The driver was Mark Light, of Reading, PA, who ran out of gas on the final lap. I will also add that a 1939 Buick Century coupe won the first-ever recognized stock car race held at Langhorne Speedway outside of Philadelphia in 1939. I've had 11 Specials and 1 Century in my life. This is not a faulty childhood memory, but just one of my memories that served to make me love 1939 Buick Special's. The fastest I ever drove the blue car at left is around 75 mph, but I have a 3.9-1 optional rear from a Century in this car. This is one of my memories that is etched into my mind. A friend of theirs was following in a 1939 Packard 120 and couldn't keep up. The speedometer on my parents' '39 Buick Special was bouncing between 100 and 105. When I was ten years old, my father got into a race with a hoped up 37-38 Chevy hotrod. I agree that because they need to be mounted high because of the short front end, they look odd on the 1939 Specials. Only about 200 1939 Buicks were sold here. Regarding sidemounts - they were always an option in the US I believe, but in NZ our Buicks came standard with "six wheel equipment". Even though it only cruised at about 40 mph in overdrive it was much more relaxed that in normal top gear. I drove a 1920 Briscoe which had a 1960s British overdrive unit in it and it made a big difference. It would be nice to be able to add an overdrive as can be done with open drive shaft cars. I know of a 1941 car here that had its rear end gears replaced with something from the 1950s. One problem with gearing the car up is that they do not have that much power and you can lose hill climbing ability. I think it can be done with 1937(?) and later cars with hypoid drive but more difficult with the earlier ones. There have been several threads on this site from people looking to raise the axle ratio - not easy with torque tube drive. I recall here in NZ there was a 1939 Buick owner who firmly believed his 1939 Special would do 100mph and would not listen to reason - the engine would have to exceed 5000 rpm to do it - an impossibilty! Any more than the for an extended period is hard work for the babbit rod bearings. At 3400 rpm which is its realistic maximum it is doing about 67mph. From this we can work out that it does 510 rpm per 10 mph. In this case the info is given (engine speed at 50mph is 2550rpm). You can calculate the academic top speed of any car as long as you know the overall final drive ratio and the outside diameter of the rear wheels. I want to be able to pass some petrol stations! I'm happy to drive at 55 mph on a good road. That's all a bit too fast for me in a 71 year old car. It also includes the following: "The smoothness of the engine and general quietness of running encourage high cruising speeds and we found that the car willl quite naturally settle down to a genuine velocity of 65-68 m.p.h." It claims 82 mph max in top gear and 50 in 2nd. provide first-class illumination for driving at speeds of 60-70 m.p.h." The reprint is a review of "The Buick Straight 8 Viceroy Saloon." The Viceroy was the Buick Special as marketed in Great Britain. "Buick Cars 1929-1939" published by Brooklands Books, Walton on Thames, Surrey, England contains a reprint from "The Motor" July 18 1939. The handbook charts indicating fuel consumption have 70 mph in the upper range. The 1939 manuals and handbooks do not claim a maximum speed.
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