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?