Sad End to a 1939 Roadmaster Limo

[BuicksBuicks]

It was found in an open field, sunk into the ground almost up to the running boards. It was a 1939 Buick Roadmaster Formal Sedan, Model 81F with the glass partition. With a bit of effort and tire inflation we managed to pull it out of the weeds and tow it by chain twenty five miles back home. There were no foot brakes, just the parking brake.

 

The trunk floor was completely rusted out; there was none. Apart from that the body was in excellent condition. The odometer read around 70,000 miles as I recall. The engine was emptied of the hardened oil in the crankcase and valve rocker arm shaft. The valves were ground. And it ran flawlessly with full power. It got a fresh paint coat and rechromed bumpers.

 

It was originally bought in New York City by an actual princess of the former ruling family of the German State, Thuringia. I located her in the NYC Manhattan phone book and we chatted for a while; she remembered the car well. On each rear door was painted a her 1 ½” coronet.

 

I drove the Roadmaster for ten years, keeping it in my parents garage. On one Christmas we had a major snow storm but for fun we loaded the Buick up with as many as it could fit and took a pleasant tour of many miles in heavy snow conditions; no one else was on he road. The Buick could handle steep hills with no problems and no spinning of the wheels.

 

 When my parents moved  I lost my garage privileges. Upon getting married there was simply no room for the big Buick and it was sold to a collector who stored it along with many, many antique cars in a Dover, NJ warehouse.

 

Perhaps ten years later the warehouse had a massive fire and all of the antique vehicles were totally destroyed. This the sad end to terrific Buick. There was nothing to salvage.