New guy on the block, an introduction..

[Wmsteed]

I was a member of the BCA in the early 2000's and from time to time made contributions to the pre-war and or modified forums regarding a '40 Buick Super 4dr I have.
I recently rejoined the BCA and I joined the 36-38 Buick Club.
During the time of my earlier membership in the BCA I also had a '39 Plym conv cpe that I was restoring, the '39 Plym overtook my interests at the time so the Buick went to the back burner. The Plym has been done for several years, with some progress on the '40 Buick.
My original intent with the '40 Buick was to upgrade the mechanical components to a Buick 401 V8 w/ST400 trans and a '65 Riv rear end. After I got the Plym done I decided to keep the '40 near stock, picked up a nice running '41 engine for the '40.
Moving to the present, I was reading Hemmings last month and came upon an ad for a '38 Buick Special, a series 40 model 48 2dr sdn. I have always had a soft spot for the '38 Buicks, have a friend that has a 40 Century coupe.
One of the things that caught my eye with the 38 in Hemmings was the ad claimed the car was an original, unmolested car with 47k on the odometer. Talking to the owner of the car, looking at the pictures, I was hooked, I bought the car, it is scheduled to arrive in Ventura next Thursday/Friday.
It is my intent to keep the '38 stock, doing some mechanical repairs and fixing a couple issues with the upholstery. Might have to do some touch up on the original paint on the fenders, it is amazing that the 82 year old paint is in the condition it is... The original owner of the car, a woman, owned it for 45 years.

Bill

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Looking forward to this one.  Glad you are back to the Buicks.

 

  Ben

[Gary W]

Hi Bill!

I have a 1937 Model 48, two door, trunk back sedan.  I documented a full, frame-up restoration on this forum a couple years ago.

I'll link to my restoration here, hopefully may help with any "sorting out" when you take delivery.

 

Great car.  Can't wait to see photos!

Good Luck!

 

Gary

 

 

 

[Wmsteed]

Gary W.. Thank you for for the link to the restoration of your '37.

I am hoping that the '38 I bought will only need some TLC, the car is well documented with only 47K showing on the odometer.

Entries in the Owners Manual show that the car was not registered from 1941 to 1945. An indication that the car was out of service during the war years.

The original owner, a woman, bought the car new in Kansas City, kept it until 1970, then sold it to the next owner who kept the car until 2017. The second owner did not make any entries into the Owners Manual. The third owner had the car in the Denver area for a little over two years.
Due to the Covid thing I was not able to go to Denver to inspect the car prior to the purchase. I had to rely on pictures, documention supplied by the owner. During my review of the documentation/pictures I did note that the car did not have '38 style hubcaps and that it has 700 x 15 WSW tires which is the size wheel and tire for a '38 Century. I have found conflicting information regarding the correct tire/wheel size. The Owners manual for the car lists 650x16 for the Specials, 700 x 15 for the Centuries and 16" for all of the other models for '38.  The Standard Catalog of American Cars lists 650 x 16 tires for the Specials, Century's 700 x 15. I know I am going to keep the 15" tires/wheels. I have '51-52 Roadmaster 15" wheels on my '40 Buick Super, which are the safety bead style for tubeless tires. I have an extra set of the 15 x 6.5 Roadmaster wheels so they will go on the '38 with 235/75R15 black wall tires. Wm.