Dusty 1948 Buick Super Barn Find
Update 11/6/20 – The seller has dropped their price here on eBay by a grand but is that enough to convince someone to drag it home?
From 3/2/20 – A few months back, I reviewed a nicely preserved 1948 Buick Super coupe. It was a mostly original car that had received a non-original two-tone paint job. For comparison purposes, we have discovered a four-door sedan version of that Buick and is a true barn find, covered in 35-year-old dirt no less, and located in Riverside, California. This untouched 1948 Buick Super is available here on eBay for a BIN price of $6,900 with a “make an offer” option.
You have to wonder about old cars like this Buick and how they end up sequestered away in odd places. You also have to wonder what it’s like when you discover one, this Buick is a bit scary looking. It reminds me of Agent Starling in the film, “Silence of the Lambs”, poking around in Hannibal Lector’s garage and finding an old dusty, dark car. Well, the seller didn’t mention finding a head or anything like that in this Buick so I think we are good to go with a closer look.
It’s hard to say much about the overall exterior condition of this Buick as you can’t make out specific details under all of that grime. The body appears to be straight, the trim is mostly intact (something is up with the rear right door and trim), the saber-tooth tiger grille is all together but the chrome is pretty thin – the front bumper actually looks painted. The glass all seems to be in place and free of cracks. Fortunately, there are no obvious signs of rot – it would be great to see this car as-is but after a deep cleaning. The only comment that the owner makes is, “Appears to be solid.” Oh, and I almost forgot, the seller also claims that the tires have been holding air for a week now……..
Under the hood is a 248 CI, in-line, eight-cylinder, non-running engine. When running, the HP rating for this straight-eight should be about 115 but I have found some research that places it at 124 too, so it’s a narrow, measurable range. Referencing the engine, the seller adds, “Have the cylinders soaking now, regardless if it spins over, it should be gone through IF one wants to use it.” Be prepared for mechanical issues would be the watch-words here. Gear shifting is manually facilitated via a three-speed transmission.
The interior of this Super is in super lousy shape. The ornate dash/instrument panel looks pretty good but the seats, headliner and door cards will all need a redo. The original carpet is still in place and while very worn, at least it’s not dragging on the ground through gapping floorboard holes. No reference is made to floor or frame integrity but I don’t suspect any problems at this point. It helps that this is a California car but the storage barn would seem to have a dirt floor (go figure!)
The seller has uploaded about 28 images of this Buick and you can view them here. They are worth reviewing as it will give you a little better idea, at least visually, of what’s up and what’s not with this sedan. It would seem to me that a before-and-after cleaning pictorial would help beneficially with the sales challenge here. I don’t know if there is an attempt to portray this Buick’s true barn find authenticity by leaving it super dirty but that coupled with the paucity of condition detail in the listing isn’t going to help with the cause. As with so many examples like this old Buick, I have to ask the question, if you wanted to take on the challenge of owning this Buick Super, what would you do with it?
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Comments
I’d start by washing it.
Wash it? How can you prove that it was a barn find when there is no dirt on it silly.
There are over 28 pictures of it in it’s filthy condition so there is plenty of proof that it was an original barn find before it was cleaned.
Proof of life for a ‘barn find’. You want to sell it? Wash it! Get it running or give it away. Sheeshhhhhh. But I do love the back end.
It’s been all cleaned up and runs very strong
Lots of pics at Fotki.com/cadcliff
Cliff, that was quite an undertaking!
What can you tell me about the Chevy Ambulance? If it’s still for sale, and you can send me photos [[email protected]] I’ll do my best to get it written up in the PCS club magazine.
I’m sure there are more than a few of us who would be interested in the backstory about this collection, should you be willing/able to share it.
I’m glad to see the Buick cleaned up and with new tires. My grandparents drove a car just like this and I have one photo of them in vivid color when the car was only a few years old. What great taillights and general styling in the rear compared to a Pontiac or Chevy of the same vintage. Looking at your fotki photo album, in your excitement of finding all these cars you must have forgotten to focus the camera…a good portion of the 400+ photos are blurry and/or give no perspective as to what detail on what car we are looking at. What a cool red shoebox Ford with the flames.
I would do a street rod. Modern wheels, tires, brakes, suspension, LS motor of some sort, maybe turbocharged because this is a BIG car, 5 speed manual… I would open up those rear wheel openings as I HATE that covered rear wheel look. Maybe a nice dark blue, or dark grey? 17” Torque Thrusts for wheels, NO whitewalls.
This just gave me a flashback of playing the video game “LA Noire,” as the main character drives this very same car.
Would it hurt to wash it after the initial ? SMH
If the engine turns it’ll probably run without extreme measures. Now, how well it’ll run is another matter.
It does run and sounds very healthy
I put some better tires on it and finally decided to remove the old dirt
There were about 80 cars in the barns
Sorry; not my era of Buick.
I’d buy that grime for $15, package it, and flip it for $100. Authentic barn dust!
I’m the owner
Thought it would be fun to leave it the way it is….
I’ve pulled over 40 cars out of this barn area so far
It’s supposed to rain out here next week, will see how much comes off
Cliff, congrats on your successful enterprise! I’m guessing you have luck on your side to find them where they sit. I presume the forty you’ve pulled didn’t come out of one barn! I can appreciate your sense of humor about rain in the forecast. Us Barn Find readers are just a little weary of so many old cars that never get washed before going to market.
I just LOVE the period-correct pinstriping patina on the rear. Must have been parked under a pergola. For ever.
Should have flipped the car around 90 degrees every decade for that cross-hatch effect.
Bought one of these in Hawaii at Aloha motors. $99. Ran fine, but ate re-tread tires. Had an unusual inside operated metal . windshield sun visor . That was in 1959.
I don’t care about weather washing or not proves it’s a barn find. Wash the car. Let’s see its true exterior nature. Not my year Buick.
Buyer beware the unwashed barn find. Many years ago I bought a barn find layered in dust, washing it yielded a cracked windshield numerous minor dings and dents that did not stand out until the dirt layers are gone. From that point forward, when I found any type of barn find, part of the purchase agreement was that I would wash it before I bought it.
The dirt looks like they wet the car and sprinkled it on. Too perfect and clean for random dirt. Something about it.
Another incorrect assessment on a California barn find
Take a look at the 400 pics I uploaded of the other 50 cars in the barn
Don’t know why I like these..
That pattern of dirt is typical for a car sitting below a barn roof with interlocking corrugated panels. In all weather conditions, not enough air is stirred up to blow dust off the car in the stall below but every once in a while a barn roof will “sweat” with condensation, find gaps in the roof, giving the pattern shown here. Ask me how I know.
You had me at bald spare tire in the trunk.
Reminds me of the 60s Jan and Dean song, “Shlock Rod”, only thing missing is the olive green paint job. Lol. OK, clean it, make it run, make it road worthy, make the interior livable, and drive it.
Dirt Floor? More a dirt ceiling to me! lol
Slatted roof on this part of the barn
8 cars in this section and the other 50 were in a much larger barn with a better roof
My mom and I drove to Florida from Rochester NY in 1954 in a 4 door 48″ Buick and I still remember her “man” handling that beast. Every time I see those old pictures, it reminds me of that trip. We also drove it back to Buffalo in 1955.
My Dad had one when I was a kid. He pulled the back seat out and built a floor in it. He and an Uncle would run illicit whatever between California and Illinois.
A FEW $$ and a place to put it and it would be a good restoration project. However I got nether so it’s immaterial.
I have always remembered how one of my colleagues described a young girl who had just started to work with us. He said, “She had a smile on her face bigger than the grill of a 48 Buick”.
Barn Find? More like: “I’m selling this one off of a trailer for a quick flip sale.
I have a problem with sellers who include a car on a trailer. IMHO, It says; “I found it, now YOU pay for it!”
It’s sad that you can’t even spend the time to look at all the pics
Plainly clear even to a blind person that the cars came out of the barn where the other 40 cars did that I purchased and I’ve uploaded 100’s of pics inside the larger barn for everyone to see
You missed my point.
Cliff, I enjoyed looking at your photo album…seems like a lot of trucks and only a few WWII era cars but what a find!!!!! You must have really loved that red Chevy C-10 (1967-68?) enough to drag it out…there certainly are a lot of pics of the torn seat and missing drivers-side rear bed. LOL Will you be listing the Lemans or VW for sale after extraction? I did not see the ambulance Bill McCloskey mentions.
Little_cars,
The Chevy is either a ’55 or ’56 [I can’t remember 100%, but I think it is a ’56] Red & White Chevy Ambulance with raised roof and tunnel lights in the front of the roof. I am pretty sure it was built by National Coach, but without more photos I can’t be sure. Regardless of who built it, this is a rare car.
@Bill McCoskey I’m not seeing it in the initial photo album from February, 2020. Should I look someplace else? I’d be interested if the car is complete and has a title.
Little_cars,
The Ambulance photos are near the end of all the photos.
Thanks. Found it on the album with the other fire equipment. Its a 1955 Chevy and in great condition. Still has its livery on the driver’s door. Album dated July 2020. Cliff, what is the status of these cars? Especially the ambulance, King Midget and Metropolitan?
Well at least he found it which means that you can buy it if you should so wish. If he hadn’t found it then it would still be in the barn but now somebody owns it, and hopefully, will soon have it back on the road in all it’s glory. Thank you Cliff Graubard.
It’s a four door. Nobody wants there cars.
Rubbish, speak for yourself as I’m sure a lot of us would be overjoyed to own one of the 4 door sedans that are promoted on BF. It’s just that we either don’t have the cash to buy them, or the space to park them. Two door cars are a pain in the arris as far as I am concerned as a family man with several grandchildren that used to love to be driven around in my cars.
Michael Acocks,
Plenty of car collectors & owners got their start with a cheaper 4-door version, and that trend continues today. I began my collecting adventures in high school, with an inexpensive 20 year old 1948 Packard Standard 8 sedan, and worked my way up to many rare and collectable Packards, including convertibles, limousines, hearses, and coupes. If it wasn’t for the cheaper sedans, many of us would have had a harder time getting into the hobby.
And . . .
What may seem like a worthless model to someone in their home country, is often a sought-after model in another country.
For 40 years I sold US made antique 4-door cars overseas for more money than they would have sold for here in America.
And the correct word is their, not there.
You are absolutely correct
I’m sure that is why Buick and Cadillac and all the car makers knew that when they made millions of sedans🤔🤔🤔🤔
Well at least he found it which means that you can buy it if you should so wish. If he hadn’t found it then it would still be in the barn but now somebody owns it, and hopefully, will soon have it back on the road in all it’s glory. Thank you Cliff Graubard.
The Australian bodies sedans look a lot better!
where are the port holes?
The next year Buick started w/ those infamous portholes…….those post-war Buicks were solid as a rock and the straight right engine was smooth. Love to have it!