Projects 1938 BUICK QUESTION.. TAILDRAGGER POSSIBLE?

HI All, Last time I posted on here, I possibly had my hands on a 1941 Plymouth special deluxe. the guy was going on back and forth if he wanted to keep it or sell it... so I kinda moved on and was looking for something I can turn into a taildragger... never had a pre war car (besides model t i had) and have always loved the 41 Plymouths.. well lately I found a 1938 buick coupe that might fit the bill... did a bunch of searching and only could find the "lowrider" look.. not really my style... my taste these days for my possible taildragger project is falling into the 35,36,37 years as I like the big fendered cars and the sharp rear fenders in the rear with skirts. ill put up pics of what I am looking for... but my question is did the buicks have longer front ends in these years over all the other makes in this time frame? I know they had the straight eights, but it seems to me in these pictures that they are longer... don't know if I like that for a taildragger. since I have found this 38, the guy just contacted me and said he is ready to sell the 41 Plymouth... don't know what the hell I want now... anyone have any pictures of there buicks? the picture I am adding is a 36 Plymouth... one of my favorites so far...

 

Both are nice rides that said theres somthing about the Plymouth I have a 48 Spl 5 window but a 40/41 is an icon and they look so damned good ass dragging with a fox tail on the antana. go Mopar.

 

I know.. the question is like asking which beer is best... just wanted to see if there is some motivation for me to move from the 41 to this buick with members buicks pics.. plymouth1952 is right with the 40/41... its definitely an icon.

 

Buy what best fits your vision. Stare at both of them for a while. Car guys do that.


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There are two length front ends. The special and super models40&50 are shorter than the century roadmaster and limited , 60, 80 and90 . the super s[ecial use the small st8 and the 60,8 and 90 use the larger st 8

 

The Buick had a much longer hood than most of the other makes of the era since it was running an inline 8 where the cheaper cars all had 6's or in the case of the Ford, a V8.

I have had two '41 Plymouths and a '40, plus a '40 Chrysler and as much as I love that era of Mopar, I think I'd rather have the Buick. If you search for the Herb Ogden Buick you'll find my ultimate taildragger of the period. Granted, that car is a '40, but it's a nice proof that Buicks were certainly used in the golden era of the taildragger.

 

I'm a Buick fan !!! The picture looks like it's already on it's way to be a dragger. I don't think you can go wrong with Buicks. The frames are almost as heavy as trucks. Parts will be a little more money but it might sell faster when you want to change your ride


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Having owned a '38 Buick, I can tell you that they are great cars. Super comfortable, lots of power, and oozing style. However they are BIG, even the 'little' Specials like mine was.

The motors and chassis are great, but very different from most, even prewar cars. There's not a lot of aftermarket support, and the coil-sprung torque tube driveline can cause you to scratch your head when it comes to lowering issues.

That said, they are great cars, and would do well as a tail dragger if you don't mind going the extra mile over one of those common 'peasant' cars like Ford, Chevy, or Plymouth...


(that's my old '38 Special, giving you an idea of how BIG they are)

 

This is the buick in question... he has the inline 8 and original trans, but has since pulled it out and put in a bbc 454 and th350. The other is the 41 plymouth. Both need a TON of work, but i am not afraid of that...

 

Here's a '38 Buick from Rikster's site:

 

This would be the look i am after for the buick.. as this is a 39 ford. Hotrod/taildragger... love the lakesters.. but that damn buick long nose seems to kill that image...

 

You mean '39 Chevy.

 

I have a '38 Buick Special Coupe...and LOVE IT! However, reading your posts, I'd recommend the '41 Plymouth for your 'tail dragger' project. That '41 Plymouth front end is killer looking too!

Ray

 

Sorry... 39 chevy.. got ahead of myself..

 

Be original and do the Buick. The 41 Plymouth has already been done before. I took these at FAMOSO in Bakersfield.

 

I think the buick I am looking at is what they call the century.. at least that's what I think anyways.. that picture of that 41 Plymouth stanlow69 is not helping me turn the corner to the buick though.. LOL! that thing is a BEAUT!!

 

found 1 image of what looks like the same body style of the buick I am looking at.. been chopped, has the skirts.. pretty much how I would do it... then there is the Plymouth...

 

I think the chopped Buick above really needs running boards to pull it off. The red Plymouth looks great and has great lines, looks like they smoothed the creases out of the fenders.

Either one of those two cars would make a good base for a taildragger.

 

Are the grille parts inside the Buick? If not, those could be rather costly to find and replace.

I'd rather do the Buick, but if stuff is missing I'd go for the Plymouth since it seems more complete. The only thing I'd really be scared of on the Plymouth is the big/ugly/costly front suspension. A frame clip is more difficult on the Plymouth, and an MII swap would be easier on the Buick straight front rails.

 

he says all the parts are there minus all the rubbers and soft stuff.. im ok with that, and don't expect that to be worth a damn after 79 years anyways... I would DEFINATELY do the running boards on this buick, and SOMEHOW widen the back fenders.. I have seen where they slice down the middle and add a strip to widen them.. was going to pull out the original rear anyways and find something that was wider after doing that to the fenders. I really like the Lincoln zephyr fenders, and have found a set with skirts from a 37.. just don't know if it would work or not. I like fat ass cars when it come to the taildragger look..

 

I almost posted this when I did the Plymouth shots. Ididn`t because the chop looks a little off and it needs running boards. Since you liked the car I`ll post the pic`s I took at Torque Fest in Iowa a couple years ago. Enjoy. It`s an Olds.

 

That Olds would be a good candidate for a Valley Customs style treatment, in which the body is channeled and the fenders are raised. (Fronts, too.) Valley did a bunch of cars this way.



And molding them in would take the cake!

 

thanks stanlow69!! I was thinking when I was looking at the pic I had and thinking "damn.. I wish there was other shots of this car".. looks like pretty much the same car as the buick.. Right? long nose.. what comes to mind is like an old airplane or something... now I need someone to photoshop the running boards !! HA HA HA. like I said.. the buick is in need of major love.. going to actually go see it in person tomorrow morning. here are a few more pics I have.. not much to look at, but I want those fenders WIDER somehow.. kinda like the chevy I put up yesterday, or the 36 Plymouth I put up. that one had zephyr fenders molded in.. love it..

 

I like 'Mo's idea of raised fenders, so I tried a quick and dirty photoshop. My running boards just look like a shadow and I didn't have a good front wheel to import but I think the raised fenders thing would really work wonders on this car. Someone with better photoshop skills could make this idea a winner.

 

That car that's posted belongs to rick Bandito it's a 36 Plymouth with a buick frontend and zephyr fenders molded in rear. The boat tail rick cut and shaped. He turned it into a 3 window also and runs a s10 frame and rear end I think it's for sale to.

 

its not for sale anymore... he said somebody down the street bought it.. I tried, but it got sold underneath my feet... this JUST happened days ago...

 

its funny how small of a world it is in the car realm... everyone knows everyone it seems!! LOL... I told Rick that if he ever seen that guy again to give him my number. I wanted that damn car... little too late I Guess.

 

I haven't spoke to him in awhile so sorry if my info was a bit off. Didn't realize he sold it already. I tried to get him to just let me finish it up a little hoping it would've pump him up to finish it. Ya it's a small world. I'll keep an eye out if it don't get picked up soon I'll let you know.

 

yeah.. let me know man... Im probably going to pull the trigger on the buick or the Plymouth tomorrow... going to go look at both and decide.. if you find out who has it, let me know! my number is 559-288-1220. thanks!!

 

The proportions on the buick don't look right to me. Don't know if running boards are the right solution. Seems to need a narrowed front end and tuck the fenders inboard, similar to the rear fenders.

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