Sorry, I had to dip into the ’40s again. You’d think these vehicles would attract value-seekers at some point, despite the less-than-sporty driving experience. This 1940 Buick Eight two-door is offered here on eBay for $14,500; it comes out of long term ownership, is located in Polk City, Florida, and performs impeccably. It’s likely a model 48 from the series 40 Special line-up, called a Two-Door Touring Sedan, though there’s no photo of the tag so I’m not sure. But what we do know is that all 1940 Buicks were restyled, incorporating headlamps into fenders and creating that artful grille spreading horizontally. We’re still seeing split windshields and center-hinged hoods, but we’ve got vent windows! A GM subsidiary filed a patent for that feature in 1932, and Buick introduced “ventipanes” on its car models in 1933.
The 1940 Buick Special “Fireball” straight eight displaces 248 cu. in. and generates 107 hp. Big news just a few years earlier was the widespread use of a downdraft carburetor. This engine is paired with a column-shift, three-speed sliding gear transmission. Brakes are drums all around. By the time this car was made, Buick was installing rubber between the frame and body to dampen road harshness and quiet the cabin – something we take for granted today, forgetting that at some point, someone had to think of doing this! The underside shows barely any signs of use. The seller notes that the car starts, shifts and drives very well.
In the cabin, bright red velour greets the eye – maybe the color is not everyone’s cup of tea but the fabric is in good condition. The bench seat is split so each side folds forward individually; pull cords affixed to the seat backs facilitate restoring the seat to its upright position. It’s all very Victorian in here – I expect a crystal bud vase somewhere. The trunk is spiffy if slightly limited by its divider and housing the spare. The seller says the lights, gauges, and horn work properly; one slight flaw noted is fogging on the aforementioned “ventipanes”. The seller also notes that the paint is lightly blemished in places, and the chrome is hazing.
The bustle back trunk was soon to disappear, but in 1940, that’s how you carried five people and their luggage. This Special sat low on the model stack, as an entry-level machine, but its reasonable price helped goose sales. Specials made up over 40% of Buick production in 1940. We can quarrel with the paint color and the upholstery, but this car radiates quality. Would a nice example like this Buick tempt you to put a ’40s-era car in your garage?
Sorry? Good heavens, not here, as your posts are why many tune in.
1940. Just think, Americans knew about what was going on, but when this car was bought, blissfully unaware of what lie ahead. I know I make a big deal about GIs not coming back, but I think it’s a possibility with these seemingly unused pre-war cars. The only fly in that ointment is this car wasn’t cheap, certainly not young GIs out of HS. This car cost about $1550 new. When in 1940, wages for unskilled workers was about $32/week. Took a lot more than that to buy a Buick. Beautiful car, again with the stick. I’m certain many that can’t drive a stick will simply pass these cars by, and my only hope, and the sellers too, for that matter, is one of us old farts( 84 so far) will step up and buy this magnificent car. After that? Who knows,,,
Well said sir! Many prewar cars also became barn finds because they were put away during the war because of gas rationing. Some were never revived because their owners had died of old age or just become too old to drive. Even though cars were scarce after the war just a few years there were exciting new designs introduced so the old car in the garage was no longer an almost new car, but just an old prewar heap.
84 so far ?You don’t mean to tell me u r 84 y.o.,are u,Howard.U sound like u r doing great for ur age .Maybe just a little too much imagination.Not necessarily a bad case of Alzheimer’s,.Right.? LOL
Ha! Thanks, but no, I just turned 70. I meant there were 84 folks interested at the time, now up to 460. I may be topsy turvy on this automatic thing.
This looks like the seller, whose listings have been featured on this site several times, is clearing an estate, most of the metal signs in the background are currently listed or have sold within the last 90 days. The seller has dropped the price to $13,500 and didn’t sell last month at that price either. It’s unfortunate, but shows there is little to no interest in cars like this at this point in time.
Steve R
This car is a beauty but the reason no one wants it is that in stock form they just aren’t fun to drive. I would run a modern suspension front and rear with disc brakes all around and put a mild big block and auto in it while leaving it looking exactly the same right down to the wheel and tire combo. People might give me crap for that but seriously do you want to try driving it in modern traffic shifting every 10 seconds or take all the worry and energy out and just enjoy the car?
You make some good points RKS, but shifting a 3 speed with that high torque straight 8 would not be that beg of a deal. Only three gears and a lot of grunt; you could probably keep it in third from 15 mph and on.
No fun to drive? And you’re going to fix that by converting to a modern drivetrain with (ho hum) an automatic transmission and “take all the worry and energy out and just enjoy the car?” That sounds like a car that is easy to drive, not fun to drive.
So what is fun to drive? Many cars can be fun to drive, but let me make one suggestion: a car lacking any of our modern comforts and conveniences requires skill and attention, yielding great satisfaction to those who acquire those skills, and consequently enjoy using them.
There are many reasons to build street rods and resto-mods, and I don’t deny the pleasures they provide to their practitioners. But to suggest they are better alternatives to cars with original mechanicals makes no sense to me.
What purpose is served by buiding a car that only looks original. We have more than a singular visual sense. What about the sound of a ’40 Buick Eight? The feel of the clutch, the brakes, the gas pedal, the gearshift, the steering, the original suspension? These cars were sturdily built, and observing the maintenance they required, and driving at the speeds they were designed to achieve, they are capable of any journey in North America. And there is a network of North American roads to accommodate their limitations. And it’s rather fun too!
At age 85, I can’t quite remember when these cars were new, but I can remember early postwar years when they were the norm. They served our purposes well – as did my own ’37 Plymouth which I bought for $70 in 1956. I’m not an originality anorak, but I do favor retaining more-or-less original mechanicals as well as original appearances. This car is exquisitely preserved. I wish I could afford it and find space for it. I hope it will be always respected for what it is.
Well said bachldrs, well said indeed. I was thinking very much the same thing when I wrote an earlier post but I didn’t know how to put into words what you just so eloquently did. At the time I was remembering driving my ’53 Chevy pickup with the holes in the floorboard and how my dad had taught me to drive in an earlier model flatbed, and my ’57 Plymouth Belvedere that I’d dropped a hemi in, and there was sheer pleasure of driving both of them for me, yet each had their own feel and needs. The pickup was much like what my dad had taught me to drive when I was a wee lad of nine years old, while the Plymouth was a hot rod beast that I loved taking out on the dirt roads north of Denver and going around corners as fast as I could push it without putting her in the ditch, yet she responded valiantly and survived many four wheel drifts completely unscathed. There’s no way I’d do that with this lovely old girl of course because she’d be treated with the respect that I think she deserves, but I’m sure she probably has her own temperament just like all of my past vehicles have had, and to me that should be honored and respected for what it is.
Love the color. I’d leave it stock. Not everything needs to go fast. The bright red seat covers have to go, but that’s not hard.
Got to agree with RKS, love the look but it needs modern mechanicals for drive ability and safety. Is that upholstery a redo? The color on the door panels matches the paint as should the seats or maybe a contrasting color like gray. That shade of boudoir red doesn’t seem period correct.
ROGER HOWARD, this is a jewel, everything about it my NAM wounds prevent me from using a clutch and putting a hydro in would almost be a sin.
I love the exterior but hate that red interior. I like the rounded look of the trunk. I live in the city of Chicago, 4 blocks from the lake, and can be on a 2 lane highway in 30 minutes. This car would not be a daily driver. I wish I could afford it. When I first saw the title it reminded me of another book writen by Steven King and published in 1979, “From A Buick 8”. The car in the book was a 1953 Buick Roadmaster.
I have always like Buicks, I have owned 2, a 1969 Skylark Custom 2 door hard top and a 1983 Century. My grandfather owned 2 also that I got to drive. A 1966 LeSabre 4 door, very basic and a 1971 Electra 225 limited 4 door hard top. Howard A, I am fortunate to have 2 out of my 4 kids, 38 and 34 years old that know how to drive manual transmissions. Although they were 4 speeds on the floor. I think the could figure out how to drive a 3 in the tree.
Mike, you’ve good reason to be proud of your two kids having developed the skill to drive manuals.
Myself, I prefer manuals. Of the roughly thirty-five cars I’ve owned, I’ve condescended only four times to buying automatics. Ah, but times have changed, and manuals are rapidly becoming the dodo birds of our time. Dinosaurs like me feel the earth has shifted—so to speak—under our feet. Consider this: the salespeople who last sold me new vehicles, an Acura TL and Miata MX5 in 2012 and a Nissan Frontier in 2018, sheepishly admitted they couldn’t drive their own products. EESH! It makes me wonder what they would do if they had to drive my 1946 GMC pickup, which requires double-clutching. Anyway, I’m gratified to have been born when I was—back when the earth was still considered flat—and that, as a kid, I fooled with wrenches—not Smartphones.
Michelle, as for an answer to your question, yes 100 %! I have to confess a number of years ago and having owned lots of 40 era cars I would have said no. This could be a very nice car and not break the bank.
I was told by email that I no longer was subscribed to barn finds…. WHY is ist because a 43 year UDT SEAL who loves American vehicles. YES for age 17 to 60 with 2 years missing Now a black MAGA VET I’m to I’m banned from something I enjoy daily!!!!! bullfrog master chief SEAL team one sincw 1955.
UDTFROG? I don’t understand your comment?
I have a novel idea; if you want a car with modern suspension and an automatic transmission to drive in traffic- buy a Kia. If you want a classy car for Sunday drives, and “Cars & Coffee”, maybe this Buick is for you.
I have a novel idea; if you want a car with modern suspension and an automatic transmission to drive in traffic- buy a Kia. If you want a classy car for Sunday drives, and “Cars & Coffee”, maybe this Buick is for you.
I totally agree Bunky. The car is what it is and folks either love it or they don’t, and I for one definitely do. To me it looks stately and handsome in that ruby red. The only thing I’d change is the seat cover depending on whether the bright red color is from the camera, which I think it probably the case because the door panels look to be quite a bit darker to me so I imagine the seat was made to match.
Hear, hear, Bunky. Well said!
Your problem Bunky is that you only want to do Sunday drives and cars n coffee (cringe) when I want to drive this car to work or the store. I want my wife and friends to drive it. I want to let the neighbors kid who just got his license take me for a ride around the block in it. A car like this could really engage younger people into the hobby but no let’s just keep it in the garage until the one perfect day to take it out. Closed minded people are the worst.
Why couldn’t one do both? I certainly would.. it wouldn’t be a garage queen if it was mine for sure, but it would still go to local car meets.
You don’t have to shift every 10 seconds, in fact once you’re in 3rd you can slow down to about 10 MPH, make a turn and it will pick right up and cruise easily…lots of torque in a straight 8. These are very easy to drive it’s just that pre-war cars, unless they’re early 30’s from those makes that didn’t survive, or V12 or V16, get no respect.
Unless you come to a complete stop you shift these vehicles very little.
In fact, the original owners manual tells you to drive it this way.
What a lovely car, a couple of questions, being a Buick would it have not had Leather upholstery?
I had a 39 Chev and even my 51 Chev had leather. But anyway the only change with this for me would be the upholstery color, go all grey.
That is a cheap car for someone, the paint is almost worth that alone. The trouble is by the time I would get it to Australia the price is doubled with our exchange rate and then shipping and those terrible taxes we get stung with just blow this out to over double the asking price, but I feel it would still be worth it.
Wow the price looks like it has been dropped to $12,500.
Beautiful, especially when compared to a new whatever car.
Personally I like the 1939 grille better.
I was born in 1940 and have always loved the pre an post war autos. They were built with pride and sweat, not push button electrics. I restored 1940 Buick coupe over many years and enjoyed every minute. When the car was finished it took many awards. Driving the car was a joy, as it was a strong runner and quiet. People who rode in it could not belive the comfort and quiet power they were enclosed in. This car has it all and speakes out for the old USA workers and builders. Bid? YOU BET1