A Real Car

This week K’s brother Steve and I checked off an item that’s long been on our list of things to do—we went to see his former neighbor’s 1939 Buick (see photo). The car is remarkable not because it is in mint condition or lovingly restored. Instead like a lot of non-show cars that have been in the same family for decades, it is original, tired, not running, stored in a tight space, and very real.

Before he got married, Steve shared an old house in West Bremerton with a couple of roommates. The Buick’s owner lived across the street. At the time the Buick was still being driven and was often parked outside. Like me, Steve has always liked old cars and would wander over occasionally to admire the Buick.

For years he has been promising to introduce me to the owner. Yesterday we got it done. We had a pleasant visit with Ralph B, who is 94, and his wife Wanda. Ralph gave us a quick history of the car and then Wanda escorted us through the basement, which has a couple of doors that open to the street, for the viewing.

According to Ralph his uncle bought the car new in Toronto. When his uncle died in the late 1940’s, Ralph inherited the car. At that point the car was in Victoria, British Columbia, so it was an easy trip to drive it to Bremerton. It’s been here ever since.

In the intervening years Ralph has owned a couple of Hudsons that collectors would fight over today. But he sold them years ago and has hung on to the Buick. He did so, he told me, because it belonged to his uncle.

The old Buick last ran probably 7 or 8 years ago before being moved inside and put up on jack stands. It is a 4-door sedan with a standard transmission. Rear suicide doors give it a mild gangster look. From what I could see under the plaid vinyl seat covers, the mohair upholstery is in good shape for being 70+ years old.

The body, running boards and all, is solid. A scrape on the front passenger-side fender is the most serious battle scar. The tires are flat and a heavy layer of dust and grime covers the black paint. The old girl is squeezed into the garage and is surrounded by car parts, tools, and various antiques (OK, junk). It was difficult to walk all the way around the Buick and even tougher to select a vantage point for a photo.

Up front there’s a straight-eight engine under the split hood. To lift the hood, you raise either side, not the front. The style of the slightly protruding trunk is called a “bustleback.”

I don’t mean to make the Buick sound better than it is. While it has aged gracefully, the car is showing its age. Just making it roadworthy would take a lot of work. Getting it show ready (paint, chrome, freshening the interior) would take deeper pockets. The main thing going for the Buick is that it is a complete, all-original, low-mileage car (around 70,000 Ralph says).

I need to correct something I told Ralph yesterday. In my enthusiasm over seeing the car, I mentioned that 1939 is the most collectible year for Buicks built during the 1930’s. Today I asked the editor of Hemmings Classic Car if collectors were more interested in the 1938 or 1939 models. His reply:

Without question it’s the ’38. The ‘39’s styling is slightly odd looking, and with its combination of some mechanical parts that are unique to that year only, such as the transmission, the ’38 is much more desirable.

That may make it more difficult to sell, which Ralph is in the process of doing, but to me it just makes the car more real.