1926 Buick on Marketplace

[Edwin The Kid]

Listed for $7500, I called the seller this morning and told him about how I'm 19 and go to school for restoration etc and he said he would sell it to me for 5k. Thinking about selling my 65 Skylark and some other stuff to make this happen. We'll see. I really want a pre-war Buick. Would also appreciate someone who knows more about 1926 Buicks to chime in, also identify the series.

 

 

"1926 Buick, 6 cylinder, all original, NO RUST. I bought about 5 years ago to restore, unfortunately too many projects. Car was started and ran the day I bought. Previous owner put in a barn, drained fuel, sat for close to 50 years in the barn. Have title. Send offer. Can ship anywhere. Marty"

 

 

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by Edwin The Kid (see edit history)

[dibarlaw]

Edwin:

 Appears to be a 1926 Model 27 Standard sedan. $5000 is still very steep for the condiition I see. Considering that the roof is gone, the wood body framing could be a problem.

 A young man about you age just bought a similar 1927-Model 27 Standard sedan near me from  gentelman who had it sorted out by Tony Bult in Wisconsin. He used it as a daily driver for several years.

 But his car was a wonderful well preserved car with original paint and interior. Tight, solid, lower mileage car. Unfortunately the young man also wants to find someone to put in an overdrive unit. It just does not go fast enough for him.

 

Edited February 10, 2023 by dibarlaw
Added content (see edit history)

[Edwin The Kid]

What do you think a fair price for the car would be? I haven't done any negotiating of the price yet and am willing to wait for a better deal to show up as well. 

 

I want a decent, mostly original example of a prewar car to enjoy as is. 

[Jolly_John]

Edwin....you won't be enjoying this one "as is" for some time and a number of extra dollars later. Any bets about whether or not that's a can of starting fluid laying on the cowl?

 

You might find something in the 1937 to 1942 BUICK era that would represent a better value for you. No wood (generally speaking) and better parts availability. Best of luck in your search for something prewar BUICK. John

[dibarlaw]

John:

 So very true. I added some of my photos of the car that the former owner drove 70 miles from his home to mine for a visit. A photo op with my 1925 Standatd touring also.

 I believe he was asking $12,000 at the time. I drove the car and it performed well but needed a good re-sorting out since the owner NEVER did any routine maintainence. Just washed it, put gas in it, added oil and water when low and drove it .

 I can attest to the better roadability of the 1937 Buicks as we drove ours to the BCA nationals for several years doing some 3,500 mile round trips.

Brookfield Wisconsin. 2017.

But that also entailed years of work and sorting out.

[lancemb]

I personally don't think that's a bad price. For a damn- near 100 year old car it appears very original and unmolested. I sold my dad's 28 Master about 13 years ago for $6k and it was in similar condition but had a handful of parts like headlights changed out with incorrect (like Packard) parts long ago. The market's changed since then, but still...

 

 

 

 

 

[JFranklin]

If you are studying restoration this is the car to buy. It was stored many years inside and the condition of the upholstery belies the condition overall to my eyes. The price seems fair to me. Try to offer a price running and supply the labor and incidentals to get it up and running. A battery and some oil won't kill you, and surely will give you a good idea of its potential.

Edited February 11, 2023 by JFranklin (see edit history)

[dibarlaw]

If it was only oil, battery and fuel......The overall car looks to be a good candidate for a restoration. But...going in knowing what to expect! Looking closely there are some mix and not match parts. The mud pan below the radiator is for a Master.

 Correct spacing on my friends 1927-27 mud pan.

The instruments are problematic such as the DELCO diecast combination switch has been replaced with an earlier (maybe) functioning one. Heat control plate is broken as well as the AC speedometer is probably locked up. (die cast again) If the distributer has not been changed out for a later steel unit the original die cast one is probably swolen, cracked and locked up. Then we can get into the "getting it running" stage.

 All tires /tubes and flaps to be replaced. Around $2,000.

 Knowing the above issues before the car could be bought brings the price down by about 1/2 what he is asking.

[Jolly_John]

I know I posted rather negatively about the possible purchase of this car earlier. But, I now would like to offer different advice:

 

....Edwin, just buy the thing. By the time you get the BUICK running and driving, you will have probably received a far better education about the old car restoration process and its costs than you are currently being taught in the classroom!

 

Best of luck to you, now and in the future. It's super to a young person interested in the hobby and in vintage vehicle restoration. John 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Jolly_John (see edit history)

[Hubert_25-25]

Edwin, 

     These are great cars to learn on.  They drive well and are good for around town.  40 MPH is a good "top speed" once sorted.  The below notes are not to detract you from the purchase, but to use as leverage on the price so the seller knows that there are a lot of unknown's and a lot that needs to be fixed.  You have not said if the engine turns over.  These are not ones to just crank over, as a person needs to see if the water pump will turn first.  See the notes below as you do not want to damage the timing gear, and it could be damaged already.  This car has sat neglected for years and my first order of business would be to drop the oil pan as well.   

 

The next big item is the lack of a top.  Likely long grain vinyl.  You really need to do an inspection of the wood frame to see if there is additional wood damage.  I would start negotions below $5,000 and see how much luck you have.  You should create a long list to show him the cost to sort all the issues.  Then there is the price of the car even if it were just running with no top.  That is another value point, and the cost of getting to that stage is not cheap either.  

 

Ask if he is willing to help a young guy out in his education.  

 

Below is my new Buick owners guide so you understand and can have some ammunition to work the price down.   Best of luck. Hugh

  

New Buick Owners Guide & Prewar Starting guide.          Hugh Leidlein                  12-18-20   C

Welcome to Buick ownership.  Here are some tips to get you started.

The following books are necessary for Pre war Buick Ownership.   They come based on 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder models prior to 1925, or for Standard or Master 1925 and up.  Basically around 115” wheelbase is the smaller Buick series and 120 to 128” wheelbase is the larger Buick series. 

The Buick Heritage Alliance sells the following books.  The quality of the copies is only “fair” in many cases.  This may work for some people, depending on how many pieces your car is missing or needing.  I suggest buying an original book of parts if you can find it due to the better print quality.   

1)      The “Book of Parts” for your year.  

2)      The “Shop Manual” for your year

3)      The “reference book” for your year (of lesser importance if you can find a shop manual).

It is helpful in many cases to obtain copies of the parts books for 1 or 2 years before and after your model year.  Many times there is additional information or photos that will help with your understanding.

Note: Only a handful of parts used on a 4 cylinder model fit a 6 cylinder model.  Same with so few Standard parts will fit a Master.  The 4 cylinder line became the Standard, and the 6 cylinder line became the Master so there is interchangeability in that order.  Parts interchange is closest based on wheelbase of the models      

There is also available a big book of parts “Buick Master Parts List 1916-1932”.  This 3” thick book provides a listing of the yea

rs and models for each part.  You will have better luck finding a part knowing it’s year and model range rather than just looking for a single year.   This book does not have a lot of pictures and will not be a good substitute for the book of parts for your year, but I refer to this book frequently.   Some find it of little use - based on how many parts they are missing.

There are almost zero “exploded views” of parts, so take a lot of photos and notes during disassembly. 

------------ Precautions------ THESE ARE NOT MODERN ENGINES------Damage can occur.

The first order is usually to see if the engine will turn over.  Do the following first.

1)      Pull the Water pump hoses

 The water pump is on the side of the motor.  The issue is that the camshaft gear is fiber on 1924-1928 Buick 6 cylinders, and it drives the waterpump.  If the water pump is frozen or drags, it will destroy the timing gear teeth.  Parts will fall in the engine.  The camshaft gears are expensive and new gears are not of the same quality as the originals.  The first order of business should be to remove the water pump hoses to ensure the pump rotates on the shaft.   Without the hoses, it should rotate 180 degrees. Note that some earlier models have a water pump housing bolt that also needs to be removed.       

Water pump shafts are steel unless a recent replacement to stainless.  The water pump bearings are bronze.  If the antifreeze was not cared for, rust on the WP shaft could wear the bronze bearings out quickly.  The WP seal is graphite packing.  The wear surface should be smooth and the packing should only be tight enough to prevent major leaks of the waterpump.  It should drip a little bit here and there.  If it does not, the packing is too tight.  Most people replace the shaft with a stainless steel shaft.

2)      Change the oil (and filter if it has one).  Strongly consider dropping the oil pan as well. 

An oil change is probably long overdue.   Don’t cut corners and skip dropping the pan.  Pre 1926 cars had no oil filter.  Non detergent oil was used for years, and there is likely a lot of sludge in the oil pan.  I have seen the oil pick up screens clogged from sludge, and this will starve the engine and could suck the screen in.  Bob’s Automobilia or Olsons Gaskets has an oil pan gasket set.  This is not a hard job.

3)      Oil the Cylinders

Pull the spark plugs, put some oil in the cylinders.  If penetrating oil or Marvel mystery oil was used in the cylinders, you must follow it with regular oil once the engine begins to turn. 

4)      Pull the valve cover. 

Squirt oil on the rocker assembly.  Bump the rockers with a rubber mallet over the valve springs to ensure that all the valves move.  Drip oil on the valve stems if you can.

5)      Pull the engine side covers.

Squirt oil on the cam shaft rollers (and cam bearings if you can get to them). 

After doing the above 5 items, you could rotate the motor, even crank it with the starter.  If the engine is or was frozen, let the cylinders soak for at least a week in penetrating lube.  It is best to try to unstick a frozen engine from the flywheel end and not the hand crank end.  The handcrank is not that strong.  Put the transmission in 1^st gear.  Use 4 people (2 in front and 2 at the back) to rock the car back and forth in an effort to free the pistons.  Parts frozen by rust come apart easier if you work the frozen part back and forth rather than continually forcing the rotation thru the rust.  Reversing rotation allows some rust to move out of compression between the parts.

Note that the pistons are removed only from the bottom of the engine on early Buick motors.  If you do get the engine to rotate, strongly consider pulling the pistons out the bottom and cleaning the cylinder walls and the ring grooves and doing an inspection - prior to reinstalling and firing the engine.     

It would be great to get a compression tester.  Around 60 lbs pressure in each cylinder is a good motor.  There should be less than 10% deviation in each cylinder.  Spark plug adapters are available from Ford Model A parts suppliers.    

Cranking the motor is a good thing to check off the list.  A compression test gives a good check on the health of the motor. 

Preparing for starting – knowing that the motor turns over:

1)      Pull the carburetor. 

a)      Clean out the fuel bowl. 

b)      Use carburetor cleaner to ensure all internal passages blow thru. 

c)       Consider installing a Nitrolphyl float – available from Bob’s Automobilia or Gregg Lange. 

d)      Check that the air valve lays smooth against the carburetor inside diameter and that there is a narrow gap at the base of the air valve.  You may need to file the pot metal venturi block.  There are AACA forum posts on this – search using the quote “Marvel Carburetor Rebuilding”.

2)      Check that the exhaust manifold valve (on the front end of the exhaust manifold) is open.  There are AACA forum posts on this – search using the quote “Buick Exhaust valve removal”.

3)      Rebuild the distributor.  The distributor should rotate by the advance levers on the steering column.  Several years of distributors were pot metal and the distributor housing will grow and freeze into the generator housing.   Replace with a steel Buick distributor from other years.  Do not force the movement as there are potmetal gears at the base of the steering column that are not that strong.  There are AACA forum posts on this – search using the quote “Distributor Replacement”.  Also search for “Distributor rebuilding”.

4)      Rebuild the Water pump. (see the forum for upgrades to the seals and shaft). There are AACA forum posts on this – search using the quote “Water Pump Rebuilding”.

5)      The fan hub is an old design that requires frequent oiling and will leak oil all over the motor.  Replace it with a sealed bearing hub – Several suppliers for this.  Search the AACA Forum “fan hub replacement”.

6)      Rebuild the vacuum tank and gas tank * I prefer to do the “fuel supply” system later as there is a lot to this.  For a first start, I hang a 1 quart used lawnmower tank and feed the carburetor with this from a reinforced rubber fuel hose, or just pour gas in the vacuum tank.  It will hold about a quart. Search the AACA Forum “vacuum tank rebuilding”.

 

Other notes:

Oil and grease is usually long overdue for removing the old and installing new (and not just installing new.)  Clean out as much of the old as you can first.

 

Engines that have laid dormant for decades may have significant rust in the engine block.  You do not want this in your honeycomb radiator as they cannot be rodded out.  Consider installing a Gano filter into the top radiator hose to catch sediment and keep rust out of the radiator.  Also consider removing the engine freeze plugs and cleaning any rust out of the block, or at least reverse flushing out the engine water jacket with water and without radiator hoses just prior to start up.

The firing order is 142635.  (Reverse of a modern engine)

Pot metal failures cause problems.  The following areas will likely need attention

1.       Distributors – housing growth prevents spark advance.  discussed above

2.       Carburetor – venture growth – prevents easy starting and idling – discussed above

3.       Ignition switch – switch shaft grows, housing hole grows smaller-  Bob’s Automobilia has parts-replace both housing and switches.

4.       Speedometers – internals freeze up.  Disconnect the cable to prevent cable damage. 

 

Inspect the oil pick up screen.  Most are weak or have failed.  Use 50/50 solder to replace the screen.  Screen size is .005 brass 32 x 38 wires per inch.

 

New Buick Owners order of work 2.  More notes and items to think about.

 

1) Pull the water pump off first.   The 2 hoses are old and need replacement anyways.  The pump can now be rebuilt .  

2) squirt some oil in the cylinders.  About a tablespoons worth in each.  Consider even using engine fogging spray to lubricate the cylinder walls

3) Are you willing to drain the oil and drop the pan.  I have not found a person who has ever said dropping the pan was a waste of time.  If nothing else, you have peace of mind that any old engine sludge is not lurking.  Most people are glad that they dropped to pan and cleaned the pan out.  Inspect the oil pump and the oil pump screen.  Consider pulling the oil pump and having it checked.    Egge can rebuild it if necessary and install a new pressure relief valve spring.  I have seen several broken springs.  The oil suction screens are also weak and typically torn.  These need to be inspected. 

4) Pull the valve cover and side covers.  Oil the valve train.  Check that each rocker arm and cam roller  moves.  

5) Put 6 volts on the starter and see if it operates on the floor.  You can use 12 volts if you keep the time short.  Say 15 seconds, then rest time for any heat to be removed.  Consider having it rebuilt while it is out.       

6) Install new gaskets on the Oil pan.  Add Fresh oil and a new filter.    

With the water pump off, and the valve train checked and oiled, you should be able to turn the engine without damaging anything.  If you have the hand crank, a couple rotations should tell if everything is moving.  Do the initial cranking with the spark plugs out.  If it hand cranks well, put the starter motor in and give it a few more rotations.  

Install the valve cover and side covers and gaskets after you have witnessed that all the valve train parts are operating properly.  

After this, we work on ignition and carburation, so lets start with the above first to keep the work manageable.  The goal is pumping fresh oil thru the motor and that it turns over.     

7)     Early engines (around 1918) use cotter pins on the wrist pins.  This is not a robust design.  If the age of the rebuild is unknown, consider going in and replacing the cotter pins.  These can be changed with the engine in place if the pan is removed.   

😎Fiber timing gears used on all the sixes after 24, and Into the eights. I don't know when they quit.  1954?

Hugh 

[AussieBuick]

Slightly off topic, the car behind the Buick looks interesting.  

[Rooster]

Looks very much like a Pierce Arrow with those headlights

[AussieBuick]

Maybe 1923 ? 

Edited February 13, 2023 by AussieBuick (see edit history)

[Edwin The Kid]

Listing is now marked as sold. Good news for my finances lol.