Gray Man, Inc.

[DRIVEN]

Here's a little more on the old Buick. Near as I can tell it's a 1940 Special. At some point someone crudely grafted headlights on the front of the fenders and leaded in a kustom grille. Originally these had headlights on top of the fenders.

Probably safe to assume it wasn't a new car when it was converted to industrial use. Silver City has been mined on and off since the 1860s, decades before Idaho was even a state. This was likely constructed in one of the last booms.

Eight-in-a-row...

Just above the carb, on the firewall, is a sprocket on the end of a shaft. On the inside there is a pipe/lever bolted to it. I think this was to disengage the clutch from the outside.

The engine turns the transmission, which turns a drive shaft to a reduction gear. That turns a spool on a jackshaft for a cable, with a brake assembly to hold it. The cable would have gone through the left rear window and up to a pulley at the top of the tower.

The expanded metal to the left of the tower covers a big hole about 20' deep with a mine entrance that goes to the left, into the hillside. The base of the tower is actually at the bottom of the pit. The car is anchored to the ground by being welded to buried pipe.

 

[ck80]

Here's a little more on the old Buick. Near as I can tell it's a 1940 Special. At some point someone crudely grafted headlights on the front of the fenders and leaded in a kustom grille. Originally these had headlights on top of the fenders.
View attachment 229853

Probably safe to assume it wasn't a new car when it was converted to industrial use. Silver City has been mined on and off since the 1860s, decades before Idaho was even a state. This was likely constructed in one of the last booms.

Eight-in-a-row...View attachment 229854

Just above the carb, on the firewall, is a sprocket on the end of a shaft. On the inside there is a pipe/lever bolted to it. I think this was to disengage the clutch from the outside.
View attachment 229859

The engine turns the transmission, which turns a drive shaft to a reduction gear. That turns a spool on a jackshaft for a cable, with a brake assembly to hold it. The cable would have gone through the left rear window and up to a pulley at the top of the tower.

View attachment 229860

The expanded metal to the left of the tower covers a big hole about 20' deep with a mine entrance that goes to the left, into the hillside. The base of the tower is actually at the bottom of the pit. The car is anchored to the ground by being welded to buried pipe.

It always amazes me how well these things stand up in an environment that is semi-arid to desert and lacking the acid rain.... that and how few 'trophies' were removed from the car.

 

[joesregalproject]

That repurposed old Buick should be designated as a historic landmark.

 

[DRIVEN]

The whole town is on the National Register of Historic Places. Close enough?

 

[joesregalproject]

The whole town is on the National Register of Historic Places. Close enough?

I think the Buick should get its own plaque.

 

[Supercharged111]

I think the Buick should get its own plaque.

What if it wasn't a Buick?

 

[joesregalproject]

What if it wasn't a Buick?

Sounds like you already know the answer to that question.

 

[DRIVEN]

Outback engine is in and running. Sounds good. It's been through 2 heat cycles. I'll do one more in the morning and do an oil change. I've got a set of tires, wheel bearings, and hood struts on order. Then a detail.
It'll look great in someone else's garage.

 

[Texas82GP]

Outback engine is in and running. Sounds good. It's been through 2 heat cycles. I'll do one more in the morning and do an oil change. I've got a set of tires, wheel bearings, and hood struts on order. Then a detail.
It'll look great in someone else's garage.

We (my company) recently had to replace the engine in one of our trucks. A 2016 Silverado 2500HD 4WD. It cost us $10k to put a reman from Chevrolet in it. This was done at an independent shop in Arlington. I was blown away by the cost so explored our options. I found a 60k mile used engine, still in the truck, that I could hear/see run. I was going to buy it and have the little shop here in Houston that we use do the job. The engine was $2k. The shop wanted to make $2k on it and then get paid $4k to put it in. The engine in Arlington cost us $5k and like $4k to put in. I hope I can find those kind of opportunities when we have a shop. I hope you are going to make that kind of money on that flipper.

 

[DRIVEN]

I wasn't really looking for a flipper, it just kind of fell in my lap. Car was $1000. Reman engine was $2000 with a transferable 12m/12k warranty. I'll be another $1500ish for all the other misc. stuff. I think I should be able to get $9,000 for it. Subarus are popular around here and winter is around the corner. I'd actually consider keeping it for a work car but it's not quite what I want.