OK I'm not suggesting that @Stan Galat should buy this but @Stan Galat totally should buy this because it is perfect.
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Love it! I have a soft spot in my heart (head?) for cars from that era, particularly Packards.
That is the cat's meow - in the vernacular of that time period.
Dude.
Link?
@Lane Anderson posted:Love it! I have a soft spot in my heart (head?) for cars from that era, particularly Packards.
My next door neighbor just sold this Packard on BaT.
Absolutely Beautiful ! I drove a 41 Buick in the same color all thru High School It didn't have the Jump seats though...............Bruce
@LI-Rick posted:My next door neighbor just sold this Packard on BaT.
There was something about those Mohair cloth interiors that was just simply comforting to a little kid in the 1930's - 1950's. The smell, the feel, the look, everything about them filled you with a sense of comfort and security.
They didn't wear for beans, but they were wonderful, just the same.
Sold for$25k. Stan, click the words between your handles in my initial post
$25k for that?! Very well bought.
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Excellent, Ed.
Best thing is that there should be plenty of room for the LS conversion and the Tremec five speed.
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@Stan Galat posted:That is a glorious car. Just stunning.
It was great to look at, terrible to drive. That’s why he sold it. Everyone forgets these old cars drive like old cars. No power steering and no power disc brakes make it hard to drive a car this size in the modern world.
That car would be perfect for me. I'm old, it's old, it drives old, memories are old, but life would be great. 
That's the reason why I enjoy my 1953 Mercury pickup. It's original, same as I, and it has the same struggles as I do.
We complement each other.
:-)
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@LI-Rick posted:.It was great to look at, terrible to drive...
...Everyone forgets these old cars drive like old cars. No power steering and no power disc brakes make it hard to drive a car this size in the modern world.
Uh, yeah.
I've gone on (and on) about my dad's '52 Buick. Below is a video that gives a pretty good idea of what they were like to drive. It weighed 4000 pounds, with a 265-inch straight eight that made 130 hp at 3500 rpm. You could measure 0-60 with a calendar.
They didn't accelerate, but, like a boat, gradually gathered way. And once up to speed, some planning was called for if you wanted to stop or change direction. Watch how the horizon gradually slants, even in the slowest turns. There is good reason for the huge steering wheels, but, as you can see in the video, they also needed really slow steering ratios if you were to have any chance of turning the wheel at parking speeds.
It was a time of 50 mph highways, and these were 50-mph cars. Sixty was fast. Seventy was, in my mom's words, 'too damned fast'.
They are, in a way, time capsules. In the early '50s, most households owned just one car. We lived in a new subdivision, built in 1950, and none of the houses had two-car garages. And most driving was done by men. Mom stayed home and took care of the kids, while dad went off to work.
Look at the old car ads. Who's driving, and who is checking her makeup in the visor mirror on the passenger side? The widespread adoption of power steering and brakes in the late fifties came as the women of suburbia demanded cars that they felt comfortable with.
OK, enough sociology, here's the video:
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Lately I've been unnaturally attracted to pre-war cars and their possibilities. I'm particularly smitten with the Auburn 852 Boattail Speedster which, as I'm sure you all know, were replicated in volume.
Lots of nice ones were put on late '60s/early '70s LTD chassis, with 400 or 460ci V8s and C4 automatics. And that's fine, of course...
But the replicas most often have the external exhaust pipes on both sides, while the originals had the four big flexipipes coming out of the driver's side only.
—Because these cars came originally with straight 8s, flatheadded and supercharged, developing a claimed 150 hp. They were shifted through three-speed manual transmissions paired with two-speed rear axles. Very sophisticated stuff...
A plaque in each one claimed (falsely) that it had been driven to over 100mph by a particular big-name driver of the period.
Which set my mind to pondering: why not remake one of these kits with a Buick straight-8 and a Paxton? The Buick engines are easier to find than the old Auburn units, would mate (probably) to a common Saginaw 3-speed.... They had about 7-1 compression as built, so 5-6 pounds of boost from a supercharger would not likely hurt them. Displacement and rev range (under 4000, please) is right in line with the original motors.
And the intake and exhaust are both on the proper side of the engine, so the big side pipes could be made functional.
A two-speed real axle is probably not realistic but.... lots of yurpeen stuff came with those Laycock overdrives, which reportedly could stand up to lots more torque than the 250 lb-ft or so we'd be hoping for. Mid-60s Volvos had three-speed boxes that came with the OD.
It'd be money to get the dash just right, but what money!
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Now you’re talking @edsnova
The boat tail speedster was one of my favorite childhood cars, and remains so today. This boat tail speedster struck a cord for me. Not so much the color, but it used authentic Auburn underpinnings with a Glenn Pray body.
https://bringatrailer.com/list...-boattail-speedster/
I've GOT a 2-seat car. What I loved about my limo was that it was a 9 seat car. Alas, I'm a townie, with all the townie limitations. I bought a truck that needs to live inside and I just ran out of room.
That Caddy for $25K is still bugging me. It was short a few seats, but MAN it was cool. I'd totally rock the hat and tee-shirt in that baby.
Old-school acceleration and steering I can live with. Old-school brakes give me pause.
I'm with Stan. The brakes might be getting an upgrade of some sort, but I've driven old cars and trucks with no power steering (and no power). Then again, there are add-on electric power steering kits available now.
As for old school brakes, drum brakes when set up properly can be very effective. My 53 pickup has drum brakes, and I thought that would be the first thing I would change when I was thinking of buying it.
But they stop surprisingly well. Mind you, it's not a heavy limousine type vehicle, but I am quite pleased with how they stop the truck.
When I took the truck back to its original owner and showed him and wife how I put three point seat belts in, she was relieved, as she said she hated how well the truck stopped and she had to always hang on to something to not go into the dashboard.
@edsnova posted:Which set my mind to pondering: why not remake one of these kits with a Buick straight-8 and a Paxton? The Buick engines are easier to find than the old Auburn units, would mate (probably) to a common Saginaw 3-speed.... They had about 7-1 compression as built, so 5-6 pounds of boost from a supercharger would not likely hurt them. Displacement and rev range (under 4000, please) is right in line with the original motors.
And the intake and exhaust are both on the proper side of the engine, so the big side pipes could be made functional.
A two-speed real axle is probably not realistic but.... lots of yurpeen stuff came with those Laycock overdrives, which reportedly could stand up to lots more torque than the 250 lb-ft or so we'd be hoping for. Mid-60s Volvos had three-speed boxes that came with the OD.
It'd be money to get the dash just right, but what money!
Have I mentioned how much I wish I lived next door to you? I would be so down for that project. I love everything about it.
I was on a Carnival Cruise last year (long story -- first and probably last, unless I get the kind of deal I got for this one).
Anyhow, it was a big ship. A BIG ship (I wanna' say 7500+ people?). I don't like crowds or waiting in line, so this was right up my alley*. There was a "main street" on the main deck, where there were NOLA-style balconies, a disco (?), a Starbucks, a glass elevator (of course).... and a Auburn boattail speedster replica. I did the PCA thing and felt the fenders, gave it a rap with my knuckles, etc.... and just moved on. It was nice enough, well done in its own way -- just didn't light me up in any notable way. The entire thing did zero for me. Nothing.
It was at that moment I realized (again) how I present to the proles I run into as I go about my day in a clown car. Sure, my pride-'n-joy gets a reaction at the gas station -- but no more than the limo, and less (by a factor of 10) than the bus. This is a car I've literally built a house around.
It's truly strange what makes us tick.
*/s, for those who can't spot sarcasm, don't understand sarcasm, think sarcasm is a low form of humor, or something,
Back in the 80's there was a guy with a AA altered roadster that used a Buick straight Eight and did really well with it at the Winternationals @ Pomona Ca. Roots type blower sucking thru a couple AFB's
Engine design is pretty good and they are still around. "8 in a row to go"
A Boat back Auburn would be a HOOT ! Especially if it had the beautiful wood boat back end done in Honduras Mahogany or Mexican Teak . White caulking between the boards and finished with Epoxy GM or Ford 3sp Trans and elect power steering.
Bruce
@aircooled posted:Back in the 80's there was a guy with a AA altered roadster that used a Buick straight Eight and did really well with it at the Winternationals @ Pomona Ca. Roots type blower sucking thru a couple AFB's
Engine design is pretty good and they are still around. "8 in a row to go"
A Boat back Auburn would be a HOOT ! Especially if it had the beautiful wood boat back end done in Honduras Mahogany or Mexican Teak . White caulking between the boards and finished with Epoxy GM or Ford 3sp Trans and elect power steering.
Bruce
How about Tulipwood? Like this Hispano-Suiza. This car was in the museum that hosted our Cars and Coffee for awhile.
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I have always loved that Hispano-Suiza. Absolutely a work of art.
Kevin.......Absolutely beautiful ! Tulip Wood is not from a Tulip but still spectacular and very straight grain. Good choice for that car. Perhaps African Zebrawood would twist a few tails as well. The unique thing about Zebrawood is that the edge grain looks pretty much just like the face grain. This makes for joining the wood easier.
Here's an example of Zebrawood showing face grain, end grain and edge grain. As you can see, the grain is very prominent on all sides. Nice stuff to work with but fine saw dust bothers my eyes a little...........Bruce
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Just thinking about Zebrawood again. A dashboard would look good in this wood !
Perhaps make it with the grain going vertical ? Especially if it's a curved dash !....Bruce