Buick 1943 - 49 custom & mild custom

Juan Freeman's '47 Buick Super 'Vert - A Matter Of Serious Investigation
From the April, 2011 issue of Rod & Custom
By Mike Chase





When Juan Freeman decides to look into something, he does it ever so thoroughly. Each tiny detail is minutely examined. Nothing is left to chance or supposition. Juan arrives at all of his decisions after carefully considering every single piece of information that he has been able to acquire about whatever it is that he is working on. Juan applies his career skills to his hot rod and custom building efforts. Each component of his '47 Buick Super convertible has been scrutinized for function, form, and applicability. Juan's thorough approach has resulted in a car that has stood the real test for a stout custom; Juan has driven the big, bad Buick 108,000 miles as of this writing. That is a real world car.

Juan fell in love with Buicks as a kid. His first one was acquired when he was a callow 17-year-old. Juan recalls selling it for a $100-and the sting is not the loss of that car as much as the fact that the buyer never paid it off! Juan's involvement with cars began at age 16. At 17 he had his first, a '50 Chevy acquired in a trade for a go-kart. A series of hot rods followed through the years. Juan was driving a customized '47 Buick four-door sedan that was so flamboyantly painted that the color and girth of the car earned it the nickname "The Pink Pig".


Juan and his wife, Blondie, were driving this car when they met Bill Mendoza. Mendoza had purchased a '47 Buick convertible from an estate sale that, while not running, was in original condition. The Freemans bought the car and immediately ripped into it. The first iteration of the car was a less glitzy version; primer, dull chrome, and a beefy 425 Nailhead. It took some time to get the car onto the road, but when it was ready in the fall of 2000, Juan and Blondie put 12,000 miles on the car through 33 states pulling a Chalet trailer. Juan is a chief safety inspector for the NSRA and the trip included all the national meets. The first build took 18 months, the second three months, and the final version (seen here) took six months. After Juan's friend, Darrell Siggens, helped with the chassis and wiring on the first build, the bulk of the efforts on the car were accomplished by Juan in his home shop. Along the way he learned paint and body and now does custom paintwork in his hometown of Eureka, California, a little slice of heaven near the Oregon border.

The Deco-ish body contours of the Buick shroud a host of hot rod innovation. Home-built in every sense of the word, it was accomplished with a lot of junkyard parts and an even larger part of ingenuity and all-night elbow grease.


The chassis employs a '77 Nova clip that is welded to the Buick frame, fully boxed with welded reinforcing plates. The subframe and the X-members are grafted to the GM chassis. Juan says, "It isn't that pretty, but it's really strong."



The limited-slip rearend is a Ford 9-inch with 2.75 (Bonneville) gears and is hung on parallel leaf springs. Hefty, 31-spline, forged axles won't give up under hard highway and trailer pulling miles. KYB shocks from a Dodge Dakota 4x4 snub the travel and independent airbags add lift and control ride height. The rear 'rails are kicked up and have custom spring pockets in them to create the 3-inch rear drop without having to use lowering blocks. An interesting point about the air ride is that there is no pump for raising and lowering the car at will. Inside the engine compartment are Schraeder valves that you use to fill the bags from a remote air source. Ride height is pretty low and the 'bags are used primarily to adjust for hauling and touring. The car has yet to see the inside of a trailer. Up front the Nova suspension uses Chevy van shocks and the Nova brakes. A Saginaw steering box couples to the Nova tilt column. The chassis rolls on steel 15x7 wheels, stock up front and reversed in the back. All four tires are 215/70R15s.




The big Nailhead has been exchanged for a more efficient 383 stroker small-block Chevy. Rick Harper, of Smith River, California, did the machine work and the engine assembly. Scat rods and crank pushing hypereutectic 9:1 slugs make up the lower end while a Crane hydraulic roller cam actuates the stainless steel valves. Aluminum valve covers, sandblasted and clearcoated, dress up the mighty mouse. The induction system is comprised of an Edelbrock Performer manifold and four-barrel carburetor. By keeping the accessories to a factory component whenever possible, Chevy ram horn exhaust manifolds instead of headers for instance, Juan gains practical performance that means little or no maintenance on the road. The hop-up efforts resulted in a 375-horse motor that produces 400 lb-ft of torque.

Using reclaimed parts, such as the GTO mufflers, is another way that Juan adheres to the old ways of car building. Juan hitches the ponies to the cart with a Turbo 400 trans fitted with an Allison converter from a motor home that has a 1,200-rpm stall speed. The column gear selection lever gives a nice stock look and actuates the Street Fighter shift kit. A custom-made driveshaft fills the tranny to rearend void.


The customizing of the body is subtle but arresting. The top of the convertible remains un-chopped. The major mods are in the body itself. The hood and fenders are peaked, the hood ornament is peaked, and the fenders, quarter-panels, and door caps are welded and molded. The great styling on the rear fenders comes from the reshaped wheel openings. The trunk lid has been sunken to affect a superior fit. Juan, who did all of his own bodywork, used a paint stick as a guide to maintain equal panel gaps throughout. He also applied the Sikkens Molten Bronze finish. The stainless trim has been chrome-plated and all of the trim pieces, including the bumpers, are stock. The extensive plating was done by Walker's Custom Chrome in Shasta Lake, California. Some little styling details that might escape the casual observer are the use of '48 Harley taillights as license plate illumination and the chief safety inspector badge as a tunnel hitch cover. By the way the "brodie knob," on the original Buick steering wheel is a gennie '40s item. Original (updated) gauges provide pilot info.

Juan put his skills into the interior as well. The German leather and square-weave carpeting were installed by Thomas Brennan at Ocean Awning in Eureka and the console is owner built. Juan had a hand in the install of the wiring, and the many custom touches that accommodate the AirTique A/C system. A Vintage Air condenser and Sanden compressor pump the frost through the custom Vintage Air vents. Cabin inhabitants relax on the comfortable seats and are either soothed or highly over stimulated by the sounds that emanate from the Alpine stereo. The stereo is pretty evolved and it could be argued that a car that is driven as much as this Buick is really needs good music to wile away those cross country miles.


Juan Freeman is obviously thorough, and his attention to detail and willingness to take an active role in the build of his car are remarkable. Those are the very traits that have made him so successful in his career. He has a job that requires an extraordinary ability to focus and a keen eye for detail, as he is a (now retired) homicide detective. Juan has an excellent case clearance record and was instrumental in bringing a high-profile serial killer to justice. The patience and focus required to do that job are exactly the skills that make a long car build successful. The amount of miles on this no-trailer car is the evidence of a case that was fully solved. The case of the longterm Buick is now closed.


Read more: http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/featuredvehicles/1104rc_1947_buick_super_convertible/viewall.html

elle en impose, magnifique

terrible !!

y a la meme mais en coupé fasback sur la pochette de disque de Mike Sanchez en rouge candy tirant vers le framboise,sublime .....

ouahhh! ça fait plus de vingt ans que je rêve de cette auto, la '49 Sedanet , J'ADORE   

 

Buick's industry-changing fastback sure makes a great-looking lead sled, doesn't it? Better yet, this 1948 Buick Special boasts a stout 455 cubic inch Buford under its pointed hood. Add in a trick 4-bucket seat interior and you have a very slick cruiser that moves like a car half its size.



OK, so a bright red fastback isn't exactly subtle, but if you're going to build something this cool, why not do a little advertising? There are a lot of custom tricks, with just a few being the modified smoothie bumpers, the portholes on the hood, shaved door handles, and a frenched antenna on the rear deck. Fender skirts are a period accessory that emphasizes the long, low look that defines the lead sled attitude, and there's also an accessory sun visor for a bit of style. You may also notice that the fenders were molded into the body for a seamless look, and before a drop of red paint was sprayed on, the entire car was sanded to create that awesome shine. Much of the original trim that remained on the car was also treated to a coat of bright red paint, giving it a monochromatic look that makes the few bright bits really stand out.

The tan interior actually has leather buckets from a Lexus both front and rear, hidden under custom-fitted plush seat covers that are just as comfortable as they look. And if they're not your cup of tea, they're easy to remove, too. The rest of this Buick's interior is custom-made, from the vintage-looking door panels to the center console to the reworked center stack that houses the AM/FM/CD stereo and HVAC controls. Dakota Digital gauges light up the instant you turn the key, making for one very cool light show, and a tilt column topped by a leather-wrapped wheel makes it easy to get comfortable. Red carpets on the floor actually work quite well, tying in with the paint as well as the embroidery on the door panels and the pinstripes on the dash. And despite the sleek shape, there's a sizable trunk out back, which has been upholstered in red carpet and includes a full-sized spare.

Although the engine bay originally held a 248 cubic inch straight-8, the 455 cubic inch V8 living there now is a major improvement. With an Edelbrock carb up top and tons of chrome, it's set to show or cruise. A wide, flat torque curve makes the trim Special feel light on its feet (tires?) and it just loafs along at highway speeds with massive reserves waiting for a call from your right foot. The hood tilts to either side, so service access is quite good, or you can just unlatch both sides and remove it, a feature that was part of Buick's resume for years. The engine is backed by a TH400 3-speed automatic transmission and a 10-bolt rear, so the drivetrain is both durable and easy to maintain. A custom dual exhaust system snakes through the frame and sounds awesome, and it sits on G78-15 wide whites on steel wheels with trick "sombrero" wheelcovers.

Before customs as we now know them, there were concept (or dream) cars. These often-outlandish creations, done by the major auto manufacturers’ skilledand sometimes brilliantdesign studios, rarely, if ever, fully translated into full production vehicles. Still, many of their individual styling cues would end up on the cars the general public would ultimately drive. But the concepts weren’t the first customs, not by a long shot.

Prior to the depression, Hollywood’s silver screen icons and many of society’s upper echelon who wanted to be seen, did so by having their luxury cars customized by coachbuilders like LeBaron in New York and Bohman & Schwartz in California. And it was from these early metal artisan firms that individuals like Harley J. Earl would emerge. Among the landmark designs that spawned from Earl’s collaborative automotive design think tank, both before and after World War II, were two Buicks: the ’38 Y-Job two-seater convertible and the ’47 XP-8, which would evolve into the ’50 LeSabre (each also served as his personal transportation, having racked up thousands of miles on both, showing off his designs to the public all the while). There were many other pre-production Buick design elements to Earl and his crew’s credits as well, such as the through fender (coined as full fadeaways by future customizers), the hardtop, and even the panoramic windshield that would become commonplace on practically every car during the mid-’50s.

It goes without saying that Harley Earl has influenced countless custom car builders dating back to the pioneers of the ’40s and continuing onto today’s modern builders. Apparently, that influence knows no continental boundaries, as one of Earl’s biggest fans is Justin Hills from New South Wales, Australia. And as you can see, he too finds the embodiment of the Buick most appealing of all the GM line. But rather than simply copying what had already been accomplished decades prior, Justin took it upon himself to interpret what a ’49 Buick concept car would look like, had it ever made it past the drawing board.

The result by Justin and his design crew at Hills & Co. Kustoms is clearly an improvement on the factory production model, what with its fastback roof profile lowered in a manner that retains a nice, sweeping flow all the way from the A-pillars back to the trunk (with B-pillars angled just a tad), a feat many custom builders have failed to accomplish. With the fadeaway front fenders no longer part of the Buick’s allure, the ’49 models relied more heavily on the pontoon-ish rear quarters for their waistline curve attraction, something Justin felt needed no further attention, other than omitting the fuel filler door that is. And to subtly clean up the Sedanette’s front end, all that was required was simply frenching the headlights, peaking the hood ever so slightly, and shaving the Buick badge. The grille and bumper, with its stock over riders, are all stock itemsso too are the fender spear running lights, which as you may or may not have noticed, retain their aged, cracked lenses, something Justin left in order for the car to preserve its heritage. Once Justin’s concept had become a 3-D reality, it was coated in the only color suitable to show off one’s impeccable body and prep work: black.

Inside the Buick is more of the same early styling carried on, but with a smidgen of modern flair, evidenced by the snakeskin leather inserts on the seats and door/quarter-panels. The red-on-red interior, which perfectly complements the black and chrome exterior, was crafted by Scott at Trik Trim. The rest, though, is pretty much as was originally found in the ’49 when it rolled off the assembly line, from the restored gauges to the steering wheel to the door handles and window cranks.

The same can’t be said for the car’s chassis, nor the engine for that matter, despite it being a straight-eightbut everything is Buick in nature. The ’49 now rests on a ’69 Buick platform, C-notched and fitted with Fatman spindles and Firestone air springs, while the engine, still from the family of Fireball 8s, is a few years newer (1953). About the only thing beneath the sheetmetal that is from 1949 is the three-speed transmission. For rolling stock, Justin fittingly chose to run with 15-inch wheels shod in All Star wide whitewalls and adorned with Cadillac sombrero hubcaps (it should be noted that the Buick’s rear quarters come from the ’48 Cadillac, another one of Earl’s efforts!).

Though built in Australia (where it was honored with Australia’s Most Beautiful Custom award), the Buick has spent the majority of its post-build life where it was originally createdin the United States. Starting with the Showcase of Kustoms in Long Beach and ending up most recently at the Grand National Roadster Show, Justin has taken it upon himself to show the car at all the right places in the United States, but we’re pretty sure he’d like nothing more than to be back Down Under with the ’49 once and for allbut surely not as much as his wife, Sam, would!

Rod & Custom Feature Car

Justin Hills

New South Wales, Australia

1949 Buick Sedanette



Read more: http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/featuredvehicles/1107rc_1949_buick_sedanette/viewall.html

Weblink: http://www.speedhunters.com/2010/01/car_feature_gt_gt_the_green_thing/

On Saturday, December 12th 2009, Linhbergh and I arrived at a rather soggy Irwindale Speedway on a real mission.



Among the rows of customs and hot rods attending the Mooneyes Xmas Party event, we needed to find a feature-ready custom to shoot for Speedhunters



I had arranged for two pin-up models to attend the Xmas Party event, so we had no option but to find a machine for them to pose with.



The weather was pretty horrible that weekend, so we thought a nice big interior would be a great way to shoot the girls and make some cool content for Speedhunters.



So when I laid eyes on this amazing 1949 Buick I knew we had found our car!



The lime green paint was going to set off nicely against the moody grey backdrop, and it also helped that the owner, Sonny Vasquez, was standing right next to the car.

A quick word and he agreed to let us shoot the Buick….



Linhbergh had him move the car into a new position next to Irwindale's drag strip and the shoot was ready to begin.

As Linhbergh got busy shooting the Buick I started to interview Sonny to find out more about the car…



Sonny lives in Oxnard California, a bit north of Los Angeles. Although still a relatively young guy, he's been submerged in custom culture for at least 20 years.

His father was one of the OG rodders of the 1950s so a love of rod and custom culture has been his blood since birth really.



He bought the Buick eleven years ago and quickly built it up as a custom car over a period of six months. The car wasn't on the road for long, though, as it caught fire during a freeway drive and burned to the ground.



Undeterred, Sonny decided to start over with a more in-depth build and proceeded to sandblast the car down to bare metal. This time, the car was constructed over a period of three years, with Sonny doing all the work himself.



I would classify this custom as being more on the wild side of traditional style. It's heavily dechromed and shaved… in this photo you can also see the frenched headlights, appleton spotlights and the peaked hood.

Chopping a fastback coupe is probably one of the most difficult operations of this type…



… as the whole line of the fastback has to be sunken down into the car. It's no joke.



In the end, the top has been chopped a full 4 inches. You can also see how an extra layer of metal has been added to the hood to create a secondary panel line.



The rear fenders have been widened and extended to complete the tail-dragger look.



Like a lot of modern street customs, Sonny's has a full air ride system, along with custom suspension, "Z"ed rear frame kickups and a raised drivetrain to help keep the car riding low in comfort.



Sonny was a little hesitant to show us the engine bay as it's not really that aesthetic, but we wanted to show you what the drive train of a REAL street custom looks like.

A couple of years ago, he took the decision to put a modern crate motor and drive train into the Buick. Sonny wanted the Buick to run more reliably and remove the question of "will it run" each time he went to drive the car.



Here are a couple shots of Courtney Day… She's a former Falken Girl who is now moving in the direction of pin-up girl.



She has fantastic classic looks… perfect for a photoshoot inside a custom machine!



Here's a shot of the dashboard…. I didn't get a chance to ask Sonny what he was thinking here…



So that's it for my write up on this super styled 1949 Buick.



Personally speaking, I'd absolutely love to be in possession of such a vehicle.

But even if I owned this car, I would never have the same relationship with it as Sonny Vazquez. Each time he looks at or drives this car, he knows inside that he has created this machine on his own, by himself.



And, unfortunately for me, I seriously doubt I'll ever know that feeling. I'm too busy shooting cars, developing automotive media projects and working on racing video games to consider my own ground-up automotive project. Perhaps one day that will change, but for now all I can do is tip my hat to people like Sonny who have the skills and vision to create their own moving sculptures.



:R

1946 Buick Super Custom V8, Automatic Transmission, Power Steering, Brakes, Power windows, 6-way seating, Clock, Am/FM Radio, CB Radio, Cadillac Tilt, Telescopic Steering Wheel.

Engine: 429CID Ford V8 with 1x4 barrel carburetor and Chrome Accessories

Transmission: 1970 Ford Cruise O Matic

Interior: '46 custom interior door panels, headliner, assorted trim complete dash gauges factory original.

Glass: Tinted

Body: All accessories factory appearance 50's style customized nose decked, shaved and chrome lake pipes, French headlights, custom hood, door panels, quarter panels, rockers and read fenders,