Recently purchased a complete 1939 Buick that was restored in the 80's but has been sitting in the weeds for 20 years. The body and interior are in fair condition. There is rust but nothing deep. Mostly on the floor and in the trunk where water has leaked in through the basically non existent seals. My worry is with the drive train and suspension. I fear the trans is seized or the linkage broken. As even when the shifter is in neutral you have to put in the clutch to roll the vehicle. The engine itself is complete with the exception of a single spark plug. Which has me worried as to the condition of that cylinder and whatever may have gotten in there in the last 20 years. Suspension however is the big problem. The front end is either totally bottomed out though it doesn't look it. Or the lever shocks are seized or something idk. My temptation is to tear it all apart and replace it all with a small block Chevy and more modern suspension. But my heart's telling me to keep her original. Any 39 Buick owners out there that could tell me about the drivability of the origional drive train along with where to find parts I might need?
I would suspect the knee action front is seized up giving zero spring action. There are several places that rebuild these units but they have a durability reputation. Your engine is a 248 if a Special and a 320 if a Century; both rock solid units if used as designed. The rear gears are likely 4.44 so 60mph is it's "stay alive" cruising speed. <> 13mpg for fuel mileage. The 39 is a much improved car over my 37 with coil spring rear and NOT the %#*& 4 piece hood. Actually there are 4 pieces but the sides stay put. I made mine into a long distance cruiser and it's been a trouble free joy so if you choose to go this route Ill share a few tips.
Where are you located? If you are interested you could ask about the car history here: http://forums.aaca.org/forum/60-buick-pre-war/ What does the data tag show? It is on the right side of the firewall facing right. The shocks don't normally freeze up, but they tend to leak through the rubber seals that are likely to be 79 years old. Also odd that the trans is frozen, that could be why the car is parked. Working on the trans would require loosening the rear axle panhard bar (Buick called it something else) as it is an enclosed drive shaft. If the car is a Special, there would be more parts availability. If it is a Century there will be fewer parts but higher demand for the car upon resale. There are alot on one-year-only parts to that car. Got more pics?
^^^ Probably related to this, but more specifically; Look down at the shifting mechanism right in front of the firewall. The transmission is probably in one gear and the "selector" at the column has popped out of the slot. Looking at the xmsn, disconnect the shifting rod from the lever that "looks out of position". And move the lever back to its neutral. See if this allows the vehicle to move w/o use of the clutch. If it does, you might have to fiddle with the lever and mechanism at the column to get the neutral gates to line up again. Then, reconnect the shifting rod at the xmsn.
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