For Sale: 1938 Buick Special coupe - $19,500 - Wilmington, NC - Not Mine

[58L-Y8]

For Sale: 1938 Buick Special coupe - $19,500 - Wilmington, NC
1938 Buick special for sale by owner - Wilmington, NC - craigslist
Seller's Description:

Straight 8 runs great. New interior, paint, tires, glass, steering wheel, battery, directional signals, running board covers, rebuilt carburetor. New front shock absorbers & voltage regulator. Recent AACA trophy winner!  odometer: 16400
Contact: Dave (864) 4-two-3-7-sixty-2
Copy and paste in your email: 8631de44da14383f991ca820c0282099@sale.craigslist.org

I have no personal interest or stake in the eventual sale of this 1938 Buick Special coupe.

[rocketraider]

Wonder what Matt Hinson knows about this Buick? It's in his town...

[Xander Wildeisen]

Original bucket seats.

[Lahti35]

1 hour ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

Original bucket seats.

At least they match the door panels... That's more than we usually get😄! Personally I will always prefer a big squishy factory bench seat couch in old cars.

[deac]

No doubt it is a very nice 38 Buick.  However I don't know that the red in the metal appliques on either side of the hood was original; I kind of doubt.  The steering wheel is incorrect.  The wheels are painted nicely but lack the pinstripes.  Though they don't look bad the bucket seats are not correct. The dashboard should be wood grained.  Someone made the car their own and did a nice job, it could put back to original but it would take a few thousand bucks to do so.

[Xander Wildeisen]

3 hours ago, Lahti35 said:

At least they match the door panels... That's more than we usually get😄! Personally I will always prefer a big squishy factory bench seat couch in old cars.

At least they finished off the top of them, and cut them down. No 1991 head rests sticking up.

[bryankazmer]

1 hour ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

At least they finished off the top of them, and cut them down. No 1991 head rests sticking up.

The dotted polyester with bolsters is bad enough

[neil morse]

Looks like a sharp, comfortable driver if you don't care about things being factory-correct.  Engine compartment looks very clean.  I wonder what AACA trophy it won?  I thought modified cars were verboten. 

[MCHinson]

Let me add some clarifying information. I do know the owner and have seen the car before. He "restored" the car when he lived in Florida. After his wife died, he moved to Wilmington to be near other family members. The car has never been entered in an AACA Nationals. The confusing comment that he made in the Craigslist ad is referring to it having received a trophy at a local Chapter show. The local chapter show does allow modified vehicles and the judging criteria is NOT the same as National AACA judging (and most of that show was during a rainstorm... most judges will understand what that means regarding judging). Virtually every car in the local Chapter show will receive a trophy of one type or another. There are a number of non-authentic issues with the "restoration" most have already been mentioned in this discussion. It should certainly be a good reliable "Driver" car if you don't mind the non-authentic deviations. It could fairly easily be turned into a properly restored car but some of those corrections would be a bit expensive given the cost of upholstery work, woodgraining etc. If anybody buys it and wants a correct 1938 steering wheel, I do have a 1938 Buick steering wheel that would be a good core for restoration. It is fairly common to see 1938 steering wheels used on 1937 Buicks (one of mine has one), but it is odd to see a 1937 Buick steering wheel on a 1938 Buick.

[deac]

Just thinking about it I have a 38 steering wheel too.  Mine is completely restored and I have no use for it either....

Edited May 14 by deac (see edit history)