal light flasher bit the dust. Not sure if this is the original one but I never put one in before. You'd think it would last more than 40 years.

 

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Finally got to pull this lovely 1940 Super convertible out of the lobby and get some exercise. A brief drive home and some fresh gas and it seemed quite happy. Fired up easily after 6 months in the lobby, drives great. 

 

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Two thoughts:

 

One, I'm never going back to bias-ply tires. This thing is all over the road when there are truck ruts and grooves. I mean, you can't stop paying attention for even a few seconds before it's heading into oncoming traffic or towards the ditch.

 

Two, if you have a small series car, don't drive a large series car. This one zips around at 50 MPH without any trouble, ride quality is great, brakes are strong, and it really does feel polished and well-finished. But where's my torque? Hills that I never even notice in the Limited were a full-throttle-and-still-lose-10-MPH situation. The big cars have spoiled me, I suppose.

 

On the other hand, it's gorgeous, it's smooth, it's quiet, and it looks like a million bucks. What a nice car!

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Took a 56 mile drive to a lake I grew up near. Picture perfect day for a ride in a convertible.

it was a nice round trip. Don't know why I tried to sell this car!

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After 1 month of layup with the timing gear replacement our 1925 "Beulah" is finally back on the road. We did about 30 miles over the last several days with our beautiful 75 degree weather.DSCF8183.thumb.JPG.a95fe196e40787a78141983c747a4a82.JPG

The garage where I have our 1937 "Lucy" has been in transition by the plumber owner and has been blocked for her escape.

 Finally there was a path cleared for her liberation Saturday. She had been on "LOCK DOWN" since the end of February. Another 60 miles of exercise for her.

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 The right angle makes even the Special seem like a really long car.

 

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I hope I am not violating the rules, but I drove the 71C on Saturday and Sunday too. We all went for ice cream after strawberry picking. As an added surprise, 21 Corvettes came streaming in after us. They had been on a parade.

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Finally put a few miles on the Skylark this weekend. It had been laid up for a few reasons, not the least of which was a malfunctioning carburetor. After several attempts at DIY repair I realized that it needed a pro's touch. Sent it out for repair, and in less than a week it came back repaired. The car hasn't run better in the nearly six years I've owned it, really. We  ran several errands, visited my daughter, wen to a local cruise night, and overall used it as my daily driver for the weekend. Depending on how things continue to share up over the next couple of months I may take the trip to South Bend and Auburn this year after all, maybe after Labor Day.

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Friday, 6/12, drove the Reatta to an impromptu cruise-in with a couple of Mustang buddies of mine...about a 50 mile round trip.  Felt good to get it out and about.  Still haven't driven it enough to require any gasoline refill...still running on last fall's gas-in-tank with stabilizer!  Do know if I drive it to next year's BCA at NC and OH I'm going to have to replace struts and shocks beforehand.  

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On ‎6‎/‎1‎/‎2020 at 4:13 PM, JBP said:

 . . . As you can see from the photo, I was successful in beating back the throngs of people . . . 

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Yeah right. Looks more like what the 2020 Strongsville-Ohio host hotel's parking lot would look like even if next month's Meet wasn't cancelled.  :lol:

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