1932 Buick 56S coupe, Take a LOOK!

[bmg1959]

Hello Everyone,

 

  I am new here and want to introduce myself. My name is Brian Giancola and I recently took in my dear friends Buick after her 

 

husband graduated on to Heaven.  She had her son bring the car out to AZ from Wisconsin. Now it is in my garage and I am trying to

 

figure out what the car is worth to see if I can afford to buy it without taking advantage of her.

 

Please help me out to learn a little more about the car and place a value on it.

 

I currently have a 1930 Ford and am restoring it. The Buick is running and drivable but the paint is from 1979 and is showing its age.

 

It needs work on hood strip and latches and a few other little things. It seems to  drive nice and has nice upholstry. All the chrome and

 

SS is nice condition. I haven't found anything missing or that does not work, yet.      My 6 yr. old son loves it and said we should buy it!  My wife doesn't want me to have it, so it will be posted on here after I figure out a good asking price.

 

Thanks in advance for all your input. 

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•  Sorry about photos of interior side ways, I turn them before posting but they reverted back sideways.
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[Daves1940Buick56S]

Lovely car, I love the '32s. Listen to your son, he knows! Keep it if you can, you would have a hard time doing better.

 

Cheers, Dave

[Bob Engle]

Nice car.  1905 model 56S cars were built in 1932.  The 50 series is the smallest and most common series. 

 

I use the Hagerty Price guide to get a good approximation on market price.  The use auction sales to establish their charts.  The trim code is for grey bedford cloth and the paint code is for Avirill Green with black fenders and moldings.  

 

There are many missing or altered components that would be deductions at a judged points show.  It still would be a great driver.  Sell the model A and keep the  much more driveable Buick.  Ride Quality, comfort, and power are far superior to the Model  A's.

 

Let me know if you want any other details about the car that I can discern from the photos.

 

Bob Engle

[pacrat]

nice,looks like the hood hinge strip has just came of at the back ,i would step up and pay 10 at least.dont like the paint,cloth,but,nice.still hard to get what these old buicks are really worth.

[tigersdad]

As Dave stated, listen to your son!  Dump the Ford!

 

Jay

1932 Buick 8-86 Victoria Travelers Coupe

[mikewest]

$10-12.5 K . This would be a fair price to all parties.

[Dwight Romberger]

Your son has it right!!!

Sell the Model A and anything else you have to to buy it.

Tell your wife you won't be spending all of your time (and $) fixing up the model A. You will have more time to spend with her and the family.

She won't like riding around in the Model A anyway.

[alsancle]

It isn't even a choice between the Model A and the Buick.

[bmg1959]

Well I am the owner of this fine old Buick now!

Can any help me identify the engine?

number is 2922039

I also need help getting it to run better, I believe it is a carb problem

any advice would be appreciated

Thanks , Brian

Edited December 1, 2015 by bmg1959 (see edit history)

[26-25Buick]

Welcome Brian. Nice looking set of wheels

[Bob Engle]

You made a wise decision.  there are many threads on this forum where the marvel carburetor has been discussed in detail.  The distributor set up is a little odd and attention to detail on setup is necessary.  With the dual point distributor, one set fires and then the next set fires the next cylinder in the firing order.  Setting the gap on both points is critical as well as setting the spacing between the two set of points.

 

The 50 series engine is 230 ci. 2 15/16" bore, 4 1/4" bore. 78 hp.  50 series engines are easy to ID from the larger series engines.  starter is on the driver side and fuel pump is on the passenger side.  There is no watertube on the cylinderhead, just a single outlet at the front of the head.

 

My info says the 1932 engine numbers started at 2751922.  Your engine # appears to be a late 1934 as 1935 started at 2922072.

 

Bob Engle

[Buicknutty]

 Congrats on your purchase! It is fine looking car. Your son looks good beside it too.

 Keith

[Styria]

 

Hello to the Buick community on AACA from the beautiful country of Austria.

 

To introduce myselfe: My name is Georg and I live in the heart of Europe, in the beautiful country of Austria.
I'm a small collector of vintage American cars with a 1940's Harley Davidson WL(A),

a 1943 Willys Overland MB with a 1944 Bantam T3 Trailer (I'm an expert in this field),

a 1967 Mustang GT convertible

and an Exotic, a Kawasaki LTD 440 of 1982 (which was my very first motorized vehicle).

I've been looking for a classic car from the 30s for quite some time.

However, buying and inspecting a car is a bit hard when you are 6,000 miles away.

So you have to use opportunities, that friends live nearby, who can take over this job.
That's why I stumbled upon Brian's 1932 Buick 56S in craigslist, as one of my buddies lives in Phoenix.

Thus, this interesting piece of American history finds a new home in the country of Styria, Austria.
It will have a good time here and I'm glad to have saved it from possible destruction by a Hotrod Shop.

I'll keep you informed about his future story here on this forum.

But now a few questions:
- can anyone estimate how many 1932 56S still drive in the original condition on the road? (1905 were build)
- I read here in the forum that the original color code was in green and black, with a gray interior?
- are there any tips or hints that you can tell me?

 

Thanks a lot and nice greetings, Georg

 

 

[Robert Engle]

Welcome to the 32 Buick world.  I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.  What are your plans for the car?  Keep it like it is and enjoy driving it? restoring to correct condition and appearance?  

These cars are good drivers and function best when driven frequently.  There are many items that are not original or correct.  This is not a criticism, as the car looks great and should give a lot of enjoyment as it is.  I prefer not to dwell on the non original issues unless you want me to.  This forum is to encourage owners, not respond negatively.

Feel free to PM me if you want any info.

Bob Engle

[Styria]

Hello Robert.

Many Thanks.
I will contact you by email.

Later, we can continue our conversation here, so that other Buick owners can share the experience.

 

Giorgio

[Robert Engle]

There are no definitive records on the number of antique Buicks still on the road, let alone their condition of unrestored,  restored or modified.  The only known record comes from the BCA roster.  There are 8 1932 56S  cars listed with BCA.

 

I can be reached at bengle1917@gmail.com

 

Bob Engle

 

[Styria]

Hello Bob.

 

Thank you for this estimate.

I wrote you an Email.

 

Georg

[Pete Phillips]

I have one, a 56-S, but it is not up and running yet. It does have its original paint and pin-striping and is mostly unrestored. I was hoping to get it up and running before the Buick Club's national meet in Oklahoma in June, but not sure if there is enough time for that. Photos are from the day I bought it in Dallas, Texas.

Georg, you need to join the Buick Club and get the monthly magazine. I also have a lot of extra parts for the 1932 50-series Buicks, if there is anything you need.  I have generators, starters, water pumps, manifolds, distributor parts, bumpers, headlights, parking lights, transmissions, engine blocks, cylinder heads, etc.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

Leonard, Texas

[Jim Nelson]

I have a ‘1935’ 50 series Vicky.   Be careful with the wheels.   Buick had a bad hair day in the wheel division.   I believe the ‘34’  and ‘35’ had three sizes.   All the wheels mount 16” tires - BUT - the bolt circles differ.    The 40 series had a 5” bolt circle,  the 50 series had 5-1/2” bolt circle and the 60 and 80 series had a 6” bolt circle.   Whew !!      Fortunately when I bought mine (5 wheel version) the wheels were like new.   My spare tire wheel was a black one (mine are yellowish / tan) but still good.    If you need a wheel,   they are few and far between.   According to my Buick supplier, 40 series are very rare due to “hot rodders” in So. Calif.    I just ran across a set (6) of wire wheels - 50 series.     Had been sandblasted and painted.    I bought them  as a JIC.    The 5-1/2” wheels were also on a few of the 1936 cars.     I believe that only the  36-80 series used the 5-1/2” wheel bolt  circle.   Check your service manuals as they will let you know.     PS, like your 5 window coupe.   I also have a ‘38’ - 46S coupe.    

[Jim Nelson]

BTW,  the wheels all look the same.   They are the  ‘artillery’  wheel design.   Only the bolt circle changes - - -  ?    

[Styria]

Hello Pete.

 

THX for the information.

I will report back, when the Buick arrived and we made a complete check.

At the moment he´s in Panama....

 

Georg

[Styria]

Hello from Austria.

 

Two years later:

The german "Pope" for straight eight engines worked for 156 hours!

 

The engine had to be completely dismantled and repaired.

The crankshaft bearings were damaged, cylinders, piston rings, main and connecting rod bearings, valve seats, valves, etc.

The complete oil pump system was not working properly.

Brackets of the cast manifold surfaces ground, gearbox dismantled, seals made (those from the US dealer do not fit), radiator flaps made passable, throttle valve part dismantled, the shaft was totally worn out, new bushings have to be installed, various oxidized parts have to be improved.

Fuel pump with repair kit overhauled.

The ignition was defective. The shaft with the gear did not match either. We had to make one.

 

The engine has been assembled from parts from different years of construction. But now the engine parts match, work together and it is like new again.

 

The carburetor was overhauled, which was not possible with the existing repair kits from the US dealer.

Much was made by hand. The second carburetor that I bought extra from the US dealer is even in poorer condition and completely unusable.

However, the carburetor still causes considerable difficulties.

 

Personally, I'm fed up with that old Marvel tech!

Continiously paying a lot of money and still haven't driven a single meter.

 

- Does anyone know a way to use a modern carburetor on the 32 Buick? And if so, which one?

 

- I also need stabilizer coupling rod bearing. What are you taking as a substitute?

 

Thank you, Georg

[Styria]

If somebody is interested:

 

Substitute for Stabilizer coupling rod bearing Buick 32-56S:

Mercedes Benz W115 - need just little adaption.

 

Giorgio