Dandy Dave Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 (edited) Wake up you Buick Guys and smell this beautiful old 1953 Buick Road Master Woody 79R series. It is like the finest of roses to an old car guy. An old friend of mine has this up for sale. Nice old car with a few minor flaws, but what can one expect after 60 years. The car is mostly original. Look at the Photos and ask me Questions later. The photos tell you more than all the blabber I can write. This car was in Hemmings Classic Car in January of 2012. It was appraised for $63,000 a number of years ago. We will consider serious offers. It runs and drives great. If I had the bucks it would be in my garage right now. The car is located in Hillsdale NY. Send me a PM or Call me at (518) 325-7610 to see this fabulous old Buick in person. Dandy Dave! Edited November 12, 2013 by Dandy Dave Adding more photos (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph P. Indusi Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Where is Hillsdale located in NY? Relative to say Albany.Thanks.Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 (edited) We are between Hudson. NY and Great Barrington Mass along rt. 23. The car is several miles from the NY and Mass, Boarder. 50 Miles south of Albany. Dandy Dave! Edited September 17, 2013 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 (edited) Did I say there were only 670 of these ever built??? Yes. That's right, Only 670 ever Built. It is a rare one. Edited September 17, 2013 by Dandy Dave Adding more photos (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 (edited) And More Photos... Tried to get some of the bottom. A little difficult with the car so low to the ground. Does anyone know if Hunsburger was a Hamburg PA Dealer? Or the wood body builder? Edited September 17, 2013 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest my3buicks Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Hunsburger Buick - Pontiac, not sure if they are still in business or not. That sure is gem, could sit in my garage any day of the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 These are last of the photos that I have for now. If anyone wants a paticular angle let me know and I will take a few more for you. In my opinion, this car is a survivor and should be left so. All that should be done is whatever basic mantainance is required to preserve it, keep it running, and enjoy it. Original and unmolested cars are becomming more desireable everyday and prices are reflecting that. I personally would NEVER DO a complete restoration on this car as it is a beautiful example of the way they were. Nit pickers cannot argue over what color the air cleaner or other parts were when you are looking at an original as it came from the factory. It has been well oiled and maintained by the owner since he purchased it at Hershey in 1975. I have know about this car for many years and can tell you it is a good one. It gets the Dandy Dave stamp of approvel. If you buy it, you will not be sorry. Thanks for looking. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 Hunsburger Buick - Pontiac, not sure if they are still in business or not. That sure is gem, could sit in my garage any day of the week.Thanks. So it was a car dealer then. I googled it and found some old newspaper ads fom the 50's though the 70's. Thanks, Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thriller Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Drool. I'd love to have it, but short of a bucket of money falling in my lap, it is not to be. It certainly appears to be a great car...first year for the V8.I can't say I recall seeing a battery cover like that car has before...neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 Yes Thriller, It is a Beautiful Buy. I take it I should get better photos of that Battery cover and post them for reference. I can see where it would be rare. The first time someone had a weak battery and had to jump it several times that cover would have been left off. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest my3buicks Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 The battery cover is the same that was on my 53, it certainly is one of those items that tended to not be put back on out of convenience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhambulldog Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Very Nice !!To me, green is the best color for a wagon.The body was built by Ionia. Look at the badge on the passenger seat. Instead of "Body by Fisher". You'll see "Body by Ionia"http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/i/ionia/ionia.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted September 18, 2013 Author Share Posted September 18, 2013 (edited) Thanks Bhambulldog. It does mention Ionia as Body /Style Number in the "Standard Catalog of Buick. No designated Number listed, Just the builders name listed. Makes sense. Will look for that and take a few more photos. Thanks, Dandy Dave! Edited September 18, 2013 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhambulldog Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 I noticed that battery cover.I see the plug covers are in place, too. The '53 are different from the later plug covers ('53 wires make a neater appearance, entering the covers through the back...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesWoodieWorld Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 First year of the V8, last year of the Woodie...very, very special.And a Roadmaster at that!!Roadmasters are the true kings of the Roads!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 (edited) This car is on eBay now and has met reserve. One day to go. Bid to win... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=131036715837&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en#ht_1549wt_1133 Edited November 10, 2013 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glassesguy Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Nice car, Dave!!! Agree with you on not restoring it. Maybe freshen up the engine compartment a bit. I'll stick with my Danbury Mint model, though. Easier to store:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 Yup. I've seen the Danbury mint models. They are very nice. I totally agree on the storage issue. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted November 12, 2013 Author Share Posted November 12, 2013 SOLD! Thanks for looking everyone. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesWoodieWorld Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Danbury Mint models may be easier to store, and even seem to be as good investments (if you are into money), but the real fun of owning a Woodie is in driving it...try driving your Danbury Mint model!!When Woodies travel over bumps, they make an unique sound...wood creaking, perhaps...like no other kind of car I have ever enjoyed driving.My first Woodie was a 1946 Ford, and I enjoyed driving it over the speed bumps in a parking lot near my home, to hear the sounds!!Heaven!!Even if you push your Danbury Mint model around, it will not creak like that!!Sorry!!Kudos to the purchaser of this gem, my hat is off to you!!My advice: drive & enjoy it, keep it as original as is possible, and look for special bumps!!And if you want a 100 point show car, don't use this one...There are many basket cases out here that can be saved if you have the bucks...they aren't original any more, and it doesn't cost any more for one of those, since they will need everything, you know??I make new wood for the basket cases, but save any old wood that can possibly be restored to make a "somewhat" original one.Time is against Woodies...save any you can, I try. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick man Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 .... and pray it stays on our shores! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 Buicks don't squeek like Fords. It is staying in the USA. It has found a good family. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosco001 Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 May I ask how much it sold for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted November 25, 2013 Author Share Posted November 25, 2013 eBay. $45,100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesWoodieWorld Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 Buicks don't squeek like Fords. It is staying in the USA. It has found a good family. Dandy Dave! Hey Dave, Perhaps the later 1949-1953 Buick "waistcoat" Woodies don't squeak as much as some of the 1948 & older full wood bodied ones do, but there are Buicks in that earlier category also. I am sure if they didn't squeak when new, they do now!! Perhaps the 49-51 Fords & Mercury's don't squeak as much either, don't know, never enjoyed them!! Woodies have to squeak...it is their nature. LOL Congratulations on your sale, and great sounding buyer, too boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted November 30, 2013 Author Share Posted November 30, 2013 (edited) Hey Dave,Perhaps the later 1949-1953 Buick "waistcoat" Woodies don't squeak as much as some of the 1948 & older full wood bodied ones do, but there are Buicks in that earlier category also.I am sure if they didn't squeak when new, they do now!!Perhaps the 49-51 Fords & Mercury's don't squeak as much either, don't know, never enjoyed them!!Woodies have to squeak...it is their nature. LOLCongratulations on your sale, and great sounding buyer, too boot.Yeah Mike, I could not help but yank your chain. I can hear the Ford guys squeekin and squawkin from here over my comment... LOL. I'm glad this is in Buick Buy and Sell. I just helped a buddy find the car a good home. Nothing in it for me except seeing the car preserved. I know that they took a chance on eBay not knowing where it would end up. Dandy Dave! Edited November 30, 2013 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesWoodieWorld Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 Yeah Mike, I could not help but yank your chain. I can hear the Ford guys squeekin and squawkin from here over my comment... LOL. I'm glad this is in Buick Buy and Sell. I just helped a buddy find the car a good home. Nothing in it for me except seeing the car preserved. I know that they took a chance on eBay not knowing where it would end up. Dandy Dave!OK, chain yanker! LOL When I was a kid, many moons ago, we had an outside toilet with its tank somewhere up near the roof, with a chain to yank when duties were done...Thanks (I think) for the memories!!Those Ford guys probably don't come here in Buick-land, so they are ignorant of our speakings...And of our wonderful Buicks!!Kudos to you for helping preserve another non Ford Woodie!!I believe that Ford produced more Woodies than all the other makers combined, any given year.That is why our Woodie shows are inundated with them...Fords, that is.My first Woodie was a 46 Ford, but I enjoy others more now...30 years later.But I do have some fond memories of that first Woodie...I added some pics of some of my current flock, realizing there are some I need to photograph...All either Buicks or Pontiacs...OK, one of them is a 1957 Rambler...I added some real wood veneer to the sides...it is now a Woodie!! Sorry Romney!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 Hey Mike, Nice mix of Woodys. :cool: I like that Rambler. You don't see many around. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesWoodieWorld Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Thanks, Dave, for the note on the Rambler wagon. They were unit-body, without all the rust proof advantages our current fleet of new cars have, so they mostly rusted away.I was fortunate to find this gem, with some floor rust out, but it had been previously professionally repaired, thankfully.It is extremely solid now, and a survivor.My dad had one like this in the late 1950's, and I enjoyed riding in it, so just had to find one...and did!!It is just as special as my Woodies!!Sorry Buick lovers, to speak of my Rambler here!! LOL Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 Yeah. The few Ramblers I have seen here in years past were rotted from the center of the doors down. No way one would have survived the winters of the not so great north east. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesWoodieWorld Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Dave, I found a 57 Rambler wagon on eBay a few years ago in Minnesota, going cheap, real cheap.I figured it was rusty, but still, I made a deal on it, thinking it would satisfy my "Rambler itch" that was heavy at the time.(How can a Buick Woodie nut get a Rambler itch!!) LOLIt looked good in the pics, black and red with a white roof.By the time it arrived, it had sagged about 6" at the firewall over a large bump in the road!!It was just so very rusty, the floors were completely gone!!Out here in CA, we don't expect that kind of rust!!Well, it led the way for me to find the green one I have, and actually donated many parts to complete this one, so it was good.All's well that ends well, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Phillips Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Mike,I'm a certified Buick nut, too, but I also own a Rambler wagon ('58 Ambassador--pink & white), it is known to happen with us Buick guys on rare occasions, but don't talk it up too much! That '57 looks wonderful.Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Also a Buick guy, but for a good long while we drove a 1962 Rambler Classic 400 4-door sedan with folding-bed seats, factory whitewalls, Dealer add-on A/C, radio delete, 3-on-the-tree, all beige with a bronze vinyl interior. Only 1,248 miles on it when it "found" us through a dear friend in 1987 or so. It had absolutely ZERO RUST !! This was a great driver, and a great FAMILY TOURER until we were able to afford a Buick. The Rambler finally found a new home in Mobile, Alabama. It was a very special car.I also drove a 1960 Rambler American for a while in an earlier life, using my trumpet case to keep the seatback from collapsing backward. I bought it off the back row of a Linden, NJ used car lot because it created a smoke screen, using 8 quarts of "drain" oil for the 120 mile round trip each day for part of my Senior year at Monmouth College in W. Long Branch, NJ. A new set of rings in the 1st two cylinders solved the oil problem - but that is a story for another day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rob McDonald Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 HEY MIKE, I figure that, deep down, any old wagon is a both a woodie and a Buick at heart. These forums have a very understanding moderator (Mr. Earl, SIR!), who lets us wander way off-topic, as long as a good story is being told.Speaking of weird wagons... 1942 Milde-Krieger Electrique. I know absolutely nothing about it, it just showed up on NWC's Photo Of The Day a few months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesWoodieWorld Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Wow, Rob, that looks like a Woodie all the way around, even the front!!And, an electric SUV, no less, in 1942!!Sounds French.I stumbled on this picture of an obscure Woodie...no info except "Martin Stationette". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rob McDonald Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Hey, it's wartime in occupied France; someone had a few batteries and an electric motor. Trees were still available, although steel would have been in short supply. A guy's got to get around somehow.From http://justacarguy.blogspot.ca/2010/08/1950-martin-stationette.html:"James V. Martin was a prolific inventor who spent years designing cars that he hoped someone would be willing to produce. The Stationette was his last attempt. Produced by Commonwealth Research Corp. in New York, NY, this car is an all wooden monocoque construction. It features no axles, shock absorbers, or propeller shaft, which Mr. Martin claimed made it cheaper to build. It was designed to fit the needs of the suburban commuter, as popular acceptance would greatly ease traffic congestion. The Stationette was shown at the 1954 World Motor Sports Show and offered as 'America' Economy Car of the Future.' Mr. Martin failed to convince anyone to produce this car."This doesn't have much to do with the subject at hand but it does continue to be interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share Posted December 7, 2013 Mike,I'm a certified Buick nut, too, but I also own a Rambler wagon ('58 Ambassador--pink & white), it is known to happen with us Buick guys on rare occasions, but don't talk it up too much! That '57 looks wonderful.Pete Phillips, BCA #7338LIKE! Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick man Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 OK, chain yanker! LOL" ....... But I do have some fond memories of that first Woodie... "Mike, I am with you there brother, we too have fond memories of our first Woodie ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesWoodieWorld Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 I think the monitor must be looking at the last entry with...HMMM, just what kind of Woodie does that guy mean?I don't appreciate the sometimes weird looks when I mention I love to restore Woodies,until I explain they are the old wood bodied wagons of days gone past. I had a lady in our local post office, who seemed really friendly to me previously, shrink back when she heard that I restored Woodies, until I explained what Woodies actually were... She had backed away from the counter, until my explanation, but she was old enough to actually remember them!! So all was fine, we finished our transaction, and her friendliness continued. Heaven forbid if she was younger and had no idea of which I spoke, and there are a lot of youngsters who don't know about Woodies. So take heed...I don't tell folks I restore Woodies, I tell them I restore old wood bodied wagons from the 1930's to the early 1950's, and have pictures to show them!! It works way better!! Any of you had any similar experiences? Just wondering, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 <fieldset class="postcontent"><legend> Attached Thumbnails</legend> </fieldset>This reminds me of a BMW Isetta? Could it be a rebodied one?Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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