I hesitate to even start this thread, but perhaps it will give me incentive to see this project through. I have been given a 1939 LaSalle 2dr Opera Coupe that sat in a warehouse in Detroit since 1970. It shows about 80,000 miles on the odometer. My profile picture shows it as found. It appears to have been repainted at some point in the original color. My intention is to make it into a mild period custom with the original engine hopped up with period accessories, straight pipes, fender skirts and a tail dragger stance, and everything else completely stock (probably upgraded brakes). I picked this car up in Detroit almost 2 years ago. Since then I have been through some ups and downs with the car. I just completed a 2400 mile road trip and I now have the car back in my posession in pieces. I am now at the point where I am only $60,000 away from having a $30,000 car, as they say, but I am afraid I am quite enamored of this car and I would very much like to finish it. This is the start of my story, which I will add to and update as I have the time.
Like some others, I'd LOVE to have one of those big GM coupes and a LaSalle would be my choice.....well, maybe a 39-40 caddy coupe. When I was a little kid, my dad had a green 39 LaSalle. I loved listening to the sound of that V/8 engine. If you do most of the work yourself, I doubt you'd have 60 grand in it unless you're going for an over the top Boyd Coddington style build. Some years ago, I had a 47 series 62 caddy and my buddy, Billy had a maroon 40 LaSalle. We lived in the same apartment house and we had a common friend who had the most gorgeous black 48 Buick special fastback. Man, if I had an opportunity to build that car, I'd go for it.
I remember years ago, like eighties, a buddy of mine had a '39 Buick coupe. It was mile-deep black lacquer with an oxblood interior, had a caddy flathead, with a full load of Edmunds stuff on the motor, it had a nice rake with polished tork-thrusts, and it was BEAUTIFUL.This was long before the HAMB, or "traditional" hot rods, or before there was this line between customs and hot rods that was never supposed to crossed. I'd build a Lasalle coupe in a heartbeat, but skirts and a tail dragger stance wouldn't even enter my mind...But then, I am a notorious heretic, and don't give a rats-ass for neo-traditional political correctness.
Hey, Texas Webb, I recall spotting a '39 Buick coupe, grey and Pepsi blue I believe, in Fentress, Texas. It is north of Lockhart, east of San Marcos, and that is all I can remember. Just thought I'd tell you in case you might want to try to find it. Fentress is s very small community so the car might be found. It was in a single-car garage and I believe the house might be a small two-story. I would love to have one of those old classics, but two rides are company, and three would be a crowd. Good luck if you go searching.
This is the first picture I saw of the car as it sat in a warehouse in Detroit for 44 years. There were a number of old cars in the warehouse that belonged to my girlfriend's now deceased father. Interestingly enough, it was the old Cadillac Connor Street stamping plant that my girlfriend's father bought to house his machine tool business. The plant was now being sold and the cars had to go. A couple of years prior I had told my girlfriend's mother that I'd be interested in the LaSalle. When the time came to move it, she offered it to me. I asked if it was 2 doors or 4 doors and she said it was a "4 door opera coupe". It can either be a 4 door or an opera coupe, but not both, so I figured it was a 4 door - until I got this picture. Then I got pretty excited.
My girlfriend and I set out for Detroit from the Washington, D.C. area to pick up the car in February of 2014 and took it to a shop in Missouri that I had been following on Facebook. I was impressed with the prodigious amount of work the owner put out and expected to save quite a bit over what a shop would charge around D.C.
You will discover that the more you look at it the more you will love it. Be sympathetic to the fact that it survived so long untouched. I like your traditional approach. A mild chop suits these beautifully. There were some great photoshops done on here of a Lasalle coupe a couple of years back. I look forward to seeing her come back to life.
I looked very carefully at those photoshop chops. There was no doubt in my mind that the lower it got, the better it looked. The car was braced and the chop was laid out and the first cuts made when I called it off. The cuts were welded back up. In the end, I'll take the stock bubble top.
Gorgeous and Amazing Car !!! Need more pictures as You move forward. 40+ years ago a good friend owned 2 LaSalles 1) 38 Opera Coupe with 55 Olds running gear and 2) Original 40 4-dr Sedan. I will never forget how "Cool" those cars were when compared to my econo-box 39 Chevy 2-dr Sedan................ Jeff
What a great start to a great car. LaSalle used the Cadillac V8 and Cad.LaSalle trans. in a lighter car and your coupe is about the lightest model they made. So, it was one of the hottest performing cars of its time. And, I think 39 was the last year for the floor shift. In other words a banker's hot rod. Should have no trouble keeping up with traffic in stock form. I know of one guy who bought a new LaSalle sedan in 39 and hopped it up. All he did was install dual exhausts, mill the heads, shim the valve springs, and install an extra set of shocks on all 4 wheels. He told me it was timed electronically, 2 ways, at an average 107MPH.
Perhaps for the moment it is best that you stalled the chop. Google the Don Lee dealership chopped40 Laslle done when new. It used a sixty special back window frame. The original rear window looks too large imo when chopped. I don't have access to my computer rightnow and strugglingto post pics off this damn ph.
Here is some inspiration built by Bert Gustafssons 1940 Buick Special , same basic body and roof as your 1939 LaSalle , he cut the roof off and made a Carsontop out of it , one sleak kustom : http://public.fotki.com/TinWolf/custom-cars-clubs/abombers-old-style--1/p8010029.html Wolf
I can't argue with the look of a chopped top. I struggled with the decision. Ultimately I decided to stick with the stock roof line. It can always be chopped the next time around.
My opinion. It ain't no damn Ford. So you don't need to chop it up first to make something out of leftovers. And with this its not like you are needing anything dramatic to make it stand out, like those with old hat cookie cutter models need to resort to. KISS and you can have a $60,000 car for $30,000 _or much less if you can handle a bit of the work yourself. Got yourself something that is already special, it will pay off in the long run to keep it that way.
Back to the timeline, we delivered the car to a shop in Missouri to do the work. Work starting progressing quickly. Even though the car looked pretty good at first, it turned out to have quite a bit of rust.
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