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This car was purchased in Europe in 2005. When it was discovered it had pre-World War II French license plates indicating it could have been one of the 2,755 of these cars exported when new. When it arrived in Rome at the NB Center garage, the car was assessed and the decision made to do a full restoration. The engine and driveline was sent to Switzerland for rebuild with the remainder restored by Italian craftsmen. The car was final assembled in the NB Center garage in Rome.
The car was restored back to its original color combination of Welliington Gray, paint code 505, with gray cloth interior. It would be a real treat if this car could talk and tell us the story of how it survived the war and remained relatively intact for 68 years before restoration. -
Company
General Motors
Make
Buick
Model
Special, 37-41
Body Style
Sedan (Trunk Back), 4- door, 5-pass.
Body Manufacture
Fisher Body Co.
Model year
1937
Wheelbase
122 inches
Length
200 inches
Engine
inline-eight, OHV, 248 cid
Horsepower
100 @ 3200 rpm
Transmission
3-speed manual
Original Base Price
$1,021
Brand Production
220,346 model year
This Car Production
82,440 -
After the very successful relaunch of Buick in 1936 the question remained, what could Buick do as an encore to keep the momentum going?
The 1937 Buicks would not disappoint. Building on the many changes made in 1936, the cars got longer, the styling got more refined and the improvements kept coming across all models.
The entry level Special grew from a wheelbase of 118” to 122”. The roofline was reduced by 1 ½” while the floors were lowered 2 ½” making the new car both lower in appearance and more spacious. The biggest improvement for the Special was a new engine, still based on the reliable inline-eight that was a Buick signature, but now displacing 248 cubic inches as opposed to the previous year’s 233. The bigger engine also boosted horsepower from 93 to 100.
The buying public clearly approved of the additional improvements as model year production rose once again to 220,346 cars. The most popular of all 1937 Buick models and body styles was the model 41 “trunk-back” sedan with 82,440 produced. While built-in trunks were now the norm for all Buicks, sedans with trunks came in two configurations. There was a flat back sedan, model 47, which looked more streamlined but had less trunk space. Then there was a bustle-back or as Buick called it, “trunk-back” sedan with protruding trunk that provided a lot more trunk space. This latter option was overwhelmingly preferred by buyers.