I was misinformed. I thought the “sedanette” body style on Buicks (debuted in ’42) ended with the 1949 model, but here’s a 1950 Special sedanette to prove me wrong. It’s being offered on eBay in Le Mars, Iowa, with bidding at $8,000 and plenty of time left.
The vendor is correct that this is an “original, unmolested 1950 Buick Special two-door fastback,” and its straight eight is in place, coupled to a Dynaflow automatic transmission. “Original” means not restored, and this one has the slings and arrows of 72 years in existence, albeit with only 43,000 miles covered in that time. It appears to have been stored under cover. But it’s not running.
“The condition of the engine, transmission, and brakes are unknown,” says the seller. The powerplant certainly looks like no one has called on it for work in recent memory. The paint looks good, but some is flaking off, and there are scratches. Surface rust is present on the roof along the drip rails, and the lower driver’s bumper guard has a few dents. Well, that’s what it’s there for, right?
The interior is much worse than the interior. It needs new cloth seat upholstery, a headliner, and probably door cards at a minimum. The driver’s door glass is cracked, and the rest is aged. The trunk floor is said to be solid, though peppered with surface rust. The frame is solid.
“A perfect candidate for restoration or leave the outside patina and rebuild the rest,” the owner says. If it were me, I’d get it running with the original drivetrain and restore the interior, then take the owner’s advice on preserving the patina (though that roof rail rust needs to be taken care of).
This is the ’49 to ’53 edition of the big Buicks. The Special (Series 40) came out in late ’49 and in 1950, sporting the full-length “bucktooth” grille I find so attractive. Specials were entry-level and had three Ventiports. With Dynaflow, the venerable 248-cubic-inch cast-iron engine (in production since 1937) produced 120 horsepower. It’s not the “Fireball” eight; that one didn’t debut until 1951.
This appears to be a Special Deluxe model, with a nicer interior, as it has the Special script on the front fenders. Classic.com has an average of $44,968 for 1950 Buicks, but the cars making anything near this money are fully restored Woodies, convertibles, Roadmasters, and restomods.
This Buick would undoubtedly make a really classy restomod with a modern V-8, transmission, suspension, and brakes. Bluetooth audio, anyone? But it would also be quite remarkable restored with its original engine in place for leisurely Sunday cruising. The styling is beautiful either way—an inspiration for the Bentley Continentals with the same roofline, perhaps?
Personally — given funds, space and time, of course — I’d restore this beauty and not change a thing. Memory tells me those straight-eights were smooth as glass, and certainly had enough power for the suspension and brakes to handle. The styling gets me, too.
Restomods, like full-on hot rods, are too subjective. I haven’t seen one yet done to my exact taste. Which is not to say they’re bad, but almost always make me want to strip them down at least partially and start over. Stock is always best.
If someone did put more modern drive train in this beauty I like to see for once to not see it made into low rider with air bags.
Just make it a sleeper with a nice paint job.
Exactly, subtle blend of modern power train, brakes and suspension. The styling is timeless and needs no changes.
I’d switch out the 6-volt system for a 12-volt, to start. If the engine couldn’t be repbuilt, or the tranny working, I’d upgrade to a comperable V8 and automatic, then upgrade the brakes to discs, then fix rust and touch up paint.
Many years ago, I worked at at McDonalds that was adjacent to the first Ray Kroc-built one, which was by then a museum, in suburban Chicago. Every summer, they’d put four two-tone 1955 cars (a Chevy, Oldsmobile, Chrysler and Ford) out front in the parking lot to ‘set the scene’.
Next door to the museum was a doctors office and in the back was parked a faded, rusty ’50 Buick like this one. I was fascinated with it – the grille, the fastback look, the B-U-I-C-K radio buttons…the meanest looking car I’d ever seen aside from my uncle’s ’68 Cadillac. It made a bigger impression with me than the shiny ’55 cars used as set dressin just mere feet away.
I might put a bid on this because I’ve had a mild obsession with these ever since then.
I alway
Donald Trump, for one.
@Gérard Planche
I haven’t. But I did work at a Roy Roger’s (same thing, fast food) briefly before getting a good gig being a bartender.
As we came to find out neither has Kamala Harris.
One of the duties when cleaning up the trash in that ‘real’ McD was that I also had to sweep up and keep the museum grounds clean. There really wasn’t much to it, as you could really only walk around the outside (they had mannequins set up in the kitchen space), but there was a door in the back that led to a small room with a TV that had a short McD history video on a loop, and then a basket of enamel pins shaped like the roofline of the original ’50s buildings.
In the fall, they’d remove the four ’55 cars for the season.
I am surprised that the writer had thought that 1949 was the last year for these. In the years from 1950 through 1958, there were lots of 1950 Buicks around me — most of them, it seems, sedanettes. Never cared for the style, myself — but, that’s me. If I had the place and the time and the funds, I would restore this car, mechanically, to reliable roadworthiness, LET THE 6-VOLT SYSTEM BE, give the interior what it needs, matched to original, touch-up the paint where needed, fix any issues with the chrome, snd drive it just the way that Buick made it. These were great cars in 1950, and they still are. However, once I were done with all of this, I’d look to trade it for a 1949 sedan.
With that toothy grin of a grill, and being a torpedoback, this is a real beauty!
Seems auctioning your car is the way to get every penny out of it. And sometimes this leaves very little meat on the bone for the buyer. I’ve been thinking bout selling my 68 h code gts dart which is all new just needs paint. Auction it in the spring maybe? When spring fever is running rampant. Glwts. Peace
As has been said above, stock is always better. I completely agree, in my never humble opinion.
I’d love to have this car. I’d let the grandkids roll around on the rear couch as we float around our little town.
Jim, Buick fastback coupes were called “Sedanet” starting in 1942 and were built in all series except Limited, and contiued through 1950. In 1951, only the Super series remained with the “Jetback Sedanet”
When I saw the pic of the trunk I remembered it was my home at the entry to the Drive-in Movie . This is where Me and any of my friends would ride in order to dodge the admission fee . Looking back its lucky I didn’t die from exhaust fumes inhalation . From the Leaded Ethyl Gasoline and all the holes in the trunk area just over the rusty muffler .
And yet, you’re still with us. God Bless
BF: “It’s not the “Fireball” eight; that one didn’t debut until 1951.”
The ’50 Buick brochure begs to differ: “In every one, you will find thrilling Fireball valve-in-head power, with higher compression ratios and brilliant performance in each instance.”
So it is the “Fireball” eight. Unless the writer means the V8, but that debuted in 1953 not 1951.
Also, Buick spelled it “sedanet.”
In 1938 the Dynaflash engine was first used for the Straight 8.
In 1941 Buick called the Straight 8 the ‘Fireball’ engine
I’d put an LS and 5-speed in it !!! LOL
Put in a V8 and for sure change the color to something bright from the 1950 Buick paint chips. Brighter color shows the streamlining styling better. And if the paint chips offered 2-tones, choose one of those combinations.
Shouldn’t that car have spats? It just doesn’t look right.