1942 Buick Sheet Metal Interchange

[Cadillac Nut]

I am starting the restoration of a 1942 Buick Special Sedanette.  Are the front fenders Special only or do other models fit?  How about the rear fenders?  I'm also going to need a trunk floor, are there any sources for those or is the Chevy one the same by chance?   Thanks for any info 

[drhach]

Which Sedanet do you have? There was an "A" and a "B". They had different wheelbases. The "A" had the same basic body as the Chevy, so you may have some floor replacement options in that area. 

 

The front end of all of the 42 Buicks looks the same. But they all had different wheelbases. I don't know where they made up the differences. I think your best bet would be a parts book. I think at least from a dimensional perspective, you might have better luck looking at Specials from other years rather than trying to find sheetmetal from different models of the same year.

 

Please post some pictures, I have a 42 Special Sedanet too. I would love to see another one. Is it a 46S or 46SSE?  

 

Regards,

Dan 

[NailheadBob]

Post a picture of the body tag information, I have a 1950 Buick Master parts books, I could look it up for you.

 

Bob

[Cadillac Nut]

Thank you, much appreciated.  I don't know which I have, I'll get some photos and a picture of the body tag tomorrow 

[Cadillac Nut]

So I have no body tag.  Car is definitely a Special, were their two Sedanets in the Special line?  Also I don't know the difference between a 46S or 46SSE,  not sure if VIN helps with any of it.  Car is rusty and I am going to need a lot of sheet metal, sure hope I can use some of the Chevy floors and other repo sheet metal  

[2carb40]

French Lake Auto parts. Annandale, MN has a 1942 sedanette in their Buick row. It is a Special. Kody is at ext 101.

[Cadillac Nut]

Thank you!  Definitely stuff there I need

[Daves1940Buick56S]

I think the sedanets were B body only.

Oops I stand corrected. The model 48 was an A Special. "Family" and Business sedanet, 2 models.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Daves1940Buick56S (see edit history)

[drhach]

On 7/28/2023 at 10:52 PM, Cadillac Nut said:

So I have no body tag.  Car is definitely a Special, were their two Sedanets in the Special line?  Also I don't know the difference between a 46S or 46SSE, not sure if VIN helps with any of it.  Car is rusty and I am going to need a lot of sheet metal, sure hope I can use some of the Chevy floors and other repo sheet metal  

I can tell you what I know based on my research into my own car. Every model had a Sedanet. There were actually two Specials offered as Sedanets. The 118" Wheelbase "40A" and the 121" Wheelbase "40B". Measure your wheelbase, that will answer that question. I believe the "A" body was shared with the Chevrolet and the "B" body was shared with other GM models. The 121 Wheelbase is probably closer to an Oldsmobile or a Cadillac than a chevy. 

 

In the "46S" designation, the "S" stands for Sedanet. The "SE" stood for "Super Equipment". SE was basically an option group that included dual carbs as standard equipment. As far as I can tell, it also included the higher end seat foam. Not much difference really. Any of these cars could have been had with any of these options. It was an upselling thing and pretty meaningless in terms of performance. The body tag would have told you that as well as the factory color and correct trim in the interior. 

 

I suppose the lack of a body tag can mean two things, depending on how you want to look at it. In one way, it will never be correct, because you don't know how it came from the factory. This could be a huge ding if a person was trying to resell at as perfectly restored. On the other hand, it gives you latitude to put it back together however you want since nay information about color and specs is long gone. 

 

It still might be helpful if you can post some pictures. 

 

 

 

 

[NailheadBob]

Where should the body tag be located on a 1942?

 

Bob

[drhach]

The body tag should be on the side of the cowl on the passenger side. The VIN tag will be right above it. 

[2carb40]

On 7/29/2023 at 1:00 PM, Cadillac Nut said:

Thank you!  Definitely stuff there I need

I have another 1942 Spec sedanette location I visit from time to time, but the French Lake car had quite a few takeoffs from others stored inside of it.

[Cadillac Nut]

Thanks for the info.  The car is pretty original,  I added some photos.  If I measured correctly it's a 40B, and the length is 17'5" from bumper to bumper give or take an inch.  I did get the shop manual which has some specs.  Why they had two different size cars in the same line makes no sense to me.  Going to need a lot of parts for this car especially sheet metal  

[drhach]

I was watching that one on Ebay. That car is an odd duck. The thing that struck me as odd about that car is that it doesn't have a "Special" rear end. But it has Special dash and Special/Century front fenders. 

 

This is a picture from the ebay ad. It looks like you have some "blackout" items on the car as well. I don't know enough about the various models to understand what's going on there. A data plate would sure help. If that was a Special, it should have different taillights. 

 

Edited August 7, 2023 by drhach (see edit history)

[Cadillac Nut]

I wondered about the tail lights too.  But nothing looks changed or monkeyed with, car doesn't look it was ever apart to me.   I am restoring the car for a friend and am slowly learning about 1942 Buicks.  The plastic door handles I found interesting must be very late production.  Blackout trim is all shot and will be replaced with regular stainless pieces.  

[2carb40]

Does that car have dual two barrels or single carb? 

[Larry Schramm]

On 8/7/2023 at 2:04 PM, drhach said:

I was watching that one on Ebay. That car is an odd duck. The thing that struck me as odd about that car is that it doesn't have a "Special" rear end. But it has Special dash and Special/Century front fenders. 

 

This is a picture from the ebay ad. It looks like you have some "blackout" items on the car as well. I don't know enough about the various models to understand what's going on there. A data plate would sure help. If that was a Special, it should have different taillights. 

 

 

Looks like the same car.

[drhach]

1 hour ago, Larry Schramm said:

 

Looks like the same car.

I believe it is. 

[Cadillac Nut]

It has a single carb.   It is the same car from ebay. Any more info is appreciated or ideas for parts sources, especially sheet metal.  Thanks