Joseph P. Indusi Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 (edited) There were two 1949 Roadmaster convertibles used in the movie "Rain Man" as most of you know. The other one was in the Greenwich Concours de Elegance held June 4-6, 2016 in Greenwich Connecticut. I was invited to display my 1953 Special Riviera hardtop in the Saturday showing of US made cars. I located the other 49 Roadmaster Convertible at this meet. It is owned by Wayne Carini of the TV show Chasing Cars. He was the Grand Marshal of the Greenwich Concours. I will try to attach a photo of the 1949 Roadmaster and my 1953 Special. Joe, BCA 33493 Edited July 5, 2016 by Joseph P. Indusi Misspelling in title (see edit history) 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1953mack Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 13 hours ago, Joseph P. Indusi said: There were two 1949 Roadmaster convertibles used in the movie "Rain Man" as most of you know. The other one...I located the other 49 Roadmaster Convertible... I disagree with your statements noted. Would you be willing to share where you got that information from? Thanks. Al Malachowski BCA #8965 "500 Miles West of Flint" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph P. Indusi Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 I will check into it as I do not have a ready reference handy. Perhaps someone on this forum has a reference. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph P. Indusi Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 The article on page 34 of the July issue of the Buick Bugle, written by Pete Phillips, states there were two 49 Roadmasters used in filming the movie. I do not have another source for this at this time. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38Buick 80C Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Article from circa 2009 http://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hcc/2009/10/Rain-Man-Ryan-s-Ride---1949-Buick-Roadmaster/2108691.html article from 2012 http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/11/29/definitely-an-excellent-car-rain-man-buick-heads-to-auction/ article from 2015 http://mashable.com/2015/12/18/rain-man-buick-roadmaster/#VkzyQWibyiqq 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Estate Wagon Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 (edited) Wow, United Artists rented one of the cars for $357.50 a week for about 5 months in 1988! Where are these guys and are they looking to rent a Riviera or two? Kevin Kinney Edited July 5, 2016 by Estate Wagon Forgot (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick5563 Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Actually the rate has gone up. I got $175 a day recently for a movie. I drove it in costume and got paid minimum scale of $51, so the car is worth more than I am. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph P. Indusi Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 (edited) In addition to the sources Brian found, I found several others, such as: Artdaily.org of 7/5/2016, Autoweek.com of 12/16/15, and Heritage Auctions press release of 11/14/2012. I think it is pretty clear that there were two 1949 Buick Roadmaster Convertibles used in filming this movie. I am not sure, but I think 1953Mack may feel that the Buick I photographed at Greenwich is possibly the same Buick reported in the Buick Bugle July 2016 issue and photographed by Howard Kroplick at the Amelia Island Concours. However, the article in the Bugle says the car is owned by the movie producer Barry Levinson while the one I photographed at Greenwich claimed it was owned by Wayne Carini. So either they are the same car and Carini purchased the car from Levinson between the two shows or the car I photographed is indeed the other Rain Man car. If we can get the VIN numbers off both cars for comparision, we can know for sure. Or maybe these are the same car and there is only one VIN number. Joe, BCA 33493 Edited July 6, 2016 by Joseph P. Indusi (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim65 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 since I purchased my 53 Buick special convertible , been browsing earlier models , love the 42 to 49 , recently seen a beautiful 47 same age as me ! Think may have bought if seen before I d seen the 53 , tempted now ,but big hole in pension ,perhaps in a year or two when wife has accepted my first purchase! cheers guys pilgrim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph P. Indusi Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 My 53 Special 45R has Dynaflow and power steering and is easy to drive. I think the front of the 53 has a really great 50's look. I had a 48 Special Sedanet, Model 46S, and while it did have a great look, especially from the side view, it was not all that easy to drive. The rear fenders bulged out from the body and the slanting torpedo back made the rear window not very useful, and the rear end ratio was 4.45 to 1 making the engine RPM's kind of high for traveling on most 4 lane highways. I had it changed to a 3.41 to 1 at substantial cost. I liked that car but the 53 is much more enjoyable, at least for me. Post a photo of your 53 convertible; I would bet interested in seeing a real one instead of the Buick catalog renderings. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1953mack Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 19 hours ago, Joseph P. Indusi said: . Don't believe everything you read in the BUGLE. It's another example of not editing-out the bogus info and you need to read the fine print on Page 5 of that same issue. Ask me how I found out, if anyone's interested. Al Malachowski BCA #8965 "500 Miles West of Flint" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'm interested. How did you find out? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans1965 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Dear all, in the June 2016 issue of the British 'Octane' magazine there is a very interesting 5-page story about the Roadmasters they used in the movie. They interviewed the director Barry Levinson and he said they had three cars but only two appeared in the movie. In fact, Carini only restored one car for Levinson and it still belongs to Levinson. Tomorrow I scan the article for you guys. Too late here in Germany already. Hans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans1965 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 On page 1 of the article you see the front in full. The car restored by Carini and owned by Levinson has a number plate with 368 P9C (Ohio Hamilton) Maybe that helps. They do not mention the VIN in the article. The other movie car was purchsed by Dustin Hoffman but sold a few years ago. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph P. Indusi Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 It appears that the 49 Roadmaster in the Buick Bugle photo on page 34 and the car in the photo that I took at the Greenwich Concours both have the same front registration plate number 368-P9C. So I checked the Greenwich Concours registry and found that the car is listed as belonging to Wayne Carini, who I greeted briefly while at the Greenwich Concours. In addition, the photo in the Bugle shows the plaque indicating the owner as Barry Levinson. This would imply that my previously stated explanation that the car was sold by Levinson to Carini in between the two events might possibly be true. So I was in error when I stated that the car I photographed is the other 1949 Roadmaster used in the film Rain Man. My apologies to everyone for my wrong assumption. However, the article in the Bugle may be correct, the car was likely owned by Barry Levinson at the time of the Amelia Island Concours. Also, I think the research by Brian DePouli and me indicates that there were more than one 1949 Buick Roadmaster used in filming this movie. Joe, BCA 33493 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1953mack Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 (edited) On 7/6/2016 at 8:53 PM, Joseph P. Indusi said: Re: Page 34, July 2016 BUGLE article IMO...wrong page, wrong month, wrong year for accuracy...but the correct magazine name. You might want to read what I consider the most accurate article that I have run across, to date, on the RAIN MAN 1949 Buicks. I say "most accurate" because it was published shortly after the film was released (before any signs of false memory syndrome occurences by others) and explains what all THREE same-colored Buicks were used for. The article includes pictures and information from the production company's transportation coordinator, Bill Gray, who was responsible for and found all three Buicks...the Sequoia Cream leased one from California that the Owner permitted the film company to repaint a "non-factory cream color" for the movie and then, repainted back to Sequoia Cream, before it was returned to the Owner...the Ohio Buick...and the Canadian Bondo-bucket Buick. The article also explains why 1951 Buick wheel covers (sic) were used in lieu of the OEM 1949 Buick wheel covers. Kudos on a well written, 6-page article, by Helen V. Hutchings, BCA President (1985-1987), BCA #9972, in the MARCH 1989, BUICK BUGLE. Al Malachowski BCA #8965 "500 Miles West of Flint" Edited July 9, 2016 by 1953mack The Canadian Buick, not the Ohio Buick, was the Bondo bucket. (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph P. Indusi Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 Al: Thank you for your detailed response in post #16 directly above. However, I still think the article in the July 16 issue of the Buick Bugle regarding the 1949 Roadmaster as having been used in Rain Man is correct. Unfortunately, I wrongly assumed that the car in the Greenwich Concours was a different car because the owner was listed as Wayne Carini while the Bugle article listed the owner as Barry Levinson. In regard to the accuracy of Buick Bugle articles, I think the editorial staff does a good job every month to bring articles of interest to the BCA membership. If you feel that strongly about "bogus" information appearing in the Bugle, perhaps you should volunteer to do reviews of all the articles submitted. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim65 Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 (edited) Hi Joe as my car is mid Atlantic on its way to me on Cyprus I couldnt take a photo myself so I have provided the link the car dealers gateway created. https://shar.es/1jNpUS hope it works will post my own photos as soon car arrives . cheers pilgrim Edited July 7, 2016 by Pilgrim65 Incorrect link info (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim65 Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Link should read https://shar.es/1jNpUS hope this works cheers pilgrim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim65 Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Hi joe hope you like the car , saw your 53 smart in black, note auto and power steering, little concerned hope I'm going to cope with manual and no power steering, but considering it's been driven for over 60years must be ok just different. Will post my reactions to my first drive. Probably take me back to my first car a 1952 Austin A40 Somerset , manual column change no power steering , a. Model which. I doubt ever reached the states. cheers pilgrim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph P. Indusi Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 Pilgrim: Beautiful restoration on a very desirable and smart looking car. I think you will enjoy this car very much and most important use it in good health. If you have any questions about it, just send me a private mail. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Wayne Carini restored Mr. Levinson's car and showed it at Amelia Island in this week's episode of Chasing Classic Cars. Mr. Levinson was announced as the owner. The episode aired on Velocity this past Tuesday night. Mr. Carini's daughter is autistic, like Dustin Hoffman's character was in the movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50jetback Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 4 hours ago, Pilgrim65 said: Probably take me back to my first car a 1952 Austin A40 Somerset , manual column change no power steering , a. Model which. I doubt ever reached the states. cheers pilgrim Pilgrim, Trust me - it won't!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim65 Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 50jetblack thanks that made me chuckle ! joe , thanks , think it's the the most beautiful car I've ever owned , really excited , and thanks for your wishes about good health, 70 next birthday and had a few problems getting there , but quite good now apart from hip which I will get sorted. But lucky as many of my friends are not as good and even lost some , so determined to enjoy life with my Buick for a few years yet . Good health wishes to you to and the rest of the guys on the forum cheers pilgrim 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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