39 Buick Special rear stone shields

[BUSHOCKER]

Hi 39 members:

My question is : Did 1939 Special 46C cars have rear fender stone shields. (rubber or Stainless?) My car has streamboards and am missing the mouldings. Can any one show a pic of what the mouldings look like?

Thanks All

Ron

[Barney Eaton]

best I can tell all 39's had rubber stone guards. My 39 also has stream boards and no stone guards.

[1939_Buick]

Stonguards (not 100% sure what you mean)

All '39 have metal stoneguards in the rear fenders. Are pressed metal in a rectangular shape

There is also a stoneguard/gravel delectors under the rear bumper

My understanding is the that the rear fenders with standard running boards do not have rubber stone guards. This from looking at cars and also many photos, including some very original unrestored cars

'39 fitted with streamboards have a rubber stone guard. The fender has extra holes punched. I have several spare rear fenders and not all have these holes.

Tomorrow when I get to a computer with better access upload speed/capacity will post (& email) photos

Edit (if they are too big please PM me.)

Added 2 streamboard photos (for an unknown reason 1 has rotated 90° and 1" = 25.4mm)

Edited January 20, 2015 by 1939_buick (see edit history)

[Guest]

I have stream boards not installed yet with NOS gravel guards and they are in storage with the car, so if you don't find images you need sooner, I can prolly be tempted to go have a memory refreshing look and take some photos. A friend also gave me grooved tubber for repairs if needed to the face of the guards.An expert from Champlain MN told me only the stream board equipped cars had guards.

Hi 39 members:

My question is : Did 1939 Special 46C cars have rear fender stone shields. (rubber or Stainless?) My car has streamboards and am missing the mouldings. Can any one show a pic of what the mouldings look like?

Thanks All

Ron

[Dynaflash8]

Hi 39 members:

My question is : Did 1939 Special 46C cars have rear fender stone shields. (rubber or Stainless?) My car has streamboards and am missing the mouldings. Can any one show a pic of what the mouldings look like?

Thanks All

Ron

It is a simple question. ALL 1939 Buick 40-60 cars equipped with rubber running boards did NOT have stone shields. ALL 1939 Buick 40-60 cars with metal stream boards DID have stone shields. No exceptions. For judges to know, it was that combination. Often I've seen metal stream boards on cars that did not have the rubber stone shield/pads, and even seen them win big awards. Its like having a 1940-47 straight 8 or 1948-50 straight 8 or a 1950-53 straight 8. When it is wrong, it is wrong. On the engines, it is very easy to tell the difference.

When you open the AACA Website, let the pictures roll through. One of the last is my Lasson Green Poly (metallic) 1939 Buick 46-C. It won the AACA Buick Alliance National Award in 2014. It is absolutely authentic so far as I know. I restored it from scratch. I've owned 10 '39 Buick cars since 1955 and my Dad had one from 1941-1951. I've made a study of 1939 Buick Special and Century cars since I was old enough to walk and I'm 76 now. You can look in an early Chassis Parts Book, like 1928-41 and you will see there are two different parts numbers for rear fenders, based on the pre-cut holes for steamboard cars. If you look at a 1928-53 parts book I think it is one size fits all and the body shop is expected to make the holes on their own. Of course you can fill in the holes as well as make them.

Funny thing. I saw a little of the Barrett-Jackson auction and a 1941 Ford came through. The idiot announcers stated it was metallic and they didn't have metallic back in 1941. It always irritates me how they get on TV, don't know about the older cars, don't read up on them, and then run off at the mouth with incorrect information. For those who do not know, "Poly" stood for "Polychromatic" which was a pre-war term for what we call metallic today.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Dynaflash8 (see edit history)

[Barney Eaton]

Thanks for the clarification. I have owned a 66S for about 5 years and it has been a learning process. I purchased the car running and in very good condition but learned the car was not as advertised. Not the fault of the seller because he just used the car in local parades and never did any of his own work. he was told by the seller (a Classic Car dealer in St Louis) the car was completely restored.

It is mostly correct but has the original wiring and body mounts. Without tearing it down the front suspension (rubber parts) look original. It has stream boards but no stone guards and I have been told so many different stories I was not sure which to believe. Also the Buick logo on the fender skirts are another mystery.

[Dynaflash8]

Thanks for the clarification. I have owned a 66S for about 5 years and it has been a learning process. I purchased the car running and in very good condition but learned the car was not as advertised. Not the fault of the seller because he just used the car in local parades and never did any of his own work. he was told by the seller (a Classic Car dealer in St Louis) the car was completely restored.

It is mostly correct but has the original wiring and body mounts. Without tearing it down the front suspension (rubber parts) look original. It has stream boards but no stone guards and I have been told so many different stories I was not sure which to believe. Also the Buick logo on the fender skirts are another mystery.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]291922[/ATTACH]

Sorrry Barney, but there is no logo on a 1939 or 1940 fender skirt; both being the same. The are perfectly smooth. Also, they are the same as a 1940 Ford, Packard, Pontiac and many more. I believe they were built those two years by a sub-contractor for all those companies. Also, they are "bulged" or rounded out; some calling them "baloon skirts" and there is no flare on the bottom. Aftermarket skirts were made that are flat and similar, but "no cigar" The genuine skirt has a tip on the bottom front edge that cover the small rounded out bottom rear edge on the front of the rear fender. Ha, read that closely. These skirts were available for all models those years. If your car has only one sidemount, it could have come from Washington, DC. When I was 14-16 years old I used to lust over a '39 Century coupe with one sidemount. I believe a one sidemount car was one that had been wrecked and the bad fender replaced by a plain one.....but, that said, I've never searched it.

[Dynaflash8]

Guys, this is one of my cars. You can see the original stream boards and stonepads and factory rear fender skirts. The Trippe Lights on the front are a non-authentic accessory. The spot light is a factory accessory GM Saftylight, which was manufactured by sub-contract Unity Mfg Co. Guide start supplying the spotlight in 1940 or 1941.

[BUSHOCKER]

Hi fellows:

I would like to thank all the 39 team members for information that I could not find anywhere else! There are no 1939 Buicks in my area that are out and about? However when mine is finished, it will be driven. I am shooting for 2016

Thanks all!

[danhar1960]

Does anyone do repo rubber stone guards ??

I think they look smick and wouldn't mind a set for my beasty.

Danny

[Dynaflash8]

Hi fellows:

I would like to thank all the 39 team members for information that I could not find anywhere else! There are no 1939 Buicks in my area that are out and about? However when mine is finished, it will be driven. I am shooting for 2016

Thanks all!

There is a maroon 46-C with sidemounts in the Pittsburgh area. It is an AACA prize-winning car. I'd have to do some research to come up with the owners name again. He was pretty far up in age. There is also a metallic blue car in PA, but I haven't seen the car or it's owner in maybe ten years, so maybe it has moved on. Good luck with your car. Read the current AACA magazine and call on me if you need any help.

[Dynaflash8]

Does anyone do repo rubber stone guards ??

I think they look smick and wouldn't mind a set for my beasty.

Danny

Danny, I love some of your slang words....smick and beasty...beasty I've heard, but never smick. To your question. Unfortunately the answer is NO the last time I checked. I did have one re-done, but it was a BCA member who did it in his garage as a favor. He found ribbed rubber somewhere that is a 90% match; just slightly wider ribs and glued it to the metal backer. I have NOS on my 46-C. When I talked to Lynn Steele they had no plans because they didn't think the need would equal the investment. Maybe all us guys on the 1939Buick Team should get up a referendum to Steele and circulate for signatures. Bob's Automobilia would probably sell them if they could get them. That said, you have to have a bunch of metal backers. Here's what has to be done. You have to strip the old hard rubber, and then have the metal backer chrome plated because the outside "molding" that shows is part of the metal plate. Before plating you have to be sure the twist tabs on the back of the metal plate have at least two in good enough shape to survive plating and survive one more twist. Otherwise you could probably somehow attach new tabs before plating. I didn't say "weld" because the metal is too thin for that. I'm not a mechanic or machinist. But, somebody, somewhere could figure out how to attach the pads.

[Dynaflash8]

I posted a picture of my 41-C with fender skirts and stone pads. I just didn't know how to post it on this thread. I read somewhere that Buick dealers were advised how to cut the stone pads so the skirts would fit flush, but the stone pads are too rare to find, so I couldn't and didn't do that. The skirts fit well enough over the back edge of the stone pad.

[Barney Eaton]

Thanks for the reply... I know the fender skirts are not original as they are fiberglass and I have since removed them because I like it better without.

My comment on the logo on the skirt was more of a question of what they originated. I tracked down the owner that had the car redone around 1994, he thought they were from a professional car (Buick) but I have contacted a couple of BCA members that also belong to the Professional Car Club and they could find no pictures of a Buick ambulance with a similar emblem

[MCHinson]

Dynaflash8,

I moved the photo of your 41-C to this thread for you.

[Bob H]

My 1939 Special convertible coupe came with stream boards and the stone shields. The left side shield is in decent shape and could be recovered, if someone provided that service. The right side was the site of a significant bump and is in sad shape. The rear stone shields have been on my "critical shortage" list for some time and I am strongly considering painting two sets of rear fenders, one with the stone shield mounting slots in case a pair of shields miraculously appeared and a set without.

Put my name on that reproduction dream list as a buyer for a pair of stone shields if they should ever become available.

I have a complete extra set of 1939 Special restorable stream boards that will be made available for sale in the not too distant future. Don't have a clue what they are worth so I will probably list them on Ebay and let the market set their price. Bob H

[Dynaflash8]

Dynaflash8,

I moved the photo of your 41-C to this thread for you.

Thanks Matt. I should send you a copy by regular email of my 46-C and let you post that one too.

Earl

[Dynaflash8]

I sold my extra set 5-6 years ago to a guy in Western Canada for $1500 with one really beat up outer molding and otherwise in pretty good shape. I paid $1700 for two NOS stone pads along with a like new pair of stream boards complete (said to be NOS, but they were painted gray metallic). The end result was $200 for an other stream board molding I guess. One stone pad was in a box and perfect, the other was significantly damaged from another one with taps open laying on top of it for umpteen years. The man who put new rubber on the second stone pad is a BCA member. However, he specifically said he didn't want to install new rubber for a bunch of different people. So, I did not talk about it in my AACA article in the current magazine. Maybe I can call him and ask if he wants to start a small business. I think I may be able to get him to give out the source of his near-perfect rubber. The real problem, he told me, was making it bend to and stick to the various convex and concave curves in the metal. And of course he can't do anything with the pads unless you plate them first.