1936 Buick Special Series 41 4-Door Sedan w/233 ci Valve in Head 8 Cyl & 3-Spd

1936 Buick Special Series 41

Technical specifications of Buick Special 1936

Price: -
Condition: Used
Item location: Woodstock, Illinois, United States
Make: Buick
Model: Special
Type: Sedan
Trim: Series 41
Year: 1936
Mileage: 399
VIN: 2862173
Color: Creme
Engine size: 8 Cylinder Valve in Head
Number of cylinders: 8
Fuel: Gasoline
Transmission: Manual
Drive type: RWD
Interior color: Maroon
Drive side: Left-hand drive
Vehicle Title: Clean
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Car description

1936 Buick Special Series 41 Four Door Sedan w/233 ci Valve in Head 8 Cylinder Engine & 3 Spd:

If you're looking for a FUN vehicle to drive, that is VERY nice looking, you've come to the right place! Made in the 30’s shortly after the Great Depression and a few years before World War II comes this classic looking “Gangster Car,” as my friends call it! I’ve owned and driven MANY classic cars over the years, including the ever-popular muscle cars, and I can tell you that I get a LOT more attention and thumbs up while driving this car than any other vehicle. It has CLASSIC lines with rounded fenders and hood, running boards, just enough chrome to make it sparkle, very nice paint, an excellent roomy interior, and even a trunk. You are sure to turn heads while you're driving this car. This vehicle isn’t a trailer queen, although it isn’t too far from that, either. It’s a fun driver, but it also won’t disappoint if you enter it in some local car shows! Most likely you will be taking home some trophy’s because it tends to be a crowd favorite! If you're looking for a great "driver," be very nice looking with its cosmetics (but short of perfect,) and still allow you to have some money left in your savings account after you pay for it, this may be the perfect candidate for you! Although we've enjoyed this car for the few years that we have owned it, we find that as time goes on, we have less and less time to enjoy it and it ends up collecting dust, so it may be time to move it on to someone who can pay more attention to it than we do... The great condition that you see it in now is how we purchased it. All mechanical and cosmetic work was done prior to us owning the vehicle. Even the engine, engine compartment, and underside have been detailed and look fantastic! The photos of the underside show some dirt in places but that is only because this car is driven! Please make sure you look at all the photos and ask any questions that you may have. Hopefully the description and photos adequately reflect what a nice car this is!

The engine is an original Buick 233 cubic inch valve-in-head eight cylinder. All indications are that it is ORIGINAL to the car since a past title VIN included this exact engine number within the total VIN number. Since that time, the Secretary of State revised the VIN to that of the original chassis tag that is located below the front passenger tire. (I’ve included photos of both the engine casting number as well as the chassis VIN tag.) It is running well, but being over eighty years old, it can be temperamental! After sitting for a while, which unfortunately, is most times the case for me since we don’t take it out enough, it can take some effort to start, although the battery is always strong enough to get it going. It just takes some turning over the get it going, sometimes. Once, after driving on a five or six mile trip at highway speeds, it overheated, but that only happened once and hasn’t since so I’m guessing it had a stuck sensor that resolved itself. A previous owner stated that the engine had been rebuilt by a long-time experienced Buick mechanic. For long term use, you may want to replace the rocker arms since there is a slight tapping sound once the engine warms up, but for the limited use that it gets from us, I never found it necessary to have them replaced. It has a three speed manual transmission on the floor. Mechanically, this car is in pretty nice condition. The previous owner also stated that he may suggest replacing the rear brake cylinders, but we’ve had no issue with the braking so those remain as they were when we purchased the car. The rear differential is also original. It has not been replaced with a high speed differential, which could bring it more in line with modern features that we’ve become accustomed to. You could swap out the differential if you wanted, but again, with the limited driving that we did, it was never an issue. The car also remains on its original 6V system, having never been converted to 12V. The odometer doesn’t seem to be working and the speedometer seems to run lower than what you are driving, but I can’t be 100% sure the speed isn’t accurate. I’m not sure if the clock is working properly, I’ve never looked that closely, but all other gauges do seem to be working well, along with all interior and exterior lights and lamps. The ignition switch accepts a key, but doesn’t turn nor lock when the key is removed. Rather, there is a flip-switch on the side of the ignition barrel. When you switch it on, the gauges come to life; when off, the power is removed to the gauges. In other words, the key isn’t needed to operate or turn off the car but it is included. This all being said, you shouldn't have to do much to the mechanics of this car. Plan to give it a quick once-over and a minor tune-up and nothing more should be necessary. You can start to enjoy it from day one without needing a major mechanical makeover. Turn signals have not been added to the car after all these years but it would be easy to install an aftermarket turn signal kit, if you wanted. Originally, it did not have turn signals, so it remains true to that originality. This car runs and drives well, needing only a quick tune-up due to limited use on my part. We have had NO problems with anything mechanical.

To pass on some of its history that was given to us when we purchased it, the car had a frame off restoration done in the 1980’s, with the exterior paint done in the mid-80’s, but the car didn’t see daylight until 2013! The engine and differential were rebuilt in 2016, while the brakes were re-done in 2013. A new interior was installed in 2013 while all glass was new in the mid-80’s. The chrome was all re-plated in the mid-80’s, and it still looks FANTASTIC to this day! The suspension was rebuilt in the mid-80’s while the wiring harness was new in 2013. Now you know as much as a do about its history! Basically, the car has been completed restored, both mechanically and cosmetically, over time. The result is that it looks GREAT at this day!

The exterior of the car is in REAL nice overall shape, but short of perfect. But when I say “short of perfect,” I don’t want you to get the idea that this car looks bad! Far from it! I just don’t want you to expect a concourse, one hundred point perfect vehicle! Standing and looking at it, it looks nearly perfect. Get up real close, and you can start to see some imperfections in the form of some small nicks, chips, and scratches in the paint. Where the hood closes on the top of the fenders there are a few small chips in the paint that are nearly impossible to see with the hood down. There are also a few small chips in the paint on the driver’s side front fender that have been touchup up, but not perfectly. There are also a couple cracks in the paint surface, but only a couple that I could find. See photos of these imperfections. The chrome surfaces on the bumpers and grill look OUTSTANDING! The steel body panels are all in excellent shape with no rust-through, or even surface rust, on any of them. All look excellent. No imperfection is really noticeable, but they are there if you look for them closely, and I did! You won’t be disappointed in its overall look, though, it looks extremely nice but is just short of perfect. But how many vehicles are? The fourtires are Allstate 6.50 x 16 4-Ply Wide White Walls with a lot of tread left. Theyare all in real nice shape. There is also a spare of the same type and size. It appears thefour original painted rims are still in place, repainted, with the original chrome hub caps, with embossed BUICK letters. All window glasses, including the windshield, are in great shape with no cracks/breaks. The original door locks are still in place and do work! Door locks had to be an uncommon feature in 1936, but these still work! Overall, the exterior of this car presents itself VERY nicely.

The interior is also in excellent shape. Both front and rear bench seats are covered with near perfect materials, no cracks, tears, or rips. There are no seatbelts in the car, as was the case in 1936, also! You could certainly add them to the interior, though, if you wanted and would feel more safe. I only took it on short low speed cruises so it never became an issue for me. The dash board is in fantastic shape with no cracks/breaks in the surface, nicely painted surfaces, great knobs and handles, with all gauges working well (rather rare,) other than maybe the clock, which also wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. I believe the steering wheel is original and is also in great shape. The original vent lever is below the dash that raises and lowers the vent cowl between the windshield and hood to let outside air in the cab. There is no radio. The carpeted floors are also in great shape and include floor mats, as well. The inside door panels are also covered in fabric that looks outstanding. All interior door handles and window levers are also in outstanding shape with re-plated surfaces. The rear passengers are aided by a pull bar attached to the backside of the front seat as well as looped pull handles on sides of the rear seats to help get “up” into the back seat. Notice the suicide doors that this car offers, a perfect period feature! The headliner and trunk compartment are also both covered with fabric and all look nearly perfect and match the seat color. Overall, again, very similar to the exterior body, the interior presents itself VERY well.

Payment for the car is to be receivedwithin seven days of the end of the auction. A $500 deposit will be required with the remaining balance to be paid with either a certified bank check (with time to clear,) personal check (with time to clear,) or cash. I can hold the car for a reasonable amount of time (pleaselet me know your needs prior to bidding) provided it is paid for in fullat the end of the auction so you can make arrangements to eitherpick it up or have it shipped. If picked up, ONLY cashwill be accepted, or a certified or personal check must have already cleared prior to pick up.Clear title will be provided for the car at the time that full payment has been received and hascleared. In other words,the title will be signed over immediately upon a cash payment, or after the time that other forms of paymentrequire to clear, if payment is made in another form. Whatever pickup/shipping method works best for you, I'll try to accommodate your needs, but full payment is still to be receivedwithin seven days of the end of the auction.

Although I only have limited knowledge of shipping vehicles, I know manydoor to door shippersare out there. I will do everything I can to work with a shipper of your choice with you making all of the necessary arrangements and paying all of their associated costs. The car will be available at our house for either you or your shipper topick up. Let me know what you need and I'm sure we can work out the details.

If you're looking for a nice driver (and a NICE looking one at that!), this may be the perfect candidate for you. As I said, this car gets the most attention when I take it out and ends up being everyone’s favorite! VERY early Buick styling with an original and numbers matching 8 cylinder engine and nice cosmetic touches including the rounded fenders, headlights and running lights, nearly perfect interior, and fully detailed engine and underside components give this car a very nice look! Nothing was overlooked when this car was restored by a previous owner. Although it isn't in PERFECTLY restored cosmetic condition now since this car has been DRIVEN, it still looks pretty darn nice the way it is! For a "driver," you can't do much better than this car. It won't disappoint and you are sure to bring home a few trophies from your local car shows! Mechanically, you shouldn’t have to do much, if anything, in order to enjoy driving this car. Plan to give it a quick once-over and minor tune-up and you should be good to go! This car will provide you witha lot of fun while you're driving it. And with a continued strong collector car market, whenever you find yourself ready to pass it along, most likely it will have appreciated, too! (Not the most important reason for owning classic vehicles but definitely an added bonus!) AlthoughI have mentioned its minor imperfections, while you're driving down the road, I can ASSURE you that heads WILL turn in your direction because this is a SHARP looking car. This is a good opportunity to get a nice looking 1930’s car. If we had more time to drive and enjoy this, with room tostore it,we wouldn't be trying to sell it! But lacking all of those needs, it may be time for this to move on to someone else to enjoy and DRIVE, something that we don't do enough of. Don't miss out on this VERY NICE early car.

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