Jul 16, 2018  •  Uncategorized  •  13 Comments

What’s Next: 1936 Buick 2-Door Sedan

Disclosure: This site may receive compensation from some link clicks and purchases.

Here’s a sad sight. It’s yet another old car on a flipper’s trailer. It’s amazing that cars like these survive, sitting in a barn somewhere, forgotten. There were cars like these in barns in New Mexico covered in years of bird droppings. Between spare parts potential, rust, World War II scrap drives and hot rod potential this sedan survived. Perhaps this Buick was stored during World War II when gas was rationed. After the war, it was replaced with a new car. It needs at least a steering wheel and air cleaner to be complete and it doesn’t run. Other than the trunk lid there are not many signs of rust but it appears various creatures of field and stream have found it a comfortable home over the decades. You’ll find it listed on craigslist in Moundsville, West Virginia for $6,950. There’s no history provided but it appears to have been stored for a long time. It’s described as being of “Flesh tone color”.  Many of you see potential here to create a custom car of some sort. Some of us would like to see it restored to its original form. I will have to admit my prejudice. I occasionally drive a similar car, a 1938 Buick, to events and also enjoy giving folks their first ride in an old car. It’s a new experience for them and it gives them an appreciation for old cars.

There are no overall shots of the interior, but the back seat gives you an idea of the general condition. Even the most basic cars of the 1930s had really nice interiors.

Here’s a peek of the dash. The fan was an accessory to defrost windows.

Here’s the OHV 248 CID straight eight. There’s no word whether it turns or it is stuck.

This old Buick is not financially worth restoring, of course, but it is worth saving. Perhaps someone will do just the necessary interior and mechanical restoration and then enjoy driving it as it is, continuing to restore it over time. Hopefully, it will stay original.

Comments

  1. grant
    Jul 16, 2018 at 8:27pm

    What on earth happened to the steering wheel? It almost looks like the spokes were cut.

    Like 11
  2. Beatnik Bedouin
    Jul 16, 2018 at 10:11pm

    I suspect that they were, Grant.

    This example looks reasonably solid, but I’d always recommend the buyer take a closer look.

    Like 5
  3. John M
    Jul 17, 2018 at 1:35am

    It was a banjo steering wheel also. Rare, what a shame.

    Like 2
  4. Jesper
    Jul 17, 2018 at 2:04am

    Is 6950$ not a bit to much, for a projekt car, there will need everything?
    Not even a word about engine.

    Like 1
  5. rudy brixx
    Jul 17, 2018 at 3:16am

    I love any car with a straight eight. Hard to believe it lies under that plain sedan trim.

    Like 1
  6. Poncho
    Jul 17, 2018 at 5:57am

    Love the subtle hints of the art deco era, the hood ornament, grill headlights and of course the fender mounted turn signals. If I only had a bigger garage and more time to work on the toys.

    Like 0
  7. bobk
    Jul 17, 2018 at 7:54am

    just back from a trip to New Mexico. Saw several classic cars on trailers while on I-40. Since I started hanging out here, all I could think of was “how many of those are now ‘flipper cars’?”.

    OK, second thought was “since I’m moving to NM next year, maybe I should think about getting into that business”.

    Like 1
  8. Jeff Miller
    Jul 17, 2018 at 12:07pm

    Wow… If it sells for that price I’ll need to put my 1936 Mclaughlin Buick up for sale. Mine is fully functional, has a good banjo steering wheel, brakes updated to 2 cylinder master with new lines and reconditioned slaves, new wiring, no rust, lots of other goodies. I was getting ready to swap it out for the next project and as a lark put a $10,000 sign on it and nobody was even remotely interested at that price. Best of luck to the seller and maybe more luck to the buyer.

    Attached is a picture I took in the spring when I was prepping it for summer driving.

    Like 6
    • johnny
      Apr 26, 2022 at 7:16pm

      That,s a nice looking car.

      Like 0
  9. SquareLeft
    Jul 17, 2018 at 12:40pm

    Wow. This one’s an easy three-and-a-half hour drive from me. I’d have to agree that the price is all the money for this car, but I’d also bet that it’s negotiable.

    Old guy comment: I remember cars like this from the ’60s. They were almost always driven by tired-looking, skinny old guys who wore sweat-stained straw hats and suspenders over their short-sleeve shirts in the summer. The cars were usually dusty and often needed one or two tires replaced.

    Like rudy brixx, I love the old straight-eights. With any kind of decent exhaust, you could barely hear them run. This is one more oldie that I’d welcome in my garage, given more time and money…

    Like 3
  10. Danger Dan
    Jul 17, 2018 at 2:32pm

    Here’s a sad sight. You sitting at your computer while a real CarGuy is on his hands and needs wiping away spiders and coon turds. Why do they even sell trailers?So guys like you can watch good cars get back in circulation.

    Like 0
    • Dwight
      Jul 18, 2018 at 3:58am

      Right, Dan! While I would like every case to be someone who discovered the a car they wanted in a barn/garage and worked out an amiable agreement with the owner, the “flippers” do provide the service of bringing cars back into the light of day that might well continue their deterioration. I’ve always bought cars with the intention of keeping them…and the reality is that when you get them home, they sometimes just don’t fit…or in the case of a late 50s Italian roadster I once bought…my original intent was to recommission it (with a unique customization). On inspection at home…and after research…I decided it was in a condition that it should be restored to original. I found a buyer (in Italy) that wanted it for that purpose. Did a make a modest profit…yes. Did I uncover and pass on a project, protecting it from fading into oblivion…yes. Would that Italian fella have found that car in rural Eastern Ohio…not likely. Was it an intentional flip…no. Did three people benefit …yes…I gave the owner a reasonable price for the car, I made a profit on the sale, and a car was returned to Italy to be appreciated by one of its countrymen (this particular model had primarily been exported in the ’50s to help bolster the Italian economy that was still struggling over 10 years after WWII.

      Like 3
  11. Earl League
    Jul 17, 2018 at 7:35pm

    I think I saw this car in Lebanon, Tn today at 4:45 a.m. sitting in the median on a trailer behind a blue Chevy Truck, looks as if he lost control in the rain and ran into the median, there appeared to be no damage to either vehicle

    Like 1

Leave A Comment

RULES: No profanity, politics, or personal attacks.

Become a member to add images to your comments.

*

*

Barn Finds