1949 Buick Roadmaster Riviera

[Hans1965]

Just realized, I have only posted my new car on Facebook but not here. 

Had bought this from Kentucky and picked it up on Friday in Rotterdam. 

Battery was dead, but with a fresh battery and a little gas in the carb it started immediately and ran smoothly. Amazing engine!!! Really happy about the car. Needs a lot of TLC, interior is mostly shot, but paint and chrome are good driver quality. Bumpers and grill are very good, window chrome, too. The chromed sweep speers are quite badly pitted, but lets see. No rust issues found so far underneath, but a little crusty. Overall a nice car to work on and improve and the engine runs so super smooth. Seats and door panels biggest issues for now. Right rear side window broken and vent window bad. Lights mostly work, besides dash lights and right rear blinker and brake light (bulb is good) and back up lights.... Lol, so maybe 50% of the lights are good. The lines of the car are just so beautiful!!!! 

Hans 

 

[sebastienbuick]

BEAUTIFUL   

[lancemb]

Looks like a great base, and a fun project!

[JohnD1956]

That is really nice!  Wish you good luck with it!   Have you driven it far? 

 

[Hans1965]

20 hours ago, JohnD1956 said:

That is really nice!  Wish you good luck with it!   Have you driven it far? 

 

Thank you! No, not at all. On the trailer and in my garage. Now cleaning it and checking what needs to be done. Interior is really shot. But it's mostly complete. It is interesting to compare it with my 53 Riv. 

[Dynaflash8]

Unfortunately I couldn't find anybody, at the time it was advertised, to go and look at it for me.  I was highly interested.  The late former owner was a member of the Buick Club of America and I think before he got sick the car was probably, basically, a restored car.  Then, I understand, it sat in a garage for six years and varmints got into it.

[Hans1965]

On 1/16/2020 at 1:02 AM, Dynaflash8 said:

Unfortunately I couldn't find anybody, at the time it was advertised, to go and look at it for me.  I was highly interested.  The late former owner was a member of the Buick Club of America and I think before he got sick the car was probably, basically, a restored car.  Then, I understand, it sat in a garage for six years and varmints got into it.

It is very interesting that you know the former owner! The title I got is probably in the name of the son. And yes, there is a Buick club badge on the car. 😊 

Yes, the car has been restored some time ago and the former owner collected a lot of spare trim parts, nos brake drums, exhaust components, knee shocks etc.

Fortunately the car is not smelly at all after the animal take over. That's the good thing. But needs inside total replacement. Unfortunately no seat kit available at reasonable cost. 

The car is far away from being perfect. But it is exactly what I wanted. The really costly things like chrome bumpers, side trim, window trim are good to very good, paint is okay for a driver and for now good enough for me, engine runs very smooth and the car is mostly complete. I need to replace the right quarter window which is cracked and the vent window is delaminated. Unfortunately the right window cylinder started leaking, but the pump works. All relatively easy things. No rust issues, doors underneath like new, rockers never touched and very good. 

I could not do a full resto, but to freshen up and revive a gem like this and make it a reliable car again that is huge fun for me. 😊

The former owner had two other 49s, both convertibles..... 😁

[neil morse]

I imagine that you will get quite a response driving this rig around Cologne!  It looks great, and seems to be an ideal project with the heavy mechanical things already in order.  Please keep us posted on your progress.

[Dynaflash8]

13 hours ago, Hans1965 said:

It is very interesting that you know the former owner! The title I got is probably in the name of the son. And yes, there is a Buick club badge on the car. 😊 

Yes, the car has been restored some time ago and the former owner collected a lot of spare trim parts, nos brake drums, exhaust components, knee shocks etc.

Fortunately the car is not smelly at all after the animal take over. That's the good thing. But needs inside total replacement. Unfortunately no seat kit available at reasonable cost. 

The car is far away from being perfect. But it is exactly what I wanted. The really costly things like chrome bumpers, side trim, window trim are good to very good, paint is okay for a driver and for now good enough for me, engine runs very smooth and the car is mostly complete. I need to replace the right quarter window which is cracked and the vent window is delaminated. Unfortunately the right window cylinder started leaking, but the pump works. All relatively easy things. No rust issues, doors underneath like new, rockers never touched and very good. 

I could not do a full resto, but to freshen up and revive a gem like this and make it a reliable car again that is huge fun for me. 😊

The former owner had two other 49s, both convertibles..... 😁

I didn't know the man.  However, I'm member #55 in the Buick Club and I called toward the end of the ad time...I hadn't seen it before.  The price was very reasonable and I felt I knew a shop who could make short work of the interior.  What I was worried about was all the stuff  you have found to be good.  The guy who had it for sale told me he had bought the house, land and all the cars and parts.  He told me the late owners name and that the owner had been sick for six  years and the car had been in a garage since he got sick and had never been touched in that time.  I looked the name up in the Buick Club Roster and the owner was a longtime member who remained a member until his death.  That told me all good things, but I was afraid to push the button without eyes on and I too was sick, and couldn't drive from Florida to Kentucky on short notice.  I called a man I knew in Louisville, KY and he said he would go, but he had a wedding the next day.  You got the car before he had another day.  I knew another man, but didn't think of him in time.  End of story: You got the only model Buick I've always wanted, but never have been able to get.  It's always been not enough money at the time, too far away, and multiple other reasons.  I've had some great Buicks including 1939 convertible coupe (2), 1939 Buick convertible sedan (same car twice), 1941 Buick Roadmaster 4dr convertible and 1941 Limited (2) and many, many more modern Buicks.  You are a very fortunate man, because I think at the price, you almost stole that Buick.  Good luck with it.

[Hans1965]

13 hours ago, neil morse said:

I imagine that you will get quite a response driving this rig around Cologne!  It looks great, and seems to be an ideal project with the heavy mechanical things already in order.  Please keep us posted on your progress.

I hope so!!! Looking forward to spring already. But enough to be done until then. Electricals need to be sorted (no right rear turn signal, no back up light, no dash light....) and I need to go through the brakes. For our official car check which is very very tough, I need to add an emergency light flasher (bought a Roberk 800) and need to change your sealed beams against our headlights, easy stuff.

I love the big Firestones 820-15 with the 4 1/2 inch white wall. Amazing tire, but unbelievably expensive here, ca 500 USD!!! Hope these tires are good to drive. The right rear one is a different one and much older. Needs to be replaced. 😂

[Hans1965]

3 hours ago, Dynaflash8 said:

I didn't know the man.  However, I'm member #55 in the Buick Club and I called toward the end of the ad time...I hadn't seen it before.  The price was very reasonable and I felt I knew a shop who could make short work of the interior.  What I was worried about was all the stuff  you have found to be good.  The guy who had it for sale told me he had bought the house, land and all the cars and parts.  He told me the late owners name and that the owner had been sick for six  years and the car had been in a garage since he got sick and had never been touched in that time.  I looked the name up in the Buick Club Roster and the owner was a longtime member who remained a member until his death.  That told me all good things, but I was afraid to push the button without eyes on and I too was sick, and couldn't drive from Florida to Kentucky on short notice.  I called a man I knew in Louisville, KY and he said he would go, but he had a wedding the next day.  You got the car before he had another day.  I knew another man, but didn't think of him in time.  End of story: You got the only model Buick I've always wanted, but never have been able to get.  It's always been not enough money at the time, too far away, and multiple other reasons.  I've had some great Buicks including 1939 convertible coupe (2), 1939 Buick convertible sedan (same car twice), 1941 Buick Roadmaster 4dr convertible and 1941 Limited (2) and many, many more modern Buicks.  You are a very fortunate man, because I think at the price, you almost stole that Buick.  Good luck with it.

I thought, too, that the asking price was very reasonable but it was also for me the absolute borderline for buying a car sight unseen. The seller was very good to talk to on the phone, which made it easier for me to press the ebay button. I was really surprised that there were no other bidders as these cars are so rare. Here at my end was a real resto project for sale recently for 22000 USD but in need of literally everything. - Did not know that they bought the whole property. The owner of the shop seemed to have made a fortune by selling guns online...

 

Kentucky is really not around the corner for you. I was really very fortunate. Maybe the color was  discouraging for other people. In real life it suits the car very well, on pictures not so much. You had an impressive list of Buicks, I have to say. Like the '39 convertible coupes a lot. With your experience on' 39-'41 Buicks and late 40s and 50s Buicks, is it a whole different driving experience? Thanks for your wishes. Appreciate that! Garage time now! 😊

[Hans1965]

What happened since January 2020. I worked on the car, repaired little things like the hydrolectric system, replaced a broken quarter window, took care of the electrics etc. And then in July 2021 my garage and the car was flooded. Fully! I refurbished everything on this car. In the last weeks I installed a brand new red leather interior and went out for a spin, more than 3 years after the purchase. 

 

I am incredibly happy that I was able to save this car. It's alive, it's even loosing dynaflow transmission fluid 😄. I inserted the pics multiple times. Dont understand why they are upside down. Sorry.