Leif in Calif Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 No mine, (although I wish it were), at a dealer in MN. https://www.uniqueclassiccars.com/vehicles/3115/1927-buick-27-54-convertible-w-rumble-seat VIN: 1712606 1927 Buick 27-54 finished in Red paint with black rag top. 1980 and onward, this car was in the Southwest around California and Nevada before coming to us. Paint does show its age in areas, rear decklid has some patina, has been touched up as well. Chrome and brightwork in nice shape and shows well against the red, blinker system has been added by the radiator. Powered by the 274 Inline 6 cylinder that is paired with a 3-speed manual transmission. Riding on painted to match steel spoked wheels with wide white walls. This is a rumble seat car as well. Black vinyl bench seat interior with manual on the floor. Black convertible top is cloth. 6 volt fuel pump has been installed along the line. This car actually has a bit of storage space in front of the rumble seat that includes the wheel wrench and a set of vintage golf clubs! Luggage rack on the drivers side with suitcase, all included with the car. Turn signal indicator added to the column. Choke on this vehicle is still functional! Stock sounding Buick! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Not sure about the color, but that's a nice Buick ! Price doesn't even seem too outrageous. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 (edited) I think it's a neat car, but I would be a little hesitant and look it over very well. That looks to be a very quick resale red respray, though not done in the recent past I think. The dash has no shine to it whatsoever and the gauges were poorly masked off. Just makes you wonder about what else was done quickly. Edited April 9, 2022 by auburnseeker (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kar3516 Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 This proportions of this car are outstanding. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted April 9, 2022 Author Share Posted April 9, 2022 You would think that a shorter wheelbase would be better for a Sport Roadster, but it does look terrific, doesn't it! 1 hour ago, kar3516 said: This proportions of this car are outstanding. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Nice styling but I can't help but wonder, why that color? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamInNH Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Saw this car in person yesterday. It appear way better in photos than in real-life. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 (edited) When I was young I thought that the neat thing to do was paint all old cars red or blue. I finally realized that by the mid twenties car companies like Buick knew what they were doing. For instance my 1928 master six has similar proportions as this car as it a 28-54C country club coupe, it was available in three color combos, one of which was black. My car is dark mountain tan, light mountain tan, black fenders , red pinstripe and light cobra grain top. That is a lot of colors to put together, but they did , I could not imagine it in a single color until I saw this lipstick red, I am still happy it was restored 25 years ago in its original colors Edited April 9, 2022 by ramair (see edit history) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Another shot to show proportions of car with 128” wheelbase 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gearheadengineer Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Ramair, that is a beautiful car! The red one - I’d have to look at it but for me it would need a lot of work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Gear head engineer, thank you for the compliment , the paint is showing it’s age, so really at 20’ looks great, everyone here talks about some paint combo that may or may not have existed a hundred years ago and then we see some of the results of a seventies or eighty’s interpretation and the crazy part is at that time period I would have done that also. Thank goodness I never did Robin egg blue with power company blue fenders or resale red. I now believe that in the long run it’s better to pick colors that were actually available when the make and model car was produced, I would not go as far to say that I would paint a car the color it was born with, just stay in what was offered in the brochure . Another issue is trying to match color with all the reformulations caused by changing chemistry . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 10 hours ago, Gearheadengineer said: The red one - I’d have to look at it but for me it would need a lot of work. I don't know the dealer offering the Buick, but his pricing is far away from reality. Not long ago, he was offering a very low-mileage 1976 Buick Electra 4-door hardtop for $35,000--absurd! The formula often applies: DEALER PRICE /2 = REALISTIC PRICE 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 1 hour ago, John_S_in_Penna said: The formula often applies: DEALER PRICE /2 = REALISTIC PRICE Amen John……as a local I have seen this often regarding this dealer. Many cars bought locally over the years that show up with the price doubled. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 The red Buick would be alot of fun if it was priced in the mid teens or so. Always seems I find most of this stuff after the dealer buys it. Matt atleast usually goes through them and fixes alot of stuff, Most give them a quick detail (in some cases) and then shuffle them off to the sales floor where you are buying who knows what as their mechanicals, the dirty part few fix right , you always throw money at , you will never see again, go unaddressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 (edited) Yes, a mid teens price would probably result in an instant sale and a very happy buyer. But despite the paint problems and questions surrounding the quality of restoration, the car remains a Master Series Roadster with extremely desirable B 5 Buffalo wheels. Were this a very rough , very long term storage " barn find " it would probably still be a $10,000.00 car. This is quite possibly the most desirable 1920's Buick made. Edited April 10, 2022 by 1912Staver (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbeach Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Front bumper on the red car for sale looks like it came off of a 1926 - 28 Stutz, only missing the emblem in the center clamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 The front bumper is 1928 and earlier Packard by the flared tie-plates and black-painted ends. The center tie-plate is who knows what? The reference I have, Seventy Years of Buick by George H. Dammann, shows the 1927 Master Six with three-tier bumpers, both full-width front and two short curved rear units flanking the rear-mounted spare. Noted in the photo caption for the Model 27-54 Sport Roadster was that 4,310 were built for domestic sale and 189 for export. Also, "Finished in courier cream and green, the attractive car cost $1,495..." Although the image is black and white, the fenders appear to have been black, the side panels below the belt molding a lighter color than the belt and upper hood and body surfaces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbeach Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 (edited) Packard, Stutz and others must have used the same supplier for bumpers. I was looking more at the center clamp. Edited April 10, 2022 by kbeach Added picture (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted April 10, 2022 Author Share Posted April 10, 2022 It seems that there is a little more appreciation for original color choices these days. Perhaps it's as a result of "Barn Finds" (real ones) and Preservation Class as shows that allow us to see they looked originally. I live in the old part of my town where there are lots of houses from the Victorian era. New, younger buyers move in and want to paint them battleship grey. Assuming no mechanical disasters, I think this car is perhaps only "typical dealer high" as opposed to 2X what it should be. Those wheels add so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 I was contacted by a previous owner of the resale red roadster after he had purchased the car and his frustrations about what was done and how to rectify. He was trying to get the windshield stanchions aligned since they seemed bent. The cowl gasket he sourced would not fit. I think at the time there was no top. It appears that they installed a 1930s style top assembly. He outlined a list of other issues. I sent him photos of my friend's super original model 54 and another example he owns that had one re-topping and a re-paint back in the 1940s. When he first showed me the original car in his trailer. I did a BCA Buick Bugle article on it soon after in 2016. I made hub bearing adapters for him so he could install the Buffalo wire wheels. What the dash should look like with I believe the colonial grain leather. The heat control plate had been replaced. This car could also be had with green alligator grain leather. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 20 hours ago, ramair said: Another shot to show proportions of car with 128” wheelbase ramair I also agree how nice your car looks. This is one closed Buick I would love to have. I had asked my grandfather back in the 1960s about what was his first car. He said it was a 1927 Buick Country Club coupe he bought as a used car in 1930. What color was it? He always told me that it was brown. It was not until I got into the Buicks of the 1920s that I found out that the 1928 Country Club coupe was brown. Easy to have a 1928 car titled as a 1927 in PA. back then if bought late in the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Dibarlaw, I just could not pass this car up when it came up for sale about 6 years ago at the Bakersfield horseless swap meet. Have some documentation and some here say that it was a original California car from Howard motorcar . A gentleman in the 1980s wanted a Buick the same year and model that he bought when he came to this country. I believe that when he found this one it was in pretty good shape, it has one repaint and the original paint is still in the door jams and although it is pretty dull it matches well, he did not match the fabric very well, but it looks period correct. One thing that I have noticed on a lot of restorations on these Buicks is the short cut that is taken on the dashboard, the enclosed cars always has some wood graining with a pinstripes border to match the real wood and inlays on doors 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Just for fun, I have a black and white taken during a photo shoot with Wine Enthusiasts magazine a couple of years ago, the good or bad of black and whites is it can hide a great color combo or hide a bad one 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f.f.jones Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 18 hours ago, auburnseeker said: The red Buick would be a lot of fun if it was priced in the mid teens or so... Remember, it's getting hard to find a good, open body Model A Ford for less than $20k. I'd think low to mid $20k's would not be unreasonable for this Buick...depending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 (edited) On 4/9/2022 at 11:27 AM, 1912Staver said: Not sure about the color, but that's a nice Buick ! Price doesn't even seem too outrageous. On 4/9/2022 at 11:30 AM, auburnseeker said: ...That looks to be a very quick resale red respray... On 4/9/2022 at 6:56 PM, ramair said: When I was young I thought that the neat thing to do was paint all old cars red or blue. I finally realized that by the mid twenties car companies like Buick knew what they were doing.... 18 hours ago, dibarlaw said: I was contacted by a previous owner of the resale red roadster after he had purchased the car and his frustrations about what was done and how to rectify. Believe it or not, this color may be CORRECT! One friend, currently 102 years old, has written down his automotive experiences, and we published his recollections in our regional AACA newsletter: "In 1925 Daddy introduced a policy of giving a car to each daughter eighteen or older. Three bright red Buick roadsters were delivered to Sophie, Gret, and Connie. Gret's had been a demonstrator, with wire wheels and a few miles on it, so it didn't have to be broken in. Sophie's and Connie's new cars had to be broken in by staying under 30 miles per hour for 500 miles. Breaking in new cars was an excuse for lots of joy rides." This account from 1925 shows that bright red Buicks were indeed available. By special order, perhaps? Note that one had been a demonstrator, ordered by the dealer and perhaps not a special-order car. And here were 3 in just one family! So much history has been forgotten that I love accounts by people who witnessed history first-hand. It's likely that none of us have memories of 1925, but thankfully, my friend does. Edited April 11, 2022 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 I might be among the few, but I kind of like it as is in the resale red. Has a fun used car beater feel like it would have had in the early 30's. Now lower 20's, I might even be interested. I wonder just how messed up it really is and how good it really runs and drives? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kar3516 Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 1 hour ago, auburnseeker said: I might be among the few, but I kind of like it as is in the resale red. Has a fun used car beater feel like it would have had in the early 30's. Now lower 20's, I might even be interested. I wonder just how messed up it really is and how good it really runs and drives? Count me in; I like the red as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Goist Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 The red itself may not be too bad, but the way it was painted seems questionable. overspray everywhere. even the gauge faces. The top is also not correct for this car. Promising start to a cool roadster, but high on price for what this car needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRA Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 (edited) I have always seen this debate against red paint in 1920s cars, and frequently there is some source proving they existed. If you see late 1920s ads of DuPont Duco polish, the cars shown are always bright red. For sure it was an advertisement of product, not the car, but it can be a good reference point. I also enjoy the red paint. There is also the debate against tan/beige paint, even being more frequently found in original paint charts. Edited April 12, 2022 by JRA (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 Just to let everyone know I have bought resale red in the past, I enclose a picture of my 1916 Buick Big six that I lost last month in a horrible fire 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 On 4/9/2022 at 2:19 PM, AdamInNH said: Saw this car in person yesterday. It appear way better in photos than in real-life. Good reason to plan a trip and look at a car in person before the purchase. I have witnessed this very thing multiple times when I was buying motorcycles. Pictures almost always make a vehicle look better than in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 That's why I always look at the close up pictures. They tell the story better. I had a forum member look at a vehicle for me and they took a few short videos. I was able to slowly scan through them over and over on my computer and that really helped me pick out issues. In the end i still tried to buy it, but the owner was flaky and didn't want to sell it to someone long distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 Yes. The video shows a few more deficiencies. The mass of photos shows the undercarriage pretty dirty/greasy and unfinished. Front mud pan is bent. The running board side splash shields are newly made units that are missing some details. The rear fender to frame valance fillers are missing. They do spend some pixels showing tire tread though! I offered on one of these 1927 Master Sport roadsters back in summer of 2010 before I bought my 1925 Standard touring. It was at a dealership in Ohio (Not Matt Harwood's)! 1960s fix up restoration, well used and in need of work. They wanted $32,000 at the time. Checking all available lists to get a value for condition was more like $22,500. We offered $24,000. (The wife really liked it.) Refused. Later that fall it went thru a big collector car auction in Ohio. No sale at $16,500. I believe they had it in their inventory for 2 more years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 (edited) 14 hours ago, ramair said: Just to let everyone know I have bought resale red in the past, I enclose a picture of my 1916 Buick Big six that I lost last month in a horrible fire It must have been heartbreaking to loose such a rare and remarkable Buick. Hopefully you will rebuild your shop and glad to hear your 1915 survived ! Edited April 12, 2022 by 1912Staver (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 Thank you 1912 Staver, now that the fire investigation is over I will be giving a detailed account of what happened on the Fire,Fire,Fire thread, you will not believe what happened! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted April 19, 2022 Author Share Posted April 19, 2022 Although not entirely correct, I do think it's a very neat car. I watched the video and the dealer (obviously very knowledgeable) mentioned that the hub caps don't all match, and in fact one says Stutz, which he pronounced as "Stewtz" . I think this is it...couldn't zoom in enough to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted May 9, 2022 Author Share Posted May 9, 2022 Website says it sold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Jake Moran Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 On 4/9/2022 at 12:59 PM, Fossil said: Nice styling but I can't help but wonder, why that color? Resale Red. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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