This feature is a sentimental one for me – a Buick being sold from Monte Shelton Motors. Until he passed away four years ago, Monte was a fixture in the Pacific Northwest vintage car community, responsible for spearheading many wonderful events and kindling my own interest in old cars. Always gracious and with an endless knowledge of all things mechanical, Monte was beloved; I treasured every moment he spared me and like many, I miss him. The focus of much of his collection was low-mileage original cars, which will come to light as we review this offering. So without further ado, here on eBay is a 1941 Buick Special Fastback coupe, also known as the Sedanet. The bidding has reached $25,400, reserve not met. The car is located in Portland, Oregon and as the seller notes, you can drive it home even if you’re traveling cross-country. The car is also advertised here on Hemmings, with a price of $49,500.
The Sedanet was the sport coupe body style (46S), this one built on the Special’s 121-inch wheelbase. The Special was generally Buick’s lower-priced model, with both the Super and the Roadmaster situated above it. In ’41, the Buick, which sold like hotcakes, was billed as the “Best Buick Yet”. Like many of Monte’s cars, this one entered his possession as a completely original example. It was sold new in nearby Tacoma, Washington. Monte drove the car sparingly but maintained and stored it meticulously. The undercarriage is nearly as clean as the topside, where the chrome, panel fit, and paint are stunning.
The engine is Buick’s 248 cu. in. Fireball straight eight, equipped with the dual “compound” carburetor option and higher compression head to make 125 hp. The gearbox is a three-speed manual. The car has a “hill holder” option, using the clutch pedal. Monte made two changes to the factory configuration of the car – dual exhausts and wide whitewall tires. The car is said to start, run, drive, and brake flawlessly; the seller notes that it can easily track modern traffic. The odometer reads about 61,600 miles, which is believed to be original. A video featuring a walk-around and showing the motor running is included in the listing.
The interior is splendid, with factory mohair upholstery and tan hogshair carpets; its original brown pedal pads; a working three-band radio; and heater/defroster. The steering wheel is perfect, the machine-turned dash is clean and clear, as are the gauges – which work as they should. The rubber trim is said to be in great shape with no damage. The sale includes multiple documents and manuals. This Buick may be the best original Sedanet in the country, but it’s going to take the right buyer to pay the price listed in Hemmings, which we can assume is close to the reserve.
Take this over any “muscle car” in the same price range any day
Beautiful example of a fastback imo.
I agree 100%, Mr. Grapico! And to think, just a short 6 months later Buick would be churning out WWII items! This is a great looking vehicle. A local man in my neighborhood has a GM product that has a similar type of interior and it looks and smells like it’s original.
That interior is original? Wow. Minty
Minty? Are you saying the interior smells like Ben Gay?
A good friend of mine and former team leader was given a lead and help from BF reader Bill McCoskey in finding and buying the Cadillac version of this beauty in SoCal..(She and her husband with help from their young children will be rebuilding it-already on the rotisserie).
Though it presents very well in photos, there’s far more heart stopping impact when Seeing one like this up close and personal.
With that I imagine Mr. Shelton would be appreciative of your car enthusiasm caused by his obvious love for classics.
I bought a 1936 Ford Phaeton from Monte about six years ago. It was a senior award winning car and he was a fine gentleman to do business with. Great looking Buick and a show winning car as it sits.
One fine “ Torpedo Back”!
I really like this car, and it shows “classy”.
Only two things I would change on the car. One, remove the oversize fog lights to amber 4 1/2″ models Two ,get a Fulton sunshade visor. Really nice car. Hey maybe wider whites :)
Why do psuedo classic car enthusiasts think an over the windshield visor is appropriate? They were only popular with old guys when I was young and 41 Buicks were common (we had a new 47 Super Sedanette—black) and “regular people” wouldn’t think of a visor in our, and Monte’s, neck of the woods.
TM,
There are sections in this country where older cars, especially without A/C, need other methods of keeping the interior cooler. A windshield visor is quite capable of lowering the inside temps, and they also help preserve interior parts like seat fabric and painted dashboards.
And when equipped with the Fulton Traffic Light Finder, it’s pretty easy to see what’s above the visor.
What is it with you guys who think you are superior to those of us who make comments about cars that we grew up with.
In mid Kansas, the majority of those cars (back in the 40s) had the “visor” has Bill stated. Most cars back in those days did not have AC, and those visors also helped with being able to see on those really sunny cloudless days. I wish you guys would quit being so “holy” about your pseudo “knowledge”. You might speak of where you grew up, but obviously you don’t speak for the entire country as you might not have grown up in a very hot area with over 100 days for 30-40 days at a time. OBTW, I wanted to mention earlier I really enjoyed Michelle’s write up as well.
Believe the wise old man on top of the mountain is rarely a wet behind the ears 20 something, likely for a good reason…
Our ‘47 Super had that visor. You could adjust it from inside with a lever.
Jack,
I’ve never seen an outside visor that had a lever inside for adjusting it, can you describe the lever and where it was located? Thanks.
The existing tires are perfect.
Michelle…. you done good!!!! And, I love the Buick.
I like that car. It could be the exact same age as me as I was born in August of 1941. It seems to have held up better than I have but at least we are both still able to get around. Those fastback Buicks look good to me. This one is advertised at $49,500 in Hemmings, so GLWTS.
In 1981 I found and purchased an almost identical ’41 Buick Sedanette [2-door fastback], except my car was a Century with the bigger engine and more luxurious interior. I bought it from the original owner who kept the car garaged and never driven in bad weather. My car had the optional full rear fender skirts as used on the Cadillacs.
I also had a ’41 Buick Limited LWB sedan without jump seats, and it had plenty of legroom for the back seat!
I may be wrong but I don’t believe that all the gas lines were painted red on original cars. Can anybody shed light on that?
Greg,
Lines, pipes, and other items attached to the engine prior to painting the engine, ended up painted. The line from the fuel pump to the carb was painted where it was near the block and head, but not the line from the frame to the fuel pump.
That adjustable visor handle was just above the windshield and in the center.
Jack,
Thanks for the reply. I’m someone who has always found car accessories and factory options of interest, and used to collect various options even though I didn’t always have the car to put them on. At one time when I had more room, I even had a 1950s Packard showroom accessories display cabinet, which I slowly filled with period Packard accessories.
I’m always surprised at finding out there are car accessories I’ve never heard of. From your description, it sounds like the front edge area of the roof had to have a hole created for the interior handle.
Knowing how hard it is to keep water out of that area of the windshield and roof, I must assume the car came from a fairly rain-free region of the country.
As your car was a ’47, and the Fulton traffic light viewer has a 1948 Patent date, My guess is once the viewer was available to the motoring public, the need to lift up the visor to see above the front edge may have made the adjustable visor obsolete, hence their rarity today. [Just a guess on my part!]
I went to the Hemming’s site and checked the car out.
I am amazed at the fit and and finish of the interior including the trunk.
Also the options for back in the day. When cars were built back then they had style and substance in my opinion. I can only say it is an incredible car in amazing shape. Whoever buys it will not be dissapointed.
Nice original Buick… I had a Maroon supper Verizon…perfect finish and stripped original interior…one Christmas my wife surprised me when she found two sets of classic correct bumper ends called elephant ears …they made the car!
Beautiful Buick ! I’m always impressed by the straight eight engines that when running properly run amazingly quiet. Had four 66 Wildcats and miss two of them.
Only needs spats to accentuate the beautiful lines. No external sunvisor.
Impressive, the number of comments this Buick has generated. Can’t help but think it’s in part the presentation and beautiful condition but just possibly the patriotic inspiration of the 1941 Buick’s grill with somewhat similarities to the great American flag waving as we are pulled into war and also to the recognition of Monte Shelton as a true car enthusiast and gentleman.
Really great styling. Only thing I would change is the black paint.
Mr Monte sure had good taste in his classics. Just imagine what you could learn from a guy with his experience. I recently purchased a 47 New Yorker that came with a sun visor but was removed during transport. I live in the south and will definitely be reinstalling it. Waiting for its carb and fuel pump to be rebuilt so I can enjoy it. This Buick is damn near museum quality, and sure is a beauty.
A real beauty alright, but the auction ended yesterday, Sunday, and today’s edition of BF just arrived 4 minutes ago.
One could have viewed it earlier thru
Barn Finds’ ‘Recent Finds’ or something
similar. I forget the exact title. My guess
is the reserve was not met; however.
hit the “home” button on the upper left hand corner of any ad,……articles coming up show up there…
Absolutely stunning! My first & second grade readers still had cars that looked like this in the illustrations (1963-1966) before they were updated.
High bid was $26,600.00. I suppose it did not sell. Auction ended.
I recently purchased a 1948 Chrysler New Yorker that was supposed to have been in running and driving condition. It wasn’t. Having both carb and fuel pump rebuilt but none of the electrical for its fluid drive was connected. Yes, it sucks. I can reinstall the carb and pump and get running no problem but the electrical on fluid drive is an entirely different story. No classic car shops have any idea what’s going on with a fluid drive. And don’t even want to know. It can be driven at least in high speeds for drivi g, I hope. No kickdown or shifting until I figure the fluid drive electrical out.
Heck,
Steve’s suggestion of contacting the Chrysler club is a good idea, and it’s important to buy a repair manual for your car, as well as a parts book I suspect both have been reprinted.
If I remember correctly, the Motor’s Repair manual covering your car’s year does have a wring diagram and a specific section on the Fluid Drive.
If your car has the original wiring harness, I would highly suggest replacing the entire wiring harness, that way you will know the wires are hooked up correctly. This will also allow you to discover if a specific part like a solenoid or governor is not working.
There are several suppliers of the correct-look harnesses, the original ones were cloth coated over the copper wiring, and the cotton cloth falls apart from age. The new wiring harnesses have an inner wire coating of vinyl before the cotton is woven onto the wire and are far superior and safer.
New harnesses are not that difficult to install, all the wire ends are identified, so it’s just a matter of threading the harness and hooking up the wires.
Thanks Bill, I have already got Chryslers shop manual and one for transmission. Wiring and trans issues are usually things that I pay others to do. But that knowledge has been lost. Looks like I may have to try myself and not relishing the idea. I’m pretty sure even with electrical not connected it may be drivable in 2nd and 3rd driving range. At least I can reinstall carb and pump myself when they get out of rebuild. All older guys who did fluid drives are either dead, retired or both I’m afraid
I was able to check out fluid rive electrical today thru floopan access panel and all parts are there and wired correctly and also in pristine shape with rubber boots. Just need to wire from there to relay and carb. Much better than starting from scratch.
Heck,
Just a reminder that the original wiring is covered with cotton cloth that was coated with clear lacquer, and the lacquer has hardened over the decades, so the insulation on the wires is very fragile. Avoid moving it if possible.
As you have the manual, you should have the original wiring diagrams for the car, so you should be able to trace the wires from various transmission parts like the solenoids and governor. Wiring is simple for these cars, and remember in most cases, it’s only a single wire system, as everything is grounded to the body or chassis.
That’s a beautifu 75 yr old coupe.
It might the same model that was used in the movie, “Mr. and Mrs. Bridges”, staring an older Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, set in Kansas City.
As for the fluid drive, hopefully someone in the Chrysler club can advise you. A maintenance manual for your car might also be available. A guy in the neighborhood had 2 1947 Plymouth coupes. Unfortunately, he passed away 5 months ago. Otherwise, he might have been a resource.
Thanks for replies, after removing access panel all the trans components were in surprisingly good shape and had new wires connected. Just need to connect them to relay and carb. It was a relief for sure.
Here is a blog post that you might have seen. As for the referral to Lupher Transmission Repair in Carlisle, PA, I dropped off a Borg Warner tranny for my 1954 Hudson to that shop around 1993. They could repair anything. However, they were so backed up that I eventually just swapped a Hydromatic for the BW rather than wait till they could get around to fixing it. But I would definitely give them a call to see if they can give any suggestions for your situation.
https://forums.aaca.org/topic/396207-1948-chrysler-fluid-drive-transmission-repair/
How sad Mr. Monte Sheldon was passed, I would have loved to have met him. We could have talked about ’41 Buicks. Perhaps he could/would have given me lots of advice on my almost identical twin (mine is two toned paint but completely original as well, always garaged with 34000 original miles)
Bill, understood about original wiring but these look to have been updated and replaced at some point, on solenoid, Governor and interrupter, so hopefully nothing that I have to replace on those. I just need to wire from those to relay and then to carb. Fingers crossed.
I just learned something. I have had many old Mopars but never one with fluid drive. I didn’t think there would be any wiring associated with that so now I have to go open one of my old Motors Repair manuals and read up on how FD works. I’m just curious.
Russ,
To keep this explanation simple; There were 2 ranges on the shifter: High and Low. Each range had a high and low speed too. There was a clutch attached to a fluid coupling. The clutch was used to shift into reverse or neutral. The fluid coupling was used during the forward shifts and during stop & go actions.
You either selected high or low range [think city or country driving speeds], then as the engine speed increased, a governor allowed the solenoid to shift a planetary gear set from low into high speed for that range. On slowing back down to near stopping, the governor would allow the solenoid to dis-engage high speed.
A very simple and reliable design, but certainly didn’t offer lightning fast acceleration in the high range.
Bill, I have found out that all the fluid drive parts on trans have been rewired up to its relay on the firewall, so only wiring I have to do is just from relay to carb. Two wires I believe. I’m having the carb and fuel pump rebuilt and I should have them back pretty soon. It’s been a crash course learning about these fluid drives and I also joined that Mopar site.
Heck,
Good to hear your car should be on the road in the near future. I would suggest you go ahead and order a wiring harness for your car anyway, as eventually you will want to replace it from a safety standpoint. Replacing the entire harness isn’t a difficult job, it’s a matter of laying it out, then switch out the wires as you go from connection to connection. The reputable wiring harness providers have wiring that imitates the original with the cloth cover and correct connectors, each identified at to location. These new harnesses also have a vinyl coating under the woven cloth for safety. Replacing a harness on a late ’40s MoPaR involves mostly the instruments and switches, and the engine compartment wiring, and is a great winter project!
And a simple tip: The entire dashboard on your car is easy to remove, if I remember, it’s only a couple of bolts at the bottom corners, and 5 [or 3] bolts across the top – I can’t remember the exact number. Covering the steering column with padding, the dash can be “tilted” towards the front seat to reach the wiring.
My shop put in hundreds of harnesses over the years. The 2 companies I have had excellent [and correct] wiring harness products from in the past are Rhode Island Wiring, and YnZ’s auto parts.
Thanks Bill but I’ll take a pass on rewiring the entire car at this point. Wiring and transmissions are things I hat doing the most.
Thanks Bill but I’ll take a pass on rewiring the entire car at this point. Wiring and transmissions are things I hate doing the most.