So You Think You've Seen The '56 Centurion????

As some of you may know I've been putting in several 8 hour days a week of volunteer work at the Sloan Buick Gallery in Flint this month. I've been working with Jacob Gilbert, who handles all of the restoration and automotive related items. I have been having a BLAST working with Jacob on the current project there, a '53 Skylark. I feel truly privileged to have been a part of the Skylark restoration as well as to have been able to see things behind the scenes. I've gotten to see a lot of things most people never get to see. Today, I had the distinct honor of being able to work on the 1956 Buick Centurion concept car. This car is simply amazing and pictures DO NOT do it justice. The car just came back from a stay in Atlanta and we are doing some maintenance/preservation work on it. I cannot tell you enough how grateful I am to Jacob and to the Buick Gallery to be able to have an experience like this. To be able to touch a piece of history like the Centurion and to now be part of its story. So as the tag line says, "So you think you've seen the '56 Centurion?". I bet you haven't seen it like this.

(pictures have names explaining what they are showing)

Continued....

Nice pictures. Looks like a great experience.

Totally bad-a$$.

What an experience!

Wow, what a view!!! I am so glad you posted these pictures. I am in awe of the frame construction and the fact that the car stays straight considering the heavy parts bolted to the flat metal. I never would have seen this if you had not posted. I do want to ask however, considering there appears to be no fuel tank, does the car run? What does the engine compartment look like too? That's another thing you never see on any of the concept cars.

Thanks again for posting the pictures Robert.

Looks like maybe a fuel tank hung in that hole in the "trunk". There's brackets on the rear cross-frame that could have held the J-bolts for the tank straps. Also the lower radiator hose isn't connected. From the camera bracket photos, it looks like the camera was - well, huge. Interesting how the front fender / front corners and rear fender top to the rear centerline were previews of 1959/1960 styling. And you can't hardly find a current-year car without a rear-view camera... Thanks for posting those photos!

Very cool! Thanks for posting Robert!

:cool:

No problem guys. Once in a lifetime experience that I felt should be shared with fellow Buick lovers. Got some more photos for you guys today. Today I worked on the brakes on the Centurion. Specifically the parking brake which is currently broken. Anyway, to answer your questions guys, the Centurion NEVER RAN. It wasn't finished. I would venture to guess the car is 75% done but it's almost like the designers gave up. Either that, or they ran out of time. There are a lot of unfinished things and things that would need to be fixed before the car could run under its own power.

Starting with the engine. There is no distributor and never was. There is an emergency brake cable holder bolted to a chrome plate that blocks off the distributor hole. There is also normally a large fiberglass cover on the firewall that covers the rear view camera picture tube and electrical. This cover would make it impossible to have a distributor there. We have this cover removed in the photos. Next, as someone pointed out, the lower radiator hose is too short and not connected. There is no exhaust manifold on the passenger side of the engine. There is no throttle linkage to link the four carbs. to the pedal nor anywhere for one to even go through the firewall. There are no heater hoses connected to the nipples on the water pump. There is no coil nor plug wires.

The car does have some type of Dynaflow under it but it is not plumbed or connected in any way. No fuel lines, no fuel tank, and no front brake lines. And the most interesting discovery we have made is that the rear end of the car is not square. Where the torque tube meets the trans is off by a good 3-4 inches. The designers fashioned a plate that they bolted to the trans. off center so that the torque tube could be bolted to this plate. That means there cannot be a splined shaft inside that torque tube. Or perhaps they just cut the end off. That means this car would NEVER have been able to transfer power from the trans. to the rear end. Speaking of the rear end, we think at one time it had some type of radius rod which appeared to be hitting the body. So they VERY crudely cut away the brackets on the axle and installed large chains to hold up the axle. Seems like a quick fix to be sure

Some more interesting tid bits, the car is wired to run all of the electrical acessories from a 110 electrical system. Guessing this is so they could simply plug it in at Motorama shows. This system no longer functions as it is heavily worn and cut/spliced. The rear view camera is missing and no one knows how, when, or why it was removed. I find the writing in the "trunk" area particularly fascinating. Notice that it says "XP301" on the wood cross beam and the bottom of the camera frame work. Maybe this was an early designation or maybe even a nickname for this car? The car also has air bags in the rear instead of shocks. These can be inflated and deflated to raise or lower the rear end. One of these bags is ripped currently, causing the car to lean. We are going to replace that bag as part of our process.

I've got to say, as a car guy it is ultimately fascinating (and frustrating) to look at this car in its 75% finished state and wonder how and why they never took it the rest of the way. Jacob and I have daydreamed about undergoing an operation to finish this car and get it moving under it's own power for the first time in its history. How cool would that be?? But, that's just a daydream. Enjoy the pictures guys and gals.

I thought I had heard that it did not run. How sad.

Just wow.... what a great experience for you thanks for sharing all of the pictures. Umm yes it would be awesome to see it cruise around under its own power...

Robert

Thanks for the pictures and the story about the car.

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It may be a day dream to think about finishing it, but hey, that could be a fun exercise for here. I imagine I would start by correcting the rear axle to trans alignment. If that could be done, then I'd probably strip the 110 Volt electrical to make room for the rest of the systems needed. Where would you go from there?

bringing this back up. one of my favorite threads in a while. What a great opportunity for you Robert. Looks like a very nice and nicely equipped shop.

LUV this picture

I Like Big Buick Butts And I Cannot Lie !

Thanks Lamar. It was an amazing experience. Every time I go there I do and/or see something awesome. I've logged 139 hours of volunteer time there so far and I have truly loved every minute of it.

I'm glad you brought it back up too because apparently I never saw John's post above. John, it is fun to daydream about it. You're right about correcting the alignment issue. That would have to be corrected before anything else could proceed. I think it could be done with a little time and effort. You are also right about stripping the 110 electrical out. That stuff is like spaghetti under there and runs everywhere. It has been added to and patched countless times over the decades too. A mess to be sure.

The next step would be to remove the engine and transmission and have them completely rebuilt. There's no telling what may lurk inside those. For all we know they may be missing major internal components to cut down on weight. After having them rebuilt and dropped back in it would simply be a matter of making some room to add things such as the distributor and passenger side exhaust manifold. That wouldn't be that difficult.

Then it would be on to the typical restoration type stuff (wiring, plumbing, etc.). The biggest hurdle left would be exhaust. There is just nowhere under there to run exhaust. The underside is basically a big flat piece of fiberglass. Any exhaust you would run would hang down and be visible under the car. It would also be running very close to the fiberglass which may not work out too well. Another large hurdle I just thought of would be linking the transmission to the unusual "shifter". It is supposed to shift into gear by turning a knob in the center of the steering wheel. No actual linkage exists and never did.

All in all, I think it could be done. It never will be most likely, but it is fun to think about it.

Yes, it is fun to think about it. Actually, I was totally surprised to find it never ran. I suppose it was the most expeditious way to "complete it" in time for events back then, but I kinda feel like I was robbed.

I saw it yesterday!

Just caught this thread. Great work on a great concept car.

Thought I'd bring this back up and commend Robert on the great article in this months Bugle. What a great opportunity and experience, not only to to have been able to work on the car but also to see first hand all the little secrets of it. Thanks for sharing all those "secrets" with us Robert.

Edit) I see my favorite picture disappeared from my post above.

Thought I'd bring this back up and commend Robert on the great article in this months Bugle. What a great opportunity and experience, not only to to have been able to work on the car but also to see first hand all the little secrets of it. Thanks for sharing all those "secrets" with us Robert.

 

Edit) I see my favorite picture disappeared from my post above.

 

Agreed !!

This has to be the coolest view of one of the Koolest Buick Dream Cars ever !!

Did I see this one at the GM Motorama at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City in the fall of 1953?? Dad and Mom took us to the Motorama every year.

I really enjoyed seeing the pictures and re reading Roberts story!  And once again I felt like it was just a shame they never made that a running car!