Hey guys! Long time in the ether but had to write about this new project… My hot rod neighbor Jim knew about a potential project and kept me informed for a couple years. When it lowered into my budget I was still a little hesitant pulling the trigger, the price was too unbelievable for a solid start. If you’ve seen any of my old posts I typically get the rustiest crap and spend forever to save a couple hundred bucks on nicer steel. Also this is just not the type of car that’s on my radar, big American luxury car usually snagged by higher end folk. I don’t have a parts stash to fill in the blanks, so if it was just a shell it was gonna be a long scavenger hunt, especially with no swaps cause of covid!! We went to go check it out, sealed the deal as soon as the price was confirmed. The body was so clean, and parts stashed everywhere. Even when signing over the pink I was waiting for them to realize the decimal point was not correct! TP
The first load was scheduled the following week. It drove me crazy! I was waiting for the long lost friend to but in and say they made a mistake. However, after seeing the chit-ton of parts, the nervous energy was put to good use organizing a storage shed to make room for even more junk. TP
The first load was like our personal swap meet. I had the kids box parts and fit the long straight 8 back into its cubby. They’ve been doing this for years so they don’t screw around! Jim came too since he likes a good Easter egg hunt, there were so many parts in so many places! While I was concerned that Ray and son Gabe were losing a cool project, they were happy to see the garage cleaner than it had been in the 30 years stashing it! TP
It's a good thing it was cheap...who the hell would want a solid, rare GM convertible...and then get stuck with all those parts. Nice score
'41 Buick convertible is an extra cool car. This past fall I bought a '41 Cadillac convertible and it sure looks like they share a lot of styling between the two. The Herb Ogden '41 Buick custom is one of my favorite pre-war custom cars of all time.
sweet, now sell all the other projects your talking about and focus, focus. good luck. mainly make sure you have all the convertible parts rounded up and safe. Latches, top parts, top tanks and switch. The door top garnish and flippers. The top frame also!
Congrats @zibo, Score!!, welcome back...what's the plans mild Custom? I know it's barely in the door yet...just excited... I remember a Cad powered 39 or 40 Coupe and a Roadster...this is definitely I suspect a slight change in direction I'm thinking...
Yea! The Pisano/Ogden/Barris/Mazza Buick is definitely one of the classiest customs ever. Even though it’s the longer nosed roadmaster, it’s ruined any chances of this one falling into the hands of a restorer! I’ve found that all GM divisions used the same convertible body, and only the bolt-ons changed between the models - engine/dash/fenders/hood etc. Probably why these are customized so easily as that’s what they basically did - like simple tail light placement in the body(Buick) or fenders (cad). TP
It took awhile to separate that first load. There were so many parts I was unfamiliar with. The shelves filled up fast! It took forever to schedule the next pickup, but fortunately it was when my parents were visiting for thanksgiving. My dad had known about the project and was about as excited as I was! We had about an hour to load and go. Once it was home it was such a relief to know it was finally ours. Holey Chit this thing was big! Probably what makes it so cool. I’m normally a Ford guy but as customs they’re still small hot rod sized cars. TP
Looks like you got multiples of stuff, which is good, you're probably not going to stumble on one of these in a junkyard somewhere. The potential to be a truly great car is here for sure.
Subscribed. Welcome back. I really enjoyed all your build threads especially the 40's then you moved and went quiet. Looking at the height of your kids I can see why. Life keeps us busy. I really enjoy your builds as you do great work with a budget many of us can relate too. Looking forward to seeing what you do with this great car.
Zibo! Glad you came out of hiding and getting the juices flowing again! Can’t wait to see your magic on this Buick. Subscribed
Thats the most fun any Hamber can ever have....now get busy and shoe horn a nailhead in that thing....
Ok finally… Over the winter the wet Portland air loved the bare sheetmetal. I cleaned/sanded and threw some rattlecan zinc chromate on it. Definitely showed the bumps and bruises a bit more! The engine is a straight 8 with dual carbs. (Prolly not keeping it…) Adding the fenders and hood also helped to clean up the yard. Dang this is a big car!! I don’t think it would fit in the garage with the bumpers…TP
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