4-Speed's 1953 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon

[Centurion]

"4-Speed" has supplied photos of his mostly original 1953 Roadmaster Estate Wagon. I understand that this car is unique in some of its technical details, and also has a colorful local history. Matt, please fill in the details for us!

[Matt Harwood]

For one unusual thing, it looks like it has a manual transmission--no Dynaflow! How many cars were made in '53 without an automatic transmission? Not many, I'm sure.

Gorgeous car!

[Guest imported_Thriller]

Very nice. Wish I had a car in that sort of shape.

[Philippe Racicot]

Was this a special order car? I thought that automatic transmissions were standard in all 1949 and newer Roadmasters.

[Bill Stoneberg]

Why do you think that is an manual ? Is it because of the pool ball ? That looks more like a necker knob on the steering wheel. If you look closly at the same picture you can see the black knob of the shift lever.

They did not put manual transmissions in the Roadmasters back in that era. Especially in the wagons. There were only 670 of the wagons made that year.

Nice example of a survivor.....

[59 98]

Bill, you are right, they did not make a factory manual shift Roadmaster wagon (that I know of anyway), but this one is a manual. Unfortunately it is not original, though is all converted with vintage Buick parts and is very fun to drive. The story of this car is that it was used as a tow car for a local dragster in the early 60s. The Dynaflow was not good enough for pulling (I guess), so it was replaced with a manual shift - there is still a vintage 60s Isky '555' cam sticker on the left front vent window. The pedals are out of a 53 (as far as I can tell) Buick with a three on the tree, as is the bellhousing, clutch, clutch fork, rods, etc. The trans is out of a 37 Buick, that is why there is the long stick poking thru the floor with the 13 shifter knob. The Dynaflow shift lever is still on the column, too.

I found the car with about 3 inches of dust on it, tucked away in the corner of a warehouse. The funny thing about this warehouse is that it is two blocks away from my shop. That car sat there for 20 or so years and I never knew about it, and it has been a local Wichita car since at least the early to mid 60s. Among the tons of parts it came with, included was a NOS Dynaflow still in the crate. I like the history of the wagon and manually shifting it, so the Dynaflow will continue to sit in the crate. The car was originally white, but has been painted a couple times. Fortunately it still has all it's original wood and interior, all in very nice shape. I like these old woodies, but have absolutely no desire to restore one. The original engine was shot dead, so until I rebuild it, I put in a running 53 Roadmaster engine so I could drive it.

Basically it is just a cool old beater wagon.

Thanks, and have fun,

Matt

[Centurion]

Hey, Matt, thanks for sharing the details that make this Estate Wagon truly one-of-a-kind!

[Matt Harwood]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Why do you think that is an manual? </div></div>

The clutch pedal kind of gave it away, too.

[Gene Brink]

Matt,

Looks like you've got another Buick you could share pictures of as well in that WONDERFUL "SMALL" garage (I'm jealous of the space!). Would not mind seeing the Mopar's either. Interesting collection...

[Bill Stoneberg]

Matt,

I must have been tired when looking at the picture cause I completly missed the clutch pedal DUH !!!!

Are you going to Batavia ?

[59 98]

That's perfectly understandable, Bill. The stick blends in with the floor, and since there weren't any made like that from the factory, sometimes out of place things just kind of hide in plain sight. I am still not 100% sure on Batavia yet, this summer has been a lot more busy than I had planned, so it'll most likely be a last-minute decision. I got spoiled with last year's meet being in Plano (5 hour drive for me, tops), so a last-minute for Batavia will be a different story.

Gene, the other Buick in the background is a 64 Wildcat, and if I am not mistaken, Brian has started a thread on this car ( I will have to look to be sure ). I am very glad to see you like old MoPars, I really dig these cars. I will PM you to let you know what is there. Cool? Thanks for the note!

Have fun,

Matt

[allcars]

Regarding your '53 Roadmaster wagon ... I once owned this car and it was indeed a tow car for a drag car. A long-time friend of mine put the standard trans in it in the 1960s. Regretably, he passed away a couple of years ago. I also once owned one of the cars it towed, a black (originally Bandolier Blue) 1940 Century Model 66C Coupe, which at one time had a full-race '48 Roadmaster engine in it.

My friend lived in Maize, Kansas, near Wichita, when he was building and racing Buicks. He was also a Packard enthusiast and restored numerous beautiful examples of that marque. He sold the wagon sometime in the '70s, I believe, to a man who lived in Montezuma, out in western Kansas. We bought it out there in 1980. The engine had been rebuilt, but was locked up for some reason. Shortly after we got it, a professional move took us to Florida and we sold the wagon in Kansas before leaving. The '40 Century coupe -- body #29 of 96 built -- went to the Bob Blake collection in Arizona in 1974. Bob Blake also recently passed away and I don't know what became of the '40.

We have posted a photo of the '53 taken in 1980 to the Photo Gallery. Also, a photo of the 1940 Century coupe, taken in 1974. Just go to the Buick section of the photo gallery and search for 1953 or 1940 to view.

4-Speed, the '53 looks great today. We're glad to know it survived, has an appreciative owner and that it remains in Wichita, our hometown.

Allcars

Mt. Clemens, Michigan

1940 Century 66C Convertible Coupe

[59 98]

Um... I don't know where to start asking the questions, but it is important to say how cool it is you owned this wagon and know of it's history. One reason is that most people associated with it and it's history have passed away, including Phil, whom I bought it from.

Here's a quick list of questions, but I have tons more:

1. Who painted it dark metallic blue, and why? Was that the drag car color?

2. Approximately when was it used as a tow car?

3. Who was the drag car's driver?

4. Do you know where it was bought new? Is it a Kansas car from new?

5. Do you know what kind of aircraft engine the two bleeder valves used for the homemade exhaust dumps came from? My uncle says they look like the engines used on the early 707s, but was not 100% certain.

6. Are all the parts used in the manual setup (minus the trans) from a 53 Buick?

7. If you have any pictures of it back in its racing days you could share, I'd really like to see them.

8. Are you the seller that listed the car in the Wichita paper, and Phil Ehrlich came in and bought it right before you left for a flight? From what Phil told me, he read the ad in the paper that morning, called, and the seller said he had a plane to catch that afternoon. Since Phil had been after this car for several years (even when it was in Wichita prior going to Western Kansas), he did not want to miss the chance to get it again so he drove out there and paid for it.

9. If this was you, did you also sell the green 53 Roadmaster sedan along with the car? If so, cool, as this car came with the wagon. I still have it, all together and in nice shape. I feel just like Phil felt about it, it is just waaaaaay too nice of a car to be for parts.

Thank you for the information. Any and all additional names, dates, info, or whatnot that you would like to share about this car would be unbelieveably appreciated.

One more thing, I have a slip of paper in the wagon with a name on it (can't recall it at this time) that says '53 wagon original owner'. I will look in the car tonight for it and I'll see if that name rings a bell with you. I have an address and phone number with it too, but the number did not work when I called. I *think* it was a WI or MI number, but I will check tonight for sure.

Have fun, and hopefully we'll talk again,

Matt Menges

[allcars]

Matt ...

I have replied to your posting via the private message function. Please let me know if you do not receive it through the website.

Best,

Allcars.