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1940 Buick Century Is a Barn-Kept Survivor With a Super Rare Feature

When talking about rare cars, we usually think about vehicles that saw daylight in very limited numbers. The 1971 Plymouth HEMI 'Cuda, built in only 114 units, comes to mind. But some classics are rare, simply because they've been fitted with an option that wasn't popular at the time.
1940 Buick Century barn find 9 photos
Photo: Mr. Goodpliers/YouTube
1940 Buick Century barn find1940 Buick Century barn find1940 Buick Century barn find1940 Buick Century barn find1940 Buick Century barn find1940 Buick Century barn find1940 Buick Century barn find1940 Buick Century barn find
Most of them are quite mundane, like air conditioning, a radio, a stripe package, or a convertible top. It may sound ridiculous, but most 1-of-1 classics from the golden muscle car are unique thanks to simple features like these. The Buick you see here is much older than that and it's not a one-off gem, but it's extremely scarce thanks to an option that many of us wouldn't even pay much attention to.

Do you know how most modern cars carry their spare wheels in the trunk? Well, this was far from common in the early decades of the automobile, when spare wheels were strapped to the rear fascia or mounted on the front fenders. I think most carmakers began moving them into the trunk in the 1930s when automobiles adopted more aerodynamic bodies, but some of them carried this layout as an option.

The first-generation Buick Century is one of those cars. And the vehicle you're looking at is one of only a few that were ordered with dual side-mounted spare wheels in 1940.

If you're not familiar with the Century, it became a stand-alone nameplate in 1936, when Buick renamed the Series 60. It slotted between the Special and the Roadmaster in the lineup by combining the shorter body of the former with the larger engine of the latter. Yeah, we could say it was Buick's hot-rodded full-size offering at the time.

How many Centuries left the assembly line that year? Records show Buick sold 9,473 units, which is less than 4% of the company's total production for 1940. The two-door Business and Sport coupes are the rarest at 44 and 96 units, respectively, while the two-door convertible spawned only 542 examples. The four-door Phaeton is also scarce at 194 units.

Finally, the four-door Touring sedan, which you see here, was the most common with 8,597 examples built. However, only a few of them were ordered with side-mounted spare wheels. Specific records for this option aren't available, but the consensus is that fewer than 100 cars got it. And given that the rate of survival for 1940s automobiles is incredibly low, this Buick is most likely one of fewer than 10 examples that survived to see 2022.

And it soldiered on through decades of storage in amazing condition. Yes, the paint is weathered and we can see a few rust spots, but the body is complete and all the trim is in place. More importantly, both spare wheels are still mounted on the fenders. The interior is also complete, save for the worn-out upholstery.

Our host doesn't say if there's still an engine under the hood, but based on the overall condition of the car, the original mill should be there. This Century rolled off the assembly line with a 320-cubic-inch (5.2-liter) straight-eight. Also known as the Fireball 8, it's part of an OHV straight-eight engine design that Buick used from 1931 to 1953.

This particular version came with 141 horsepower and 269 pound-feet (365 Nm) of torque on tap and enabled the Century to hit a top speed of 100 mph (161 kph), which was a big deal at the time. Legend has it that's the reason why Buick chose the Century name.

All told, this Touring sedan is a cool pre-WWII classic that deserves a proper restoration. But until the owner decides to give it a refresh, you can check it out sitting in the barn in the video below. The Buick pops up at the 9:00-minute mark.

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About the author: Ciprian Florea
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Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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