Pick of the Day: 1938 Buick Business Coupe

From the pre-war American car body styles my favorites have always been the Business Coupes. They were designed for the needs of salesmen, as a car they could take on the road with rear seat being open to hold their sample cases for possible sales.

While I have never been a door-to-door salesman there is something about the design of these cars that appeals to me. The shorter body and two-seat layout makes them easier to drive and prettier than the standard coupes of the era.

Of all the business coupe models, I personally prefer the ones from more upscale manufacturers. I have always wondered what door-to-door salesperson could afford a Buick, LaSalle, or Packard as a work car. I have since found out that these cars are also referred to as Doctors Coupes which makes the higher-end models make more sense.

Another interesting fact is that the Business Coupes tend to be some of the more affordable pre-war American classics out there.

The Pick of the Day is this stunning 1938 Buick Super Business Coupe available for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Finished in black, over a brown cloth interior, the dealer describes it as having excellent paint, good body panel alignment, deep, and the brightwork has no signs of deterioration. They add that this car fires right up and shifts lovely. It is powered by the 248ci Dynaflash big straight-eight overhead valve engine, which at the time was cutting-edge technology. The Dynaflash engine produced a whopping 107 bhp, which was strong for the time, and allowed this heavy car to reach 70 mph and cruise effortlessly at 50 mph.

Another interesting item on this 1938 Buick Super is that it the transmission was called an “almost automatic.” This is because it is equipped with a self-shifting transmission. This was a low-production experiment where you used the clutch to shift into first and reverse only. The car will automatically up-shift and downshift into all other gears without using the clutch to do so.

This car looks in the pictures to be in very nice driver condition and the paint, interior and trim look to be in excellent shape.

Of pre-war Buick cars this stunning car looks to me to be a bit of a bargain at an asking price of only $30,000. Driving this would make you feel like a very successful door to door salesman or an equally successful doctor and would be just the thing to drive on a nice weekend road trip or to a show.