This is our 1947 Buick Super. Model
56C
'Way back in 1954 aspiring to
attend General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan, I
needed a car to get me there. One day I noticed a junky
old Buick in the back row of a local car dealer, it sure
wasn't anything I could take to GMI! Putting it out of
my mind several days went by, when all of a sudden I saw
the same car, but with GORGEOUS Sequoia Cream hot
enamel paint job. Yes, the finish was just like glass!
I looked up the painter, and with a sparkle in his eye,
he said that the old girl needed something special, so
he heated the enamel to 75 degrees.
The result was a
glass like finish! Well the rest is history, and
$650.00 poorer, I was the owner of this fine machine. I
drove the car all through college, and then because the
differential had a sing to it, I sold her for $150.00!
I had wanted a Dyna Flow anyway, and purchased a 1952
Roadmaster Convertible to take its place.
Here we are. Note GMI patch on the
jacket and youthful outlook on life, ah youth!
Many years passed, and my wife
suggested we get an old car and join the antique car hobby.
(Who could be luckier my wife got the idea first!)? Of
course we both remembered THE 47. A twenty-year hunt was
necessary before we located our current 1947.
The scene: The National Buick Show in
Flint in 1988, oh it was HOT! The black top at the Auto
World Parking Lot really radiated “warmth”. Between the sun
in the sky, and the warm black top, there was little comfort
EXCEPT for viewing those gorgeous Buick’s.
Yes, we had the entire family including
our son, his wife, and their son. The first car we spotted
in the lot was to be our second 1947 Buick. It was FILTHY.
All its brothers and sisters were in their Sunday best, and
just gleaming. Our future Buick had just come off the road,
and was covered with BUGS and filthy whitewall tires. Well,
it wasn't for sale, but it WAS our color. My son, a
professional body man, trained at Denver School of Body and
Paint, said he thought we could make her decent. My wife
kinda lingered behind reminiscing about the old days. We
left her there as the swap meet was calling us.
Several hours later we met for lunch,
and my wife had met the owner of the 47 as he was leaving.
He was already in the street, and she RAN after him, running
along side the car telling him we were looking for a car
just like his.
He stopped and explained the only
reason he had stopped at the meet was to find a 1953
Skylark, and when he found it, he would sell the '47. She
gave him our telephone number, and he was gone.
Months passed and we heard nothing. We
searched the meet roster for his name and address, as we had
not had time to get it from him, and no luck. Then one day,
just before Christmas, he called saying he had found his
Skylark, and the '47 was for sale. We made a date in
January to see the car. The temperature in Canada that day
was 50 F, and the car sat in the driveway, freshly washed.
To make a long story short, we bought
the car, and then the fun began.
Above 35 miles an hour, the car shook,
and if you turned a corner, the interior filled with burning
tire smell, the tire pressure was only 15 lbs. The block
leaked anti-freeze, and the rear end was noisy. I was aware
of the noisy rear end when I bought the car, but the other
problems were surprises!
Once home, it was easy to put the tires
on a lathe and round them out, and balance them. That
smoothed things out. A new ring gear, pinion, and bearings
took care of the sing. The block leak that was thought to
be just a head gasket, was a crack in the block!
About the same time, I noticed an
advertisement for a book entitled 40 CAST IRON REPAIR
SECRETS That Welding Shops Don't Want You to Know. I sent
for the book, and what a help. I was able to contact the
author Rich Fercy, who over the 'phone guided me through the
repair. It has been many years now, and the repair is
holding just fine, thank you.
We rewired the car with a great deal of
help from Harnesses Unlimited in Wayne Pa. They even worked
nights, and would answer questions over the 'phone, what a
big help they were.
The Hydro-Electric system was drained,
cleaned of all brake fluid, new hoses and cylinders from
Hydro-Electric installed, and the system thoroughly cleaned.
We filled the system with Automatic transmission fluid made
for GM cars. Yes, at the recommendation of Hydro-Electric we
used automatic transmission fluid. They warned that
sluggish performance would result in cold weather, but the
pump and system would "love" the extra lubricity of the
transmission fluid. They were right, and the system is
great.
The
transmission was sloppy, and wanting it a little firmer, I
contacted Dan Myers of DM Vintage Automotive, and he
supplied all the internal parts for the transmission. We
have it rebuilt now, all is tight, but a little lube sneaks
out from somewhere. Still under examination for further
improvement.
The paint was orange peel rough, and
oldest son, spent the better part of a day with fine grit
sandpaper, and Finesse It . The result, the same glassy
finish as the first 1947.
Here is the car today. The same two
folks fifty years later, give or take a year or two.
I have enjoyed sharing our Buick
experiences with you.
Clifford Herold
