1930 Buick Marquette info needed

[Kelly Barnett]

I don't post much but I'm in need of some guidance on a car I saw this afternoon.  I went to look at a couple of old gas engines and this car was in the same building.  It is a 1930 Buick Marquette 4 door sedan.  I am after info on what it might be worth.  I have been looking for a good antique car survivor and this might fit the bill.  Okay, her goes the descriptions / observations that I made.  The body: very straight car with the only ding I saw was on the passenger side rear fender in front of the wheel (looks like they pulled into a spot and something put a dent in it about the size of a baseball about 1/4" deep).  The roof is in need of attention (the trim has started to come apart from the roof and can let water in).  The car has artillery style wood spoke wheels that are in good shape (the tires could use but would likely put new ones on).  The interior has some condition issues on the rear drivers side area where moisture has water stained the fabric).  There also has been some rodents making there way into the rear side panels and left a couple of holes in the fabric (darn mice).  The foot rail in the back seat area is missing but the brackets are there for each end that mount it to the floor.  The steering wheel is missing the center cap and one of the levers had been broken off many moons ago (will need to find replacements).  The odometer shows just over 48,000 miles.  The seats looks to be in good shape for the original fabric.  The rear axle must have a pinion seal that had been leaking because there is quite a build up of greasy dirt on the rear pumpkin area.  Newer exhaust (all aluminized).  Fuel tank looks to be in good shape (luggage trunk was on top of the fuel cap so I couldn't take the cap off to see inside).  The engine compartment looks like it needs a good going through.  The hoses are original and won't make it long if ran much.  The engine has a freeze crack on the drivers side along the block that will need to be repaired properly (they used JB weld or the like to try to fix it in the past).  I figure if the engine would be tore down to fix the break that the engine could be overhauled at the same time (not sure what that might run yet).  The exterior paint is original yet and is in quite good shape.  I figure a little elbow grease and some time the exterior would look quite nice (dark blue with black fenders).  Sorry, I forgot the camera and it was also facing the back of the stall, so all I would have gotten for snapshots would have been the rear end shots of the car.

 

From that info what would you kind of guess the value would be?  I would be doing much of the work myself (accept the welding of the engine block).  Any help in getting a ballpark value on this car would be greatly appreciated.  I want to be fair to her an also to myself.  I'm used to antique engines and tractors for value.  This old car has me kind of stumped.  I kind of figured around $5000 to get it road ready from how it sits now.  Am I low or high for the repairs by what I stated for condition?  Thanks

 

Kelly

[Pete Phillips]

What shape is the wood framework under the sheet metal in? That determines your restoration cost, more than anything else on a composite-bodied car like this one. With a visible crack in the engine and not running, you have to assume the worst--that the engine is no good and not fixable, although it may very well be repairable. If the original paint is as nice as you describe, then the wood framework is probably also pretty good, but I would not pay more than $2500 for a non-running four-door sedan that is missing what will be some very hard to find parts. Tires, radiator, and any wood wheels that need replacing will be your most expensive items.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338.

Edited September 10, 2016 by Pete Phillips (see edit history)

[Bob Engle]

The Marquette Buick was a one year only (1930) attempt at a low cost car for the depression market.  It had an L head 6 cylinder engine. Because of this one year production, parts will be scarce as nothing will interchange with the other buicks of the same year.

I would expect that you will need gas tank repairs as well as radiator repairs and A NEW Wiring harness.  Brake repairs will need to be done, but the old mechanical brakes are fairly easy to rebuild if you don't have drum damage.

Lift the front floor mats and look at  the wood at the "A" pillar.  Any rot in this area is a challenge to repair.  I agree with Pete on the price.  

 

Bob Engle

 

[Kelly Barnett]

Well, last night I called her to give her my offer for the car.  Her initial response was "Is that all???".  I tried to explain to her that just because it is a odd version of the Buick line, it doesn't mean that it is worth a whole bunch.  I also tried to explain that the repair costs to make it a dependable road worthy vehicle would add up pretty fast.  We will see if anything happens in the next week.  If I can get it great, if not, that is okay as well.  There will be other vehicles to look at in the future.  I will let you know what happens down the road......

Edited September 22, 2016 by Kelly Barnett (see edit history)