Peter Gariepy Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 I've stumbled upon a 1918? Buick barn find! Might by it! Can you all give me your feedback on the photos, pitfuls, value etc? THANKS IN ADVANCE! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rivgs Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Peter, Buy it and have some fun. Perhaps a drag race between it and the VW bus? My bet's on the Buick. ? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Gariepy Posted April 26, 2018 Author Share Posted April 26, 2018 Trust me, I've seen shwinn's outrun the bus but the question remains... what am i getting myself into with the buick? . and whats a fair price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_Heil Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 The first temptation is to put the hand crank on the front of the engine and see if it turns over. As long as this one looks to have been sitting, I would not. You may end up with broken rockers, best case, bent push rods due to stuck valves. First check to see if all the valves are free. PB Blaster and a nylon hammer to 'tonk' each one. Stuck ones won't sound like free ones. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 The fair price may be what the seller wants. It may not hurt to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thriller Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Cool find. Whether it's you or someone else I do hope it will get to see the light of day and the open road again. I can't offer much on the value side of things but I wish you luck. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Peter, to ensure you get the best coverage and advise possible I am moving this here to PreWar so the experts can weigh in . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Phillips Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 (edited) The big expenses on one of this age are tires, wheels, top, and radiator. Radiator looks very good in the photo; top does not. Check the wheels for wood rot (visual inspection). Check the wood in the body also, for solidity--probably pretty good as this one seems to have been kept indoors.The 4-cylinder Buicks have less value than the 6-cylinder Buicks from these years. (don't know what I did to make this so much smaller!) The sporty roadsters or runabouts (two-seaters) have more value than the touring cars with a back seat. This is a roadster or runabout. The car looks to be quite original and unmolested. I"ll throw out a figure of $4,000 to $5,000 at the risk of getting beaten up by others who may second-guess me. THe condition of engine, clutch, and transmission are a roll of the dice, since you can't hear it run or drive it, so maybe just a bit less than I said? Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Leonard, TX Edited April 26, 2018 by Pete Phillips (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.H.Boland Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 It obviously needs more than a good wash job, but it looks amazingly straight.The wheel spokes appear to have a good coat of paint on them. As mentioned earlier,it should have tires, top,and upholstery. Otherwise,it might show well as a true survivor. It's got to be worth in the vicinity of $5000. If it were in a barn on the Canadian side of the border, I could get enthused about it ! Jim 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_Heil Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 (edited) I was at 4 also Pete if they safely get it to turning over. Looks complete. I would add the risk of a cracked block to your big hitter list if it was not drained of water and parked where it freezes. Edited April 27, 2018 by Brian_Heil (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROD W Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Will be interesting to see what she looks like when all that dust is removed. Paint looks too good to me to be original. Possibly a 1950 - 60,s restoration ( red water pump and fan hub ) When I got my 1920 roadster it was running with two bent push rods. I guess they wanted to get the car running for selling. The 1918 four cylinder is a model E 34. Hope she,s the right girl for you.? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmover Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 (edited) I would spray all of the moving parts down with a good coat of PB Blaster and put some Marval Mystery Oil in each cyllinder and wait about a week before I would try to turn it over.The car looks to be in amazing condition and complete and once you are sure it is not stuck you have won most of the Battle.The other thing to make sure of is that the radiator is free flowing and doesn't need a recore as that can get real expensive.And as it has been already said make sure that the block is not cracked and no water in the oil.I think it will make a nice original unrestored car once it is cleaned up. Ronnie Edited April 27, 2018 by carmover (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Check the push rods are straight, there has been a few up for sale recently with mashed rods which would make for an expensive repair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert_25-25 Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Enlighten me, Does this use the fiber timing gear that could get damaged if the water pump is froze up and you try to turn the engine over? Just another thing to watch, like the rocker arms bending the push rods if you don't loosen the rocker arms up first. It would mean removing the water pump prior to turning it over. Not a big deal, just a precaution. A very cool find. Hugh 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif Holmberg Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 As Hugh has written"Does this use the fiber timing gear that could get damaged if the water pump is froze up and you try to turn the engine over?" That was my first thought too when I read-"The first temptation is to put the hand crank on the front of the engine and see if it turns over. " It`s not worth to take that chance to turn the engine with a hand crank in my opinion ether after all those years! Leif in Sweden. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 If turning with the hand crank can damage all these stuck parts, I guess transporting the car in gear would be just as bad. I transported my 1918 Buick in gear last fall, all the way from Illinois to NY, and every jolt of the car on the way would try to turn the engine and could have damaged something in the engine. I'll keep my fingers crossed when I start working on the engine soon. Here's videos of my 1918: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlzXoAZFRo0&t=244s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWBkIgpSPh4&t=6s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sligermachine Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 On 4/26/2018 at 6:55 AM, Peter Gariepy said: Can you all give me your feedback when is that estate sale going down ?? it looked like 9 good cars I liked the truck --kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Get it bought and out of there first. The more good points you demonstrate to the seller the higher the price will go........ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Carl Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Yup. Truer words were never spoken . Buy the car, give it a quick first cleaning , and go carefully through a proper , methodical resurrection sequence. With a car as together as this one , the process looks like it should be more fun than money if you do it right. Can’t miss with all of your forum friends looking out for you ! Those roadsters are great looking. You can deep clean it and drive it around like it is as long as you like. Upholstery looks passable. And you can just leave the “top” down ! ? - Cadillac Carl 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif Holmberg Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Peter Gariepy,look at Dave Aspidudes Buick 1923-39 model in unrestored condition,I think he love his Buick just becuse it isn`t restored!If you are buying that 1918 Buick just save it as it as,just fix the top with old looking material! Leif in Sweden. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 You should buy it. You'll have a great time at NAPA asking for parts for an '18 Buick and have to specify which century. Prepare to do all the work yourself. The tire shop won't help you, they have no idea how to work on these tires. Same for the rest of the car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodneybeauchamp Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 51 minutes ago, Morgan Wright said: . The tire shop won't help you, they have no idea how to work on these tires. Love it! You just have to take the wheels off and bring them in. Tell the fresh face kid at the counter they are the new generation of low rider rims, huge diameter with skinny low profile tyres. They will think you are cool putting them on an older car too! Rodney ??????? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 Go for it Peter! Most people love the HPOF look and it will be a hit everywhere you show it as a running car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 On 4/30/2018 at 10:00 PM, Paul Dobbin said: Go for it Peter! Most people love the HPOF look and it will be a hit everywhere you show it as a running car. Check to make sure it's all original if going for the HPOF class, I can tell the tires are not over 30 years old, make sure this isn't an old restoration that sat 30 years. A true HPOF this old would have severely rotted tires. Usually you can tell a prior restoration because they often paint everything, even things that were never painted originally. If you see a painted steering column, painted carb or vacuum tank, and the paint is old again, it's not HPOF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s_hilmoe Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Why are we not seeing pics of it in your garage already! What an awesome find. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now