Convertible 1934 Buick with Pictures

[markgoffengel]

Hi Everyone

This is an updated posting to my original one. A very kind fellow member of AACA, GregLaR, made the journey to the stage container and although he was unable to remove the car from its confinement, he took really great photographs of it. I am, by trade, a graphic designer, and instead of bombarding you with photographs and information, I have created a website for the car.

The website has my story, the cars story, photographs, and other information.

www.1934buick56c.com

 

This Buick is unrestored, and not for the feint of heart, but she's/he's a looker! 

 

As before, I would prefer to sell the car, but its future is more important and I am willing to give it to the right home.

 

My best to you all!

Mark

mark@goffengel.com

Edited August 21, 2019 by markgoffengel
miss-spelling (see edit history)

[1912Staver]

I can certainly see how you fell for the Buick. Definitely a charmer that needs the right owner. Unfortunately I am not that person .  What is the paperwork situation ? 

 

Greg in Canada

 

[markgoffengel]

1 minute ago, 1912Staver said:

I can certainly see how you fell for the Buick. Definitely a charmer that needs the right owner. Unfortunately I am not that person .  What is the paperwork situation ? 

 

Greg in Canada

 

Hey Greg... Not sure what you mean by the paperwork situation?  

let me know and I will enlighten!

Mark

[Pancho's ride]

Beautiful car! I lived on Beech and Merdian for 8 years back in the 90’s. I’m now in Pasadena. 

I’m fond of Buick’s and Cadillacs. Although the Cadillacs are always unobtainable for me. Do you know if the motor turns over? 

[markgoffengel]

Just now, Pancho's ride said:

Beautiful car! I lived on Beech and Merdian for 8 years back in the 90’s. I’m now in Pasadena. 

I’m fond of Buick’s and Cadillacs. Although the Cadillacs are always unobtainable for me. Do you know if the motor turns over? 

Hi Poncho's ride.... As I have not seen the car in over 17 years, I do not know... and I simply cannot remember if it did back then.

Mark

[markgoffengel]

34 minutes ago, markgoffengel said:

Hey Greg... Not sure what you mean by the paperwork situation?  

let me know and I will enlighten!

Mark

Ah... just reread your comment, and it clicked in. I do not have a title. I have all of the appropriate and legal paperwork, but I never completed it as it went into storage. GregLaR attempted to get a shot of the vin number, but was unable to due to the confined space. I am going to go ahead and try to get the replacement title without that and just see what happens. Hopefully I will be working with someone who had a great lunch and got lucky the night before!

Mark

[Marty Roth]

Back in 1990 I met a gentleman who organized the Sunday pre-tour at Garden of the Gods for the Colorado Springs Glidden Tour. On that day he drove his 1934 Buick 50 Series sedan (Model 57), complete with covered sidemounts and trunk on the rack. I bought that car in July/August of 1995, toured it for a dozen years, and eventually restored it. The Buick attained AACA First Junior at Stowe, VT and Senior at Bristol, VA/TN, both in 2011, Grand National First and First Preservation at Shelbyville, TN in 2012, and Grand National Senior in Moline, IL in 2013. The 1934/1935 Buick is a fantastic driver, with excellent vacuum-assisted manually rod-operated (non-hydraulic) power brakes, the lightest and easiest steering we've ever felt on a non-power steering car. It is easily one of the prettiest mid-1930s cars. Ours was later passed along to another AACA member.

 

Whomever gets to restore and drive your car will indeed be a very fortunate individual, incurring my envy and respect.

 

While mine was a mere 4-door sedan with nowhere near the panache of your convertible, we can give folks an idea of the basics of the classic lines of the 1934-1935 Buick 50 Series:

 

 

[auburnseeker]

1 hour ago, markgoffengel said:

Hopefully I will be working with someone who had a great lunch and got lucky the night before!

Well why not wish for the best right? 

[JACK M]

This is a great story, and I hope it does indeed find the "right" custodian.

If this was twenty years ago I would be all over it.

 

And Kudos to our good friend Greg for his efforts.

Edited August 21, 2019 by JACK M (see edit history)

[Zimm63]

Oh my, would I love to make this a retirement project.  The idea of rebuilding a wood framed car scares me though.  I've never worked with one.  Given that it was open to the elements for some time in the north east, its got to need a huge amount of metal work. 

 

Any way to get an idea of the condition of the floors and frame? 

[markgoffengel]

29 minutes ago, Zimm63 said:

Oh my, would I love to make this a retirement project.  The idea of rebuilding a wood framed car scares me though.  I've never worked with one.  Given that it was open to the elements for some time in the north east, its got to need a huge amount of metal work. 

 

Any way to get an idea of the condition of the floors and frame? 

Hi Zimm63... it has been 17 years since I have actually seen the car until the photos arrived yesterday!  My memory? Wow, not sure... I know that there is a floor in the car, and it is covered in trunks, and parts, which do not fall through the floor. As to the frame of the car, there did not seem to be any damage, other than a dent here or there, and that would lead me to believe it is in fairly good shape considering its history. Not much to go on I know, but I hope that helps.

 

Mark

[markgoffengel]

Hi All

For those scratching their heads over the wood body frame, and the amount of it that has rotted away over the years... I have a publication titled 1934 Fisher Body Service Manual, that has lots of information in it including this shot of the wood frame...

 

[alsancle]

I saw Johnny Pascucci a few years ago at Hershey when he was selling his Duesenberg.  Haven’t seen him since. He seems to have stopped selling cars.

[Guest]

Well, just back from a few days over at the beach in San Clemente to get a break from the triple digits here in Palm Springs.

High point of this trip was certainly stopping at Mark's storage container for a little urban archaeology!

As many of you know, opening a pair of ancient barn doors, a long abandoned garage, shed or any other structure that you know houses a forgotten gem like this is always a pretty fun moment. This one was equal to any.

The facility that holds Mark's car is quite huge with hundreds (if not thousands) of containers. Fernando, the yardman who located the container, told us he'd spent 3 hours the previous day extracting this unit from the stacks and stacks of similar containers. As it had not been accessed in years, it was buried in a mountain of steel. Surprisingly, Fernando had been with the company for years himself and actually remembered when this car had been stored originally and was anxious to see it as well, after all this time.

Feeling a little like Warren Carter as the steel doors creaked and groaned in protest, we pried them open and they finally gave up their prize. At first we all just stared at this former queen of the highway, as the dust motes swirled about and settled. My wife was the first to speak when she said "Wow! It's beautiful!" And she was right.

Confident the unit housed no ancient curse (or worse, angry hornets!) I crawled inside and started clicking away with my camera. As Mark mentioned, the car is anchored to the floor and the tires were long since flat, so any idea of moving the car outside to photograph was abandoned. I had really wanted to get a picture of the frame serial number but the passenger side fender was only about 6 inches from the steel wall so it simply could not be accessed (sorry).

I'm not sure what it was that first drove Mark to purchase this lofty project but to kudos to him for doing so. It was a noble venture. Had the car been left where it was, there would certainly be nothing left of it today. So having the car stored here in southern California has definitely halted any further deterioration. Mark's description of the car was very accurate, he's quite forthcoming with any and all information and we've shared several good laughs on this short odyssey.  The Buick is in need of metal work as well as inner wood structure attention, but what struck me most was how complete the car was after it's previous years of neglect. Hood sides opened and closed easily, the dash and gauges were still quite nice, folding top mechanism was in place, seat springs are present, all trim (while pitted) was in place, the headlamps are in very nice condition with (surprisingly) no pitting, and the hood ornament was particularly nice.

Mark said this Buick is not for the feint of heart and that is accurate. But, like friends and lovers, one man's Medusa is another man's Venus. I truly hope the right match will be made here.

As for Value? I will also leave that matter entirely to Mark and whomever is lucky enough to earn this diamond in the rough. But I will say this, if the car was sitting outside the storage unit, on nice aired up tires and minus the years of accumulated dust, it would certainly have more curb appeal. If it were at a car show, it would undoubtedly be the center of attention.

Good Luck!

                      Greg

 

[markgoffengel]

1 hour ago, GregLaR said:

Well, just back from a few days over at the beach in San Clemente to get a break from the triple digits here in Palm Springs.

High point of this trip was certainly stopping at Mark's storage container for a little urban archaeology!

As many of you know, opening a pair of ancient barn doors, a long abandoned garage, shed or any other structure that you know houses a forgotten gem like this is always a pretty fun moment. This one was equal to any.

The facility that holds Mark's car is quite huge with hundreds (if not thousands) of containers. Fernando, the yardman who located the container, told us he'd spent 3 hours the previous day extracting this unit from the stacks and stacks of similar containers. As it had not been accessed in years, it was buried in a mountain of steel. Surprisingly, Fernando had been with the company for years himself and actually remembered when this car had been stored originally and was anxious to see it as well, after all this time.

Feeling a little like Warren Carter as the steel doors creaked and groaned in protest, we pried them open and they finally gave up their prize. At first we all just stared at this former queen of the highway, as the dust motes swirled about and settled. My wife was the first to speak when she said "Wow! It's beautiful!" And she was right.

Confident the unit housed no ancient curse (or worse, angry hornets!) I crawled inside and started clicking away with my camera. As Mark mentioned, the car is anchored to the floor and the tires were long since flat, so any idea of moving the car outside to photograph was abandoned. I had really wanted to get a picture of the frame serial number but the passenger side fender was only about 6 inches from the steel wall so it simply could not be accessed (sorry).

I'm not sure what it was that first drove Mark to purchase this lofty project but to kudos to him for doing so. It was a noble venture. Had the car been left where it was, there would certainly be nothing left of it today. So having the car stored here in southern California has definitely halted any further deterioration. Mark's description of the car was very accurate, he's quite forthcoming with any and all information and we've shared several good laughs on this short odyssey.  The Buick is in need of metal work as well as inner wood structure attention, but what struck me most was how complete the car was after it's previous years of neglect. Hood sides opened and closed easily, the dash and gauges were still quite nice, folding top mechanism was in place, seat springs are present, all trim (while pitted) was in place, the headlamps are in very nice condition with (surprisingly) no pitting, and the hood ornament was particularly nice.

Mark said this Buick is not for the feint of heart and that is accurate. But, like friends and lovers, one man's Medusa is another man's Venus. I truly hope the right match will be made here.

As for Value? I will also leave that matter entirely to Mark and whomever is lucky enough to earn this diamond in the rough. But I will say this, if the car was sitting outside the storage unit, on nice aired up tires and minus the years of accumulated dust, it would certainly have more curb appeal. If it were at a car show, it would undoubtedly be the center of attention.

Good Luck!

                      Greg

 

Greg! A scholar and a gentleman!  You are the best!

And as to the "outside the storage unit, on nice aired up tires"....    How do you think I got hooked in 2000?  HA!!!

 

Edited August 22, 2019 by markgoffengel (see edit history)

[Marty Roth]

Restoration costs will certainly be the prime factor with the future goddess. My 1934 Model 57 (several posts above) was an excellent driver, needing absolutely no wood or metal work, but striping to bare metal, as well as the interior, chrome, and engine enhancements was still a very serious expense - certainly wwell worth the adventure, but expensive none the less.

 

I envy whomever's stable this one will grace - but at my age and stage in life, I no longer envy the journey. 

Best of luck, Mark and the eventual owner,

and thanks Greg for the personal touch -enjoyed meeting you a few years back.

Maybe get to visit you, Frank, and Kent on our way to the show in Fallbrook -

I hope the Palm Springs Region will lend heavy support

Edited August 23, 2019 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[mercer09]

Splendid!

[Pancho's ride]

I can’t help but to think about getting her running and clean her up. Fix the structural things and drive her! 

Is this feasible with what you’ve seen with this vehicle? 

[mercer09]

Pancho- very feasible- but the woodwork alone is a huge task................ and the most important.

[markgoffengel]

2 hours ago, Pancho's ride said:

I can’t help but to think about getting her running and clean her up. Fix the structural things and drive her! 

Is this feasible with what you’ve seen with this vehicle? 

Hey!  I just addressed this in an email to another AACA member.

In my opinion... No!  

The body of this Buick is mounted to a wood frame... I posted a picture in this thread of what it should be.... The wood frame, from the dashboard back, is mostly gone, some of it is there, and a lot of pieces are laying around inside. The wood is also the frame for each of the doors, and the rumble seat hatch, a lot of it is there to copy from.

To make a sound body for the car would require removing the body panels to replace the wood frame, which I assume includes the floor (I say assume because I am looking at the wood frame photo, and the fact that I have not seen the car for 17 years).

SO, now we are looking at a bare chassis, with exposed mechanics, and a bunch of body parts that need mounting.

SO, why paste it back together?

Just move forward with a full restoration, rather than have to start over in the future.

 

Those are my thoughts... 

[Pancho's ride]

3 hours ago, markgoffengel said:

Hey!  I just addressed this in an email to another AACA member.

In my opinion... No!  

The body of this Buick is mounted to a wood frame... I posted a picture in this thread of what it should be.... The wood frame, from the dashboard back, is mostly gone, some of it is there, and a lot of pieces are laying around inside. The wood is also the frame for each of the doors, and the rumble seat hatch, a lot of it is there to copy from.

To make a sound body for the car would require removing the body panels to replace the wood frame, which I assume includes the floor (I say assume because I am looking at the wood frame photo, and the fact that I have not seen the car for 17 years).

SO, now we are looking at a bare chassis, with exposed mechanics, and a bunch of body parts that need mounting.

SO, why paste it back together?

Just move forward with a full restoration, rather than have to start over in the future.

 

Those are my thoughts... 

Understood.  I’m a furniture make by trade. I restore historic homes and I do work at the Gamble house in Pasadena as well as the Huntington library in San Marino. Wood doesn’t scare me but I don’t have deep pockets to do a full blown restoration on this car.  I suppose I would be chasing a rabbit down the hole to try to tackle it. 

[Pancho's ride]

On 8/21/2019 at 12:08 PM, markgoffengel said:

Hi All

For those scratching their heads over the wood body frame, and the amount of it that has rotted away over the years... I have a publication titled 1934 Fisher Body Service Manual, that has lots of information in it including this shot of the wood frame...

 

 

Nothing a bandsaw and hand planes can’t do! (A little over simplistic with tongue firmly in cheek) If the wood is intact, templates can be made. If the wood is not intact but body panels are there, templates can be made. From there it’s all craft. 

Edited August 24, 2019 by Pancho's ride
Punctuation (see edit history)

[Guest]

Ha Ha! Pancho, if you can do your own wood work, that's more than half the battle as far as I'm concerned!

[jackofalltrades70]

This is a “Time” project.  I, like most, have more than a full time job.  Plus AACA officer duties in our local chapter, events and also a member of the BCA.  

 

My convertible took me 6+ years to get to the stage it is in.  And now, it is a very enjoyable car.  

 

The same “Vision” would be used with this car, if I were to be the future caretaker.  

 

Is the proverbial elephant.  How do you eat an elephant?  One small bite at a time!

 

Matt

[Brooklyn Beer]

Been building my wood shop tool inventory up for the past 15 years and tackling bigger projects as that hobby interest grows.  But I am not to the point yet of tackling this project.  One day.  What is the best way to remove the body panels?  Is this built on top of a steel frame?

[mercer09]

the body needs to be lifted off the steel chassis. Body is completely framed out in wood. Most cars were through the mid 30s and some even had wood in the early 40s, such as cadillac. Chevy went from wood to metal, mid year of 1936 for example.

[markgoffengel]

I am pretty sure Buick went to metal in 36...

 

 

[Marty Roth]

On 8/25/2019 at 3:40 PM, markgoffengel said:

I am pretty sure Buick went to metal in 36...

 

 

 

I know my '37 Roadmaster 80C Convertible Sedan still has had wood framing

Edited August 29, 2019 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[CHuDWah]

On 8/20/2019 at 9:38 PM, markgoffengel said:

...Hopefully I will be working with someone who had a great lunch and got lucky the night before!

Mark

 

 

Well, you could always buy them lunch - I won't comment on getting them lucky. 

 

I checked out your website which gives your Buick's name.  However, the car is much too pretty to be male - I suggest you start pronouncing RHOS as "Rose". 

 

I hope someone steps up to restore her.  Unfortunately, I have neither the talent, tools, nor time.

[Graham Man]

 

[Marty Roth]

30 minutes ago, Graham Man said:

 

 

Beautiful, exceptional Buick

[Guest]

Now THAT'S motivation. 

[markgoffengel]

Marty Roth... really really pretty!

 

[shanezwarg]

Is this for sale....  or ?

[JustDave]

Hello mark I hope all is going well with the plans. Of moving.when you decide on a price for the Buick could you please let me know,I believe it could be the car we talked about,thanks. Dave

[markgoffengel]

Hi everyone....

The number of people reaching out to me regarding my Buick has been overwhelming, and really hard to keep on top of. 

I have made a decision and the Buick has a new home, and I will leave it to the new owner to identify themselves if they choose to do so.

If I failed in communication with anyone, I do apologize!

 

I am very excited for the car and its future, and hopefully our paths will cross again!

 

Thank you to everyone for your excitement, encouragement, and support! And many many continued thanks go out to Greg and his Wife for graciously taking the photographs for me.

 

My best!

Mark

 

 

[Guest]

Very good news Mark!

Glad this one found the right home. 

[Pete Phillips]

FYI, the 1936 Buicks are also full of wood, everywhere from the cowl, on back. In 1937 the small series is all metal and I believe in '38 the large series (Roadmaster and Limited) are all metal.

Glad to see this car found a home.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

Leonard, TX.

[Bloo]

Yes, 36 Fisher bodies are wood. Their promotion of the new all-steel top might leave one to believe that top is on a steel body but it isn't. As Pete Phillips pointed out, some Fisher bodies were still wood in 1937. While gathering information to rebuild my 1936 Pontiac doors, I took a bunch of pictures of the body of a 1937 Buick Roadmaster 80c. Wood everywhere.

 

That is a beautiful 1934. Congratulations to the new owner.

[mercer09]

1936 chevy mid year lost the wood on the doors and door posts- neither model will interchange with the other.