Porsche 68 Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 Have a chance to buy this 27 not sure what model it is very solid car motor is free inside is missing seats I think as are the rims last on the road in 42 what should I offer him I’m going to get it running and put rims and tires on it and probably flip it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 Looks to be a 1928 by the looks of the dash. Possibly a 1928 model 40 Coach. (Master) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porsche 68 Posted April 23, 2023 Author Share Posted April 23, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 Looks like twelve hub bolts on the rear hub. That would make it a "standard" model as the smaller "standard" had a semi-floating rear axle whereas the Master series had a much stronger full-floating rear end. Something about the transference of torque and hub stress caused the need for more bolts on the smaller model. It always seemed backwards to me that the bigger more powerful model had fewer bolts, but that i what I have been told and since seen. To be sure? Look at the engine, and how the engine is connected to the radiator. The smaller "standard" has a single cast iron, common looking, connection to the hose then connecting to the radiator. The larger Master series had an older style tapered pipe that bolts to the top of the engine head in three places! One near the front, one near the back, and one in the middle. Although those connections to the radiator are closer to one side than the other, the difference is easily seen from either side of the engine. The smooth rear fender and the dash indicate it is a 1928. While I think most prewar era automobiles should be saved and restored even if they not in decent level of preservation? The reality is simply that it is not practical to do so. While I would consider this car to still be restorable, and I have myself restored a few Fords that were considerably worse? This particular car is in bad enough condition that it would require a passionate individual to tackle a multi-year full blown total restoration! And, frankly, there just are not enough fools like me left! This car clearly the wood is at best marginal with a lot of it well beyond being useful in any real sense. The interior is rotted enough that much of the wood behind it is probably not good either. The sheet metal appears okay, which is helpful, however the body will have to be completely reconstructed. Very doable, but a lot of high skill level work! The mechanical restoration likely wouldn't be too difficult for a good mechanic knowledgeable in cars of that era. There are literally thousands of cars out there that I would think should be restored, that I know never will be. Part of me I hope you buy this car, clean it up, fix it up a little bit and then sell it to someone that will do the full restoration! However, I really would not recommend it. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 Flip it? Run, run like hell. 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert G. Smits Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 (edited) 16 minutes ago, edinmass said: Flip it? Run, run like hell. Best advice this year. IMHO. Edited April 23, 2023 by Robert G. Smits (see edit history) 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billorn Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 Flip it? What, you're planning on buying it for $500, spending thousands to get it running, and then selling it for $600? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 I believe this to be a 1928 Master 2 door sedan. I have a 1928 master 28-54C that I bought 10 years ago that wears a 30 year old decent restoration. Porsche 68 please take the advice of looking for a running driving car. There were a lot of Buicks built in the twenties and they are fairly plentiful today. Many suitable Buicks can be bought for what you would pay for either an engine rebuild or a paint job or a new interior. Keep in mind a nice restoration will take an excess of 2000 hours now times this by $100.00 per hour or it is still insane number if you can get a better deal on the hourly. If you want to try and do it yourself, please keep in mind that you should be young , endless patience, an understanding family ,like to drink adult beverages and do not mind developing a vocabulary of swear words. then maybe you will get it done. Ask me how I know! Back to the model you are looking at, master’s were great cars, long wheel base , 4 wheel brakes ,74 horse engine and a a lot of fellow Buick owners here on the forum. The Down side is it likes 45 MPH and even though the engine is pretty perky there is really not enough power to change axel ratio or installation of an overdrive which is a difficult to install because of the torque tube driveshaft. The only other issue is the often misunderstood and much maligned Marvel variable Venturi updraft carburetor. I have been lucky to have meet in person and online some of the most helpful people on this forum that have helped me keep the carb working 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFeeney Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 Your money would be better spent in buying a finished running car and you could start enjoying it . Fisher body early usually have bad wood. Buying a finished car would give you a better chance to recover your money. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 Some of us really crazies truly enjoy bringing really rough cars back from the brink! If I could go back a few decades and change the course of my life? I would have done probably three or four more such restorations. I need to get past some family stuff, and finish my 1915 model T runabout that was far worse than this when I began working on it. At this point, it is would be literally only weeks away from being a running and enjoyable car, IF I could spend a few hours a week on it. The 1915 required a lot of sheet metal repair. Nearly all original era sheet metal! No repro stuff for me! The small amount of new sheet metal, the patch panels and some trim pieces that were missing? I made them all myself. I completely re-wooded the body myself. I did all the work on the engine and chassis myself, and expect it will perform as well as a few others I drove for years. All the best cars I have had over the years were in much better condition when I bought them. However, some of the cars I actually enjoyed the most were the ones that were considered unrestorable when I bought them! A few of those cars I put several thousand miles on them before I had to sell them. A long time ago, I had a 1921 Sayers touring car, in somewhat worse condition than this particular Buick. I reluctantly sold it because its rarity got enough cash to pay off a hospital bill I needed to get off my back. I really would have loved to have done that car to completion myself. I can only hope it did eventually get restored. Over the years, I have seen a dozen really rough incredible cars I wanted to get and restore. I have the skill. I do not have the time. I have talked myself out of buying many of those cars. Not buying those cars was the right decision. Although I still dream of owning and restoring such a car. Between the Paige (my father bought a long time ago), a couple more model T project piles, and a very early non-Ford, I have plenty of restoration projects to keep me busy for the rest of my life if my situation changes and I can spend the time on them that I would like to. Some of us really are crazy! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 Wayne, I applaud you for taking on those tough ones. Perhaps if we knew if the OP has tackled difficult restorations before we could say something like “hey we are all over 21” go for it. I will go out on a limb here and say that if you have not done much repair or restoration work on a early car, meaning a car that does not have a published catalog where you can almost build a new car by filling out the order form. I would say that you will have several most likely outcomes in this order, 1# your kids or grandkids will someday have to dispose of your half finished car, 2# you will finish it , but will dislike it for a number of reasons, 3# if you are married your wife might hate it because you have spent your free time with it, 4# you have to sell it because of property settlement , (see previous 3#). 5# is what everyone hopes for a speedy restoration that you can be proud of that you did it yourself and were able to afford it and you love your car and will keep it forever. I believe it happens although only to a small group of people. How do I base that fact, let’s look at cars for sale on Craigslist or FB, let’s see, blue tarp, crap stacked on car in garage with dust or picture of car on trailer, these are dead giveaway that they fall into my 1# through 4# above. What I propose is to buy the best car you can afford even if you have to stretch your budget a bit, believe me even when you bring that 10 or 20 footer home you will be fixing things and putting some sweat equity into it. I speak from personal experience , I was close to 1# as it took me 50 years to finish my first restoration when I was 62, on 3# and 4# yep, happily i am happy with my first complete restoration although it did not meet the criteria for 5# above , but hell I will take one out of three any day! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 ramair, If those two pictures are of the same truck? And you did that mostly yourself? I would say you did a fantastic job of it! Great looking truck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 Wayne, the old picture of the pickup was taken in 1971 when I was twelve years old. I bought it for $35 and by 1972 i totally disassembled the vehicle. It really was a nice original truck, it was really a sin to do a body off frame, but in our youth we know everything. Over the years I would collect parts and restore components. my biggest set back is the original engine was bored out at one time to a extreme oversized and then it was ran until it had severe taper. The machine shop advised finding another block. Tough to do as GMC used that engine one year only and they only made 11,000 pickups to start with. I did finally find an engine in Mass. cost 5 times more to ship to me than what I bought it for, I had it hot tanked, bored, pistons made, rods done crank turned and cam ground. Then came the bad news my machine shop never got around to assembling it so I took it to Scott Henningsen in Salinas, Ca. As some of you may know he specializes in pre war cars. The first thing he did is magnaflux everything and guess what severe internal cracking of water jackets . All the work down the drain, plus back to square one. I did find another engine in Kansas . The years went by and my dream of doing most of it myself was looking more like a nightmare. Luckily Scott kept the project going and I felt like I contributed by sourcing parts and working on solving issues like how to duplicate wrinkle finish, what to replace cardboard headliner ect. Like I said above I did not get to do it fast, or cheap, or all by myself, but I enjoy driving it and it won’t be smashed into a dumpster when I am gone, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 Regardless, you did good! I don't really know Scott Henningsen? But I do know him by reputation and have met him a few times through Horseless Carriage activities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 Revised opinion as to a Master is that it is as Wayne indicated, a Standard Model. 12 bolt hub. That would make this a model 20 coach. Very plentyful, 32,481 produced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdillinger Posted April 25, 2023 Share Posted April 25, 2023 Call me crazy but I would love to have this Buick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunsmoke Posted April 25, 2023 Share Posted April 25, 2023 Any offer over $1000 would likely be too much, even if you just plan to flip it. Transport, licensing/titling, and a few hours of tinkering will have you in the hole (say $2000) in short order plus tires/tubes. On the other hand, I bought this 1929 Dodge a few years ago for $600 landed in my yard, a friend and I got motor running in a few hours and eventually sold car "as is" for $3000. But we did not have any trouble getting engine running, and did not have to buy tires/tubes, an extra $1500-$2000 ticket. So sometimes you get lucky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted April 25, 2023 Share Posted April 25, 2023 It all depends on how you view this "hobby". If you see it as a means to make a few bucks then avoid this car. If, on the other hand, you see this hobby as preserving automotive history then go for it. Wait, where did I read that before? Oh yea, in the Mission Statement of the AACA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porsche 68 Posted April 25, 2023 Author Share Posted April 25, 2023 I am a Dodge guy I have a 25 woody and a 34 coupe both sat for many years 25 had a stick exhaust valve fixed it The 34 had a sized motor rebuilt it in frame made it safe I drive it every day The Buick guy was going to make a ray rod out of it I talked him out of it now he wants to sell it I figure I would get the car out there so someone else can enjoy it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now