I’ve often wondered what it must be like to open a shed, barn, or in this case, a shipping container, and to find a car inside that has been sitting for decades. When this shipping container was opened, it was found to hold a Buick that had been stored inside for more than 40 years. It is now for sale, and you will find it listed here on eBay. Located in Lancaster, California, it is being offered with a Bill of Sale. The Buick seems to have generated some interest in the market, as from an opening bid of $100, a total of 68 bids has pushed the price to $3,550 in this No Reserve auction.
The Buick has been living in its container in Southern California for the last 40 years, and it appears to be none the worse for the experience. The seller claims that the chassis is free of rust, as is the body. It certainly appears to be solid enough. It is missing its headlights, but otherwise, the body looks to be complete. It looks like some of the floors may have been removed for some reason, so this will need to be addressed. I get the impression from the photos that somewhere in the past a previous owner may have attempted to start a restoration, but this has stalled for some reason. It would be nice to see the project completed, as it is a nice looking car.
The interior is going to require a complete restoration. The dash is complete, but all of the upholstery is shredded beyond repair, as is the padding on the seats. While the open-topped Series 60 featured leather upholstery, the sedans were upholstered in either cloth or mohair. Due to the deterioration, it is hard to tell which material was used on this particular car, but restored in either, the interior would look stunning.
Under the hood is the 278ci straight-eight engine which produced 100hp. This is backed by the standard 3-speed manual transmission. The engine does not run, but the seller states that both the engine and transmission turn freely. I must say that the first thing that struck me when I looked at this shot was how clean everything looks. The second thing that I noticed is that there appears to be some relatively new wiring in place, so it appears that someone has at least attempted to fire the engine into life. Hopefully, it won’t too much work to get it running again.
Bidding on this Buick has been strong, and this may be due to two separate factors. Firstly, Series 60s don’t seem to be coming onto the market terribly frequently at present. Secondly, those that do seem to command some quite healthy prices. Recently a nice example sold for $32,000, and this seems to be the bottom end of the price range for good examples, while really nice examples that are either in original condition or well restored can attract prices upwards of $70,000. That may explain the bidding.
Is it just me or have storage containers for old cars only been around about ten years or so ?
It think they are called shipping containers which have been around for at least 6 decades. The general public could buy them almost as long and they could store whatever they wanted in them, furniture, cars, boats, bodies, whatever. The were not designed specifically for cars.
It is just you……………I have been buying and selling ocean shipping containers at least 4 decades and they were around long before that. Invented by a southern tow truck owner/driver to simplify and standardize shipping products around the world. They revolutionized intercontential commerce. In a desert climate like this was in, they last nearly indefinitely but do get really hot inside without ventilators installed explaining the lack of soft parts remaining. These are (and were) Tremendous cars in there day. Very powerful and quite an upgrade from a common Ford.
yep….know they’ve – shipping containers – have been around for like forever….but guessing guys without barns have been storing cars of late….just saying…
Yeah, yer gonna need some seat covers
Also a title (ugh). But I love the artillery wheels.
I absolutely love the lines and curves on this car. And for the purists Don’t hate but I see one gorgeous resto mod. Maybe a ride height modification along with maybe a section and chop. Don’t think I would channel. Some nice shiny wheels in some big meats. Perhaps a Corvette drive train and suspension.
Definitely has to have a super deep candy paint job. If I could only win the lottery.
Where did all that dust come from in a seal container
If you are in the desert, dust gets into everything, but, it is easier to deal with than rust. I was told that the 30’s Buick 8 could do 80 all day (with overdrive) as long as the tires would hold up – the weak point back in the 30’s. And if you slipped the clutch a little more than you should, you could start in 3rd and never shift at all. So maybe you don’t have to do anything but rebuild the engine, new piston rings, bearings, and seals, to have a strong runner. No need for a small block Chevy engine.
I’m always a little suspect when I see a no reserve car with a string of “Identity hidden” bids with the price going up. Maybe it’s just me but………………
This is actually a very rare car. It’s a series 60 6-passenger sedan with a factory fitted division window. The lowered division glass can be seen in the last photo on the eBay listing. The body trim tag indicates this was # 5 built, and I would suggest there were less than a dozen made, as most division window sedans were built on the model 90 chassis. It’s likely that this is the sole surviving example of a model 60, 128″ wheelbase sedan, with factory division window.
Seeing these finds always makes me wonder how many cars are in shipping containers that have been forgotten , tucked away or lost to time.