A friend called a couple of weeks ago and said he ran across a 38 Buick Special Coupe that an acquaintance was thinking of selling. He had the coupe for a long time but hadn't driven it in 3 or 4 years. It had started to over heat on him and after having the radiator flushed and then rodded out he had just let the car sit in his storage building. I drove down to take a look. The owner said at his age he probably would never do much with the car so I bought it.
Pictures didn't initially post but inserted some with the edit function. The coupe is basically stock. It has been repainted and all the window rubber and door channels have been replaced. It has the 248 straight eight. Interior needs replaced but it's a solid car. Floor boards have a little surface rust under the mats but no rust through. I am already backed up on projects so I will try to get it running in the next week or two and then probably list it on HAMB. Should make someone a good driver.
Wow! Great find. Looks good. Drive it and maybe start a plan. 455 late or 401 wildcat in stock paint and trim would look great under the hood.
So......."Jimmy Six" is really J. D Tone...?? Ray Inliner #057 p.s. To the OP....it IS a nice find.......I have one the same make and model...'38 Buick's have long been a favorite of mine...
Rich it's a Buick and keep it all Buick. Well maybe not a 3.8 turbo Grand National. I'll keep hoarding my GMC's for later projects. I'll be at El Mirage with the roadster in October. Hope to see you. JD
For the sake of fueling a debate with Mr 200mph Tone, I say build a killer straight 8, add a six speed and late rear, and you've got yourself a killer of a sleeper, afterall buick straight eights own **o records on the lakes.
Stove, only at Bonneville. There are no record holding straight 8 Buick powered vehicles at El Mirage both XO or **O at this time listed in the rule book.
too true. See I knew that my comment would "fuel a debate " !!!! You raise a valid point JD. I figure that the noise coming from a souped up straight eight would be sensational with everyone but the neighbors!!!!!
Low Budget, good recognition on the bumper. I did a quick polish on the right half to see how the chrome was. Also on the grill and a couple of other parts. All of them cleaned up very well. A friend is coming over Monday to help me try to get it running. We'll see. Then, as stated earlier, probably list it for sale here on HAMB.
In this years rule book,, Did not The Buick #218 garner a Street Roadster record this year at El Mirage. And of course Brocks record still, for now, stands.
Couldn't get the battery to hold a charge so bought a new one last night. Will clean the plugs this morning and put some Marvel mystery oil in the cylinders in anticipation of trying to get it running Monday.
Looks like a later engine. At least the air cleaner and valve cover. Is it a 248 or 263? Nice coupe. Ben
I ***umed that the engine is a 248 but I will do some checking. I'm not that familiar with straight 8's so I will have to google some info. We did get it started today and it ran great. Had 35 lbs. of oil pressure at idle. Adjusted a couple of the valves by ear but I need to look up the spec's and check them again. Radiator, which was supposedly flushed and repaired, leaked in several places. While I really like the car it is so far back in the project line that I will put it up for sale on HAMB later this week.
If we can see a picture of the drivers side of the engine, we can tell which it is. IF it has mechanical lifters, the tappet clearance is .015 Ben
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