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'39 plate decode


Senbotsu

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Welcome to the world of '39's 😊

We like photo's

 

5460 Model 81 were made and another 159 for export

Trim 719 is Tan bedford cloth

Paint 530 is Carsbad Black

 

Sean1997 will be along to fully decode

 

Edit

Other threads on the same topic. Links in the thread may not work due to software changes

http://forums.aaca.org/topic/206433-vin/

https://forums.aaca.org/topic/203534-1939-buick-80-roadmaster-question/

 

Edited by 1939_Buick (see edit history)
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1939 Mod. 81
Style No: 39-4819
Body No: 1769
Trim No: 719
Paint No 530


4819 = Fisher body style number
4 = Buick
8 = Roadmaster
19 = 4-door touring sedan - trunk back, 6-passenger

 

Body No: 1769
Lack of a plant code before the body number means the body was built at Flint MI
1769 = 1769th 4819 built at Flint MI

 

Trim No: 719 = Tan Bedford Cord available on models 81, 81F, and 87
 

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Thanks!  The plate was in surprisingly good condition, and the car isn't the original black anymore, but the green paint is an 'old enamel paint' according to my body shop, so at some point I want to get the paint redone.  I'm going to keep the english green color though, I like it.  I'll be posting more pictures after it stops raining here in northern california *glares at the clouds* and after I fix a minor little problem it had on arrival.  It got jostled a bit on the vehicle transport and the fuel line is loose at the connection to the fuel pump.  Every time I turn it over I can hear the diaphragm sucking air, so I need to pull it apart and see why it's loose; then fix that.  Then I can pull it back out of the drive way and take better pictures.  For now you'll have to settle for the body plate and front view of it sitting in the car port, and one I took with my mobile phone when the vehicle transport showed up.

 

KIMG0163.jpg

KIMG0162.jpg

KIMG0161.jpg

Edited by Senbotsu (see edit history)
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You have a very nice car! Please participate on this forum.  1939 Roadmasters really rock!

 

I have the 718 Gray Bedford Cord interior (Hampton Coach reproduction) and the 530 Carlsbad Black paint.  The paint is a bit dodgy.  However it looks good on overcast days! 

 

Drive the car and have fun with it. Expect folks on the street to take a lot of photos of your Roadmaster! They can't fathom its size and its presence on the road.

IMG_20181107_172003.jpg

Edited by BuickBob49 (see edit history)
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Yours looks quite beautiful!  I haven't even had a chance to register mine yet, so no plates, but I did get my hands on a set of 1939 California World's Fair license plates that the plate number is not in use, so DMV is allowing me to register the car under that number and use the plates. *happy*

On mine I really want to ditch the non-stock front uprights and go back to the simple 3 uprights like yours has, I think it looks cleaner.

 

It's a bit of a struggle to drive right now.  I think I need to see if someone can lower the clutch and brake pedal position by about half.  I'm 6'6" and it's a real knee-bangin' good time shifting and braking, lol.

 

I love the car though, and my significant other said it looks like the grinch mobile because the person who did the original restoration really went crazy with the non-stock green theme.  The interior is dark and pale green. 

 

Here's some more pictures I took today during a break in the rain, after fixing the fuel pump issue (And sorry it's really dusty, it arrived that way and until it stops raining I don't want to go out there with my vacuum kit and detail the car like it deserves):

 

 

Back Seat.jpg

Front Seat.jpg

Left Side, Engine.jpg

Dash.jpg

KIMG0169.jpg

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1 hour ago, Senbotsu said:

I haven't even had a chance to register mine yet, so no plates, but I did get my hands on a set of 1939 California World's Fair license plates that the plate number is not in use, so DMV is allowing me to register the car under that number and use the plates. *happy*

Senbotsu, you may not be as "happy" when you find out that The Pipples' Republik of Caleeforneeya charges you full ad valorem registration on YOM (Year of Manufacture) plates and/or conventional plates, vs. $2 ad valorem if you opt for Historic Vehicle (HV) plates.  This is based on the purchase price you declare under oath when you transfer the vehicle into your name, and drops 5% per year for the first ten years.

 

Most of us Californians use HV plates and then (unlawfully) put the YOM plate on the front--and maybe add the other one to the rear for shows and tours.  A car I paid $90K for had a $550 annual reg fee until I changed it to HV plates--and that was 12 years ago before the recent drastic increase in fees..

 

If this isn't impactful to you, more power to you!

 

Enjoy the car--it's wonderful! 

Edited by Grimy
further info added (see edit history)
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2 hours ago, Grimy said:

Senbotsu, you may not be as "happy" when you find out that The Pipples' Republik of Caleeforneeya charges you full ad valorem registration on YOM (Year of Manufacture) plates and/or conventional plates, vs. $2 ad valorem if you opt for Historic Vehicle (HV) plates.  This is based on the purchase price you declare under oath when you transfer the vehicle into your name, and drops 5% per year for the first ten years.

 

Most of us Californians use HV plates and then (unlawfully) put the YOM plate on the front--and maybe add the other one to the rear for shows and tours.  A car I paid $90K for had a $550 annual reg fee until I changed it to HV plates--and that was 12 years ago before the recent drastic increase in fees..

 

If this isn't impactful to you, more power to you!

 

Enjoy the car--it's wonderful! 

 

I thought about it but historic plates come with restrictions on where/when you can drive the vehicle.  I have heard from others that those restrictions are generally ignored by officers.  Unfortunately I live dangerously close to a county that is starving for revenue and the local constabulary are notorious for salivating at the chance to nail you for anything they can.  So after consulting an attorney I decided that while I dislike giving this state any more money than I absolutely have to, I don't relish risking a $10,000 fine and a potential felony (violation of VC 4463 - vehicle registration fraud, is a wobbler in california) just because I want to dress up and drive the Buick to a blues concert or take the better half wine tasting  😃

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I moved out of California two years ago. This is a sore topic of conversation with me as I was paying $153 a year for regular license plates. I could afford it, but this was the lowest fee that the DMV could charge and my contention was that people that had very little money would be impacted by this. My 1940 Buick went from $49 to $78 to $153. Beautiful state, but taxes are out of control. 

I love your car, can't wait to see it when it's all cleaned up. 

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Senbotsu, I rely on California Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 5004 (f) [a copy carried with my registration and insurance documents] which reads:

 

"(f) As used in this section, a vehicle is of historic interest if it is collected, restored, maintained, and operated by a collector or hobbyist principally for purposes of exhibition and historic vehicle club activities."

 

I read principally as 51%, although DMV requires you to sign a (ridiculous) certification that the car will be used "exclusively" for such activities.  The CVC is enacted by the legislature and is the basis for DMV's authority, and the legislative intent is clear in its term principally.  Although I don't think this issue has ever been tested in the courts, I've been willing to try for 20 years but have never been stopped or questioned.  I know of only one case, in which a 1933 Pierce owner was stopped and warned (but not ticketed) in his home town of Los Altos.  I suppose it also depends on your local PD/SO as you allude.

 

I carry my own copy because often officers, especially motorcycle officers, carry an abridged vehicle code which may not contain this section.

 

However, on cars such as my Jeepster, which I drive around town more, I retain the black plates rather than to save a few bucks.  For some of my Pierces, it's much more than a "few" bucks.

 

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Boyer's Restorations of Hanover, PA, may be able to help you with reproduction maroon plastic pieces for your interior, including the one for the center of your steering wheel.  I need to see if they have the little spear-like inserts for a few of my window cranks.

 

I also see that you have the correct ash receiver/lady's compact holder for the left rear armrest.  Cool! You're just missing the plastic cover. 

 

Do you have the three uprights for the rear bumper?  The middle one will drop down to allow access to the trunk.

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1 hour ago, Grimy said:

Senbotsu, I rely on California Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 5004 (f) [a copy carried with my registration and insurance documents] which reads:

 

"(f) As used in this section, a vehicle is of historic interest if it is collected, restored, maintained, and operated by a collector or hobbyist principally for purposes of exhibition and historic vehicle club activities."

 

I read principally as 51%, although DMV requires you to sign a (ridiculous) certification that the car will be used "exclusively" for such activities.  The CVC is enacted by the legislature and is the basis for DMV's authority, and the legislative intent is clear in its term principally.  Although I don't think this issue has ever been tested in the courts, I've been willing to try for 20 years but have never been stopped or questioned.  I know of only one case, in which a 1933 Pierce owner was stopped and warned (but not ticketed) in his home town of Los Altos.  I suppose it also depends on your local PD/SO as you allude.

 

I carry my own copy because often officers, especially motorcycle officers, carry an abridged vehicle code which may not contain this section.

 

However, on cars such as my Jeepster, which I drive around town more, I retain the black plates rather than to save a few bucks.  For some of my Pierces, it's much more than a "few" bucks.

 

 

 

That's a good idea.  I paid a very reasonable price for the Buick, so I think I'll still use the world's fair plates just for the cool factor.  I figure I'll have to dump at least $10k more into it before it's completely restored to a level worthy of being a show car, but that won't reflect on registration fees at least ;)

 

 

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2 hours ago, kingrudy said:

I moved out of California two years ago. This is a sore topic of conversation with me as I was paying $153 a year for regular license plates. I could afford it, but this was the lowest fee that the DMV could charge and my contention was that people that had very little money would be impacted by this. My 1940 Buick went from $49 to $78 to $153. Beautiful state, but taxes are out of control. 

I love your car, can't wait to see it when it's all cleaned up. 

 

Yeah California has a lots of sore spots for me.  If almost all of my family wasn't here I'd have run screaming from this state long ago.

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1 hour ago, BuickBob49 said:

Boyer's Restorations of Hanover, PA, may be able to help you with reproduction maroon plastic pieces for your interior, including the one for the center of your steering wheel.  I need to see if they have the little spear-like inserts for a few of my window cranks.

 

I also see that you have the correct ash receiver/lady's compact holder for the left rear armrest.  Cool! You're just missing the plastic cover. 

 

Do you have the three uprights for the rear bumper?  The middle one will drop down to allow access to the trunk.

 

That would be nice.  I'd love to restore the column properly and fix whatever the previous wingnut did wrong.  EG: the horn still works only because it's wired to a push button under the dash now.. WTF?!  It really needs the chrome horn ring to look right, too. (easy enough to source, but I'll let a professional fix the wiring issue and figure out why the turn signals don't work at the same time.  The light indicator on the shift lever flashes, and I can hear the rhythmic 'click click' inside the dash, but nothing from the front or rear lights.  Checked the bulbs, all the filaments are intact.)

 

Even have the cigarette lighters for both front and back sockets, but unfortunately there's no power to either socket so that's another item I need to have looked at.

 

I have two uprights on the back bumper, with no bolt hole for a center connection.  I also need to have the left side upright re-chromed:

1789862599_rearbumper.jpg.27dd0b6d99b93a63d89954fa0ff82bf9.jpg

 

Edited by Senbotsu (see edit history)
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2 minutes ago, Senbotsu said:

Wonder if anyone still makes nice chrome frames for 14" plates.

I think Restoration Supply in SoCal www.restorationstuff.com offers them.  You'll probably find a vendor with them at the Turlock swap meet the last Saturday in January.  If you're a stickler for authenticity, your Buick (and other GM cars) had an *adjustable* frame which was reproduced some time ago, but I no longer recall by whom.  Try Cadillac repro sources for the adjustables. Perhaps someone here will know.

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25 minutes ago, Grimy said:

I think Restoration Supply in SoCal www.restorationstuff.com offers them.  You'll probably find a vendor with them at the Turlock swap meet the last Saturday in January.  If you're a stickler for authenticity, your Buick (and other GM cars) had an *adjustable* frame which was reproduced some time ago, but I no longer recall by whom.  Try Cadillac repro sources for the adjustables. Perhaps someone here will know.

 

Perfect, they had 2 nice slim bordered 14" wide chrome frames.  Thanks for the help! Google search was being uncooperative and kept sending me to places that only sold modern frames >_<

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The older and larger California plates had rounder corners than the larger plates from other states.  The California plates take a special adjustable frame to accommodate the rounder corners.

 

In 1956, all states agreed to start using a standard size plate--the ones that we still use today.

 

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Here's a photo of the three overriders on the back bumper of my 39 Roadmaster.  The middle one would be a great addition to your car.

 

A great parts source for you would be Dave Tacheny.  He specializes in late 1930s Buicks.  Dave lives in Minnesota.  He corresponds by phone or regular USPS mail.  No emails. I'm sure that others can weigh in with his current contact info.  

IMG_20170422_163351297_HDR.jpg

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Regarding the turn signals, I had some trouble with mine and went to Harbor Freight and bought a cheap electrical tone device. You can check my post, but the short story is that you disconnect the battery connect the device to one wire in the turn signal circuit and follow this with the wand and it will "tone" all along the wire to the flasher. I had a loose wire and it took me 10 minutes to find. 

I just sold my 1940 California license plates last month as I don't plan to return to California except to find some decent Mexican food. The oversize license plate frames are available on ebay.

 

Good Luck

Mike 

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