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No Buicks!


Wooly15

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Just wrapped up my second day at Myrtle Beach's huge Run to the Sun car show and I saw absulutley NO 50's Buicks. Not a single one. Granted there are 3100 cars here and I may have missed them, but I walked for two days and only saw a few pre-war and a few 60's wildcats. Having a 56 myself, I really had my eyes open hoping to see some. There was definitely no shortage of 55/56/57 Belairs!

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It is kind of nice showing up to car shows with the only 50s Buick. The last show I went to, some guy named Jerry Ruth walked up to me and said he has a 425 in the garage he's been dying to put in something. Talked about Nailheads a bit, then some guy pulled up in a model A, waved his hand and he was gone. It was only later that I knew I was talking to a Pacific NW legend. So you never know who might wander over to look at your old Buick.

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3 hours ago, JohnD1956 said:

But with 3100 cars to look at, chances are you won't be sitting by your own car to greet them. 

If 1500 of them are 55 belairs you can get through everything pretty quick. You can only look at so many before you start passing them by. Belair white noise.

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Envy you guys 3100 cars to look at, lucky if we get 31pre 70s .

also as an ignorant Brit on matters concerning Chevy and Buick ,

if there was so many bel airs and little or no buicks at show, wondered did they make a lot more 50s chevys than Buick or have they lasted better, still amazing , was it advertised as a Chevy show 

cheers

pilgrim

Edited by Pilgrim65 (see edit history)
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Pilgrim, This is just from my observation. I have no facts to back up the following:  In my opinion most car guys, in America, want what they had in High School.  A lot of those cars were Chevies and Fords.  So a lot of cars resurrected now are Chevies and Fords.  But that's not to say the Chevies and Fords were better because there are more of them now.  

But they were not really bad to begin with.  If anything they were just , a little less sexy from the manufacturer.   Many of these cars which have not been modified began life as standard cars, with either 6 cylinder or small V8's.  The idea of a low powered engine in a classic car is something not so much appreciated.  Todays cars are pushing  3 and 4 times as much power as these older cars. And todays cars are generally considered more "reliable" .  So a number of people believe that it's important to update the vehicle. 

And in terms of updating the classic vehicle, there are very few alternatives for a "NEW" engine.  Mostly there are Chevy 350 motors which can be bought new, so, in the name of upgraded power, and reliability, many cars which are now hotrods or modifieds, are powered by Chevy motors.

 

For some cars it may make sense.  But I maintain that my 61 year old Buick has no further need to prove it's reliability, nor it's power quotient.  One can only drive so fast, or hard, on todays roads.  And I like to enjoy my ride.  I'd rather spend twenty minutes driving 5- 10 miles than 18 seconds, or less, driving a 1/4 mile.

 

And I acknowledge that to each person, his own desires.  I am sure there are many who would rather do that 1/4 mile in 14 seconds or less. 

 

 

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JohnD1956

agree with your theory on high school , but mentioned in another post the wish to replicate our college time cars ,  highlights the difference in standard of living in the 50s and 60s between US and U.K. As I've no wish to have my transport. To make a comparison I went to college from 63 to 68 I stated with a 1952 Austin A40 bought for about 50 dollars , moving up to a victor estate , both what we termed bangers. Only a few of my compatriots had better , some drove imps, minis , frog eye sprites , mga s and couple of triumphs  mostly few years old , obviously some parents helped so some kids had newer models, but no one had luxury like jags or big healeys. Most College attendees are aged 17 to 21 . Therefore  how old were the cars high school kids in states at that time . Were they driving cars like mine 53 convertible or corvettes mustangs , Tbirds and the like . Big difference, wow if I'd had a car like that , could have dated half the college females ! That's probably why I crave such beauties now. 

 

i also concur regarding driving speeds , very happy driving Ruby at 50/55 , probably considered boring by your muscle car enthusiasts. My friend in Arizona , said I could have bought an amazing Camero for the same money.  I think he has a 2005 or 2007 beast. Actually don't often exceed 70 in my juke either, so he may be a little impatient when he visits next month.

He should have come 20 years ago when I had a cobra replica with a  427 under the hood , one scary motor!

cheers

pilgrim

Edited by Pilgrim65
Mistake (see edit history)
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Why so many Chevrolets at a car show?  Compare the number of Buicks sold to that of Chevrolet, and you begin to see.  But Buick was number 3 at 4 in terms of sales in '54 and 55, approaching a half million cars in '54, and even better in '55.  Go on the HAMB website and look up a thread called "Vintage Shots from Days Gone By."  Lots of pictures of street scenes, and you see a lot of Buicks, reflecting their popularity in the day.

 

What happened?  Chevrolets got trendy, were saved more frequently, parts makers started reproducing things, to the point that now you can build a 55-57 from scratch, using new parts.  That makes it easier and cheaper, and therefore more trendy.

 

Buicks?  Quirky, limited parts, but a lot more car re. mechanics and style, and trendy ain't everything.

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25 minutes ago, Fr. Buick said:

Why so many Chevrolets at a car show?  Compare the number of Buicks sold to that of Chevrolet, and you begin to see.  But Buick was number 3 at 4 in terms of sales in '54 and 55, approaching a half million cars in '54, and even better in '55.  Go on the HAMB website and look up a thread called "Vintage Shots from Days Gone By."  Lots of pictures of street scenes, and you see a lot of Buicks, reflecting their popularity in the day.

 

What happened?  Chevrolets got trendy, were saved more frequently, parts makers started reproducing things, to the point that now you can build a 55-57 from scratch, using new parts.  That makes it easier and cheaper, and therefore more trendy.

 

Buicks?  Quirky, limited parts, but a lot more car re. mechanics and style, and trendy ain't everything.

Agree style with class !

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1 minute ago, Beemon said:

Oh, the car show I went to was local with maybe 60 cars. That seems overwhelming.

That was the biggest show I've ever been to and It was very overwhelming. There's just not enough time to see everything. There was also no rhyme or reason to anything. I wish they'd organize by decade so you could prioritize.

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If you were asking me, I would say movies is the answer to why the chevy's are more popular today.  Think about it, all of the old movies that had street racing scenes had the chevy.  If Hollywood had only chosen to go with the Buick instead, you would most likey have seen the inverse in popularity.  I think chevy's are very overrated on all levels. -_-  To add on,  in my 36 years of my life in Virginia, besides my Dad's Buick and my own, I have only seen 3 others total.  Compared to all the cookie cutter chevy's I have seen.

Edited by Kosage Chavis (see edit history)
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On 3/19/2017 at 1:20 PM, JohnD1956 said:

 

 

For some cars it may make sense.  But I maintain that my 61 year old Buick has no further need to prove it's reliability, nor it's power quotient.  One can only drive so fast, or hard, on todays roads.  And I like to enjoy my ride.  I'd rather spend twenty minutes driving 5- 10 miles than 18 seconds, or less, driving a 1/4 mile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quoted for truth!!    

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For me, when looking for my first classic I was all about parts and forum/member support as I decided on what  car to pursue.  I know Chevy has enough support one could build an entire 57 Belair right out of the catalog.  I noted Buick has great parts support, membership to clubs and strong forum support.  The final decision was Buick because we just do not see many at all.   Makes it unique in a crowd of similar Chevy's.   I know of 2 other 54 Buicks within 50 miles of me.  I know of zero 1960 Electra around my area.  I know of 20 or so Belair of all flavors around my area.   

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I am from a tradition of matriarchal family groups. My Grandma O'Brien was the ruler, superior with her black Buicks. Early on I noticed that her 9 sons in law aspired to own Buicks, as well, to gain her favor. There was no question in my choice.

Bernie

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On 3/18/2017 at 3:34 PM, Wooly15 said:

Just wrapped up my second day at Myrtle Beach's huge Run to the Sun car show and I saw absolutely NO 50's Buicks. Not a single one. Granted there are 3100 cars here... 

 

Wooly, does that figure of 3100 cars include

both authentic cars and modified?

If so, what percentage would you estimate of each?

 

That does sound like a huge show.

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1 hour ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

 

Wooly, does that figure of 3100 cars include

both authentic cars and modified?

If so, what percentage would you estimate of each?

 

That does sound like a huge show.

That figure covered anything from original condition to drag car. As far as percentage, I'm not sure but I would say there were more modified/resto mods than original. Personally, I prefer original. My favorite of the entire show was a 1959 dodge coronet convertible that was restored to original down to the inspection chalk marks on the firewall. 

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