Old Timey Score In A Modern Boneyard

[286merc]

I went into this place today not expecting much as it is a crush and truck out type of place with minimal parts selling.
Original goal was to see if I could score a few 9" rears cheap. Well, Guido wanted $150 each so that idea went south real fast. I then asked if he had a HD rear for my Dodge van and he said to look way down back along the fence, there was a 1 ton on the bottom of the pile.
Well the van was a Ford so I was going to go back (this required reclimbing over and under stacks of wrecks) so on a whim I continued the other direction.

Suddenly something out of place caught my eye and in another instant I almost got a hard on!

Those with sharp eyes will see it just as I did as the pictures unfold.

[286merc]

This is just as I saw it. 1941 Buick Special 4 dr, totally messed up.

See what gave me wood?

[286merc]

Yep, an original dual carb setup. Dont know how long the hood was off but the block was full of water.
I figured this would be a drawn out affair since the intake is bolted top and bottom to the exhaust manifold and the exhaust Y pipes also had to come off. With this pig sitting on 4 flat tires there was no way to work from below. Since the dual carb exhaust manifold has to be used with the intake I couldnt even think of leaving it behind.

Looking down to the exhaust pipe I suddenly saw that it had rotted away where it was sitting on the mud.
Long story short: All hardware and linkage came right off with no effort. Stood on top of the motor and hauled that complete assembly up and out.

Total elapsed time 45 minutes give or take a piss call; Im drinking way too much water these days.

[286merc]

Final score was on the ground half under the car, the original air cleaner, even had the hold down bolts.

Here it is at home, gotta clean it up and then figure if it wants to be wall art or find a new owner on EPay. Figure this thing is worth a few bucks. The Strombergs even have the original tags.
Cost? Just say it costs me about 2X more to fill the gas tank in the van. Guido didnt have a clue what he had.

Not much else salvagable on the car, totally rotted out. I would like to get the banjo steering wheel which is decent but cant get the doors open; jammed in tight with other cars. Going to go back and see if I can get him to haul it out and put it aside for me when its turn to crush comes.
Anybody need anything that might still be usable?

[Harrison]

Cool score. E-Pay and a little cast blast spray paint and you are in the $$$.

JH

[Bruce Lancaster]

An interesting and strange setup--2 AA-1 Strombergs, one is a secondary only with no idle circuit and an air velocity valve under it! Wonder how they actually ran with the main carb half a mile from the front cylinders??

[Mike Landwehr]

Nice peice ,There is a market for those,If they are going to crush it anyway smash a window , an get it (wheel),I know its hard to do, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

[Rocket88]

Gotta like it when you find treasure! Every once in a while the Pick a Part up here gets some old tin. Word gets around pretty quick and they are usually picked clean in a couple weeks.

[AHotRod]

Great story and money in the bank!

[286merc]

Bruce, I had the big engine 41 Century with duals and I remember they ran great but gas mileage sucked.

Here is something I found during a search; altho it describes the big engine the setup worked the same for the Special:

At 320 cubic inches, the Fireball Eight cranked out 141 horsepower with a single 2-barrel carburetor, and 165 with the dual carburetor option (15 more than even the top-of-the-line Cadillac). The dual carburetors were the forebears of today's 4-barrel carburetors, and featured a progressive linkage that allows the car to operate on one carburetor at low speed, and gradually adding the second carburetor as engine speeds increase. Combined with the big Buick's legendary smoothness, this motor powered the top Buicks for almost two decades, and was the choice of many drag racers in the late 1940s and beyond.

The 1941 Century is often referred to as the grandfather of the modern muscle car. With the Century, Buick took the smaller Special sedanette body and combined it with the larger, more powerful 320 cubic-inch engine from the Roadmaster and Limited models. This is essentially the same formula used twenty years later in the creation of the Pontiac GTO in 1963: a full-size car engine in a mid-sized chassis.

In fact, due to the war and the introduction of the automatic transmission in 1947, the 1941-42 Buicks were the most powerful cars in America until the early 1950s. 1941 and 1942 were the only years to offer the 165 HP dual carburetor straight 8. Post-war Buicks used single carburetors and never topped 150 HP until the introduction of the OHV V-8 engine in 1953.

Publications of the day were quick to praise the '41 Century's acceleration and passing power. Though Buick never published top-speed information, they confidently stated that the Century could cruise effortlessly at 80 MPH all day, and still have plenty of power in reserve. Cadillacs, Packards and even the V-12 powered Lincolns were no match for the mighty Century


And I am going back for the wheel! Just what I need on the modified.