Chassis No. 14243763

Body No. 12039

Jim Taylor acquired his 1941 Buick in 2005 from an owner in Warrensburg, Missouri, in fully restored condition. It had formerly been owned by Charles and Sandra Zachry of Carrollton, Georgia, in whose ownership the car had been a Senior Award-winner in Buick Club of America competition, and an AACA Senior First Prize winner, both in the early 1990s. Mr. Taylor appreciated the Buick's finishes, but he had bigger plans for the car: he intended to test the durability of its famously rugged construction and engineering in the Peking to Paris Motor Rally, one of the most rigorous tests an automobile can endure.

The car was, in typical Taylor fashion, thoroughly prepped for the event, with custom stainless steel gas and radiator overflow tanks; a hand-built console housing a modern speedometer, volt meter, fuel gauge, and oil pressure and water temperature gauges; a button for a remote horn; Garmin GPS; and a custom, heavy-duty lockable toolbox occupying the rear seat, which was loaded for the journey with all imaginable spares, including axles, coil springs, a water pump and more. The wheels were mounted with 16-inch Michelin LT radial tires, and the seats fitted with modern seatbelts. Much of the car's mechanical systems remained, significantly, stock, including the factory Compound Carburetion and column-shifted three-speed transmission, although the springs were understandably upgraded to heavier units. Receipts for parts and service, on file, document the diligent preparation of the Buick for its journey.

Mr. Taylor and his friend Fred Nelan traveled with the Buick to Hong Kong, driving it in a rally to Beijing, the starting point of Peking to Paris. It then completed Peking to Paris with aplomb. A document on file indicates repairs thereafter to the rear trunk floor and body mounts, and a replacement of the rear axle housing and rear wheel bearings, and the rear Panhard bar would likely benefit from replacement. Remarkably, the Buick frame held up well within the factory dimensions, merely exhibiting a 4mm twist from end to end.

Aptly described as "a former AACA National First Prize winner that had the ride of its life," the Taylor Super is proof positive than in an era of hand-built automobiles, Buick built them as well. It has taken all that can be thrown at it, and survived to tell its tale. What's its next adventure?