I can't help myself...I don't know where I got it from but I ended up with an affinity for saving old sh*t...it's how I'm made, but I have to admit at some points in life that urge has been burdonsome. Over time it has proven helpful when something I "preserved" became handy or desirous to others...so it has been with cars. My forte seems to be the finding, collecting parts for, and ***embling them to a degree where someone with more time, money or talent can build something out of them. Always a bridesmaid etc... Anyway this project started off on a day when I was perusing the local craigslist ads and there was an ad for something that doesn't turn up often...an early car ('20's-30's) body mostly complete. The seller had no clue what it was so I set about combing the internet for pics and finally narrowed it down to either a Pontiac or Buick 1931/32 4 dr. sedan.... being well aware of my proclivities as well as having 2 other projects that were on hiatus at the time I tried my best to put it out of my mind... Of course I kept checking the ad and looking at the pictures ...but I resisted for at least a month. Finally one sunny Saturday morning I had some free time and thought well I might as well go for a road trip and look at an old car it was a perfect day for it... When I arrived the owner showed me a hood with vent flaps that narrowed it down to being a 1932 BUICK ...I fell in love and couldn't believe that it had been posted for so long with all the "speculators" in the area and resonable asking price but at first I resisted taking another month before finally I caved in...
So I managed to talk the owner down a bit but I still didn't really have a plan as to what to do with it so to be honest it was more than I hoped to pay because (not knowing anyone with a car trailer) there was a long distance tow involved adding to the final tally. I had this burning desire to save it so I jumped in...Back home safe in the garage...HA HA HA NOT!! I've never had a garage and have spent my entire time involved with cars ...OUTDOORS. This decision is looking better all the time right? I knew right off I could never use the original frame. It was severely pitted, also this being a larger model 80 or 90 with a looong wheelbase to boot even if I wanted to hack it up the side rails were 8-10" high LIKE A BUS FRAME! A sign that I was on the right track was that parts started to suddenly appear...a pair of solid coupe doors popped up and the owner had a much smaller model 50 sedan restored very nicely and was looking to let go of all the spares and extras he had but he was a gruff character and saw it all as a waste of his time. I managed to buy a long block straight 8 and front suspension and then he ghosted...completely. Which left me hanging for completing the rare engine...so my usual m.o. (semi restore and sell) was off the table...I toyed w using the engine for another project but got smart and sold it to a restorer. Hmmm...now what? View attachment 5673628 View attachment 5673629 View attachment 5673632 View attachment 5673633 View attachment 5673634 View attachment 5673635
The key to that look is to get the A-pillar as near as possible to the midpoint of the wheelbase. And it needs tall tyres: there's nothing worse than that sort of resto-mod on one of those big cars, with little '80s Lincoln Town Car-style wheels and tyres. You want a tyre height of around a quarter of the wheelbase, and on that Buick that's around 31½". Then, if you're so inclined, you can do bigs and littles off that basis.
@bill gruendeman when I realised the car wasn't a "flipper" I started playing with ideas like this I really liked the idea of a long low full fendered coupe chopped and maybe sectioned with the looong Buick hood...sort of sinister/cl***y so I found a pair of o/g wires to mount in the fenderwells and started searching for a '32 Buick grille and a '32ish frame...I missed a freebie '32 Chev ch***is but decided that was ideal and set out looking for another @Ned Ludd things have changed a bit since that original concept...stay tuned!
I know some of you can relate to this...you've been combing the local buy & sell ads lookin' for that one in a million deal on that piece of unobtanium (until you finally find the worst one in existance then suddenly they're everywhere) and suddenly there it is!! shaking with excitement you immediately phone or email and wait for that response....if you're there first you ride that buzz ...but if youre 2nd there's that major bummer This ad had a couple blurry pics of what looked like '27 roadster doors and a grille that I think was indentified as 33 ford truck grille surround...the more I looked at the blurry pic the more it looked like a '32 grille with the top filled it was definitely rough but "nah it couldn't be" so when I got the reply back that it was sold I was so fully engrossed in solving a mystery that I just couldn't accept it! It picked at me so much I decided to run an ad saying something like: "If you recently purchased some model T parts here that came with a non model T grille and you'd care to sell the truck grille let me know " I didn't think anything would happen but out of the blue one day a guy calls and says " hey I bought the T doors and grille" I was stunned and even more shocked that he was willing to sell....so on a sunny saturday I took the road trip to look at it....twisted bent and paper thin in spots it was definitely.... A '32 p***enger car grille surround!! A great guy and a great deal later I owned my very first Deuce part! Now there is an idea out there that like attracts like and one Deuce part leads to another ...stick around we'll see....
The Jalopy Journal
