Last updated on March 11, 2023
Today’s car is a 1939 Buick Century 4-door sedan owned by Kenny G. He calls it “Nuff Said”. I photographed this car at Net Cruz’s Cars and Coffee that is held at the Zimmerman Automobile Driving Museum located at 610 Lairport St. El Segundo, CA. It is finished in black with a deep red interior and a red carpet. It is powered by a 141 hp, 320.2 cu in, straight eight Dynaflash engine, with a Stromberg 2-bbl carburetor. It is mated to a 3-speed manual transmission and has a 3.90:1 rear axle ratio. Slowing this beauty down are 12″ hydraulic brakes. Kenny has upgraded this car with air suspension (Bagged) and a set of Dayton 18″ knock off wire wheels giving it that cool look!
The 1939 Buick had a couple of industry firsts, the most significant for the industry is it was the first to have standard turn-signal lights and they were incorporated into the Buick trunk emblem. Buick offered the first pushbutton radio. A Buick first was the addition of the steering column shifter that included the Handi-shift control. The Handi-shift control incorporated the turn-signal controls.
The name “Century” came from one of the first production cars being able to exceed 100 mph. The total 0f 1939 Buicks produced was 208,259 units with 23,430 of them being Century’s of which 521 were Touring Sedan 5 passenger 4 door cars. The MSRP was $1,205.00. This is a great example of original car with some custom touches. What a great car to take to car shows, Cars and Coffee events or just a cruising. Thanks for riding along. Frank
