TG57Roadmaster
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Posts posted by TG57Roadmaster
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Soooo cute, does she work the local crafts shows or what?
TG
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What a dreamy '57! On the body data plate on your firewall, I'll wager the "Paint Code" reads; EC, which translates to Biscay Blue & Dover White. If it's FC, then it's the spring color Mariner Blue.
The Blue Sweepspear color is correct, per a Buick Service Update issued during the production run.
In many '57's, in an effort to "polish" the engine-turned dashboard fascia, the applique has been inadvertantly rubbed off. What's yours like? If it's shiny and <span style="font-style: italic">has</span> been scrubbed away, the good news is that, regardless of model, they all interchange. (Specials were not so-equipped.)
Should the need arise to buy body parts, realize that the "B" body (Century & Special) and "C" body (Super & Roadmaster) differ in many ways. Don't make the mistake and pop for the gorgeous NOS grille offered up, 'cause it may not be wide enough for your big ol' Buick. Even the interior door handles differ.
If you don't mind sharing, give us the VIN #, so we can tell you in which plant it was assembled, and the approximate range of build-date. Also, take your back seat bottom out and look for a pink tag wedged in the spring; that'll be date-coded, as well. Your standard power seat should have a date stamped on the motor, to further date its place in the production run.
How exciting to welcome another '57 to the fold, and a <span style="font-style: italic">convertible</span> to boot! As you learn more about your beauty, consider going to the optional (and often-seen) Tangerine (red) Wheel color. Most Buicks back in the day had 'em, but they fell from favor as the years wore on. When mine undertook that simple tweek,
she went from <span style="font-style: italic">fine</span> to <span style="font-weight: bold">fabulous!</span>
Wow, you made my day!
TG
Mine is 7D6008435
7=70 Series
D=1957
6=Atlanta Assembly Plant <span style="font-weight: bold">*</span>
008435=Sequential build number
<span style="font-weight: bold">*</span>:1=Flint; 2=Southgate, CA; 3=Linden, NJ; 4=Kansas City, 5=Wilmington, DE; 7=Framingham, MA; 8=Arlington, TX
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Thanks JF,
Your wife's talents are obvious! I strongly suggest she download the Texas DOT pdf document noted at the top of this thread and take a gander (pun intended) at some of the styles of stations shown.
I think her sales would soar skyward, much like our little friends for which she's making lovely homes.
The roof shingles are an especially nice touch and bring to mind, "Jonesy's Standard Oil" station in LaFayette, IN, that my buddy Dave & I encountered on our way back from my folk's house in Michigan. My late mother <span style="font-style: italic">lived</span> for the birdies that visited her home in the Upper Peninsula of the "Wolverine State."
TG
Would that I could fill up with "Ethyl" at 27.9 a gallon!
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Dear ChaplainLar,
It's a pity that beautiful autos such as your Essex don't command the prices you'd expect. There is no <span style="font-style: italic">one</span> answer to your question, but here are a few random musings. As the "hobby" population expands each year, the supply of available automobiles <span style="font-weight: bold">*</span> decreases. Supply and demand comes to mind, but it doesn't seem to apply to "Grampa Cars," especially Orphan Makes. Please know that I love both, and have longed for my Great-uncle Bill's 1923 Dort Sedan since I was about 10 years old. Now, a sprightly 49, as I look around at the "graying" of folks who actually lived with those cars, it's no wonder that in a sense, you can't give 'em away.
Everybody wants the "Hot Cars" of their youth, the ones they couldn't afford/lusted after/best friend had one...it's all cyclical. I won't rant here about the role auctions play in this ring-around-the-rosy game (I've done that plenty, on other threads), but the fact is, there's nothing "hot" or "exciting" about stodgy old cars, <span style="font-style: italic">especially</span> 4-door sedans. That your Essex is Hudson's "Junior, or Companion" Make, doesn't help much either. If it was a roadster or convertible, now <span style="font-style: italic">that</span> would be "hot," and thus more saleable.
It's also a matter of taste; do you appreciate the car's inherent beauty, or is it an investment, something to retire on/put the kids thru college with/gonna pay off big at <span style="font-weight: bold">B-J</span> in 2015? Also, consider <span style="font-weight: bold">your own life's experiences</span>: I was; lucky to see Harrah's Collection in 1968 at the top of its form; thrilled at the diversity of my initial "car show experience," which was in 1971 at the first-ever Nash-LaFayette Club Meet in my then-new home of Kenosha, WI. Should I be ashamed to have been "tainted" at such a ripe, young age? Never. Cop a plea based on the <span style="font-style: italic">"Weak father, Strong mother"</span> syndrome? Hardly.
Pity the poor fools who only see and are limited to one thing, and one thing alone, (and it doesn't just apply to cars, either), for they're forever locked in an endless pissing contest, trying to regain lost youth (or loves, or back hair). Drive the <span style="font-style: italic">you know</span> <span style="font-weight: bold">what</span> out of that pretty Essex of yours, 'cause in the end,
just like Bill Harrah, you can't take it with you.
And try to remember that, <span style="font-style: italic">most of all</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold">America Loves Cheese!</span> <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
TG
<span style="font-weight: bold">*</span> This theory does not apply to Red Cars, Muscle Cars,
"classic" '57 Chevys and/or Mustangs,
or any combination thereof.
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Roberta,
Don't want to give the end of the movie away, but it'll look <span style="font-style: italic">something</span> like this,
just without the trailer, and with the windows rolled down!
TG
(Shoulda scanned it in Black & White!)
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You always did go for those important jobs with "big names & cachet." <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
TG
Former International News Media Distributor.
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You're right; in the case of where I live, The City of Anderson, SC, they were going to pull down two old gas stations to make way for a parking lot for a planned $6 million Municipal Center. They'd bought the properties, were ready to start demo, when I got a call from the AACA Hornets Nest office in Charlotte. The widow of the owner of the Texaco station, a porcelain-enamel Streamline Moderne beauty built in 1957, had called up there to let them know about some parts she had, pretty much at giveaway prices.
These buildings are like big Erector Sets, and arrived in semi-trailers to be put up. I stopped by to look at Mrs. Drake's parts and graciously declined; I wasn't interested in the parts, but as I looked around the empty box that had been a part of Anderson's history since 1930, a light bulb went off.
Knowing what folks shell out for signs, gas pumps, etc., I approached the city with a deal. Sell the station on ebay, make a little money, save the landfill, and let the building live on, just not on its original site. This 1957 model was the third version of a Texaco station located there.
The city "bit," I ran the auction, and 49 bids later it sold for $3,552.00, to a car guy (ACD Club) whose son came, dismantled it & carried it away in a semi-trailer truck. The plans for its future life call for its transformation into a Deli/Burger Joint, with an automobilia/petroliana theme.
I'd told them to expect some publicity, but had no idea how hot the concept was till we fielded a call from the A.P. Newswire. Talk about a home-run! Similar stations have been sold that way before, just not by a municipality. In this one instance it shows what can happen when you think
<span style="font-weight: bold">"Inside the Box"</span>
TG
(It came with a site blueprint for the first 1930 bldg., pix of the 1940 initial streamline 2-bayer,
and a complete set of blueprints (typicals) for the 1957 renovation into a 3-bayer!)
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<span style="font-style: italic">Priorities</span> West, <span style="font-weight: bold">priorities!</span>
TG
What a <span style="font-weight: bold">great</span> shot of your own!
(This one, formerly Pure Oil, will live on in Hartwell, GA (on the Dixie Trail),
as a Visitor's Center. Note the CVS strip mall going up behind it.)
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Okay, you're driving your DreamMobile down the road, it's a beautiful day, and you pass one of these old <span style="font-style: italic">Sentinels of Service</span>, a "retired" gas station. "Wonder what brand it sold, you ask yourself or your travelling companion(s)?" If you've brought along your Kodak, you might even turn around and get a snapshot.
'Cause, chances are, it may not be there on your next trip through.
These vestiges of Vanishing America are going away faster than the price of ethyl is going up. The reasons are many: We need another Quickie Mart/CVS/"Touchless" Car Wash; new zoning regs demand these structures <span style="font-style: italic">Must Come Down</span>; 'cause they're an eyesore; and so on...
The long-abandoned vision above greeted us on a return from Charleston, SC, after a BCA Carolina Chapter Show at Sentry Buick. Taken around 1993, I'll lay odds this haunting image is no longer around. Luckily, many (especially the ones in towns) have been given a new lease on life as Antique Shops, Hair Salons, Florists, you name it. We see them all the time, too, and really should thank the owners for their preservation efforts.
The Texas DOT made a study of their historic gas stations, and published a very handy Field Guide to help while you're out on the road. It's a decade-by-decade, (major) company-by-company, treasure trove of information, one that you should add to your travelling library ASAP. It's loaded with station styles, nomenclature, design elements, diagrams, a great glossary, and an even better bibliography. There's also a section on listing these Historic Structures on the National Register.
Best of all, it's FREE!
Happy Motoring,
TG
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In the <span style="font-style: italic">Film Noir</span> flic, "Detour" (1945, with Tom Neal & Ann Savage), there's a most unusual '41 Continental that dominates the film. It's been modified though, having no hood ornament and wearing '42-style rear fenders, while keeping the previous models' verticle, slanted taillights.
I know I'm not dreaming, but could this have been a wartime conversion (say an accident repair)? Most of all, does this ersatz, prewar-postwar example still exist? Try explaining <span style="font-weight: bold">those</span> mods to your judging team captain!
This "B" film, while grainy and poorly shot, does possess a great deal of "Vanishing America" roadside visuals, making it definitely worth a look-see. Both the sordid plot & period dialog redeem it wonderfully, too.
TG
(I apologize ahead of time for the fuzzy pix.)
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The door is where you'll find the only VIN (Serial #) on your Olds. Depending on which state you live in, that door # should suffice. There are other posts recently about folks having trouble in California with only the door-mounted Serial Number. Type in Olds VIN (or, Oldsmobile VIN) in the "Search" feature (within the last month) of the Forum and look for a '52 Olds question similar to your own.
TG,
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Ivan,
I think your position is quite clear. A good rant every now and then is what makes for well-rounded elected officials...Let's just hope that none of your constituents are <span style="font-style: italic">econazis</span>, and that they don't know about your <span style="font-style: italic">double-life</span> on these Forums! A broad comment, based on the assumption that they can <span style="font-weight: bold">read</span>.
My life in the hobby began with the cars strewn in the woods and fields around my Grampa's defunct Standard gas station and auto body shop. The emblems I took off them (in the mid-'60's) included the brass (trunk-mounted) '42 <span style="font-style: italic">Dodge</span> from the car that my folks had when they were wed. Their <span style="font-style: italic">Wedding Car</span>! It's displayed in my coffee table (an 1850's solid cherry piano bench, <span style="font-style: italic">sans</span> lid), along with many others; what treasures will be left for future generations when all that stuff is "zoned" out of existence?
Lamar, right after we took the Alewine photo, we stopped by the "Top Gun RC Club," on a day they were out flying. Next time I'm in the area, I'll help you unload the "stiff" that's in your '54!
TG
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How about this 1978 Wyoming plate seen at the Central Texas
Museum of Automotive History in Rosanky, Texas?
The museum was founded by Richard Burdick.
TG
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Yo, jd in Long Island,
Whatever became of the <span style="font-weight: bold">Big Duck</span> in Riverhead?
It was sitting pretty in '87 when I took this shot,
and I know it's really not a "Look Up in the Sky" image
(unless you're 3 or 4 years old), but
Enquiring Minds might like to know.
TG
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But the "good" news on this item doesn't end there...
After it beat 'em in Belgrade (no small feat!), it was shipped on the NordDeutscherLloyd's <span style="font-weight: bold">Bremen</span>, just in time for <span style="font-style: italic">Scarlett O'Hara</span> to pilot it in the parade in Atlanta for the Gala Premiere of <span style="font-weight: bold">"Gone With The Wind."</span> From there, it took a ride on the <span style="font-style: italic">Sunset Limited</span> to <span style="font-weight: bold">Hollywood</span>, where <span style="font-weight: bold">Judy Garland</span> was supposed to drive it down the <span style="font-style: italic">Yellow Brick Road</span>. But, Dorothy had [censored]-slapped too many <span style="font-style: italic">Munchkins</span> that day (they had to give her a pill), the director yelled, "<span style="font-weight: bold">CUT!</span>", and the car's career in films went down like the <span style="font-style: italic">Hindenburg</span>.
Here's a never-before-revealed glimpse inside the studio where <span style="font-style: italic">Ms. Gail from Kansas</span>
is getting a "crash-course" driving lesson from the <span style="font-weight: bold">Scarecrow</span>.
TG
Now <span style="font-style: italic">that's</span> a car with a <span style="font-weight: bold">pedigree!</span> Whad'ya think it'll <span style="font-style: italic">fetch</span>?
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Yeah, those were annoying ads...They still use the "Zoom-Zoom" kid,
only just in voice-overs. Like Harry Potter, you can't stop 'em from
growing up.
Word on the "skreet" is that the Z-Z Boy will have a cameo in
Paris Hilton's next Home Movie...a "walk-in" role.
I think I found some hubcaps from that annoying place somewhere in the Southland.
Did a double-take when I laid eyes on these ersatz caps. They must have been sold
thru Warshawsky's or other parts wayerhayouses. You just don't understand South-Speak;
the laying-on of extra, useless syllables is the highest form of "Gentility!"
TG
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What with "Big Brother" coming in and killing all our fun with zoning and such, how long will we be able to see these great Roadside Aerial Autos as Advertising? Here's your chance to dust off the photo albums and show us what you've seen...
TG
Go to my Photo Gallery page for the description.
(Thanks to Centurion for letting us all see the light on inserting pix in our text!)
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I'll save you a trip to the CVS...
West, do you want our playmates to see all four?
It's your game!
TG
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Sled,
Make it whatever you wish...just remember to enjoy taboos
wherever & whenever they appear...
(I wonder if Senator Joe Biden is a Cadillac Man?)
TG
We lived in Durand (note depot name), right across the road from the <span style="font-style: italic">legendary</span> "<span style="font-weight: bold">Durand Dirties</span>",
a notorious XXX-rated Drive-In Movie Theater...didn't even notice it till this post!
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The "Ramble Seat," its ersatz rumbleseat? If this is correct,
I can't answer the 1968 part, but Jeep comes to mind...
How's about throwing doggie a bone?
TG
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Contrary to what many believe, these buildings can be nominated to be placed on the National Historic Register. The City of Anderson was going to tear down a 1957 Texaco streamline moderne gas station, till I suggested that we sell it on ebay. It's been done before, but never by a municipality; I listed it, ran the auction, and it was sold for $3552.00, to a car guy who disassembled it (& hauled it away in a truck, the way it arrived in '57), for later use as a car themed deli/burger joint. Rather than going to the landfill, the City made some money, I made 20% off the top plus listing fees, and an important structure will live on. The resultant publicity bonanza astounded even jaded old me.
Your Buick Deal is another animal altogether, not a "portable erector set" like our station was, but creative thinking, getting tongues wagging is key. Listing on the Register doesn't guarantee salvation, but it does have its benefits.
Good luck,
TG
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There's a curious aside to the '64 225's; the brochures & 8x10 factory stills show a taillight bezel with "twin-tower" vertical strips on the bezel. Some early cars were so-equipped, but they were phased out; I spied this NOS example at the '98 BCA Nat'l in Boston...
Shoulda bought the darned thing!
TG
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Thanks Brian & Bill,
When the Electra 225's six-window hardtop sedans debuted for '61, they called them "Riviera" (their name since '59), then with 1963's intro of the Riviera T-Bird-fighter, they referred to them as 6-Window Pillarless Hardtop Sedans, with the 4-window variant dubbed the Hardtop Sedan.
"Black Beauty" and her ilk were simply Electra 225 Sedans. The two 225's in the garage were a beater '64 225 4-door HT , and a sweet, Autronic-Eyed '64 225 4-door HT, with custom interior, and <span style="font-style: italic">every</span> available option. Didn't get that one, but saw it a few years ago waiting for new upholstery. The former now sits outside at a "resto-rod" shop, sharing space with a variety of clapped out hulks waiting to be "ratted." Wouldn't want it anyway...it had roll-up windows!
Stars in the realm of Misses Davis & DeHavilland should <span style="font-weight: bold">never</span> appear in anything less than a luxury car. Witness this glimpse of Bette (in her Margo Channing era) at a Lambda Car Club Meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway some years ago.
TG
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Right down to the door edge & gas filler guards! There's something about the car that's soooo darned elegant, almost limousine-like. My Uncle Tommy had a '64 225 6-WP Sedan, baby blue with venetian blinds in the backlight, which I always loved, but the sedans are the ones with the real class, in my humble opinion.
Curiously, "Black Beauty" is black (duh!), with the light green interior...my guess is that it was a funeral parlor car. She's awaiting paint, but the interior is in great shape, has the usual stuff plus PW, P-seat & Tilt. She's also got the then-one-year-old AM/FM radio option, complete with the Buick-issue list of FM stations throughout the country.
TG
Does anyone know the name of this car?
in What is it?
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De Soto Frank,
How's about showing these enquiring minds what the covers of those Burness Books look like?
Regardless of their tattered appearance, they look like awesome library additions!
Chadwicks of the early teens had portholes, too, but they were just 3-holers.
TG
Here's a car <span style="font-style: italic">sans</span> portholes that you might enjoy seeing;
It lives in Charlotte, and is <span style="font-style: italic">totally</span> rare.