51' Roadmaster

[Guest Oldie & Goodie]

Finally got the camera and chip back from the kids so it's time to show off our baby to everyone.

We picked up a 51' Roadmaster from a husband & wife in the Buffalo, NY area, we're in the Syracuse, NY area. Wasn't actually looking for this particular vehicle but when we saw it we feel in love with it.

I've been told by people who know a lot more about cars than I do that we have an unrestored original. Has a couple of nicks in the paint, chrome is 95% clean and blemish free. We are enjoying it and have no plans to alter her looks.

[stealthbob]

That is in truly amazing condition...

What a gem you have there...I can smell the old patina from here.

Congratulations, you came across a rare original, take care of it and enjoy!

[JohnD1956]

Oh Man! That is Sweeeetttttt!!!!!! What a great car! Good luck with it!

[buick5563]

Wow!

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Oldie, I am very envious!!

Should be a very enjoyable car.

Ben

[Guest Oldie & Goodie]

Thanks all for the kind words.

We've had her for just over 2 months and have had the pleasure of putting on 700 miles. We even went as far as to enter her in a show and our class had 3 Buicks, a Plymouth, a Chevy and an Oldsmobile. I believe it was a showroom quality 51' Special that took 1st place. We walked away with 2nd and couldn't have been prouder.

[stealthbob]

...as you should be!

Too bad though that the shiny new restorations always win out over such a beautiful original, its the way it is and so be it I guess.

So when you say un-restored...has it ever had a repaint? I have to say that the paint in trunk shot is just amazing.

[serb]

How did I miss this one?

Congratulations on a wonderful car, I am sure you will have many, many years of enjoyment.

[Guest Oldie & Goodie]

So when you say un-restored...has it ever had a repaint? I have to say that the paint in trunk shot is just amazing.

The paint has a molted? look to it up close. The firewall, trunk and body all blend together so we suspect it's all original. Wax too hard and it comes off on the rag.

[Guest Oldie & Goodie]

How did I miss this one?

Congratulations on a wonderful car, I am sure you will have many, many years of enjoyment.

The folks we purchased it from live in East Aurora, NY. I think that's about 20 minutes from you. I was playing around on Craigslist and that's how we came across it.

[serb]

We have been pretty busy this past year, we were packing to move, we moved, we are still unpacking, we are fixing up, painting, etc.

I do not recall seeing that car around here, they must have kept it pretty much to themselves.

Anyway, great purchase, enjoy!

[Guest 827GFZ73]

B-E-A-U-T-F-U-L CAR!! Who woundn't fall in love with this top of the line all-original Roadmaster in this condition. It's one great find you have. The original interior looks fantastic. Looks like no one has ever touched that robe rail behind the front seat back. They are only original once! Congratulations!

Joe

New BCA Member

1973 Buick Regal

[Guest Rob McDonald]

O&G, if you're new to this particular corner of the wonderful old car hobby, you'll be pleased to learn that "survivor" cars like yours are everybody's new flavour favourites. Ten years ago, an owner of this car would have had a hard time giving it away because it wasn't a convertible or a two-door hardtop. Station wagons? fugedaboudit, you'd never get rid of one of those!

Happily, the hobby has evolved and "condition collectible" cars (a phrase coined by Don Peterson, I think) are finally earning the respect that similar artifacts in the art and antiques fields have held for decades. One still hears of low-mileage cream puffs being gutted and restored by people with too much money and apparently not enough trophies. However, even they are starting to feel the disdain of those of us who love the aura (and odour) of a truly original automobile.

(Sorry, folks, I'm going to jump off the Buick rails again. The world's too big for just portholes and sweep spears!)

I once had such a car, which I bought for $800 from the bereaved family of the original owner at the big swap meet in Portland OR, in about 1981. It was a '56 Dodge Coronet - dark metallic red, V8 with Powerflyte, no power steering or brakes, no radio: a real Grampa's car, showing about 70,000 careful miles.

The fins and rear bumper had stuck out of the old fellow's carport for too many wet winters, so the taillight housings were a bit pitted and the chrome on the bumper was thin. The rest of the car looked about two years old.

I had new wide whitewall tires installed (actually intended for my Buick, which still wears them) and drove the Dodge 1500 miles home, incident-free. It looked way better after I swapped the black-walls back on. In my view, Plain Jane cars are not improved at all by whitewalls and too many bolt-on accessories.

As with many old people's last cars, this one hadn't seen a lot of use after probably the first ten years. It did therefore eventually present some mechanical issues. I touched up the heads and put in a set of rings and bearing shells. The front suspension was tired - not lubed often enough, no doubt - so I changed the king pins and the various steering joints. This Dodge and a '57 Chrysler that I later owned are the easiest cars ever to service, equally as well thought-out and logically assembled as my '95 BMW 525i Touring (another US import).

The black and white cloth and vinyl upholstery of the Coronet was spotless. The rubber floor mat in the front compartment had broken up over time and, to tidy things up, I installed a simple black low-pile carpet. I had the rear bumper rechromed ($120) and put in an AM radio from a Custom Royal at a local wrecker. I broke my own rule about gooky accessories, though, and installed the twin tailfin antennas from the wreck, just because they were so cool!

I thoroughly enjoyed this next-to-new Dodge for about three years, touring it all over the province, up to the mountains at Jasper and on camping trips with the local sports car club (my other long-term habit is a '73 MGB, bought new). I could haul the tents and sleeping bags for the whole gang, so that they could bring otherwise dispensables, like spare underwear and toothbrushes, in their own "cars".

As much as I loved the condition of the car and had the highest respect for its design and engineering, I'm really a luxury car guy at heart. The armstrong steering and wind 'em up windows, the stately acceleration and austere accommodations caused me to let the Dodge find another appreciative home. The sale proceeds - considerably more than my $800 purchase price and considerably less than the cost of my improvements - I then tipped into the loooong-term Buick restoration. That's the subject of another thread, for another time.