1941 Super without rear fender trim?

[B Moore]

Hello. I’m new here. New to vintage Buicks but came across a 1941 Super touring sedan for almost nothing. Couldn’t resist. Now I’m hooked. This car has been repainted many years ago  so the rear fenders may have been worked over but I can’t feel any filled holes from the inner side that would show the rear fender spears were deleted. If the car came with skirts originally would the trim have been mounted on them instead of on the fenders themselves? 

[neil morse]

Hi, welcome to the AACA forums!  You have come to the right place to learn more about your car.

 

I have the same car as you, and I have the same situation with the rear fender trim.  When I bought the car seven years ago, I could see that it had been repainted at some point but there were no rear fender spears and, like you, I could not detect any filled holes on the inner side.

 

I know that cars that were ordered with rear fender skirts (actually called "rear wheel shields" in Buick parlance) had the spears deleted from the fender and installed on the skirts.  This was a $10 "factory installed accessory" as opposed to various "dealer installed accessories" that were also offered.  Since the skirts were "factory installed," I assume that the fenders on cars with skirts were fitted on the assembly line with fenders that had no holes for the fender spears.  So my guess is that both of our cars were originally fitted with the skirts at the factory.

 

Another twist to this story is extra little piece of stainless trim on the leading edge of the fender that was added to cars equipped with skirts.  (See photo below)

 

 

If a car came from the factory with skirts, there must have been holes here for that little piece of trim.  I can't find any evidence of filled holes in this area on my car.  So it's kind of a mystery.

 

I bought a nice set of spears to put on my car, but I haven't put them on yet.  When I got to thinking seriously about it, I realized that it's not so simple as one might think!  Once you start drilling holes in your fenders, you better get them in exactly the right place or everything is going to look crooked.  It's the kind of installation that has to be nearly perfect or it's going to look awful and bug you every time you look at it!  What occurs to me is that the only way to really do it right is to find someone who has a set of rear fenders that have the factory holes drilled in them.  From these, you could make stencils that would insure that you are locating the holes in exactly the right place.  But finding someone who has a set of fenders and would be willing to make stencils for you if going to be difficult.  (The other possibility, of course, is to obtain a set of skirts and have them painted the right color.  You can find skirts, but they are generally quite expensive.  Also, I honestly don't think the shorter wheelbase Super and Special look very good with the skirts.)  So I'm kind of stuck at this point about what I want to do.

 

Here's a link to my long thread in the "Me and My Buick" forum that covers pretty much everything that I've done to my car since I got it.  You might want to take a look as it might be helpful to you depending on what you car needs.  Also, feel free to send me a private message if you have any questions that I might be able to answer.

 

 

[B Moore]

Thanks for the reply. Your car is the twin to mine, color and all. My car does have a data plate but curiously no model designation stamped into it. Also the paint code and trim codes are stamped into the plate like with handheld stamps rather than embossed into it like I’m used to seeing on other cars. 
I was lucky to find this car on a FB group with just a couple of pics and a really cheap asking price. So cheap in fact I thought it was most likely a typo but I called anyway. The seller said the price was correct. He didn’t want it but if I did he’d hold it until the weather cleared enough for me to drive to the other end of the state to pick it up. 
The seller got this car from the widow of a man who had started a restoration but unfortunately passed away leaving the car strewn over most of a 4 car garage. She wanted it gone and he helped her get it cleared out of her way. 
It’s a project for sure. Front clip and suspension all off the car. Newly rebuilt motor still on the crate from the machine shop. Trim and bumpers rechromed, dual carbs rebuilt, all new front suspension, master cylinder, water pump, rear brake components, you name it. It was there in boxes with fasteners in marked baggies. Just a big jigsaw puzzle at this point. 
The car came from Centralia, Washington but has been with the same family here in Colorado at least since the late sixties. 
What a valuable resource your posts are! I really need pictures and info on what this beast is supposed to look like. Thank you so much for your help. 
Bob

[neil morse]

You are welcome, Bob.  I hope you will start your own thread on the "Me and My Buick" forum and post some photos so we can all see what you are up to.  Sounds like a very worthy project!  As I said, please feel free to reach out for any help you may need.  I can tell you from personal experience that these are great cars.