1929 Marquette by Buick 2 door sedan

[keninman]

 

 

I am planning to meet the owner of this car tomorrow. From what the owner has told me, his father began restoration in 1964. It appears he stripped paint and interior. He rebuilt the engine, replaced clutch and brake linings. However the car has not been started since 1968. He said it does turn over freely. They also have moved it around to a few different storage locations. The biggest problem from what I gather is that at some point the seats have become lost. Being a 2 door I could see this being a very large problem. Since there were only about 4700 of this body style made, I doubt an exact replacement could be found but perhaps something from an Oldsmobile, Pontiac or even a Chevy 2 door sedan would work. From the pictures I have it looks like some the hardware had been removed hopefully it is still in the car.  I will inspect the wood tomorrow and see if anything else is missing.  

I hopped that someone here might have an idea about making replacement seats but since the backs have to fold forward this seems like a very difficult undertaking. Perhaps some seats from a modern car could be used temporarily until suitable ones could be found.

 

He is asking $5,500 which might be a bit high since it will need quite a bit of restoration. Apparently either the ad has expired since it was posted a month ago or he has taken it down. I have all of his contact information though. I will include the pics i have downloaded.

 

I found a 1930 2 door sedan that had been restored, it is in Tennessee and the owner is asking $12,500 and seems pretty firm. 

 

 

 

 

 

[ILIKECARS53]

Restoring a car could be a very costly undertaking, even with you doing a lot of the work.  The difference in money between the 2 cars you list above is $7000.  In my opinion there is no way you can even get the unrestored car roadworthy for $7000.   Tires alone are in the 1500 range,  Brakes could be over 1000 depending on needs, going thru all the mechanicals   etc  starts to add up.

i am just trying to give you a realistic picture

[keninman]

Thanks ILIKECARS53. As I check further about things I am understanding how expensive things can be. I did check on tires and I can get 4 white walls to fit this car under $800. I do have to see how complete the car is sans the seat springs. I don't have a good handle on chroming costs either. I can do the wood and metal restoration and have a neighbor who is a professional painter who I should be able to get to do the paint reasonable. I worry most about the seats I guess if even the foundations are missing. I believe he said that his dad had the clutch and brakes relined, of course the master and wheel cylinders will need rebuilt and the brake lines might need replaced depending on whether that was done or not and how much they were exposed to moisture. Thanks again for your reply.

 

[Thriller]

The brakes are probably still mechanical (1936 was the first year for hydraulic brakes for Buick if I recall correctly). 

 

Is the cost you have for just tires, or tires, tubes, and flaps? If the former, there will be more involved. Restoring the wooden artillery wheels on my 1929 is in the $300 per wheel range, so I'm going to have the better part of $5000 in wheels and tires. I wanted to do a bunch of that work myself, but just wasn't getting to it. 

 

If it were me, I'd strongly consider the restored one over this one. 

 

Of course, money isn't everything. There can be joy in doing the work yourself and enjoying the car. We are just trying to ensure you go into this with eyes open. Good luck. 

 

[keninman]

Thanks Thriller, I went to see this car today. The owner is a great guy to talk to but he doesn't know anything about vintage cars and said so. It is well beyond my abilities and is missing some pieces. The radiator shell is rusted through in at least two places and the frame was rusted through in the very front on the drivers side. One headlight was rusted out and the bar going down from it was missing. The top had been removed and was sitting on it and the wood cross bracing was gone. The seat mounts and springs were missing. The steering wheel was not original and throttle control on the steering was also gone. The outside door handles, the rear driver's window and window crank were missing. The wood for the running boards were good but the hardware for it was gone. I did not attempt to open the doors or the passenger side hood. I told him if I had it I would only be able to part it out. 

 

On the good side, most of the frame and drive train looked good. The wood rims were intact but I don't really know much about them. One tire had been replaced but the others were dry rotted. Most of the interior handles, gauges and such were there. The fenders, metal body parts and even the wood looked to be in good condition with only damage at the kick panels, They were rusted through which probably means the wood is rotted there also. There was also some heavy rust on what I would call rocker panels, they run under the body and doors above the running boards. 

 

I hinted that he might want to consider parting it out but i think he really would like to find someone who would restore it. I showed him pictures of the same model that is on Craigslist in Chattanooga so he could see what it is supposed to look like. I also showed him all of my research into the Marquette, how many were made, advertising and so on. I sure learned a lot from this car and it only cost me some time researching, driving and $30 in gas or so. 

 

 

 

[C Carl]

Sounds like his price is about $5000 too high for this parts car. Lots of guys like that out there.  - Carl

[Pete Phillips]

I seriously think the seller has one too many zeros in his price of $5000, and I think you should tell him that. Or, print out my comment here and show it to him.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

Edited May 19, 2017 by Pete Phillips (see edit history)