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Puget Sound Chapter's All Buick Open - Cars thru '53 straight-8


Centurion

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The Puget Sound Chapter of the BCA in Washington state hosted its thirteenth annual "All Buick Open" on June 10 in downtown Puyallup. The show utilizes the site of the old Wilen-Cornforth Buick dealership, and coincides with the Ezra Meeker Days celebration and annual street fair. Ezra Meeker was a prominent pioneer in the Northwest, and received great recognition early in the 20th century for his leadership in marking and preserving the Old Oregon Trail.

An impressive turnout of 160 vintage Buicks was displayed, with most cars from western Washington state and some from the Portland, Oregon chapter.

Among the cars was an excellent array of pre-V8 Buicks, and I find that I appreciate these earlier Buicks more as the years pass. I photographed a few of the standout Buicks here, and will share a few of my favorites.

In my view, the most elegant Buick of the show was this stunning 1938 Century 4-door convertible:

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Another personal favorite was this largely original 1934 series 50 sedan. The owner of this car works for Delta Airlines, and he was in Tokyo when he saw this long-time Tacoma car up for auction. He proved to be the only bidder for this spectacular car. He invited me to enjoy the view from the driver's seat. Next time, I'll make arrangements for a ride.

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The director of the BCA's Pre-War Division showed his excellent 1913 Buick touring, which was continuously swarmed by an enthusiastic public:

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The owner of this 1931 series 50 car displays his collection of Lalique crystal hood ornaments along with the pristine Buick.

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This fine '38 Special coupe is a regular favorite at the Puyallup show.

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One of Buick's milestone 1941 models -- this one is a Super sedan:

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This year's show brought fabulous Buick convertibles from every year from 1946 through 1949.

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Here's a fine '46 model, wearing the soft yellow and burgundy interior that looks so elegant on these Buick convertibles.

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Here's a '47 Roadmaster, and you'll note a '49 Roadmaster Riviera alongside.

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Those who attended the Buick Centennial meet might recall Veryl & Karen Reamer's completely original 1947 Super sedan. The Reamers' display of the car's original documentation attracts great attention from the public, who turned out by the thousands for the celebration. Needless to say, this venue provides a great opportunity to share our vintage Buicks and make people aware of the BCA.

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My favorite of the early postwar Buicks on hand was this superbly-restored 1950 Special sedanette. A friend of mine engaged in the complete restoration of a 1950 Olds 98 with the same roofline was on hand to study the excellent craftsmanship exhibited by this gorgeous Buick.

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You might also remember from Flint the striking 1952 Super convertible driven by Yano Piccoli.

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We were fortunate this year to have three very fine 1953 Specials on hand. Mark and Carol Merritt recently completed the restoration of this fine sedan, handling every detail of the project entirely by themselves. The results are most impressive.

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Here are shots of another '53 Special sedan that we saw for the first time this year.

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There were so many Buicks to see and so many wonderful Buick people to visit with that I was literally on my feet for thirteen hours straight. As you can probably tell, the show made me proud, once again, to be a Buick guy. The level of quality of the Buicks displayed was first-rate, and the public could not fail to be impressed by the beauty and style of these vintage Buicks.

The following day, another major marque club utilized the same venue for its major annual show in the area. Turnout was about one-third the turnout that we saw for the Buicks, and there was not a single car older than 1955 displayed. Even the newer cars lacked the fine originality or quality restorations of our Buicks, and it struck me again that the BCA is a great organization.

When there's time, I'll initiate a separate thread to cover some of the memorable V8-era Buicks.

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