Rare Buick

rsholland

was my dad's '41 Buick Special black 2-door fastback sedanette. Boy, does that bring back memories! The steel on the fenders was so thick, you could use it as armor plating today.

Bob

amorales

Buicks in 1965. Was in Air Force stationed at Malmstrom AFB and I remember out running one going to Helena in my
weaky squeaky 1962 Buick Electra 225 4 door gunboat with
401 cu in V8, 10:75 to 1 comp ratio, 325 Hp, 445 LBS of
torque, 86 mph 16 secs at local strip without hubcaps and
air clearner. Loved that DYNAFLOW tranny. Could wind out to 70 in low gear. 0-60 was 8.8 secs. The 1965 Buicks had the 425 engine. I remember seeing a '64 Wildcat conv. with the 425 engine with 2x4 carbs and manual tranny. Had nice
styled wheels, and went like hell

isellhondas

Was an option in 1965. The standard engeine was the 401/325 HP. The 425's came with a single 4bbl and produced 340 H.P.

The dual 4bbl 425's put our 360 H.P.

They also got about 4 miles per gallon!

udasai

Most of those late 50s/early 60s cars tend to be excessive, and the 1960 Buick certainly is, but I happen to think they are the best of the bunch. Large swoopy lines and creases. I saw a 1960 Electra 225 convertible a while back for sale (next to a '63 Lincoln convertible) and even though I love those Lincolns I would have bought that Buick instead..I was already plotting second mortgages, selling body organs, etc, but alas it didn't happen. I used to own a '62 Tempest Lemans, which had sort of the same kind of style on the side.

Mr_Shiftright

You know, those early 60s GM full-size convertibles aren't really all that expensive...I've seen very nice ones in the $10,000-12,500 range, and 70s converts at around half that. Don't pay attention to those high asking prices you see, that is not the real market.

speedshift

Yeah, '60s Buicks tend to appeal to a group of people that don't have much money to spend, like me. The engineering is fairly routine except for the aluminum front brake drums and Dynaflow, and the main appeal is the "period" styling, something people don't usually dig deep into their pockets to have.

The exceptions might be the handful of 4 speeds and dual-quad 425s, but at least in the '80s they were bargains compared to comparable Chevies. Same with Olds, even the luxury/performance Starfires. The pool of people who really want these cars is just too small to put much pressure on prices.

'60 Buicks are nicely baroque but for my money the '59 is an even more appealing example of wretched excess.

isellhondas

I remember a neighbor's new '59 Electra 225 sedan. It even had power rear vent windows! Was I ever impressed!

netranger4

Several years ago, I was in Salem, Ohio and stopped at a junk sale being held in a barn. One of the pieces for sale was a '37 Buick Fastback 4-dr Century with double sidemounts. The car was filthy and had a line of chicken poop right down the center of the car from the hood to the rear. It had been parked under a beam for umpteen years and was for sale for $750.00. These things do pop up once in awhle...don't know what happened to it but maybe one of the Buick collectors heard/bought it.

Mr_Shiftright

Might be rare but not very valuable. Restoring 4-doors is a labor of love, you'd be buried in it financially with little chance of a profitable resale or of much admiration from Buick collectors. You restore a four-door and you get a polite "nice car" and they walk away, but a convertible always gets the juices going at car shows and club events, etc. This makes sense if you think about it, as the 4-door models were often the "utility" vehicles of the line. Even 4-door limos are a hard sell in old cars, as are flower cars and hearses.

Of course, if the car were just dirty, it would be worth saving and driving around. But I doubt any serious "collector" would want it, except...except for that type of collector (a rare bird) who wants every model of a certain year....I have seen that happen now and then....so maybe that was the type of buyer.

gmengineman1

As isellhondas indicated the CHP used the Buick Century exclusively in 1955 & 56. San Diego, Long Beach and Los Angeles police depts also purchased some of these great pursuit vehicles for their "Freeway Flyer" special assignments. Seldom did anyone pull away from those cars. In the early 60's another attempt was made to enter that specialty market with the fast '62, '63 and '64 cars. They were great performers but the Dodge folks had the edge in the price war and the low bid usually prevailed. The RCMP had a few "Grand Nationals" for some high speed work and loved them. Again, price won out and another vehicle was chosen to replace them. Too bad. The Buick Division was the first GM outfit to design a production high speed performance car with their 1941 Century. What a car! My grandfather had one until the '56 Century hit the market. Then he bought a new one. It too was in his garage for years. With GM dumping the Oldsmobile Division what will happen for Buick? I hope they come up with some more classic vehicles.

Mr_Shiftright

Buick has the oldest demographic of any car in the world right now. This is not good, obviously, because it means all your customers are dying.

carnut4

is my Dad. He's 74, has a new 2002 LeSabre with the gran touring suspension. He also had an 86 Somerset T-type [a fairly rare and interesting Buick-big tires, alloy wheels, etc]] with less than 90,000 miles, that was starting to need $ work, and he didn't want to dump bucks in it. So, what does he get to replace it? A, a Honda Accord V6 coupe. Now there's a contrast- a New LeSabre and a Honda Accord, side by side in the garage. I've driven his Buicks, and they're OK. The 3800 has lots of torque-but-I just don't think I'd ever have a Buick-a new one, that is.

speedshift

Lots of torque, a great ride (hard to find these days) and what I think is some pretty good styling--but no personality.

burdawg

I tried to talk the wife into a new Century, but she won't have anything to do with it. She says "it looks a an old persons car". Well, sorry seniors, but that's her opinion.