1941 Buick Series 40 Special Sedanet

The 1941 Buick was a very versatile vehicle, offering five separate models with 26 body styles. The Models included the Special Series 40, Super Series 50, Century Series 60, Roadmaster Series 70, and Limited Series 90. This was the widest array of body styles for Buick to date. With the onset of World War II and the plethora of available vehicles, Buick moved into 4th place in industry sales, increasing production by an impressive 34 percent. Buick's most popular model was the Special, with 242,089 sales of the 377,428 cars Buick sold that year. Included were 87,687 domestic and 461 export sales of the Special Sedanet, which had a base price of $1,006.

The 1941 Buicks were quite different from their predecessors. They no longer had fender-mounted spare tires, or exposed running boards and door hinges. They were given new and much sleeker looking fender lines, and headlights were completely enclosed in the fenders for the first time. Hoods could be opened from either side.

For 1941, Buick offered Compound Carburetion as standard equipment on all models except the Specials, which offered it as optional equipment. Compound Carburetion was the forerunner to the four-barrel carburetor and also to the multi-carburetor setup.

The 1941 Buick Special was powered by a 248 cubic-inch 'Fireball' eight-cylinder engine offering 115 horsepower. It was backed by a three-speed manual transmission and hydraulic drum brakes could be found at all four corners.

This particular example, a Special Sedanet, is finished in maroon over a tan cloth interior. Options include windshield sun visor, dual spot lights, rear fender skirts, bumperettes, tissue dispenser, Sonomatic radio, and tissue dispenser.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2016